Breaking the Day
chapter-214-30041322

The normally serious Spiritual Mountain Sect diet room collapsed into chaos. Each camp’s disciples were at each other’s throats. Everyone’s ego got to their heads, and each of them were eager to prove it.

Kong Yunzhen observed the scene, and he shivered. It took him back to the bloody ages of the civil wars, a total of four civil wars in the Spiritual Mountain Sect. One of them was caused by Shiwu Mountain, and it turned out to be the bloodiest and most violent war between the three courts. At that time, Kong Yunzhen was still a young, fresh-faced cultivator, who had just barely grasped cultivation.

At that time, he wasn’t even qualified to create arrays. He could only helplessly watch as his fellow disciples, brothers, and uncles fight and die on the battlefield.

The hatred and animosity between the three courts ran deep during the war, and persisted even after the war. Had it not been the Sect Master’s influence who suppressed the hatred among the three courts, and later selected many martial uncles to join the emperor on an expedition. Or else, the three courts would have continued to kill one another, Spiritual Mountain Sect would have definitely fallen out of the top ten of the heavenly cultivation sects.

“Are we going to repeat the bloody history of the past?” mumbled Kong Yunzhen. He suddenly shouted, “Silence!”

The shout, fueled by True Yuan and rage, completely silenced all one thousand people in the room.

They all turned towards Kong Yunzhen.

Kong Yunzhen continued angrily, “Do you still consider this place to be Spiritual Mountain Sect? Do you still consider yourselves disciples of the sect? Do you still have any respect for me?”

Kong Yunzhen was fair and unbiased. Although a member of the Hidden Brocade Court, his rag to riches story led to many members of the Hidden Modesty Court to have great respect for him. The members of Hidden Brocade and Hidden Modesty Court momentarily stopped their fighting. The three courts stood motionless, and glared at one another.

Kong Yunzhen looked towards Grand Senior Sister, and sighed, “Martial Niece Le, you disappoint me!”

Grand Senior Sister looked down with her forlorn eyes. Her long eyelashes quivered slightly, no one could see her expression. But no one could also see the faint smirk at the corners of her mouth.

Kong Yunzhen turned to Qian Shanxue, and scolded, “Qian Shanxue, you too! You’re not just a grand senior to the Hidden Brocade Court, but to all of Spiritual Mountain Sect’s disciples. To only look out for Hidden Brocade Court and not the rest of the sect is selfish behaviour!”

Qian Shanxue snorted. He was still angry and he needed to channel it somewhere. But looking at Kong Yunzhen’s brilliant gaze, he swallowed his anger and silenced himself.

Kong Yunzhen turned to Li Xuanming of Hidden Modesty Court and said, “Li Xuanming, you’re normally the reserved type, so what made you fight so recklessly?”

Li Xuanming looked to the floor and bowed. “Uncle Kong, I shoulder the responsibility of a thousand disciples under the Hidden Modesty Court. There are time where one must fight for them,”

“Fight?! All you’re fighting for is ego!” Kong Yunzhen ranted as his steely gaze never left them.

“There are times when you’d fight to the death, killing one another, and for what? A hundred years ago, the three courts went to war over Shiwu Mountain, and countless people died! And you wish to recreate that scenario here in this room?!”

The more Kong Yunzhen spoke, the angrier he became. He rapped his sceptre and shouted, “The Sect Master had established the precepts, but yet the disciples fought for their own selfish needs! Have you no respect for the Sect Master?!”

Grand Senior Sister got down on her knees and said, “Uncle Kong, please calm down, we Hidden Beauty Court have no such intentions.”

Qian Shanxue followed by kneeling. “I, Qian Shanxue, shall never forget any of the Sect Master’s teachings.”

Chu Tiankuo knelt as well. “I, Chu Tiankuo, was personally appointed by the Sect Master, and for that I am forever indebted to you! I shall never disrespect you!”

The three of them were respectively Hidden Beauty, Hidden Brocade, and Hidden Modesty Court’s young leaders. They led by example, and almost all the other members followed by kneeling and apologising.

Kong Yunzhen nodded, his anger diminishing. He looked at Grand Senior Brother of Hidden Sword Court and asked, “And you?”

Grand Senior Brother forced a smile and knelt. “Uncle Kong, us Hidden Sword Court are in a precarious situation as of today, awaiting our punishments. Certainly we wouldn’t dare disrespect the Sect Master and your good self.”

Ouyang Nan and Qin Mieqin followed suit and knelt. Chengfeng and Yuehan looked at one another, and noticed that they were the only ones left standing in the room. They stuck out like sore thumbs. They abruptly knelt.

Kong Yunzhen announced, “With regards to Shiwu Mountain’s ownership, I have decided to temporarily put it on hold!”

Grand Senior Sister suddenly raised her head. “Uncle Kong, I have a suggestion.”

“What suggestion? If it’s about Shiwu Mountain, save it for yourself!”

Grand Senior Sister did not flinch, but continued, “The evaluations are around the corner, which not only concern the rankings of the courts, but also the grade of every cultivator. If the matter of Shiwu Mountain is further delayed, this will lead to much regret among many cultivators. Although cultivators live longer than the average person, how many more decades can they wait?”

Kong Yunzhen shouted, “Did you not hear what I just said?”

The cultivators of Hidden Beauty Court looked at one another, unsure why their Grand Senior Sister would dare bring up the sensitive topic once more.

Grand Senior Sister continued, “In my opinion, the courts should each send their members and clear up Shiwu Mountain together. Also, they should send similarly ranked members to manage Shiwu Mountain.”

Kong Yunzhen’s face softened. He stroked his beard and nodded, “Sounds like a good idea!”

Grand Senior Sister continued, “As for the question of Shiwu Mountain’s true ownership, that can be decided a month after the evaluations. Which court comes first in the evaluations, shall be the owner of Shiwu Mountain. Ten years later after the next evaluation, ownership of Shiwu Mountain shall once again be decided via the evaluation outcome.”

Kong Yunzhen thought about her explanation. It sounded good, and there weren’t any loopholes or flaws.

This was a sensitive topic among the sect. By linking it to the evaluations, it seems reasonable. Cultivation was indeed a competitive world. Without competitiveness, cultivators would have no urgency to improve oneself and survive.

Kong Yunzhen turned to Qian Shanxue and Li Xuanming. “As for you two, what are your opinions on the matter?”

Qian Shanxue arrogantly said, “Hidden Brocade Court had always been the strongest of all four courts. Her suggestion would result in a great disadvantage for her court!”

Li Xuanming thought to himself, ‘Although Hidden Brocade Court is strong, they lack the numbers. If it was a court-on-court fight, us Hidden Modesty Court may stand a chance.’

Li Xuanming replied, “Hidden Modesty Court agrees!”

Kong Yunzhen nodded and announced, “So it is decided! The decision shall be up to the Sect Masters to decide ten years from now!”

Chengfeng observed how Grand Senior Sister had managed to manipulate both chaos and order with just a few sentences. Her skills of persuasion far exceeds Chengfeng’s.

Yuehan noticed Chengfeng was staring at Grand Senior Sister. She poked his side and whispered, “What are you looking at? Is she prettier than me?”

Chengfeng wheezed from the pain, and whispered, “Something isn’t right with Grand Senior Sister.”

Yuehan replied coyly, “Yeah right. She protected you herself, of course something isn’t right!”

Chengfeng chuckled. It doesn’t matter if they’re human or demon. The way they act, talk, and express their jealousy, it’s all the same!