After hearing Li Xuanjian's explanation, Daoist Qingxuan fell into a long silence.
He looked at Li Xuanjian with eyes full of grievance—if they were friends, why didn't you say so earlier? He had nearly detonated the flying sword he'd refined for decades!
Qingxuan suddenly felt a trace of relief. Thankfully, Arthur had been strong enough to forcibly suppress the imminent self-destruction of the sword. Otherwise, his losses wouldn't have been limited to merely coughing up a mouthful of blood from magical backlash.
He waved Li Xuanjian closer and asked in a hushed voice,
"What exactly is the background of your friend?"
"That's a great power I met while I was in Britain," Li Xuanjian replied, his tone carrying a hint of pride. "Well, Master? Isn't he strong?"
It was the kind of satisfaction one felt after making an exceptionally impressive friend—look how capable I am, even someone like this is willing to associate with me.
But Qingxuan raised his hand and smacked Li Xuanjian on the back of the head.
"A great power my ass! What kind of great power could come out of some barbaric land? Have you ever seen a great power this young? I say he's someone who used demonic or unorthodox methods to force his cultivation upward—a crooked mind through and through!"
Arthur's flying spell had been invented by Voldemort. Strictly speaking, it was a form of dark magic, and dark magic inevitably carried traces of ominous aura.
But in the wizarding world, nearly everyone knew a spell or two from the dark side. That didn't mean they were all villains.
Qingxuan, however, took one look at the flying spell and immediately labeled Arthur as a demonic cultivator. It was a genuine misunderstanding.
Unfortunately for him, Hermione and Ranni had no intention of indulging that misunderstanding.
No matter how softly the master and disciple spoke, the two women—with their powerful mental senses—heard everything clearly.
When they heard Qingxuan daring to call her King—and Hermione's cousin—a crooked cultivator, both of them erupted in fury and released their auras without restraint.
"You nasty old man, who are you calling crooked?!" Hermione demanded in her still-imperfect Mandarin.
Hermione's aura was only at the initial Soul Transformation level—hardly worth noting to Qingxuan.
But Ranni's aura was another matter entirely.
It was the overwhelming pressure of a god-born being, unleashed without reservation—nothing like Arthur's restrained display toward Lin Luo.
In that instant, Qingxuan felt as though he were facing the sect master himself… no, worse. Far worse.
Li Xuanjian was completely stunned.
He had never imagined that the quiet, aloof fiancée by Arthur's side was just as terrifyingly powerful.
Had great powers become so common these days?
Or had he stumbled into the greatest luck of his life, encountering two at once?
At that moment, the distress signal Qingxuan had sent finally received a response.
From all directions, elders came flying in on swords—twenty to thirty of them in total.
Quite a few elders were currently traveling abroad; otherwise, there would have been even more.
Yet the moment these elders arrived at Jade Script Peak, they were immediately crushed by Ranni's divine pressure.
Those with weaker cultivation fell straight off their flying swords. Even the stronger ones had their strength suppressed by thirty to fifty percent.
Fortunately, Qingxuan's signal had been directed only at the elders. If it had been sent to the entire sect, the disciples below Soul Transformation would have been dropping like dumplings.
Since Ranni's pressure was focused primarily on Qingxuan, he suffered the worst of it. His power dwindled to barely a tenth of its former level, his limbs ice-cold, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Watching his master's miserable state, Li Xuanjian couldn't help muttering,
"Master… isn't it possible that he just looks young because he's a reincarnated cultivator? Or at the very least, he could be skilled in maintaining his appearance?"
"And besides—you can't beat him, yet you still dare insult him to his face? What exactly is going on in your head?"
Qingxuan shot Li Xuanjian a glare.
"Is now the time to be saying that? If you don't stop this soon, you're going to lose several uncles today!"
Li Xuanjian was speechless.
After all these years, his master was still just as unreliable. Back then, he hadn't even asked before tossing Li Xuanjian off to Britain to train.
Now he'd gone and stirred up trouble with his blunt mouth—and expected his disciple to clean it up.
Seeing the elders surrounding Arthur and the two women, with battle on the verge of breaking out, Li Xuanjian rushed forward.
"Uncles! Elders! This is all a misunderstanding!"
He quickly explained Arthur and the others' identities, then recounted the cause of the misunderstanding.
The elders exchanged awkward looks.
They had rushed over ready to die for the sect, thinking Mount Shu was facing a calamity.
And now they were being told it was all a misunderstanding—and one caused by their own side at that.
Embarrassment spread among them.
One younger female elder in fiery red robes snapped directly at Qingxuan,
"Qingxuan, you useless troublemaker! All you ever do is cause disasters! When are you going to be even a little reliable?!"
Her personality was as fiery as her robes. She unleashed a torrent of scolding, making it abundantly clear that Qingxuan being unreliable was nothing new.
If not for their identities, it would've looked like a young woman berating an old man in public.
Arthur found the scene rather amusing.
At that moment, the eldest-looking elder stepped forward.
"That's enough, Junior Sister Huoxuan. We'll deal with this later. The priority now is resolving the misunderstanding with our guests."
"Yes, Senior Brother Lingxuan," Huoxuan replied, finally stopping.
Judging by the response, this Lingxuan clearly held significant authority—likely the grand elder.
Lingxuan turned to Ranni.
"May I ask, fellow Daoist, if you could withdraw your aura for the moment?"
They were, after all, still being suppressed.
Ranni was unwilling to let the matter end so easily—Qingxuan had insulted her King.
But she cared about Arthur's feelings. Qingxuan was Li Xuanjian's master, and Li Xuanjian had a good relationship with Arthur. Pushing things too far wouldn't benefit anyone.
So she looked to Arthur, silently asking for his opinion.
"You decide," Arthur said with a smile. "Don't worry about my feelings."
To Arthur, this was simple.
On one side was a stranger he'd just met—on the other, his Ranni.
Anyone with a brain knew which side to take.
Arthur's bias was absolute.
After a brief moment of thought, Ranni pointed at Qingxuan and stated her terms coldly.
"He apologizes to my King. And he fights me—once."
Lingxuan felt the conditions were reasonable. And with the current imbalance of power, refusal wasn't really an option.
He looked at Qingxuan.
"This mess is of your making. Settle it yourself."
Qingxuan wanted to apologize—but pride held him back. And fighting Ranni afterward? That was practically a death sentence.
As he hesitated, Arthur suddenly looked toward a spot in the air.
"Why don't we let your sect master decide?"
Arthur had noticed long ago—ever since Ranni unleashed her aura, someone had been watching from that location.
That person had concealed himself in a unique way. Even Ranni hadn't detected him.
Arthur's mental perception was stronger than hers, allowing him to sense the presence.
The figure's strength surpassed even Lingxuan's.
Arthur had little doubt—this was the Sword Sect's master.
The hidden figure revealed himself.
A middle-aged man appeared, his Daoist robe plain and unadorned. The moment Arthur saw him, four words surfaced in his mind:
Dao follows nature.
"Greetings, Sect Master," the elders said in unison.
Those who addressed him as Senior Uncle were younger elders—excluding Huoxuan.
The man nodded calmly, then clasped his hands toward Arthur.
"Daoist friend, I am the Sect Master of Mount Shu Sword Sect."
In his eyes, anyone who could pierce his concealment deserved to be called Daoist friend.
Arthur returned a perfectly orthodox Daoist salute, clearly practiced.
"Boundless blessings of the Heavenly Dao. Uncle Li already introduced my name, so I won't repeat it. But your Daoist title—wouldn't it happen to be Dao Xuan?"
The Sect Master was visibly startled—both by Arthur's flawless etiquette and by the accuracy of his guess.
"Oh? And how did Daoist friend know my title?"
Arthur smiled lightly.
"Just a guess."
It truly was. Seeing names like Huoxuan, Qingxuan, and Lingxuan, Arthur had guessed they were all of the Xuan generation.
And when he saw the Sect Master, Dao Xuan simply felt right.
He'd nearly expected peaks named Great Bamboo or Little Bamboo to show up next.
Not wanting to dwell on names, Arthur shifted the topic.
"So, Sect Master Dao Xuan—how do you intend to resolve this matter?"
Dao Xuan fell into brief contemplation… then slowly spoke.
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