Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Ling Xiao gave a cold smile. "A misunderstanding? They sure love to meddle! What right do they have to interfere in my affairs? Ming Yue, Teacher, let’s go!"

Qiuyue Yao wanted to say something, but in the end, she just shook her head and let out a soft sigh.

Ling Xiao walked to the door, then suddenly turned back. Looking at Leng Qianqian, he said, "I owe you a favor, Lady Cold. If you ever need Beauty Pills in the future, I... will provide them for free! Also, please pass a message to those two old hags for me. I’ll let this matter go, but if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for being ruthless. You, of all people, should know I don’t make empty threats, Lady Cold!"

Just then, a sharp, piercing voice came from outside. "What an audacious mutt! To dare make such arrogant boasts! Come on, then! Come on! You little whelp, let me see for myself just how ’ruthless’ you can be!"

Another furious voice rang out at the same time. "Shangguan Girl, don’t even think about leaving Lengning Palace! Hmph, the Elders have the right to correct the mistakes made by the Palace Master! There are three Elders here, and the two of us firmly forbid you from leaving Lengning Palace! If you want to force your way out, that’s fine too, but your cultivation will be crippled!"

Shangguan Yutong’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Lengning Palace only crippled a person’s cultivation when dealing with traitors, rendering them powerless. What was even more vicious was that Lengning Palace had a unique technique that also destroyed a woman’s fertility in the process... This rule wasn’t actually in the sect’s regulations, which only stated that a traitor could leave after crippling their own cultivation.

But this generation’s Grand Elder and Second Elder had colluded with several other elders in the sect and had the rule forcibly changed. Moreover, Shangguan Yutong had personally witnessed a woman from her master’s generation who had fallen in love with a man. She had wanted to leave the sect and was willing to destroy her own cultivation, but unexpectedly, her fertility was destroyed as well. After the woman found out, she threw herself from the sect’s cliffs.

The incident was deeply etched in Shangguan Yutong’s mind, and she was terrified of this sect rule down to her very bones.

Qiuyue Yao also knew of this incident. It had caused a huge sensation in Lengning Palace at the time, with word even spreading to other sects. Otherwise, why would her own beloved have left her all those years ago? The fear that she, too, would suffer such a fate was a major reason for his departure.

Therefore, as soon as Qiuyue Yao heard the Second Elder’s words, she immediately turned to Leng Qianqian and pleaded, "Palace Master, you, you must save Yutong! They—they’re trying to force her to her death!"

Ling Xiao’s rage had reached its peak, yet paradoxically, he grew calm. He retracted the hand that was about to push open the door. Song Mingyue’s brow furrowed. Though she didn’t like Shangguan Yutong, looking at the situation objectively, she was also deeply displeased with Lengning Palace’s despotic ways. ’Just because someone wants to leave, they have to have their cultivation destroyed? That’s too outrageous. Is that whole group of women psychotic?’

"Aunt Qiu, what exactly is going on?"

Ling Xiao asked, his voice steady and a dangerous glint in his eyes. ’At this point, I’m already starting to consider what to do after I seriously injure these two elders, and what to do if my identity is exposed. But no matter what, I refuse to swallow this insult today!’

’The Grand Elder and Second Elder’s aggressive aura, their disdainful looks, the way they’ve insulted me, the way they’ve insulted my women.’ Ling Xiao was done holding back.

Although Qiuyue Yao was a mature woman, she was still an inexperienced virgin. She found it impossible to speak of such matters in front of a man. But Leng Qianqian, standing to the side, stated bluntly and calmly, "When they cripple someone’s cultivation, they also destroy her fertility."

At her words, Ling Xiao was stunned, but even Song Mingyue, standing beside them, froze for a moment. A blush crept up her face, but her eyes burned with intense fury. "They... how could they do that! That’s too much!"

The Second Elder’s cold voice came from outside, "This is an internal matter of Lengning Palace! Outsiders should leave!"

Ling Xiao glanced at Shangguan Yutong’s pale face and sighed inwardly. "Don’t be afraid, Yutong," he said. "I’m here."

Song Mingyue also took the initiative to walk over. She took Shangguan Yutong’s hand and said softly, "Don’t be scared, Yutong. Ling Xiao will take care of this for you!"

Shangguan Yutong gave Song Mingyue a grateful look but said nothing, lowering her head as her eyes reddened.

No one could have expected things to escalate this far. The Grand Elder and Second Elder of Lengning Palace were attacking Ling Xiao and those with him as if they had gone mad, as if there were a blood feud between them.

Leng Qianqian abruptly lifted her head. Looking at the Third Elder, she asked in a hushed voice, "The Grand Elder... her family name is Qin, isn’t it?"

The others were all stunned. The Third Elder nodded silently.

Most of Lengning Palace’s Inner Sect Disciples were orphans, brought to the palace as infants. Thus, many were given their names only after joining the sect, like Leng Qianqian. However, some were not orphans and had been sent to the sect by their living parents for various reasons. Of course, once you entered a sect, all ties to your past were severed. Whether you lived or died was entirely up to them!

Therefore, very few people would send their own children to join such sects. Of course, even more commoners who wished to do so could never find a way in.

And this Grand Elder was a member of the Bauhinia Qin Family from a century ago!

Back then, the Grand Elder’s parents had both passed away, and she held no significant status within the Qin Family. Thus, she was taken in by a traveling successor of Lengning Palace. For this reason, her origins were never hidden from her.