God-Level Special Forces Soldier-Chapter 436 - 433: Qingcheng and the Jade Pendant
The middle-aged man who previously explained to him why Saintly Virtue Daoist wears a hat covered his stomach and said, "Because just like Saintly Virtue Master, you too are quite famous!"
The crowd erupted in laughter once more.
——
In the grand hall, Master Guanghuai sat at the central main seat, with ten seats arranged on each side, though four seats on the right were empty.
These four seats belonged to Saintly Bright, Saintly Judge, Saintly Radiance, and Saintly Virtue Daoist outside the door.
Saintly Sea Daoist looked at the four empty seats in front of him, feeling a bit disheartened.
At one time, the five brothers worked hand in hand with great glory, even the Sect Leader Zhenren would glance at the expressions of these five before speaking.
But after the four senior brothers successively left the mountain, although his days in the Dao Yi Sect were not hard, his confidence to speak had diminished greatly.
Fortunately, now that Saintly Virtue Daoist has returned first, once the other three brothers return as well, the Dao Yi Sect would be their world.
The return of Saintly Virtue Senior Brother is a good start, Saintly Sea Daoist thought silently.
As Saintly Virtue Daoist came to the great hall’s door, the tightly closed ancient wooden doors slowly opened from both sides.
The heavy doors, eroded by time, creaked with a ’squeak’, and Saintly Virtue Daoist looked at the pitch-black, shadowless hall inside, took a deep breath, and stepped in.
The little Daoists outside watched the back of Saintly Virtue Daoist, feeling a sense of desolation, as if a heroic figure was embarking on a journey with no return!
As Saintly Virtue Daoist took a step inside the hall, he suddenly felt the surroundings were brightly lit, starkly contrasting the dark ink-like scene from outside.
Inside and outside the hall seemed like two different worlds.
This is the magic of the barrier set by the Dao Yi Sect.
In fact, the doors of the hall did not need to be closed at all; with the barrier, outsiders neither saw the interior nor heard the sounds from within.
Closing the doors merely served as a psychological suggestion to the disciples outside, that significant matters were being discussed inside!
Seeing Saintly Virtue Daoist enter, the people in the hall reacted differently; Master Guanghuai was seated at the main seat, his face showed no joy or sadness, revealing no emotions.
Next, those in the left row of peers looked at Saintly Virtue Daoist with a somewhat condescending gaze.
Lastly, Saintly Sea Daoist was both worried and joyful, worried about Saintly Virtue Daoist’s situation, and joyful at his return!
Saintly Virtue Daoist’s reaction was rather mild, showing neither furious anger nor a jump for joy at meeting his peers.
Master Guanghuai’s eyes were half-closed, half-open, evidently waiting for Saintly Virtue Daoist to speak first, and since he didn’t speak, others dared not urge him either.
The atmosphere in the hall grew extremely eerie, and everyone who harbored their own thoughts turned their gaze to Saintly Virtue Daoist, trying to put all the repressed frustration onto him.
Saintly Virtue Daoist spoke calmly after a while, "The three senior brothers, Saintly Bright, Saintly Judge, and Saintly Radiance, have already passed away!"
"..."
The shocking news left everyone speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say!
Finally, Master Guanghuai was the first to speak, "Why?" Despite his question, his expression remained unchanged, though everyone could hear the Sect Leader’s voice becoming somewhat dry.
"Zhong Family’s young master, the Hunter, Xiao Tian!"
Saintly Virtue Daoist cleverly evaded the Sect Leader Guanghuai’s question and directly revealed the perpetrator’s identity.
The crowd exchanged puzzled glances, clearly not understanding who Saintly Virtue Daoist was referring to.
"Who are these three?" A man in the first seat of the row on the left asked indignantly.
Saintly Virtue Daoist shook his head and said, "Not three, one!"
"One?"
The man who asked earlier, evidently impatient, felt he was being fooled by Saintly Virtue Daoist’s response, and angrily asked, "So according to you, this person is Russian? Full name Zhong Family Young Master, the Hunter, Xiao Tian?"
The hot-tempered man mockingly said, believing himself cultured, "Even in Russia, there’s no surname like Zhong Family Young Master, is there?"
Saintly Virtue Daoist wasn’t angered; he calmly explained Xiao Tian’s background one by one: "Zhong Family, a military family holds significant power in Huaxia; he is the son of Patriarch Zhong Aiguo."
"The Hunter, ranked tenth on the Dark List as an assassin, and Xiao Tian is his name!"
Again, the hall fell into silence...
This time, it was Master Guanghuai who broke the oppressive silence.
"I asked the reason?" Master Guanghuai narrowed his eyes at Saintly Virtue Daoist, "If there was no grievance, why would the Zhong Family provoke us? What do they gain from this?"
Saintly Virtue Daoist, unable to maintain his composure under Master Guanghuai’s threatening gaze, was forced to reveal the whole story.
Only he modified the initial event where he fancied Xiao Tian’s friend’s girlfriend in a restaurant, changing it to Xiao Tian being oppressive and dismissive even after revealing his identity, not regarding the sect.
When the start was wrong, everything that followed was even more so; in Saintly Virtue Daoist’s words, the initial conflict was started by Xiao Tian, leading to all subsequent events.
"We exhausted all means, and even lost the lives of Saintly Bright, Saintly Judge, and Saintly Radiance but still didn’t capture the Jade Pendant!"
Upon learning that the Jade Pendant was not seized, the expectations of everyone in the hall dimmed instantly.
Master Guanghuai’s face, unperturbed like a still well, showed a look of having expected this, "Of course, you didn’t capture it; even if you could defeat that Xiao Tian, you couldn’t obtain it!"
Hearing Master Guanghuai’s assured tone, everyone in the hall’s attention was captured, waiting for him to continue.
"Because the Zhong Family’s young master never had the Double Fish Jade Pendant!"
"What?" Saintly Virtue Daoist was struck as if by lightning; after all this effort and the loss of three senior brothers, and he even...
How could it be that Xiao Tian never had the Double Fish Jade Pendant!
Saintly Virtue Daoist was completely immersed in the story he modified, unable to extricate himself, without reflecting whether the outcome was more a public matter or due to his selfish motives.
Master Guanghuai waited until everyone’s doubts reached a peak, then slowly explained, "Because the Double Fish Jade Pendant, is in Qingcheng!"
"Qingcheng?"
Everyone in the hall, except the standing Saintly Virtue Daoist, rose from their seats in shock.
While shocked, Saintly Virtue Daoist also felt regret, having failed to persuade Sect Leader Guanghuai to order Xiao Tian’s doom despite his efforts!
As if seeing through Saintly Virtue Daoist’s thoughts, Sect Leader Guanghuai stood up, with a comforting smile, "Saintly Virtue Junior Brother, don’t blame yourself too much; this matter isn’t entirely your fault either!"
