Chapter 1069: Admonition

Liu Tianyang and Ye Zheng were instantly rendered speechless, realization dawning upon them that these two had been waiting for them all along.

Just moments ago, those two had fought the most ruthlessly, causing all the damage to the mountain range, while the older pair had done nothing but take a beating, yet now the burden of restoration fell upon them?

"To be honest, we could simply pay the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas to assist with the restoration." Forced to bow under the weight of circumstances, Liu Tianyang bargained in a gentle, accommodating tone, highly reluctant to personally soil his hands, considering he was, after all, a cultivator of the Body Integration Stage.

They truly could not fathom how, after fusing the Heavenly Law Manifestation and the Sovereign Manifestation, the duo's offensive and defensive power had escalated enough to rival the Body Integration Stage, let alone how Lu Yang could somehow remain immune to the natural laws.

What sort of sorcery was this?

"That will not do. The two of us are currently working for the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas, so in the end, the labor would still fall upon our shoulders."

"Then I care not. In any case, I have offered a solution, and I can provide the spirit stones." Liu Tianyang adopted the posture of a dead pig unfearing of boiling water, utterly disbelieving that two juniors like Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou could do anything to them.

Lu Yang let out a soft sigh, advising out of the goodness of his heart, "Both seniors should be aware that the Cultivation Monthly Report is published by our Sect of Dao. This unworthy self happens to be in charge of the newspaper's content."

Liu Tianyang froze. He knew the Cultivation Monthly Report was published by the Sect of Dao, but he truly had no inkling that Lu Yang was the person responsible, and a sudden, ominous premonition washed over him.

"I believe neither senior would wish to see a headline stating, 'Body Integration Cultivators Liu Tianyang and Ye Zheng, when advised by external personnel of the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas, refused to listen, assaulted the external personnel, caused severe devastation to the Canglan Mountain Range, and arrogantly claimed that having ample spirit stones entitled them to force the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas to shoulder the restoration.'"

The corner of Liu Tianyang's right eye twitched violently. He had heard that the old scoundrel Bu Yu rarely returned to the Sect of Dao and had seldom instructed Lu Yang, so how could this brat's underhanded ideas be even more preposterous than those of the old rogue himself?

Both he and Ye Zheng were figures of high renown. If this report were to spread, what would become of their reputations?

Meng Jingzhou stepped forward, catching the thread of the conversation, "Conversely, if both seniors choose to restore the Canglan Mountain Range, the newspaper will read, 'Confronted with the Canglan Mountain Range damaged by others, Body Integration Cultivators Liu Tianyang and Ye Zheng took the initiative, acted proactively, voluntarily restored the mountain range, and set a leading example for the vast community of cultivators.'"

Whenever Lu Yang entered secluded meditation and could not make the publication deadline, Meng Jingzhou would take charge of the content, the two of them coordinating seamlessly to make the newspaper business thrive day by day.

Ye Zheng remained silent.

Before meeting these two, he had always believed that the reports in the newspaper were absolute truths; wait, it seemed that both of these vastly different accounts would technically be true.

"Very well, very well, we shall restore it, we shall restore it," Liu Tianyang said hurriedly, terrified that Lu Yang might actually employ the first narrative.

Within his heart, Ye Zheng thought to himself that he had always known the old scoundrel Bu Yu's storytelling was not entirely factual, for the two lads in the tales were never quite this clever and bizarre.

Liu Tianyang excelled in earth-element magic, making environmental restoration an easy feat, while Ye Zheng's expertise extended beyond water-element spells into a proficiency with wood-element magic, rendering the restoration of the mountain range well within their capabilities.

Neither Liu Tianyang nor his companion could distinctly recall the original appearance of the Canglan Mountain Range, but fortunately, the two young men had just recently repaired it and knew its former layout.

Watching the industrious silhouettes of the two great Body Integration masters, Lu Yang reflected that cultivators of the Great Xia fought with utter disregard for their surroundings, causing the earth to shake and mountains to shatter at every turn, which drastically inflated the workload of the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas.

"This must have been exactly what the Third Elder felt at the time. He sent us to the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas precisely so we could experience his sentiments."

Shifting his perspective, Lu Yang finally understood the Third Elder's underlying purpose.

Who would have thought that the Third Elder, despite his reckless appearance, was actually a man of meticulous thought.

"Did the Third Elder really think that way? It does not seem like him at all," the Immortal Fairy inquired in confusion. As a guest elder of the Sect of Dao, she too could refer to him as the Third Elder.

To her, the Third Elder appeared reckless, and in reality, he was indeed reckless.

Lu Yang's expression turned solemn, feeling it his duty as the Imperial Preceptor to correct the Immortal Fairy's flawed perspective, "Your Majesty is judging a book by its cover. Appearance does not dictate character. For instance, Your Majesty possesses a lovely, innocent, and lively appearance, yet you are a meticulous, infallible, and wise sovereign, are you not?"

Upon reflection, the Immortal Fairy found truth in his words. She was indeed adorable yet exceedingly clever. Young Yang possessed an unerring eye for character; it seemed the Third Elder was the exact same type of person as this immortal.

"By the way, I forgot to ask both seniors, is there some profound grievance between you two that warranted such an intense battle?" Lu Yang suddenly remembered to ask.

Ye Zheng patted the mountain peak beneath him, "No grievance at all. We are both from the Tianhe Sect. The old Sect Master wishes to abdicate and pass the mantle to a worthy successor, and since both of us are eligible candidates, we decided to engage in a duel to determine that the victor shall become the Sect Master."

Liu Tianyang glanced at Lu Yang, a rather mischievous smile playing on his lips, "According to the rules of engagement, you should be the Sect Master."

"Me? No, absolutely not," Lu Yang declined repeatedly in a panic, wondering how he could possibly become the Sect Master of the Tianhe Sect.

Seeing Lu Yang's flustered state, Ye Zheng burst into hearty laughter, "It was merely a jest, do not take it to heart."

"Today our exhaustion is too great; we shall schedule our rematch for another day."

With the second restoration of the Canglan Mountain Range complete, the duo bid farewell to Ye Zheng and Liu Tianyang, proceeding toward their next destination.

During their flight, a thought occurred to Lu Yang, and he discussed it with Meng Jingzhou, "Consider how so many cultivators fight heedlessly, destroying the terrain. Fortunately, the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas has had our help recently to barely keep pace, but once we depart in a month and a half, how swamped will Sect Master Kong and the others be?"

"Indeed," Meng Jingzhou nodded in agreement.

Both were individuals of deep loyalty and sentiment. Though they had only stayed at the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas for a brief fortnight, they had already come to view themselves as integral parts of the sect.

"How about this: whenever we encounter cultivators fighting, we shall intercede and advise them. This might go some way toward changing the trend of cultivators fighting recklessly and damaging the environment."

"Agreed."

...

Having completed their assigned tasks, the two successfully returned to the Sect of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas.

Sect Master Kong stared at the mission report they submitted, his face filled with utter perplexity.

"What you are saying is that during the course of your mission, you happened upon several groups of fighting cultivators, and through your gentle admonition, these cultivators realized the trouble of environmental destruction post-battle, thus voluntarily offering to take their conflicts to the sky, or to settle their differences through literary discourse?"

"Precisely." The two nodded, deeming this mission an absolute triumph of merit.

Sect Master Kong's mind was filled with questions. When had the cultivators of Great Xia become so accommodating? He had publicly appealed and personally intervened multiple times to no avail, as cultivators always felt a battle was not a true battle unless a few mountains were shattered. How was it that they became so reasonable when dealing with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou?

Could it be that his status as the Sect Master of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas was inferior to that of these two youths?

"You did not resort to physical threats, did you?"

"Senior Kong, look at what you are implying. It was simply our good fortune to cross paths with reasonable individuals. Old Meng and I unanimously agree that their exemplary behavior should be featured in the newspaper, as it is well worth promoting on a grand scale."