Wen Zixing scratched his head, “I’m not very clear about the details. The rumors are quite fragmented.”
Du Qianshan explained, “Not just us, even the peak masters don’t seem to have a full picture.”
Chao Muxue didn’t know much either. Although she was the sect leader’s personal disciple, she had only been in the sect for a short time. In the absence of Lu Junyang, however, curious disciples came to seek information from her.
All Chao Muxue knew was that her master seemed in a very bad mood after retrieving the elder’s coffin. When she left this morning, Sect Leader Lu was still secluding himself and hadn’t come out yet.
“There’s a lot of discussion in the sect about this, and it seems like there are some arrangements being made at the higher levels.”
Lu Yaoyao was momentarily stunned by the news. No one knew better than her who had brought the elder’s remains back, but didn’t Father say they were going to bury him quietly? Why was there suddenly such a big fuss?
“Breaking news!” A disciple rushed in, shouting loudly.
The other disciples quickly gathered around, eagerly asking, “What news?”
The disciple announced loudly, “The deceased elder is His Venerable’s master!”
This statement caused an uproar among the crowd. “Really? Is that true?”
“Isn’t His Venerable’s master the previous sect leader? How did this elder suddenly come into the picture?”
“Yeah, yeah. His Venerable was supposedly taught by the previous sect leader, right?”
“I’m not lying!” the disciple insisted. “I overheard Martial Uncle and other elders discussing it. Apparently, His Venerable was personally taught by the former Sect Leader Lu, and his master was the former sect leader’s own brother.”
“You mean His Venerable was actually taught by his martial uncle?”
“Exactly!”
“Then why is no one ever heard of this story? Where did this elder come from?”
“Ah, the information out there is all hearsay. It changes as it gets passed along. I remember hearing something about this from my father when I was a child, but I didn’t remember it clearly and didn’t take it seriously.”
“It’s strange, though, that no one in our sect mentioned such an important elder.”
“A person who perished one thousand years ago—our grandparents probably weren’t even born then. Who would randomly discuss such an ancient figure?”
“That makes sense…”
Lu Yaoyao’s group naturally heard this conversation too.
Du Qianshan was shocked: “It turns out he was His Venerable’s master. What an impressive figure he must have been!”
Chao Muxue also expressed her surprise, “His Venerable must be grieving, right?”
Wen Zixing, he… felt at a loss for words. He was unsure of what to say, given that this was another character never mentioned. He began to doubt whether he had really transmigrated into the book. Those damn plotholes! There was no mention of such a character in the story!
Unlike her friends, Lu Yaoyao furrowed her brows, feeling uneasy. Something felt off to her. Except when he occasionally succumbed to her cajoling or temper tantrums, Father was usually unshakeable in his decisions and wouldn’t change them easily. Most importantly, Father and Daddy, who usually fought whenever they were not in her presence, had been peacefully playing chess last night.
It was too abnormal!
Father—and possibly Daddy too—what were they planning to do?
After much thought, Lu Yaoyao couldn’t find an answer. She wanted to take the opportunity to ask her Father directly, but he had gone into seclusion, and she couldn’t find him.
She went to look for her Daddy, but he was nowhere to be found either. It was as if he had never appeared in the Cultivation Realm at all.
As discussions about the deceased elder grew more intense, the sect finally confirmed that he was indeed Dao Venerable Hengwu’s master. This revelation sparked even more curiosity among the disciples. Speculation ran rampant until Sect Leader Lu himself provided an explanation.
This explanation matched what Lu Yaoyao knew. The elder, whose name was Lu Yuandao, was the younger brother of the previous sect leader and a former first elder of the sect. He was also the master of Dao Venerable Hengwu and was considered a rare genius in his time. He disappeared just before a major upheaval in the sect a thousand years ago, and his remains were only recently found. Naturally, the sect wanted to honor his return.
Soon after, Sect Leader Lu ordered the library pavilion to make all records and biographies of the late First Elder Lu available for the disciples to read. The library became incredibly busy, with countless curious disciples rushing to get a glimpse into the life of His Venerable’s master through these writings. This only fueled further discussions.
The elder’s thoughts were revolutionary and even rebellious. His philosophies, as reflected in his actions and recorded words, were alien to the common practices of the world.
“I seem to know why this elder is never mentioned.” A disciple said. This person turned out to be an idealist who believed that beings of the Three Realms should not be judged based on their race, but rather their character, advocating for peace and friendly interactions among the Three Realms.
This idea… was almost laughable in its absurdity.
…
At the main hall of the South Fifth Peak, four peak masters sat in a tense silence. After a while, the peak master of the East Third Peak broke the silence with a blunt question: “Let me ask you all. What is your opinion on this matter?”
Peak Master Miao of the West Sixth Peak rubbed her thumb and responded softly, “The Sect Leader’s actions were usually well-reasoned, but this time, he was somewhat inscrutable.”
The peak master of the West Seventh Peak noted, “Sect Leader Lu has always upheld the previous Sect Leader’s ideologies and resolutely implemented them in his educational policy, but this recent event contradicted those teachings.”
The Guiyuan Sect, being the number one sect in the Cultivation Realm, also served as the benchmark for other sects to follow. The teaching philosophy ingrained in their disciples followed the notion that non-human beings were inherently different and hostile, and that any encounters with demons or devils should result in their elimination. Other sects generally followed a similar ideology.
The sudden emergence of this long-deceased former first elder seemed abrupt and uncharacteristic. The sect’s decision to open up his biography for public reading seemed like a regular practice for a deceased elder, but the timing and the revelations of his ideals were unexpected, causing a sensation not only among the disciples but also the elders.
Regarding the issue of being a thousand years late, it’s explained that the bones were only recently recovered, so the sect made the formal announcement afterward. It’s just that it was too sudden; none of them had received any prior notification.
“Senior Brother Mo, you are the oldest among us. Do you know this elder?” Third Peak Master casually asked.
Hall Master Mo replied irritably, “I’m only a couple of hundred years older than you all.” He is only over eight hundred years old. Who can he know about things from a thousand years ago?
Peak Master Miao pondered, “Neither His Venerable nor the Sect Leader ever mentioned this.”
Although rarely mentioned, there was a common misunderstanding that the master of Dao Venerable Hengwu was Guiyuan’s previous sect leader. Yet, neither His Venerable himself nor Sect Leader Lu ever clarified this. If such a person existed, there should be traces to find. But in reality, even in the Guiyuan Sect, it was as if this person never existed.
The Sixth Peak Master suddenly said: “The First Elder has been angry for several days now.”
“Of course, he has always been an implementer of the sect leader’s philosophy.”
“It’s just that he can’t say anything about it.”
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Translator’s Note:
Hello, everyone! My Son is a Reborn Villain is nearing ending, so I’ve prepared a replacement: Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt. For this week only, there will be daily updates, and then it will follow MSRV’s update schedule: Monday and Wednesday.
Enjoy~
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The reveal of Lu Yuandao’s existence and radical beliefs won’t have a positive effect in the short-run, but with time, people will eventually start changing their views, especially because there must be other people who also share those beliefs, but unfortunately remain silent due their non-conformist views.
Thanks for the interesting chapter! 😀