Chapter 182: The Position of Huashan Sect Leader.

"Storm and gale!"

Ye Xiu's legs tore down like a torrential downpour, their momentum as fierce as a hurricane.

Even though Ji Wuli managed to react and put his hands in front of him, he could only block Ye Xiu's first kick. After the second, his arms were flung away by the force of Ye Xiu's legs. Ye Xiu's legs then rained down on Ji Wuli's chest repeatedly. Bang,

bang, bang—

in an instant, Ye Xiu lost count of how many kicks he had delivered, almost all landing on Ji Wuli.

Ji Wuli was sent flying by Ye Xiu's kick, gushing blood as he did so, as if he were transforming into a human sprayer.

After Ji Wuli fell to the ground, he tried to struggle a few times, but Ye Xiu's blows were too powerful and his attacks too frequent. His thoracic vertebrae and ribs were shattered, and his heart and other internal organs, which his ribs and thoracic vertebrae had been protecting, were shattered by Ye Xiu's barrage of kicks.

Finally, Ji Wuli, unable to struggle to stand up, pulled out his abacus with great effort, only to find it twisted and deformed. He tried to fiddle with it, but the completely broken abacus was impossible to move.

"What a huge loss, what a huge loss!" Ji Wuli uttered these words, and then he was completely exhausted.

But even though Ji Wuli was no longer breathing, his eyes were still wide open, as if accusing the Songshan Sect of offering too low a price.

After all, the information given by the Songshan Sect stated that Ye Xiu was only an innate master, but Ye Xiu was a fourth-level Grandmaster. If he had known that Ye Xiu was so powerful, he would never have simply increased the original price by ten times, he would have increased it by a hundred times.

After Ye Xiu kicked Ji Wuli to death, he looked at Ji Wuli's body and felt a little excited.

It's not that Ye Xiu is a murderer, it's just that it was a rare encounter for Ye Xiu to encounter an opponent with equal fighting power. Although he only managed to kill the opponent under the guidance of the Tianshan Child-Grandma, Ye Xiu still found this battle very satisfying.

"Ye boy, you know quite a few martial arts." The Tianshan Child-Grandma said this as she watched Ji Wuli being killed by Ye Xiu's Wind God Kick. "But you're really too stupid. You're obviously stronger than Ji Wuli, and you know more powerful martial arts than Ji Wuli, but your fighting power is actually not as strong as Ji Wuli. If I hadn't been here to guide you, you would have been killed by him in a short while."

"Well, I think internal cultivation is very important, so I put most of my energy into it. I haven't fought against others much and have no combat experience," Ye Xiu explained.

"Hmph!" Tianshan Child-Grandma sneered, "You only possess a certain realm, but you can't display the corresponding strength. Sooner or later, you'll be beaten to death in the martial arts world."

Ye Xiu didn't take Tianshan Child-Grandma's words seriously. After all, his situation was unique. His cultivation had increased so rapidly that he hadn't had time to accumulate combat experience.

He couldn't just ignore his daily diary, giving up the month's worth of internal cultivation it granted, and then toil away in battle to accumulate combat experience. That would truly be a waste of time.

Moreover, Ye Xiu was also quite confused by Ji Wuli's appearance. "This Ji Wuli is an assassin, hired by someone to kill me, but I don't remember having any enemies. Who would have invested so much money to hire a Grandmaster-level assassin to kill me?" "

You don't know, so I, a Grandma, don't know even more. But there are only a few reasons why someone would hire an assassin to kill you. One is an enemy: you have an enemy, and that person is no match for you, so they hire an assassin to kill you. The other is that your existence is an obstacle to certain people or forces, so they want you dead. Ultimately, it's hatred and profit. If you don't have any enemies, then it's only profit that's driving them."

"Profit?" Ye Xiu pondered after hearing Tianshan Tonglao's words.

First, hatred. Ye Xiu had only been in the martial arts world for a short time, and he didn't have any grudges. At least, he didn't think he would provoke an enemy of such magnitude that would hire an assassin to kill him.

Of course, it's also possible that this enemy wasn't provoked by Ye Xiu, but by someone close to him.

For example, Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, or even Murong Qiudi, or even an enemy of the woman still unconscious. Was Ye Xiu close to them, and was the other party, out of hatred for him, sending assassins to kill him?

Besides these speculations, there was also the issue of self-interest.

Thinking of self-interest, Ye Xiu's first thought was the Huashan Sect.

Ye Xiu was incredibly important to the Huashan Sect. So, was there someone who didn't want to see the Huashan Sect flourish, and so wanted to kill him to hinder its development?

As Ye Xiu pondered this, a sect immediately came to mind: the Songshan Sect!

The Songshan Sect had always wanted to merge the Five Mountains Sword Sects and elevate them to a level similar to Shaolin and Wudang. Or perhaps, to the level of the Shaolin and Wudang branches of the Ming Empire.

If it weren't for Ye Xiu, given the Huashan Sect's situation, and assuming Yue Buqun didn't practice the Exorcism Sword Manual, the Five Mountains Sword Sects might have truly merged into one.

Now, thanks to Ye Xiu, the Huashan Sect has established a certain level of ties with the Sun Moon Sect and even the Yihua Palace. Crucially, thanks to Ye Xiu, the Huashan Sect has become an ally of the Wudang Sect, and this Wudang Sect isn't just a branch, but its headquarters. This has left the Songshan Sect in disbelief.

Therefore, it seems only natural that the Songshan Sect would seek someone to assassinate Ye Xiu.

Of course, all of this is Ye Xiu's own speculation, but even if it's just speculation, Ye Xiu already wants to eliminate the Songshan Sect.

After all, when Ye Xiu was still relatively weak, he was once assassinated by Songshan Sect members. He was not only hunted by a ninth-level Xiantian expert, but later by the Grandmaster-level Whiteboard Evil Star. If Dongfang Bubai hadn't intervened, he would have perished at the hands of Whiteboard Evil Star.

Now, Ye Xiu's strength has increased, and he believes that his own strength is at least as strong as Zuo Lengchan. Another point is that Ye Xiu and Dongfang Bubai have become open with each other.

Ye Xiu could easily leverage the power of Dongfang Bubai, or perhaps the Sun Moon Sect, to target the Songshan Sect.

Thinking this, a fierce glint flashed in Ye Xiu's eyes.

He wanted to annihilate the Songshan Sect, just as he had done with the Qingcheng Sect.

The previous Qingcheng Sect destruction fueled Ye Xiu's resentment, leading him to this decision.

Meanwhile, the Songshan Sect, or rather, Le Hou, one of the Thirteen Guardians of the Songshan Sect and responsible for contacting Ji Wuli, was still wondering if Ji Wuli could kill Ye Xiu before Dongfang Bubai and Yao Yue arrived.

If Ye Xiu were killed by Ji Wuli, would Ji Wuli be able to escape Dongfang Bubai and Yao Yue's pursuit?

Le Hou pondered over the details of his hiring of Ji Wuli, searching for any loopholes. He didn't want to let anyone know that the Songshan Sect was behind the plot. He also didn't want Dongfang Bubai and Yao Yue to suspect him of the Songshan Sect.

However, Le Hou could not have imagined that although Ye Xiu did not know that Ji Wuli was hired by the Songshan Sect, Ye Xiu had already planned to wipe out the Songshan Sect.

Sometimes, for people in the martial arts world, whether there is evidence or not is not important. What is important is that the other party has that suspicion in his heart. Once he has made up his mind, then whether there is evidence or not is not important at all.

...

Under the escort of Tianshan Tonglao, Ye Xiu quickly returned to Huayin County.

Then Ye Xiu met Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze and others who hurriedly came down from Huashan Mountain, wanting to look for Ye Xiu.

"Master, Master's Wife!" Ye Xiu hurriedly greeted Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze after

seeing them. Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze also breathed a sigh

of relief after seeing Ye Xiu. "Xiu'er, you are back? That's really great. By the way, what about the Jade Rakshasa Lian Nishang? Did she do anything to you? How did you escape from her?" Yue Buqun asked impatiently.

Seeing Yue Buqun caring about him so much, Ye Xiu felt a little warm in his heart.

Even though Yue Buqun now smelled strongly of rouge, even though Ye Xiu faintly noticed a layer of rouge on his face, even though Ye Xiu noticed his lips were redder than before, and even though Ye Xiu noticed his voice had become a bit sharper,

at least Yue Buqun's concern for him remained unchanged. He still regarded Ye Xiu as the best person to carry forward the Huashan Sect.

In fact, despite castrating himself to practice the Exorcism Sword Manual, Yue Buqun didn't become a hypocrite as depicted in the original novel. Instead, he showed signs of transforming into a self-castrated version of Dongfang Bubai.

With Ye Xiu as the future of the Huashan Sect, Yue Buqun no longer needed to be so calculating. After castrating himself, Yue Buqun spent most of his time in seclusion in his secret room, never venting. Later, he even had a house built in a deserted area of Huashan and moved in.

It was as if Yue Buqun had entered a state of seclusion.

Yue Buqun lived alone every day. His room was furnished with a dressing table, a bronze mirror, rouge and powder, and even a collection of brightly colored clothes.

Furthermore, Yue Buqun seemed to have found a leisurely lifestyle. He even planted some flowers and plants in his living area, and besides dressing himself, he spent his days tending to them. His life was truly comfortable.

Therefore, within the Huashan Sect, most of the time, the only person the disciples saw was Ning Zhongze, and the only one who taught them martial arts was Ning Zhongze.

Gradually, the Huashan disciples grew accustomed to this situation and no longer cared about Yue Buqun's constant absences.

So, this time, upon hearing the news that Ye Xiu had been abducted, Yue Buqun personally descended the mountain, a sign of his deep appreciation for Ye Xiu.

"Master, I was saved by Senior Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan Mountain," Ye Xiu explained.

"Senior Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan Mountain?" Yue Buqun frowned. He hadn't seen any senior?

Before him, there was only Ye Xiu and a cute little girl who looked about eight or nine.

"Xiu'er, since Senior Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan, saved you, why didn't you send her to Huashan so that the Huashan Sect could express its gratitude?" Yue Buqun thought Ye Xiu was being a bit rude.

"Um, Master, this is Senior Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan." Ye Xiu's expression was slightly subtle, and he offered Wu Xingyun the seat beside him.

Yue Buqun stared at Wu Xingyun in bewilderment, then at Ye Xiu, then back at Wu Xingyun again, almost wondering if he had misheard.

It wasn't just Yue Buqun; Ning Zhongze, Yue Lingshan, and the others were all stunned.

Just moments earlier, Yue Lingshan had nearly embraced Wu Xingyun, who looked like an eight or nine-year-old girl, and so adorable.

Clearly, Yue Lingshan had no resistance to such an adorable human child.

It was at this moment that Yue Lingshan realized that the adorable human child, the little girl she'd wanted to pick up and give a good squeeze, was actually Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan. This caught her off guard.

"You, you are—" Yue Buqun's voice, barely concealing its presence, became sharp, almost piercing.

"Shut up!" The Child-Grandmother of Tianshan frowned, interrupting him. "Grandmother, I am Wu Xingyun, the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan. I rescued Ye Xiu simply to make a deal with him. Now that I've returned him, the deal is complete. Ye boy, Grandmother is leaving!"

As soon as the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan finished her words, she immediately unleashed her Qing Gong skills, vanishing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

Everyone was still a little stunned by her departure.

However, Yue Buqun and the others were certain that the eight or nine-year-old girl was indeed the Child-Grandmother of Tianshan; otherwise, her Qing Gong skills wouldn't be so exceptional.

"Ahem, now that Xiu'er has returned safely, let's return to the mountain." Yue Buqun coughed dryly twice, disguising his voice once more.

Ye Xiu then followed the others back to the Huashan Mountain Gate.

Unlike the others, Lin Pingzhi looked at Ye Xiu with a look of surprise.

Initially, Lin Pingzhi hadn't believed Ye Xiu's life was in any danger after being captured by Lian Nishang, but he hadn't expected Ye Xiu to escape so quickly.

Even more surprising was that the eight or nine-year-old girl was actually the Child-Lao of Tianshan Mountain, so powerful she could rescue Ye Xiu from Lian Nishang's clutches.

Thinking back to how the Child-Lao had blocked their path on their return, Lin Pingzhi wondered if perhaps she, too, had some feelings for Ye Xiu.

He glanced at Ye Xiu's handsome face, still finding it a bit unbelievable.

Speaking of which, he, Lin Pingzhi, was quite good-looking. Back in Fujian, everyone in the surrounding area praised his good looks.

Yet, when it came to women, he was far inferior to Ye Xiu.

...

"Master, Madam Master. On my way back, I encountered the Child-Father of Tianshan. Her goal was to obtain the Divine Illumination Sutra... Later, I encountered a killer who called himself Ji Wuli..."

After returning to Huashan, when the other disciples had left and only Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze remained, Ye Xiu began to recount his experiences. He

focused primarily on the Child-Father of Tianshan, Lian

Nishang, and later, Ji Wuli. Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were more amazed by the Child-Father of Tianshan

and Lian Nishang, amused by their appearance and by Lian Nishang's desire to take Ye Xiu away to become her husband. However, when Ye Xiu mentioned the killer, Ji Wuli, who wanted to kill him, their expressions grew serious.

Ye Xiu also shared his analysis with Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze.

After listening to Ye Xiu's analysis, Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were silent for a moment. Yue Buqun looked at Ye Xiu and asked, "Xiu'er, how strong are you now?"

"Disciple..." Ye Xiu paused, "Disciple has broken through the Xiantian realm and successfully advanced to the Grandmaster realm."

With Yue Buqun so impressed, Ye Xiu couldn't hide the truth from him any further. He simply stated that he was a Grandmaster, but didn't elaborate on the specific level.

"Hiss!!!" Yue Buqun's eyes widened, and he gasped, staring at Ye Xiu in disbelief. "Xiu'er, you, you've already broken through to the Grandmaster level?"

"Yes, Master!" Ye Xiu nodded.

"Hahaha, good, good, good! That's wonderful, Xiu'er, you really haven't let me down, Master. The hope of the Huashan Sect truly rests with you. Xiu'er, you, you, you are now fully capable of carrying the banner of the Huashan Sect." Yue Buqun was overcome with emotion. "Master,

you're too kind. The Huashan Sect still needs your support. I'm still too young and immature," Ye Xiu said quickly.

"No, Xiu'er, your master, your master, my situation - you should have discovered that my current situation is no longer suitable for me to continue to serve as the head of the Huashan Sect. Originally, I thought that your cultivation level was not enough, so you could only continue to be the head of the Huashan Sect. However, I handed over many affairs of the Huashan Sect to my junior sister to handle, and hid myself behind the scenes. Even so, I was still worried that my situation would be discovered. Now, since you, Xiu'er, are already a master, then the position of the head of the Huashan Sect will be directly handed over to you to inherit." Yue Buqun was very generous in handing over the position of the head of the Huashan Sect to Ye Xiu.

Looking at Yue Buqun's serious eyes, Ye Xiu knew that Yue Buqun actually wanted to step down as the head of the Huashan Sect.

But Ye Xiu still felt that it was a bit too sudden. How could his master suddenly become so, so indifferent to fame and fortune?

"Brother, don't be too hasty. Give Xiu'er some time. After all, you suddenly announced that you wanted Xiu'er to be the leader, and he probably hasn't reacted yet. Give Xiu'er some time to adjust," Ning Zhongze said from the side.

"Yes, I was indeed a little too hasty." Yue Buqun nodded. "Then, Xiu'er, you should adjust first."

"Yes, Master," Ye Xiu nodded quietly.

"But what about Ji Wuli and the Songshan Sect? Xiu'er, what are your plans?" Yue Buqun said, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

"Disciple wants to make the Songshan Sect like the Qingcheng Sect," Ye Xiu said calmly.

"Okay, Xiu'er, you have such a decisive idea. That's good, very good. I'm relieved to leave the Huashan Sect to you in the future." Yue Buqun looked at Ye Xiu with great satisfaction, expressing his complete agreement with Ye Xiu's idea.

Yue Buqun felt that making Ye Xiu the next leader of the Huashan Sect was a truly excellent choice.

Ye Xiu was far superior to Linghu Chong,

both in terms of internal cultivation and in terms of character and personality.

Compared to his eldest disciple Linghu Chong, Ye Xiu was simply better.

Yue Buqun thought of Linghu Chong and suddenly remembered that Linghu Chong had left Huashan Sect for quite some time and no news had come back.

However, this thought flashed through Yue Buqun's mind.

Linghu Chong? Forget it. Ye Xiu was still more important.