A Chaotic World

"Brother Tianzi, you are finally out!" Young Master Xuan Hao exclaimed in relief upon Lu Tianzi's return to the Timeless Flame Sect.

"The Valley of Finesse is indeed a magical place. If not for the impending Inscription Meet, I would have preferred to remain there for a while longer," Lu Tianzi replied with a smile.

"It is sacred land of our Blue Ember faction for good reason," Elder Renhao said from beside Young Master Xuan Hao.

Now that Young Master Xuan Hao was starting to treat his position of heir candidate more seriously, Xuan Qinshang had assigned Elder Renhao to accompany him whenever he left the sect, acting as his protector to make sure that everything went smoothly.

Of course, Elder Renhao usually took a back seat and allowed Young Master Xuan Hao to take charge. That was the fastest way for Young Master Xuan Hao to gain the confidence to deal with the important matters of the faction.

"The Valley of Finesse is indeed amazing," Young Master Xuan Hao said with pride.

Even though Lu Tianzi was praising the land itself, the land belonged to the Blue Ember faction, so Young Master Xuan Hao could not help but feel proud of it.

"Shall we go then?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"All right, let's not keep them waiting," Young Master Xuan Hao nodded.

Prior to this, they had already heard about the attack on Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue from the girls themselves. Since Lu Tianzi was already on his way back from the Valley of Finesse, the two arranged to meet up before heading over to the Soft Stream Clan together.

The Soft Stream Clan was located at the other end of Eternal Flame City, but the group of three were able to move much faster than Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue. It only took them less than half an hour to arrive at their destination.

When they arrived, the upper echelons of the clan were immediately notified, and the first elder showed up to greet them.

Beishen Lengyang looked to be in his sixties, and had a head full of white hair. As the First Elder of the clan, his position in the Soft Stream Clan was only below the clan leader himself. Yet even that was nothing in comparison to Young Master Xuan Hao and Elder Renhao, which was why he dared not dally in the reception of his guests.

"My apologies, Young Master Xuan Hao and Elder Renhao. We were not aware of your visit beforehand, so we failed to make the necessary preparations," Beishen Lengyang clasped his fists in greeting. "The clan leader is not around, so I hope that you won't mind this bag of old bones coming out to greet you instead."

Beishen Lengyang took a quick glance at Lu Tianzi, but quickly dismissed any thoughts of acknowledging the young man.

Since Lu Tianzi arrived at Eternal Flame City, he had never shown his face to the upper echelons of the city, so Beishen Lengyang did not recognise him at all. Seeing as to how Lu Tianzi had a lower cultivation level and was following Young Master Xuan Hao around, Beishen Lengyang simply assumed that Lu Tianzi must be one of Young Master Xuan Hao's subordinates.

"Please dispense with the pleasantries, Elder Beishen," Young Master Xuan Hao quickly replied. "I am here to look for Sister Ruan Ling. Is she around?"

"She is around indeed..." Beishen Lengyang hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Is Young Master Xuan Hao aware of what happened last night?"

"Yes, Sister Ruan Ling told me about it," Young Master Xuan Hao nodded. "It is fortunate that they are all right."

"Fortunate indeed," Beishen Lengyang agreed before continuing. "Pardon me for saying this, Young Master Xuan Hao. It is our Soft Stream Clan's fortune that you have eyes for Ling'er, so you have my full support. However, what happened last night was far too dangerous. As you said, it is out of pure luck that Ling'er managed to escape. Given that, if Ling'er is going to be unprotected from such harm, then I'd rather have her be with someone of a lower societal status instead. That way, at least she would not run the risk of losing her life for nothing!"

The atmosphere turned heavy all of a sudden.

Beishen Lengyang might have tried to say it tactfully, but it was still obvious enough that he was reprimanding Young Master Xuan Hao for having dragged Ruan Ling into troubled waters.

Elder Renhao and Lu Tianzi remained silent, turning their gazes onto Young Master Xuan Hao to see how he would react. After all, this was not something that they could interfere in.

Young Master Xuan Hao sighed in his heart.

It was difficult for him to blame Beishen Lengyang for having such a reaction, especially since he had already heard from Ruan Ling about just what kind of person Beishen Lengyang was to her.

Even though Ruan Ling was the daughter of the clan leader, her mother was not the main wife but one of the many concubines. Perhaps because of that, the clan leader had never paid her much attention since young.

Instead, she got her share of fatherly love from Beishen Lengyang, who recognised her talent early and decided to groom her as a martial artist.

When Ruan Ling decided to leave the Soft Stream Clan to join Young Master Xuan Hao and the others in their travels, Beishen Lengyang had been even more worried about her than her own mother.

Back then, she had repeatedly assured him that she would be all right. So now that she had almost died because of that decision, it was no wonder that Beishen Lengyang was feeling extremely agitated about it!

"My apologies, Elder Beishen," Young Master Xuan Hao made a deep bow. "This time was my mistake, but I will not allow such a thing to happen to Ruan Ling again."

Beishen Lengyang let out a long sigh, then continued speaking with a much softer voice. "I'm sorry if I have overstepped my boundaries, but no matter what, Ling'er is still a precious member of our Soft Stream Clan. Hopefully Young Master Xuan Hao will be true to your word and take good care of her from now on."

"I certainly will," Young Master Xuan Hao gave his assurance.

"Then I will take Young Master Xuan Hao's word for it," Beishen Lengyang replied. "That's all I have to say. Let me go inform Ling'er that you are here."

But right at this moment, a servant rushed into the room. "First Elder, we have an important guest!"

"Impudence!" Beishen Lengyang immediately shouted in reprimand. "Do you not see that I am attending to Young Master Xuan Hao and Elder Renhao from the Timeless Flame Sect? Who could be so important to make you forget all your manners?"

"Please pardon me, First Elder!" the servant immediately prostrated on the ground in fear. "But... but Senior Zheng from the Timeless Flame Sect is here!"

"Senior Zheng... Old Zheng?" Beishen Lengyang certainly did not expect to hear that.

Everyone knew that the Timeless Flame Sect was undergoing some sort of internal competition right now, where heir candidates competed among themselves for the right to inherit the reins of the ancient sect.

And among these candidates, Xuan Wen was widely seen as the hot favourite.

Be it brains or brawns, Xuan Wen was considered top tier among the younger generation of the ancient sect. His fame paled in comparison only to the genius Linye Caixia, but that was fine as well. Even though there had never been an official announcement from either of them, the two them had been largely seen as a couple, and neither had come out to deny that either.

It was no exaggeration to say that Xuan Wen had everything going for him in this fight for the position of heir.

In fact, many influences had started treating Xuan Wen with absolute reverence, almost as though he had already become the leader of the Timeless Flame Sect.

As for Old Zheng, he was Xuan Wen's loyal steward who always stood by his side and tended to the important matters for him. If Xuan Wen really inherited the position of sect master in the future, Old Zheng had a high chance of becoming the number two of the ancient sect, possessing a level of authority only lacking in comparison to the sect master himself!

Considering that, it was no wonder why the servant was so anxious.

Beishen Lengyang turned to look at Young Master Xuan Hao and Elder Renhao, who shook their heads in return.

Just like Beishen Lengyang, the two of them were clueless right now. They had absolutely no idea why Old Zheng would be here.

"Rise," Beishen Lengyang instructed the servant. "Go bring him in."

"Yes, First Elder!" the servant hurriedly got to his feet and rushed out.

"Do you wish to meet Old Zheng as well?" Beishen Lengyang asked Young Master Xuan Hao after the servant left.

Since Young Master Xuan Hao and Xuan Wen were competitors, Beishen Lengyang was afraid that the two would be antagonistic towards each other.

"I will stay," Young Master Xuan Hao gave a firm reply. "Old Zheng is always running errands for Elder Brother. Since he is here, this means that there must be something Elder Brother wants from the Soft Stream Clan. I want to hear what that is as well. If I am here, perhaps it would be easier to reject him if he goes overboard."

"I understand," Beishen Lengyang acknowledged.

Young Master Xuan Hao was right.

Beishen Lengyang had no idea why Old Zheng want from their sect, but it would be difficult for them to reject any request from Old Zheng due to his status. That being the case, having Young Master Xuan Hao around was rather assuring since he was on good terms with their Soft Stream Clan.

The four of them remained in the hall, but they did not have to wait for long before the servants escorted Old Zheng over.

Along the way, the servants had already informed Old Zheng of the presence of the group, so he was not too surprised to see them there.

"Elder Beishen, Young Master Xuan Hao, Elder Renhao, Manor Lord Lu," Old Zheng clasped his fists towards them upon his arrival.

They immediately returned the gesture, but Beishen Lengyang suddenly felt his heart jolt.

That was due to how Old Zheng addressed Lu Tianzi.

Beishen Lengyang might not have seen Lu Tianzi in person before, but as the First Elder of the Soft Stream Clan, he had definitely heard a thing or two about the upcoming Inscription Meet.

Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary young man was actually one of the two main characters of the Inscription Meet?

At this point, Beishen Lengyang was only glad that he did not say anything out of line earlier.

Of course, he was experienced enough not to let his feelings show. Instead, he quickly turned his attention back to Old Zheng, "May I know the reason behind Sir Zheng's visit to our humble clan today?"

"Elder Beishen, it is rather awkward to say this, but I am not here for your Soft Stream Clan this time," Old Zheng replied with a smile.

"Hmm? What does that mean?" Beishen Lengyang raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Old Zheng ignored Beishen Lengyang, turning towards Young Master Xuan Hao instead and raised a golden tablet in his hand. "I bring an order from the Heavenly Flame Hall. Xuan Hao of the Timeless Flame Sect, listen up!"

Upon the reveal of the gold tablet, Young Master Xuan Hao and Elder Renhao immediately widened their eyes in shock.

"The Sacred Order Tablet!" Young Master Xaun Hao dared not delay, immediately giving a deep bow in respect. "Xuan Hao of the Timeless Flame Sect heeds the command!"

"Order from the Heavenly Flame Hall!" Old Zheng announced. "Xuan Hao and Xuan Junwei of the Blue Ember faction are suspected to have tried to resolve their personal conflict through wrongful means, even going as far as abusing their authority to involve influences that are subordinate to the Timeless Flame Sect. By the order of the Heavenly Flame Hall, Xuan Hao is to return to the sect immediately to stand trial for his crime!"