Chapter 78 Chapter 78: The Old Celestial Master
Chapter 78: The Old Celestial Master
"A guest?"
Kevin looked up. The moment the old man walked in, their gazes met instantly.
One was clear, kind, and gentle; the other was calm and indifferent.
"My sudden visit to your esteemed residence is rather intrusive. I hope you can forgive the disturbance."
The old man wore a smile on his face. At least for now, he had not come with hostility.
Before Kevin could respond, a figure instantly emerged from a door outlined in ink beside the courtyard wall.
"It's you!"
Xi wore a displeased expression, only slightly better than when she had faced Sui before, but not by much.
"We meet again, Miss Xi."
The old man nodded to her, as if not surprised that she had settled here.
"Hah, who wants to see you again? So, how many paintings are you planning to burn this time?"
Xi sneered, her tone revealing a hint of indifference. After all, she couldn't stop him; being powerless against someone naturally put her in a passive position.
"Miss Xi need not worry about that. This old man is not an unreasonable person."
The old man smiled, not minding Xi's sarcasm.
"You? Reasonable?"
"Mhm."
"Tsk, after all these years guarding the frontier, the Old Celestial Master's skin has been thickened quite a bit by the wind and sand."
Xi recalled that scene from back then.
He had forcefully burned through the scroll painting, incinerating the landscape before him, and dragged her out. She didn't even know who she had offended to be scolded out of nowhere.
"So Xi knows this old gentleman. It seems... their relationship isn't very good."
Fiammetta hesitated a bit. The atmosphere between the two was really not friendly; they didn't seem like friends, more like adversaries with a past grievance.
"Mhm."
Kevin nodded.
She could actually completely remove the word "seems."
"Hahaha, you flatter me. But Miss Xi can rest assured, this visit is not for you."
The Old Celestial Master believed that when he wasn't angry, he was still quite amiable.
"Oh? Which unlucky soul has caught your eye this time?"
"The purpose of this trip is that this old man was entrusted by the Grand Tutor to come find this Mr. Kevin."
The Old Celestial Master shifted his gaze. The sneer on Xi's face stiffened. So, didn't that mean the unlucky soul she mentioned was...?
It's fine, Kevin probably won't mind... right?
"I believe we have never met before."
"It's not too late to get acquainted now."
——————
The two sat facing each other, each with a cup of hot tea beside them.
Xi sat bored on top of the courtyard wall, not wanting to get closer. There was no helping it; she couldn't afford to offend either of them, so it was better to do less and make fewer mistakes.
"Old Mr. Li should have met you once before. He is the Grand Tutor of our Great Yan."
"So that's how it is."
Kevin remembered that old man from before; his presence was indeed extraordinary.
"As for why he asked me to come, it's because your deeds are too... astonishing. Well, this old man rarely uses that word anymore."
He sighed with emotion; he had seen quite a lot during his many years beyond the frontier.
But the intelligence report sent by the Grand Tutor was truly enough to move one deeply.
"So the Grand Tutor asked this old man, who was rotated off the defense line, to find some time to come and... test you."
The Old Celestial Master had no intention of hiding anything and spoke quite honestly.
When one gets old and has stayed beyond the frontier for so many years, one can't play those convoluted games. Moreover, if that intelligence report is true...
For people at their level, deception is even more meaningless.
"That's understandable."
Kevin nodded, appearing quite tolerant. If anything, he was surprised the other side had come so late.
"Mr. Kevin is truly a reasonable person."
The Old Celestial Master's expression relaxed slightly as he smiled.
"So, how will the test be conducted?"
This direct way of getting to the point made the Old Celestial Master appreciate him even more.
"Naturally, in the simplest way."
"Combat?"
"Exactly."
"Agreed."
This was a necessary action if he wanted to live peacefully in Great Yan.
Although Kevin didn't say it, he was actually quite satisfied with the peaceful life of the past year and had no intention of letting this comfort be broken, at least not for a very long time to come.
A single battle in exchange for long-lasting peace—this deal was very worthwhile.
"Then let us use this teacup as the arena, how about that?"
He picked up a clean teacup and poured tea into it. The clear green tea reflected in Kevin's pupils gradually took on a hue of fiery red and gold.
Rumble! Boom!
Awe-inspiring thunder techniques descended like divine punishment, igniting the earth. Fierce flames blazingly lit up the sky, seemingly echoing the divine thunder from the highest heavens.
Inverting thunder and fire, all evil is eradicated.
Through the tea water, Xi seemed to see once again her painting that had been set ablaze back then, those mountains and rivers reduced to ashes. That sense of powerlessness surged in her heart once more.
Crack—
A strange phenomenon suddenly arose. Under Xi's astonished gaze, a surge of frigid coldness flowed upstream like a beast pouncing and biting at those flames. The two forces pressed against each other, but the flames were forced to retreat step by step by those pitch-black ice pillars.
The divine thunder raged! Clouds churned, the vast might of heaven rumbled loudly, about to bring down punishment upon this thing that dared to offend.
Clang—
A great sword left its sheath. A scorching sword light shattered the dense divine thunder first, then fiercely cleaved towards the sky!
In an instant, clouds dispersed and flames vanished!
Victory and defeat were decided.
Drip drip drip—
At this very moment, the tea happened to be poured exactly seven-tenths full.
When others looked again, where was that magnificent spectacle?
It was just an ordinary cup of tea.
Everything was like a mirage, an illusion...
"Mr. Kevin has won. This old man's bones are indeed no longer useful."
The Old Celestial Master pushed that cup filled seven-tenths full towards Kevin's direction.
"You were gracious."
Kevin calmly picked up that teacup and took a small sip.
The other party choosing this method of testing was indeed beyond his expectations—not affecting commoners or cities. Truly worthy of being Great Yan's Celestial Master.
"Ah... Thank you, young lady."
Compared to Xi who stood there dumbfounded, Fiammetta, being an ordinary person, was not affected at all. She knew something might have happened but couldn't truly "see" it.
However, that didn't stop her from refilling tea for both of them, right?
The Old Celestial Master smiled and nodded, drank the tea in one gulp, and stood up.
"Mr. Kevin, I assure you that from now on, no one from Great Yan's court will trouble you. But... could this old man make a small request?"
"Speak."
"When circumstances still allow it: do not harm our Great Yan's common people; do not disturb our people's peace; do not collude with evil spirits and myriad demons. How about it?"
"Agreed."
Kevin nodded, agreeing to the Old Celestial Master's request.
"Good. This old man believes Mr. Kevin will not go back on his word. Then I shall take my leave now."
The Old Celestial Master could tell that someone with Kevin's character would keep his word firmly. This more or less gave him and Great Yan some reassurance.
"No need to see me out. This old man's body is still sturdy."
He dissuaded Fiammetta who wanted to see him off. With his hands behind his back, he walked out of the main gate alone.
Outside the gate, he stood for a long time.
"Cough... In the end, I am old after all. Troubled times indeed..."
On the sleeve covering his mouth appeared a conspicuous patch of bright red. He couldn't help but sigh, then smiled freely.
Since it was a test, how could one not pay a little price?
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