Ninth In the World

Panda Novel

Sect Master Liu Taishang and all the peak masters, deacons and elders were gathered in the Galaxy Sect’s meeting hall. The last time everyone had been present at a meeting had been when Qi Zhishang had caused some trouble among the Galaxy Sect three years ago.

Although Liu Musheng was only a Grand Elder, he was the Essence Soul Ancestor of the Galaxy Sect, so sometimes his power was even greater than Sect Master Xiang Tianyi’s.

The atmosphere in the Sect Hall was a bit gloomy, as all the peak masters and elders were sitting silently. Grand Elder Liu Musheng eventually broke this repressed silence. “The incident that took place three years ago has been investigated. Di Jiu and Geng Jihua caused harm to sect disciples Ouyang Tao and Qiao Sa, ignored common morality, and disregarded the rules of our sect just to get cultivation resources such as Spirit Stones. On behalf of the Galaxy Sect, I have made the decision to expel disciples Di Jiu and Geng Jihua from the Galaxy Sect and issue a wanted order.”

The peak masters and elders in the main hall looked at Sect Master Xiang Tianyi, who had decided that, even if the entire sect was killed, he would never banish Di Jiu and Geng Jihua. In the face of the oppression of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building, the death of the Galaxy Sect was imminent.

Xiang Tianyi would definitely stand up and oppose Liu Musheng’s decision. In fact, most of the peak masters and elders of the Galaxy Sect would support Xiang Tianyi. If a sect had no backbone, there was no need for it to even exist.

However, the elders and peak masters there could also understand Grand Elder Liu Musheng’s decision. It was rumored that, out of all the Essence Soul Ancestors that had gone out, only one had returned.

This was not the key to Liu Musheng’s decision, though. News of the collapse of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building had been reported everywhere. Who would dare destroy a branch of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building? The whole Polar Night Continent speculated that Di Jiu had been that daring guy.

Even though Di Jiu had disguised himself as a white-haired old man and there had been no news of Geng Jihua, anyone with a brain would suspect Di Jiu. Otherwise, the Galaxy Sect would not suddenly be investigating the reason Ouyang Tao had been killed three years ago.

Of course, this did not rule out the remaining enemies of the Qi Family. The Qi Family’s Commercial Building handled matters in a certain way. As long as there was any suspicion, it would attack. Although it seemed plausible that Di Jiu had robbed the Qi Family’s Commercial Building in the Marsh Ocean Town, it did not make sense that the other building had also been destroyed by him.

Many people said that the fact that the Qi Family had put out wanted posters everywhere in order to capture Di Jiu would make Di Jiu want to rob their buildings even more. However, the Qi Family did not buy that.

What puzzled everyone was that Xiang Tianyi had not taken a stance against this or said anything.

If Sect Master Xiang Tianyi did not speak out, then the rest of the elders and peak masters would naturally not speak out either.

Liu Taishang obviously had to do more than just expel Di Jiu and Geng Jihua. When no one objected, he added, “Sect Master Xiang Tianyi is too indulgent with the sect’s disciples. I suggest that Xiang Tianyi gives up his position as sect master and gets replaced by Elder He Hui. This is not a glorious, praiseworthy decision. When Elder He Hui takes over as sect master, we need to inform the major sects of the Polar Night Continent. Does anyone have any objections to this?”

“I don’t agree.” Peak Masters He Lianfeng and Wu Zhenzhen stood up without hesitation. “Xiang Tianyi has contributed a lot to the sect. Only he can lead our sect to a better place.”

“I don’t agree either…”

After Wu Zhenzhen, several elders and peak masters also stood up and objected.

Xiang Tianyi did not wait for Liu Musheng to speak. He immediately stood up and said, “When I took over the sect, I did not help it become more prosperous. I even caused the sect to become a second-rate sect in the Polar Night Continent. Lately, I’ve caused several Golden Core Elders to die and gotten the sect in big trouble. I agree with Liu Taishang. I need to withdraw from my position as sect master, leave the sect and go out for a test trial.”

Even Xiang Tianyi agreed. Although everyone knew that the sect’s troubles were not connected to him, all they could do was remain silent.

Many people believed that the Galaxy Sect was very likely to disappear. As former Sect Master Xiang Tianyi had just said, removing the Galaxy Sect from the Qi Family’s black list could perhaps help their sect regain its vigor.

…

“Brother Jiu, the North Ridge City is so big! We have come such a long way. I’ve never seen a bigger cultivation city than the North Ridge City. It’s no wonder that the northern province headquarters of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building are going to be built here…” Geng Jihua, who was disguised as a stray cultivator, could not help but remark as he looked at the majestic North Ridge City.

Di Jiu, who was disguised as a teenager, looked kind of young now.

After a year of wandering around the world, Di Jiu had managed to refine middle-grade dharma weapons. He’d had to put on a disguise every day, so his disguising techniques were also superb.

Starting from the Marsh Ocean Town, he had taken out four commercial buildings in a month with Geng Jihua’s help. However, after destroying four branches of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building in one month, Di Jiu had not destroyed any more of their buildings for a year. He had not stopped destroying the Qi Family’s buildings because he had given up, but because he planned on taking on an even bigger task. He would destroy the northern province headquarters of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building in the North Ridge City.

Although he was not a fifth-level array formation master, he could easily arrange a fourth-level Dharma Array at will. His cultivation level had jumped from the fourth-level Foundation Establishment to the sixth-level Foundation Establishment.

Geng Jihua, who was also at the fourth-level Foundation Establishment, owned a giant axe and a handful of thunder swords, so even a normal person who had perfected the Foundation Establishment would not necessarily be a worthy opponent.

“Ha ha! The North Ridge City is the northern province hometown of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building. The Qi Family’s Essence Soul scoundrel is not dead. He’s here. Aren’t you afraid?” Di Jiu smiled.

“The two of us have destroyed four of the Qi Family’s Commercial Buildings,” Geng Jihua said dismissively. “Plus, as you’ve said, the most dangerous place is actually the safest. Who is the guy who followed us and destroyed three of the Qi Family’s Commercial Buildings?”

During that first month, Di Jiu and Geng Jihua had eliminated four branches of the Qi Family’s Commercial Buildings consecutively. Meanwhile, three more branches had been destroyed. People saw that a total of seven buildings had been destroyed and blamed them all on Di Jiu’s alter ego, the white-haired old man. Only Di Jiu and Geng Jihua knew that they actually had only destroyed four buildings.

“Not bad. There has been some progress. This time, we are not here for our safety. I will stay at the Heaven Spine Rest Building while you go out and ask around for information. Then, you will tell me everything you’ve heard. You don’t need to worry about whether the person who destroyed the other three buildings is going to blame more crimes on us. According to a famous saying, the enemy of our enemy is our friend.” Di Jiu was deliberately asking Geng Jihua to do some things on the sly.

During the past year, Di Jiu’s influence had ensured that Geng Jihua was no longer a pure boy. Although he was not that bad, he was much more flexible than he used to be.

Geng Jihua used the very words that Di Jiu had used to educate him. “We do not repay grudges with justice. We pay evil with evil and good with good. If you don’t repay the good, then you are a beast. If you don’t repay the evil, you deserve to be looked down upon. If someone respects you, you should respect them just as much. If someone harms you, why not pay them back in their own coin?”

In Geng Jihua’s opinion, Brother Jiu had not paid back the same amount of evil. They had gone to the trouble of destroying four branches of the Qi Family’s Commercial Building, so even if Brother Jiu had not told him why they had come to the North Ridge City, he could guess that he wanted to destroy the Qi Family’s headquarters there.

They had also killed several Golden Core cultivators on the way, but they had all lived in small towns. The Essence Soul Ancestor lived in the North Ridge City. When he thought about fighting against an Essence Soul Ancestor, Geng Jihua’s heart started beating fast.

…

Before he entered the North Ridge City, Di Jiu had inquired about it. The Heaven Spine Rest Building was one of the three most luxurious buildings in the city and the only luxurious building that did not belong to the Qi Family.

Nowadays, Di Jiu had more than 100,000 Spirit Stones on his body and even more middle-grade and low-grade Spirit Stones, so he naturally wanted to stay at a luxurious building in the North Ridge City.

It was not a holiday, so there were many vacant rooms. Di Jiu immediately checked out a large suite and booked it for a month.

As soon as he entered the room, he began to arrange a Defense Array. The building was really big, but the guests were qualified to arrange their own killing arrays.

By the time Di Jiu finished arranging the Defense Array, Geng Jihua, who had gone to inquire about information, had also returned to the building.

“Brother Jiu, I just heard some bad news…” he said with a panicked expression as soon as he walked in.

Di Jiu waved his hand and said calmly, “No need to panic. We will just be reincarnated if we die, so why be scared?”

Geng Jihua came back to his senses. Di Jiu did not know how many times he had told him to remain calm on the road. Only when one kept their calm could they handle things with ease.

Geng Jihua’s biggest advantage was that he learned fast, so even if he did not remember something the first time, he would definitely remember it the second time. After calming down, he said, “Brother Jiu, I just heard that the Galaxy Sect kicked us out. They also dismissed the sect master and put out a wanted order on us.”

Although he noticed that Di Jiu was not surprised, he could not help but ask, “Aren’t you surprised, Brother Jiu?”

Di Jiu sat down and smiled. “Why would I be? I expected this. I’d be surprised if the Galaxy Sect didn’t kick us out.”

He had disguised as a white-haired old man to destroy four of the Qi Family’s Commercial Buildings, or rather seven of them. Even if the Qi Family did not find evidence of his work, he would still remain the primary suspect.

“Are you saying that the Qi Family has guessed that we were behind the attacks, Brother Jiu? Then why do we need to disguise ourselves?” Geng Jihua asked in amazement.

“They might have guessed that we did it, but we must still not let them find evidence,” Di Jiu explained. “The Galaxy Sect has also guessed that we might have had something to do with this. If they did not kick us out, they would die. The entire Galaxy Sect has desperately resisted the Qi Family’s Commercial Building in the past, but they had a reason to do so. If the Galaxy Sect fights the Qi Family to the death now, it will only be exterminated.”

“Now that the sect expelled us, even if the Qi Family wants to destroy them, they must first catch us and get evidence. If we are not caught, then the Galaxy Sect will remain safe. ”

“What do we do now?”

“Tread carefully and look for an opportunity while we cultivate. We do not have to worry about the sect’s issues.”