THIS SHIZUN'S DISCIPLE HAD NO MANNERS

Without exchanging even a single word with each other, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning rushed to the back mountain. The ominous aura full of resentment that leaked out of the ancient barrier rift was unmistakable. Chu Wanning gritted his teeth in anger. Just how many rifts must they suffer from in this lifetime??? Why did it seem that the ancient barrier was even weaker this time around???

The culprit might not even need the spiritual power of five elements to rip it open!

Chu Wanning threw his disciple a look.

Well, thankfully Mo Ran was around.

Mo Ran mended the last heavenly rift in Butterfly Town alone when Chu Wanning was in seclusion for five years.

Together, they could do it.

Warm feelings flooded Chu Wanning's heart. The relief over having Mo Ran by his side agitated him, but it was the source of endless comfort. It was good to know that he was no longer the only barrier expert in the cultivation realm.

The heavy burden that he shouldered alone for so many years had been split in half.

Mo Ran had turned a new leaf, his contribution to the cultivation realm did not go unnoticed.

Once the pair of shizun and disciple arrived, ghosts and demons were pouring out incessantly of the small crack just above the ground.

"..."

Just above the ground?

Chu Wanning furrowed his brows.

This was the first time Chu Wanning discovered such a conveniently positioned crack. He mended hundreds of such cracks in two lifetimes, and the location of said cracks had always been above the ground level.

"Shizunnn!!!"

Xue Meng turned his head once he caught sight of his shizun's silhouette. Xue Meng and Shi Mei stood in front of the crack with the full intention to block and also mend the rift.

Unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by a horde of ghosts and demons that kept coming through the crack.

In the end, instead of mending the barrier, they ended up exhausting their power to protect themselves from said evil entities instead. If Chu Wanning and Mo Ran arrived a little later, the two of them would lose their lives within the next few minutes.

"Tianwen!" Chu Wanning roared.

The golden willow vine burst forth from his palm.

"Mo Ran, ten thousand coffins!!!" he shouted a command to his other disciple while he slashed at what ghosts and demons that tried to take a bite at Xue Meng and Shi Mei.

"Wanning!" Mo Ran shouted before his own weapon took shape, the same willow vine as Chu Wanning's, albeit bathed in bright red light instead.

"......"

Chu Wanning glared at the insolent disciple who dared to address him that way.

Was Mo Ran sick in the head? Was he thinking about their past life together? Could he not focus for one minute?

Maybe Chu Wanning overestimated him.

Mo Ran, Taxian-Jun, both of them were incorrigible by nature!

Aware of the cold glares that were cast in his direction, Mo Ran kept his eyes lowered.

"Ten Thousand Coffins!" he shouted, following Chu Wanning's command.

A loud thundering sound resonated through the air as the ground vibrated dangerously. Soon afterward, mighty willow trees burst forth from beneath the ground, their thick protruding roots splitting up and revealing the hollow parts inside. The sudden appearance of the willow trees was enough to alarm the ghosts and demons.

Alas, it was too late to escape. The shrieking underworld creatures were quickly and mercilessly captured and locked inside their coffins.

One Mo Ran alone was enough to contain the escaping ghosts and demons.

Chu Wanning heaved a sigh of relief. Thanks to Mo Ran, Chu Wanning was able to focus on sealing the rift.

Without further ado, the man then grabbed both of his other disciples with one hand each and threw them behind him to the ground.

"Scram!" he shouted without turning his head. It was directed not only at Xue Meng and Shi Mei, but also at the other disciples who wanted to help but were too scared to come close.

Tianwen disappeared, replaced by the golden sword Huaisha. Chu Wanning raised the sword horizontally in front of him with one hand and pressed the other hand against its blade.

Soft light poured out of his palms as Chu Wanning chanted the sealing incantation in a low voice.

"Shizun!!!"

Xue Meng rose to his feet right away.

"Shizun, please let me help!!!"

Without waiting for Chu Wanning to reply, he swished his prized saber, Longcheng, around his shizun to keep him safe.

Shi Mei too quickly stood up. "I will cast a barrier around us," he volunteered.

Focused on his effort to seal the rift, Chu Wanning did not utter any word of response. Xue Meng slashed at the insolent ghosts that dared to approach them while Shi Mei maintained the water barrier that he conjured around them.

Behind them, Mo Ran slashed left and right without much difficulty.

The terror soon ebbed away, turning both Xue Meng's and Shi Mei's knees weak. They dropped to the ground like rag dolls.

"Young Master Xue!"

"Shixiong-men!"

Now that the danger had passed, the cowardly disciples came forward to help. Crying and laughing at the same time from relief, their shaking bodies bore witness to their trepidation.

Chu Wanning eyed them one by one.

He did not know them.

All of these were the disciples that Sisheng Peak recruited after the Heavenly Rift incident. So many lives were lost that day. Only a few lived to tell the story.

"Shizun."

Chu Wanning looked up at Mo Ran, who gave him a placating smile while sheathing his sword.

"En."

Huaisha disappeared from Chu Wanning's hand. He approached Xue Meng and Shi Mei on the ground.

"Are you badly hurt?"

The two men shook their heads at the same time. There were only some minor scrape and slash wounds around their bodies. The amount made it seem more serious than it actually was.

"N-no."

"En. Go and treat your wounds first."

Xue Meng and Shi Mei left with the other disciples, while Chu Wanning and Mo Ran stayed behind.

Chu Wanning didn't want to stay alone with Mo Ran unnecessarily, so he moved to follow the other disciples.

Unexpectedly, one of his sleeves was caught by Mo Ran.

"Shizun, wait."

"... What is it?"

"Can I go with you to Linyi?"

"..."

Mo Ran proved himself useful.

So what if Chu Wanning was still conflicted about the inappropriate feelings between them?

They bore no significance against the fate of the entire cultivation realm. He was the shizun. He needed to learn to control his own disciples.

"Suit yourself," Chu Wanning thus replied full of indignation.

"Thank you, Shizun," Mo Ran bowed slightly while cupping his hands in front of Chu Wanning.

The latter turned to look at him from head to toe. His eyes drifted toward the sword at the younger man's waist.

"What happened to the saber I gave you?"

He naturally referred to Mingjing.

There was a slight ripple across Mo Ran's eyes before he answered.

"I am sorry, Shizun. I broke it."

Chu Wanning thought that he should be upset because Mo Ran did not take good care of the saber that he gave him as a gift.

For some reason, he did not care too much about it.

Mo Ran did not seem bothered by the loss, either. Well, he got his hands on a spiritual weapon. Of course, he would cherish the willow vine more.

"What did you name your willow vine?" Chu Wanning heard himself asking, his gaze slowly wandering to the striking willow vine in Mo Ran's hand. He was unable to see the carved writing on its silver handle because it was covered by Mo Ran's palm.

Before Mo Ran opened his mouth to answer, Chu Wanning quickly retracted his question.

"Never mind," he said.

It did not concern him at all.

Mo Ran could name all of his weapons after anyone.