In the small town academy, there was a diminutive old man. Though a teacher, his attire was slovenly. Named Chen Zhenrong, he was fond of wine. When drunk, he would extend his fingers towards the empty air, sketching random, twisting lines. No one knew what he was writing or drawing. His drunken ramblings were neither the official language of Great Li, nor the elegant speech of Treasure Bottle Continent. In short, no one could understand him.

Though the old man was surnamed Chen, he was not from the Chen clan of Dragon Tail County. However, the esteemed Chen Songfeng held the old man in great respect. The other academy instructors, however, held a poor opinion of this eccentric old codger.

Today, the slovenly old man, drinking wine, drunkenly crossed the stone arch bridge, heading towards the blacksmith’s shop. In his local dialect, he loudly chanted, “Supporting the Milky Way, touching the great mountains, riding the primal energy, wandering the void, clouds rising and rain falling, heaven descending and the sea rising, magnificent indeed!”

Arriving outside the shop, the old man, for once, didn’t barge in. He knew to go to the Dragon Beard River to wash his face. Perhaps a few handfuls of cool water couldn’t wash away his drunkenness, so the old man simply lay down on the ground, plunging his entire head into the icy water, shaking it vigorously. Finally, he abruptly lifted his head, laughing loudly, “Refreshing, refreshing!”

The old man stood up, and suddenly sighed. He thought of the bleak situation of the Chen clan descendants in the town, many reduced to serving as slaves and servants for other surnames. Although the old man had no direct connection to them, and knew the world was harsh, and couldn’t blame the current Chen descendants for losing all ancestral face, they were, after all, of the same surname. The old man’s resentment was difficult to dispel. He had no choice but to open his wine pot, hesitating. After a moment of inner struggle, he looked around furtively, and once again, like a thief, took a small sip of wine, muttering, “If it were in South Saha Continent, as long as they were verifiable descendants of the Chen clan, no matter how destitute, they would never be reduced to being beasts of burden for others. It would be a disgrace to the Pure Scholar Chen clan.”

As he said this, the old man inexplicably slapped himself in the face, “Shameless old thing, can’t control your mouth, said you wouldn’t drink and you still drink!”

After slapping himself, the old man chuckled, simply throwing caution to the wind and took two more gulps. He only gave himself two light slaps as a penalty.

Having drunk two large mouthfuls of the mellow wine he bought from the beautiful woman, the old man was finally satisfied. He walked straight into the blacksmith’s shop, loudly calling out Ruan Qiong’s name. Soon, Ruan Qiong emerged from a sword furnace, removing the leather apron from his waist and casually tossing it to the long-browed youth behind him.

As soon as the old man saw this Saint of the Ruan family from Wind and Snow Temple, he began to make trouble, “Ruan Qiong, you’re not as good as Qi Jingchun, really far inferior to Qi Jingchun…”

Ruan Qiong didn’t seem to mind, as if he was used to it. He didn’t even greet the old man, remaining silent and taciturn. However, the long-browed youth behind him frowned, but held back his anger.

Ruan Qiong led the way, the old man walked alongside him, unwilling to let Ruan Qiong’s ears off the hook, nagging like a market woman. This time, the old man used the orthodox elegant language of Saha Continent, with a unique charm, “Ruan Qiong, look at Qi Jingchun. Even though his lineage is so targeted by us, he is willing to repay evil with good, helping to look after that scholar tree.”

“If it were me, I would have let Chen Dui see the tomb trees first, and then stomp them into the ground, letting us rejoice in vain. Wouldn’t that be satisfying? It’s just a pity that Qi Jingchun is a gentleman and wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“So, when someone went to reason with our ancestor, even though he stole a sun from our ancestor’s shoulder, our ancestor was still unwilling to break face and let him ‘borrow’ it for a hundred years.”

“And look at you, I’m not saying this to you, but you’re depressed, your cultivation hasn’t progressed an inch. In the end, you took in two or three kittens and puppies as founding disciples. Take this little long-brow, relying on his family’s fortune, how long will his good days last? A hundred years, or two hundred years?”

As the old man said this, he gave the long-browed youth a bright smile. The confused youth, who was originally a little annoyed, disliking the old man’s lack of respect for his master, but when the old man showed him the kind expression of an elder, the soft-hearted Xie family youth could only nod slightly. He had no idea that this old fox’s belly was full of bad intentions, and he was actually talking about him behind his back.

The old man followed Ruan Qiong to a roof, with several emerald green small bamboo chairs placed side by side. After the three sat down, the old man snorted, “That little girl with the missing thumb, so stupid, is she really your kindred spirit?”

“And the last one is even more ridiculous, a wild boar demon, who insists on transforming into a handsome young gentleman, haha, Ruan Qiong, Ruan Qiong, I’m about to laugh my teeth out. Don’t you feel ashamed? I feel ashamed for you!”

Ruan Qiong finally spoke, “Are you finished? If you’re finished, I’ll treat you to wine.”

Ruan Qiong told the Xie family youth to get the wine.

“Treat me to wine? That’s fine. It’s not like I want to drink it myself. I’m just doing as the Romans do, being a polite guest. It’s your way of hospitality as a Saint. This kind of wine, I can drink it, drink it heartily!”

The old man sat on the bamboo chair, turning to Ruan Qiong, “But drinking wine is drinking wine, taking disciples is taking disciples. Since you left Wind and Snow Temple, you’re finally going to establish your own sect. Now that you have a mountain, you should discuss the matter of the founding disciple. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll find you three disciples and replace them all! Even if I just select them from the Chen clan descendants in our Saha Continent, I guarantee they’ll be stronger than your current three nominal disciples.”

Ruan Qiong remained unmoved, “When I take disciples, I don’t look at talent, I don’t emphasize roots, I only choose temperament.”

The old man angrily said, “I knew it would be such a mixed-up wording. You Ruan Qiong are just a stinky rock in the latrine.”

Ruan Qiong smiled for the first time, “Then why do you Chen Zhenrong still befriend me?”

Previously, Ruan Qiong was able to take over the Lízhū Cave Heaven from the Confucian Qi Jingchun in the capacity of a strategist, which was certainly related to Ruan Qiong’s high level, but the Pure Scholar Chen clan actually contributed a lot behind the scenes.

Ruan Qiong never denied this.

“I’m willing, can you control me?!”

The old man angrily turned around, shouting, “Where’s the wine? Why hasn’t the promised guest wine come yet? What’s wrong with that kid? Is he deliberately trying to anger me…”

Ruan Qiong looked at his old friend, who was always clamoring, and asked with a smile, “What, when you arrived in Dragon Spring County, you saw the situation of the two Chen clan descendants in the town, and you felt unhappy? I’m not saying this to you, but it has nothing to do with you and the Pure Scholar Chen clan. Why are you angry?”

“Don’t mention it, it’s infuriating.”

The old man sighed, glancing sideways at Ruan Qiong, “What about you? For the sake of Xiuxiu, you wanted to find peace and quiet, but now you’ve become a land of contention. Are you alright?”

Ruan Qiong shook his head, “It’s alright, mistakes have their own solutions.”

The old man sneered, “Being tough is fine, but don’t be stubborn.”

Ruan Qiong softly said, “If there’s trouble, I definitely won’t be polite with you.”

The old man glanced out of the corner of his eye at the blue-clothed girl walking from afar, and the Xie family youth beside her, bringing wine together.

The old man immediately beamed and waved his arms at the girl, “Xiuxiu, come, come, come, hey? Why did you turn around and leave? Don’t go, Xiuxiu, do you have a man in your heart? If not, I’ll help you find one. Don’t pick a man in such a small place as Treasure Bottle Continent, a desolate land where birds don’t shit. What good men can there be? Wei Jin of Wind and Snow Temple and Song Changjing of Great Li are not bad, but they’re a bit old. So, if you want to find one, find one in our South Saha Continent… Alas, Xiuxiu has gone far away.”

The old man was dejected. Fortunately, there were two pots of wine brought by the long-browed youth. One pot was placed at his feet, and the other was opened. He raised his head and drank it down like a cow.

Ruan Qiong took the wine pot, but had no intention of drinking, “Your Pure Scholar Chen clan, searching and searching, still only found Cao Jun? If I remember correctly, he’s already over a hundred years old, right?”

The old man got anxious, “What’s wrong with Cao Jun? I think he’s pretty good. If he hadn’t been framed in his early years, he wouldn’t be any worse than Wei Jin. There’s more than one or two great swordsmen who achieved success late in life in history. Alas, blame his ancestor Cao Xi for not being strong enough. If it were a member of our Chen clan, with such talent and qualifications, see who would dare to trip him up?”

Ruan Qiong didn’t speak. He had a very poor impression of Cao Jun.

The old man sighed, “I just find it strange. It’s the same surname, how could the people here in the town be so miserable? Where did all that fortune go? In these one or two thousand years, has anyone surnamed Chen flourished in Treasure Bottle Continent or other continents?”

Ruan Qiong thought for a moment, “It seems not.”

The old man suddenly thought, “That’s right then. But just in case…”

Ruan Qiong was on high alert, almost scolding, “When did you Chen Zhenrong become so mercenary?!”

The old man stretched out a palm, his fingers constantly trembling, “I can’t draw a real dragon anymore, I can only draw some limp four-legged snakes. Still Zhenrong, I think I should change my name to Jiarong (False Appearance) in the future.”

He took a sip of wine, helplessly said, “If it were before, my words would still be useful for this matter, but now it’s not.”

Ruan Qiong angrily said, “The dignified Pure Scholar Chen clan…”

The old man interrupted Ruan Qiong’s words, “Which family doesn’t have both mud and sand? Within the Confucian orthodoxy, there are still saints, gentlemen, and virtuous people, isn’t there still a distinction between high and low? Moreover, this matter is not as sordid as you think.”

Ruan Qiong was silent, his mood heavy, like a mountain pressing on his heart.

Human power has its limits, and so does a Saint.