Chapter 273 - Rejecting Elder Ximo

"Is this the reason why you invited us back?" Lu Tianzi turned towards Elder Ximo, his tone now much colder than before. "To allow your students to freely insult us, then attacking us together when we retaliate?"

Lu Tianzi's words startled Elder Ximo, effectively breaking him out of his daze.

"No, that has never been my intention!" Elder Ximo hurriedly denied. "Elder Guo, Elder Nanjue, please stay your hand!"

"Hmm? You invited that guy here?" Elder Guo furrowed his brows in confusion.

He thought that the other party had barged into Elder Ximo's residence to make a scene, who knew that it was actually Elder Ximo himself who had invited the other party in?

And from the sound of it, Zirui and gang were the ones who had insulted the other party first?

In that case, the other party could not really be blamed for acting against their students.

He himself would have been enraged if some Essence Condensation realm martial artists dared to act all great in front of him!

"My greatest apologies for putting you through all this, Sir Tianzi, but please give me some face and stay your hand as well," Elder Ximo clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi.

After seeing what Lu Tianzi was capable of, Elder Ximo could not help but change the way he addressed Lu Tianzi to one that was much more respectful.

Lu Tianzi stared at him for a good few seconds before retracting the pressure that he was applying on the three young men, leaving them relieved but gasping for breath.

"It is because of your status as an elder of the Healer Circle that I am letting this go," Lu Tianzi spoke sternly.

Seeing that Lu Tianzi had willingly taken a step back, Elder Ximo was boundlessly relieved. He immediately barked towards the three young men on the ground, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and apologise to Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi!"

"Our apologies to Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi!" the three men dared not dally, hurriedly taking a deep bow towards Lu Tianzi.

Even if they had not known better before, the other party's true strength could not be clearer to them by now.

After all, only an Origin Core realm martial artist would be able to match up to another!

Elder Ximo nodded in satisfaction.

From the movements of the three young men, he could tell that they were relatively unharmed. If anything, they probably only received a shock to their psyches.

But this was not a lasting problem. After all, it was not as though they had been destroyed by someone of the same cultivation level.

As Essence Condensation realm martial artists, losing to an Origin Core realm martial artist was only natural. Such an event was not nearly impactful enough to leave behind a heart demon.

In fact, this experience of helplessness might even serve to hone their mentalities further, encouraging them to focus even harder on their cultivation from now on!

"Since the matter is over, let's not harp on it any longer. I happen to have some Purple Mist Wine in my possession right now. If Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi don't mind, shall we have a chat while enjoying the wine?" Elder Ximo offered with a smile.

Hearing what he said, Elder Guo and Elder Nanjue could not help but startle.

Purple Mist Wine might be a name unfamiliar to most others, but it was extremely precious, even more so than the Everspring Tea that Zirui had brought out earlier.

Despite being an elder of the Healer Circle and enjoying a huge amount of prestige, Elder Ximo still had to put in a painstakingly huge amount of effort, pulling multiple strings and owing numerous favours before he finally managed to get his hands on a single jar of it.

No matter how much they bugged him earlier, Elder Ximo had refused to bring out his Purple Mist Wine for them to have a taste.

For Elder Ximo to suddenly offer it to these people right now, these strangers in the front hall must possess quite the background!

To think that they actually moved against them earlier…

Elder Guo and Elder Nanjue were starting to regret their rash actions earlier.

Of course, as elders of the Healer Circle, they were not lacking in terms of status either, so they were not too worried about the matter.

All they felt was a slight sense of pity that they might have just sabotaged their own chances of establishing good relations with what could be a prestigious influence.

Thankfully, nobody had been injured in the process. This made things easier for them to make up for things later. Once the other party started enjoying Elder Ximo's Purple Mist Wine, their moods would surely be lifted.

It would not be too late to apologise and make amends then!

"That's right, hopefully this Sir Tianzi is willing to forgive my rash actions earlier," Elder Guo gave an apologetic smile while clasping his fist towards Lu Tianzi. "I jumped to conclusions before figuring out what actually happened. That is my mistake. Please be magmanimous and forgive me this once."

As the saying went, one does not hit a smiling face.

Since he had already taken a step back for now, surely the other party would relent as well?

"Forgive me, but I shall pass this time," Lu Tianzi declined without hesitation. "I seem to have overexerted myself a little just now when defending against the elders' powerful combination attack, and would need to return and rest for a bit."

Lu Tianzi had initially wanted to maintain a low profile and participate in the Healers' Meet as a mere spectator, hoping only that his stay here at Wondertrap Mountain would go smoothly and without hiccups.

However, that did not mean he would adhere to everything that the Healer Circle said.

He could tell that the other party was trying their best to make amends for their earlier mistakes, but that was only because he possessed sufficient strength to defend himself. Had he been slightly lacking in terms of strength, perhaps he would already be left sprawling on the floor from the two elders' attacks!

That said, if he ignored what happened just because Elder Ximo asked him to, wouldn't that place him at a lower position in their relationship from now on?

This seemed to be an insignificant matter, but it could possibly result in unwanted effects for as long as they remained on Wondertrap Mountain.

As long as the other party believed themselves to be superior, they might proceed to make unreasonable requests, believing that they had the right to do so.

Rather than risk having that happen, Lu Tianzi would rather take a firm stance right now.

If this ended up offending the elders of the Healer Circle, then so be it. The worst that could happen was that he would have to leave Wondertrap Mountain without participating in the Healers' Meet.

That would be a slightly disappointing outcome, but it could not be helped.

On the other hand, if the elders in front of him wanted to pick a fight just because of this, Lu Tianzi would not be afraid of them either!

Lu Tianzi's almost instantaneous rejection caused all three elders of the Healer Circle to frown in response.

Earlier, Lu Tianzi had struck out without even summoning his Origin Totem, and still managed to block the attacks of Elder Guo and Elder Nanjue combined.

Overexerted himself? In what way?

Why can't they see it at all?

Without a doubt, he was just making an excuse to leave. But on the bright side, at least he bothered coming up with an excuse.

This meant that he was at least not intending to shred all pretences with them for now.

"How about you, Brother Jinguo? Do you wish to stay and chat, or would you like to return with us?" Lu Tianzi asked.

Elder Ximo could only turn towards Beiwei Jinguo with hopeful eyes.

The Overlord realm Lady Qianxue had taken a back seat all this while, giving Sir Tianzi free rein to make the decisions.

So if there was anyone who could convince Sir Tianzi right now, it would have to be Beiwei Jinguo!

"Eh? This…" Beiwei Jinguo was put on a spot by Lu Tianzi's sudden question.

Too many unexpected things had happened all at once, and his mind was in utter confusion right now.

Firstly, the Brother Tianzi whom he had always assumed to be a relatively weak Essence Condensation realm martial artist ended up being completely fine after being challenged by three young men from the Healer Circle.

As if that was not enough, this same Brother Tianzi even went on to block the combined attack of two Origin Core realm elders of the Healer Circle, something that had already gone far beyond what an Essence Condensation realm martial artist should be capable of doing.

Next, instead of being angered, the elders of the Healer Circle actually offered him wine as apology, even addressing him respectfully as sir.

And he even rejected them?

Before Beiwei Jinguo could even figure out what was going on, he suddenly had to make a choice between leaving with his Brother Tianzi, and staying to have a chat with his teacher's old friend, Elder Ximo.

Either option felt like the wrong answer!

Just how the hell was he supposed to make a choice in this situation?!

"You don't have to feel pressured," Lu Tianzi could see the hesitation in Beiwei Jinguo's eyes. "If you wish to stay, you can go ahead and do so. But if you wish to leave, I am sure Elder Ximo here will not hold it against you as well, am I right?"

"Y-Yeah, of course," Elder Ximo forced a smile when he saw Lu Tianzi's gaze fall upon him. "Feel free to leave if you really need to. We can always have a chat when you are free next time."

"Then…" Beiwei Jinguo hesitated for a moment before clasping his fist towards Elder Ximo. "I would have to excuse myself for today, Elder Ximo "Let's have a chat next time."

"Yes, let's have a chat next time, Young Brother Jinguo," Elder Ximo clasped his fist in return, though his heart was filled with reluctance. "Farewell to Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi as well. Hopefully we will have the chance to enjoy a chat over wine in the near future."

"We'll see," Lu Tianzi returned the greeting before turning to leave, with Nanlan Qianxue following closely behind him.

"Farewell to the two elders as well," Beiwei Jinguo quickly clasped his fist towards Elder Guo and Elder Nanjue before hurrying after the duo.

Elder Ximo maintained the smile on his face as the trio made their way out of the front hall, all the way until the door closed behind them.

It was at that moment that his smile suddenly vanished from his face.

"Qianshan! Boren!" Elder Ximo bellowed. "On your knees right now!"

The two dared not object, immediately entering a kneeling position with their heads hung low.

"Do you know what you have just done?" Elder Ximo glared at them with rage in his eyes. "Your frivolous actions could have caused the deaths of us all!"

"Elder Ximo, please punish me instead!" Zirui hurriedly knelt down beside Qianshan and Boren. "I am the one who started provoking them!"

"So you are the one behind all this?" Elder Ximo's attention turned onto Zirui immediately. "Very well, explain yourself then. I would like to know just what gave you the audacity to be rude to my guests?"

"This…" Zirui hesitated in guilt.

"What are you waiting for?" Elder Ximo took in a deep breath. "Are you not intending to speak?"

"Just tell Elder Ximo the truth, I am sure he will understand," Elder Guo urged him on as well.

Zirui was Elder Guo's favourite student, so Elder Guo naturally wanted to help Zirui out of this predicament.

However, Elder Guo's words only served to corner Zirui even further. Zirui had never seen Elder Ximo this angered before. In this situation, how would he dare to say that he provoked the other party because the other party was poor?

This might have been fine if the other party was indeed no one important, but judging from what happened earlier, the other party seemed to be a big shot!

And even if he tried to lie his way out of this, things would only get worse once Elder Ximo found out the truth.

Seeing his student's continued silence despite his urging, Elder Guo had roughly figured out what happened.

"Let's calm down a little, Elder Ximo. What happened is probably just an altercation among hot-blooded youngsters," Elder Ximo used a more soothing tone this time. "I'ms sure they didn't mean it either. They probably had no idea that the other party is an Origin Core realm martial artist, which resulted in this mess. That said, Zirui is definitely at fault this time. Don't worry, I will punish Zirui harshly after I bring him back, and make sure that he doesn't do this ever again!"

"Elder Guo, and Elder Nanjue, do you still not understand the situation here?" Elder Ximo asked coldly.

"What is it?" Elder Guo was slightly displeased by the cold treatment. "Yes, I admit that the young man is quite strong. However, he still acted against our juniors. Are we supposed to just let him go without doing a thing?"

No matter what, he was still a fellow elder of the Healer Circle! How could Elder Ximo speak to him with such a tone?

Even Elder Nanjue could not help but frown. He obviously thought the same way as Elder Guo.

"Quite strong?" Elder Ximo scoffed. "If someone who can match the two of you by himself is considered quite strong, then I am afraid you will be hard pressed to find a word to describe the young lady behind him!"

"That young lady?" Elder Guo asked. "Are you trying to say that she is a martial artist as well? But I couldn't detect her cultivation level at all. Wait a minute, you are saying…?"

"She is an Overlord?!" Elder Nanjue widened his eyes in horror.

"That is my conjecture for now," Elder Ximo nodded. "Now, do you understand where I am coming from?"

Elder Guo immediately turned towards his kneeling student. "Zirui, you useless student! What have you done this time?!"

"My greatest apologies, Teacher!" Zirui kowtowed in fear.

In fact, Elder Guo did not even have to shout at him. Just thinking about the fact that he had been talking down to an Overlord was enough to make Zirui tremble all over.

What kind of existence was an Overlord?

Elder Ximo was right. His actions really could have caused the death of them all!

At this point, Elder Ximo let out a deep sigh as he glanced out the window.

That Beiwei Jinguo was not one to be underestimated either.

Even the late Elder Beichang did not have enough influence to move an Overlord realm martial artist. For his student to get connected to such powerful characters, this Beiwei Jinguo must possess many tricks up his sleeves that set him apart from his peers.

Was he here to attend to Healers' Meet?

If so, it seemed like the coming Healers' Meet would be one that was especially forth looking forward to!