Chapter 22: Iron Cloud Appears

Zhou Yunji heard the voices in the air and felt a surge of anger, ready to lash out! But as he looked up and saw the newcomer, tall and imposing, with a purple robe fluttering, all his anger vanished instantly.

A technique that seemed like the Thousand-Pound Weight, Zhou Yunji landed directly on the ground, almost falling over, but quickly regained his composure and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother Iron Cloud!"

The newcomer was none other than Iron Cloud.

When Li Tong and Zhao Xian saw Iron Cloud, they straightened their clothes as if mice seeing a cat. Even Zhao Xian's injuries were almost completely healed, and his snot and tears evaporated instantly with his cultivation power.

Using cultivation power to produce and then evaporate snot and tears was a skill Zhao Xian had mastered to perfection, which could also be considered a method to practice the application of cultivation power.

After tidying up, the two hurriedly bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior Uncle Iron!"

Although Iron Cloud was polite to Amu, that was only for Amu. And although Iron Cloud was also gentle with Lishui, it was because Iron Cloud did not judge people by their status.

Iron Cloud was one of the two named disciples of the Northern Cold Sect, with a cultivation level of High-Stage Great Perfection. It was likely that he would enter the Spirit Realm in just a few years, making him the top disciple of the main peak lineage.

In daily affairs, Iron Cloud handled and arranged everything on the main peak. Even the heads and elders of other lineages would give him some face, let alone others.

Among the three thousand cultivators of the Northern Cold Sect, there were those who did not know Han Qianli, but no one did not know Iron Cloud.

Iron Cloud was upright and usually despised the likes of Li Tong, Zhao Xian, and Deng Yan. He merely coldly snorted and then said to Zhou Yunji, "Junior Brother Zhou, were you sparring with Amu?"

"Uh! No... Yes... No..." Iron Cloud's question was too domineering, leaving Zhou Yunji in a dilemma, unsure how to answer.

According to the Northern Cold Sect's rules, private duels were forbidden. So when disciples fought, they usually claimed it was a sparring session. If there were no major issues, it would be let go. Just now, when Zhou Yunji and Amu fought, Iron Cloud must have seen. If he admitted it wasn't a sparring session, it would be considered an internal conflict among disciples, subject to punishment.

The higher the cultivation level, the heavier the punishment. For a High-Stage disciple to engage in internal conflict, the punishment was ten years of seclusion and a fine of ten thousand copper-level spirit coins. Even if Zhou Yunji could afford the fine, the news of an internal conflict would be more embarrassing than a sparring session.

But if he admitted it was a sparring session, Zhou Yunji would be ashamed to face others. A High-Stage disciple sparring with a Cultivation Child would be a laughingstock.

So for a moment, Zhou Yunji's face turned red, and he didn't know how to respond.

"Stammering! Is it, or isn't it?" Iron Cloud's face turned cold. He had no need to give any face to Zhou Yunji, a High-Stage disciple with no hope of advancing.

Moreover, Iron Cloud had always despised the likes of Zhao Xian. Seeing the current situation, Iron Cloud guessed most of what had happened. Zhao Xian must have caused trouble, and Zhou Yunji had taken his side. Even if Zhou Yunji was in the right, Iron Cloud would still choose Amu's side, knowing the gravity of the situation.

"It was a sparring session!" Seeing Iron Cloud's expression change, Zhou Yunji could only grit his teeth and say.

"Hehe!" Amu secretly laughed, "Senior Brother Iron Cloud's question was too powerful!"

Even Lishui, seeing Zhou Yunji's appearance, lowered her head and secretly smiled.

Iron Cloud coldly snorted and then turned to Amu, speaking gently, "Junior Brother Amu, were you really sparring? If you have any grievances, feel free to tell your senior brother."

"Junior Brother Amu?" Hearing Iron Cloud's address and tone, Zhou Yunji and the others felt a headache. For the prestigious Iron Cloud to call a small Cultivation Child a junior brother, who was this person?

"Wow! This Amu must be Iron Cloud's relative. No wonder he's so arrogant. Today, he's hit a hard wall!"

"Senior Brother Iron Cloud, what Junior Brother Zhou said is true. Amu just arrived on the mountain and was fortunate to have Junior Brother Zhou bring three junior disciples to practice martial arts and discuss the Dao. The sparring session was very beneficial to Amu!" Amu said with a serious face.

This made Zhou Yunji sigh in relief, but he still felt uncomfortable hearing Amu's words. Zhao Xian and Li Tong were even more frustrated, as they were now a generation lower.

But the three of them believed Amu was Iron Cloud's relative, and with Iron Cloud present, no one dared to speak.

Iron Cloud secretly smiled, thinking Amu was clever. If Amu had said it wasn't a sparring session, Iron Cloud would have had to symbolically punish him. But Amu's response gave him the upper hand.

"Since that's the case, it's getting late. Now that the sparring is over, let's disperse!" Iron Cloud waved his hand, looking impatient.

With these words, Zhou Yunji felt as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly nodding in agreement. Then he led Zhao Xian and Li Tong, carrying the unconscious Deng Yan, and the three hurriedly left.

"Goodbye, Senior Brother Zhou! Goodbye, two junior disciples!" Amu said at an inappropriate time.

Seeing Zhou Yunji and the others leave, Amu quickly said to Iron Cloud, "Thank you, Senior Brother Iron Cloud!"

Iron Cloud smiled slightly and said, "Junior Brother Amu, there's no need to be so polite. Those like Zhao Xian usually bully the weak, and Junior Brother Zhou is too lenient. They deserved a lesson."

After saying this, Iron Cloud carefully examined Amu, revealing a look of surprise, and said, "Amu, did you practice the Root Nourishing Technique last night?"

Amu, not knowing why Iron Cloud asked this, replied, "With nothing to do, Amu tried practicing for a night. Senior Brother Iron Cloud, is there something wrong?"

Hearing Amu's words, Iron Cloud was taken aback, then shook his head and sighed, "Junior Brother Amu, there's nothing wrong! Truly worthy of being the sect leader's direct disciple. Do you know that in just one night, you directly skipped the stage of spirit body penetration, equivalent to the cultivation of a disciple who takes two to three years to cultivate a spirit root for one or two months? Truly a genius! Such speed is unprecedented, even to me."

Hearing this, Amu was also quite shocked, not expecting his cultivation speed to be so fast. Lishui was envious beyond measure.

Such a cultivation speed was likely the first in the history of Northern Cold Sect. Even Bai Yifeng, who cultivated a spirit root, took nearly a year.

The eighth-generation ancestor of Northern Cold Sect, who eventually reached the initial stage of soul cultivation, took nine months to cultivate a spirit root, the fastest in Northern Cold history.

But at Amu's speed, although the cultivation would become increasingly difficult later, it was possible that Amu could cultivate a spirit root in three to four months.

This was almost unbelievable.

However, if Iron Cloud knew that Amu had been trained by Wang Jue for ten years using special methods, achieving a small success in spirit bones, he wouldn't be so surprised.

Wang Jue's methods were beyond even Han Qianli's understanding, let alone others.

Amu naturally knew the reason and suspected that the magic coffin in his body might also have played a role.

So after being shocked, Amu didn't want to delve deeper into this issue and changed the subject, saying, "Senior Brother Iron Cloud, why did you come?"

"Oh! Yesterday, when I reported back, the sect leader was quite pleased to hear that you obtained the Heaven and Earth如意Bracelet. He asked me to give you some spirit coins and elixirs." Iron Cloud didn't mention Han Qianli's conflicted expression and helpless smile when he learned that the Northern Cold ancestor couldn't accept Amu's bow. He then took out a storage bag and handed it to Amu.

"Spirit coins?" Amu was taken aback. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

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End of the chapter.