Chapter 4: By What Right Are You the Sect Leader?

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: By What Right Are You the Sect Leader?

Seven days passed in a flash.

It was the day of Chen Canxuan’s burial.

During this time, experts from various sects and nations across the land had come to offer their condolences and attend the funeral, many of them on friendly terms with the Dao Yi Sect.

It was worth noting, however, that not a single one of the world’s ten greatest experts had come.

Perhaps it was because Chen Canxuan was dead, and with him, all was said and done. Without Chen Canxuan, the Dao Yi Sect was just another top-tier major sect on the Righteous Path.

Thus, even the sects that came to pay their respects only stayed for a day or two before leaving.

Factoring in the travel time, the only ones who could stay until the very end for Chen Canxuan’s burial were their "sibling" allies, the Queen Mother Sect. They had arrived on the final day.

For a thousand years, this sect and the Dao Yi Sect had watched over and supported one another.

In earlier years, there were even frequent arrangements for marriage alliances with the Dao Yi Sect.

Even during Chen Canxuan’s time, it was rumored that the world’s number one expert had ambiguous relationships with several female Elders from the Queen Mother Sect.

But this was only to be expected.

The Emperor himself had an imperial harem.

So for the strongest expert in the world, was it not perfectly natural for young women to admire such a man?

In the past few decades,

how many young men just starting out in the Jianghu had dreamed of becoming Chen Canxuan?

How many charming women had dreamed of marrying Chen Canxuan?

...

On the seventh day of the wake,

Chen Sha had not taken a single step out of the mourning hall for seven days. In the eyes of the Daoists on the mountain, the young Sect Leader had remained kneeling before the coffin, holding vigil.

All matters on the mountain were temporarily managed by the eldest disciple, Song Yu.

On the surface, he appeared modest, gentle, and scholarly, but in truth, he possessed unfathomably profound skills. Though his talent wasn’t as towering as Li Jianzhou’s, he always acted with fairness within the Sect and carried himself like a true gentleman. Even Li Jianzhou had to show him a degree of deference, born of genuine respect.

On this final day, when Xue Xiuxin of the Queen Mother Sect arrived at Dao Yi Mountain to pay her respects, it was Song Yu who received her.

"My master passed away suddenly. Junior Brother Chen Sha must hold vigil for seven days and is thus unable to personally welcome Senior Xue with the honors befitting a Sect Leader. Please do not take offense, Senior."

Song Yu noticed that Senior Xue was dressed in plain mourning clothes, and the female disciple behind her also wore a simple white dress. Their gesture of condolence was clearly sincere, and he couldn’t help but be moved.

Xue Xiuxin sighed softly. "How could I possibly take offense?"

Song Yu led the honored guests from the foot of the mountain upwards, passing the Three Palaces, Four Abbeys, and Twelve Halls, until they arrived before the Sect Leader’s Hall, which had been converted into a mourning hall.

"Elder Xue of the Queen Mother Sect has come to pay her respects."

Hearing his eldest brother’s voice from within the mourning hall, Chen Sha lifted his head slightly and thought,

’The Queen Mother Sect... One of the "Four Great Daoist Sects" of the Righteous Path, as famous as our Dao Yi Sect. I heard it’s composed entirely of female cultivators and is located in the far north. I never expected them to make it here on the final day...’

Looking closer, he saw that both the female cultivator, who looked to be in her thirties, and the young female disciple behind her had travel-worn faces. They had undoubtedly rushed here, traveling day and night.

As the two entered, Chen Sha said, "I am in mourning attire and cannot rise to greet you. Please forgive my lack of courtesy."

From outside the hall, Xue Xiuxin and her disciple, Zhou Baizhi, had already seen the young Daoist kneeling within.

They looked at the young Sect Leader of noble birth. Though young, he had completely inherited the features of the world’s number one expert, with sharp, heroic brows and bright eyes, possessing an extraordinary air.

Xue Xiuxin sighed softly. "Like father, like son..."

She stepped forward, took three sticks of incense, and led her disciple Zhou Baizhi to offer them before the coffin. After performing the rites, she stood gazing at the casket in silence.

Chen Sha was taken aback. ’From the looks of it,’ he thought, ’is she one of Father’s old flames?’

His father, aside from being number one in the world in martial arts, also seemed to be number one when it came to the women in his life.

As far as he knew, the list included the mistress of Taohua Village in Jiangnan, the lady of a prominent martial arts family, the Eldest Princess of one of the three great Courts, and a female General who commanded on the battlefield...

Just the ones he knew of numbered seven or eight.

The list even included the mother of this body: the Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect.

As for how a child born to the Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect ended up in the Dao Yi Sect, well, that is another story for another time...

But for now, these friends of the late Sect Leader from the Queen Mother Sect had come to pay their respects.

Today was the day of the burial.

"Sect Leader, please rise. You have been kneeling for seven days."

A Martial Uncle walked over and helped Chen Sha up, saying,

"Today is the day to lay the old Sect Leader to rest."

Chen Sha slowly rose from the spot where he had been kneeling for seven days. The onlookers noted that despite having knelt motionless for so long, he showed no signs of discomfort upon standing—a feat that even a typical First-class Expert would find difficult.

"Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother... they’re still not back?"

After standing up, Chen Sha looked around at the crowd and asked,

"Does anyone know where they are?"

After all, even if his Fifth Brother, Li Jianzhou, might try to seize the position from him or was dissatisfied with his succession, he was still a disciple of the Dao Yi Sect and a disciple of his father...

It wouldn’t feel right to proceed without waiting for the two of them.

Just as Chen Sha asked, a voice came from outside the gate:

"Fourth Martial Uncle and Fifth Martial Uncle are back! They’re at the foot of the mountain and will be up shortly."

None of the six True Disciples of Chen Sha’s generation had taken on any disciples of their own yet. However, some of the Elders had disciples who had, in turn, taken their own disciples. It was these grand-disciples who addressed Chen Sha’s generation as Martial Uncle.

’Fifth Brother is back!’

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall felt their hearts sink.

’He came back on the very last day before the burial. It seems this confrontation is unavoidable after all.’

...

...

「At the foot of the mountain.」

A Daoist frowned and said,

"Fifth Martial Uncle, today is the old Sect Leader’s burial. You cannot bring weapons up the mountain..."

Li Jianzhou paid him no heed, continuing up the mountain with his sword on his back.

"This rule was set by Old Sixth, wasn’t it? Is he that afraid of me?"

The handsome Daoist, leading his two disciples, waved a hand. An invisible current of energy surged forth, repelling the Daoist at the mountain base.

"But Eldest Grand Uncle said..." Before the Daoist could finish, he was sent flying several yards away.

Wei Dashan, following behind, steadily caught the Little Daoist. He patted him on the shoulder and sighed. "Stay out of it. I’m here."

"Yes, Fourth Martial Uncle."

Wei Dashan followed behind Li Jianzhou all the way up the mountain.

He heard the little girl beside Li Jianzhou ask,

"Master, why are they trying to stop you from returning to your own Sect?"

The girl’s name was Chengg Lin. She and the young man beside her, Zhao Yunkong, were a pair of geniuses Fifth Brother had encountered in the Jin Country. They were descendants of a Martial Arts Family from Jin that had suffered a great calamity. Li Jianzhou rescued them, and upon seeing their supreme talent, he decided to take them as his disciples.

Li Jianzhou replied to his disciple coolly, "Because someone on the mountain is afraid of my return."

Chengg Lin asked again, "Why is he afraid of you?"

Li Jianzhou said, "Because I am going up the mountain to take back what is rightfully mine. That is why he is afraid!"

Hearing the conversation between master and disciples from behind, Wei Dashan sighed internally.

Both men were his junior brothers. Emotionally, he even leaned more towards Li Jianzhou. It was impossible for him to take a side, and he had no grounds to try and mediate.

The group ascended the mountain and arrived before the Sect Leader’s Hall.

They saw that the hall was filled with people—mostly Elders of Dao Yi Mountain, along with guests like those from the Queen Mother Sect.

When the crowd saw Li Jianzhou and Wei Dashan arrive, their expressions were varied.

All eyes darted back and forth between Chen Sha and the handsome Daoist.

It had to be said that, in terms of appearance, both were exceptionally handsome men, a rare sight in the world. But perhaps because Chen Sha carried an additional air of nobility and grace, he seemed even more transcendent.

Chen Sha watched as Li Jianzhou walked before the coffin. He didn’t greet any of the Elders or his martial brothers. He simply stared straight at the casket, his eyes turning red as tears began to stream down his face.

"Master!"

He dropped to his knees with a heavy THUD, like an iron mountain collapsing. His eyes were crimson and brimming with tears.

"This disciple was unfilial! I’ve returned too late!"

With that, he performed nine loud kowtows on the floor.

"Master, this disciple has also returned too late!"

The one who had followed him in to kowtow and weep was Wei Dashan. Two streams of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Master..."

Even though he had been rushing for days just to attend the funeral, truly seeing the coffin before him, he still couldn’t believe that his invincible master was gone, just like that.

Watching the two Dao Yi True Disciples weeping bitterly before the coffin,

no one said a word.

After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, an Elder finally stepped forward to help Li Jianzhou up. He brushed the travel dust from his clothes and said,

"It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back..."

This was clearly an Elder who thought highly of Li Jianzhou, and he was both sad and emotional.

Only after rising did Li Jianzhou begin to greet the Elders one by one, paying his respects to Zhou Santong and the senior brothers ranked above him.

"Eldest Brother, Second Sister, Third Brother..." Li Jianzhou greeted each of them in turn.

But he never once looked at Chen Sha.

The many guests saw this with perfect clarity. He was pointedly ignoring the new Sect Leader.

Chen Sha had been prepared for this and paid it no mind. He looked at the young man and woman who had been kowtowing behind Li Jianzhou.

"And they are?"

Hearing the question, Li Jianzhou turned to Chen Sha, who was standing closest to the coffin, as if only just noticing him. He said,

"Junior Brother Chen Sha..."

Hearing him address Chen Sha by name and rank rather than by his new title, a nearby Elder interjected,

"Jianzhou, now that Sect Leader Senior Brother has passed, Chen Sha has succeeded to the position. You should address him as Sect Leader."

Zhou Santong also chimed in, "Right, right! Little Chen Sha is the Sect Leader now."

Instantly, the hall fell deathly silent, like the terrifying quiet before gunpowder ignites. Perhaps the only one present who didn’t understand the gravity of the situation was the childlike Zhou Santong.

Li Jianzhou’s head snapped toward Chen Sha.

"Sect Leader? What Sect Leader?"

Chen Sha remained unperturbed, stating calmly,

"Before his passing, in front of the many Elders and senior brothers on this mountain, Father passed his position to me. I am the new Sect Leader of Dao Yi Mountain."

"Sect Leader? You?"

Li Jianzhou stared coldly at Chen Sha.

"What right do you have to be Sect Leader?"