Chapter 671: Making a Choice

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

If he were to enter Amethyst Mountain, what would happen to Xiao Shi?

Must he abandon everything, cast aside Xiao Shi and his duties at the Secret Guardians Hall to enter Amethyst Mountain?

In the beginning, he had taken Xiao Shi under his wing because of Xiao Qi. Now it was so much more than that.

What if King An regained his martial arts and sought to act out against Xiao Shi after he entered Amethyst Mountain. Who would seek justice for her? Everything couldn’t be fine and dandy even if they had the Sarira beads.

The more he thought about it, the more unlikely it looked that he could enter Amethyst Mountain.

He always had mixed feelings about the four major sects, just as how a person who never attended college would feel about tertiary education.

He obtained his cultivation by chance, and thus lacked a systematic and solid foundation. Even if he studied all the library references in the High Duke’s Public House and King An’s Imperial Residence, he still couldn’t make up for the lack of foundation.

No matter how intelligent he was or how skilled he was in divine powers, without sufficient knowledge, he would still be prone to mistakes. What if one of these mistakes proved fatal?

Take Xiao Qi’s case as an example, if it weren’t for the reminder from Lu Yurong, he might still be in the dark, unaware that once Xiao Qi achieved Enlightened Mastery, she would have to leave this world.

The key to advance to Enlightened Mastery was a solid sturdy foundation.

Why did only the four major sects produce Enlightened Masters and not the other factions? There had to be a reason. Without training in the four major sects, the chances of advancing to Enlightened Mastery would be infinitely smaller.

“Head Chief Chu?” Yu Qing called when she saw his face darken.

Chu Li lifted his head and smiled at her. “Whether to join Amethyst Mountain… I’ll have to think about it carefully.”

Yu Qing smiled. “What are you hesitating about? This is a rare opportunity. Even if Head Chief is a grandmaster, there are still vast differences between grandmasters. Only by entering the four major sects will you be able to fulfill your potential. If you don’t join, you will eventually be surpassed by Fa Yuan.”

Chu Li nodded as he pondered.

Yu Qing asked again, “What is troubling you?”

Chu Li shook his head. “I need to think about it. Miss Yu Qing, I’ll excuse myself today.”

“… Okay, then think about it. It’s a rare opportunity. There’s only a small number of disciples at Amethyst Mountain, not everyone can enter,” Yu Qing gently added.

Chu Li smiled. He got up and closed fist saluted before leaving.

——

When he returned to the King An’s Imperial Residence, he saw the brightly lit Tianshu Courtyard. Xiao Shi was sitting in the courtyard, playing her guzheng. The melody of the guzheng was enchanting and magnificent.

He strolled to the courtyard and Xiao Shi peered at him without stopping her hands.

Once the song was over, she pressed on the strings to stop the harmonics while checking Chu Li out. “Back so soon? Didn’t fancy more time with the pretty lady?”

Chu Li sat by the stone table and shrugged. He grabbed a teacup from the table and took a sip.

Xiao Shi noticed he wasn’t quite himself. “Something on your mind?”

Chu Li shook his head and stared at her while deep in thought.

Xiao Shi frowned. “What’s up? You’re acting all weird!”

Chu Li smiled. “What do you think about me joining another faction for a year or so to cultivate?”

“Which faction?”

“Amethyst Mountain.”

“They want you?” Xiao Shi chuckled. “You sure like dreaming.”

“I almost entered Amethyst Mountain,” Chu Li sighed. “If it weren’t for the person that the third young lady had requested to be in seclusion, I would now be a disciple of Amethyst Mountain.”

“Mm, I have heard from Little Sister before,” said Xiao Shi. “You don’t have the best of luck. Being a disciple of the four major sects has many of its benefits, which are all better than the High Duke’s Public Houses! With your endowment, you would probably have mastered many of their martial arts.”

Chu Li shook his head and smiled. “Life is unpredictable.”

He thought he had already missed out on Amethyst Mountain, but who would have thought that he would one day be afforded the opportunity again.

Xiao Shi asked, “You wish to enter?… I’m afraid that could be impossible. Once you’re a grandmaster, you’re pretty much on a fixed route and can’t be scalped nor change your potential. Why would they take in such a disciple?”

“I can enter,” said Chu Li once more.

Xiao Shi chuckled with unimaginable beauty. Her eyes flickered as she continued, “You and Amethyst Mountain’s vendetta go way back. Moreover. you’re now first-ranked and a centurion of the Secret Guardians Hall, you can’t be loyal to Amethyst Mountain. Why would the Mountain want you?”

“I have my ways,” Chu Li smiled.

Xiao Shi smiled. “Alright, then go.”

Chu Li added, “I really have a way to join Amethyst Mountain.”

“Then go,” repeated Xiao Shi. “If you can access the study of martial arts normally hidden to the outside world, you will go far. Is Little Sis’ elder out of seclusion?”

Chu Li shook his head.

“That person is so undependable!” Xiao Shi scoffed, “But you advanced quick. Nobody else would have been able to become grandmaster within two to three years.”

Chu Li asked, “If I were to join Amethyst Mountain, what would happen to you?”

“Me?” Xiao Shi snorted, “So you’re saying I can’t live without you? I’ll be fine!”

Chu Li shook his head. “I really can’t be at ease.”

Xiao Shi responded, “There’s still the Sarira beads. I will ask you to return if I’m in danger. Moreover, you have the divine power that enables you to return at any time.”

“If I’m not around, King An will not back down,” Chu Li frowned.

Xiao Shi scoffed, “If you’re not around, he might just be able to look for other things to keep himself occupied.”

Chu Li shook his head.

It wasn’t that simple. The reason why King An was so set on destroying was firstly, due to his inner demons, but more importantly, due to interest. He wanted to get rid of the Yi Public House and clear his path to the throne. It was not merely due to them not seeing eye to eye.

Xiao Shi rolled her eyes at him and snorted. “Alright, isn’t he in seclusion? Once he’s almost out, you can just cripple him again!”

Chu Li burst into laughter and slowly nodded. It looked like he would stick to this idea.

“The Secret Guardians Hall will be troublesome,” Chu Li sighed.

The intel from the Secret Guardians Hall was important, maybe not now, but it would be beneficial in the future.

Once a secret guardian, always a secret guardian, with no chance to break away.

“It is troublesome,” Xiao Shi nodded.

She understood the circumstances at the Secret Guardians Hall. He couldn’t just resign and leave. The Secret Guardians Hall will not agree to it.

“Then I guess I’ll have to leave it,” Chu Li sighed.

The Secret Guardians Hall was just an excuse. If he needed to, he could just fake his own death.

He was in a bind. Normally, he would enter Amethyst Mountain without any hesitation and then cultivate the Nature Restoration Manifestation. After doing so, he could cut through Xiao Qi’s Inner State and regain her heart.

Yet he was struggling because he was unwilling to leave her to go to Amethyst Mountain.

The focus was still Xiao Shi – he couldn’t leave Xiao Shi alone.

She did not know martial arts, and as a descendant of the High Duke’s Public Houses, many masters of the martial arts world were after her. Zhu Tianhua and the others have high cultivation levels, so they were still a threat.

His Eclipse Purloin was getting harder and harder to cast. If she was killed, and his Eclipse Purloin failed, then all hope would be lost.

Xiao Shi added, “If you really can enter Amethyst Mountain, you shouldn’t just let the opportunity slip by!”

Chu Li smiled. “Let me think about it!”

“What’s there to think about!” Xiao Shi displeasingly rebutted, “If you want to be an Enlightened Master, then it is a must to enter the four major sects. Up until now, apart from His Majesty, there hasn’t been an Enlightened master that wasn’t from the four major sects!”

Xiao Shi continued, “For thousands of years, there have been many geniuses. Some were smarter than you, but without entering the four major sects, they couldn’t be an Enlightened Master. There’s a short cut in front of you, yet you choose the hardest path?”

Chu Li fell into silence.

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