Seeing Lu Ming's angry expression, Big Yellow immediately bared its teeth and burst into laughter.
“Hahaha... Boss, you look so cute right now!!”
“Woof-haha...”
Mu Linsen chimed in from the side, “Big Brother, you really are quite cute. Can I pinch your face?”
Smack smack smack...
Lu Ming pinned Big Yellow and Mu Linsen down, giving them a thorough beating.
“Cute, my foot! Pinching my face, my foot...”
Big Yellow and Mu Linsen dodged and weaved through Wang Defa and the others, and eventually, the whole thing devolved into a massive group brawl!
Even the usually cold Fu Chen joined in!
Yet, amid everyone's cries of mock pain, there was a profound sense of joy.
It was a level of happiness they hadn't experienced once in the past three years!
After all, ever since Lu Ming went missing, everyone had been sick with worry!
Even though they had always believed Lu Ming wouldn't die, they couldn't help but worry!
The Grand Elder, the Qingshan Sect Master, and the others also watched the group's playful antics with smiles.
Even the perpetually icy Hanyan let his lips curl upward into a slight smile!
After all, he was the one who had recruited this disciple!
...
“Abbot, the Qingshan Sect has replied to us. They said they will bring their Saint to attend the Buddha Son's birthday celebration,” Zhiku reported to Abbot Zhiyuan with a hint of confusion.
Abbot Zhiyuan was also somewhat puzzled. “They found their Saint?”
The chubby monk, Zhiku, shook his head.
“I don't know! Perhaps they selected a new Saint?”
Abbot Zhiyuan nodded, finding this explanation highly plausible.
After all, the Qingshan Sect's Saint had been missing for three years.
It was only normal for them to hold a new selection.
“Come to think of it, it's rather strange. The Qingshan Sect's Saint vanished at the exact same time as the Ancient God Clan's silly ancestor... Do you think there's any connection between the two?” Abbot Zhiyuan couldn't help but speculate.
Zhiku shook his head.
“How is that possible? The Ancient God Clan's silly ancestor is a peak Half-Immortal, while that Qingshan Sect Saint was only at the Unity stage! The two aren't even in the same league...”
Abbot Zhiyuan nodded, agreeing that he was probably overthinking things.
He then turned to Zhiku and instructed, “Send word to all the prominent forces in the Central Province as well. Invite them to attend our Buddha Son's celebration!”
After all, if only a few ancient powers attended, the gathering would be too small and lacking in excitement.
By inviting more people, their Ancient Buddha Sect could also prepare to re-enter the mortal world!
Over the past few years, they had focused entirely on the growth of the Buddha Son and hadn't participated much in external affairs.
They had already fallen behind forces like the Ancient Emperor!
“Understood!”
Zhiku and the others acknowledged the order and went down to prepare.
Inside the Qingshan Sect's simple and unadorned main hall, the entire sect was gathered.
Lu Ming didn't beat around the bush and looked directly at the Grand Elder, asking, “Why did our Qingshan Sect suddenly go into seclusion back then? Why did you all hide your cultivations? And why did you always kick us out...”
Lu Ming had already learned about the Grand Elder and the others' true situations from Big Yellow.
They were all hidden powerhouses!
So why on earth did they do that?
The Qingshan Sect Master glanced at the Grand Elder and said, “Let the Grand Elder tell you.”
With that, Lu Ming, Big Yellow, and the others all turned their gazes to the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder stroked his beard. “Back then...”
Just as the Grand Elder was about to explain how he had divined that the Qingshan Sect would become a stepping stone for a child of fortune and face total annihilation...
He suddenly choked, his face turning bright red as he coughed!
This was because a black halo had suddenly appeared over Lu Ming's head, with the word "Protagonist" written right in the middle!
On the back of this black ring, the words "stepping stone" had faded to a very faint print!
At the same time, they finally understood what the "pig feet" Lu Ming constantly mumbled about actually meant. It wasn't pig feet at all, but the "protagonist"!
Combining that with the words "stepping stone," they realized this must be the protagonist's stepping stone!
The corners of the mouths of the Sect Master and the three elders twitched.
It seemed that Lu Ming, as a stepping stone, was far more formidable than any of them!
He even had a literal halo!
After all, none of them had such a thing.
No wonder Lu Ming could alter their fates as stepping stones.
As it turned out, he was the boss of all stepping stones!
Looking at the nearly faded words "stepping stone" and the change in Lu Ming's facial features, the Grand Elder and the others figured that Lu Ming was likely on the verge of completely breaking free from his fate as a stepping stone.
The question was, what on earth was this black ring?
A destiny-revealing black ring?
Just then, they saw a line of text appear in front of the black ring:
“If you dare to speak the truth, I will slap you to death...”
The strange thing was that this text and the black ring were only visible to the Qingshan Sect Master and the three elders.
They could tell that Big Yellow and the others didn't react at all, meaning they couldn't see it.
The Sect Master and the elders exchanged glances, muttering in their hearts: We are the prestigious Qingshan Sect. Why would we be afraid of a bizarre black ring?
The moment this thought surfaced, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended!
The sheer force of it caused all four of them to shudder violently!
They were all thoroughly shaken!
Right then, the black ring shook slightly, and another line of text appeared!
“Say that Lu Ming is the child of fortune, the protagonist!!”
After displaying this message, it immediately dissolved and vanished.
The black ring also sank back into Lu Ming's head, disappearing without a trace!
Lu Ming looked at the Grand Elder with a puzzled expression.
“Grand Elder, why did you stop talking?”
Big Yellow, Wang Defa, and the others also looked at the Grand Elder with curiosity.
“Ah... Ha... Sigh... Isn't it because I'm getting old? My memory isn't what it used to be, so I had to take a moment to recall!”
Lu Ming's handsome brow furrowed. Is that really it?
Just then, the Grand Elder's voice rang out again:
“Back then, I divined that our Qingshan Sect would face a sect-extinguishing disaster—the kind where the entire sect is wiped out!”
Lu Ming and Big Yellow stared at the Grand Elder in shock. There was such a thing?
“Why would we face a sect-extinguishing disaster?” Lu Ming asked in confusion.
Big Yellow and the others also stared intently at the Grand Elder.
At the same time, Wang Defa and the others finally understood why the Qingshan Sect rarely recruited disciples.
The Grand Elder's eyes flickered. How was he supposed to make up a story now?
Oh well, he would just spout some nonsense!
These kids had always been relatively easy to fool anyway.
“Because our Qingshan Sect would produce a child of fortune. Not only would we old fogies affect the growth of this child of fortune, but we would also drag him down, ultimately leading to all of us dying...”
Hearing this, Lu Ming's eyes flickered. The "child of fortune" he was referring to had to be him, the protagonist.
After all, he literally had a Protagonist Halo over his head, so calling him a child of fortune made perfect sense!
According to certain tropes, those close to the protagonist indeed tended to get sacrificed to heaven!
A major characteristic of a protagonist was sacrificing loved ones for boundless power!
Sure enough, just as Lu Ming's thoughts settled, the Grand Elder's voice continued:
“The only way to resolve this fatal tribulation was to minimize our influence on the child of fortune. We couldn't offer him any help and had to let him grow wildly and independently...”
At this point, as if worried that Lu Ming and the others wouldn't believe him, the Grand Elder even went out of his way to retrieve an image stone and projected an image of his younger self.
“Back then, I looked like this. It was precisely because of that divination that I suffered a backlash, which turned me into the withered old man I am today!”
Lu Ming's eyes flickered, and he let out a silent sigh.
Sigh... As expected, they were dragged down by me, the protagonist!
Big Yellow and the others were completely shocked.
They had never expected this to be the reason!
Only Wang Defa felt that something was slightly off. Was that really how it was?
However, seeing how convinced Lu Ming and the others were, Wang Defa decided he might as well believe it too!
Rate on N.U.
