Zhang Lan frowned, pondering again and again over the words of the Chief Elder, thinking about his tone and mannerisms. After mulling it over repeatedly, he gradually grasped the underlying message.
"Words need to be spoken beforehand... ’Mo’ must not betray my Zhang family’s ultimate technique, ’give’ this your best efforts to learn, ’do not’ let me down, ’you must’ remember this closely, be sure!"
Words, Mo, give, do not, you must...
Reversed as: You must, do not, give, Mo, words...
You must give... Mo Hua?!
So, the Chief Elder gave me the Third Grade Water Passing Step, and then the message he said added up to mean...
"Be sure, you must hand over the Water Passing Step to Mo Hua?!"
Is that what it means?!
Ah?!
Zhang Lan stood frozen in place, utterly confused.
The Chief Elder... he really knows how to speak in riddles.
Could it be that the elder had seen through everything?
Moreover, did the Chief Elder himself make a decision violating ancestral teachings—to gift away the Zhang family’s exclusive movement technique...
And through my hands?
Zhang Lan sighed deeply, feeling helpless inside.
...
The next day, after early morning cultivation, while Mo Hua was eating buns in the dining hall, he received a tightly wrapped storage box.
Opening the package, there was a note on the storage box, which read:
"Gifted by a kindly uncle passing by."
The handwriting and wording were very familiar.
Mo Hua was somewhat surprised, "Uncle Zhang? He sent this to me?"
Mo Hua opened the wooden box and found inside a sealed Jade Slip. When his divine sense entered the slip, he saw the large words on it:
"Water Passing Step · Golden Core Chapter."
"Golden Core Realm... Water Passing Step movement technique book?"
Mo Hua was first delighted, then moved, and afterward a bit shocked:
"Didn’t Uncle Zhang say he hadn’t learned the Third Grade Water Passing Step?"
"Then how did he get hold of this movement technique manual?"
Mo Hua was puzzled inside.
Meanwhile, Zhang Lan had left Qingzhou City and was riding a carriage with other cultivators of the Zhang family, embarking on the road to Kan State.
The carriage interior was quiet and comfortable, with the aroma of incense wafting.
Zhang Lan occasionally glanced at the Great Elder, looking puzzled.
The Great Elder, however, sat with closed eyes, calmly resting as if nothing had happened.
It was only when the carriage truly left the Qian Learning State Boundary that the surroundings changed, did the Great Elder open his eyes and look at the sky outside the window, his thoughts complicated.
During this trip to Qianxue State, after several inquiries and investigations, some answers had emerged for the question that had puzzled him for so long.
But because of this, he was even more worried.
A blood sacrifice... the Underworld... it could not just be a coincidence.
"A sign of great disaster is already showing, I fear the Nine States might change. I wonder what fate awaits our Zhang family in the end..."
The Great Elder looked at the somber sky, his gaze dim.
...
After parting with Zhang Lan, Mo Hua received an invitation from the Gu family to attend a banquet.
This banquet was specially arranged for Mo Hua by the Gu family and essentially should be considered as a "farewell banquet."
Mo Hua had a good relationship with the Gu family and knew many people. Now, as graduation approached, he might have to leave Taixu Gate and the Qianxue State Boundary, so naturally, he wanted to thoroughly say goodbye to the Gu family people.
Originally, Mo Hua intended to host the gathering.
But as he was a little loose cultivator, he didn’t have that many spirit stones.
Moreover, it was unlikely that the Gu family would really let him host it.
The grand Qianxue Dao Discussion Conference, where he was a dual leader in formations, was held, and now as "highly respected" Junior Brother of the First Major School of Qianxue and a popular "Crown Prince," participating in the Gu family’s banquet had already greatly satisfied Patriarch Gu, bringing glory to the many elders and disciples of the Gu family.
The banquet was held at night.
Although it was not during a festival, the Gu family still decorated the place festively to entertain Mo Hua, creating a lively and grand atmosphere.
All kinds of delicacies were prepared early on.
Now with the bloody disaster quelled, Mr. Tu dead, and the evil god’s minions along with the demon cultivators wiped out entirely in one fell swoop, their corpses exploded into nothing.