My Master Disconnected Yet Again

“Send him down the mountain!” Lonemoon turned to instruct the other three disciples.

“Yes, Master.” The three of them got up and carried the man on the floor before retreating.

Fatty carried Mushroom. “Master, I’m going to bring Mushroom down.”

“Mm,” Lonemoon responded. His eyes remained on the empty arena as his expression fell. They could not figure out what he was thinking; they only felt the air around them get heavier.

Shen Ying and Chef exchanged a glance, then walked two steps forward to stand on either side of him.

Shen Ying retrieved a pastry and handed it over. “Father Niu, do you want some?”

“… No!”

“Oh.” Shen Ying put the pastry into her own mouth instead.

Suddenly, silence filled the arena. The only sound came from Shen Ying’s chewing of the pastry.

A long time later…

Lonemoon watched as one by one, the pastries in front of him disappeared. He pursed his lips. Finally, he could not help but ask, “Can’t the two of you say something to comfort me?”

“Father Niu, what do you want to hear?” Shen Ying asked.

“How would I know?” Can’t you tell that I’m in a bad mood?

“Alright!” Shen Ying sighed. “Father Niu, you have so many disciples. It’s natural that one or two of them will drop out! Relax.”

“Master is right!” Chef added. “You have taught so many people, there will be… some who will not become sword cultivators.”

“This is how you comfort me?” This was more like adding salt to my wounds!

“Father Niu, if you really can’t bear to let him go, ask him to come back. It’s no big deal.” It was true that there were very few people with innate sword embodiments.. What’s more, apart from messing up for the sake of his sister, Jian Xing was pretty good in other areas. He was not entirely hopeless.

“No way!” Lonemoon turned that suggestion down immediately and frowned. “Even if there are no more sword cultivators in the world, I will not accept someone as evil as him being responsible for passing the Dao down.”

“But… everyone has flaws.”

“I know.” Lonemoon turned to face Shen Ying. “I can forgive him for making mistakes in order to protect his sister, but I cannot forgive him for harboring evil intentions toward innocent people. Mushroom did nothing to harm him. Why did she have to pay the price for Zhi Lin to survive? Jian Xing knew that Mushroom was innocent, but he helped Zhi Lin to obtain her body anyway, and even thought of an escape plan for her. If he had come clean about this, there would have been better ways to deal with it. But he didn’t! If he could do something like that to someone he knew, who’s to say what he would be capable of after he sets up his own sect and when there’s no one around to control him?”

Lonemoon sighed. “Of course I know that there’s no such thing as a perfect person. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve taught him for so many years. I was waiting for him to become a master himself. Yet, all my effort went down the drain just like that. This concerns the entire mortal race. Of course I’ll feel like it’s a waste. But I will not ignore the truth just because of the importance of the mortal race. If I let him off this time, who is going to let Mushroom off? Who will seek justice for her? If everyone gives up the truth for the sake of the greater good, this world will become a scary place.”

“I just think that while there’s no such thing as right or wrong in this world, and while it may be hard to tell good from evil sometimes, there must at least be some form of fairness, right?”

He was extremely serious as he spoke. Even Yi Qing was looking at him strangely. It was almost as if Yi Qing was only really looking at him for the first time. Was this really the shrewd businessman he met initially?

Shen Ying suddenly laughed. She patted Lonemoon firmly on the shoulder and said genuinely, “Father Niu, good on you.”

Eh?

Why was she praising him so seriously all of a sudden?

“You’ve done it.”

“What?”

Lonemoon paused. The next thing he knew, he heard a series of thunder as the sky darkened. He looked up and saw the lightning clouds rolling in and covering the sky above him. It was not just nearby. He released his divine perception and found that the entire mortal continent – no, the entire plane – was this way. The gray clouds covered the skies throughout the entire plane.

It was clear as day just seconds ago, but everything was pitch black. Lightning began to flash among the clouds. These clouds looked different from the ones that rolled in during the lightning tribulations. Above the layer of clouds, Lonemoon could faintly see something huge forming. It was like a shapeless net was hovering over the entire plane.

That thing was familiar but foreign at the same time. It was formless, and omnipresent. Lonemoon felt it get closer and closer. This was… the nomological force!

(⊙_⊙)

Before he could react, the transmission amulet by his side lit up. Hong Meng’s agitated voice came through.

“Sir, Sir! Did you see that? The Heavenly Dao has been set up! Come up and see, it’s the Heavenly Dao ah…. It’s finally set up! That’s great! Wah… this world finally has the Heavenly Dao hahaha…. wah ah…”

Hong Meng was crying and laughing at the same time, so that he sounded like a strange wailing ghost. He sounded so excited that Lonemoon and the others were expecting to see his head pop up out of the transmission amulet anytime soon. He was shouting so loudly that their heads hurt.

Confused, Lonemoon looked up at the sky. Once again, he felt the new nomological force above the layer of clouds. It was almost as if the nomological force was responding to everything he said. He felt like his observations and thoughts were very welcome by the nomological force, which seemed to be rejoicing.

This really was the Heavenly Dao!

How did it suddenly set up? He did not do anything. Weren’t things like the Heavenly Dao set up in a more formal manner? Didn’t they need to conduct a meeting to discuss the rules of the Heavenly Dao one by one? Wouldn’t they have to put it to the test before they then confirm those rules? Shen Ying, the manager, had not even done a single thing yet.

Could it be that he was leaving something out? He thought back to everything that just happened. It was almost as if what he said…

Fairness?!

His heart thudded as he clenched his fists by his side, crushing the transmission amulet in his hands. Hong Meng’s wailing and screaming finally stopped. He turned to face the master and disciple duo, face falling. Rage began to fill his body.

“Both of you, explain things to me! What exactly is going on?”

The two of them stiffened and averted their gaze. One looked to the left, and the other to the right.

“Huh? Father Niu, what are you saying? I don’t understand at all!”

“That’s right, Father Niu, what are we supposed to explain?”

“Get lost! Continue acting!” Lonemoon pointed to the sky. “This Heavenly Dao was set up because of me, wasn’t it? I’m a freaking assistant, and I’m not even from this plane. Where is this authority coming from?”

“Congratulations, Father Niu!” Shen Ying reached out and shoved a piece of paper into Lonemoon’s hands. She seemed to have been prepared to do this for a long time. “From today onward, you are the manager of this plane. Applause!”

Once she finished speaking, the master and disciple duo began to clap awkwardly.

Lonemoon lowered his head to see that there was a piece of A4 paper in his hands. On it was written in huge font – Plane Transfer Form!

Lonemoon: “…” Son of a b*tch!