Chapter 603: Equal Footing and Rivalry

"Strong?"

Zhao Xidong almost cried out loud. In front of Senior Wuyue and this group of white-robed figures, all of whom were at the King level from the start, how could he, Zhao Xidong, possibly be considered strong?

"Senior, you flatter me!" Zhao Xidong quickly turned his head, his face crestfallen, and spoke to Chang Yi.

"Not strong, you..." Chang Yi pointed at the spatial rift, somewhat speechless. "Spatial attribute?"

"It's not him." Gou Wuyue chuckled, gazing into the rift. "Since you're here, why not come out and show yourself?"

The three of them simultaneously looked towards the spatial rift.

From the rift emerged a middle-aged figure with a long sword on his back. The moment he appeared, his sharp gaze fixed on the renowned sword on Gou Wuyue's back. Instantly, sword intent surged through the tent, and even the tables and chairs began to creak and sway.

Chang Yi's eyes instantly turned cold. He did not move until Gou Wuyue waved his hand.

"Greetings, Sword Immortal Wuyue." Xiao Qixiu calmed his surging emotions. He didn't bow but performed a cupped-hand salute.

Gou Wuyue nodded slightly, not lingering, and moved his gaze away. It was clear that this sword cultivator also could not possess spatial attributes.

So...

"Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha—"

Strange laughter emanated from the rift. Qiao Qianzhi, chuckling, loudly proclaimed, "Senior Wuyue, I've long admired you! I apologize if this unexpected visit causes any inconvenience, hee-hee-hee-ha-ha..."

Chang Yi's mouth twitched. This laughter... who on earth are these people? "Unexpected visit?" You've directly barged into the main military tent; how can you call it an 'unexpected visit'?

"Gou Wuyue?"

A floating white-haired Daoist boy appeared right after Qiao Qianzhi. An impolite voice rang out the moment he emerged.

Chang Yi's brow furrowed. "A King?"

He immediately discerned the white-haired Daoist boy's cultivation level. The problem was, he was merely a King, not even having reached the Dao-severing stage, perhaps even weaker than himself. How dare this fellow address Senior Wuyue by his full name?

"How dar... hmmph!"

Before he could finish his angry shout, Chang Yi felt as if the Heavenly Dao had sealed his mouth. His eyes darted around in shock, realizing Senior Wuyue had intervened. This person... has a significant background?

His heart tightened, and Chang Yi suddenly felt that he was the one being presumptuous. Indeed, knowing that Sword Immortal Wuyue was already present, and still daring to use spatial teleportation to arrive, they must have been completely confident. Either they possessed a significant background or extraordinary strength. In such a situation, it would be best to let Senior Wuyue handle it. Why was he making a scene? He looked like a clown!

Realizing this, Chang Yi immediately took a few steps back, observing in silence, not daring to utter another sound.

"It really is you..."

A smile appeared on Gou Wuyue's face, his eyes reflecting the nostalgia of old friends reuniting. "Ye Xiaotian!"

Ye Xiaotian? Chang Yi, seeing Senior Wuyue's reaction, instantly realized his guess was correct. This group has a significant background! But Ye Xiaotian... why had he never heard of him?

"Gou Wuyue!"

Ye Xiaotian landed steadily, the spatial rift behind him sealing. After a stern shout, he suddenly snorted. "Hmph!" Then, he floated up, positioning himself half a head taller than Gou Wuyue.

"Hahaha..." Gou Wuyue burst into laughter. "Still the same, no taller! And why is your hair so much whiter?"

Ye Xiaotian's gaze instantly turned icy.

Zhao Xidong, caught between the two, suddenly felt like he was in a crossfire, silently pierced by cold barbs. What? Do these two know each other? He subtly moved aside, avoiding the direct line of their confrontation, and approached Chang Yi, feeling somewhat bewildered. Then, he subconsciously nudged Chang Yi with his elbow. "Do they know each other?"

Chang Yi tilted his head, his gaze sharpening.

Zhao Xidong instantly froze. "Oh my god! What did I just do?! This person may look like an attendant beside a big shot, but he's also wearing a white robe! At least, he's a King... Working alongside Sword Immortal Wuyue, he must be a Dao-severing cultivator, right? How could I be so casual?!"

"My apologies, my apologies..." Zhao Xidong almost wished he could find a hole to bury himself in. This wasn't just presumptuous; it was utterly outrageous!

Although Chang Yi was somewhat displeased, he wasn't one to hold grudges. Much like the group outside the tent, who, despite knowing a major battle was imminent, could still joke about "rescuing Senior Wuyue." Under Gou Wuyue's leadership, this group was known for its playful and unrestrained atmosphere. Since Zhao Xidong didn't treat him as an outsider, Chang Yi was naturally curious about the white-haired Daoist boy's origin.

"Where are you from? Why are you here?" Chang Yi turned his head to face forward and asked via telepathic communication.

Zhao Xidong's expression froze, but his lips didn't move as he telepathically replied. "From Tian Sang Spirit Palace, here to pick someone up."

"How is it that your leader knows our leader?" Zhao Xidong was utterly bewildered. A minor place like Tian Sang Spirit Palace should have no connection whatsoever with a major figure from the Central Region. Yet now... They know each other?

"..." Chang Yi was speechless for a moment. People from Tian Sang Spirit Palace? Isn't that just a small Spirit Palace from a remote corner? And they know Senior Wuyue?

The two said nothing more. Because Gou Wuyue spoke again from the front: "So many years have passed, Ye Xiaotian, why has your strength not improved at all? You're still... at the Dao Realm?"

Ye Xiaotian's gaze turned cold, and he sneered, "The Dao Realm is quite good. So many years have passed, why haven't you broken through the void to become a Saint? You're still stagnating?"

"At least I've successfully severed the Dao and entered the Grand Void." Gou Wuyue said, a smile in his eyes.

"Are you content with just the Grand Void?" Ye Xiaotian sneered mockingly. "Back then, among the Ten Venerables, some even succeeded in becoming Half-Saints, right? Your progress truly is the slowest!"

Chang Yi, listening from behind, was dumbfounded. This fellow is far too bold with his words! Senior Wuyue had just lamented about Sword Immortal Wen Ting's realm. Wasn't this just adding fuel to the fire?

Unexpectedly, Gou Wuyue wasn't angry at all. He flicked his sleeve, and pacing, said, "There are priorities, and there are matters of favors and obligations. Some things are not that I am unwilling to do them, but that I am unable."

"Ultimately, aren't you just regretting joining the Saint Divine Hall, which delayed your own cultivation?" Ye Xiaotian said.

Chang Yi, listening from the side, felt his legs go weak. What kind of background does this short, white-haired fellow have? How dare he say such things?

"There were naturally delays. One cannot have it all in life; gain and loss are inevitable, merely choices." Gou Wuyue sighed, not dwelling on the topic. He paused, having already walked behind Ye Xiaotian. His hand touched the spatial rift, which had left no trace, making it impossible to detect any aura. Gou Wuyue felt a little amazed and asked, "So, regarding that previous matter, have you considered it?"

"Spatial attributes are rare in the world, but similarly, using them to sever the Dao is incredibly difficult." Gou Wuyue continued. "If it's just you alone, even if you turn your hair from white back to black again, it might not help. But!"

As Gou Wuyue spoke, he turned around, his gaze fixed intently on the white-haired Daoist boy's back. "As long as you agree, with resource supplies and the blessing of Half-Saint power, severing the Dao with spatial abilities will be far from difficult!"

"Heh." Ye Xiaotian sneered, "Don't worry, I won't join the Saint Divine Hall."

The two listening bystanders instantly froze. Join... join the Saint Divine Hall?

Zhao Xidong and Chang Yi slowly turned their heads, their eyes meeting, both filled with disbelief. The former marveled at how their Dean could have caught the attention of the Saint Divine Hall headquarters and still be able to refuse such an alluring offer. The latter was shocked that a mere King could flatly reject Senior Wuyue's invitation.

"Wait!"

"Spatial attributes?" The more Chang Yi looked at the white-haired Daoist boy, the more familiar he seemed.

Spatial attributes were exceedingly rare. Even in the Saint Divine Hall headquarters, which he was familiar with, not a single person with such attributes could be found openly. And for Senior Wuyue to so earnestly invite this white-haired Daoist boy to join, it was likely that even in secret, the headquarters couldn't find anyone truly capable of filling that position.

Chang Yi tried to recall, and indeed, a memory surfaced. Although a long time had passed, the previous Ten Venerables competition, however, was hailed as the most intense in history. Aside from the names that ultimately found their way into the bards' songs, even those who were eliminated weren't necessarily inferior to the Ten Venerables themselves.

"As for... spatial attributes?" Chang Yi thought of someone.

Back then, in the early stages of the Ten Venerables competition, there truly was a dazzling individual who, despite being merely at the peak of the Grandmaster realm—at most a half-step King—daringly entered the chaotic battlefield where Kings and Dao-severing cultivators were fiercely fighting. It seemed he relied on those astonishing spatial attributes.

Indeed, some had commented that if that spatial cultivator had been born a few years earlier, gaining more years of experience, and if he could have comprehended the Dao Realm and entered the King level in the early stages of the Ten Venerables competition, he would surely have had a place among the Ten Venerables! But it was a great pity. Time truly was the unit of all things; no one could surpass it. The inherent flaw of a half-step King was indeed a limitation. "Touching the Heavenly Dao" and "manipulating the Heavenly Dao" were indeed a huge, insurmountable chasm. No one could cross it in a single step! Great waves wash away fine sand. Yet time truly was the unit of everything... Bit by bit, sand could form a tower.

Had that person from back then once again powerfully entered the sight of the Saint Divine Hall headquarters' giants?

"So, that guy... is this guy? This white-haired Daoist boy... Ye Xiaotian?" Chang Yi felt almost certain he couldn't be wrong. Was this a man who had lost to time? No wonder then, daring to speak to Senior Wuyue like that, and even calling him by his full name... They were all people from that era, perhaps, they had even fought before?

At this moment, having understood everything, Chang Yi suddenly felt how presumptuous he had been earlier. He should have realized it. Would spatial attributes be simple? He was trembling slightly.

Ye Xiaotian's blunt refusal brought a slight silence to the atmosphere. Gou Wuyue pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are you truly not going to give it proper thought?"

"I'm not taking on your mess," Ye Xiaotian replied without hesitation. "Look at you, your edges have been dulled by reality, and your cultivation progress is so slow."

"But aren't you the same?" Gou Wuyue waved his hand. "What can a mere Tian Sang Spirit Palace offer you? You don't even have a proper battle there. Do you still possess the ambition of back then? Do you still have the confidence to directly face Dao-severing cultivators?"

"Tian Sang Spirit Palace alone is enough for me; I'm perfectly content." Ye Xiaotian didn't directly respond.

"You're stuck in your ways!" Gou Wuyue roared.

"Contentment brings happiness."

"You're working in isolation!"

"I'm perfectly at ease."

"You're deceiving yourself, like a frog in a well!"

"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

"You..."

Ye Xiaotian had an immediate comeback for everything. Gou Wuyue, however, was somewhat angered, his eyes narrowing. "Are you mocking me?"

"Don't take it personally."

"It was out of obligation, a matter of circumstance!" Gou Wuyue's voice turned cold for the first time.

"Then where did your sword come from?" Ye Xiaotian fixed his gaze on Nu Lan's Voice, the renowned sword on Gou Wuyue's back.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Qiao Qianzhi's hand trembled; he hadn't expected things to escalate like this. He wanted to be a peacemaker, to mediate. But Gou Wuyue suddenly drew his sword.

"Ohm—"

A loud sword hum instantly pierced the sky, a cold light flashed, and the central army tent split in two, exploding outwards with a roar.

"Holy crap!"

"Damn it, don't push me!"

"Ah, my foot—"

Outside, the white-robed figures who had been huddled together, eavesdropping, were startled and stumbled back frantically. They tried to retreat, but how could they be fast enough? Instantly, shoulders bumped shoulders, feet trampled feet, the crowd shoved and fell, and screams erupted one after another.

The observers inside the tent glanced over in surprise, and the white-robed figures outside scattered, the three parties now distinctly separated, the situation on the verge of erupting.

"Ye Xiaotian, do you have a death wish?" Gou Wuyue's gaze was utterly frigid.

Chang Yi hadn't seen Senior Wuyue lose his temper and composure like this in a long time. He and Zhao Xidong likewise scurried back. But then he reconsidered. "No!"

He was on Sword Immortal Wuyue's side. He immediately steadied his stance, straightened his body, and golden light bloomed from his fingertips.

Zhao Xidong was almost blinded by the sudden burst of light. "Light?" His heart was greatly alarmed, and he swallowed with difficulty. "Are you kidding me?! This attendant, is he that powerful? This attribute is also very rare!"

"Sword Immortal Wuyue, what a display of power!" Ye Xiaotian scoffed, "Are you pretending to be someone who can dominate an era just because you wield the Eighth Sword Immortal's sword?"

Gou Wuyue lowered his eyelids, making no further move. With a "hum," the spiritual array's light on the nine heavens fluctuated, directly enveloping the area. The next second, the few individuals from Tian Sang Spirit Palace, originally inside the main tent, were instantly teleported dozens of feet away, specifically shifted behind Gou Wuyue, avoiding the direct confrontation.

"Who moved the spiritual array?"

The white-robed figures who had retreated to the rear instantly gaped, turning their gazes towards those responsible for the spiritual arrays.

"We didn't!"

The few white-robed figures crowded at the very back panicked. "We didn't even touch it..."

"Then what is this?"

"It was manipulated?!"

The scene fell silent for a moment, just before all the white-robed figures could react and start a commotion. A sudden, eerie laugh broke the silence.

"Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha..."

"Calm down, everyone, calm down. We're not here to fight."

"Xiaotian!"

Qiao Qianzhi pressed Ye Xiaotian's shoulder, only to find his hand passing directly through the other's body. He immediately cursed, "Stand a bit lower!"

Ye Xiaotian remained motionless.

Gou Wuyue listened to the strange laughter, a twitch appearing at the corner of his mouth. He slowly turned around, finally fixing his gaze on this unknown figure who had been constantly chuckling awkwardly. "And who are you?"

"Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha..." Qiao Qianzhi gave two friendly laughs, a gesture of goodwill. He pressed a hand down, "Put them down, put your swords down. We're not fighting, alright?"

Gou Wuyue remained silent, his hand twitched, and the void sword hummed, shaking the heavens.

"Qiao Qianzhi!" Elder Qiao quickly added, "My name is Qiao Qianzhi. We have no ill intentions. Please calm your anger, Senior Wuyue, please calm your anger, hee-hee-hee-ha-ha..."