Chapter 604: Powder and Makeup Come to an End

“Damn!”

The group in white were almost dumbfounded by this self-introduction. Hearing the tongue-twisting words, it took them a long time to process what this 'Qiao Qianzhi' was all about. Their mouths twitched, and they collectively felt uneasy.

The scene had clearly reached such a fervent and intense point that swords should have been drawn.

But hearing that devilish 'hee-hee-hee-ha-ha' laughter...

Initially, it hadn't sounded so grating.

But now, they were bursting with the urge to complain.

“What's wrong with the spirit array?”

“Did he do it?”

“Is this guy a Grandmaster of Spirit Arrays?”

“But surely not! How could our team of spirit array masters have their weakness exposed so quickly? Is he more than just a Grandmaster of Spirit Arrays?”

“No, it's mainly his laughter...”

“Holy crap, no! Stop! I can't hold it in any longer. You all carry on, I need to go to the back and have a laugh.”

“Look, quick, Senior Wuyue seems to be struggling too, look at his mouth...”

“Holy crap! Senior Wuyue is looking over!”

“Dodge! Dodge!”

The white-clothed onlookers were like spectators engrossed in the spectacle. Seeing Gou Wuyue's cold gaze sweep over them, they immediately fell silent in fear.

However, their collective aura had also been roused by their discussions and complaints. Qiao Qianzhi, despite repeatedly claiming he "wasn't here to fight," his laughter, full of mockery, made everyone want to fight!

“Calm down, calm down.” Qiao Qianzhi stooped, maintaining a humble posture. While others couldn't let go of their pride, as the Grand Elder of the Spirit Affairs Pavilion, this was something he excelled at.

“Senior Wuyue...”

However, Gou Wuyue had no intention of letting the matter go easily. After merely glancing at Qiao Qianzhi, he spoke again, interrupting him. His gaze fixed on the white-haired child.

“Ye Xiaotian!”

“Be gentler.”

Qiao Qianzhi felt helpless, clearly unable to interject. He hooked his finger, intending to pull Ye Xiaotian's hand, but it passed straight through.

“If you want to kill me, you can try.”

Ye Xiaotian showed not an ounce of fear. Upon hearing this, Zhao Xidong felt a chill run down his spine.

This...This isn't what we agreed upon!

Didn't they say they were just here to pick someone up and wouldn't start a fight?

And so many excuses were given, and I was told to ignore the intel, and to be biased in advance...

This has gone too far!

They're about to start fighting!

Zhao Xidong shivered and wanted to say something. Xiao Qixiu's footsteps veered, and he stepped in front of him without a word.

“What do you mean?”

Zhao Xidong glared at him directly. Now was not the time to be polite with Boss Xiao. If things went wrong, his wife might end up a widow!

“Watch and learn. If the sky falls, someone will hold it up,” Xiao Qixiu transmitted calmly.

Zhao Xidong fell silent. He glanced at the height of the Dean...

Rely on him to hold it up? Are you serious?

In the arena, they stood in opposition, the scene was extremely tense. Yet, even though Gou Wuyue had drawn his sword, Ye Xiaotian showed not the slightest bit of fear. And even though Ye Xiaotian spoke so arrogantly, to the point where even the white-clothed cultivators felt it was intolerable, Gou Wuyue merely held his sword. He didn't even show the slightest intention of striking.

“Good!”

After a full ten seconds of stillness, at a moment when everyone was breaking out in a cold sweat, Gou Wuyue let out a loud shout and sheathed his sword.

“That's it?”

Ye Xiaotian raised his right eyebrow, his provocative words almost made Zhao Xidong drop dead on the spot.

“Ye Xiaotian, I didn't expect that after all this time, you'd still have the same temperament. I understand what you mean.” A smile reappeared on Gou Wuyue's face. “Perhaps this is why we walk different paths.”

“That's irrelevant.”

Ye Xiaotian floated backward, glancing at the anxious onlookers outside, then casting a disdainful look at the person in front of him and said:

“Slaying the Dao, I want to rely on myself, not external forces. As for you, Gou Wuyue, you simply chose to surrender in the end. Our paths diverge not due to temperament, but due to the magnitude of our ambitions. My heart yearns for the vast ocean; though confined to a corner, I can still gaze upon the entire continent. You, who command the White-Robed, stand above the clouds, yet at this moment, you don't even dare to draw your sword.”

“Why?”

Gou Wuyue's mouth twitched; he could barely force a smile. Everyone outside listened in a daze. They had no idea how this white-haired child became the Dean of the Heavenly Mulberry Spirit Palace. Someone had already offered an olive branch; didn't he know how to take the hint?

“You shouldn't have come just to mock me, should you?” Gou Wuyue's expression turned blank. He didn't intend to explain. There were too many things in the world where bystanders each held their own opinion. If everyone wanted to know his inner thoughts and expectations, wouldn't he, as the person involved, have to spend a great deal of effort debating and explaining? Things are done by people, not determined by public opinion. Gou Wuyue knew that Ye Xiaotian certainly misunderstood him, but he didn't intend to speak about it. Nothing else, he just didn't have the energy. Everything would be judged by time.

The arena fell silent for a moment, before Ye Xiaotian slowly shook his head.

“Of course not.”

“But now that I'm here, I just wanted to say a few more words.”

“You probably don't just want to say those two sentences, do you?” Gou Wuyue sneered.

“Naturally.”

Ye Xiaotian, however, didn't reply again. Instead, after glancing at a sword slave named Lan Zhisheng, he landed on both feet and tilted his head back.

“I am here for one purpose: to pick someone up.”

His tone was remarkably amiable. In fact, on the white-haired child's face, a remarkably gentle smile appeared for the first time. However, that smile, which was as refreshing as a spring breeze, almost made the eyes of the onlookers pop out.

“What's going on?”

The fellow who was so aggressive just now... changed his demeanor faster than flipping a book. This must be what they mean! Zhao Xidong also watched, completely bewildered. He turned his head uncertainly to glance at Boss Xiao, and pointed, “L-learn this?”

“Thump!”

Xiao Qixiu directly gave him a whack on the back of his head, which hurt so much that he almost squatted down, clutching his head.

*Damn it, if not this, then what should I learn? The Dean landing? I'd need his height for that!* Zhao Xidong cursed inwardly. But some words, he obviously couldn't utter aloud.

He looked back at the scene. The atmosphere seemed to relax as the two powerful figures eased up simultaneously, and became less subtle. Though it was still subtle, the current subtlety was different from before.

It felt like...

“Suppress first to raise later?”

“Or raise first to suppress later?”

Zhao Xidong shook the water from his mind; he realized his knowledge was clearly insufficient to make a precise judgment. He could only feel a certain... feeling, that indescribable feeling!

“Understood?” Xiao Qixiu transmitted his voice.

Zhao Xidong nodded, then shook his head.

“Fool!” Xiao Qixiu muttered, and said nothing more.

*A bunch of old fogeys, playing guessing games...* Zhao Xidong muttered to himself, and focused his gaze, no longer distracted.

After Ye Xiaotian finished speaking, Gou Wuyue clearly understood something, revealing a slightly dazed expression, an expression he wanted to suppress but couldn't, a look of helplessness once exposed.

“Picking someone up?” His tone was slightly mocking.

Ye Xiaotian, however, seemed to flare up in anger. “Yes, picking someone up!”

“Picking up whom?” Gou Wuyue asked.

“Don't you know whom I'm picking up?”

“If you don't say, how would I know?”

“You know, so why should I say?”

“I don't know.”

Ye Xiaotian was immediately so angered that his white hair seemed to flutter. He roared, “Heavenly Mulberry Spirit Palace!”

“What about them?”

“The people from Heavenly Mulberry Spirit Palace!”

“What happened to them?”

The scene fell silent. Everyone's hearts jumped again, and the cold sweat that had just dried up reappeared.

So, they're going to do it all over again, but in reverse, huh? Why had they never seen these people act so childishly before? Today, they all looked like children?

Ye Xiaotian reined in his anger and calmed his tone. “Gou Wuyue, I know we don't get along, but I'm not just here today for old grievances; I'm here for new people.”

“Oh.” Gou Wuyue remained unperturbed.

Ye Xiaotian clenched his jaw, then released it and said, “If they have already emerged from the White Cavern, why are you still holding them instead of releasing them directly?”

Upon hearing this, the white-robed cultivators tensed up, assuming a formal and serious posture.

“Emerged?”

Gou Wuyue smiled. “When did you ever see them emerge?”

“Right now! This very moment!” Ye Xiaotian pointed to the white-clothed cultivators outside. “Isn't their reaction obvious enough?”

“Heh.” Gou Wuyue smiled faintly and said, “Since when can 'reactions' be presented as evidence in court? Without evidence, I don't like to speak, nor do I like to hear others speak.”

“Is this a 'court'?” Ye Xiaotian pointed to the ground, then cast a sideways glance at the tents on one side, which had been split by sword intent. “The roof was already sliced off by you. If there were a plaque, it would have been broken long ago. And you're talking about a 'court'?”

“Hmm, indeed, a court has rules. If it's not a court, then there are no rules.” Gou Wuyue spread his hands. “But now that even the rules are gone, you talk to me about reactions?”

A vein twitched on Ye Xiaotian's forehead. He hissed a breath, then forcibly calmed himself down.

“Gou Wuyue, let's be straightforward. Have the people been brought out by you?”

“No.”

“Good, then what if they have?”

“If they have, you can take them.”

“Alright, you said it!”

Ye Xiaotian immediately soared into the sky, his gaze sweeping towards a certain spot. “Within this heaven and earth, there is only one space I cannot sense. Do you dare to show me?”

Gou Wuyue also shot into the sky with a whoosh.

“It's not that I don't dare, but that I cannot. As you know, the White-Robed have their own rules when doing things. Your unexpected arrival has already broken the rules.”

Ye Xiaotian burst into laughter. “Old... Gou Wuyue! You yourself said there were no rules!”

Below, someone instantly felt the conflict was about to escalate. That roar, it was practically a declaration of war, wasn't it?!

Gou Wuyue was also considerably annoyed by that “old what-you-call-it,” but as an elder, he maintained his composure. “There may be no rules for a hall without rules, but that doesn't mean the White-Robed here have no rules!”

“These are the rules you speak of?!”

With a furious roar from Ye Xiaotian, his entire figure instantly vanished. Gou Wuyue was momentarily surprised, clearly not expecting Ye Xiaotian to be so audacious. He immediately darted after him. But how could spatial teleportation be compared to ordinary speed?

Gou Wuyue had barely moved when he felt the surrounding space completely push him away. His figure was delayed for merely a moment. Ye Xiaotian had already reached the top of that space, thrusting one hand into the firmament, and directly tore off an entire section, smashing it forcefully downwards.

“Rumble—”

Everyone's hearts constricted. This move, 'Heaven-Tearing Hand,' which tore the sky apart with bare hands, was truly too shocking. The firmament was left with a gaping hole, and a black void shattered. Inside that unknown space, something seemed about to be revealed.

“See for yourself what this is?!” Ye Xiaotian didn't even turn his head, pointing behind him while facing away, and glared furiously at Gou Wuyue.

Behind him, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth, almost blinding everyone.

“What is it?” Gou Wuyue's mouth curved into a smile; he was no longer in a hurry. He crossed his arms and looked on.

Ye Xiaotian inwardly cursed, realizing something was wrong, and immediately turned back. As far as his gaze could reach, the White Cavern trial participants, who should have been exposed, deeply hidden within the spatial confinement, were now replaced by a blinding, sun-like radiance. Blocked by this light, nothing inside could be seen at all.

“Well, I'll be!”

Ye Xiaotian was so angered he laughed. He glanced at the person beside Zhao Xidong, and shook his head, saying, “Since when did the White-Robed's methods become so despicable? Is this the team you, Gou Wuyue, lead?”

The white-robed cultivators on one side were immediately provoked.

“Presumptuous!”

“Shut up, you shorty!”

“What nonsense are you talking! You broke the rules first, and yet you dare to accuse others?”

The scene instantly became noisy. Gou Wuyue narrowed his eyes and swept a glance across them, and everyone obediently fell silent.

“Damn it, siding with an outsider!” Someone even dared to complain.

“Shut up, are you looking for death? It's clear that this shorty has a significant connection with Senior Wuyue, perhaps even 'that kind' of relationship. Can't you complain inwardly?”

“I'm using voice transmission!”

“Damn it, why are you transmitting it to me then?!”

Gou Wuyue turned back, and asked with a chuckle, “Ye Xiaotian, what exactly do you want to show me?”

“Hmph!”

“Do you really think a mere light attribute can block all truth?”

Ye Xiaotian scoffed, and with a sweep of his hands in the void, the space suddenly became crystal clear. Then, in the void, a crowd of people appeared, huddled in small groups in the darkness. That scene, any discerning person could clearly see, was precisely the one that had just been obscured by the light. At this moment, it had been retrieved through spatial regression.

The white-robed cultivators below shrank back awkwardly, daring not to speak further. Gou Wuyue, however, was completely unconcerned.

“This is what you want to show me?”

“The scene inside that space?”

“Apologies...” He shrugged. “You possess a peculiar spatial attribute. As for what your subjective consciousness presents, I'm afraid I cannot agree.”

“Whoosh.”

Ye Xiaotian was clearly genuinely angry. After a heavy exhale, he suddenly inhaled sharply, his eyes wide with fury, as if about to roar.

Just at this critical moment, Qiao Qianzhi suddenly darted in front of him.

“Shut up!” He directly knuckle-rapped Ye Xiaotian on the head. The latter, consumed by anger, had no time to react. The knock made his head bounce three times, and his anger dissipated.

Turning his head, Ye Xiaotian glared furiously.

“Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-hee-hee-ha...”

Qiao Qianzhi clutched Ye Xiaotian's head, and apologetically said to Gou Wuyue, “Senior Wuyue, since it's a misunderstanding, we won't trouble you further. Farewell.”

“What are you... mmm.” Qiao Qianzhi directly covered Ye Xiaotian's mouth, and dragged him to the ground.