Chapter Ninety-One: Proud and Petulant as She Is

After sweeping his gaze around and seeing Tianming and the others turn their eyes toward him, Elder Yu nodded with a calm smile and offered no explanation.

Whoosh.

Just as Tianming was about to speak, he saw a flash of gold flicker from Elder Yu’s sleeve before vanishing in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they had been brought to a vast open area. At that moment, a tide of people was gathering toward the center, and from their clothing it was clear that they were all inner sect disciples.

“This is... the Central Sky Plaza!”

Aside from Xun Qing, Tianming and the others were utterly baffled. Weren’t they still in the Pavilion of Heaven a moment ago? How had they arrived here so quickly? All at once, they turned in astonishment toward Elder Yu.

Huh...

Yet, the Elder Yu who had been standing there just moments before now seemed to have disappeared.

“Hey!”

While Tianming and the others were looking around in confusion, Xun Qing suddenly walked up beside Tianming and tapped him on the shoulder.

“What is it?” Tianming turned around and asked curiously.

At that, Xun Qing said nothing. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and glanced upward, hinting at something with her eyes.

“...Did dust get into your eyes? There’s no one else here, so let me blow it out for you!”

Without waiting to see whether Xun Qing agreed, Tianming drew a cool breath into his mouth and carefully leaned in to blow toward her eyes.

“It’s your eyes that have dust in them! And your whole family!” Xun Qing quickly shoved him away, covering her eyes in羞 and anger.

What had been perfectly normal eyes had been blown nearly shut by him. At that moment, she truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She never would have imagined that Tianming would misread her meaning so completely.

Hahaha!

“Just kidding. I saw it a long time ago.” Holding his stomach, Tianming laughed.

In truth, the moment Xun Qing had signaled him with her eyes, Tianming had already noticed. Elder Yu was floating in the air, heading swiftly toward the enormous and imposing high platform. By now, he should already have landed, but because the crowd was so dense, Tianming could not see clearly.

He only caught a faint glimpse of several familiar figures standing upon that platform.

“...You idiot!”

After a brief silence, Xun Qing shoved Tianming aside.

Tianming, who had been watching the scene on the distant platform, had no way of anticipating it and was sent stumbling backward without warning.

Perhaps because the crowd was so tightly packed, Tianming’s retreating steps knocked over a young man who had been standing with his back to them...

And the people in front of that young man seemed to have noticed the disturbance behind them, for they immediately dodged aside.

“Damn it, are you rushing off to your next life or something?”

Just as Tianming was about to get up and apologize, the young man glared at him with a dark, ugly expression, his eyes wide and filled with a sinister light. It was as though, if Tianming could not give him a reasonable explanation, he would strike at once.

“Senior Brother Xia, I think you’ve misunderstood,” Tianming said with a smile, taking out his token and showing it in his palm. “We’re all from the same sect. I didn’t mean it just now. Let’s let this go, all right? Consider it a personal favor owed to you.”

By now, most of the disciples had hung their tokens from their waists, likely to make it easier to identify one another.

“Don’t try to get friendly with me. One matter is one matter. A simple apology and you think that’s enough? Do you take me, Xiahou Jian, for easy prey?” The young man folded his arms and spoke with great arrogance, not even sparing Tianming a glance.

“Then what do you want?” Tianming asked in a low voice, shooting Xun Qing a hard look.

“Simple! Just this...” Xiahou Jian shook his head, rubbing his fingers together as he spoke with growing excitement.

“Sir, isn’t that a little excessive? I merely brushed against you, and you’re already trying to extort me. There are so many people here—do you want to make this a big scene?” Tianming sneered. He knew exactly what Xiahou Jian was after.

He had initially wanted to settle things peacefully, but he had not expected to run into someone who would not be moved by that approach. At that point, he no longer bothered to show any apologetic expression.

As for the instigator standing nearby, Xun Qing, when she felt Tianming’s murderous glare, she could not help shrinking back a few steps.

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Xiahou Jian looked at Tianming in surprise. So this was not just some blunt fool after all.

“Junior Brother, this whole thing is your fault to begin with. Why not just compensate him with spirit stones and be done with it?”

“That’s right. If this reaches the elders, you won’t gain anything.”

“This Senior Brother Xia is at the seventh level of the Spirit Void realm and is highly trusted by the Seventeenth Elder. Don’t trip yourself up over this matter, Junior Brother.”

“Exactly, exactly...!”

Perhaps because Tianming looked rather young, the surrounding disciples began to discuss the matter. Though their words seemed to be for Tianming’s benefit, most of the onlookers were actually currying favor with the established inner sect disciple, Xiahou Jian.

And some of those who had originally intended to speak up for justice seemed to think of something, or were pulled back by their companions. In the end, not a single person stood up for Tianming.

“Fine. I’ll admit it. How much do you want?”

Tianming sighed inwardly and could only concede defeat.

He had been the one in the wrong. What room was there to speak of fairness?

“Good. A wise man knows when to yield. I want this much...” Xiahou Jian said triumphantly, holding up his little finger.

Sensing the gazes all around him, Xiahou Jian grew even more proud of himself. Who was he? He was someone backed by an elder. Who would dare object to him?

“You...!”

Before he could finish, Tianming saw that Xun Qing beside him had already rushed forward. A palm strike infused with purple heaven-and-earth spiritual energy flashed in the blink of an eye, slamming Xiahou Jian flat against the ground and cracking the earth beneath him into spiderweb-like fissures.

“You dare hit me?”

Xiahou Jian stared at the purple figure before him in disbelief, his mind momentarily unable to catch up.

“So what if I hit you? Is having an elder back you up supposed to make you something special? ...Pah!”

With a noble and commanding air in her bright eyes, Xun Qing glared at Xiahou Jian and spat at him.

“Ahhh!”

Xiahou Jian had already been caught off guard, and he never expected such a beautiful young woman to perform such a vulgar act. Covering his head, spiritual energy surged from his body as he instantly evaporated the moisture. Then, with a furious roar, he raised fists red-hot as if forged in fire and charged straight at Xun Qing.

This was the expression of rage at its peak. Indeed, to be humiliated like this before so many disciples, it was no wonder Xiahou Jian was incensed to the point of madness.

“Xun Qing! Back away!”

Seeing this, Tianming hurriedly shouted.

After all, Xiahou Jian was an established seventh-level Spirit Void cultivator. Even Tianming would find it difficult to defeat him without using the Lightning Radiance Sword. He had not expected Xun Qing to step forward for his sake, and at that moment Tianming could not help feeling touched.