Chapter 603: Standing on Equal Footing

A strong one?

Zhao Xidong felt tears welling up.

In front of Senior Gou Wuyue and all these white-robed figures who were already at the Wangzuo level right from the start, what right did he, Zhao Xidong, have to be called a strong one?

“Senior, you're too kind!”

Zhao Xidong quickly turned around, his face downcast as he spoke to Chang Yi.

“If you're not a strong one, then...” Chang Yi pointed at the spatial rift, struggling to find the words.

Spatial attribute?

“It's not him.”

Gou Wuyue chuckled, his gaze fixed on the depths of the rift. “Since you've arrived, why not come out and meet us?”

The three of them turned their eyes toward the spatial rift at the same time.

From the rift emerged a middle-aged figure with a long sword on his back. As soon as he appeared, his sharp gaze locked onto the famous sword on Gou Wuyue's back.

For a moment, sword intent filled the tent, making even the tables and chairs creak and shake.

Chang Yi's eyes turned cold in an instant.

Gou Wuyue waved a hand, and Chang Yi fell silent.

“I've seen you, Wuyue Jianxian.”

Xiao Qixiu calmed his surging emotions and performed a cupped-hand salute instead of bowing.

Gou Wuyue nodded slightly and looked away without lingering.

Clearly, this sword cultivator couldn't possess the spatial attribute either.

So...

“Hee hee hee hee—”

A strange laugh echoed from the rift. Qiao Qian emerged while chuckling, saying loudly, “Senior Gou Wuyue, I've long admired you. I'm here for a visit, and I hope you'll forgive any inconvenience. Hee hee hee...”

Chang Yi's mouth twitched.

This laugh—what kind of people were these?

And “visiting at the door”?

You'd already barged straight into the main command tent!

“Gou Wuyue?”

Following Qiao Qian was a floating white-haired Daoist child. As soon as he appeared, he spoke in an unceremonious tone.

Chang Yi furrowed his brows.

“Wangzuo?”

He immediately recognized the white-haired Daoist child's cultivation level.

The problem was, this was just a Wangzuo, not even at Zhandao, and not as strong as himself.

How dare this guy address Senior Gou Wuyue by his full name?

“Damn— Uh, no.”

The shout of anger hadn't even finished when Chang Yi felt as if the Heavenly Dao had sealed his mouth. He glanced around in shock and realized it was Senior Gou Wuyue who had done it.

This person must have a significant background.

Chang Yi tensed up, realizing he had been too bold.

Indeed, they knew Gou Wuyue Jianxian was here and still dared to use spatial teleportation to arrive—it must mean they were fully prepared.

Either they had a major background or exceptional strength.

In this situation, it was best to let Senior Gou Wuyue handle it. What was he yelling for?

He was acting like a fool!

With that thought, Chang Yi quickly stepped back a few paces, quietly observing without saying another word.

“So it's really you...”

A smile appeared on Gou Wuyue's face, his eyes filled with the warmth of reuniting with an old friend. “Ye Xiaotian!”

Ye Xiaotian?

Seeing Gou Wuyue's reaction, Chang Yi instantly knew his guess was correct.

These people definitely had a big background!

But Ye Xiaotian... he'd never heard of him?

“Gou Wuyue!”

Ye Xiaotian landed steadily, and the void rift behind him sealed shut. After shouting heavily, he suddenly snorted.

“Hmph!”

Then, he floated up, positioning himself half a head taller than Gou Wuyue in front.

“Ha ha ha...”

Gou Wuyue laughed heartily. “Still the same as ever—your height hasn't changed, but how did your hair turn so white?”

Ye Xiaotian's eyes turned cold in an instant.

Caught between the two, Zhao Xidong felt as if he were under attack from both sides, with silent barbs piercing through his body.

How did these two know each other?

He subtly stepped aside, avoiding the line of their confrontation, and moved next to Chang Yi, completely baffled.

Instinctively, he nudged Chang Yi with his elbow. “Do they know each other?”

Chang Yi turned his head, his gaze sharpening.

Zhao Xidong froze on the spot.

Damn!

What had he just done?

This guy might look like some big shot's attendant, but he was still wearing white robes!

At the very least, he was a Wangzuo... or maybe even Zhandao?

How could he be so casual about it?

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry...” Zhao Xidong wished he could bury himself in a hole.

This wasn't just bold—it was outrageously presumptuous!

Though Chang Yi felt a bit displeased, he wasn't the type to hold a grudge.

Just like those white-robed figures outside who knew a great battle was coming but still joked about “rescuing Senior Gou Wuyue,” under Gou Wuyue's leadership, their group was known for their playful banter.

Since Zhao Xidong hadn't treated him as an outsider, Chang Yi was curious about the white-haired Daoist child's origins.

“Where are you from? What's your purpose here?” Chang Yi turned his head to face forward and asked via voice transmission.

Zhao Xidong was stunned for a moment, then replied via voice transmission without moving his lips.

“Tian Sang Ling Gong, here to pick someone up.”

“How is it that your leader knows our leader?” Zhao Xidong was still puzzled.

A small place like Tian Sang Ling Gong shouldn't have any connection to a major figure from the central domain.

But now...

They knew each other?

“...” Chang Yi was speechless for a moment.

People from Tian Sang Ling Gong?

Wasn't that just a remote little spirit palace? And they knew Senior Gou Wuyue?

The two didn't say more.

Because up front, Gou Wuyue spoke again:

“After all these years, how come your strength hasn't improved at all, Ye Xiaotian? Still stuck at... Daojing?”

Ye Xiaotian's gaze turned icy as he sneered, “Daojing is pretty good. After all these years, how come you haven't broken through to become a saint, Gou Wuyue? Still spinning in place?”

“At least I've successfully Zhandao and entered Taixu.”

Gou Wuyue's eyes held a smile.

“Are you satisfied with just Taixu?” Ye Xiaotian mocked. “Back in the Ten Zun Seats, some had already become half-saints. Your progress is truly the slowest!”

Chang Yi listened from behind, stunned.

This guy was too bold!

Senior Gou Wuyue had just lamented Wen Ting Jianxian's realm.

Wasn't this adding fuel to the fire?

But Gou Wuyue wasn't angry at all. He flicked his sleeve and said, “There are priorities in matters, and bonds of affection and duty. Some things aren't about not wanting to do them, but not being able to.”

“In the end, it's just regret about joining the Sheng Shen Dian Tang, which delayed your cultivation,” Ye Xiaotian said.

Chang Yi listened from the side, his legs almost going weak.

This white-haired short guy—what was his background that he dared say anything?

“The delay is real, but worldly affairs can't have it all. Gains and losses are inevitable; it's just a choice.” Gou Wuyue sighed, not dwelling on it.

He paused his steps and had already walked behind Ye Xiaotian.

His hand touched the seamless void rift, sensing no aura at all.

Gou Wuyue was amazed in his heart and asked, “Still about that matter from before—have you thought it through?”

“The spatial attribute is rare in the world, but similarly, Zhandao is extremely difficult.”

“With just you alone, even if you turned your hair from white back to black, it probably wouldn't help.”

“But!”

Gou Wuyue turned his body, his gaze burning as he stared at the white-haired Daoist child's back. “As long as you agree, with resource support and the aid of half-saint power, Zhandao with the spatial attribute wouldn't be hard at all!”

“Heh.” Ye Xiaotian sneered. “Don't worry, I won't join the Sheng Shen Dian Tang.”

Click.

The two listeners on the side froze instantly.

Join... Sheng Shen Dian Tang?

Zhao Xidong and Chang Yi turned their heads with difficulty, their eyes meeting in utter disbelief.

The former marveled at when the dean could attract the attention of Sheng Shen Dian Tang headquarters and even refuse such an temptation.

The latter was shocked that a mere Wangzuo could outright reject an invitation from Senior Gou Wuyue.

“Wait!”

“The spatial attribute?”

The more Chang Yi looked at the white-haired Daoist child, the more familiar he seemed.

The spatial attribute was too rare.

Even in the Sheng Shen Dian Tang headquarters that he knew, there wasn't a single one on the surface.

And Senior Gou Wuyue was inviting the white-haired Daoist child so earnestly, which meant that even in secret, headquarters probably couldn't find anyone to replace him.

Chang Yi tried to recall, and it really jogged his memory.

Though the time was long ago, the previous Ten Zun Seats competition was known as the most intense in history.

Besides the final winners who entered the ballads, even those eliminated weren't necessarily inferior to the Ten Zun Seats.

“As for... the spatial attribute?”

Chang Yi thought of someone.

Back then, in the early stages of the Ten Zun Seats, there really was a stunning figure who, with just the peak of Zongshi realm—barely half-step Wangzuo—boldly entered a battlefield full of Wangzuo and Zhandao experts.

And it seemed he relied on that astonishing spatial attribute.

Indeed, people had evaluated that if that spatial expert had been born a few years earlier and gained more experience, as long as he could comprehend Daojing and enter Wangzuo in the early Ten Zun Seats, he would have had a spot among them!

But it was too bad.

Time is the measure of all things; no one can transcend it.

The flaw of half-step Wangzuo was a real limitation. The difference between “touching the Heavenly Dao” and “controlling the Heavenly Dao” was like an insurmountable chasm.

No one could leap over it in one step!

The waves washed away the sand.

Yet time is indeed the measure of all things...

Drop by drop, sand builds a tower.

Had that person from back then caught the eye of the current Sheng Shen Dian Tang headquarters giants?

“So, that guy is this guy? This white-haired Daoist child... Ye Xiaotian?” Chang Yi felt it was almost certainly him.

A man defeated by time?

No wonder he dared to speak to Senior Gou Wuyue like that and call him by name...

They were from the same era, and perhaps they had even fought.

At that moment, Chang Yi, having figured everything out, realized how presumptuous he had been earlier.

He should have thought of it.

Could the spatial attribute be simple?

He shuddered a little.

Ye Xiaotian's direct refusal made the atmosphere quiet down a bit.

Gou Wuyue pondered for a moment before saying, “Are you sure you won't think it over?”

“I won't take your mess,” Ye Xiaotian replied without thinking. “Look at you—worn down by reality, your edges blunted, and your cultivation progress so slow.”

“But you're no different,” Gou Wuyue gestured. “A tiny Tian Sang Ling Gong—what can it give you? You haven't even had a proper battle there. Do you still have that old ambition? That confidence to face Zhandao?”

“A Tian Sang Ling Gong is enough for me; I'm content.” Ye Xiaotian didn't respond directly.

“That's just being stuck in your ways!” Gou Wuyue shouted.

“Contentment brings joy.”

“Locking yourself away!”

“Living at ease.”

“Deceiving yourself, peering from a well!”

“Better to be a head of chickens than a tail of phoenixes.”

“You...”

Ye Xiaotian responded fluently.

Gou Wuyue was a bit angered, his eyes narrowing. “Are you mocking me?”

“Don't take it personally.”

“It's out of friendship, forced by circumstances!”

Gou Wuyue's voice turned cold for the first first time.

“Then where did your sword come from?” Ye Xiaotian shifted his gaze to the famous sword Nulan Zhisheng on his back.

The scene froze instantly.

Qiao Qian's hand trembled, never expecting things to escalate like this.

He wanted to mediate, to smooth things over.

But Gou Wuyue suddenly drew his sword.

“Buzz—”

A resounding sword cry echoed through the heavens, the cold light filled the hall, and the main command tent split in two with a boom, blasting open from both sides.

“Damn!”

“Hey, don't crush me!”

“Crap, my foot—”

Outside, the huddle of white-robed figures who had been eavesdropping scattered in panic.

They tried to retreat, but it was too late. Shoulders collided, feet stomped, and the crowd pushed and fell, cries of pain rising one after another.

The onlookers in the tent swept their eyes over, and the white-robed figures outside dispersed in a frenzy, dividing into three sides, the scene on the verge of exploding.

“Ye Xiaotian, do you want to die?” Gou Wuyue's eyes were as deep as a pool.

Chang Yi hadn't seen Senior Gou Wuyue so angry and out of control in a long time. For a moment, he and Zhao Xidong both backed away quickly.

But then he thought better of it.

No! He was on Gou Wuyue Jianxian's side. He immediately steadied his stance, straightened his body, and golden light bloomed from his fingertips.

Zhao Xidong was almost blinded by that sudden flash.

“Light?” His heart raced, and he swallowed hard.

Was this a joke?

This attendant was that impressive?

This attribute was rare too!

“Gou Wuyue Jianxian, what a grand presence!” Ye Xiaotian snorted dismissively. “Wielding the eighth Jianxian's sword, and you think you can dominate an era on his behalf?”

Gou Wuyue lowered his eyelids, showing no immediate reaction.

With a “buzz,” the spirit array in the nine heavens fluctuated, directly enveloping the area.

In the next second, the people from Tian Sang Ling Gong, who had been in the main tent, were teleported more than ten zhang away, swiftly moved to Gou Wuyue's back, avoiding the confrontation.

“Who touched the spirit array?”

The group of white-robed figures who had retreated to the rear were dumbfounded, turning their gazes to those handling the spirit array.

“Not us!”

The white-robed figures at the back panicked. “We didn't even touch it...”

“Then what about this?”

“It's been manipulated?!”

The scene fell silent for a breath, right before all the white-robed figures reacted and were about to make a big move.

A sudden strange laugh broke the stillness.

“Hee hee hee hee hee...”

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

“Xiaotian!”

Qiao Qian pressed down on Ye Xiaotian's shoulder, only to have his hand pass right through, and he cursed angrily, “Get down a bit!”

Ye Xiaotian didn't move.

Gou Wuyue listened to that weird laugh, and his mouth twitched. He slowly turned around and finally fixed his gaze on this obscure, smirking guy.

“Who are you?”

“Hee hee hee...” Qiao Qian laughed amicably to show friendliness, pressing his hand down. “Put it away, put the sword away. We're not fighting, okay?”

Gou Wuyue said nothing, and with a flick of his hand, the void sword cry shook the heavens.

“Qiao Qian!” Elder Qiao quickly added, “Qiao Qian, as in the joyful Qiao Qian. We mean no harm, please calm down, Senior Gou Wuyue. Hee hee hee...”