Chapter 709: The Wanted Xu Shibo

In the private room, two people were left utterly bewildered.

The only one who remained clear-headed and fully grasped the situation was Ye Xiaotian, who had left the Sheng Gong to travel alone in his youth, never returned, and never mentioned his past.

No matter how Ye Xiaotian acted in this situation, Shi Ti and Hua Rong were completely stumped.

"Who exactly are you?" Hua Rong asked, her expression turning cautious.

Someone who knew her grandmaster's name, yet showed no fear and acted so recklessly...

Other than her grandmaster's enemies, Hua Rong couldn't come up with any other explanation.

But her grandmaster was such a formidable figure—how could his enemies be hiding in a county city under the jurisdiction of Dong Tian Wang Cheng?

This was utterly absurd!

Hua Rong was puzzled beyond measure.

Seeing that the girl still hadn't caught on, Ye Xiaotian let out a cold laugh. "The Jinzhao lineage truly produces nothing but fools! You're not a Sheng Gong envoy—you sneaked out to play on your own, didn't you?"

"How dare you insult the Jinzhao lineage?" Hua Rong's anger flared.

This white-haired short man could insult her, but how could he dare to insult the Jinzhao lineage?

Was he looking for death?

With that thought, Hua Rong grabbed the large Dan Ding at her side and prepared to lash out.

Confident in her exceptional background, she never considered issues like differences in cultivation levels or whether she could actually kill him.

After all, as the sole heir of the Jinzhao lineage, no one in the world dared to kill her.

If anything went wrong, her master Bai Lin would handle it, and if that wasn't enough, her grandmaster Mu Lin would step in. Even if she provoked some formidable figure...

Could anyone's status surpass that of the Jinzhao Ban Sheng and the ancestor Long Rong?

"You insolent rat, take this!" Hua Rong swung the Dan Ding straight at the white-haired short man's head.

Shi Ti: ???

He was utterly shocked by what he saw.

He couldn't fathom how Ye Xiaotian dared to provoke a Sheng Gong envoy.

Even more unexpectedly, this young girl with weak cultivation dared to attack the influential figure of Tian Sang City, the unbeatable Ye Xiaotian on his throne.

The battle in the private room ignited in this inexplicable atmosphere, sparked by the ignorant.

Ye Xiaotian laughed.

He laughed at the Jinzhao lineage for producing not only brainless fools but also those who knew no respect or boundaries!

Back in the Ling Gong, he had held back against Xu Xiaoshou because Sang Lao was not to be trifled with.

But the Jinzhao lineage only had two branches: Sang Qiye and Mu Lin.

No one knew Sang Lao's background better than Ye Xiaotian himself. Even though the old man spent years away, he only had two disciples.

So, the girl in front of him, no matter how extraordinary her identity, must be from Mu Lin's branch.

And as for Mu Lin...

"Back when Mu Lin was half your height, he was just a little brat I, Ye Xiaotian, chased and beat up. And you, a young girl, dare to attack me?" The more Ye Xiaotian thought about it, the angrier he got.

In that moment, he attributed the brainless actions that had once landed him in the Sheng Shen Dian Tang prison—thanks to Sang Lao—to the inherited foolishness of the Jinzhao lineage.

And the target for venting his emotions...

Right there, a foolish member of the Jinzhao lineage was conveniently stepping up to take the hit!

"Break!"

With a flick of his finger in the air, Ye Xiaotian's strike was utterly merciless!

Hua Rong swung the large Dan Ding, but even though she was only separated from the white-haired short man by a tea table, the Ding refused to land on his insolent head.

And as his finger extended toward her, she felt the distance between them shrink from arm's length to mere inches, as if the world had folded in on itself.

"Thud!"

A sharp pain exploded in her forehead, and Hua Rong felt a terrifying force burst from her brow. Her entire body was sent flying backward.

But in that instant, as she gripped the Ding meant to leave a red bump on the short man's head, it slipped past his nose tip upon the swing!

Hua Rong was stunned.

This couldn't be real!

The short-armed man across from her could reach her, yet her longer reach plus the Dan Ding only grazed his nose... what was happening?

"Space rules!"

In the moment of realization, the immense power that had folded space vanished in an instant.

Hua Rong's Dan Ding was flung away with a clang, and her body crashed through the private room's wall, shattering even the barrier and sending her flying uncontrollably.

"Hiss..."

Hua Rong, now in the main hall, clutched her forehead and shivered, her delicate body trembling.

It hurt so much!

How could it hurt this badly?

She even felt a large bump swelling on her head. Was that possible? An ordinary throne-level strike without spiritual energy could cause this much damage?

"Indeed..."

Back in the private room, under Shi Ti's completely stunned gaze, Ye Xiaotian withdrew his hand, now certain.

Sacred body, grandmaster physique!

Such toughness was worth his full-force strike.

If he had held back, he probably wouldn't have even reddened the girl's skin.

"The Jinzhao lineage truly consists of one monster after another..." Ye Xiaotian mused to himself.

Outside the private room, the crowd was drawn by the commotion, and the guards quickly surrounded the area.

This girl had damaged the Dan Ta's barrier upon arrival, and it was clear she had fought with Shi Ti and the others inside...

"She must be here to cause trouble—take her down!" the reception supervisor ordered without hesitation.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Shi Ti squeezed through the hole in the wall, realized the situation, and opened the side door to step out.

He couldn't let the Dan Ta people arrest the Sheng Gong envoy, so he quickly intervened: "Everyone, stop! It's nothing, nothing at all. Nothing happened—let's be tolerant and magnanimous... We need to cultivate virtue here. Everyone, return to your posts. This is just a minor issue, nothing worth mentioning!"

The crowd: ???

How was this nothing? The Dan Ta's inner wall had been smashed!

But Shi Ti held a high position, and under his strict order, the others could only mutter complaints and hurry back to their places.

"Come here."

Hua Rong, clearly outside the private room, distinctly saw the white-haired Taoist boy speaking to her with that detestable calm expression.

The next second, she realized she was back on the sofa in the private room.

Even the Dan Ding had returned to her side.

—Space power!

Aside from the hole in the wall reminding her of what happened, it felt like the entire battle had been a daydream, and the lingering pain in her brow was just an illusion.

Was this the terrifying might of space power?

"Think carefully about this. Once you've figured it out, speak up." Ye Xiaotian looked at the girl with indifference.

Hua Rong knew she couldn't beat him, so she seriously began to ponder.

As her thoughts settled, she vividly recalled the white-haired short man's words before attacking: "Back when Mu Lin was half your height, he was just a little brat I, Ye Xiaotian, chased and beat up..."

This realization was terrifying.

Hua Rong's heart chilled. This white-haired short man not only knew her grandmaster but seemed to be from the Sheng Gong as well.

After all, grandmasters like hers, like her, had grown up in the Sheng Gong from a young age. If this short man had chased her grandmaster as a child, he must also be from the Sheng Gong.

"Cough..."

Now, Hua Rong felt awkward. She shrank her neck and asked timidly, "Senior, did you have some connection with my grandmaster?"

"Hmm."

"What kind of connection?"

"What do you think?" Ye Xiaotian countered.

Hua Rong's heart skipped a beat.

The more composed he was, the more panicked she became.

—This was someone from her grandmaster's generation!

Oh no! If her master Bai Lin found out about her earlier actions—not only swinging the Ding but also yelling "you insolent rat"... wouldn't he skin her alive?

"Hiss..."

Hua Rong shivered, her back turning cold.

She used the Jinzhao Tian Yan to warm herself while confirming, "Senior, do you have any proof of your identity?"

"Hmph!" Ye Xiaotian snorted coldly. Did he need to prove himself to a junior?

Shi Ti saw the tension rising again and quickly interjected: "Young lady, you said you're looking for someone named Xu Xiaoshou. Do you know about Sang Qiye?"

"Oh, yes." Hua Rong blinked her large eyes.

Shi Ti finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It matched!

The "middle-aged man Xu Xiaoshou" she was seeking was likely a case of mistaken identity—it had to be the Xu Xiaoshou he knew.

Shi Ti smoothed things over and explained to Hua Rong: "Since you know Sang Qiye, you should also know he was once the dean of Tian Sang Ling Gong. The person in front of you is the current dean of Tian Sang Ling Gong. The two of them have a very close relationship. Theoretically speaking..."

Shi Ti paused for a moment.

Though he was friends with Sang Lao, he didn't know his past identity.

Now, it seemed Sang Lao and Ye Xiaotian were both from the Sheng Gong.

He wasn't familiar with the "Jinzhao lineage," but Sang Lao's alchemy techniques had amazed him from their first meeting.

That explained why, in just over a decade, Sang Lao and Ye Xiaotian had developed Tian Sang Ling Gong so extensively, even surpassing the established Ling Gongs in nearby county cities.

After all, they were people who had come from the Sheng Gong!

Shi Ti let out a long breath and continued to Hua Rong: "So, theoretically, if Sang Qiye is your senior, then Ye Xiaotian, the dean in front of you, is also your senior. That's an undeniable fact!"

With that said, Shi Ti finally understood.

That was why, earlier, when he had bowed to the girl, Ye Xiaotian had stopped him and said, "That would make her lose years of life."

Of course! How could a senior bow to a junior?

Even if she was a Sheng Gong envoy, given his relationship with Sang Lao, she should be the one bowing to him. At the very least, they should interact as equals, with her showing respect to an elder.

There was no way an elder would bow to a young girl in such a complicated dynamic.

Ye Xiaotian was right to stop him!

As Shi Ti pondered, Hua Rong fully accepted his words.

She might not believe Ye Xiaotian, but Shi Ti's identity had been verified by the Dan Ta staff—his words couldn't be false.

So, the two sitting before her weren't the haughty figures she imagined, upholding the Jinzhao lineage's dignity.

Instead, they were her true seniors, whom she needed to treat with utmost respect?

Hua Rong was going mad!

Just thinking about her earlier words and actions, she could already envision returning to the Sheng Gong and being thrown into a Dan Ding by her master Bai Lin, where he'd curse and refine her relentlessly.

And worse...

After refining her, her master would have to plead guilt, entering her grandmaster Mu Lin's Dan Ding to refine himself as punishment for raising such a wayward disciple.

"Oh my heavens!"

Hua Rong's teeth chattered as she slumped to the ground, hands clasped together: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Senior. I didn't know your identity earlier, and my master told me to maintain the Jinzhao lineage's face when I went out..."

"No, no, no!"

Realizing that sounded like shifting blame, she quickly corrected: "What I mean isn't that these mistakes came from my master. He's actually a really good person and never taught me that... Wait, no!"

That still didn't sound right.

In her extreme panic, Hua Rong skipped the explanations and summarized: "In short, if you're going to punish someone, punish me alone!"

"You can punish me however you want, just please don't tell my master..."

Tears welled up in Hua Rong's eyes. "I'll die if you do!"

Shi Ti: "..."

Ye Xiaotian: "..."

The two exchanged glances, seeing the same astonishment in each other's eyes.

It seemed the girl's earlier arrogance was matched only by her current subservience.

"Get up!"

Ye Xiaotian had no intention of scolding her—he was used to the ways of the Jinzhao lineage.

Still, the girl had some redeeming qualities.

At least, she was willing to make amends afterward, unlike some from another lineage who only made excuses and never looked inward.

Hua Rong shakily stood and approached the seat, not daring to sit fully.

But under Ye Xiaotian's gaze, she had no choice, so she perched lightly on the edge of the chair, sitting obediently and listening attentively.

"Why are you looking for Xu Xiaoshou?" Ye Xiaotian asked.

Hua Rong forced a sweet smile, dimples appearing: "My master is looking for him. He didn't specify why—just said that if I meet him, I should give him an item."

She didn't mention the letter.

After all, no matter how much of a senior these two were, they weren't from the Jinzhao lineage.

Even if their relationship with her master's peers was close, it was still just hearsay—she couldn't fully trust them.

Ye Xiaotian looked at the girl's now well-behaved demeanor and felt a headache coming on. Not for the first time, he thought, not surprising—they're all from the same family, with the same temperament!

He didn't press for details about the item and simply advised: "Xu Xiaoshou isn't in a good situation right now. If you're going to find him, keep it quiet and search discreetly."

Hua Rong was surprised: "Senior, you don't know where my master's peer is?"

From their earlier conversation, she had assumed these two knew everything about her master's peer and grandmaster. Now, she suddenly had doubts.

Ye Xiaotian detected the sudden distance in her words and sighed helplessly: "Your master's peer... well, Xu Xiaoshou, is currently wanted by the Sheng Shen Dian Tang."

"Huh?" Hua Rong looked up, slightly confused.

Though she had come down from the Sheng Gong, her information was based on hearsay from various parts of the continent.

And hearsay rarely revealed the real inside story.

Ye Xiaotian offered no explanation.

Hua Rong turned to Shi Ti.

Shi Ti, however, kept his eyes down and remained silent.

He knew some of the details.

The Sheng Shen Dian Tang had arrested the sacred slave Sang Qiye, though the news was suppressed outwardly. Still, forces near Bai Ku were mostly aware.

So, Shi Ti naturally realized that the arrested sacred slave Sang Qiye was likely the genius alchemist Sang Qiye he knew.

And as his only disciple, Xu Xiaoshou...

Though not publicly announced, anyone who looked into it could see that his alchemy techniques were identical to Sang Lao's.

Naturally, by association, the missing Xu Xiaoshou was also wanted.

But Shi Ti didn't care about any of that.

He only knew the Sang Lao who was devoted to alchemy.

As for the man's second identity, his disciple, or what they had done—Shi Ti wanted no part in it.

Some secrets of the continent, even if one wasn't qualified, came with age and a tendency to know more.

So, Shi Ti's stance toward his old friend Sang Lao's actions was simply incomprehension, non-interference, and no desire for any other involvement.

Honestly, even if he wanted to get involved, his status and strength wouldn't allow it!

Thus, doing nothing was the best attitude toward the world.

"Your master's peer is probably hard to find."

After a moment's hesitation, the kind-hearted Shi Ti couldn't resist the young girl's eager gaze and said regretfully: "He does have some friends from Tian Sang Ling Gong who came over. You could ask them—maybe you'll find some leads."