Chapter 81: So-called Respect

The sky was dimly lit with the first light of dawn.

The rain had stopped at some unknown time. It could have been Sang Lao's technique, Jin Zhao Tian Fen, that evaporated the dark clouds, or perhaps the black hole torn open by Ye Xiaotian that swallowed everything...

The masked figure wanted to leave, and indeed, no one present could stop him. The nine great elders looked somewhat dejected. Their elaborate setup for the night had essentially amounted to nothing more than a sideshow. Apart from being used by the masked figure to hold Ye Xiaotian back, they had served no purpose, only adding more red to the rain-soaked scene.

"Old..."

"Yeah, old, and there's no denying it."

The group exchanged a few sighs. Their injuries varied in severity, but they could heal themselves. With a flicker of their forms, they vanished from sight, clearly too embarrassed to linger around Ge Lake any longer. Just as Ye Xiaotian had planned earlier, these old figures had passed the age for physical combat. They were better suited to issuing orders from behind the scenes, doling out commands that might be a bit outdated. It was up to the new generation of Ling Gong's leaders to step up and turn the tide.

The representative of Ling Gong's leaders, Inner Court Dean Ye Xiaotian, picked up his severed arm and landed by the shores of Ge Lake. Sang Lao, carrying Xu Xiaoshou, also arrived at the same spot.

"Dean!"

"Vice Dean!"

The onlookers from the enforcement team gazed at them like divine beings, trembling and standing in reverent silence.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled by what he heard.

Vice Dean?

Was Sang Lao the vice dean?

After thinking it over, he finally pieced together the fragmented memories in his mind and connected them to the straw-hatted old man beside him. Legend had it that Ling Gong had a vice dean who spent most of his time away, keeping a low profile. He wasn't often mentioned, so people rarely thought of him, yet no one could truly forget him. The name Tian Sang Ling Gong itself came from the two founders of Ling Gong—one was Ye Xiaotian, and the other was Sang Lao. Moreover, the annual Feng Yun Zheng Ba competition in the outer court was held at Chu Yun Tai. Where did Chu Yun Tai come from? When Tian Sang Ling Gong was first established, Vice Dean Sang Lao used fire to forge Chu Yun Peak, burning half of it away to create the vast platform that could hold thousands. Any random outer court disciple could probably recount this story fluently.

"So it's him..."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized. The reason he hadn't connected the dots earlier was that Sang Lao was just too eccentric! This old man had absolutely no air of a master about him. He was reclusive, erratic, and completely unconventional... You could see it from how he forced Xu Xiaoshou to eat that seed, or from how he chose to strike directly while everyone else was held back. Xu Xiaoshou recalled the start of the advancement rounds, when his body had overheated, compelling him to rush onto the stage to find Xiao Qixiu. After realizing it was Sang Lao's doing, that referee had seemed almost untouchable...

"Yeah, I should have guessed it earlier..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt troubled. Who would have thought this guy was the vice dean! No, actually, it made sense that he was only the vice dean—probably because of his personality. Glancing at the enforcement team around them, even though Ye Xiaotian had lost an arm, everyone still looked at him with admiration. As for Sang Lao... Well, hardly anyone dared to look his way. The few younger ones who sneaked curious glances had eyes full of fear. Admiration? That was out of the question.

In the crowd, Xiao Qixiu was still resting. That earlier sword strike had pierced right through him, leaving serious injuries. This was the most battered Xu Xiaoshou had ever seen the referee. Normally, he came across as an ethereal immortal floating in the sky, but now that impression was shattered. This middle-aged man, after being severely wounded, actually seemed oddly excited in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes.

"Could he be some kind of masochist?" Xu Xiaoshou wondered to himself.

As Xiao Qixiu tried to get up and speak, Sang Lao stopped him with a wave of his hand. "Everyone, disperse!"

The enforcement team's eyes instantly turned to Xiao Qixiu, and he quickly waved them off. "Scatter!"

Whoosh—

The once dimly lit space suddenly brightened as hundreds of people moved with astonishing synchronization, vanishing without a trace in an instant. Xu Xiaoshou was stunned by their efficiency. He hurriedly tried to slip away, though not as fast as the enforcers.

"Where are you going?"

Sang Lao watched the boy sneaking off, his face darkening with a few black lines of annoyance. That somewhat exasperated voice echoed from behind, and Xu Xiaoshou felt like fate had grabbed him by the throat again, yanking him back to the spot. Facing the three big shots, his legs went weak.

The Great Elder of Ling Fa Ge, the Inner Court Dean, and the Vice Dean—he didn't think he had any right to stand around and listen to their conversation.

"Isn't it dismissed?" Xu Xiaoshou said weakly. "I'm in a hurry to go back and build a house..."

The three of them: ...

Build a house?

They had just survived a major crisis at Ling Gong, and his first reaction was to go build a house?

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou dragged back, Xiao Qixiu jumped right in. "Did you kill someone?"

Xu Xiaoshou panicked. That was exactly why he had tried to run! The outer court had rules against disciples killing each other, and even though those two were from the inner court, he was still just an outer court underling. Killing someone could land him on the execution platform of Ling Fa Ge!

"It was that masked figure who..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Qixiu cut in mockingly, "Do you think I was hiding all night for nothing, blind to everything?"

Xu Xiaoshou put on a mournful face. "Those two came after me first!"

"I have no idea what I did to provoke them, but they showed up to kill me. I couldn't just sit there and wait to die!"

"You were hiding all night—why didn't you come out sooner to stop them?"

"I mean, that's two lives..."

Xiao Qixiu: ???

What was going on? You killed people, and now you're acting like the victim?

Seeing that Xiao Qixiu seemed open to talking, Xu Xiaoshou pressed on, "It was self-defense, killing in retaliation—I should be innocent..."

Xiao Qixiu rubbed his temples and looked at Sang Lao, his eyes clearly saying, You gave the orders, so you handle this.

Sang Lao smacked Xu Xiaoshou on the head. "Good job!"

"???"

This time, it wasn't just Xu Xiaoshou with question marks on his face—the other two were equally baffled.

Ye Xiaotian's expression darkened. I'm the Inner Court Dean standing right here, and you're encouraging an outer court disciple to kill people?

Acting as if he hadn't noticed, Sang Lao continued, "I'll tell you the truth—this setup was already in place when I returned to Ling Gong a while back."

"Not just tonight with those two inner court lackeys stirring things up—if someone even more important had come to kill you, no one would have stepped in to save you."

"That's just how it is, even I couldn't change the big picture."

"But I'm glad you turned the tables and killed those two."

Sang Lao's gaze burned with undisguised admiration, piercing straight into Xu Xiaoshou's heart. "That's exactly what I was hoping for."

Xu Xiaoshou stayed silent. This matched his earlier suspicions about the setup. Did he feel resentful? Of course, who wouldn't when they realized they were just a disposable pawn? But looking at it another way, who would risk derailing a major plan over a few disciples' squabbles? Not clearing the field outright was already generous. There was no point in being angry. In the end, it all boiled down to not having enough strength to earn respect. That was true in this world, and probably everywhere else.