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When he noticed Su Yi’s reaction, the old man was somewhat stunned. However, when he realized Su Yi’s cultivation, he looked away and paid him no further heed.
“Why aren’t your apprentice brothers back?” the old man asked Ren Youyou.
“They had other business to attend to, but they’ll probably be back before long,” said Ren Youyou softly.
The old man nodded, then looked at Qing Ya and smiled benevolently. “You must be Miss Qing Ya. Is that right?”
Qing Ya chirped, “That’s right! Might I ask your honorable name, senior?”
“My name is Zhang Yuntao, and I’m an elder of Cloudsky Divine Palace.”
His impression of Qing Ya was quite good.
“Ling Yunhe of the One Sky Sword Sect greets you, Fellow Daoist.” Ling Yunhe stepped up and clasped his fist in greeting.
“Xinzhao told me about you,” said Zhang Yuntao with a smile. He nodded in greeting.
Ling Yunhe then proceeded to introduce Su Yi, Yuan Heng, and Bai Wenqing.
When he learned that Su Yi was from the Great Zhou and that his two companions were yao cultivators, Zhang Yuntao’s attitude was noticeably cooler than before. He nodded, but he seemed reserved.
He was behaving in much the same way as Huo Yunsheng and his companions when they first met. All of them had an air of superiority.
As an elder of Cloudsky Divine Palace, here in the Southern Skies Province, even leaders of the various local factions had to treat him with the utmost respect and honor him as if he were a god.
Under the circumstances, how could he possibly be concerned about someone from a tiny backwater nation?
It was, ultimately, the difference in status and position that made Zhang Yuntao naturally inclined to view Su Yi and his companions as inconspicuous, unimportant juniors. If it weren’t for the fact that they’d come here with Ling Yunhe, Zhang Yuntao wouldn’t have spared them so much as a single glance.
Su Yi naturally didn’t care about that. After how Huo Yunsheng and company treated them, Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing were already accustomed to this kind of behavior too.
Both in the mundane world and amongst cultivators, if you wanted others’ respect, you needed sufficient strength and status. Otherwise, you were just empty talk. Even if you got angry, it’d just make you seem inept.
“Uncle, where is my little martial aunt?” Qing Ya couldn’t help but ask.
Zhang Yuntao said, “She’s cultivating, but she should come out soon. You should just wait here for now.”
Qing Ya nodded.
When Su Yi saw this, he took out a bag of holding and passed it to Yuan Heng. “Take Miss Bai and go sell these treasures off. Trade them all for spirit stones tiers five or higher.”
The bag contained treasures that weren’t useful to Su Yi, an enormous number of them.
Now that they were in Spiritbend City, he planned to sell them off and buy resources better suited to his cultivation.
“Yes, sir.” Yuan Heng accepted it with both hands.
“Go on.” Su Yi waved them off.
As Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing turned and left, Su Yi casually took out his wicker chair and sprawled out.
When he saw this, Zhang Yuntao was briefly stunned, and his brow furrowed. This kid
 Really isn’t at all polite.
He thought for a moment, then said to Ling Yunhe, “Fellow Daoist, once we meet with Xinzhao, Miss Qing Ya will definitely come with us to continue her cultivation in Cloudsky Divine Palace. What are your plans?”
Ling Yunhe smiled. “I went on this journey to send Qing Ya to Cloudsky Divine Palace. Once I see her little martial aunt, I can begin planning my return trip.”
“And what about him?” Zhang Yuntao glanced at the reclining Su Yi.
Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.
“That
” Ling Yunhe was stunned; he hadn’t anticipated this question.
When he saw this, Zhang Yuntao said calmly, “Fellow Daoist Ling, Xinzhao isn’t here right now, but I must tell you this in advance: Miss Qing Ya is receiving an opportunity to join Cloudsky Divine Palace out of consideration for Xinzhao; we’ve made an exception for her. We won’t make a second exception.”
LIng Yunhe furrowed his brow in confusion. “Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by that?”
But Su Yi laughed and said languidly, “He’s worried that I came with you because I wanted to join Cloudsky Divine Palace too.”
Only then did Ling Yunhe understand.
Zhang Yuntao’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t tell me that’s not the case?”
Ling Yunhe explained, “Fellow Daoist, you’re overthinking this. With Fellow Daoist Su’s cultivation and talent, if he wanted to join Cloudsky Divine Palace, he’d have no need to resort to such methods. He could easily pass your tests on his own power.”
Qing Ya nodded. “Exactly! Big Brother Su Yi is incredible!”
Zhang Yuntao couldn’t help but smile and say calmly, “You’re from the Great Qi, and I imagine you’re unaware of how strict our requirements are for accepting disciples. In the thirteen provinces of the Great Xia, there are countless extraordinary geniuses, yet every year, no more than thirty can pass our tests. Who among them isn’t a one-in-ten-thousand talent?”
When he said this, there was a hint of arrogance in his expression. “No one in the younger generation would dare say they could ‘easily’ pass our tests and become one of our disciples.”
Both the words themselves and their implications were rife with conceit.
Ling Yunhe inwardly found it rather funny. If this old man knew how unsightly Qian Tianlong was when he faced Su Yi, I’m afraid he wouldn’t dare talk like this.
He couldn’t help but glance at Ren Youyou. Ren Youyou knew how Su Yi had suppressed Qian Tianlong, but to Ling Yunhe’s surprise, she’d remained quiet this entire time. She never once brought that incident up.
Ling Yunhe pondered, Don’t tell me that Qian Tianlong ordered Ren Youyou not to leak what happened for fear of losing face?
As for Su Yi? He couldn’t be bothered to concern himself with any of this.
Qing Ya said crisply, “Uncle, you’re saying that because you have no idea how amazing Big Brother Su Yi is, but
 There’s no use in saying all that, because someone like him couldn’t possibly join Cloudsky Divine Palace to cultivate.”
Zhang Yuntao was stunned, but then, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Miss Qing Ya, are you saying that our Cloudsky Divine Palace’s temple is too tiny to fit a deity like our Fellow Daoist Su?”
His words contained obvious mockery; he obviously didn’t take her declaration the least bit seriously.
Who’d have thought she’d say in complete seriousness, “When my little martial aunt joined Cloudsky Divine Palace, didn’t Daoist Master Coldsmoke say that when the day came that she could no longer instruct my little martial aunt in swordsmanship, she’d dissolve their relationship as master and apprentice and let Little Martial Aunt choose her next steps for herself? The way I see it, if Big Brother Su Yi joined Cloudsky Divine Palace, there wouldn’t be very many people there capable of guiding him
"
Before he could continue, Ling Yunhe’s expression shifted. “Qing Ya, don’t talk nonsense!”
However, Zhang Yuntao merely burst into uproarious laughter. “Fellow Daoist Ling, you needn’t chastise Miss Qing Ya. She’s so young; how could she possibly understand?”
He paused, then returned his gaze to Su Yi and looked him up and down with feigned confusion. “I’m just truly curious. Just what about our little friend from the Great Zhou made Miss Qing Ya think he’s comparable to Wen Xinzhao? Why does it seem to me that comparing the two of them is like comparing the light of a firefly to the radiance of the full moon?”
His tone and mannerisms dripped with sarcasm.
Qing Ya was just about to object when Su Yi furrowed his brow and said, “What, do you want to test my skills?”
Ling Yunhe’s heart shook. This is bad!
Ren Youyou had been silent all this time, but when she heard this, she looked flabbergasted. This guy is seriously bold enough to provoke Martial Uncle Zhang?
Zhang Yuntao’s expression darkened, his gaze as sharp and imposing as the edge of a sword. “Young friend, judging by your tone, it seems my words displeased you.”
Su Yi said calmly, “It’s not that I’m ‘displeased’; your nonsense is just a bit excessive. Allow me to make myself perfectly clear. First, I have absolutely no interest in joining Cloudsky Divine Palace.
“Second, from this moment forth, if you dare make any further thoughtless remarks about me, I’ll teach you the difference between the light of a firefly and the radiance of the full moon.”
With that, he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes in repose.
Zhang Yuntao’s expression darkened, and his hair and beard bristled with anger. He would never have guessed that a young Grain Avoidance cultivator from the Great Zhou would dare treat him with such disrespect!
Ling Yunhe sighed to himself, then clasped his fist and said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist, please, don’t be angry. If you’ll forgive my honesty, provoking Fellow Daoist Su will only lead to trouble.”
Zhang Yuntao was stunned. A moment later, he was so angry he couldn’t help but laugh. “Fellow Daoist Ling, are you
 warning me?”
He was really beside himself with anger.
As a Cloudsky Divine Palace, never mind the Southern Skies Province; his status was sufficient to win him reverence and awe throughout the Great Xia.
It was bad enough that some kid from a tiny, backward little country didn’t know what was good for him. Now, even Ling Yunhe, a long-established cultivator, dared to disregard him!?
“I’m just telling you the truth,” said Ling Yunhe expressionlessly.
It was then that Ren Youyou suddenly spoke up for the first time. “Martial Uncle Zhang, Senior Apprentice Sister Wen is still cultivating. It won’t do to disturb her.
It would have been fine if she hadn’t said anything, but now that she’d said this, Zhang Yuntao couldn’t suppress his rage any longer. He shot to his feet and glared, his gaze cold and sharp and his tone imposing. “Earlier, it was out of consideration for your Senior Apprentice Sister Wen that I endured over and over again. I didn’t want to make trouble for a frog in a well, but now, they’ve pushed me too far. How can I endure any further?”
He then fixed his gaze on the distant Ling Yunhe and said icily, “Fellow Daoist Ling, I’ll just ask you this: do you still want to stick out your neck for this Su Yi kid?”
Ling Yunhe sighed to himself and shook his head. “With my skills, I’m unqualified to stick out my neck for Fellow Daoist Su. However, I still have to warn you: don’t let your anger muddle your head.”
Zhang Yuntao said coldly, “Rest assured; I’m clearer-headed now than ever before! And I’m clearly aware of what needs to be done; it’s not your place to get involved!”
WIth that, he fixed his gaze on the still-reclining Su Yi, his expression brimming with cold disdain. “Little guy, I’d love to learn more about the difference between the light of a firefly and the radiance of the full moon. How about
 you show me?”
When Ren Youyou looked at Su Yi, her expression was strange. Does this guy really think that beating Qian Tianlong means he can disregard Martial Uncle Zhang? How arrogant is he?
Qing Ya suddenly felt an indescribable sense of disappointment. Is this how an expert of Cloudsky Divine Palace conducts himself?
Still leaning back into his wicker chair, Su Yi opened his eyes, looked at the visibly infuriated Zhang Yuntao, and sighed to himself. “When experts of the Buddhist way shout and hit novitiates, they can bring about instant enlightenment. The Buddha redeems those destined for it.
“However, I am different. I’ve always preferred using my sword to conduct my affairs, because this world has never had any shortage of stubbornly ignorant fools like you. Kind words cannot save those determined to throw their lives away.”
Having said this, Su Yi found himself starting to lose interest, so he attacked directly.