"Senior Brother, I really don't understand. Little Drunkard hasn't provoked you at all, so why must you keep picking on him?"
If she hadn't heard Xuan Yun speaking to Bai Yufei and Liu Feng in a scornful tone about Little Drunkard all along the way, Little Liuli truly wouldn't have known that her Senior Brother had disliked Little Drunkard from the very beginning. She continued, "You told Young Lord Bai and Young Lord Liu that Little Drunkard made you lose face, but I don't see how he did anything to make you lose face."
"Liuli, there are some things that you, as a woman, simply don't understand."
"Senior Brother, don't tell me I don't understand. I know it's just your own vanity at work. You originally wanted to help Ling'er Jie to gain her favor. You didn't expect to be rejected by Ling'er Jie, and even less did you expect that in the end, Little Drunkard would step in and resolve the trouble with the Jinwu Li Clan. That's why you feel you lost face. Isn't that all it is?"
"Since you know, why ask when you already know the answer?"
"To be honest, Senior Brother, if possible, I'd also like to see your relationship with Ling'er Jie deepen. But such things cannot be forced. You can't blame Little Drunkard just because Ling'er Jie rejected you, and you certainly can't resent Little Drunkard just because he helped Ling'er Jie solve her trouble."
"I resent him? Don't be ridiculous. He's just an upstart. What is there for me, Xuan Yun, to resent about him?"
Liuli tried to persuade him, "Senior Brother, that Little Drunkard seems unfathomable. Please, just don't provoke him, alright?"
"I don't believe he was ever some 'Great Old Master'!"
"Senior Brother, don't be so stubborn. The key issue now isn't whether Little Drunkard was once a Great Old Master. What's important is that right now, a single roar from him can scare four Taibai Golden Immortals to death! He's that terrifying. Please, just stop provoking him, okay?"
"They were only Taibai Golden Immortals," Xuan Yun said arrogantly. "Let him try scaring me to death with a roar! Hmph! I'd give him three times the courage, and he still wouldn't dare!"
"Senior Brother..." Liuli had just started to speak when Xuan Yun, growing somewhat impatient, cut her off. "Enough, Liuli. Am I still your Senior Brother or not? If I am, then stop nagging. I'm annoyed enough as it is. And later, when you see Qianling, don't speak out of turn."
"You're going to look for Ling'er Jie? What do you want with her?"
"Naturally, I have matters to discuss."
Xuan Yun searched for a long time before finally finding the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm. Then, he called Qianling out from the garden alone.
Although Qianling didn't know why Xuan Yun was looking for her, she still left the garden and followed him to a secluded spot.
"Young Lord Xuan Yun, what is the matter?"
"Ling'er, back on the Floating Sky Island, it wasn't that I didn't want to handle your affairs, nor was I acting out of pique. It's just..." Hearing Xuan Yun apologizing for the Floating Sky Island incident, Qianling shook her head slightly. "Young Lord Xuan Yun, please don't say such things. You've already helped us more than enough. At the time, when I declined your offer, it wasn't for any other reason. I truly didn't want to trouble you further."
"Ling'er, I've said before, don't stand on ceremony with me. I've always considered you a good friend."
Qianling responded with a smile but said nothing.
"It can't be easy for you to support the Xiaoluo Secret Realm alone. I've always wanted to introduce you to a few friends. Today happens to be a good opportunity. You saw them earlier—Bai Yunfei of the prestigious Bai Family, and Liu Feng of the Jinwu Liu Family. I believe I don't need to say much about their family backgrounds. Both the prestigious Bai Family and the Jinwu Liu Family are extremely powerful in our Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain. At the very least, the Jinwu Li Clan wouldn't dare provoke them."
"The few of us get along quite well and have our own circle. My idea is for you to come sit with us later. We can all chat, get to know each other first. Another day, I'll introduce you to other friends. Once you're familiar with everyone, you'll naturally integrate into our circle. As long as you're part of our circle, with us looking out for you in the future, no one in the entire Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain would dare bully you again."
"Young Lord Xuan Yun, I appreciate your kindness. I know you mean well for me. It's just... I'm not good with words and not really suited for socializing."
"Not being good with words doesn't matter. Not being suited for socializing isn't a problem either. Don't worry, I'll help you with everything."
"Young Lord Xuan Yun, I truly thank you. It's just... there are some things I really can't do. I also hope you won't force me."
"Ling'er, I'm not forcing you. I just want to help you, and I hope you won't disregard my intentions."
"Young Lord Xuan Yun, please don't make things difficult for me, alright?"
Being rejected by Qianling again and again, Xuan Yun, who had already been stewing with anger since the Floating Sky Island incident, began to feel a faint rage. However, he took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart, and said in a low voice, "Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. But there's one thing I hope you'll agree to."
"I don't know what matter Young Lord refers to. If it's within my power, I will certainly do my utmost."
"Leave that upstart as soon as possible and sever all ties with him!"
Perhaps not expecting Xuan Yun to make such a request, Qianling looked at him with incomprehension and asked, "Why?"
"I'm doing this for your own good." Xuan Yun said scornfully, "Do you really think he was once some 'Great Old Master'? A true Great Old Master's state of mind has been tempered through countless years—calm and steady. Even if they lost all their cultivation, they would remain so. Now look at that upstart. His speech and behavior are frivolous and ostentatious. He even wears an outfit worth two hundred million and rides a carriage worth five hundred million, flaunting it everywhere, as if afraid people don't know he's rich. How could someone like that possibly have been a Great Old Master who once shook an entire heavenly domain? I think he's nothing more than a petty hoodlum from the mortal world."
"Who he was before, whether he was a Great Old Master or not, has nothing to do with our Xiaoluo Secret Realm," Qianling responded. "Our Xiaoluo Secret Realm took him in without ever caring about his past identity."
"Good, I know that, and I believe in your character. But the problem now isn't whether he was once a Great Old Master. It's that he has now offended the Jinwu Li Clan. Not only has he offended them, he's killed members of the Jinwu Li Clan. I can assure you, the Jinwu Li Clan will definitely not let him go. Surely you don't naively believe that he alone can deal with the Jinwu Li Clan?"
Xuan Yun said disdainfully, "I admit the underhanded tricks he played on the Floating Sky Island were quite clever. I couldn't figure out how he did it either. But underhanded tricks are, in the end, just that—underhanded. They're not the righteous path and can't be brought onto the grand stage. The fact remains: he has no cultivation to speak of, no destiny or fortune. That's as solid as iron. Even if he can play some underhanded tricks, that's all he can do."
"And the might of the Jinwu Li Clan far exceeds your imagination."