Gu Qingfeng left.
In utter silence.
He had arrived wearing pristine white robes, and he departed just as spotless, not a speck of dust upon him. He had arrived with a calm expression, and he left the same way, not a single strand of his hair out of place.
He had not changed, but the trial grounds had. The stewards and elders responsible for the assessment had changed as well.
The once solemn and imposing Trial Platform was now a pile of rubble.
The once arrogant and overbearing members of the Li Family were either dead or crippled.
The once haughty and proud Nine Halls Direct Disciples were paralyzed on the ground, unable to stand even now.
The once noble and highly cultivated elders had all been reduced to lumps of mud, unable to move for the rest of their lives, not even a single finger.
As for the stewards and guest elders of the Yunxia Sect, some were paralyzed on the ground in terror, some were bleeding from all seven orifices in severe comas, and others had their skin torn and flesh rent, black smoke billowing from their bodies...
No one could have imagined that a perfectly normal trial assessment would turn out like this.
And at this moment, no one cared about these things. They were simply standing there in a daze, their minds filled with the ferocious, thunderous power of Gu Qingfeng, his cold and domineering words, and those various unbelievable, earth-shattering methods.
Absorbing vast amounts of Yang Flame spiritual energy in an instant.
Refining the hard Azure Turtle Crystal in a single breath.
Executing twenty perfected Immortal Arts with a single glance.
Kicking a Golden Core True Being who had cultivated for seven or eight hundred years until he was paralyzed on the ground.
A single Void Palm strike that seemed to explode in mid-air, defeating twenty to thirty Purple Mansion True Beings.
The might of a single shout like rolling thunderclaps exploding across the sky, shaking over a hundred people until they fell.
It was too insane, too terrifying.
So insane that even witnessing it with their own eyes, they still found it unbelievable.
So terrifying that even after Gu Qingfeng had left, the people in the arena remained frozen in place, not daring to move, not daring to speak, not even daring to breathe.
Truly, the Qingfeng was not clear but turbid as mud, the silence was not still but chaos without bounds.
...
Not many knew about what had happened at the Yunxia Sect. Many guest elders hadn't even attended, because today in the Qingyang Region, there was another major event: it was the day Elder Hong was coming out of seclusion.
Elder Hong was a highly respected senior in the Qingyang Region, having cultivated for a thousand years. He was also one of the few millennium-old seniors in the Qingyang Region.
Although after establishing one's true form, opening the Purple Mansion, and cultivating a Golden Core, the rate of physical aging slows significantly, this doesn't mean that cultivating a Golden Core grants immortality. One must know that cultivation itself is an act of defying the heavens. Living too long invites heavenly punishment.
And this so-called heavenly punishment is also a form of longevity tribulation.
Cultivators follow the principle that every ninth year brings a tribulation.
The longevity tribulation is no exception. Whenever one reaches the ninth multiple of a hundred years—that is, nine hundred years old—they will encounter this longevity tribulation.
Most Golden Core True Beings spend their entire lives cautiously, yet ultimately fail to evade this longevity tribulation. Of course, some can pass through it, and Elder Hong was one of them.
The old senior had cultivated for a long time and had extensive connections. Now, on the day of his emergence from seclusion, naturally many people came to offer congratulations.
Many had waited at the foot of the mountain for several days in advance to pay their respects. Huode had also arrived a day early.
Elder Hong held a very high status in the Qingyang Region. If one could gain his support, the matter of the Yunxia Sect would be much easier to handle. To be honest, Huode didn't dare hope for the old senior to personally intervene and help. He just needed the old man not to side with Shui De and Jin De.
But he waited and waited, all the way until this afternoon, when a disciple of the old senior actually said that he would not be receiving guests today, stating that in a few days it would be the old man's thousand-year grand birthday, and he would feast everyone then.
For Huode, this was news that wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good either.
It wasn't bad because since the old senior wasn't receiving guests, then Shui De and Jin De also had no opportunity.
It wasn't good because he had made the trip for nothing. Of course, if there were no other important matters, a wasted trip would just be a wasted trip. Huode didn't care much about that. The key was that although he had been waiting here all along, his heart had been constantly worrying about the affairs of the Yunxia Sect.
He didn't know how Gu Qingfeng's assessment was going.
Huode wasn't worried about Gu Qingfeng failing the assessment. He knew that assessment matters were easier for Gu Qingfeng than passing gas. What truly worried him was the fear that some chaos might erupt, that Gu Qingfeng wouldn't follow the proper procedures, that someone with no eyes would provoke him...
Huode wasn't stupid. He knew that Mude and the others would definitely deliberately make things difficult for Gu Qingfeng.
That's why, before leaving, he had repeatedly urged Gu Qingfeng to follow the procedures, to endure what he could. For this, he had later gone to find his Senior Brother Rende, thinking that with Rende presiding over the overall situation, even if Mude and the others tried to cause trouble, it shouldn't lead to any major chaos. However, all of this was predicated on that kid Gu being able to hold his temper.
If that kid were to lose his temper...
I'm afraid even Rende would...
Sigh!
He hoped no chaos would erupt.
Just as Huode was about to ride his sword back, a gloomy voice came from behind him.
"Junior Brother, it seems you've made this trip for nothing this time."
Turning around, he saw a tall, thin old man. The old man had a gloomy expression, a smile hanging at the corner of his mouth, and was toying with two crystal-clear glass orbs in his hand. It was his Senior Brother, True Being Jin De.
"The one who made the trip for nothing is you," Huode sneered. "This old man didn't come here to ask Elder Hong for help."
"Heh...
That's easy to say."
At that moment, another old man walked over.
"You two, long time no see."
This old man had a goatee and wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes, giving off a very cunning feeling. It was none other than True Being Shui De. He looked at Jin De, then at Huode, and said with a smile, "It's been a long time since us three junior brothers have met...
Although we didn't get to see Elder Hong this time, being able to see you two means this trip wasn't entirely wasted."
Seeing Shui De, Jin De immediately mocked, "Well, if it isn't True Being Shui De of the Nine Flowers Alliance!"
"People strive for higher places, water flows to lower ground. The Nine Flowers Alliance dominates the four regions, with experts as numerous as clouds within its ranks, commanding over a hundred sects and presiding over tens of thousands of societies. I suggest you two stop being so stubbornly deluded."
Shui De didn't seem to mind, stroking his goatee as he smiled. "You can't win against me. The position of Heir Apparent of the Yunxia Sect will inevitably fall into my hands."
"Is that so?"
Jin De sneered coldly. "Then let's wait and see."
Huode couldn't be bothered to listen to the two of them blather here and was about to leave when Shui De called out to him.
"You traitor, what do you want with this old man!"
Compared to Jin De, Huode was even more displeased with Shui De. Jin De coveted the position of Heir Apparent of the Yunxia Sect for his own selfish desires, but Shui De had become a running dog for the Nine Flowers Alliance. Therefore, in his words, Huode naturally showed him no courtesy.
Shui De didn't seem angered, still stroking his goatee as he smiled. "Junior Brother, the three of us have finally met after so long. How can you be ready to leave without having a chat?"
As he spoke, Shui De suddenly laughed, as if remembering something. "Ha!
I almost forgot. Today is the day that fellow surnamed Gu is taking the trial assessment, right?
Looking at your anxious appearance, are you worried he might fail?"
Before Huode could respond, Shui De continued with a smug smile, "It's not that I'm criticizing you, Junior Brother, but you've never been one to settle down since you were young, and you've always been careless in your actions. Haven't you considered that so many of the stewards and elders in our Yunxia Sect are our Senior Brother Jin De's people? Do you think he would let that Gu Qingfeng you found pass the assessment?"
Jin De stood to the side, toying with the two glass orbs, speaking unhurriedly, "No matter how many people I have, it can't compare to the Nine Flowers Alliance behind your back!"
"That's not necessarily true. When it comes to winning people over, I can't compare to you, Senior Brother. Not to mention our Yunxia Sect, even half the families and societies in the Qingyang Region have been pulled over to your side by you. Truly worthy of this junior brother's utmost admiration!"
"Hmph!"
Jin De snorted coldly and closed his eyes.
Opposite them, Huode looked at Shui De with his insincere smile, then at the arrogant Jin De, and sneered, "Let me tell you two turtle grandsons, you'd better both back off now, or there will be a time when you cry."
"Oh?
How exactly will we cry?"
Shui De's expression darkened slightly as he asked, "It seems you have a lot of confidence in that fellow surnamed Gu."
"Just you wait and see."
With those words, Huode leaped into the air and departed.
"Heh heh..." Watching Huode's retreating figure, Shui De stroked the beard on his chin, seeming somewhat puzzled.
Jin De also opened his eyes, frowning in deep thought. He glanced at Shui De beside him and asked, "Junior Brother, do you know what identity that fellow surnamed Gu that Huode found actually has?"
"What?"
Shui De smiled as he asked, "Are you scared?"
"What a joke!
Would I be scared?"
Jin De said disdainfully, "A waste who failed to establish his Foundation—could he possibly stir up any waves?"
"That's true..." Shui De also didn't take this matter to heart, smiling as he said, "But Senior Brother, for old times' sake, let me advise you one more time: give up. You can't win against me, much less against the Nine Flowers Alliance. If you're willing to give up..."
As Shui De was speaking, Jin De let out a derisive laugh. "The end of the year is the hundred-year mark. When our three martial uncles emerge from seclusion, you'll naturally know who should give up."