Chapter 196: A Step Apart, Heaven and Earth Apart

"Wait a moment, junior brother!"

"What! You actually want to shield this kind of behavior?!"

"This is Vice Chief Tang Yue's jade token!"

Tang Yue, Vice Chief of the Silutang of Longxiang Qingtianzong.

And he's not some outer hall chief like you—he's the true inner hall Silutang Vice Chief, a giant of the Tongxuan realm!

"... So what?!" he retorted, neck stiff.

"Vice Chief Tang Yue would never bother himself over such a trivial matter—this must be someone from the Tang family using his name." The vice chief holding the jade token spoke calmly.

The Ru Sect trial's examination matches the cultivator's realm, and the difficulty is extremely high, the competition fierce.

Thus, even the Tang family cannot have every member join Longxiang Qingtianzong.

Let alone this direct entry into the inner hall trial.

Longxiang Qingtianzong has many outer hall disciples, but very few inner hall disciples—the fewest among the Qidaxian Sect.

If you fail the trial, even if you're a Fanxu, you must remain humbly in the outer hall.

In past eras, even the Ancestor himself would have cast his gaze upon it.

Perhaps this time it came suddenly, and they thought this trial wouldn't draw the attention of many high-level cultivators, like before?

Then he lifted his head and scanned the list, his gaze landing on one name.

"I have an idea."

Heh.

You want to pull strings? Let's see whose connections run deeper.

Not long after, a black-robed administrator arrived before the many Spirit Transformation Realm body cultivators and announced those who passed the Ru Sect examination.

But after naming three names, he did not mention Zhang Xiu.

Even though Zhang Xiu was confident in himself, he now clenched his fists tightly, growing nervous.

"Tang Yan, though he failed the trial, given his clean lineage and outstanding talent, he is deemed to have passed."

"These four individuals may enter Longxiang Qingtianzong directly into the inner hall!"

With these words, Zhang Xiu's heart sank, and Lao Jiang's eyes flared with rage!

Nearby, a handsome young man trembled with excitement.

Before Lao Jiang could protest, the black-robed administrator continued.

"Additionally!"

"Zhang Xiu, has passed the Ru Sect trial; at under sixty years of age, he has already reached the Spirit Transformation Realm—he may enter Longxiang Qingtianzong's outer hall."

Whoa! A wave of uproar erupted.

A genius who reached Spirit Transformation before sixty and passed the Ru Sect trial—yet he could only enter the outer hall!

Tang Yan failed the trial, yet simply because of "clean lineage," he was admitted directly into the inner hall!

What a truly "clean" lineage.

In an instant.

Some sneered sarcastically, others voiced their anger outright.

Centered on Tang Yan, with kin as radius and ancestors as target, they launched a "beautiful greeting."

Those present weren't lacking in members from great families—why must everyone endure the trial honestly while you sneak in through backdoors?

The "beautiful greeting" surged like a tide; Tang Yan, who had just been smiling, now turned ashen under this terrifying spiritual assault.

The black-robed administrator merely watched, showing no intention to stop them—if it weren't for the circumstances, he'd have cursed too.

Opportunities to openly curse while holding the moral high ground are rare! The buzzing in his ears made Zhang Xiu, who had been full of fury moments ago, momentarily stunned; beside him, Lao Jiang spat saliva everywhere, never pausing.

"Lao Jiang really held back when he cursed me before."

Zhang Xiu thought to himself.

Just as Tang Yan's face grew even paler—

"Silence."

A voice, utterly calm, pierced through the clamor, clear and distinct in every ear.

The noise instantly ceased. Huh~ Zhang Xiu exhaled deeply, feeling as if he'd stepped out of another lifetime.

Holy shit!

I always thought body cultivators were low-quality, but as a civilized body cultivator, I believed that was just prejudice against us.

Today, I see—

A man walked in from outside, neither tall nor broad, even somewhat slender.

His bearing was refined and sharp, his eyes bright and piercing.

"Chief!" someone shouted first.

"Greetings, Chief!" everyone chorused.

The man was none other than the current Longxiang Hall Chief—Qiu Feng! Longxiang Hall's role in Longxiang Qingtianzong is like the Sword-Wielding Hall's in Jian Sect.

Qiu Feng stepped forward slowly; the crowd parted to let him pass until he stood before the ashen-faced Tang Yan.

Qiu Feng gazed silently; a voice only Tang Yan could hear sounded: "So you're a boy from the Tang family—when did you go to Xuanjian City, and when did you meet the Elder?"

In ancient times, before I joined my master, I was saved many times by the Master Jianzu Elder, along with many other humans.

Thus, I deeply cherish and revere the Master Jianzu Elder.

Coincidentally, I had just finished my duty guarding the star region and returned to the sect when someone handed me a recommendation letter written personally by the Master Jianzu Elder.

Because it involved the Ancient Master Jianzu, he could not calculate who had been recommended, so he waited until the Ru Sect examination ended before coming in person to meet them.

Naturally, he assumed Tang Yan was that person.

"Huh?" Tang Yan looked bewildered.

He had never been to Xuan Jian City, nor had he met any elder.

"This disciple has not left the sect recently…"

Hm? Not left the sect? Qiu Feng frowned, turned back, and observed all the qi signatures—yet detected nothing amiss.

Yet, tracing the web of karmic connections, his gaze finally settled on Zhang Xiu.

Among all present cultivators, only this man and the one beside him had come from Xuan Jian City.

Age no more than sixty, cultivation at the Spirit Transformation Realm.

In an instant, Qiu Feng understood the full chain of events; his face turned ashen, yet he still confirmed one thing.

"Are you the one the elder recommended?"

"When I was in Xuan Jian City, I indeed received guidance from the elder, who granted me a letter," Zhang Xiu said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Feng's expression darkened further.

The Ancient Master Jianzu's recommended candidate arrived at Longxiang Qingtianzong, passed the examination, yet the slot was usurped by a connection! How could he face the Ancient Master Jianzu again! …………

"It seems I've made a fool of myself before you, brother."

At the deepest reaches of Longxiang Qingtianzong, a figure of unimposing stature sat, like an ancient, unshakable Shenshan.

Past, future, even the more ethereal Dao and cosmic principles could not stir him in the slightest.

The weight of the Xuan Realm seemed lighter than his single body.

As he spoke, a supreme, overwhelming aura blazed boundlessly, pushing aside all things—even the myriad worlds of the cosmos could not contain it, as if infinite spacetime trembled.

The Tyrant Sovereign!

Yet beside this terrifying aura, a single thread of mind remained unmoved, unshaken.

All anomalies that reached near that thread of mind seemed severed, cleaved apart.

"Such incidents are unavoidable; friend, do not mind them," Xu Xing's voice sounded.

With Qiu Feng handling it, the matters ahead needed no further concern.

Actually, this was most likely Sister's fault.

Zhang Yunlu was about to become Sister's disciple; as her brother, Zhang Xiu naturally suffered some collateral effects, encountering unexpected incidents.

Of course, once she fully became a disciple, this situation would cease.

The Tyrant Sovereign smiled wryly, shook his head, and immediately withdrew all his aura, becoming indistinguishable from an ordinary mortal.

"A half-step difference is truly heaven and earth apart."

He had just unleashed his full might, yet could not even stir a single thread of the Ancient Master Jianzu's mind.

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