"What extravagance!"
Nearly everyone who had used their own methods to see Bai Lian survive that blow had bloodshot eyes.
What did a gap between rich and poor mean? What did a disparity in status mean? Today, they had truly seen it.
Judging by cultivation alone, at least half the people on the island were no weaker than Bai Lian in the Spirit Refinement Realm.
Yet faced with such a strike from Dao Qiongchang, those confident they could withstand it could be counted on one hand.
But Bai Lian had not even needed to exert himself. Relying solely on the treasures on his person, he had blocked a Half-Saint's killing blow.
"Damn it, these status-hounds!"
"Bai Lian is finished. He is absolutely finished. Whether or not he allied with Saint Slave, just from the fact that he blocked that blow for Water Ghost, the Dao Hall Master cannot possibly spare him."
"That's right. Never mind betraying the Holy Palace—at the very least, the Emberlight Lineage, or Bai Lian himself, has definitely betrayed them. He deserves to die."
"He really should be killed! No matter the reason... he has the face of someone born to die!"
"Eh? Why does it smell so sour? Where's it coming from?" Li Fugui craned his neck around, sniffing the air.
"But haven't you noticed? Water Ghost has already contracted a Half-Saint Godhood. If he truly becomes a Saint, the Dao Hall Master will have lost half the battle!"
Amid the chorus of sour-grape discussions, there were still, rarely, a few clear-headed people.
Indeed, the earlier explosion of the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art had been too grand, making Water Ghost's quiet contracting of the Half-Saint Godhood in the rear seem utterly inconspicuous.
But the lightning tribulation had already formed, and the winds and clouds had changed color.