As a golden sun slowly rose.
All things came back to life.
Within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Daoist Wang Yu and Daoist Chen Hua had reluctantly bid farewell to Su Changyu and Grand Hua Daoist.
An hour after they had left.
At last, a disciple could not hold back any longer and spoke.
"Elders, was that Senior Su truly the Inspector Commander of Jin Kingdom?"
A disciple spoke up. He was simply too curious and could not resist asking.
The moment those words were spoken, Daoist Wang Yu's voice rang out.
"Of course."
With Su Changyu gone, his bootlicking image instantly vanished. He became exceedingly dignified, his attitude toward the disciples somewhat cold and aloof.
"But—"
Just then, the disciple could not help continuing. As he was about to say something, Daoist Wang Yu's voice cut in.
"I know what you want to say. Aren't you wondering why the Inspector Commander's cultivation looked so ordinary? Maybe only around the third or fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, right?"
Daoist Wang Yu directly voiced the doubts in the other man's heart.
It was not merely his doubt. Many disciples were curious as well. Their cultivations were at the eighth or ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and there were even cultivators at the great perfection of Qi Refining. Naturally, they could tell Su Changyu and Grand Hua Daoist's cultivation realms at a glance.
Even Daoist Chen Hua was somewhat curious. But seeing Daoist Wang Yu fawn so hard, he did not dare act recklessly and could only join in the flattery.
"Yes."
The disciple braced himself and admitted it. He truly was curious, but Su Changyu and the others had been present earlier, so they could not say much. Now that they had left, however, the doubts in his heart had to be raised.
Yet Daoist Wang Yu sneered.
"Heh!"
"Heh!"
"Heh!"
Within those three sneers were traces of bleakness, mockery, chill, and disappointment.
This sneering laughter inexplicably placed pressure on everyone present, leaving them afraid to speak.
"How utterly foolish."
Daoist Wang Yu's voice rang out like thunder, directly stunning everyone into silence.
The next moment, Wang Yu continued.
"Can't you see through such a simple test? The Inspector Commander of Jin Kingdom is the foremost expert in the sword path of Jin Kingdom. His strength has likely already reached the great perfection of the Golden Core Realm, perhaps he has even condensed a Nascent Soul. For an existence of that level, would it not be easy to disguise himself as a Qi Refining cultivator?"
After saying this, Wang Yu's aura abruptly changed, becoming extremely weak.
"Look at me now. What realm am I in?"
Wang Yu spoke, and the disciples all looked toward him. Before long, every one of them fell silent.
Daoist Wang Yu had compressed his realm to around the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm. There was not the slightest trace of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's aura.
"Powerful cultivators can suppress their realms. The Inspector Commander's duty is to inspect the sects and officials of Jin Kingdom on behalf of the Jin State Monarch, so their whereabouts are of the utmost importance."
"They cannot expose their identities, because once their identities are exposed, their position as Inspector Commander will have reached its end. If it were you, and you did not want others to notice you, what would you do?"
"Senior Su is a clever man, and an exceptionally clever one. Not only did he suppress his realm to the Qi Refining Realm, he even had his subordinate play the role of his master. To make the fabrication more convincing, I even suspect Senior Su created some insignificant sect."
"It was all to deceive the eyes and ears. All of you, listen carefully. Sometimes what you hear is false, and what you see is false as well. Many things require your own judgment and keen perception. Take, for instance, that sudden clap of thunder after Pan Ling attained enlightenment in Sword Momentum."
"All of you were scared pale, but do you know how Senior Su reacted?"
Wang Yu enunciated every word with perfect clarity.
Everyone was extremely curious about Su Changyu's reaction as well.
"Calm!"
"Absolute calm!"
"Everyone was startled, including Elder Chen, even I was startled. Yet Senior Su did not so much as blink. His gaze was utterly tranquil. Could a Qi Refining cultivator possess such a state of mind?"
"You may ask Elder Chen how accurate my judgment is."
Daoist Wang Yu's lengthy speech left all the disciples stunned.
Even Daoist Chen Hua was somewhat dumbfounded.
To be honest, he had harbored some doubts too.
But after hearing Daoist Wang Yu say all this, how could he dare voice what was in his heart?
The main thing was that Daoist Wang Yu's argument was so orderly and logical that one could not find a single flaw in it.
Thinking this, Daoist Chen Hua nodded with a solemn expression.
"Yes, Elder Wang Yu and I share the same view. You are still too young—too shallow."
Daoist Chen Hua spoke with righteous conviction.
At that moment, Daoist Wang Yu looked at the disciple with apparent anger.
"We cultivators ought to believe that Heaven rewards diligence and strive to improve, rather than doubt others. Do not view the sky from the bottom of a well, and do not refuse to make progress. You may doubt, but bring forth evidence for your doubts. Do you think such obviously false evidence counts as evidence?"
"I know you still want to ask why the other man was injured. If he truly were a powerful expert, how could he possibly be injured?"
"I can tell you right now: it was all an act for you to see."
"With such tricks, anyone with even a little insight could tell. A mere healing pill cured him on the spot—do you call that an injury? It was simply an act put on for you."
"How foolish."
The more Daoist Wang Yu spoke, the more worked up and furious he became. In the end, he even said,
"With temperaments like yours, when you encounter those incomparably cunning disciples of the demonic sects someday, you will understand what it means for seeing to be deceiving."
Daoist Wang Yu spoke with the frustration of one who hated iron for not becoming steel.
"This disciple was rash. Please forgive me, Elder."
The disciple was completely convinced. He no longer dared question it and hurriedly stepped back.
"I believe he is the Inspector Commander. Otherwise, how could a single sentence allow Senior Brother Pan to comprehend the Summer Thunder Sword Intent? Who besides Jin Kingdom's foremost sword path expert could accomplish that?"
"Exactly. 'With one blade of grass, sever the sun, moon, and stars'—how could such an overbearing declaration come from a mere Qi Refining cultivator?"
"Yes, yes, yes. He must be the Inspector Commander."
Before long, the disciples began discussing it among themselves. Some had initially held doubts, but after hearing Daoist Wang Yu's words, who would still dare question it? Moreover, Daoist Wang Yu's reasoning made perfect sense.
No, it was no longer merely reasonable. It was exceedingly reasonable.
Su Changyu looked exactly like a Peerless Expert.
And his gaze had been incomparably calm. Even when such a thing happened, he had not been startled.
With a single sentence, he had enabled someone to attain enlightenment.
All of this was enough to prove that Su Changyu was a Peerless Expert.
If he was not a Peerless Expert, then who was?
And there was even evidence in the picture. If anyone still questioned it, would that not be malicious slander?
Outside the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
Su Changyu and Grand Hua Daoist were also somewhat puzzled.
They discussed all the way why the Four Thunder Sword Sect had treated them so well.
But despite discussing it the entire journey, they could not reach a reasonable conclusion.
In the end, the two did not continue discussing the matter.
Because no matter what, they had made it out. Other than Su Changyu losing ten years of his lifespan, there had been no major problem.
They had even brought out Spirit Essence Stones and a bottle of White Dew Spirit Pills.
They had made a killing this time.
Within the Qingyun Dao Sect.
Xu Luochen arrived at the Back Cliff with a smile.
Before you continue