After a long while, he slowly straightened, his voice calm again. "All right. I understand."
He turned toward the door, his steps steady and resolute, the hem of his moon-white robe stirring soundlessly behind him.
Elder Kong's voice followed him. "Jianzhang! Where are you going?"
Bai Jianzhang paused at the doorway. "Old Kong, don't stop me. Discuss the matter of that child among yourselves for now."
The moment he finished speaking, his body trembled slightly. An even sharper aura surged from within him, spreading like an invisible shock wave that made the floor of the entire council hall quiver.
The twelve people seated there felt the pressure strike them head-on. It was so powerful that several of them involuntarily leaned back in their chairs.
"He... has already reached that level..."
Elder Kong murmured, his eyes holding a trace of shock, a trace of wonder, and a deeper trace of worry.
Bai Jianzhang did not look back.
He strode through the dark-gray stone door. His moon-white figure sped down the corridor like a shaft of moonlight scattered by the wind, vanishing among the maze of buildings and walkways.
The heavy stone door slowly closed behind him, leaving the twelve elders in the council hall exchanging glances. For a long time, no one spoke.
Bai Jianzhang shot through the layered buildings and corridors of Sun-Moon Palace like a moon-white streak of light. The wind he stirred made the hanging lamps sway gently as he passed.
The Sun-Moon Palace disciples who happened to be walking through the corridors saw only a blurred flash of moon-white sweep past. Before they could tell who it was, he had vanished around the next corner, leaving only the faintest breeze.
When he passed through the final low stone gate, the view suddenly opened up. He had reached