A Few Things Only Needed to Change Hands Twice to Go from Black to White

The barbecue that night was eaten in unusual quiet.

The campfire crackled, and dripping grease sparked as it fell into the flames.

The four sat in a circle, but no one spoke.

Jiang Yan continued to eat meat heartily, but his eyes, which always gleamed with fighting spirit, now held a clarity he had never shown before.

Gu Tianye silently tore at the pieces of meat, occasionally glancing up at the sword mark that stretched across the earth in the darkness in the distance.

He remained the proud possessor of the Sacred Body, but the phrase he always uttered, "The Sacred Body is invincible," was never mentioned again from this night onward.

The Sacred Body is not invincible.

Until their parting, Gu Tianye asked Qin Wangchuan a question.

"After the Sacred Body is fully formed, what are my chances of winning against you?"

Everyone says that the Great Sacred Body is invincible, and Gu Tianye has always firmly believed this.

He just didn't have that confidence in front of this person.

Qin Wangchuan's answer was, "I don't know."

Gu Tianye was stunned.

He had anticipated many possible answers—perhaps he would be no match for her, or she would humbly say she could exchange a few blows, or even a nonchalant "0%."

But that "I don't know" was like an invisible hammer, instantly shattering some deep-rooted belief in his mind.

"How could you... not know?" he blurted out, his voice trembling without him even realizing it. "Have you never cared about the Sacred Body at all?"

Qin Wangchuan's gaze remained calm, as if he were merely stating a simple fact:

"Those who have been defeated by me have no distinction of Sacred Body; they all share one common name—defeaters."

Gu Tianye stood frozen in place, his lips slightly parted, but no sound came out.

It turns out this person wasn't unaware of the Sacred Body, but rather simply didn't take it seriously.

In his eyes, there was no difference between Sacred Body and a mortal body; they were both merely... defeated opponents.

This is so...

Gu Tianye's long-held beliefs collapsed at this moment.

He stood there for a long, long time, and finally, in the middle of the night, he silently got up and said, "Farewell."

Just as he turned around, Qin Wangchuan's voice rang out again:

"Let's go to the Chuanliu Pavilion to learn the Qin Clan Secret Technique."

"My cultivation techniques are inside; they can make you stronger."

Gu Tianye paused, but didn't turn around. "Is this charity?"

"No," Qin Wangchuan said calmly, "You, like Jiang Yan, can become stronger. It's such a waste to remain in the shadow of the Sacred Body."

The words "the shadow of the Sacred Body" pierced through Gu Tianye's last pretense like a sharp sword.

Having been seen through, exposed, and utterly defeated... this invincible youth, who had been undefeated until now, could no longer suppress his surging emotions and turned back with a hint of mockery:

"Aren't you afraid that if I learn the Qin Clan Secret Technique, I'll turn the tables and defeat you in the future?"

Qin Wangchuan nodded slightly, the moonlight illuminating his calm profile.

"Many people say that."

Unfortunately, no one has been able to do it so far.

"Those who are defeated by me, I bestow upon them techniques to help them become stronger; their sole purpose is to inspire me to continue onward—"

He looked up at Gu Tianye, his gaze as deep as the night:

"After all, no one can trip over a pebble behind them, can they?"

Gu Tianye left without saying a word.

No one knows what he was thinking at that moment.

The following day, as the morning light fell upon Tongtian City, the enormous ravine that had cleaved through the city walls and stretched to the horizon naturally attracted countless horrified gazes and speculations.

The crowd discussed it amongst themselves, but no one knew the truth. In the end, they could only attribute it to the actions of a Great Power of Upper Realm who wished to remain anonymous.

Amidst the commotion and speculation, a group of people quietly arrived.

It was Xiao Yun and the others who came to pick up Jiang Yan.

After handing Jiang Yan over to him, Qin Wangchuan led Feng Qingjue and his group to Upper Thousand Provinces.

Jiang Yan watched Qin Wangchuan's departing figure, his eyes filled with reluctance.

He truly regarded Qin Wangchuan as his Eldest Brother.

His gaze fell upon the person who had come to guide him.

He was stunned upon seeing this. "Hey! Aren't you the one from the arena earlier? So you're from the Wen Dao Palace?"

Xiao Yun laughed heartily, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Of course."

He stepped forward and patted Jiang Yan's shoulder forcefully, so hard that Jiang Yan staggered half a step. "Very good, you have strength, I like it!"

"My surname is Xiao, and my given name is Yun. You can just call me Senior Brother Xiao." Xiao Yun stepped aside, revealing his two fellow disciples behind him, and introduced them:

"This lady, surnamed Chen, is your senior sister. The shy boy behind her is our junior brother."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wan slightly raised her chin, naturally revealing a touch of the noble air of someone from a prestigious family.

The junior brother, hiding at the very back, appeared rather delicate.

After the introduction, Xiao Yun took out a token from his pocket and handed it over. "Everyone who enters our Wen Dao Palace has some special status, you should have one too, right?"

"My mother..."

"Oh! That's the routine, saving your mother, right? I get it!"

"Welcome to the Wen Dao Palace."

Jiang Yan took the token, wondering why they were issuing tokens without even having an initiation ceremony.

Looking down, one could see that it was engraved with "The 108th Devilish Son under the Old Ancestor Jile of the Blood Evil Sect".

He looked up in confusion. "Who is this Old Ancestor Jile...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yun and the others behind him suddenly changed their expressions and snatched back the token. "You've got the wrong one!"

Then another one was handed to them.

Jiang Yan stared intently, his brows furrowing even more. "Demon General under the command of the Blood Evil Sect's Old Ancestor Jile?"

This is even more outrageous than that "demon child" from before!

Although Xiao Yun quickly took back the token and handed over a jade plaque engraved with the three characters "Wen Dao Palace".

But the two consecutive misunderstandings filled Jiang Yan with suspicion. "Are you really from the Wen Dao Palace? You don't seem like a reputable sect."

Xiao Yun coughed lightly and lowered his voice, "Actually, I won't hide it from you. The Wen Dao Palace is naturally a prestigious and righteous sect, but as you know, there are always some dirty and tiring jobs that need to be done. So..." He winked mysteriously, "Our other identity is the Blood Evil Sect, understand?"

"Oh~" Jiang Yan nodded thoughtfully, "I don't understand."

"Let me put it this way..." Xiao Yun put her arm around his shoulder, "For example, if you're going to steal something, wouldn't it sound really harsh to just say 'robbery'?"

Jiang Yan nodded.

"But if we say it's about robbing the rich to help the poor, doesn't that sound much better?"

Jiang Yan's eyes lit up. "So we're the ones who rob the rich to help the poor?"

Xiao Yun revealed a meaningful smile, "Actually, we are both the ones who rob and the ones who are robbed."

Jiang Yan listened and slowly typed out. "?"

"Hey! Some things are originally black, but if you rummage through them a bit, they turn white, understand?"

Jiang Yan continued to shake his head, "I don't understand."

Seeing Jiang Yan's completely bewildered expression, Xiao Yun's smile widened, "That's right, you don't understand! It's alright, I'll explain it to you on the way."

"Remember, in the Cultivation World, the line between righteous sects and Devil Path Magnate is sometimes very thin."

Jiang Yan walked a few steps away from Xiao Yun, then suddenly remembered something and tugged at Xiao Yun's sleeve. "Senior Brother Xiao, where does my Eldest Brother rank in terms of strength in the Wen Dao Palace?"

"Your Eldest Brother?"

"Yes, my Eldest Brother Qing Wangchuan."

"Qing Wangchuan ..." Xiao Yun stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh! You mean that That Lord— " He lowered his voice mysteriously, "That Lord can rank whatever he wants."

Jiang Yan: "?"

"Because, the Wen Dao Palace was created by him."

Jiang Yan's eyes widened suddenly. Even with his slow-witted mind, he finally realized that his good Eldest Brother was not only not Talisman Cultivator, but his name might even be fake!

Just then, Chen Wan, who had been quietly following behind, came over and said, "I just received a letter from home. I heard that the That Lord is going to make a big commotion in Upper Thousand Provinces. Should we go and take a look?"

"Going up there is... Upper Thousand Provinces?" Jiang Yan looked at the seemingly ordinary female disciple in shock.

Who exactly is this junior sister who can casually say something like "Let's go see Upper Thousand Provinces"?

Chen Wan proudly raised her chin, and Xiao Yun introduced her at the opportune moment, "You wouldn't guess, would you? This is the Pearl in the Palm eye of the Upper Thousand Provinces Chen Clan!"

So, do you want to go see it?

"Go!"