"Oh?" The middle-aged man slowly raised his hand at Zhang Chao's words. "You mean Jiang Tian showed up on the battlefield?"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Zhang Chao hadn't even finished speaking.
Smack!
A crisp slap exploded through the cramped cave.
Zhang Chao went flying sideways, slammed hard into the stone wall, then slid to the ground.
He clutched the half of his face that had instantly swollen red. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and his expression was filled with shock and confusion.
The middle-aged man slowly raised the hand he'd used to slap him and examined it, his tone indifferent. "Is the news that Jiang Tian appeared on the battlefield still a secret? We knew about it long ago."
He lowered his hand and clasped it behind his back, then leaned forward slightly. His dark red eyes looked down at Zhang Chao.
"Don't tell me this is the... important news you were talking about."
"No, no!" Zhang Chao hurriedly waved his hands, his voice even carrying a hint of grievance. "This isn't the important news I meant to tell you. I was only agreeing with what you said just now..."
"Oh." The middle-aged man paused, then slowly straightened and clasped both hands behind his back again. His face resumed its usual indifferent expression. "Go on."
Zhang Chao scrambled to his feet. Without even wiping the blood from his mouth, he hurriedly recounted everything he had seen and heard during that day's contest.
"...That's how it was. Jiang Tian is incredibly strong now. He can already defeat late-stage Purple Mansion cultivators head-on, and he also..."
Silence settled over the cave once more.
The middle-aged man stood still, his expression giving nothing away, but his dark red eyes kept flickering.
Zhang Chao lay prostrate on the ground,