"Regarding the competition, do Elder Liang and the elders of the Divine Medicine Sect have anything else to add?"
Fu Shouci slowly exhaled, doing his utmost to look as though nothing was wrong.
Liang Qiu wore a dark expression and spoke icily.
"No."
Seeing this, Tang Yan couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
[Rumor has it that Master and that old geezer Liang don't get along. Looks like the rumors are true.]
[Oh, right, System, I forgot to ask earlier. Bai Yi was romantically involved with Master and that old geezer Liang for ten years. Surely they couldn't have gone ten whole years without... you know?]
Everyone else's eyes burned with curiosity: We're dying to know too!
Fu Shouci's and Liang Qiu's hearts lurched. The former was just about to speak and distract Tang Yan.
But Tang Yan's inner voice rang out first.
[Doing it?]
[Wait, neither of them noticed anything wrong?]
[Huh? So Bai Yi inherited that ability at birth. He's skilled at creating illusions, and with his cultivation, no one below the Mahayana stage can detect them. No wonder.]
Tang Yan snickered without a shred of sympathy.
[Hahaha, just thinking of Master and that old geezer Liang wriggling around all by themselves makes me want to laugh.]
Everyone else: Hahaha, how tragic.
Xiao Jixue paused with his teacup in hand, then leisurely glanced at the person beside him.
His brows knitted as he thought, How does he know so much about these things?
Fu Shouci and Liang Qiu: "..."
Sensing the subtle scrutiny directed at them once again, Fu Shouci and Liang Qiu kept their expressions perfectly composed.
Inside, however, their little inner selves shed tears of humiliation.
Sob, sob... I'm the dignified Sect Leader of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and I've lost every last scrap of face today!
Sob... I'm the dignified Grand Elder of the Divine Medicine Sect, and I've been utterly humiliated here at the Ten Thousand Swords Sect today!
As the two sobbed inwardly, they suddenly raised their eyes to look at each other.
At that instant, the same thought flashed through their minds.
Thank goodness! At least this old bastard is here to be humiliated with me.
"Ahem. The Two-Sect Grand Competition is settled, then. Elder Liang, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Fu Shouci was terrified that Tang Yan would reveal another juicy scandal outrageous enough to give someone heart trouble.
He said a few cursory words and dismissed everyone, keeping only Liang Qiu behind.
Once everyone had left the hall, its doors slammed shut with a bang.
Fu Shouci also set up an array that blocked divine sense.
"Tell me, what exactly was going on with that mysterious voice earlier?" Liang Qiu asked impatiently.
When the mysterious voice had sounded for the second time, he had wanted to investigate it with his divine sense.
But before he could act, that old bastard Fu Shouci had sent him a Divine Sense transmission.
Then, just as Fu Shouci had said, his Divine Sense was suppressed by a terrifying power.
He had endured it for so long, endured his secrets being exposed to his junior brothers, junior sisters, and disciples, endured being stripped of every last scrap of dignity.
Now he could finally get an answer.
Fu Shouci sighed deeply and recounted to Liang Qiu the entire story of how they had come to hear Tang Yan's thoughts.
Liang Qiu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"So that terrifying power suppressing me earlier came from Xi Tong, the artifact spirit of that supreme treasure you mentioned?"
"Yes."
Receiving confirmation, Liang Qiu sucked in a breath.
"Xi Tong's power is the strongest I've ever encountered in my life. Even my former master's power wasn't as terrifying!"
His master had ascended to the upper realm over a thousand years ago.
Fu Shouci rubbed his face in resignation. "I've never encountered anyone stronger than Xi Tong either."
The Ten Thousand Swords Sect had three supreme elders, all of them Mahayana cultivators.
Among them, Heavenly Venerable Yin Su, who had been in secluded cultivation for five hundred years, had already reached the Half-Step Ascension realm.
Heavenly Venerable Yin Su was already one of the strongest combatants on the Immortal Spirit Continent, yet the pressure of her power couldn't compare to that of Xi Tong residing within Tang Yan!
Seeing Liang Qiu's grave expression, Fu Shouci quickly gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry too much. Right now, Xi Tong only wants to dig up our secrets and publicly humiliate us until we've lost all dignity. There's no danger for the time being."
Liang Qiu: "..." Isn't that fucking serious enough?
Whenever he recalled the searing gazes of his junior brothers, junior sisters, and disciples, he wanted to fucking destroy himself and start over from scratch!
Helpless sighs echoed through the hall for a long time.
Half a quarter of an hour later, two streaks of light left the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, one after the other, heading straight for the town at the foot of the mountain.
Bai Yi was just about to go out. The moment he turned around, an ethereal figure in white landed in front of him.
A closer look revealed Fu Shouci, whom he had seen only a few days ago.
Bai Yi froze, then immediately recovered, pitched his voice higher, and approached with dainty little steps.
"Darling Fu, what brings you here? Weren't you busy with sect affairs?"
Unlike before, Fu Shouci didn't immediately embrace him upon seeing him. Instead, he stared at him with a heavy gaze.
Listen to that sweet little voice, look at those dainty steps, and that soft, supple waist...
No matter how you look at him, he doesn't seem like some stinking man.
His stare made Bai Yi uneasy. "Darling Fu, what's the matter with you today?"
Fu Shouci opened his mouth, expressionless. "I brought someone to see you today."
"Who?" Bai Yi was completely bewildered.
The next instant, when he saw who stepped out from behind Fu Shouci, his smile stiffened.
Bai Yi immediately put his smile back on, his pretty face filled with confusion.
"Darling Fu, who is this? Is he a friend of yours?"
Bai Yi had indeed panicked a little at his first glimpse of Liang Qiu.
But once he collected himself, his panic immediately vanished.
He presented two completely different faces to Fu Shouci and Liang Qiu.
There was no way Liang Qiu could recognize him as Yi'er, whom he had loved for ten years!
"Heh!" Liang Qiu sneered.
Without another word, he launched an attack straight at Bai Yi.
He wasn't like Fu Shouci, who took his sweet time doing everything!
Terror filled Bai Yi's eyes. With his life hanging in the balance, he hurriedly raised his hand to meet Liang Qiu's attack.
As he fought back, he couldn't help bursting into curses.
"What the fuck! Liang Qiu, you bastard, you don't fight fair!"
His voice came out rough and booming, devoid of any coy sweetness. There was nothing but rugged masculinity.
Fu Shouci and Liang Qiu: "..."
Both men fell silent as they stared at the stunning, delicate, seductive woman before them, dressed in a begonia-red brocade gown, only to hear a coarse man's voice with a thick rustic accent come out of his mouth.
Even Liang Qiu's attack stopped in midair.
Bai Yi's eyes filled with panic: ...God fucking damn it! I forgot to keep my voice high!
"Bai Yi! Good! Very good! How dare you toy with our feelings!" And he had kept deceiving them for ten whole years!
Swindling their money was a minor matter, but deceiving their hearts was absolutely unforgivable!
When Liang Qiu thought of how the woman before him was his gentle, virtuous Yi'er, yet underneath was a stinking man,
his face turned livid with rage.
Just as he was about to attack again, the scene before him flickered, and the gorgeous young man had already vanished.
Liang Qiu: "..."
He turned to Fu Shouci. "Why didn't you guard against him creating an illusion?"
Fu Shouci pursed his lips. "You didn't strike to kill either, did you?"
"I..." Liang Qiu had nothing to say.
Ten years. For ten years, he had given his body, his heart, and his money. His feelings were still burning strong after all that time. How could he possibly bring himself to kill him?
Fu Shouci sighed. "Forget it. Let's leave it at that."
"Fine. He'd better not let me see him again, or else..."
Fu Shouci scoffed at that, seemingly mocking him for saying what he didn't mean.
Before you continue