Only half the gossip-how were they supposed to sleep tonight?

Fu Shouci glanced at Tang Yan with a stern expression and spoke calmly.

"Come in, junior."

At his words, Tang Yan spat out the Foxtail Grass in his mouth and strolled into the hall.

"Senior, my name is Tang Yan."

After cupping his hands in greeting, he walked over to stand beside Xiao Jixue.

Yet a faint glimmer flickered almost imperceptibly through the eyes of Fu Shouci and the Peak Masters when they heard that familiar voice.

The unfamiliar voice from earlier had actually belonged to this junior before them?!

If he could uncover secrets like those, this junior surely possessed some supreme treasure.

An Immortal Artifact? Or perhaps a Divine Artifact?

But from what they could see, this junior was merely an ordinary person without any cultivation. An Immortal Artifact or Divine Artifact had actually been willing to reside within an ordinary person?

As Fu Shouci pondered this, he quietly released his Divine Sense again, hoping to examine Tang Yan for anything unusual.

Seeing their Sect Leader and senior brother act, the other Peak Masters stayed quietly to one side and waited for the result.

When Xiao Jixue noticed that faint disturbance, anxiety instantly flooded his heart.

Tang Yan had only recently been gravely injured and struggled on the verge of death, and now he had become an ordinary person. What if his master failed to control his strength and hurt him again?

"Master..."

But he had barely uttered the word when he sensed his master's Divine Sense recoil as though it had been struck by Tribulation Transcendence lightning,

withdrawing at lightning speed.

Then he saw his master's chest shudder, a trace of crimson appearing at the corner of his mouth as though he had been injured.

Xiao Jixue instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, his master was the one who had been hurt.

His master was a powerhouse at the peak of Void Insight, half a step away from becoming a Tribulation Transcendence Dao Venerable. He was tough.

A little injury would heal in a few months.

Unlike Tang Yan, who was so delicate and frail that a gust of wind could knock him over and a little rain could make him ill.

Even a mere Foundation Building ant had nearly taken his life.

He had personally rescued Tang Yan and nursed him back to health. He absolutely could not let him get hurt again right under his nose!

Fu Shouci swallowed the blood rising in his throat. The casual indifference in his eyes as he looked at Tang Yan had vanished, replaced by caution and startled uncertainty.

This junior? He looked ordinary, but he was actually profoundly mysterious.

He had merely wanted to investigate a little, with no ill intent toward him, yet his Divine Sense had been attacked, leaving him severely injured.

And just now, a mechanical voice had echoed in his mind: "Probe him again, and die!"

Disbelief gathered in the eyes of the other Peak Masters.

Their Sect Leader and senior brother had actually been injured!

Heavens! How many years had it been since their senior brother last suffered an injury?

Yet today, he had come to grief at the hands of a wet-behind-the-ears brat!!

Meanwhile, within Tang Yan's mind, the Purple Star Sea suddenly quivered twice, somehow radiating a smug air of "I'm the greatest badass in the world."

Hmph! (ˉ(∞)ˉ)

Did he have any idea who he was dealing with?

He actually wanted to probe its host's secrets.

What a joke. Its host was under its protection. Even if the strongest fighter in this realm came,

They wanted to use Divine Sense or some other method to probe its host's secrets? They could keep dreaming, damn it!

With that thought, the system glanced at Tang Yan, who remained utterly at ease, oblivious to anything amiss, his face full of such clear-eyed stupidity that he looked like a sweet, innocent airhead.

It heaved a weary sigh.

Ah! This was the host it had bound itself to. If it didn't spoil him, who would?

He had come to grief over Tang Yan, and so many of his junior brothers and sisters had witnessed it firsthand. Most importantly, his beloved disciple had seen it too.

Fu Shouci's old face immediately burned. He felt that all his dignity and prestige as the head of the sect had been utterly lost today.

Deciding that out of sight was out of mind, he waved a hand.

"All right, you may all leave. I still have matters to discuss with your martial uncles and aunts."

"Yes."

Xiao Jixue glanced at Tang Yan, signaling for him to follow, then led the way out.

Tang Yan followed close behind. Just before leaving the hall,

his steps suddenly faltered.

Immediately afterward, that familiar voice exploded in everyone's ears.

[Wow, this is interesting~]

The excitement in that voice prompted Zhu Hua and the others to sneak glances at Tang Yan.

They screamed wildly in their hearts.

What? What?! ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)ᵒᵏᵎᵎᵎᵎ

Hurry up and tell us!!!!

[Heavens, this is as juicy as the gossip about the White Tiger Demon Venerable and his spouse in the Divine Seclusion Mountains! The White Tiger Demon Venerable...]

Zhu Hua and the others: "!!!"

Holy crap! The White Tiger Demon Venerable...

The old faces of Fu Shouci and the several Peak Masters turned as red as monkeys' bottoms. They were mortified.

Fu Shouci in particular wore an indescribable expression.

He had never expected the mysterious treasure this junior possessed to dig into even that sort of gossip.

Walking ahead of Tang Yan, Xiao Jixue stiffened, the tips of his ears turning bright red.

Did the fellow behind him really know so much about that sort of thing?

His lips moved. He wanted to say something, but had no idea what to say, so he could only knit his brows and remain silent.

Tang Yan did not notice the changes in everyone's expressions.

As he listened to the system report the juicy gossip about Fu Shouci in his mind, his beautiful, alluring eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He glanced back toward the hall.

[They say you can't judge a book by its cover. They really weren't kidding.]

[Who would've thought the Sect Leader, who looks so proper, stern, and imposing, secretly broke off his engagement with his fiancée for someone else? Tsk, tsk~~]

"???" The Sect Leader, in secret?

Was he talking about their Sect Leader?

Holy crap, crap, crap, crap! (ง ˙o˙)ว

Zhu Hua and the others' excitement shot straight to its peak.

Tell us, hurry! Gossip about the Sect Leader? We love that!

The Peak Masters: "?!!"

Huh? What?! Their Sect Leader and senior brother?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The Peak Masters' gossip-hungry gazes secretly landed on Fu Shouci's face.

They knew their Sect Leader and senior brother had a fiancée.

Although the two had grown up together, there had been no romantic feelings between them.

Neither had anyone they loved, so they had intended to honor the engagement arranged by their families and become cultivation partners.

Yet ten years ago, their Sect Leader and senior brother had suddenly broken off the engagement.

So it had been because he had fallen for another woman!

As for Fu Shouci himself: "..." He had completely turned to stone.

Xiao Jixue suddenly addressed Tang Yan behind him. "Tang Yan."

Tang Yan hurried to catch up, answering with a beaming smile, "Coming, coming."

The juicy gossip came to an abrupt halt!

Zhu Hua and the others were utterly disappointed.

Utterly heartbroken.

Heartbroken,

true heartbreak wasn't shouting and making a scene,

true disappointment wasn't a face streaming with tears...

Aaaah! Wasn't this going to kill them?!

Only half the gossip—how were they supposed to sleep tonight?!

Eldest senior brother, we hate you!

Everyone's resentful gazes flew toward the unruffled Xiao Jixue.

The Peak Masters were disappointed too. They had really wanted to hear the juicy gossip about their Sect Leader and senior brother.

Ahem...

But they were elders, venerable figures. They truly could not voice such private little desires.

"Phew~" Fu Shouci breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he did not think there was any juicy gossip about him to be had.

At least he had escaped disaster!

His beloved disciple really was devoted to his master.