"Just who is this old man, to speak with such arrogance?"
"Anyone who says Xu Taiping has no equal among cultivators of his generation is nothing but a blustering, mad old fool, if you ask me!"
"Exactly! Never mind the Shangqing Upper Realm-even among the secluded sects and aristocratic clans that have never emerged into the world in the Shangqing Lower Realm, there must be cultivators of his generation who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Xu Taiping!"
"Forget secluded sects-even among the first-rate sects of the Five Heavens, there are plenty of cultivators of his generation whose cultivation and combat strength are in no way inferior to Xu Taiping's!"
"..."
Inside the First-Rank Pavilion teahouse, the spectating cultivators felt that the old man speaking under Liu Qingshan's name had insulted them for no reason. Deeply displeased, they angrily rebutted him one after another.
"Third Uncle, have you worked out where this old man comes from... Third-Third Uncle?"
Looking bewildered, Xiahou You immediately turned to Heavenly Lord Shihu beside her for confirmation. But before she finished speaking, she saw that he had frozen in place as though he had lost his soul, his eyes fixed on Liu Qingshan's name displayed in the Spirit Mirror.
Xiahou You's heart immediately tightened, and she asked again:
"Third Uncle, what's wrong?"
Only after she called to him once more did Heavenly Lord Shihu finally come to his senses.
He gave a bitter smile and murmured to himself:
"To think the person behind Liu Qingshan was that venerable man."
Hearing this, Xiahou You and Xiahou Qingyuan, who had returned to the table, asked almost in unison, "Who?"
Heavenly Lord Shihu immediately answered solemnly:
"The great Sword Immortal who was once the foremost Sword Cultivator in the Shangqing Upper Realm, only half a step away from