At those words, the tavern, which had been incredibly noisy just a moment earlier, suddenly fell silent.
Of course, that silence did not last long before it was broken.
"Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined? The Great Enshrined I'm thinking of, the one called Invincible in the Sky and hailed as one of the two towering peaks of the Soul Master World?!!"
"That's him!!"
The customer, whose face was flushed from drinking, hurriedly nodded. "I saw him with my own eyes at the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce today, and I heard his big secret!"
"Are you sure you didn't mistake someone else for him?!"
The customers in the tavern still found it hard to believe, simply because Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu, had long since stopped concerning himself with worldly affairs and had not appeared in public for decades.
"There's no mistake. Lots of people saw him, and I even heard someone from the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce call him Great Enshrined! There's absolutely no mistake!!"
The drunken customer nodded with utter certainty. He was just about to reveal the big secret, but then hesitated. "This is a big secret that concerns the Great Enshrined's good name. Back then, the Great Enshrined punished evil and upheld good, slaying so many evil Soul Masters. That's how the Soul Master World gained the peace it enjoys today. I can't let the Great Enshrined's century-long good name be destroyed in a single stroke!!"
"Damn it, just tell us! What's the big secret?!!"
Everyone in the tavern had had their appetites thoroughly whetted, only for the man to clam up at the crucial moment. It was driving them mad with impatience.
What kind of big secret could possibly concern the century-long good name of Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined?! Having such a big secret right before their eyes yet being unable to learn it felt like claws scratching at their hearts and lungs. They really, really, really wanted to know!!
"Barkeep, give him another three glasses of rum. Put them on my tab!!"
"Fill it up! Hurry up and fill his glass! Coming into a tavern and not drinking-are you raising fish in there?!"
"I'll buy him ten glasses! Bring him a few plates of snacks, too. If word got out, people might think I couldn't afford to treat him!"
The tavern's customers became warm and hospitable, paying out of their own pockets to treat the customer to drinks and snacks, all urging him to drink.
"My lips are sealed tighter than anyone's. Don't even think about getting that big secret out of me!"
"We don't want to know. We really don't. Here, I've filled your glass. Are you a man or not? If you're a man, drain it!!"
"You think I'm afraid of this little bit of booze? Gulp, gulp..."
The customer raised his glass indignantly and drained it in one go, his face growing even redder.
"Good! A real man! People like you are the ones I admire most. Come on, let me toast you again!!"
The surrounding drinkers egged him on, genuinely wanting to get this customer drunk so they could hear his big secret.
"The Great Enshrined... I can't let the Great Enshrined down..."
Before long, the customer really was drunk. He tossed all thoughts of not letting the Great Enshrined down to the back of his mind; he simply could not rest without spilling the big secret in his heart. "Do you know who I saw at the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce today? None other than Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined!!"
At this, the tavern's drinkers inwardly rejoiced. Here it came-the big secret was coming! They hurriedly began flattering him:
"Wow, you really are lucky!!"
"That's a venerable master who stopped concerning himself with worldly affairs long ago! He swept across the Soul Master World decades ago. Countless evil Soul Masters died beneath his sword, and his fearsome reputation alone could make Evil Soul Masters tremble. Only the Clear Sky Sect's old sect master, Tang Chen, Invincible on the Ground, could match him! Getting to see Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined-your luck really is beyond words!!"
"That's not all. I didn't just see Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined!"
Flattered by the tavern's drinkers, the drunken customer immediately felt as though he were floating. "I also heard a big secret..."
The drinkers in the tavern immediately held their breath and focused. Just what was this big secret? They were also growing agitated. Just fucking say it already!!
Fortunately, the drunken customer finally spoke. "Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined can't get it up anymore."
"Gasp, he can't?"
"What kind of 'can't' are we talking about? Is it the kind I'm thinking of?!!"
The drinkers in the tavern sucked in sharp breaths. This really was a fucking big secret, one that truly concerned the good name of Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu.
"Hey, hey, are you lying to us? How could the Great Enshrined be unable to get it up?!!!"
A Spirit Hall deacon drinking there was displeased. He felt that this customer was simply talking drunken nonsense and spreading rumors about his Great Enshrined. "Do you know what you'll be held accountable for saying that? How dare you spread baseless rumors about our Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined! Believe me, I can have you thrown into Spirit Hall's dungeon!!"
"Bullshit! Would I lie to you?!!"
The drunken customer grew agitated, his face flushing red with anger. "If you don't believe me, go ask! Everyone at the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce knows. The Great Enshrined was buying whale rubber there today, and he even wanted to guarantee it in his own name so they would transfer all their stock from across the continent over here!!"
"When I heard the Great Enshrined couldn't get it up, I even made a point of donating a piece of whale rubber to him. After all, I really have no use for that stuff. How could you wrongfully accuse a good man?!!!"
The tavern's customers sucked in sharp breaths again. They really had heard a fucking big secret.
"Gasp, could it be true?!!"
"Holy shit, the Great Enshrined really can't get it up anymore!!"
"Ah, come to think of it, the Great Enshrined must be over a hundred years old, right? At his age, it's perfectly normal not to be able to..."
The tavern's drinkers broke into a flurry of discussion.
Seeing how certain the drunken customer sounded, and hearing him say he had even donated a piece of whale rubber to the Great Enshrined, with everything described in such convincing detail, they began to believe him a little.
"You're lying! How could our Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined possibly be unable to get it up?!!"
"Who knows how many evil Soul Masters that venerable man has slain? His cultivation is so profound. You tell me how he could possibly be unable to get it up!!"
But that Spirit Hall deacon truly did not believe it.
After all, Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined was his idol. This was nothing but spreading rumors about his Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined!!
"You think I'd lie to you? Go ask around! I've never spoken so much as half a lie!"
The drunken customer was furious. "You don't believe me, huh? Come with me to the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce. They're still holding a whale rubber donation drive right now. Let's go there together and confront them on the spot!! What will you do if it proves I wasn't lying?!!"
"Then I'll apologize to you personally!!"
The Spirit Hall deacon lost his temper too. "Not only that, if there really is a whale rubber donation drive, I'll pay out of my own pocket to donate a piece to the Great Enshrined. After all, I have no use for that stuff!!"
"Good! On the strength of those words alone, we're going right now!"
The drunken customer drained the wine in his glass in one gulp, slapped the glass down on the table with a clack, and rose with a clatter, pulling at the Spirit Hall deacon to head to the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce.
"Then let's go! Who's afraid of whom?!!"
The Spirit Hall deacon stiffened his neck and immediately accepted the challenge. Taking hold of the customer, who was so drunk he could not even walk steadily, he headed straight for the Spirit Hall Chamber of Commerce without yielding an inch.
"Holy shit, there's a good show coming! Hurry and follow them!!"
Everyone in the tavern grew excited and hurried after them, very much in the spirit of spectators who never minded things getting out of hand.