Chapter 84: The Jade Refuses to Be a Thrown-Away Brick

It was indeed Yin Yu.

He was still holding the Earth Master Shovel. Even if he'd been swallowed by the mountain spirit, he could still swiftly dig a path to escape with that holy device in his possession. It wasn't strange that he was making an appearance here, especially considering Quan Yizhen's furious, earth-shattering pounding.

The images that Xie Lian was seeing in his left and right eyes were different, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. He blinked lightly, which made him discover that his right eye could still see the scene outside even while closed. So he kept his eyes shut.

Just then, his field of vision shuddered; it shook wildly and swung from left to right. It appeared Quan Yizhen had finally come around and was shaking his head.

Seeing that he had raised his head, Yin Yu swiftly reached up to cover his face with his ghost mask. However, Quan Yizhen didn't have the attention to spare for him—the moment he woke, his entire body was violently yanked backward and another piece of it sank into the wall.

The mountain spirit had swallowed another large portion of Quan Yizhen's body!

When his arms were still out, Quan Yizhen had relentlessly smashed at the wall with his fists, working hard to pull himself free. However, the mountain spirit was probably thousands of years old, and its yao powers were equally immense. It opened its mouth wide and swallowed again, and Quan Yizhen sank deeper and deeper until the sound of wall-pounding disappeared—when both his arms were dragged into the stone wall. The mountain spirit seemed to stop, but Quan Yizhen was left with only his head exposed.

That was when he realized there was someone standing below him.

"Who are you?" he demanded without thinking.

Yin Yu didn't respond, but the sharpness of his eyes could be seen through his mask. His gaze was chilling. Xie Lian couldn't help but think, That certainly isn't the expression of someone who wanted a reunion.

Quan Yizhen continued to speak without thinking. "Is that a shovel in your hand? Help dig me out of this wall. I want to get out."

He had always spoken this way—naive, matter-of-fact, fearless, and unconcerned of consequences, almost like a child. He didn't even ask who the stranger was before demanding his help, completely disregarding the question of whether the peculiar shadowy figure who appeared under such circumstances was there to kill him.

Hearing his demand, Yin Yu's grip on the Earth Master Shovel grew firmer. A moment later, with that gleaming shovel in his grasp, he slowly approached Quan Yizhen. One step, then another step, like he was a murderer about to commit an unspeakable crime. For some reason, Xie Lian grew alarmed and unnerved as he watched this play out.

"…Wait. Why do I feel like he wants to chop off Qi Ying's head with that shovel?"

"He might," Hua Cheng said.

Xie Lian had no words.

"But for the time being, we can't let him kill Quan Yizhen," Hua Cheng added. "The mountain spirit can only swallow things raw at the moment, and they aren't digested easily. A corpse would be much easier for it to absorb. If Quan Yizhen dies and gives the mountain spirit a chance to devour a heavenly official, its powers will grow exponentially. It'd add more trouble to our escape."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Xie Lian quickly said. "San Lang, easy digestion aside, Yin Yu is your subordinate. From what you know about him, do you think he'll kill Qi Ying? Is there some deep grudge between them?"

Qi Ying had been so determined in his search for Yin Yu. Since they were a shixiong and shidi of the same sect, it was impossible that he didn't understand his character after all these years. Xie Lian thought the reason behind his search was obvious: Quan Yizhen believed Yin Yu was worth searching for. And with Quan Yizhen's personality, what could he have done that would make someone want to kill him?

"There's no major grudge," Hua Cheng replied. "But the desire to kill someone doesn't always come from one or two particularly agonizing incidents; it can stem from small matters. Especially small matters that otherwise go unnoticed."

"What do you mean by that?" Xie Lian asked.

Just as he spoke, the scene in his right eye changed. He wasn't seeing Hua Cheng's red robes or a man facing a head on a stone wall—it was a large street. Xie Lian was just about to ask what this was when he heard a commotion ahead.

There was a crowd of cultivators gathered in a circle on the road, and they seemed to be yelling furiously at someone. When Xie Lian looked closer, he discovered a small child crouching on the ground at the center of the crowd. He was crowned with a head of thick, curly hair, and his face was covered in blood.

Any normal child would have surely been terrified and crying at being surrounded and yelled at like this. But while this child was only about ten years old, not only was he not scared, he seemed excited—his eyes darted around, and his little fists were clearly itching to be tested.

A young cultivator pushed through the crowd and approached the child. "Let it go, stop yelling at him! He must know he's in the wrong by now."

Xie Lian made a soft noise of wonder. The young cultivator had bright eyes and a glowing, spirited face. His back was straight, and he stood tall. This was, shockingly, Yin Yu.

Maybe it was because he was at the height of his youth, or maybe because he was in high spirits, but he didn't have the dim color of one worn down by the passing of ages. He was much more vibrant here than in the fading impression he'd left in Xie Lian's mind when they met. Anyone would praise him as an impressive young man. The boy of the past and the man of now were practically two different people.

"He wasn't so ordinary and plain-looking back then!" Xie Lian remarked.

Hua Cheng laughed out loud. "Who wasn't young once?"

Only then did Xie Lian realize that he had accidentally spoken his mind out loud.

"San Lang's right eye can see such things?"

"Not exactly. Something else saw it, and I'm just borrowing that for viewing."

"Amazing. Incredible." Xie Lian said with true astonishment.

"It's simple," Hua Cheng said. "One must do a thorough background check when picking a subordinate. I'm fairly good at running such checks, so if gege ever needs one, come find me anytime."

In the scene that their right eyes were showing, another clean-cut young man around Yin Yu's age ranted furiously at him.

"'Know he's in the wrong,' my ass! Look at him—does it look like he knows he's in the wrong? This brat doesn't look like he knows anything at all! We were doing our morning training and minding our own business, and he ruined the session by chucking rocks and mud at us! We've gotta teach him a hard lesson!"

Yin Yu stopped him. "Let it go, Jian Yu. You already beat him up;

I'm sure he won't dare do it again. You've all vented your anger, so what more is there to accomplish? You'll kill him if you discipline him any more.

Look at this child; considering the way he's dressed, there mustn't be anyone at home, and he surely has no one to teach him manners. Just ignore him. Everyone, go back inside and calm down."

"I'm telling you, that stinkin' brat is insane—he's not normal!" Jian Yu spat as he turned around. "Look at him, looking so happy while getting beaten up! I think he wants to go another round!"

Yin Yu pushed them away, urging them to leave. He sighed. "You said yourself that he's insane, so why bother with him?"

It was easy to see that Yin Yu's words held weight with his peers at this point in his life. Although the crowd was still upset, they left as told.

Yin Yu glanced at the child sitting on the ground, and he crouched to join him. Before he even opened his mouth, the child scooped up a handful of mud and threw it at his head with an excited expression.

The mud hit Yin Yu squarely in the face, and he was left speechless for a moment before he could even think to wipe himself clean.

"Why are you so mischievous, little guy? Why did you hit the cultivators from our temple?"

The child leapt up and struck an attacking stance. "Come at me!"

Yin Yu stood, thoughtful for a moment. "That's an attack stance from our sect. Who taught you?"

But the child still only urged, "Come at me!"

He bounced in place like a silly little monkey, and he even grabbed for more handfuls of mud and rocks from the ground to throw at his "opponent" with incredibly accurate aim. Yin Yu was older than him by a few years and mindful of his own status; he couldn't fight a child. He wound up running around to dodge the attacks.

"And that throwing posture also came from our sect. Did you climb the walls to spy and learn in secret every day…? Stop hitting me! I said, stop hitting me! I didn't even hit you! Do you really like fighting so much?!"

Unexpectedly, when Yin Yu said those words, Quan Yizhen actually came to a sudden stop. He nodded as he rubbed his muddy, grimy little hands together.

"I like it."

He said those words so seriously. Both Xie Lian and Yin Yu were stunned.

There was no need to say who this child was. Xie Lian was in awe.

"Qi Ying really is a martial fanatic. He was born to be a martial god."

Even though everyone else thought Quan Yizhen was an insane child, Xie Lian felt like he could relate. An obsession like this was necessary to achieve godhood.

A person who could understand this feeling of obsession had potential; they had a chance, even if slim. Those who couldn't understand— who would only mock and jeer these "insane idiots"—had no hope of walking this path from the very start.

Yin Yu blinked, then laughed. But he didn't laugh for very long before another ball of mud splattered on his face.

"Hey! I said stop hitting me… Listen to me! How about—do you want to enter our sect and learn how to fight?" he quickly called out.

Quan Yizhen's movements stopped when he heard this, and the ball of mud in his hand paused too. But Xie Lian didn't find out whether he wound up throwing it anyway, because he heard a resounding clunk sound upon the stone wall outside.

Yin Yu hadn't actually broken Quan Yizhen's neck with the shovel, but the sharp metal did scrape past Quan Yizhen's face. It was an extremely dangerous move.

The silver butterfly hidden in Quan Yizhen's hair was very steady.

While it wasn't shocked into flight by the surprise strike, the image Xie Lian saw in his right eye shook and he blurted in spite of himself, "Don't!"

But Hua Cheng seemed to have expected this. "Just watch. He certainly does have the inclination, but his intent to kill isn't strong enough yet."

Only Quan Yizhen's head was exposed on the outside of the wall.

"You want to kill me?"

Yin Yu didn't respond.

Quan Yizhen seemed very confused. "Have I done something wrong?"

Xie Lian also wanted to know. "Did he do something?"

"It's difficult to say," Hua Cheng said. "Gege, watch for yourself."

Xie Lian's right eye now showed him a cultivation hall with long, white walls and a black tiled ceiling. Yin Yu looked a few years older than in the last scene; he was hunched over his desk, fervently writing something. Next to him was a large crowd of his fellows, filled with angry indignation and crying their grievances.

"Yin Yu-shixiong, the way Quan Yizhen eats is unbearable! He sprays his rice everywhere at mealtimes, and he eats three times as much as everyone else! It's like he's a starving ghost or something. No one can eat well with him hogging the rice bucket like that!"

"Yin Yu-shixiong, I can't live with him anymore, I want to change rooms. He's always so cranky in the mornings—I worry every day that he'll kick me and break my ribs. I can't deal with him!"

"Yin Yu-shixiong, I don't want to be in his group anymore. That jerk never cooperates with others, and he's so inconsiderate of everyone! He only cares about showing off and randomly throwing his fists around. I'd rather be paired with the weakest shidi than with him!"

Yin Yu was getting overwhelmed by all the complaints. "All right, all right. Then how about this—I'll look into everything and determine the best course of action when I'm done. Head back for today."

The one who slapped the table and complained the loudest was of course Jian Yu, and he obviously wasn't satisfied with this response.

"Yin Yu, you really shouldn't have made shifu take in that brat in the first place! Trouble came in through the front door, honestly. Look, how long has he been with us now? And since he arrived, has a single day passed without him causing chaos? Has a single day passed without him destroying something?!"

The crowd was trying to force his hand, so Yin Yu attempted to pacify them.

"None of these complaints are anything major…" "Nothing major?! He's killed our peace and quiet! Cultivation requires peace, they always say. How can we cultivate without it?!"

"Yeah, there were never this many issues in the past!"

Yin Yu could only say, "Yizhen doesn't have bad intentions. He just genuinely doesn't understand the ways of the world very well, and he doesn't know how to get along with others."

"Ignorance isn't an excuse! If he doesn't know, can't he learn? We all live in a world full of people, and we all have to learn how to get along with others. How old is he now?! He can't act like a child forever! Some people are dads at his age!"

"Shifu's favoritism aside, that brat has only been here a few years!

And from the moment he came, he hogged all the benefits—he was given the best training hall, he's given the best cultivation supplements from every season's batch, he can even skip morning and evening lessons and is exempt from reciting scriptures. Even when shifu catches him misbehaving, he only gets a light reprimand—no lectures at all! What's so good about him?! Yin Yu-shixiong! You're the eldest disciple; if you acted like that, we would let it slide with no complaints. But who the hell is he? No education, no manners. So what if he's talented? None of us will accept him!"

His complaint was an attempt at sowing discord, and the crowd eagerly rallied to agree. Yin Yu's face turned grim at this, and he gripped his brush. Xie Lian couldn't help but think that things were going south.

A person with an ordinary level of patience would have been easily baited; if they were narrow-minded, they would've already been on their feet even without a hook. Would he explode when such a lure was flashed?

After some contemplation, Yin Yu put down his brush. Un-expectedly, he admonished them in a stern tone.

"Shidi, the things you're all saying aren't right."

The crowd was taken aback.

"I'm going to say something unpleasant," Yin Yu continued. "No matter what path we cultivate, talent truly is an incredible thing. And he is not only talented, he's willing to work hard. If you really think shifu is playing favorites, then let's work harder to keep up with him—maybe even overtake him. And then things like training halls and supplements will naturally be open to everyone. Rather than wasting time being angry at him, your priority should be training harder. Am I right?"

His reprimand punctured everyone's indignation and made them a little embarrassed, but they still said, "Shixiong is being generous by giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"Your magnanimity alone makes you millions of leagues better than him."

Jian Yu gave a warning. "Yin Yu, you defend him today, but watch out—he may very well screw you over in the future!"

In any case, neither side was happy after the round of complaints was over. Once the crowd of disciples left, Yin Yu closed the door of his study, and he was about to shut the windows when he discovered someone and jumped in surprise.

"Who's there?!"

Quan Yizhen was perched on the windowsill. His head drooped.

As soon as Yin Yu recognized him, he asked, "When did you get here?"

He tugged at him, but Quan Yizhen didn't move.

"Yizhen, if you want to perch somewhere, find a different spot. I'm going to shut the window."

Quan Yizhen suddenly asked, "Shixiong, am I annoying?"

Yin Yu puffed a dry laugh. "You overheard all that?"

Quan Yizhen nodded, and Yin Yu's expression grew complicated. He scratched the bridge of his nose.

"…You're…not…that bad…I guess…" Any normal person would've picked up on how forced the words were, but Quan Yizhen seemed to take them at face value.

"Oh."

Yin Yu could tell he took it for the truth, and he smiled briefly before giving him some encouragement. "You really don't need to mind them. You didn't do anything wrong. It's fine like this."

Anyone with clear eyes could see that the other disciples couldn't stand Quan Yizhen. They found fault everywhere, and it wasn't because of his big appetite, or because he wasn't a morning person, or because he was inconsiderate and a poor teammate who only cared about showing off.

At the end of the day, what they really couldn't stand was this: he was the last to enter the school, but he received the most.

Quan Yizhen nodded. "I think so too."

Yin Yu patted his shoulder. "Go train! That's what's most important.

Don't think about anything unnecessary."

Quan Yizhen hopped off the windowsill. Looking at the direction he was headed, he was indeed going off to train. As for Yin Yu, he shut the window, picked up the books on the desk, and started studying anew.

After watching the two scenarios, Xie Lian praised Yin Yu. "San Lang, that subordinate of yours really is a rare character. What a good heart."

But then he remembered that in the present, Yin Yu had almost chopped Quan Yizhen's head off with the Earth Master Shovel. He quickly asked, "Is everything all right out there?"

Hua Cheng showed him the view of outside. Yin Yu had calmed down; he had pulled the Earth Master Shovel out of the wall and seemed to be contemplating what he should do with Quan Yizhen's head. Xie Lian relaxed a little.

"I suppose the problems between them started after ascension?"

"Correct," Hua Cheng replied.

A magnificent great hall appeared before Xie Lian's eye.

Yin Yu sat, poised and proper, at the center of the great hall. Jian Yu and Quan Yizhen stood guard behind him—one on the left and one on the right. Many gods milled about the hall; they were all heavenly officials of the Upper Court. Xie Lian saw several familiar faces—a male Ling Wen, an apathetic Pei Ming, Lang Qianqiu with his perfect smile… They were all in formal attire, and junior officials trailed behind them holding large red gift boxes.

This was clearly the Heavenly Court and the Palace of Yin Yu. It was the palace's Opening Ceremony—the grand, propitious day his divine residence was formally established.

Xie Lian was slightly amazed. It made sense that Hua Cheng could easily see scenes from the Mortal Realm—it was his domain. When he wanted to cast his net, any travelers, wandering ghosts, or birds and beasts could become his eyes as he wished. But the Heavenly Capital was within heaven's boundaries—how could he see it as well?

Hua Cheng seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. "Gege, take a look at the nook near the entrance."

Xie Lian listened to him and looked over. The "nook" was actually quite large in size, because the grand hall was grand indeed. There were at least ten people milling around in that corner.

"Guess which one is Black Water?" Hua Cheng asked.

Only then did Xie Lian remember that He Xuan had been undercover in the Upper Court for years and years—he must've sold this information to Hua Cheng. Xie Lian stared hard and tried to guess, and a moment later, he found one that seemed to match.

"The one in black?"

"Incorrect—too conservative of a guess. Try again," Hua Cheng said.

Xie Lian tried again. "The one over there who's not smiling or speaking?"

"Wrong again," Hua Cheng said.

He made more guesses, but they were all wrong. Just then, an entrance announcement was made.

"Presenting the Lord Wind Master!"

Xie Lian instantly looked to the entrance of the grand hall. Shi Qingxuan strolled over the threshold, ostentatiously fluttering the Wind Master Fan, his face bright as a spring breeze. He tossed a gift box to the side and gave a courteous salute.

"Congratulations to the Palace of Yin Yu for its grand opening! I've come late; I'll take a penalty drink, ha ha ha ha!"

Yin Yu smiled from his spot on his throne. "Nonsense, My Lord is not late. Lord Wind Master, please, this way!"

Hua Cheng finally revealed the answer. "That one."

Xie Lian was quite confused. "…Lord Wind Master is Black Water?"

Now that was too incredible. Hua Cheng laughed.

"Gege misunderstood me. Not that one, the one behind him."

Xie Lian looked closer and saw that there was a low-ranking heavenly official standing behind Shi Qingxuan beside the hall's entrance.

He was responsible for receiving gifts from guests. His appearance wasn't distinguished, but an enthusiastic smile hung upon his face. Shi Qingxuan crossed into the hall looking very pleased and casually tossed the heavenly official a small pearl as a tip. The heavenly official's eyes shined brightly, and he looked every part a fawning servant as he thanked the Lord Wind Master profusely and caught the pearl with both hands.

Xie Lian couldn't help but comment, "…That's Black Water? With such a bright smile?"

"That's him," Hua Cheng said. "The smile is fake, that's all. The man has at least fifty clones stationed throughout the Heavenly Court, each with a different identity. All so he can directly monitor over eighty Upper Court officials and over three hundred Middle Court officials. The Earth Master identity alone was far from enough."

"…" Xie Lian was in absolute awe of Black Water's acting, his ability to plant pawns, and his inconceivably exuberant energy. "Where are those fifty-some clones now?"

"Jun Wu is probably pulling out those nails one by one," Hua Cheng replied.

Just as he spoke, a sharp voice came from the outside.

"Your Highness Yin Yu, you'd better give us a good explanation for your shidi!"

All of the heavenly officials' smiles dropped, and they looked to the source of the sound. It appeared there was someone outside who had intended to barge in but had been stopped, and he was now shouting relentlessly.

"Aren't you going to discipline your shidi Quan Yizhen, who assaulted heavenly officials who outranked him?"

Yin Yu's light smile disappeared, and he lowered his voice to question the two behind him. "What's going on? Yizhen, you picked another fight with someone?"

"Yeah," Quan Yizhen replied.

Jian Yu's eyes bulged in rage, and he gritted his teeth. "Again, you stinkin' brat?!"

Shi Qingxuan was always the first to speak when these incidents happened. He tucked his whisk into the back of his collar and asked, "What's going on? Today is this palace's grand opening, so what is it that can't wait?"

To cause trouble on someone's propitious day—they were either blind and ignorant, or they were trying to pick a fight on purpose.

"Oh gosh, is it My Lord's joyous palace grand opening? We didn't know!" the mob outside the palace said. "But he didn't choose an appropriate time to come looking for a fight, so why do we need to schedule a time to settle the score? Quan Yizhen belongs to the Palace of Yin Yu. It was His Highness Yin Yu who personally appointed him. Who else can we seek out if not him?"

There it was—they were here to pick a fight.

Ling Wen furrowed her brows slightly. "Why must it be this way?"

Yin Yu resignedly rose to his feet. "I understand. However, it's really not a good time right now. Can we talk afterward?"

The mob outside snorted. "We can only hope the Palace of Yin Yu won't cover this up!"

They hadn't even explained the details of the situation at hand, but accusations of cover-ups were already flying. They were blatantly the aggressors. Shi Qingxuan seemed ready to speak up again when Quan Yizhen jumped down from behind Yin Yu's throne.

"Are you leaving or not?"

The troublemakers were obviously confident that he wouldn't dare retaliate during the event, and they shouted at him without fear. "Why? Are you gonna fight us again if we don't leave? All your heavenly colleagues are watching…" But Quan Yizhen wasn't someone whose actions could be predicted by common sense. Without another word, he raised his fists and dashed out.

Terrible wails came from outside the palace, and every heavenly official inside the hall was stunned!

It was only after a while that Ling Wen spoke up.

"Guards, go stop him, they're going to die!"

Yin Yu was also dumbfounded for a moment before he hurried out.

"Stop this instant!"

But the troublemakers only yelled, "Think your Palace of Yin Yu is hot shit?! Yeah, right! Shixiong and shidi are ganging up and bullying people!"

***

That evening, Yin Yu paced back and forth in a side chamber of the Palace of Yin Yu while Jian Yu stomped in rage.

"A perfectly good grand opening ceremony was completely ruined by that stinkin' brat!"

Xie Lian could understand Jian Yu's anger completely. While he didn't care much for things like palace grand opening ceremonies, many heavenly officials considered them significant. This was a ritual that validated a heavenly official's formal induction into the Heavenly Court.

For lack of a more appropriate example, today's incident was like a mortal emperor's crowning ceremony being ruined. Who wouldn't be angry?

Yin Yu sighed. "Let it go. The others must have provoked him first.

Besides, he wasn't the one who started the trouble today; they chose to come pick a fight at the ceremony, so what could we have done?"

"There are so many people in the Upper Court—why don't they pick on anyone else? Why do they always have to provoke him specifically?"

Jian Yu demanded.

"You know why," Yin Yu said. "He's never one to take a beating without fighting back. It's not that they don't pick on anyone else, it's that everyone else understands how to endure that kind of provocation, but he doesn't."

"This is the Heavenly Capital," Jian Yu ranted. "It's not the Mortal Realm. Is it so hard to keep your head down and stay low profile?! If he behaved and didn't picked fights, today's incident would've never happened! Now look at us. We've lost all face! So many heavenly officials were watching! Once word gets out, who cares who started it? They'll only say that the Palace of Yin Yu was being unreasonable and beating people up in public; who's gonna debate who's more in the right?! Do you think he has a reason for acting like this?! He doesn't! When things go down, you become the unreasonable one the moment you raise a fist! He doesn't understand shit! He only knows how to cause trouble for us!"

After his blowup, Jian Yu stormed out of the side chamber in a rage.

Yin Yu was left sitting where he was, his heart heavy with worry.

A while later, he looked back to see the shadow of a figure perching on the windowsill. When confronted by this familiar scene, Yin Yu jumped in surprise once more.

"Why are you perching there again? When did you get here? What is this habit of yours?"

Quan Yizhen didn't answer his questions, but said instead, "They cussed at me first."

Yin Yu opened his mouth to reply, but then he closed it. Instead, he comforted Quan Yizhen. "Yizhen, don't take what Jian Yu said to heart."

Quan Yizhen kept going. "They cussed at me first. I don't even know them. They said I was a low-ranking heavenly official and yelled at me for no reason, then they laughed at me and told me to scram and not to block their way. I told them to apologize, and they wouldn't, so I beat them up.

They only shut up when I beat them up, otherwise I wouldn't have hit them."

Things were considerably more peaceful in the current time, but in the early days, some heavenly officials—from both the Upper and Lower Courts—would throw their weight around and bully lower-ranked officials with less experience. Yin Yu sighed.

"Are low-ranked heavenly officials beneath other people?" Quan Yizhen asked.

"No," Yin Yu replied.

Was that true? It was obvious that he didn't believe his own words, and Quan Yizhen noticed.

A good while later, he said bluntly, "I don't like it here."

Yin Yu said nothing.

"They think I'm annoying, but I think they're even more annoying," Quan Yizhen continued. "Before, I could train at least sixteen hours a day.

Now half of that time is taken up by talking and listening to nonsense, by greeting and visiting people. There are people who yell at me and hit me for no good reason, without apologizing, and I can't even fight back. This isn't heaven. I don't like it here."

Yin Yu sighed. "I don't like it here either."

"Then let's go back," Quan Yizhen said.

But Yin Yu only shook his head. "Even though I don't like it here, I want to stay."

Quan Yizhen couldn't understand. "Why do you want to stay if you don't like it here?"

Yin Yu was stumped, and chuckled in spite of himself. He didn't know what to say, unable to explain it to him. How could he convey to Quan Yizhen that reaching the Heavenly Capital was the dream of so many people who sought the path of cultivation, the ultimate end goal? Or just how difficult it was for someone his age to achieve ascension?

Yin Yu tried instead, "It's…because ascension is really hard. Since it didn't come easily and we finally made it here, I want to try to do better."

Quan Yizhen, however, didn't think much of that reason. "Ascension isn't that big of a deal! It doesn't matter if you don't ascend."

Yin Yu found him both exasperating and a little funny. "What do you mean, it's no big deal?! Why don't you give it a try, then?"

Watching up to this point, Xie Lian commented, "People really shouldn't make jokes like that so casually."

"Indeed," Hua Cheng said. "Half a year later, he won't find it so funny when Quan Yizhen actually ascends."

"Can we watch that part too?" Xie Lian asked.

"We can. Hold on," Hua Cheng replied.

The scene changed. It was still the Heavenly Capital, but the occasion was a banquet beneath the moon. Xie Lian watched for a moment.

"The Mid-Autumn Banquet?" he wondered aloud.

"That's right," Hua Cheng said.

"Where's Black Water hiding this time?"

"Just look for whoever's eating."

At the banquet, every heavenly official was busy making toasts, greeting the others, or playing games. There was only one exception—a person whose face was practically buried in the giant bowl in front of him.

This time, He Xuan wasn't hiding. He was openly sitting in the corner in the guise of the Earth Master, but still, no one who noticed him there.

Yin Yu and Jian Yu were seated next to the "Earth Master." Their assigned seats were considered the edge of the banquet. Yin Yu wasn't eating or talking to anyone.

Next to him, Jian Yu muttered under his breath, "Thank god that insane stinkin' brat didn't come!"

Yin Yu heard him and whispered back, "He's been ascended for a while now. You shouldn't let others hear you talk about him like that, so be more mindful."

"It's the truth; am I wrong to speak it?" Jian Yu said. "So what if he ascended? His brain won't get any smarter no matter how many centuries he lives."

As they conversed, a new group of heavenly officials arrived and began to seat themselves. They were mostly new faces, and they welcomed each other with simple greetings.

A heavenly official inquired offhandedly, "And this lord is…?"

Another heavenly official gave an offhanded answer. "This is the martial god who rules the west."

Hearing this, the heavenly official who made the inquiry instantly grew more enthusiastic and stood up to make a toast.

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh! What an honor! I've long heard your great name, My Lord!"

Yin Yu quickly stood up as well, smiling. "Please, it hasn't been long."

"Oh, don't be so humble, My Lord!" the heavenly official replied.

"I've indeed heard so much about you! I've long heard that His Highness Qi Ying of the west is young and capable, and that he has already earned the deep love of his devotees only a few years after his ascension. You even made it to the top ten in this year's Mid-Autumn Battle of the Lanterns!

You dominate the west, your status is immovable, your future is boundless.

Boundless, I say! Seeing My Lord today, you seem a bit older than I imagined? But still fairly young and worthy to be praised as capable! Young and capable!"

The smile on Yin Yu's face froze, and the matter of whether the toast should be accepted became extremely awkward. The other party fervently continued to try to build a connection, even addressing him like they were brothers.

"I'll be honest—I rarely meet people who I like, but brother Quan, you feel so much like family! My domain is also in the west, so, my brother, as long as you think well of me, by all means let me know if you have any needs in the future! We should all help each other out, eh? Ha ha ha…" He laughed heartily, and those nearby who knew Yin Yu laughed heartily as well. Xie Lian could almost cross through time and feel the suffocating awkwardness in the air.

Jian Yu's face was growing dark from rage, but Yin Yu was still somewhat composed. While his hand trembled for a second, he managed to steady himself.

"Unfortunately…" Just as he was about to clear away this misunderstanding, someone called out.

"Qi Ying is here!"

A commotion started at the other end of the banquet, and the heavenly official next to Yin Yu was shocked.

"Huh? You—you're not His Highness Qi Ying?!"

Only then did the others explain through their laughter, their hands hugging their bellies.

"You got the wrong person, my brother! Did you forget? There are two martial gods ruling the west; one is Yin Yu and the other is Qi Ying.

They're shixiong and shidi of the same sect! The one in front of you is His Highness Yin Yu. Ha ha ha…" "Oh, oh, oh, I've gotten the wrong person, how embarrassing! Ha ha ha, I'm too ill-informed and only heard about Qi Ying…" the heavenly official quickly said.

He trailed off, but Yin Yu had already closed his eyes like he was too tired for words and had given up on socializing. Someone had noticed things were not going well and elbowed the heavenly official, and only then did he notice that what he had said was hurtful. He laughed awkwardly to smooth things over, then cleared his throat.

"Ahem, ahem, I'll take my leave now, Your Highness Yin…Yin Yue —ah! No, no, no, Your Highness Yin Yu! Let's get together again sometime, happy Mid-Autumn, ha ha ha…" While he said he was taking his leave, he raised his cup and headed in the direction that was cheering Quan Yizhen's arrival. At the other end of the banquet, there was already a large crowd of heavenly officials fighting to greet Quan Yizhen. The surrounding crowd had completely blocked the person in the center from sight.

It appeared that this was soon after Quan Yizhen ascended and established his own palace. He was at the height of his popularity in Heaven, in contrast to how he was disliked by most of the present court.

Although the two were both the Martial Gods of the West, he was significantly more prominent than Yin Yu. The attendees all swarmed over, leaving the table where Yin Yu sat empty and quiet. Only He Xuan remained there, drinking his soup.

It was awkward whether he stood or sat.

Shortly after, Yin Yu abruptly said, "Let's head back."

The two left their seats, and no one noticed. Jian Yu was outraged.

"Bunch of brownnosers! And they're heavenly officials, no less!

Back when that brat first joined the Upper Court, they gave him the cold shoulder and complained to you about him all day, every day. Now look at them. The brat ascends and gets some lanterns, and now they praise him to the skies! They change their attitude faster than flipping a page! Immovable status, they say? Young and capable, they say? His devotees are all insane, just like him! Only idiots would worship someone with brain damage!"

Just then, Shi Qingxuan walked over with a cup of wine.

"Don't say any more—let's get out of here!" Yin Yu hissed.

Jian Yu finally shut his mouth when he saw someone approaching.

Shi Qingxuan was puzzled.

"Yin Yu, are you heading back? Didn't Qi Ying just get here? I recently heard him say that he hasn't seen you in a long while; he even asked me what you've been up to. Aren't you going to go catch up with him a little?"

Yin Yu forced a smile. "No. I'm not feeling well, so I'm heading out."

Shi Qingxuan didn't think too deeply on it and laughed cheerfully at the sight of the "Earth Master" sitting behind them.

"Then you go and rest easy, and we'll get together next time. Ming-xiong! I told you not to sit all the way over here! Come, come, come— come over to my table…" Jian Yu waited until Shi Qingxuan walked away and stopped paying attention to them before he continued to grumble.

"Catch up, my ass! That brat won't be smug for long. He'll suffer a crushing defeat soon enough. I eagerly await the day!"

He kept grousing, aggravating Yin Yu's silent frustration.

"Just drop it, and stop being so resentful."

"Drop it, drop it, that's all you say, 'drop it,'" Jian Yu complained.

"How can I drop this? When he first came here, he would've been kicked out almost immediately if it wasn't for you always going around wiping his ass and smoothing things over for him. I really can't watch this anymore;

I'm frustrated for you!"

The two swiftly returned to the Palace of Yin Yu. Compared to the exceptional liveliness seen at the palace's grand opening ceremony, the halls were now desolate and deserted, with only a few lower-ranked officials milling around. After closing the gates, Yin Yu's voice grew louder.

"Don't say any more! I don't want to hear it! It's very normal for an ascended heavenly official to establish a palace, so he didn't do anything wrong. Since you get irritated just talking about him, why must you constantly bring him up?"

"Please don't think that I'm speaking out of turn, but someone must remind you. Yin Yu, the west is only so big, and there are only so many devotees. He's already taken so much. That wolf yao kill should've been yours, but he stole it! Look at the state of you now—your domain's shrinking smaller and smaller. How much do you have left? Can you maintain your standing if this keeps up?"

"How is what he's done theft? It's not like he's forcing anyone to worship him at knifepoint—everyone's willing. Besides, that wolf yao…" Yin Yu sighed and said frankly, "I couldn't have defeated it. It was useless praying to me, so of course they went to him."

"I just… I'm just worried that if this fight continues, he'll win and leave us with nothing," Jian Yu said bitterly. "Fuck, even those lower-ranking officials only care about their own advancement—each one of them coming up with empty excuses to quit and then slipping away to serve under other heavenly officials. What a bunch of no-good asshats!"

Yin Yu sighed again and sat down on a prayer cushion. "What fight are you talking about…? Why care for such things? Those who want to leave will always leave in the end, and those who want to stay will naturally remain. I didn't ascend to fight for power with anyone, nor squabble over domains, nor quarrel, so why can't you let this go?"

One mountain has no room for two tigers, or so they say, and one need only look at the present example for proof: Feng Xin and Mu Qing were both stationed in the south and had been at each other's throats for years. Things might have been a little better if they weren't in the same territory, but enemies are destined to meet, and one's domain is where one is renowned and ascends. After ascension, the people from one's past mortal life will often end up crowding together. In and below the heavens, as gods and as humans—life is just awkward like that. There was no reason for Quan Yizhen to abandon the west and move to a different territory.

The two were in the middle of their argument when someone banged loudly on the doors.

"Who is it?!" Jian Yu called.

"It's me," the person outside replied.

Jian Yu turned angrily to Yin Yu and hissed under his breath, "Why did that stinkin' brat come knocking?"

Yin Yu gestured for him to go to the back of the palace, and he schooled his expression before moving to open the doors. Sure enough, standing just outside was Quan Yizhen. He seemed to have grown taller since the last time they met; he was now about the same height as when Xie Lian first met him. And he had finally stopped perching on windows.

When Yin Yu spoke, he sounded fairly calm. "Yizhen, it's you.

Aren't you going to attend the Mid-Autumn Banquet? Why have you come here instead?"

Quan Yizhen followed him into the grand hall, and his first words were as blunt as expected.

"It's my birthday."

"…" As it turned out, the Mid-Autumn Festival was Quan Yizhen's birthday, and he had come looking for his birthday present.

Xie Lian had heard that Yin Yu, as Quan Yizhen's shixiong, would always give him a present on his birthday. But with all the awkward incidents lately, there wasn't one that year. Judging by Shi Qingxuan's words back at the Mid-Autumn Banquet, Yin Yu had been avoiding him on purpose for some time. Someone with a bit more sensitivity would've noticed when someone started avoiding them and stopped giving gifts— they certainly wouldn't have gone to ask for a present in person. Yet here Quan Yizhen was, knocking on the door with full confidence, no idea that anything was wrong. Xie Lian had never witnessed anything more tragically awkward. If he wasn't touching foreheads with Hua Cheng right now, he would've slapped his own face to cover his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch anymore.

Yin Yu puffed a dry laugh. "…Ah, that's right, today's your birthday again. It's been busy here in the palace recently, so…" Quan Yizhen's eyes widened. "There's nothing?"

Yin Yu seemed to think it wasn't right to leave things like this, so when the words reached his lips, they immediately reversed.

"No, I didn't forget. It's in the back, just wait a moment."

Quan Yizhen sat himself down on the spot, resting both his hands on his knees. He nodded energetically, looking very hopeful. Yin Yu fled to the side chamber, and Jian Yu was sitting there with a grim expression. Of course Yin Yu hadn't prepared a gift, so the moment he entered the room he started searching through all the drawers and dressers, the chests and shelves—but he couldn't find anything appropriate for the occasion.

"Quick, help me find something. Something that can be temporarily used as a gift," he called out to Jian Yu.

Jian Yu grabbed a cleaning rag and threw it onto the ground. He stomped on it twice before saying hatefully, "Give this to him."

"Jian Yu!" Yin Yu berated.

"This is still more than he deserves," Jian Yu spat. "I can't believe he's shameless enough to come asking for a present!"

"He doesn't get it," Yin Yu said, resigned. "I've always given him something in years past. If I don't give him anything this year, it'll seem too deliberate. Anything will do, as long as the intention is there. How about this—go find me that Golden Exorcism Bracelet we just received. It's not quite appropriate, but at least it's something."

He had to urge him a few times before Jian Yu finally stormed off.

Yin Yu returned to the grand hall and sat in front of Quan Yizhen.

"Just wait for a moment. Things are a bit disorganized right now, so I sent Jian Yu to look for your gift. By the way, what have you been up to lately? Things have been going smoothly, I presume? I heard the number of worshippers of your palace has increased fivefold these past few months.

Congratulations."

"I don't know about any worshippers," Quan Yizhen replied. "I've just been doing my own thing, and they came crowding into my temples for some weird reason. I killed a wolf yao the other day."

Yin Yu's smile became stiffer. Quan Yizhen so effortlessly managed everything he couldn't. It was like being ignored by a girl you loved, and nothing you did could win her over—and then, when she tearfully ran into someone else's arms, they couldn't even be bothered to spare her a glance;

instead, they turned around and told you that she was only average, nothing special. Truly, what a bitter feeling.

Quan Yizhen rambled for a bit, then suddenly said, "I saw you at the Mid-Autumn Banquet. I wanted to talk to you, but you left so quickly."

When he finally stopped talking with such excitement about the recent battles in his domain, Yin Yu could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, a little something came up, so I headed back early."

Quan Yizhen nodded. "Someone told me it was because they greeted you as the wrong person."

Yin Yu's face dropped at this. But Quan Yizhen didn't notice at all, his lips curving upward.

"That's too funny—so stupid!"

Xie Lian couldn't bear to watch anymore, and he buried his face in Hua Cheng's arms. "This…this…this…this is too tragic to watch."

Xie Lian wholeheartedly believed that Quan Yizhen genuinely thought it was funny that someone had made such a silly mistake, and that he genuinely did not realize just how unfunny it was to Yin Yu. But that didn't change the fact that he was going to die from suffocation if those two continued this awkward conversation. Thankfully, Jian Yu finally came around with a gift box before he suffocated. He passed the gift box to Yin Yu and returned to the back of the palace without a word. Yin Yu looked like he had been saved and passed the box on to Quan Yizhen. He seemed ecstatic and hopped up on the spot to receive it, but Yin Yu's smile was already laced with fatigue.

"Why don't you open it back at your place?"

Quan Yizhen nodded. "Okay. I'll head back now. Oh, I'm going on the patrol next month. If shixiong is free, come with me."

Yin Yu couldn't listen to anything else he said, and he placated him with an offhanded "All right." Once he was sent off, Jian Yu came out, cussing and slamming doors.

"Who does he think he is?! Did his mother drop him on his head hundreds of times as a child?! If not, he came here to mock you on purpose!

'I don't know about any worshippers,' what nonsense! And that patrol, is he trying to show off?! How evil!"

When he yelled this time, Yin Yu didn't stop him. He silently headed to the back chambers and did not reemerge.

Xie Lian could tell instinctively that the gift box Quan Yizhen had taken was the problem here. "Was the Brocade Immortal in that box?"

"You guessed it," Hua Cheng said.

"Then Jian Yu should've been considered responsible for the Brocade Immortal incident. Why was Yin Yu's punishment so severe?" Xie Lian asked.

"Gege will find out. The next part takes place three days later," Hua Cheng replied.

He said three days, and three days went by. Rays of sunshine shone startlingly through the quiet Palace of Yin Yu. Yin Yu sluggishly walked into the side chambers and started hunting for something. He searched through the chests and delved into the drawers. As he rummaged through a desk, he fumbled out a shining gold bracelet covered in charms and spells.

He didn't care about it at first and set it aside, but a moment later, he picked it up and called out.

"Jian Yu?"

Jian Yu entered the room. "What is it?"

Yin Yu held up the bracelet. "Why is the Golden Exorcism Bracelet here?" he asked, puzzled. "Didn't you give it to him? Didn't I have you wrap this up in a gift box?"

Jian Yu humphed. "Give him a gift? He doesn't even deserve a drop of your spit!"

Yin Yu was exasperated. "You didn't actually give him that foot-cleaning rag, did you? Why must you purposely offend him?"

But Jian Yu only smiled cryptically. "I didn't. I gave him something better."

His tone was odd, and Yin Yu frowned.

"What exactly did you give him?"

"That robe you captured last time," Jian Yu replied.

Yin Yu's face instantly changed, and he clearly didn't think the situation was so casual anymore.

"What? I was wondering why I couldn't find it anywhere. That robe can manipulate minds; it can suck blood!"

He turned to hurry away, but Jian Yu grabbed him.

"Why so worried?! Sure, that thing can manipulate minds, but you're the one who gave it to him, so only you can control him. As for the blood-sucking, maybe it's effective on mortals, but I doubt it'll do anything to a heavenly official. Listen, it's been three days and nothing's happened to him!"

Yin Yu thought it over. Then he thought it over some more while pacing back and forth in the side chamber.

"Besides, isn't that brat capable?" Jian Yu continued. "Young and capable, right? Let's see just how capable he is."

In the end, Yin Yu still threw his hands up and sighed. "No! We don't know how dangerous that thing is—if anything happens, we're done for!

My gosh, how can you take this so lightly?!"

With no regard for Jian Yu's calls, he dashed out. He bumped into many heavenly officials as he rushed to the Palace of Qi Ying. When he arrived, the person in question wasn't there, so he grabbed hold of random people and anxiously asked after him.

"Where's Qi Ying? It's urgent—where is he?!"

"Qi Ying?" the others said. "His Highness Qi Ying is in a meeting at the Palace of Divine Might! All the top-ranking martial gods of the Upper Court are there today…" Yin Yu didn't stay to hear the rest of the sentence and ran off. It was only after he reached the Palace of Divine Might that he realized he couldn't enter—this meeting had only summoned the "top-ranking martial gods of the Upper Court," and he hadn't been called. Furthermore, even if he could get in, he wouldn't be able to talk about the matter in front of everyone. He could only wait outside.

Xie Lian glanced through the windows, and sure enough, there were a number of familiar faces listening intently in the hall—Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Pei Ming, and so on. But the person Yin Yu was looking at was Quan Yizhen, who was dressed in impressive, shining armor.

There was nothing odd about him. It was instead Ling Wen who appeared a little odd as she stood next to Jun Wu, who sat on his throne.

She was clearly distracted and making frequent mistakes. It grew so noticeable that Jun Wu had to speak up.

"Ling Wen? Ling Wen?"

He called to her a few times before she snapped out of it.

"What? What is it?"

Jun Wu chuckled. "Whatever is the matter with you today? You keep staring at Qi Ying. Are you perhaps like me and think that his new armor is quite nice?"

The martial gods in the hall started laughing. Ling Wen mumbled an apology, subtly wiping away the cold sweat on her forehead. However, the hand that she used to grip her brush seemed to be trembling.

If Xie Lian had been present at the time, he probably would've smiled as well. However, he was perfectly aware now that Ling Wen must've been quite unsettled to see Quan Yizhen confidently wearing the bloody robe that she herself had created centuries earlier.

Yin Yu paced outside the hall, sometimes squatting, sometimes standing, agitated and jittery. At last, the meeting ended, and Quan Yizhen was the first to come out. When he saw Yin Yu outside, he greeted him.

"Shixiong, why are you here?"

Yin Yu instantly rose to his feet. He made a few inconsequential remarks, then jumped straight to the point.

"Your armor…" "It's great!" Quan Yizhen replied. "Both the Emperor and Ling Wen complimented it. Thank you, shixiong."

"…" Yin Yu spoke with forced calm. "It's great indeed, but the person who forged the armor said there's a little problem and wants you to bring it in for repairs."

If he directly ordered Quan Yizhen to "take off that armor," he would risk Quan Yizhen discovering he was being manipulated. It would be bad if the truth was discovered, so Yin Yu couldn't afford for him to notice anything amiss—thus he could only make the request in such a roundabout way. However, this meant that Quan Yizhen was only puzzled by the demand.

"What problem? I don't think there are any problems."

After all, it was also awkward to ask to have a gift returned. Yin Yu was thinking hard on how to counter this statement when Quan Yizhen spoke again.

"By the way, shixiong, next month we can go out on patrol together."

Yin Yu's head shot up, and he looked a little bemused. "What?" That almost made him forget about the whole business with the Brocade Immortal. He said hesitantly, "I don't think my name is on the list for the patrol?"

Quan Yizhen, however, looked quite happy and excited. "It is. I mentioned you, and the Emperor said he would consider it."

"…" In that flash of a second, Xie Lian could almost see the waves of hot blood rushing to Yin Yu's face. Years of built-up resentment and pent-up grievances finally exploded at that very moment.

"What is wrong with you?!" Yin Yu yelled.

This was the very first time Quan Yizhen had seen Yin Yu so angry, and he blinked as confusion colored his face. A few heavenly officials who were passing by also snuck glances at them.

Yin Yu clutched his head. "Did I say that I wanted to go?! What does the Patrol of Martial Gods have to do with me?! I didn't ask you to do it, so who are you to mention me to the Emperor?!"

Outsiders might not know why Yin Yu was losing his cool like this, but Xie Lian could understand perfectly. After all, this was great humiliation to any proud martial god.

The Patrol of Martial Gods was a ceremony that only the top martial gods of the Upper Court could participate in. During the procession of this patrol, the chosen martial gods would demonstrate their might by subduing and dispersing evil. Not only could this help spread their names and expand their base of worshippers, but there were also opportunities to spar with the other participating martial gods, to improve their skills and build relationships. It was a grand affair by any estimation, and there were extensive prerequisites for the martial gods in attendance—a prominent foundation and high-level skills, for example, or having at least four thousand temples, or ranking in the top ten at the Mid-Autumn Banquet.

With Yin Yu's qualifications, he wasn't eligible to participate in the Patrol of Martial Gods. Even if he could attend and was able to gain from it, those who knew his status would gossip. Those with thick skins might not care; there were countless small-time heavenly officials who would fight to squeeze themselves in. But Yin Yu clearly wasn't thick-skinned. He knew deep down that he wasn't qualified, so how could he possibly depend on someone else's connections and force himself in? And that "someone else" was Quan Yizhen, who had once depended on him to escape expulsion from heaven!

Quan Yizhen didn't understand at all. He probably thought he had done a good deed. He had mentioned Yin Yu, and that was all. He didn't think there could be problems beyond that. However, Yin Yu looked truly furious, and for the first time Quan Yizhen seemed to want to say something—but he stopped, looking like he didn't dare.

A moment later, he managed to mumble, "Shixiong, why are you mad? Did I do something wrong?"

"…" Those words again!

Xie Lian practically wanted to beg him to stop talking. As for Yin Yu, veins popped on his forehead. He was teetering on the edge of a breakdown, and he pulled at his own hair.

"Enough! I've had enough! I'm going mad! I'm going fucking mad because of you!"

Then he pointed at the Palace of Divine Might.

"Quan Yizhen, stop talking to me! Go and take back your recommendation right now! Stop adding to my troubles! Do it! Right this second!"

Quan Yizhen instantly turned and dashed back into the Palace of Divine Might without another word. Yin Yu blinked, and only then did he remember that Quan Yizhen was still wearing the Brocade Immortal. His actions weren't because he knew himself to be wrong and wanted to rectify things, but because he was being controlled!

Within the Palace of Divine Might, the few martial gods who hadn't yet left watched in confusion as Quan Yizhen came blazing back in. Yin Yu stood outside the hall, trembling slightly, and he yelled again.

"Stop!"

Quan Yizhen had almost made it to Jun Wu when he abruptly halted and came to a hard stop. It took a good moment before he came to, bewildered.

"What was up with me just now?"

Jun Wu knitted his brows. "Qi Ying, do not move! Come here and let me take a look at you. Your eyes were unfocused and you are surrounded by an evil aura. It seems you have been bewitched by an evil spell."

Quan Yizhen scratched his head, feeling confused. "All right."

And he then moved forward. Without any choice, Yin Yu had to yell another command.

"Come back! Leave!"

Quan Yizhen turned around the moment he gave the order, madly running out of the hall in Yin Yu's direction. Perhaps it was because rage had rattled his mind, perhaps he had gone crazy from distress, but the few moves Yin Yu had made were all extremely terrible. Yin Yu himself also started running in confusion, looking very much like a fleeing criminal. Jun Wu couldn't possibly pretend he didn't see, so he rose to his feet.

"Bring them both down!"

The martial gods all acknowledged him. "Yes, My Lord!"

Yin Yu was falling deeper into despair, his mind in complete disarray, and he roared while covering his face with his hands, "Leave! Leave right now! Take off your clothes!"

Quan Yizhen's eyes were wide and blank, and he stripped off his armor in the middle of his mad dash. A group of martial gods surrounded them halfway and attempted to arrest them outright. Seeing that there were people obstructing him from obeying his orders, ferocity flashed in Quan Yizhen's eyes. Taking the dozen martial gods in his sights as his targets, his fists flew out and punched a chain of holes right through them!

"Aaaaaaaah! Murder! Murder in the Upper Court!"

Screams echoed through the air as blood had spilled. Yin Yu was already petrified, his face white as a sheet. Only Ling Wen wore a face paler than his.

He had never imagined that the Brocade Immortal was so powerful, so incredibly evil! This had gone completely out of control!

The lower-ranking officials that had charged forward to apprehend him couldn't block Quan Yizhen's fists, and they were all completely annihilated on the spot. Seeing how perilous this situation had gotten, Feng Xin, Pei Xiu, and Lang Qianqiu all leapt in to surround Quan Yizhen, ready to attack.

"Ignore him!" Yin Yu cried. "Don't touch him! He won't kill any more!"

As long as they didn't prevent Quan Yizhen from completing his orders, he wouldn't harm anyone. But Quan Yizhen had already killed over a dozen martial officials, so who would let him run free? Of course no one believed Yin Yu's words. If he were someone who reacted quickly and remained calm in emergencies, he would've shouted "drop to the ground, surrender, and don't move," or a similar command. But things were happening so quickly, and there was no time to react. Yin Yu had probably never experienced a situation like this, and he was already in distress, his decision-making ability completely broken. With just one misstep, they had been sent careening down a terrible path.

He was still wholly distracted by his confusion when Mu Qing suddenly appeared behind him.

"Trying to get away?"

Only then did Yin Yu realize he was also fleeing with no direction in mind. He quickly halted, trying to explain himself. "I wasn't…" But Mu Qing didn't wait for him to finish before he twisted his arm behind his back. Xie Lian heard a crisp crack, and Yin Yu's face twisted.

As a martial god, being subdued by another martial god whose abilities and strength were greater was a double whammy—a blow to both the body and the mind.

Pei Ming was watching the fight without participating, and he commented from the back, "Why's it like his strength suddenly exploded?"

He was referring to Quan Yizhen. It was only natural; Quan Yizhen was already very capable in combat, and his power had increased twofold while wearing the Brocade Immortal. When the other martial gods faced him one-on-one, it was actually two against one—he had an unfair advantage. But since no one knew the truth, they were too embarrassed to attack him in a group. Wouldn't that be pathetic? So Quan Yizhen fought his way down the main street of the Heavenly Capital, covered in blood from head to toe. When he saw a palace on the road, he barged right in headfirst.

"He's entered the Palace of Yin Yu!" the crowd shouted.

The command Yin Yu gave him was to "leave," but he didn't say where to go, so Quan Yizhen chose somewhere at random. Several martial gods followed him inside. Since everyone else was clear of mind, they held back while fighting Quan Yizhen, but he didn't care and fought with all he was worth against anyone who obstructed his orders. This apparent callousness enraged the other martial gods.

"There's something really wrong with this brat," Feng Xin barked.

"Let's beat him down first and talk later!"

The moment Feng Xin shouted, the other gods lost their reservations —they wouldn't show restraint any longer. They all rushed in and surrounded him to beat him to a pulp. Swords swung, palms blasted, fists flew, legs kicked, and with a loud rumble, half of the already-deteriorating Palace of Yin Yu collapsed!

Yin Yu was still being restrained by Mu Qing, but his eyes bulged, and he cried out when he saw his palace falling apart around the brawl.

"Please stop fighting!"

That would never stop the other martial gods, but Quan Yizhen heard his order and his fists stopped. Now he'd done it—all those swords, blasts, fists, and kicks rained down hard on him. Another tragedy!

Lang Qianqiu didn't have the time to halt the swing of his greatsword, and it struck deep into Quan Yizhen's shoulder. Thank goodness his sword was dull and that he was able to quickly pull back his strike—at least Quan Yizhen wasn't sliced in half.

"Stop fighting—I don't think he can move anymore!" Lang Qianqiu shouted.

Feng Xin wiped the blood off his face. "Fucking finally!"

Quan Yizhen lay stiffly on the ground like he'd been trussed up with rope. Mu Qing tied Yin Yu's wrists with an actual Immortal-Binding rope before letting him go. Yin Yu fell to the ground in a daze, and he stared dumbly at the mess that was left of his Palace of Yin Yu. After taking in the room, his gaze fell back onto Quan Yizhen, who had dropped to the floor in front of him. Quan Yizhen clearly had a very stubborn life force; even after being beaten to a pulp by several martial gods and pulverized beyond recognition, he didn't lie still for long before suddenly sitting up straight, clearly confused.

"What's going on?"

"…" The martial gods were going to go mad from rage. They all shouted at the same time, "You're in big trouble now!"

Ling Wen had been following behind and watching closely, and she finally exhaled, her face still pale. She somehow had the presence of mind to coordinate help and raised two fingers to her temple as she called out to the spiritual communication array.

"Medical officials, emergency aid, now!"

Quan Yizhen was still very confused. When he turned his head and saw Yin Yu sitting on the ground, he crawled to his feet, seeming to want to help him up. At the sight of that completely oblivious face paired with the background of his smashed divine palace, Yin Yu was speechless. However, his face was slowly contorting.

Quan Yizhen didn't remember anything of what had transpired.

"Shixiong, what are you doing?"

"…" It was as if Yin Yu had lost all sanity. He puffed an abrupt laugh, his eyes brimming red, then cried:

"Quan Yizhen, why don't you just go die?! Go die, will you?!"

Hearing that cry, Xie Lian's eyes went wide, as did those of the many heavenly officials present. Upon receiving the order, Quan Yizhen took immediate action without a second thought. He grabbed a sword off the ground, and with the sword in one hand and the other yanking his own head up by the hair, he aimed for his own throat.

The moment he moved, the martial gods' assumed that he was going to make a sneak attack, so they leapt dozens of meters away to get out of his reach. They never expected him to slit his own throat, and by then it was too late for them to snatch the sword away. They all roared at him. Yin Yu was also shocked, but he hadn't yet come to his senses and could only avert his gaze.

Mere seconds before blood could splatter, Jun Wu's figure suddenly flashed behind Quan Yizhen. Crack, crack, crack, crack—all four of Quan Yizhen's limbs were dislocated in an instant. Jun Wu then chopped precisely at the back of Quan Yizhen's neck, knocking him unconscious and sending him tumbling backward to the ground in a heap. He was broken beyond recognition, so wrecked that he looked like a pool of blood and pulp.

Everyone, Xie Lian included, sighed a breath of relief.

Everyone except Jun Wu.

Jun Wu turned around to regard Yin Yu. His expression was gravely solemn, showing neither rage nor joy.

"With things having progressed thus, I trust you have an explanation?"

Yin Yu's head was buried in his hands, and he subconsciously looked up at the question. "I don't know anything. It wasn't me. It's…!"

His whole body jolted midway through his rambling, like he had only just realized what had come out of his mouth.

He had told Quan Yizhen to "go die" in front of so many witnesses— and Quan Yizhen had tried to do it!

It was impossible not to notice something amiss.

Mu Qing spoke up. "My Lord, Qi Ying's reaction indicates that he must've been cursed with some wicked spell. There must be something forcing him to follow Yin Yu's commands. But we don't know exactly what it is."

Ling Wen naturally knew exactly what had caused this, but she didn't dare speak a word from where she stood in the crowd. Coordinating helping hands on the scene was the most she could do.

"Something like that exists?!" Lang Qianqiu said in disbelief.

Someone pushed through the crowd to rush forward—it was Jian Yu.

It was obvious that he had been out looking for Yin Yu before returning to the palace and that he didn't yet know what had happened.

"What are you all doing? What…what happened to the Palace of Yin Yu? How did this happen?! Who smashed it up?!"

Jun Wu languidly approached Yin Yu. "How are you controlling him?"

His tone was not harsh, but it carried a suffocating, oppressive air of authority. Being looked down upon from so high above struck fear into one's heart. Xie Lian had certainly made many major mistakes, but he had never seen Jun Wu like this before. It seemed he really had let Xie Lian off easy back then and treated him with unusual kindness.

As far as Xie Lian could tell, Yin Yu didn't have strong composure to begin with, and his ability to react in stressful situations was weak. At a time like this, with his mind already a mess, he was even less capable of giving an answer.

Seeing that he wasn't responding, Jun Wu said, "Just as well. Even if you do not answer, I already know. It is that armor, correct?"

He was done for. Finished. Doomed.

Yin Yu sat on the ground, clutching his head anew as waves of talk crashed down all around him.

"Astonishing… Over all my centuries in heaven, I have never witnessed anything more inconceivable!"

"A heavenly official manipulating another heavenly official to slaughter without reservation… He made him murder over a dozen officials and then told him to kill himself?!"

"How vile…" When Jian Yu discovered that something so major had happened, his face also blanched. Still, he gritted his teeth and charged forward from the crowd to kneel on the ground.

"My Lord! That armor was…was… It was me who gave it to Quan Yizhen! It had nothing to do with Yin Yu!"

Only then did Yin Yu stir. "Jian Yu…" he croaked.

Jian Yu braced himself and cried loudly, "I only wanted to teach that brat a lesson, but I didn't think…that it would cause something so horrible…" Quan Yizhen was still unconscious, lying in a pool of his own blood.

The medical officials who had rushed to the scene surrounded him, as did the rest of the crowd.

"I've always hated that brat, but Yin Yu has always treated him with courtesy—many here can bear witness to this. He didn't know anything about the armor!" Jian Yu said.

But it was too late at this point. No one would believe that Yin Yu wasn't involved. Instantly, someone piped up.

"You're only a low-ranking official in the Palace of Yin Yu, yet you already hate him to the point where you mean him harm. It's easy to imagine that the heavenly official you serve isn't any better."

There were even those who taunted them. "He didn't know anything?

If he didn't know anything, why would he tell him to 'go die'? Are you going to try to tell us he was joking?"

It could've been argued that Yin Yu's reactions were understandable, that he had become flustered by distress, but those last words negated everything—"go die." Those words had doomed him to condemnation.

When Ling Wen first told Xie Lian this story, she'd said that Yin Yu "played a prank." Xie Lian could now appreciate that she'd said that to cover for Yin Yu.

Jian Yu couldn't believe it. "What? Stop talking nonsense. How could he have said anything of the sort? He's always been perfectly polite with that brat, so why would he tell him to 'go die'? Yin Yu, you didn't say it, right? You didn't say anything like that? You wouldn't have said it!"

But Yin Yu didn't answer him; he closed his eyes instead. The onlookers were speechless at the sight of Jian Yu refusing to concede the truth.

"We all heard it with our own ears. How can it be denied?"

"There must've been a misunderstanding!" Jian Yu exclaimed anxiously. "There's so much you don't know!"

"No matter the misunderstanding and no matter what we know, I don't think there's any matter so severe that it should make someone want to kill their own shidi."

Yin Yu and Jian Yu were both silenced by this. Thus, the heavenly officials on the sidelines continued their commentary.

"I heard that ever since Quan Yizhen went solo and established his own palace, the people of the Palace of Yin Yu stopped caring for him.

Every time Quan Yizhen visited, they always gave excuses and said no one was around. I was confused at first, but it turns out it was because they couldn't stand him, huh…" "Speaking of, didn't someone mistake him for Quan Yizhen at the Mid-Autumn Banquet the other day? I saw how upset he was at the time."

Those were undeniable truths, but they led to the wrong conclusion.

"Oh, I know about that incident too. It was pretty awkward, but it still wasn't bad enough to justify harming someone…" "Yeah, that's a little too small-minded…"

Jian Yu's eyes were going red, and he shouted, "I already said that His Highness had nothing to do with this; I'm the one who committed the crime! I admitted to everything, so what are you all still going on about?!"

But at this point, there was no hope of clearing Yin Yu's name. In the others' eyes, this only proved that Yin Yu had a malicious but loyal subordinate. And one argument alone was enough to shut down all his defenses:

"Well, there was only one person who told Quan Yizhen to 'go die'!"

Things were becoming more and more heated.

"Take them both away," Jun Wu said grimly. "Ling Wen, stay here and watch over Qi Ying."

Ling Wen inclined her head to acknowledge the command, and Jun Wu stalked out of the Palace of Yin Yu with his hands clasped behind him.

Several martial officials pulled the heart-stricken Yin Yu to his feet.

"Let it go, Jian Yu. Don't say any more."

Jian Yu was also pulled to his feet and bound with Immortal-Binding rope.

"It's always 'let it go, let it go' with you. This time you absolutely must not let it go!" he cried. "Let it go and you're finished! You'll be banished! You'll be banished for sure!"

But Yin Yu only sighed. "Let it go. If I'm banished, then so be it.

Even if I stay here…it doesn't mean anything."

"…You…you should have never, ever cursed him," Jian Yu cried bitterly. "Just those two words, and you lost all hope of turning this around!

You've never cursed him before, so why did you have to say it now? Of all the times! Those words!"

It was like Yin Yu had aged ten years in an instant, and his eyes had lost their light. He seemed a little lost, and he shook his head.

"I don't know why either. At the time, I was just…sigh. I don't want to argue anymore."

They started to take him away, but he'd only stumbled a few steps when Jian Yu suddenly cried out.

"Why?!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

"It's not like you didn't work as hard!" Jian Yu cried. "You're stronger than him by ten thousandfold, better than him by a millionfold!

Quan Yizhen is nothing! So what if I hate him? Why is he like that, and you're like this? Why isn't he the one who gets banished?!"

He gritted his teeth hatefully, hating with every bit of genuine emotion he could muster—so absolutely filled with hate that tears rolled down his cheeks.

There are many times when hard work just isn't enough. Perhaps he knew that deep down, but he just couldn't accept it, unable to swallow his resentment.

Listening to his cries, Yin Yu couldn't move another step. He buried his face in his hands and slumped to the ground in a heap before the Palace of Yin Yu.

"Enough! I already said not to say any more! Please, just let me go!"

he yelled. He covered his ears and cried until he was hoarse. "Please stop reminding me over and over—stop talking, please, I beg all of you to stop talking!"

Xie Lian couldn't bear to watch this any longer. "…That's enough!"

Hua Cheng dispersed the scene, and the two gently separated their heads.

Having been pressed together for so long, Xie Lian's forehead was a little numb, a little itchy, and overly warm. He wanted to reach up and rub at it, but his limbs couldn't move. Hua Cheng seemed to have noticed even this subtle discomfort, and he raised his hand to rub it for him, like it was the most natural thing in the world, before dropping his arm.

Outside the stone wall, the ghost-masked Yin Yu had been pacing back and forth. After a while, he turned to Quan Yizhen.

"You want to come out?" he asked coldly, intentionally disguising his voice.

Quan Yizhen nodded.

"I do."

"Very well. Look here!" Yin Yu replied.

In the blink of an eye, with blinding speed, he whacked the shovel against Quan Yizhen's head!

Clunk! Quan Yizhen instantly fell silent. Xie Lian was stunned.

"No way. He whacked him dead?! He really killed him?!"

Hua Cheng laughed heartily. "Don't worry, gege. He's not dead, just knocked out."

After swinging the shovel, Yin Yu exhaled. In the end, it seemed he decided to dig Quan Yizhen out of the wall after all. He raised the Earth Master Shovel and began to dig through the wall bit by bit. Xie Lian now understood the situation.

If Yin Yu chose to save Quan Yizhen but they ended up fighting, he wouldn't be able to win. He also risked exposing his identity, which would be harrowing. The relationship between the two, shixiong and shidi, was distressing to the extreme, and there was no comparing who was worse off.

It was best for Yin Yu to pretend not to know him.

"San Lang, should we also think of a way to get out of here?" Xie Lian said.

Hua Cheng seemed to be enjoying himself where they were. "Hmm?

Already?"

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Well, yes. Do you want to live in here?"

"If it's with gege, I don't see why not," Hua Cheng said. "All right, fine. I was joking."

He schooled his expression and reached out to cover Xie Lian's ears.

"What are you doing?" Xie Lian asked.

Hua Cheng smiled. "I'm too lazy to walk out, so I might as well just blow the whole place up."

"…" Xie Lian was just wondering whether this would blow up everyone else who had been swallowed by the mountain spirit when his expression suddenly changed.

"Wait."

Hua Cheng wore the same expression and dropped his hands. The two listened intently.

A moment later, Xie Lian whispered, "Do you hear that?"

Hua Cheng also lowered his voice. "Yes."

On one side of the stone wall, Yin Yu was digging with the Earth Master Shovel. On the other side, there was another person—and they were talking.

There weren't any silver butterflies listening in; they heard the voice directly, because the person in question was standing extremely close to the stone wall, almost pressing against it as he spoke. Xie Lian held his breath to listen but could only hear muffled, intermittent, indistinct words, like "ate them," "Upper Court," "martial gods." His mind whirled, and he exchanged a look with Hua Cheng. He then tried, with difficulty, to move closer to the voice.

The voice belonged to a man. He seemed to be conversing with someone, since every time he said something, he paused for a moment. Yet Xie Lian didn't catch any replies from whoever he was speaking with— perhaps because the other one was too far away?

Once they silently shuffled closer, the voice became somewhat clearer. Words were still blurred here and there, but Xie Lian could at least hear some full sentences.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has also come," the man said. "I don't want to take this step; I'm sure you agree. But he's beyond saving."

Xie Lian wondered inwardly, Me? How am I beyond saving? Wait, this voice… The voice was very familiar. He knew he'd heard it somewhere before, and for a long time—not just once or twice. But it was a memory from a long, long time ago, so he couldn't match the voice to its identity that quickly.

Just as he was racking his brain for answers, the man added, "Then let him end here."

And Xie Lian suddenly remembered who the voice belonged to. He twitched his lips and muttered without a sound, State Preceptor?!

The person on the other side of the stone wall had the exact same voice as his mentor from the Kingdom of Xianle!