Chapter 41
“Senior Sister, weren’t we supposed to be going down the mountain to shop for supplies?” Yu Tai asked as an excited Li Shijie dragged her into the crowd.
At the sight of Yu Tai, many disciples who did not know her well automatically moved farther away. Fortunately, Yu Tai did not care. She was even grateful for their self-awareness-it spared her from squeezing together with strangers.
“Well, Senior Brother Jiang was beside me at the time, so I said we were going shopping, but actu-”
Before she could finish, cries of surprise erupted from the crowd.
A colossal cloudship suddenly appeared in the sky. Its stately, imposing hull cut through the clouds, where golden runes flickered in and out of view, immediately drawing every eye.
“It’s the Jade Sect’s cloudship…” The excitement in Li Shijie’s eyes turned rather strange when she saw the vessel.
Cloudships had not originally existed in the Middle Realm. Only after someone happened to see the Jade Sect’s cloudship had the mode of transportation gradually gained popularity among the Middle Realm’s major sects.
But differing foundations meant that such imitation only made them look like a hideous woman trying to copy a legendary beauty.
The cloudship in which the Qingshan Sword Sect took such pride was too shabby to even be displayed before the Jade Sect’s original.
That was why everyone had always wanted to see a true cloudship. Li Shijie had long heard how unique and beautiful the Jade Sect’s vessel was and had secretly looked forward to seeing it.
Yet now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she was suddenly disappointed.
That was it?
It was not even as good as her Junior Sister’s ship.
Seeing the disappointment in Li Shijie’s eyes, Yu Tai looked away in boredom. “So this is what you actually came to see?”
Li Shijie could neither nod nor shake her head. She smiled awkwardly. “Actually-”
“The Zuiyin Sect! It’s the Zuiyin Sect!”
The crowd erupted into cheers even louder than before.
The Jade Sect’s halo instantly dimmed, and it lost all its appeal.
Only then did Yu Tai show a little interest.
The Zuiyin Sect was the foremost sect in the Upper Realm.
They certainly lived up to their position. Their mere mode of transportation completely eclipsed the Jade Sect’s cloudship.
“Good heavens… It’s a thousand-year-old black tortoise…” Li Shijie murmured, dumbstruck.
An incomparably enormous tortoise had appeared above the Jade Sect’s cloudship. Its entire body was a translucent, inky green, and a whole building stood atop its shell.
It was neither ornate nor stately.
And yet, before the people below had even seen its passengers, the sight alone filled them with awe.
As expected of the Upper Realm’s foremost sect-even their means of transportation was unlike any other.
Yu Tai almost rolled her eyes.
Fine. Now she understood why the Upper Realm sects were so eager to attend a minor Martial Tournament in the Middle Realm.
Was this not the perfect opportunity to flaunt their wealth?
They could let the cultivators at the bottom admire the status and heritage of their great sects and revel in their own superiority.
That was all there was to it.
Yu Tai thought as much, but she still followed the people around her and put on an awed expression.
She could clearly sense someone on the tortoise quietly watching this area.
Had she not been exceptionally sensitive to others’ gazes, she might not have noticed that hidden stare for quite some time.
How frightening.
On the black tortoise, a young man dressed in black lowered his eyes and gazed down at the scenery below. When his gaze settled on Yu Tai, a moment of confusion flickered in his placid, icy eyes.
“Jiang Li?” someone called from behind him.
The black-clad young man withdrew his gaze and turned around. He looked coldly at the female cultivator behind him, his voice utterly devoid of warmth. “What is it?”
At the sight of the young man’s breathtakingly handsome face, the female cultivator blushed. “The elder told me to keep an eye on you.”
Hearing this, contempt flashed through Jiang Li’s eyes as he looked at her, as if asking, *You?*
The female cultivator’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Mist gathered in her beautiful eyes, making her look delicate and pitiful.
Yet the sight of a beauty on the verge of tears inspired no pity whatsoever in the young man before her.
As if deliberately defying her, Jiang Li turned and leaped off the black tortoise without the slightest hesitation.
“Ah!” the female cultivator screamed. “Jiang Li!”
Meanwhile, as Yu Tai felt that gaze move away from her, she was struck by an ominous premonition.
Her sixth sense told her to leave at once.
“Senior Sister, I have something to do. I’ll be leaving first.” After saying that, Yu Tai turned and left without waiting for Li Shijie’s reply.
But the cries from the crowd suddenly grew louder as everyone scattered in panic.
In the next instant, a deafening crash came from behind Yu Tai.
Even the ground shook from the impact.
Yu Tai hurriedly turned around and nearly collided with the chest in front of her. Before she could retreat, the man advanced another step. A powerful hand clamped around her wrist, and then he bent down.
Yu Tai found herself staring into a pair of sharp, slightly upturned eyes. His gaze was appraising as it swept over her.
She frowned and said coldly, “Let go.”
“You smell very pleasant.” His grip around her wrist tightened. Tilting his head slightly, he looked faintly puzzled.
His features were deep-set and his lips thin. His phoenix eyes should have looked amorous, but they held so much icy frost that his gaze felt crushing.
He wore a close-fitting black outfit that emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist. A tiny character meaning “Hidden” was embroidered at his cuff in golden thread.
Yu Tai sneered. “The Zuiyin Sect’s approach to sexual harassment is certainly unique.”
At that, the man in front of her drew back a little. His tone was cold, but his expression was earnest. “I did not sexually harass you. I merely spoke the truth.”
“Junior Sister!” Li Shijie finally snapped out of her daze and rushed over.
Only when someone approached did Jiang Li release Yu Tai’s wrist. Li Shijie immediately wedged herself between them, shielding Yu Tai as she watched the young man warily. “Fellow Cultivator, what exactly were you trying to do to my Junior Sister?”
Jiang Li looked past Li Shijie and stared directly at Yu Tai behind her. “What is your name?”
Yu Tai had just opened her mouth when Li Shijie reached back and covered it. “Junior Sister! Don’t tell him!”
Who knew what this lecher was planning?
Yu Tai obediently closed her mouth.
What she had actually been about to say was, *My name is Your Father.*
The System: [… Thank you, Senior Sister Li.]
Jiang Li shot Li Shijie an icy glance. Although he looked no older than them, that single glance inexplicably chilled her heart. It was as terrifying as being watched by some savage beast.
“Jiang Li, stop fooling around.”
In the middle of their confrontation, a stern voice suddenly came from above.
The speaker made no attempt to restrain his pressure. Those words forced many cultivators to their knees in an instant, and some were even driven to cough up blood.
Sweat beaded on Li Shijie’s brow as she collapsed to her knees.
Yu Tai’s face went deathly pale, yet aside from the completely unaffected Jiang Li, she was the only person present who remained standing straight.
The girl did not look well. Cold sweat glistened on her forehead, and her crimson lips were caught between fine white teeth. Yet her slender body remained upright, and the unyielding light in her eyes imprinted itself upon everyone around her.
To the cultivators of the Upper Realm, they were nothing more than ants at the bottom.
The old man’s words might have been a rebuke directed at his own disciple, but everyone could see what his deliberately unrestrained pressure truly meant.
No matter how innocent ants might be, they were guilty in the eyes of those who regarded them with contempt.