"Don't be fooled by my appearance now. Deep down, your brother has no desires or ambitions. I'm just here to help guard, doing some dirty and tiring work, it's no big deal. But he can't judge me, an over-fifty-year-old man, with the mindset of someone who has no aspirations."

All morning, after Elder Liang entered the Smoke Wave Government Office, he rambled on to Xu Yin.

Xu Yin was just surprised; they had agreed to meet again when free, but that was just yesterday's conversation.

Why did he actually come today?

It wasn't until Elder Liang started his incessant rambling that Xu Yin understood his purpose.

Before Xu Yin could utter a single word of comfort, Elder Liang found relief in his rant, leaving Xu Yin's face darkened with frustration.

"You lot, playing one tune in public and another in private, right?"

Back when they publicly elected him, those people claimed it was for the sect's sake.

Now when it comes down to it, no—it's just halfway through, and they're already cursing up a storm.

Xu Yin suddenly lost the thought of comforting him. It was Elder Liang who was being demoted, yet Xu Yin felt more aggrieved.

"Let him continue his rambling!"

Xu Yin pretended not to hear, busying himself with daily affairs, while Elder Liang continued to ramble. Eventually, he somehow found a tea set and began brewing tea at Xu Yin's workspace.

This time, he couldn't pretend not to hear, so Xu Yin ignored it directly to avoid upsetting himself.

Soon after, a Palace Guard hurriedly arrived, looking anxious, sweat on his forehead, and urgently said, "Sir, something's wrong, the Tiger Crane Sect is fighting."

"Didn't we just lock up a bunch of them? Where did they get so many junior cultivators to cause trouble?"

Xu Yin furrowed his brow, speaking with a puzzled look.

The guard quickly explained, "No, this time the new and old sect leaders are fighting."

"Good! Let them fight."

"These bastards, one dead is one less."

A look of satisfaction flashed across Xu Yin's face, and he was about to wave the guard away, saying,

"If they're fighting to the death in front of their own sect, it has nothing to do with us. Even if they bash in each other's brains, it's not our concern. Leave it."

But the guard didn't leave, instead hastily said, "Sir, they're fighting outside our city gates."

Xu Yin's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly got up, hurriedly heading outside.

"Where are they now?"

The guard quickly replied, "Still fighting; the townsfolk don't dare leave the city."

"Damn it!"

"These two bastards, why vent their anger far away, only to come to the outskirts of the city to fight?"

"This is just coming to add trouble."

"If you were fighting at your own sect, I could pretend not to know. Why must you fight right under my nose?"

Xu Yin's face turned ashen; he could no longer overlook it. He rushed out towards the gate, halfway turning back, intending to call his senior brother but saw Elder Liang still sipping tea, feeling even more frustrated inside.

Whether this was a punishment for him, or for himself, he couldn't tell...

---

Outside the city gates.

Two middle-aged men were locked in fierce battle, having fought several dozen rounds in midair.

True Essence surged above Smoke Wave City, occasionally manifesting the image of a white tiger and a white crane biting each other.

By now, only cultivators were left watching from outside the city, as ordinary citizens had long hidden away within, even the Palace Guard had retreated early into the city.

Han Yu mingled among the cultivators, gazing up at the sky.

The customs here were truly rugged—resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement—no wonder the ordinary folk had little affection for these cultivators.

Frequently causing disturbances inside and out of the city, even the Palace Guard avoided it—let alone ordinary citizens.

The guardian of the Celestial Water Sect was indeed utterly spineless.

Thinking this way, Han Yu's opinion of the Celestial Water Sect fell further.

Before long, a figure shot through the air; as Xu Yin drew near, he leaped between the two fighters, holding them apart on his left and right.

"Bright King Unmoving Body!"

This technique had been used by Seeking Death Taoist in Minzhou City once before, but unfortunately, it hadn't even withstood a single blow from Young Master Xiao.

When Xu Yin used it, the two combatants found themselves unable to move an inch further, as if an invisible wall forcibly separated them.

"What's so strange? Young Master Xiao paid the hefty price for a Half-Step Transcendence, while those two are the inferior type of Divine Gaze Realm. There's no comparison."

Glass rolled her eyes and quipped.

Han Yu looked up, watching as Xu Yin, suppressing the two with his cultivation alone, slowly brought them to the ground. Xu Yin's face turned cold as he sternly reprimanded,

"Do you truly think I wouldn't dare go for the kill?"

The two Divine Gaze Realm cultivators were shocked; they were truly wronged this time, as neither had come to town intending to fight.

The Tiger Crane Sect had split, forming the Wild Tiger Sect and Wild Crane Sect, and now they needed to register at the government office, even re-register their mountain territory.

For a major sect, this procedure was somewhat dispensable, often just a formality. But these small sects didn't have the privilege to bypass the rules, so today the two scheming new and old sect leaders had left one after the other to enter the city.

Why call them scheming?

Because neither intended to move, both aiming to register the original location under the new sect name, hence securing legal ground. Their strengths being roughly equal, the one in the right would have an advantage.

As circumstances would have it, they ran into each other at the city gate. Both being cunning, they immediately guessed each other's intent and started fighting after exchanging a few insults.

Hearing this, Xu Yin's face darkened further. Wasn't this just another worthless squabble?

This bunch of hopeless cases, always busy with trivial matters, forever bickering over petty grievances—these people don't deserve cultivation!

"Get lost, come back when you've figured it out. As the current official appointed by the Imperial Court, as long as I don't give the nod, let's see how your sects, be they cat or tiger, stand."

This statement held true. Legally, establishing a cultivator sect and its site still required the Imperial Court's approval, unless one was powerful enough to disregard the law—but clearly, these minor forces lacked such capability.

While the Imperial Court could still keep these small powers in check, there was still chaos like at the Smoke Wave Government Office. Without the court's restraint, the consequences could be dire.

"Why are you still standing there? Back off."

Though rarely assertive, Xu Yin drove away the two sect leaders, then lightly reprimanded the crowd of onlookers, prompting the cultivators to scatter hastily.

When Han Yu finally came to his senses, he found himself alone, and as luck would have it, Xu Yin was now glancing over at him.

The reason Xu Yin noticed Han Yu was that his face was unfamiliar. In particular, his entire body lacked even the slightest trace of True Essence.

It's known that a cultivator's body is like a furnace, filled with True Essence ceaselessly circulating—traces of it are always detectable, even when not activated.

Transcendence Realm?

When True Essence evolves into Spiritual Power, it's naturally no longer detectable.

But Han Yu was too young, simply impossible.

An ordinary person?

Yet, for an ordinary person to blend calmly into a crowd of cultivators watching Divine Gaze Realm fights was exceedingly odd.

Thus, Xu Yin's curiosity towards Han Yu grew instantly.

"At this moment, a little Divine Gaze Realm fledgling is approaching you!"

Glass suddenly mischievously made a face in the Sea of Consciousness, reminding him.

Han Yu looked up in surprise, meeting Xu Yin's gaze directly...

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