Chapter 628: Misfortune
“Master Jiang.”
The white-clothed sovereign was stunned.
Jiang Bianyan was the master of the Holy Divine Palace in Dongtianw.a.n.g City.
Although they were both at the cultivation level of the sovereign, his status was many times higher than Jiang Bianyan’s.
Did this scion of the aristocratic family know Master Jiang?
How high was his status?
With just this one word, the white-clothed sovereign became more cautious.
Although he had yet to verify the authenticity of this young man’s words, it was best to be careful. At this critical juncture, it was best not to make any mistakes.
“I know Master Jiang, then do you know that he was already in the past?”
“In the past?” Xu Xiaoshou looked confused.
“Yes.”
The white-clothed sovereign nodded. “During the battle at the White Cave in Tiansang Prefecture, Master Jiang led a group of white-clothed people to support the battle. He died in a glorious battle with outstanding merit… At this moment, someone else is the master of the Holy Divine Palace in Dongtianw.a.n.g City.”
Xu Xiaoshou really didn’t expect this.
Jiang Bianyan also went to the White Cave?
He only knew the eight venerables’ heart sword technique, which killed all seven hundred white-clothed people in the White Cave, regardless of the distance.
However, he had never thought that Jiang Bianyan would also die!
“Then who is the current governor of Dongtianw.a.n.g City?”
“Cheng Ji, Master Cheng.”
The white-clothed sovereign stared at the young man in front of him as if he wanted to see something in his eyes.
However, how could he easily see through Xu Xiaoshou’s disguise?
He only saw a trace of regret, but not even the slightest bit of surprise.
It was clear that the death of someone as high as Master Jiang wasn’t even enough to stir up a ripple in the young man’s heart.
This young master Xu wasn’t simple at all!
“In awe, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
“Cheng Ji… I really don’t recognize him.”
Xu Xiaoshou frowned slightly as if he suddenly thought of something. “Cheng?”
“Yes.”
“Faction of the Cheng family? Then do you know a person named Cheng…”
Xu Xiaoshou suddenly paused. It seemed that he could not remember the name of such a small figure because of the pa.s.sage of time. However, after thinking for a long time, he finally remembered. “Cheng Xingchu?”
The white-clothed sovereign was surprised. “Little brother, do you know Young Master Cheng?”
“Not really…”
Xu Xiaoshou saw his expression and knew that things were going to be easy. He said indifferently, “It’s just that the Cheng family went to celebrate my old master’s birthday and met him once.”
“Celebrate his birthday?”
“Surprised, pa.s.sive points, + 1.”
The white-clothed sovereign knew from his tone that even Cheng Xingchu’s status was probably very low compared to the young man in front of him.
He did not dare to pursue this person’s ident.i.ty too much and only asked, “Does that young master have any keepsake that can prove your background?”
The moment the word “you” was uttered, Xu Xiaoshou’s heart became even more relaxed.
However, Xin Gugu immediately caught the point where he could be arrogant.
“What?!” His voice immediately became a little louder. “I’ve already said so much, but it’s still not enough to prove my ident.i.ty. What are you doing? If you don’t know how to do things, then call Cheng Ji to meet me!”
The white-clothed sovereign frowned.
Xu Xiaoshou himself was shocked.
Seeing that things were not going well, he immediately held Xin Gugu’s shoulder and said, “Calm down, please.”
After glaring at Xin Gugu to retreat, he turned his head to look at the white-clothed sovereign.
“I won’t make things difficult for you.”
With that said, he flung his sleeves and raised his head. An inexplicable aura came down from him.
“Taixiang Xu family in the North Region!”
These few short words caused everyone’s hearts to tremble. Even their heads subconsciously lowered.
Even the long line of people who were waiting at the back all felt their bodies sink.
It seemed that once this ‘Xu family’ appeared, the entire world would have to lower their heads. No one could surpa.s.s them.
The white-clothed sovereign was shocked by this sudden aura.
Without even thinking about it, to be able to use such a simple name to suppress everyone present… This young man’s background probably had to be from a prestigious family at the very least.
As expected, this was exactly what he had expected!
“Northern Region?”
A low cry of surprise rang out from within the long line.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone from the north. What background does this Xu family have?”
“No… but that aura just now was probably at least from an aristocratic family. Do you guys have heart palpitations? The moment the ‘Taixiang Xu family’ was uttered, I felt an inexplicable power suppressing me.”
“F*ck, it’s a good thing my knees are relatively hard. I almost knelt down just now. This Xu clan, this Young Master Xu, they’re Awesome!”
“As expected, Dongtianw.a.n.g city is going to be in chaos recently…”
“Feared, pa.s.sive points + 75.”
“Respected, pa.s.sive points + 38.”
“Loved, pa.s.sive points, + 6.”
The white-clothed guard also heard the low murmurs from behind. After using the Jade Scroll to record the information, he asked again, “Northern Region, Taixiang Xu family, what’s your name?”
This time, Xu Xiaoshou did not say anything. The white-clothed sovereign patted the head of the person who recorded the information and cursed in a low voice, “Young Master Xu!”
“Oh!”
The guard who had carved the jade scroll also reacted in time.
Clearly, with his background, it was already very cooperative of him to give so much information.
“Taixiang Xu family…”
The white-clothed sovereign was deep in thought.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t have any idea.
In his memories, not to mention the Xu family and Taixiang, he didn’t even know how many factions there were in the northern region.
This point wasn’t just lost on the white-clothed sovereign. Even the three people who were traveling with Xu Xiaoshou didn’t dare to show their astonishment.
However, it had to be said that Xu Xiaoshou’s words were too clever.
If he were to single out the “Xu family”, these people would probably continue to interrogate him.
However, with the prefix “Northern region” and “Taixiang”, coupled with the pressure of a warlord”, it really gave everyone the impression that this was a large faction.
As for where Taixiang was, Xu Xiaoshou did not know either.
However, he knew which one was more impressive. Other names looked insignificant compared to Taixiang.
Without waiting for the white-clothed guards to interrogate him, Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand and said to the three people behind him, “You guys go in first. I have some questions to ask this brother.”
His gaze drifted over and landed on the white-clothed sovereign.
This wave of counter-guests had taken the lead, and for no reason, the white-clothed guards were all stunned.
The person who had carved the jade scroll was still wondering if the remaining three people needed to ask for their names when the white-clothed sovereign waved his hand.
“Let them in!”
Special people would get a special treatment.
The other party came from the northern region, either because they had serious matters to attend to.
Or because they wanted to obtain the qualifications to partic.i.p.ate in the Dongtianw.a.n.g City’s trial.
Based on the fact that the arrogant servant had the cultivation of a throne, this was a faction that the city gate guards could not afford to offend.
If there were any requests, as long as they were not excessive, it would be fine.
“Can we talk in private?”
Xu Xiaoshou looked at the three people behind him who had successfully entered the city, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
It was impossible for him to register his true ident.i.ty, and he could not let the four of them leave too many traces of their previous ident.i.ties.
Therefore, he could only take a strong measure to let the impression of the four people being arrogant be branded into the minds of these city gate guards.
He came to Dongtianw.a.n.g city to stir up trouble.
Once the follow-up matter was blown up, everyone would begin to study his ident.i.ty.
It would be difficult to find his previous ident.i.ty. At that time, the starting point of the other party could only be the city gate guards of Dongtianw.a.n.g City.
At that time, how the city gate guards described it would be very important.
Although it was just one step into the city, Xu Xiaoshou was trying to play a big game of chess. He had to start by burying a good hole.
When the time came, everything would be detonated. Right and wrong would be confusing, and it would be difficult to distinguish the male from the female.
He would be able to reap benefits from the confusion, and it would be even easier.
He had learned all of this from the big shots in the White Cave who had laid out plans for hundreds of years.
“Please.”
The white-clothed guard invited Xu Xiaoshou to the city gate. After not hindering the others from entering the city, he asked, “May I ask what advice you have for me, brother Xu?”
“Respected, pa.s.sive points, + 1.”
Xu Xiaoshou seemed very satisfied.
“I don’t deserve your advice. How should I address you, Brother?”
“w.a.n.g Chao.”
“That’s awesome!”
Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed in admiration. His face turned solemn, and he went straight to the point. “w.a.n.g Chao, when I was in other cities, the registration process wasn’t as complicated as this. Now…”
He dragged out his words, but his eyes were full of curiosity.
How could w.a.n.g Chao not see through the other party’s question? He sighed. “The increase in workload wasn’t our original intention. It was just an order from the higher-ups.”
“Brother Xu, you’ve come from the northern domain. Perhaps you don’t know how big of an incident has happened in the Eastern Sky Realm recently.”
“The situation of the holy divine palace surrounding the White Cave and the saint servant and Xu Yue Grey Palace appearing one after another…”
“You should be able to find out about this after you enter the city and ask around.”
“I know a thing or two about that…” Xu Xiaoshou smiled. “There’s the fourth sword!”
w.a.n.g Chao thought to himself, ‘what the h.e.l.l do you know about it?’.
The fourth sword was no longer important in front of these factions.
However, he did not dare to show it in his heart. He could only explain, “The fourth sword is still okay. The main thing is that the appearance of the saint servant has a huge impact.”
“Among the people who are being strictly checked, the main ones are the saint servant and the Ghost Beast.”
“Oh?” Xu Xiaoshou looked surprised. “The Saint Servant and the Ghost Beast? You think you can control them?”
w.a.n.g Chao was speechless.
As expected, he was an arrogant scion of an aristocratic family. He did not think before he spoke and did not respect people at all.
“Cursed, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
He did not pay much attention to the other party’s tone and continued, “We won’t be able to check it out by ourselves, but…”
w.a.n.g Chao’s voice paused, and Xu Xiaoshou understood.
“Someone is still watching?”
He looked up at the sky and could not see anything.
But he knew in his heart that there might really be white-clothed and red-clothed people of the cutting path stage watching at the city gate.
His previous actions had probably caught the attention of these people.
However, since those people had yet to show up, it meant that there was nothing wrong with his performance.
Currently, it would be much more difficult for the white-clothed and red-clothed people to investigate further.
Very good, this was the effect he wanted!
w.a.n.g Chao did not reply, so Xu Xiaoshou took it as a tacit agreement. He asked with a smile, “Saint servant, Ghost Beast, whatever, these are not my concerns. The main reason I came here is to ask about the trial in Dongtianw.a.n.g City?”
As expected… w.a.n.g Chao instantly came to enlightenment.
Although he couldn’t see the other party’s cultivation level clearly, there was no fluctuation of the way of the heavens around the young man’s body, so his cultivation level must not have reached the Master Stage yet.
According to their power, it would take him thousands of miles to travel from the north to the east.
The only thing he could think of was the trial.
“Under the influence of various factions, the trial in Dongtianw.a.n.g city has been pushed forward,” said w.a.n.g Chao.
“How long has it been pushed forward?”
Xu Xiaoshou vaguely remembered that if nothing went wrong, the trial would only begin in about a month or two.
“Half a month.” w.a.n.g Chao’s words were shocking.
Xu Xiaoshou was surprised.
“Half a month?”
“Mm.”
After receiving an affirmative answer, he fell silent.
Logically speaking, pus.h.i.+ng the trial forward was a good thing.
However, because of the white cave incident, the trial of the imperial city had been affected. It was possible for him to fool others, but it was impossible for him to use it to fool himself!
“The trial of the imperial city is related to the qualification of the palace. It is held in the five domains of the continent at the same time. It can not be affected by something as trivial as the white cave.”
Xu Xiaoshou said with a smile, “There must be other reasons!”
“Impressed, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
w.a.n.g Chao’s eyes sparkled with surprise.
He had thought that this was a silly hedonistic son. He had been qualified to bully others because he had relied on his family’s faction and brought along a servant with the cultivation base of the throne.
He didn’t expect this guy to be so clever?
“Brother Xu, this is confidential. I have nothing more to say.”He shook his head and made up his mind not to say anything.
Xu Xiaoshou didn’t seem to mind. “I understand. I didn’t come here to make things difficult for you… how about this? There are still a few questions that you don’t need to answer in detail. Should you answer me? I’ll just finish asking.”
w.a.n.g Chao was taken aback.
Was this fellow trying to get an answer through his expression?
“No, I can’t answer that!”
“Then this…”
Xu Xiaoshou frowned. The good atmosphere of the conversation suddenly became heavy.
w.a.n.g Chao felt an inexplicable pressure and his heart s.h.i.+vered.
This pressure…
Could it be that the subordinate with the cultivation of the throne was just a protector on the surface?
This young master Xu had the protection of the Cutting Path Stage in the dark?
After pondering for a long time and putting enough psychological pressure on him, Xu Xiaoshou said with a bit of dissatisfaction, “It’s okay if they all respond, right?”
“What kind of response is that…” w.a.n.g Chao was a little confused and didn’t know how to refuse.
Xu Xiaoshou didn’t wait for him to respond, nor did he want to give the other party time to refuse. He then continued to ask, “As far as I know, even if the Saint Servant enters the city, it’s impossible for him to only send such beginners. If they’re at the Innate Stage, then even if he takes part in the trial, it won’t matter at all!”
“If the other party were to come, it would only be at ten Saint Servants.”
“And your people…”
He looked up at the empty sky. “Is this what they are guarding against?”
w.a.n.g Chao’s face was expressionless. He had made up his mind that he would not let the other party notice anything.
“No.” He shook his head firmly.
“Deceived, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
Xu Xiaoshou kept his thoughts to himself and continued, “Saint Servants and Ghost Beasts are coming, and the imperial city is on guard. It has nothing to do with the trial at all.”
“In other words, the imperial city trial has been moved forward by a few months because of the battle at the White Cave. It’s nonsense!”
w.a.n.g Chao was astonished, and his expression became even more serious.
“No.”
“Deceived, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
Xu Xiaoshou understood.
There was indeed a reason why the saint servant called him over to be a troublemaker.
In fact, Bazhun’an’s original intention was not to let him take first place in the trial at all.
In addition to the trial, Dongtianw.a.n.g City also had a scheme hidden in the open.
As a grand scheme, it required the entire five domains of the continent to advance the trial several months in advance to cover up the truth. Besides, it required Dongtianw.a.n.g city to send out experts at the cutting path (stage) or even higher cultivation level to guard against the unexpected!
What could it be?
Xu Xiaoshou instantly thought of the inexplicable actions of the Bazhun’an, who had headed to the White Cave, but then failed to do anything about it.
Just as w.a.n.g Chao had said, the four swords had become a front to attract everyone’s attention under the push and shove of the various factions.
What was truly hidden under the iceberg was what these people valued.
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He knew there was a trap. As expected, the moment he asked, the trap came out!
“As expected…”
He wanted to continue speaking, but when the words reached his mouth, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly stopped.
Some things, if asked again, would not end well.
After all, there was still a real big shot watching from above.
“Sure, let’s have some more brother w.a.n.g Chao.”
He patted the white-clothed sovereign, raised his head. After he nodded at the nameless man in the sky, he strode into the city.
He had no idea who was watching them from above, nor could he see them at all.
But that was not important.
What was important was that it was enough that the other party could see them!
“As expected, he can see them…”
Looking at the back of the man who was strolling away, w.a.n.g Chao was very shocked.
How could he see the white-clothed and red-clothed seniors above the Innate Stage without the protection of the Cutting Path Stage?
“TaxiangXu family of …”
w.a.n.g Chao murmured in a daze.
“Feared, pa.s.sive points + 1.”
“Watched, pa.s.sive points + 2.”
“Conjecture, pa.s.sive points, + 2.”