Chapter 529: Su Yi the Moocher
When he sensed Su Yi’s profound, distant gaze, Buddhist Master Jinyuan’s eyelids twitched, and his heart shook.
“Monk, isn’t using the Art of Spirit Scrying to investigate my presence beneath someone your status? Don’t you think you’re behaving contemptibly?” Su Yi asked flatly.
The influential figures in attendance were all stunned.
The Art of Spirit Scrying was a secret soul technique. It could detect anything strange about a cultivator’s presence, silently and without a trace.
Was your target human or yao? Had they been possessed, and did any atypical energies linger about them? The Art of Spirit Scrying could tell you all of this.
All of the Great Xia’s peak-level orthodoxies had mastered similar secret techniques. They used them to confirm cultivators’ identities and avoid Possessed with ill intentions infiltrating their ranks.
Who would have thought that someone as lofty as Buddhist Master Jinyuan would secretly use such a technique to sense Su Yi’s aura, or that Su Yi would catch him doing it?
This was violating a taboo.
Buddhist Master Jingyuan said calmly, “Young friend, please don’t take offense. When you appeared, this humble monk detected a hint of a strange presence. I feared an evil spirit had taken root within you and that you were not yet aware, so I decided to examine your aura. Who’d have thought it would lead to such a misunderstanding? If I’ve offended you, I humbly request your forgiveness.”
As he spoke, the monk clasped his hands together and lowered his head in apology.
A hint of a strange aura!?
The other higher-ups’ expressions shifted, but someone of Buddhist Master Jinyuan’s status was unlikely to lie about such a thing.
Didn’t that mean there was a problem with Su Yi’s origins?
A cold glint flashed through the depths of Su Yi’s gaze, and his lips curled into a sneer. “You make it sound like an apology, but in truth, you’re painting me as a heretic. You want the populace to suspect a problem with my origins. Monk, you… You sure are insidious.”
Buddhist Master Jinyuan sighed lightly and shook his head. “Young friend, you’ve overthought this.”
“That so?” Su Yi raised his glass and drained it. “I’ll remember this. Later, when I get the chance, I’ll be sure to show you what it means to be a true Buddhist cultivator.”
Buddhist Master Jinyuan furrowed his brow and said nothing.
The other influential figures in attendance were beside themselves with surprise.
Whatever else you might say about him, Buddhist Master Jinyuan was the leader of a peak-level faction, a Spiritual Manifestation expert whose name shook the nation.
However, Su Yi, a young Origin Palace Realm cultivator, showed no sign of respect or fear. On the contrary, he came across as quite overbearing!
Family Head Lei Yuandu couldn’t help but interject, “Young friend, this was obviously a misunderstanding. Why offend Buddhist Master Jinyuan over it?”
“What does that have to do with you?” Su Yi spat out the sunflower seed shell in his mouth, but he didn’t so much as look up; it seemed he couldn’t be bothered to pay Lei?Changdu?any heed.
“You…” Lei Yuandu had been snubbed once more. No matter how good his temper was, he couldn’t help but feel angry.
It was then that the boundless, majestic chiming of a bell rang out.
Clang—!
The bell echoed throughout heaven and earth, filling Orchid Terrace. The earlier commotion came to a sudden stop.
Everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere was instantly solemn.
Whoosh!
Everyone in Orchid Terrace subconsciously gazed into the distance.
There, they saw a group of influential members of the imperial family. All of them were gathered around a certain someone, like stars clustering around the moon. They were headed toward the central jade platform.
The leader of the group wore long dark robes and a high-brimmed hat. He walked with his hands behind his back, and his stride was as powerful as a dragon or?tiger’s. His lean frame towered like a solitary mountain, and the majestic aura emanating from him seemed to reach into the heavens, blanket the earth, and swallow up the landscape.
Every cultivator who saw him reacted like a commoner seeing a king on tour. That oceanic majesty made countless hearts tremble.
Even the prominent experts gathered on the central jade platform felt their hearts shake, and all of them rose to their feet.
All of this only served to highlight just how extraordinarily lofty the middle-aged man in dark robes was.
There was no need to think; it was obvious to everyone present that this was the emperor of the Great Xia, a monarch of power and authority so immense, he instilled terror in even the nation’s greatest cultivation factions!
When Yuan Heng saw the dark-robed man from a distance, his eyes widened. “So, Weng Jiu’s master… was the current Xia Emperor!?”
He’d long since realized that Weng Jiu’s master had an extraordinary status. He knew the man was most likely a member of the imperial family.
But he wouldn’t have guessed that he was the emperor!
Yuan Heng almost felt as if he were dreaming.?That guy who keeps showing up to earnestly request Master’s guidance is the ruler of an entire nation?
This feeling… It’s truly marvelous!
Yue Shichan was stunned too, and she had a strange look in her eyes.?If the world knew that the lofty emperor of the Great Xia had begged a young man like Fellow Daoist Su for help on multiple occasions, what would they think?
Meanwhile.
Su Yi recognized the man in dark robes too. After a moment’s thought, he ultimately rose from his chair.
He didn’t want to be the odd man out. Besides, he and the man in dark robes knew each other. At an event like this, it was only right that he rose to greet him.
It was a trivial matter, not even worth mentioning.
However, were the man in dark robes a stranger like Lei Yuandu, Su Yi wouldn’t have paid him the slightest attention.?Ultimately, he had to tailor his approach to the individual.
The boundless ringing of the bell echoed for quite some time.
The emperor and the most illustrious members of the imperial clan ascended the central jade platform.
When he saw Su Yi standing, a hint of surprise flashed through the emperor’s eyes, but he was inwardly gratified.?So, proud as he is, he does know to treat me with a bit of respect…
“Everyone, we’re all cultivators here. You needn’t be so polite. Please, sit down,” said the Xia Emperor, his voice as resonant as a bell. It boomed throughout the jade platform.
When everyone took a seat, he sat in the center of the platform, the seat of honor.
It was then that the ringing of the bell ceased.
“Father, I want to sit over there.” A young woman in a blue-green palace gown whispered in the emperor’s ear at top speed. She was pretty, with her hair tied up in a bun.
When the emperor followed her gaze, he saw none other than Su Yi.
The Xia Emperor was inwardly a bit unwilling.?What kind of event do you think this is? Girl, if you sit over there, everyone will see it. What will they think then?
But when he saw the expectant, pleading look on her face, the emperor’s heart softened. “Remember your status and proper etiquette. Don’t overstep the bounds of propriety.”
The girl in the blue-green dress smiled sweetly. “Mmhm!”
Before her voice so much as finished echoing through the air, she’d already slipped right over to Su Yi’s seat.
When the Xia Emperor saw this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit aggrieved.?You really can’t keep a grown daughter at home, can you?
The young woman in blue-green sat beside Su Yi without the slightest politeness, her bright eyes examining his profile. She said with a laugh, “Brother Su, long time no see.”
Su Yi glanced at the young woman. “Should I call you Xia Qingyuan, or should I call you Hua Xinfeng?”
The young woman batted her eyes and pressed her lips into a grin. She giggled. “It’s just a name. Call me whichever you like.”
“Then how about I call you ‘little liar?’”
She snickered. “It sounds like you’re still bitter about me using the pseudonym ‘Hua Xinfeng.’”
Before Su Yi could respond, the girl in the blue-green dress raised the jar of wine and refilled his cup. When she spoke, her voice was clear and sweet. “Okay, okay! Don’t be angry! My father told me you’ve become quite impressive. How can you make trouble for a girl like me? They say a minister’s heart ought to be big enough to sail a boat in, so yours ought to be big enough to fit an entire world at the very least!”
Su Yi found himself at a loss for words.
When they saw Xia Qingyuan sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Su Yi, the higher-ups in attendance had strange looks in their eyes.
No wonder Su Yi dared be so unbridled. So, he’s sunk his claws into the imperial family!
Huo Mingyuan and the others who viewed Su Yi with enmity looked increasingly somber.
Even?Daoist?Master Moyang, Lu Daoting, and Yu Jiuzhen couldn’t help but frown.
If Su Yi had the imperial family behind him, anyone who wanted to target him would have to carefully consider the consequences first.
“Hah? And here I thought that guy had some overly impressive background. So, he’s just mooching off an imperial princess!” When Huan Shaoyou saw this, his eyes flashed with a hint of contempt.
“Tch tch, no wonder that young man in blue dared stand up to Huan Shaoyou. So, he’s just piggybacking off the imperial family!” Some people chuckled.
“What’s so special about that guy? How could he have won the affections of the imperial family’s chosen daughter of heaven?” Some people were jealous.
“And here I thought this guy was something special. So, he relied on his relationship with her to get onto the central jade platform. Some people were disdainful.
Gu Cangning, Zeng Pu, Chi Jiansu, Jiang Li, Yu Wenshu, and the others each reacted differently, but they looked as if they were vaguely starting to understand.
There was no doubt about it. The vast majority of those in attendance now saw Su Yi as a moocher living off a rich woman.
The imperial family is acting as his backer? No wonder he dared talk like that yesterday…?Daoist Master Coldsmoke seemed to understand, but she felt a bit conflicted.?But it seems Su Yi, that kid, is a bit, ah, overly amorous….
She thought of Yue Shichan, and of her disciple, Wen Xinzhao.
She then looked at the distant central jade platform, where a beautiful, charming princess of the imperial family kept Su Yi comfortable. What was he, if not amorous?
That kid seems detached, aloof, and proper. Who’d have guessed that in his heart of hearts, he was just a playboy? With his womanizing ways, how much will Xinzhao suffer should she truly fall for him…??Daoist Master Coldsmoke sighed to herself.
Wen Xinzhao and Yue Shichan naturally noticed Xia Qingyuan keeping Su Yi company too.
However, unlike the others, they didn’t overthink it. Both of them understood Su Yi’s temperament. Were there really something between him and Xia Qingyun, there was no way he’d keep it a secret.
Furthermore, Su Yi had almost never mentioned Xia Qingyuan before. This naturally implied that there wasn’t much of a bond between them.
At least… there wasn’t much of a bond yet.
Before long, the low chime, solemn of a bell reverberated throughout heaven and earth.
The final day of the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly was about to begin.
Everyone focused their attention on the duels about to unfold on stage.
The participants were all in the top hundred. After undergoing a series of battles, they’d determine their final rankings.
Against all expectations, after drawing lots, it turned out that the first to take the stage would be Maha Temple’s Buddhist Son, Chen Lu!
He was a dazzling, legendary figure of the Great Xia’s younger generation, and he was one of the favorites to take first place.
Chen Lu wore white monk’s robes. His features were handsome and elegant, and he looked transcendent and detached from mundane concerns.
When he took the stage, he was instantly the center of attention. The entire venue was in uproar.
Many of the onlookers’ faces filled with awe.
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