Chapter 546: Apologies

After a while, Xuan Ning said, “Master, I don’t want to.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly, but before he could say anything, Xuan Ning continued, “I grew up at your side, and in my heart, you’re no different from my father. Rather than pursuing the Grand Dao, I’d rather serve at your side as I did before.”

He lowered his head sheepishly. “Perhaps you’ll think I have no prospects, but to me, you’ve always been a god-like existence; it’s only right I treat you with reverence and piousness.”

Su Yi fell silent for a while. He couldn’t help but sigh. “Alright.”

Xuan Ning’s heart clenched. “Master, are you disappointed in me?”

A faint, helpless smile tugged at Su Yi’s lips. “Everyone has their own ambitions. I won’t force you.”

Only when he saw this did Xuan Ning sigh in relief and smile too.

……

The first day of the tenth lunar month, shortly after daybreak.

Azurecloud Court.

Su Yi was eating breakfast with Yue Shichan.

Ge Qian squatted not far away, watching this play out in a daze.

“Old-timer, was it really Su Yi who saved us?” he muttered inwardly.

“Fellow Daoist Su is our benefactor. He saves our lives; speak more respectfully going forward,” replied Xuan Ning. “Also, I suffered extremely severe injuries yesterday, and I’ll need to rest and recover for a while. If you have any further questions, wait until after I wake up.

“Right; when you go to Sumeru Immortal Island, stick close to Fellow Daoist Su. With him to protect you, he can at least ensure nothing unexpected will befall you.”

Xuan Ning then fell silent. No matter how hard Ge Qian pushed, he didn’t react in the slightest.

“Old man, even if you don’t tell me, I dare say with certainty that a lot happened last night!” Ge Qian muttered inwardly.

After a while, he took a deep breath, got up, and bowed deeply to Su Yi. His expression filled with gratitude as he said, “Your Excellency Su Yi, many thanks for saving my life!”

Su Yi just glanced at him. “Are you hungry?”

Ge Qian shook his head.

“Will you come with us to Mount Heavenbristle?”

Ge Qian hurriedly nodded. “Yes!”

He looked uncertain and extremely tentative. Yue Shichan found this a bit strange.?Fellow Daoist Su isn’t some kind of diabolical villain, so why is Ge Qian acting like a mouse in front of a cat?

“Let’s go,” said Su Yi. He rose and headed out of Azurecloud Court.

Yue Shichan walked alongside him, while Ge Qian trailed after them.

“Fellow Daoist Su.” Weng Jiu was waiting outside with an ornate carriage. He’d been there for quite some time already.

When he saw Su Yi’s group emerge, he immediately greeted them with a hearty smile. “I’m here on my master’s orders to see you all to Mount Heavenbristle.”

Su Yi nodded. He and Yue Shichan got directly into the carriage.

Ge Qian, however, was inwardly startled.

After participating in the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly, he was naturally well aware that this unassuming elder in gray was one of the Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators serving the Xia Emperor!

Yet here he was, personally welcoming Su Yi!

From this, it was clear how lofty of a position Su Yi occupied in the emperor’s heart!

“Young Friend Ge, this way, please.” Weng Jiu invited him with a smile, his expression a bit strange.

Yesterday, it was because of Ge Qian that Su Yi massacred the Huan Family residence. He’d wiped out practically every Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator the Huan Family had in the city!

Thus, when he faced Ge Qian, Weng Jiu naturally dared not be negligent.

Ge Qian couldn’t help but feel surprised and flattered. He clasped his fist and said, “Many thanks, senior.”

Mount Heavenbristle.

An ancient ritual ground.

The experts who placed in the top thirty at the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly had already started gathering here.

Zeng Pu, Chi Jiansu, Buddhist Son Chen Lu, Li Handeng, Gu Cangning, and the other utterly dazzling monsters of the ancient era and geniuses of the present day stood here.

“Everyone, did you hear about what happened last night? Someone swept through the Huan Family’s base in Nine Tripod City. Their casualties included several Spiritual Manifestation cultivators,” someone whispered.

Numerous others looked surprised.

Although the imperial family had sealed all news of yesterday’s incident, these were people with grand origins; they naturally knew how severe the Huan Family’s casualties were last night!

“I heard about this incident too. Many suspect Su Yi did it,” said a silver-robed youth. He had bright eyes and sharp brows, with the bearing of a dragon or phoenix. His long hair hung loose.

Li Handeng.

He was the leading figure of the Qingyi Dao Sect’s younger generation and a peak Gathering Stars Realm cultivator. He had utterly shocking combat prowess, and he’d placed fifth in the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly.

This declaration threw the ritual grounds into uproar.

Who in Nine Tripod City was ignorant of the grudge between Su Yi and the Huan Family?

Just last night, the Huan Family’s local base suffered heavy casualties. It was only natural that people would assume Su Yi was involved.

“Regardless, the Huan Family’s got no face left. I wonder if they’ll be able to recover from this,” said a young man in ornate robes, his expression strange and a bit gleeful.

“Bastard! Who are you to slander the Huan Family?” said a cold voice from afar.

The group looked over and saw a young man with a golden crown and purple hair. He was walking right toward them.

Quite a few people felt their hearts shake as they recognized Huan Shaoyou’s aura; shockingly, he was even stronger than before. Even just gazing upon him from a distance, their hearts and minds felt stifled.

The ornately-dressed young man who’d just spoken jumped; Huan Shaoyou was running right toward him!

“Huan Shaoyou, what are you doing?” he said gravely, looking guarded.

This was the imperial family’s territory, but the imperial family’s rules weren’t necessarily enough to suppress a ruthless, temperamental madman like Huan Shaoyou.

Huan Shaoyou stopped just three feet away from the young man in ornate robes, and his eyes flashed like lightning. He said expressionlessly, “If you don’t want to die, lower your head and apologize this second.”

The entire grounds fell silent, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

The young man who’d just spoken was called Lei Guanghan, and he was a main-line descendant of the Lei Family, one of the Great Xia’s three top clans. He was the strongest member of the Lei Family’s younger generation, and?he’d placed?sixteenth in the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly.

Huan Shaoyou’s domineering bearing left Lei Guanghan red-faced with anger, and his expression shifted erratically. His?hands were tightly?clenched.

“Be quick about it!” bellowed Huan Shaoyou, his voice booming like thunder.

Lei Guanghan’s entire body went rigid. In the end, he suppressed his humiliation, lowered his voice, and said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made such irresponsible comments about your clan.”

“Coward!” said Huan Shaoyou disdainfully. He swept his gaze across the group, and when he saw Wen Xinzhao amidst the crowd, his eyes lit up.

He smiled and walked up to her. “Miss Xinzhao,?we meet?again.”

The crowd couldn’t help but feel flabbergasted.

Just two days ago, Huan?Shaoyou had lost?to Su Yi at Orchid Terrace. Su Yi had trampled him so thoroughly that it was painful to even watch. After suffering such a setback, just about anyone would keep a low profile for a while.

However, that obviously didn’t apply to Huan Shaoyou.

As soon as he appeared, he was as fiery and overbearing as before, without the slightest fear or reservations!

Wen Xinzhao’s painted eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she ignored him completely, as if she didn’t even see him approach.

Huan Shaoyou narrowed his eyes, and his smile faded. He transmitted, “Wen Xinzhao, you cannot escape me. When we get to Sumeru Immortal Island, not even Su Yi will be able to protect you.”

His voice contained blatant, entirely undisguised possessiveness and desire.

That brazen, unrestrained expression left Wen Xinzhao thoroughly uncomfortable.

“Huan Shaoyou, don’t you have any shame!?” Rage appeared on Wen Xinzhao’s?matchlessly?beautiful face.

Huan Shaoyou seemed relaxed and at ease. He smiled but said nothing.

But it was then that there was a disturbance amidst the crowd. Everyone looked into the distance.

Huan Shaoyou furrowed his brow and turned to look as well.

There, beneath the light of the sun, three figures approached. The leader was dressed in blue, with a cool, detached bearing. This was none other than Su Yi!

A swordswoman in white and a young man in apricot-yellow?Daoist?robes followed him—Yue Shichan and Ge Qian!

Su Yi!?The moment he laid eyes on Su Yi, Huan Shaoyou felt a bone-deep hatred rise within his heart, and his smile frosted over.

Then, as the crowd watched with rapt attention, Su Yi walked right up to Huan Shaoyou.

“This…” Many of them felt their hearts shake.?What is Su Yi going to do?

Huan Shaoyou stiffened slightly, and his eyes flashed. As he watched Su Yi approach, he felt an irrepressible sense of oppression.

How could he possibly have forgotten the way Su Yi had tortured him at the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly??His right arm was ruined, his skeleton shattered, his organs shifted positions, and even his soul suffered the torment of “Ten Thousand Ants Gnawing the Soul.” It was a pain worse than death!

Torture and humiliation of this level were like a perpetual dark cloud hovering over him. Now, seeing Su Yi draw relentlessly closer, Huan Shaoyou instinctively tensed up, as if facing a mighty foe.

When Su Yi was about ten feet away, Huan Shaoyou couldn’t help but say coldly, “Su Yi, what do you want to do?”

Su Yi looked calmly at Huan Shaoyou, then pointed to the nearby Wen Xinzhao. “Apologize.’’

It was just one word. Short, crisp, and to the point.

Yet the crowd couldn’t help but find it familiar.

Huan Shaoyou had said something very similar to Lei Guanghan not long ago. As Huan Shaoyou bore down on him, Lei Hanguang had no choice but to lower his head and apologize.

Now, something very similar was happening to Huan Shaoyou.

The group’s expressions turned a bit strange.?Is this… Is this what they mean when they say everything has a weakness?

Huan Shaoyou’s expression darkened. “But I never offended….”

Su Yi interrupted him here. “One more word of nonsense, and I’ll kill you.”

His tone was casual, yet it provoked a series of gasps.

Huan Shaoyou was a ruthless, overbearing madman. Relying on his background as a descendant of the Huan Family, he dared disregard even the rules of the Great Xia’s imperial family, and he dared threaten Lei Guanghan with death.

Yet Su Yi’s attitude was unquestionably even more domineering than the madman Huan Shaoyou’s!

The atmosphere was suddenly oppressive. All eyes turned toward Huan Shaoyou.

The?descendant?of the Demonic Huan Family wavered. Inwardly, he was mad with fury, and on several occasions, he almost gave in to the urge to attack, heedless of the consequences.

But in the end, Huan Shaoyou endured.

He turned, faced Wen Xinzhao, his expression ashamed. “Miss Xinzhao, if I offended you earlier, I humbly request your forgiveness.”

The entire place fell silent; even the birds ceased their song.

Huan Shaoyou… Had actually lowered his head and apologized!

This scene surprised the whole group, and they felt rueful.

Throughout the world, of everyone in their age group, who but Su Yi could repress Huan Shaoyou’s bluster?