Chapter 575: Pay Up, or Get Lost!

In a world where the bounties of immortality were hoarded by a privileged few, the heirs of heaven needed nothing but a fortunate birth to partake in wonders the common soul could scarcely dream of.

"With great power comes great responsibility!"

Yet, what Yun Xiao witnessed in the Celestial Court was a thirst for power so fierce it drained others dry.

Despite his inner disquiet, his hands never paused; jug after jug of celestial wine flowed freely.

Red Moon in his embrace gleamed with greed, tiny beastly claws reaching out to snatch any delicacy within grasp, gobbling them up without reserve.

"A bit much, don’t you think?" Jiang Haiyan and Jiang Heqing whispered. The two sisters seated beside him glanced around. "Maybe tone it down? You'll draw mockery."

"Do you think I care?" Yun Xiao retorted.

"Just eat, just drink," Jiang Haiyan said, biting her lip.

This Azure Sky Banquet, ostensibly a refined social gathering, was but a veneer for the scions of high ranking officials to sip wine, flaunt their elegance, and forge alliances.

Here, they clustered in small groups, lively with chatter. Who had time for Yun Xiao? Those from the Thunder Department who befriended him had either ulterior motives or were fools.

So, Yun Xiao ignored everyone. He attended a banquet of his own making, embracing a simple creed—invite me, and I shall take.

Fine wine and exquisite feasts? Taken.

Peaches of immortality? Eaten.

His approach was forthright, unapologetic. Conventional judgments no longer mattered to him. Those celestial prodigies, busy safeguarding their networks, would glance his way, shaking their heads, sighing, and even scoffing.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Sometimes they whispered, sometimes their laughter broke through.

Among the hundreds of prodigies, few ignored Yun Xiao. Yet, he paid them no heed.

His gaze was fixed beyond the banquet, on the mountain behind. There stood a circular portal marked with a round symbol, the Sword Suppression Gate.

Like a majestic, imperious, and mysterious eye of thunder, it surveyed the gathering of celestial beings, indifferent to their shallow pretenses.

"That's the Sword Suppression Gate."

It was precisely why Yun Xiao had come here today. He observed the gate for a long time, his gaze shifting between it and the young prodigies at the banquet. To them, Yun Xiao was but a fleeting bubble, unlikely ever to touch the revered gate.

Just as his thoughts were adrift, Red Moon in his arms suddenly exclaimed, "Look, Yun Xiao, isn’t that your aunt over there?" His excitement was surely not without reason...

Following its gaze, Yun Xiao saw a violet figure drifting across the sky above the banquet, heading straight for the Sword Suppression Gate.

"Cao Shuo?" he recognized her instantly.

It was indeed Thunder Emissary Cao.

"What’s she doing at the Grand Firmament Academy?" Yun Xiao casually asked Jiang Haiyan beside him.

A thought struck Jiang Haiyan, stirring excitement, "Thunder Emissary Cao also serves as the deputy head of the academy. She might be on duty at the Sword Suppression Hall!"

"Do you mean to say that if it's her turn, she decides matters at the Sword Suppression Gate?" Yun Xiao's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Exactly," Jiang Haiyan nodded.

"Stay here. I'll be back soon," Yun Xiao told them. Amid the peripheral glances of many, he discreetly left the banquet and made his way towards the Sword Suppression Gate.

Not far off, Bai Zijun was laughing and talking with a group of heirs.

After noticing the departing figure, Bai Zijun excused himself from his friends and pulled his sister Bai Ling'er aside. "Sis, that kid left the banquet for the Sword Suppression Gate. He isn't a disciple of the academy; he shouldn't be wandering off."

"I know, it's fine," Bai Ling'er's eyes followed the direction of Yun Xiao’s departure. "I’ll go find him."

"Wait, sis," Bai Zijun grabbed her arm. "A few friends of mine just wanted to tease Lu Yao through those two girls from the frontier cities. Now that he’s gone, can’t we scare these two girls a bit?"

"Is that really interesting?" Bai Ling'er shook her head. "I can see it now, neither isolation nor mockery works on him."

"So we just watch him swagger into the Azure Sky Banquet, drink, eat, and leave without trouble?" Bai Zijun frowned in annoyance.

"Don't worry about it. Many eyes are on him. The Thunder Department is a place of law and order; we can’t just kill him here." Bai Ling'er looked in another direction. "Maybe Brother Feng will make him leave something behind?"

"In any case, we can't let him be comfortable! If this fool is comfortable, none of us at the Grand Firmament Academy are," Bai Zijun added with a sneer.

"Wait, that's not right either. After that little stint of his after beating Mo Ruoyu, he should really be thankful for the celestial laws and decrees right now. Not just us, everyone in the Thunder Department wants to quash him like an annoying fly, isn't that right?"

Bai Ling'er said nothing more and slipped away quietly.

Meanwhile, the opulent banquet continued unabated.

?ι══????????══ι?

Beneath the Sword Suppression Gate stood a dark palace, known as the Sword Suppression Hall. This hall, akin to a sword sheath, was all black and sealed, with an air of solemnity around it, marked only by a single dark door. Approaching this hall was undoubtedly the closest one could get to the Sword Suppression Gate itself.

Yun Xiao looked up, feeling the grandeur of the thunderous eye above intensify, a crushing psychological weight as if it linked directly to the Thunder Immortal Formation in the heavens. "Now that I'm here, I have to form a Sword Prison no matter what."

He felt the urgent expectation of the Heaven Burial Sword Soul radiating towards him. So, he stepped into the hall.

Upon entering, he announced loudly, "Lu Yao requests an audience."

His voice had barely faded when a surprised sound came from the shadows.

Yun Xiao looked up to see a woman stepping forward from the darkness.

She was clad in a lustrous violet dress with a plunging neckline and a high slit, her curly hair bouncing with each step.

She exuded a seductive fragrance that sparked the imagination, her red lips and enticing eyes drawing one in, her presence as deep and mysterious as a hidden valley.

"Aren't you fearless, daring to venture into Grand Firmament Academy's lair?" Cao Shuo chuckled, her beautiful eyes fixed on the young man before her.

"Thunder Emissary Cao, I wish to use the Sword Suppression Gate," Yun Xiao said earnestly, getting straight to the point.

Cao Shuo seemed accustomed to his audacity. "What did you just call me?" she asked with a playful smile, sidestepping his request.

Yun Xiao pursed his lips and repeated, "Aunt, I wish to use the Sword Suppression Gate."

"Ah, that sounds better," Cao Shuo remarked as she stepped closer to Yun Xiao, almost matching his height.

"Today I'm on duty here. Though you are not a disciple of the Grand Firmament Academy, you are my nephew, and I might just make an exception for you," she said, her voice soft and her lips parting in a faint smile.

"Thank you," Yun Xiao nodded.

This was turning out to be much easier than he had anticipated.

No sooner had Yun Xiao thought to himself than Cao Shuo held out her palm and said, "Bring it here."

"What?" Yun Xiao asked.

"The fee to open the Sword Suppression Gate," Cao Shuo paused, "30,000 True Immortal Jades. That's the rule at the Grand Firmament Academy. Everyone pays. I don't have the authority to waive it for you."

"Thirty thousand?" Yun Xiao's face darkened. Was this a robbery?

"If you don't believe me, go ask around," Cao Shuo glared at him. "I don't believe that my sister-in-law didn't give you an allowance. Fork it over."

"It's all gone. I don't have a single True Immortal Jade left," Yun Xiao said.

"Then get lost. Don't think I'll cover for you," Cao Shuo waved dismissively.

Yun Xiao grew frustrated. Why did everything require money? Being poor truly curtailed one's ambitions. He was seriously considering going out to slay a few foes to gather funds.

"So, you really want to use the Sword Suppression Gate, huh?" Cao Shuo saw his irritation and suddenly smiled slyly.

"Yes," Yun Xiao replied.

"I'll cover it for you!" Cao Shuo suddenly declared generously.

"What's the condition?" Yun Xiao asked, his voice low, not feeling particularly thrilled.

Cao Shuo blinked seductively, her voice sultry, "Bow to me, and then, in flesh, repay."

"..." Yun Xiao was speechless.

"Do you have the guts? Right here, pin me down, I'll pay afterwards, you go to the Sword Suppression Gate, I'll be satisfied in body and spirit, you advance by leaps and bounds—everyone's happy!"

Cao Shuo grabbed his collar, her tongue teasing her lips, looking irresistibly tempting.

Just then, outside the Sword Suppression Gate, a young girl in a white dress approached the Sword Suppression Hall, her expression curious...