Chapter 150 - 149: Gardern Gathering
The morning after the Pure Cloud Sect visit, the sprawling corridors of the provincial palace still buzzed with a restless energy.
Servants and guards traded hushed whispers throughout the palace. The gossip was still dominated by the events of the banquet: the humiliating verbal dismantling of Young Master Han by the Guest, Lin Yuan, followed by the shockwave that swept through the palace when Lord Zhao Shenming officially announced that very same guest as his Participating General for the Peerless God Tournament.
Before the day’s official events could even commence, Lord Zhao requested a private audience with Lin Yuan.
The setting was a quiet, sunlit study overlooking the palace’s inner gardens.
"I’m not asking you to apologize for anything," Lord Zhao said, pouring steaming tea into two cups with the calm that seemed to be his default register, even when he was clearly a little exasperated. "You did nothing wrong. Han Zilie overstepped, and he paid the price in face. But Young Master Han’s clan has been a reliable, crucial ally to the Zhao Province for two generations. I’d rather smooth those feathers now than let this fester into something uglier once the proceedings actually begin."
"A garden gathering," Lin Yuan surmised smoothly, understanding the political maneuver immediately. "Lower stakes than a formal banquet. Easier for everyone to pretend nothing happened."
"Precisely." Lord Zhao allowed himself a small, wry smile. "You catch on quickly. I’ve also invited several other prominent guests to dilute the tension—the Pure Cloud Sect’s delegation among them, since they will be lodging near the palace grounds through the tournament period regardless. It is best to let everyone grow accustomed to each other’s company before the real tension of the tournament begins."
"It seems that, with you gathering the strongest talents from across the Zhao Province, the main tournament will not begin immediately on the scheduled date," Lin Yuan observed.
"Indeed. There will be a preliminary round before the main tournament begins, and it will involve far more cultivators than the official provincial matches," Lord Zhao explained. "Zhao Wuhen suggested this arrangement after receiving information that, for the first time in the tournament’s history, the Emperors of the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Continents will personally attend as honored spectators."
Lin Yuan took a slow sip of his tea. However, a flicker of anticipation also sparked within him at the mention of the Pure Cloud Sect’s delegation—not for himself, but because he already suspected exactly what that would mean for Bai Chen.
The change in tone and scale for the afternoon gathering was deliberate.
It was held on a spacious garden terrace high within the palace grounds. Instead of the rigid rows of tables from the previous banquet, smaller tables were scattered among blooming spirit orchids and gently flowing water features. Paper lanterns hung loosely between ornamental trees, swaying in the crisp mountain breeze. Everything about the setting was meant to feel relaxed and social rather than political, though in the cultivation world, Lin Yuan knew better than to mistake appearances for reality.
As Lin Yuan pushed Bai Qingyue’s wheelchair onto the terrace, Bai Chen walked closely beside them. The young cultivator appeared far more composed than he had been during his previous encounter with Su Yin. His posture was relaxed, his breathing steady, and his expression calm. It was obvious that he had spent the intervening hours reminding himself not to embarrass himself again.
Bai Qingyue noticed it immediately. She exchanged a brief glance with Lin Yuan, barely concealing the fond amusement in her eyes.
The Pure Cloud Sect’s delegation arrived shortly after.
Their group was smaller this time, fitting the more relaxed nature of the gathering. Su Yin walked near the front, her simple pale blue and white robes catching the afternoon sunlight. Her demeanor remained as warm and composed as before, while her Dao Protector followed several steps behind, giving her enough space to interact with the other guests without constantly hovering over her.
But there was one new addition to the delegation.
Someone Lin Yuan had not seen before.
And judging by the way several of the Pure Cloud Sect disciples immediately straightened upon seeing him, this newcomer was clearly not an ordinary member of the sect.
Mu Tianyang.
He was tall and impeccably composed, dressed in the same pale blue and white Pure Cloud robes as Su Yin. However, his robes carried subtle silver embroidery that marked his higher standing within the sect without needing to make it obvious. His features were handsome and refined, with an almost deliberate perfection to them, giving him the air of someone who was very much aware of the impression he made on others.
As they walked onto the terrace, Mu Tianyang positioned himself a half-step closer to Su Yin than strict sect formality required. It was close enough that it read as an established, possessive habit rather than an accident.
Zhao Wuhen, present once again in a purely advisory capacity, made the introductions with practiced neutrality.
"Senior Disciple Mu Tianyang, of the Pure Cloud Sect," Wuhen announced, gesturing to the tall cultivator. "He accompanies Saintess Su Yin as her senior on this visit."
Mu Tianyang inclined his head toward the gathering, a courteous enough gesture on the surface, before his gaze slowly swept across the terrace and deliberately settled on Bai Chen.
There was nothing openly hostile in Mu Tianyang’s expression yet. The hostility lay entirely in his stillness, in the predatory way he assessed Bai Chen, and in the silence that stretched for a moment too long before he finally spoke.
"Young Master Bai," Mu Tianyang said, his voice pleasant and meticulously measured. "Su Yin mentioned meeting Lord Zhao’s household during her last visit. I confess, I was curious to see for myself who had made such an... impression."
The deliberate echo of Su Yin’s own earlier phrasing was unmistakable. Mu Tianyang had clearly been informed about Bai Chen’s behavior when he met Su Yin during her visit to the palace the previous day, and he was now using that knowledge against him. What sounded like a harmless joke on the surface was, in reality, a subtle jab meant to embarrass Bai Chen in front of the others.
Bai Chen, momentarily caught off guard by the targeted scrutiny, recovered far faster than his last encounter. He managed a polite, easy nod.
"I hope it was a good impression," Bai Chen said lightly. "Though I wouldn’t blame anyone for remembering it for the wrong reasons."
A few nearby guests, overhearing the exchange, chuckled softly at the young man’s self-deprecation.
Mu Tianyang’s polished smile did not shift a single millimeter, but something deep behind his eyes cooled by a noticeable degree.
"I’m sure it was memorable," Mu Tianyang said. "Su Yin has always had a kind heart. She extends courtesy generously—to absolutely everyone." He let a pause hang in the air, precisely timed to maximize the condescension. "It’s a quality the sect values greatly in her. We are all rather protective of it."
With a smooth step, Mu Tianyang closed the distance, moving just a fraction closer to Bai Chen. His pleasant smile never faded, and he lowered his voice so that only Bai Chen was meant to hear him. Lin Yuan, however, was standing close enough to catch every single word.
The veiled threat had finally arrived. It was not shouted, nor was it delivered as an open confrontation. Instead, it carried the chilling politeness of someone drawing a clear boundary while surrounded by witnesses, leaving himself just enough room to deny any hostile intent if challenged.
"You seem an earnest young man, Young Master Bai," Mu Tianyang murmured. "Earnestness is a fine quality. But I’d be doing you a profound disservice if I didn’t mention... Su Yin’s future has been considered, quite carefully, by people far senior to either of us for a very long while now. It would be a terrible shame for anyone unfamiliar with those internal considerations to... misread her general kindness as something it isn’t."
Bai Chen’s easy composure faltered slightly. He was a straightforward person, uncertain how to answer something delivered with such surface courtesy and such clear, underlying edge. He glanced, almost involuntarily, toward Su Yin.
She was a short distance away, engaged in a quiet conversation with Bai Qingyue, and hadn’t heard a word of the exchange. This only made Mu Tianyang’s timing feel infinitely more deliberate and calculated.
"I wouldn’t presume to misread anything," Bai Chen managed finally, a genuine spark of steel entering his voice despite the awkwardness. "I only met her once. I’m not entirely sure what considerations you mean."
"No," Mu Tianyang agreed smoothly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I don’t imagine you would be. That’s rather the whole point of mentioning it now, isn’t it? So there’s absolutely no confusion later."
Before Mu Tianyang could press the psychological advantage any further, Lin Yuan stepped in.
"Senior Disciple Mu," Lin Yuan said, joining them with an easy, deliberately casual air. "Forgive the interruption. I don’t believe we’ve properly met."
Mu Tianyang turned, his posture recalibrating instantly. Lin Yuan’s reputation as the man who had effortlessly usurped the Han clan’s position was clearly not unknown to him.
"Lin Yuan," Mu Tianyang said, his polite mask firmly in place. "Lord Zhao’s... guest. Yes, I’ve heard the name."
"Then you’ve saved me an introduction." Lin Yuan’s tone remained light and easy, but there was a crushing, deliberate weight underneath it as he continued. "My brother-in-law tends to speak plainly and think later—it’s one of his more endearing flaws. I’d hate for anyone to mistake his plain speech for presumption. I’m sure that’s not what you meant to suggest, Senior Disciple."
The line did double duty. It defended Bai Chen without escalating the confrontation into open, undeniable hostility, and it signaled to Mu Tianyang, with absolute clarity, that Bai Chen was not standing alone. Whatever sect "considerations" Mu Tianyang wanted to invoke, he was now dealing directly with Lin Yuan by extension.
Mu Tianyang studied Lin Yuan for a long moment. It was the first genuine, visible reassessment on his face since the exchange began. He felt the ambient pressure that seemed to naturally follow Lin Yuan, but he covered it quickly with a polite, unbothered smile.
"Of course," Mu Tianyang said smoothly. "No presumption intended. I only meant to be... clear. Clarity spares everyone unnecessary complications later."
"Clarity’s a fine thing," Lin Yuan agreed pleasantly, his deep purple eyes locking onto the Senior Disciple. "I find it works best when it goes both directions."
A heavy moment of silence fell between them. It was not hostile exactly, but profoundly charged. Both men were perfectly aware that a hard line had just been drawn in the sand, establishing something that had absolutely nothing to do with the words actually spoken.
Su Yin approached at that exact moment, having finished her conversation with Bai Qingyue. She was entirely unaware of the silent war that had just transpired. Her presence naturally dissolved the tension’s sharpest edge, though the underlying current remained.
"Senior Brother Mu," she said warmly,