Soul Emperor Awakening

Zi Yi’s two decisive actions significantly cooled Lin Xuan’s anger. He knew everyone had their difficulties, but a promise was a promise. Even if it couldn’t be kept, one should at least offer proper compensation!

What she offered was that compensation, and he was very satisfied. If Zi Yi hadn’t made these decisions and had instead tried to persuade him to just let the matter drop, he would have turned and left without a second word, never dealing with her again.

’A spot in the Godslaying Array? What a joke. That was my payment for attending the Imperial Capital banquet. I already earned it, so I don’t feel like I owe anything for it. And Zi Yi’s beauty? To be honest, I’m not an animal driven by my lower body, and I’m not about to listen to everything she says just because of that.’

So, if Zi Yi had made the wrong decision, they would have been strangers from that day forward.

However, Zi Yi’s current actions were entirely based on Lin Xuan’s capabilities. If it had been someone with average Cultivation and talent, she would have never done this. The other party was a Vice Pavilion Master’s son, after all. This was tantamount to slapping the face of a Vice Pavilion Master from the main headquarters. Even if her reasons were perfectly valid, being protective of one’s children is a common parental failing.

They wouldn’t care what their son did wrong; having their son’s face slapped was a disgrace.

Now Lin Xuan had offended the sons of two Vice Pavilion Masters. That was truly impressive. The Guards broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. They had seen bold people before, but never *this* bold.

But Lin Xuan had the capital to be so bold: he was a Core Disciple, possessed heaven-defying talent, and was Qing Piaoyun’s disciple! Anyone who dared to touch him would suffer the full wrath of Qingcheng Mansion. A complete falling out would only happen if Lin Xuan killed Jiang Chengyun, but he wouldn’t do that unless Jiang Chengyun did something unforgivable. He understood where to draw the line.

Just as Jiang Chengyun was gritting his teeth, unsure of what to say, Zi Yi added, "Have you not heard the message sent down from above? If you cause trouble indiscriminately, even you, Master Jiang’s son, will face extremely severe punishment!"

These words made Jiang Chengyun’s face turn pale. To put it bluntly, he was just coasting on the fact that his father was a Vice Pavilion Master. In essence, he had no real power of his own, certainly less than Zi Yi who stood before him. If he caused a major incident, even his father couldn’t protect him. The entire Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion didn’t belong to Master Jiang alone.

"Miss Zi Yi, what seems to have angered you so?"

Just then, a young man walked over. Lin Xuan met his gaze and immediately sensed that this person’s Cultivation was not simple. It had reached the First Layer of the Essence Pill Stage. To achieve Essence Pill Stage Cultivation at such a young age meant he was definitely considered a genius.

Jiang Chengyun’s eyes lit up. He hurried over and said, "Brother Zheng Hua, have you finished picking out your items? We should get going." He was clearly scared, which made Lin Xuan a little curious about this order from above.

Zheng Hua, however, showed no intention of leaving. He looked at Zi Yi with a smile and said, "Thank you very much for your hospitality this time, Miss Zi Yi. And might I ask who this brother is?" His gaze swept up and down Lin Xuan, a constant smile on his face, his attitude relatively affable.

From his words, it was clear that Zi Yi had just been accompanying this Zheng Hua to select some items. Someone must have passed on the news about Lin Xuan’s situation, causing her to rush over.

"Lin Yunlong," Lin Xuan introduced himself simply.

"So you’re Lin Yunlong, Junior Brother Lin!" Zheng Hua chuckled. "I’ve heard your performance in the Inner Hall was astounding. To pass the assessment and become a Core Disciple in such a short time... that kind of potential is quite astonishing. I remember it took me several years to join the Core Hall. I really can’t compare to you, Junior Brother Lin."

"Could it be you’re a senior brother from the Core Hall?" Lin Xuan wasn’t one to rebuff a friendly face. Although he couldn’t tell if Zheng Hua’s attitude was genuine, he seemed friendly enough, so Lin Xuan’s tone was less severe.

"Yes, I am. I’m a few years older than you, so if you don’t mind, you can just call me Senior Brother Zheng Hua," Zheng Hua said with a smile. "You’re the talk of the Core Hall, you know. I never expected to run into you here. If Brother Jiang has offended you in any way, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him!"

As he spoke, he shot a glare at Jiang Chengyun, signaling for him to come over and apologize!

Jiang Chengyun seemed to be quite obedient to him. He walked over awkwardly, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I apologize for my earlier actions. It was wrong of me to be so forward with the young lady. I will never make such a mistake again. Please, forgive me!"

Lin Xuan was somewhat surprised. ’This Zheng Hua really carries some weight, to be able to make Jiang Chengyun bow his head and admit his mistake.’ He had to admit, this gave him a slightly better impression of Zheng Hua.

"It’s fine. Just be more careful in the future," Lin Xuan replied lightly. Things had already come to this, so what more could he say? It wasn’t like he could have done anything to Jiang Chengyun in the first place. Since the other party had apologized, much of his anger dissipated, but a trace of resentment remained.

As for becoming good friends with Jiang Chengyun? ’Don’t be ridiculous!’

"Well then, I won’t disturb you any further, Junior Brother Lin. When you get to the Core Hall, I’ll personally give you a tour. I hope you’ll do me the honor when the time comes!" Zheng Hua smiled, cupped his hands in a salute to them, and then left with Jiang Chengyun.

As they were walking away, Zheng Hua lowered his voice and cursed at him, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Of all the people you could have provoked, you had to pick Lin Yunlong? Don’t you know his star is on the rise right now? The Fifth Elder is famous for being protective, especially since he only has one disciple. If something happens, don’t you dare drag me into it! With someone like him, it’s better to be a stranger than to make him an enemy!"

"But that girl from earlier... there was something strange about her..." Jiang Chengyun said.

"Strange my ass! Have you never seen a woman in your life!?" Zheng Hua raged. "If we weren’t on good terms, I wouldn’t have bothered with this mess! He fought his way into the Core Hall in just over half a year—could you do that?! Don’t think the disciples from the Inner Hall are all idiots. That Ling Tian was Heaven-Defying as they come, and wasn’t he still defeated by Lin Yunlong? If you can’t match that, then you’d better behave yourself and not drag me into your problems."

"I get it. I just got a little hot-headed... besides, I remembered the decision from above. Just my bad luck, I guess. Ouch, this face really hurts!" Jiang Chengyun clutched his face, forced to swallow his grievance. "But Zhao Fei isn’t going to let him off the hook..."

"What the hell does that have to do with you? I think your dad would be much happier to see you on good terms with him!" Zheng Hua snorted and said nothing more.

Jiang Chengyun hung his head low. This was the first time he had ever suffered such a major loss, but seeing the serious expression on Zheng Hua’s face, he could only choose to endure it in silence.

In fact, Zheng Hua had gone to watch the final match of the top ten competition. Before that, he had been skeptical about Lin Yunlong, but after watching the finals, he was completely shocked. He was confident that he himself couldn’t defeat Lin Xuan—a conclusion he reached after mentally sizing up his own strength against what he had witnessed.

He had deliberately pretended it was their first meeting not only to help Jiang Chengyun, but also to praise Lin Xuan a bit and pacify his anger.

Zheng Hua’s attitude might have changed, but the other Core Disciples in the Core Hall were a different story. Most of them were arrogant and looked down on everyone else. Some had never even spent time in the Inner Hall, becoming Core Disciples directly. Those kinds of disciples viewed the Inner Hall as nothing but a garbage dump. To them, a powerhouse who emerged from a pile of trash was, at best, just a stronger piece of trash!