Chapter 21: Wrong
Lin Yuan stepped out into the corridor leading to the exit, and beside him, Bai Qingyue seemingly glided across. Under his illusion, she appeared as an ethereal, veiled fairy of untouchable grace.
But in reality, her shattered legs still could not bear her weight; Lin Yuan was still suspending her physical body with a gentle cushion of his qi, keeping her perfectly synchronized with his every step.
Their exit did not go unnoticed. The Guild’s head steward, accompanied by four attendants, practically crawled over themselves to escort the mysterious pair. They bowed at every corner, their faces pale with terror and reverence for the man who had just casually spent four hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
"Senior, if you require a grand carriage or an escort to your sect..." the head steward offered, his voice trembling slightly.
"Unnecessary," Lin Yuan replied. "We prefer to walk unhindered."
The steward immediately halted, bowing deeply. "Of course, Senior! Have a safe journey. This Guild is forever at your service!"
Lin Yuan ignored the fawning and continued toward the stairs. However, before he could take the first step, a figure stepped out from the adjacent alcove, effectively blocking their path.
It was Xu Tianyang.
The brilliant heir of the Xu Clan had shed the pale, defeated look he had worn during the auction. Unlike the young masters of other clans who would, curse, and demand face after suffering a public humiliation, Xu Tianyang’s expression was one of perfect serenity.
Behind him stood his Dao protector, Uncle Yan, whose face was significantly less serene. The grizzled old man glared at Lin Yuan, his gray robes shifting as a dense, hostile aura roiled just beneath his skin.
Xu Tianyang stepped forward and performed a deep bow, his hands clasped respectfully in front of him.
"Senior," Xu Tianyang greeted, his tone devoid of any bitterness or hidden venom. "This junior, Xu Tianyang, waited here specifically to offer his respects. Senior’s wealth and conviction have truly broadened my horizons today. I concede the battle of the auction house with utmost admiration."
Lin Yuan stopped. He looked at the young master with a genuine spark of interest.
’Interesting,’ Lin Yuan thought. ’He took a beating, yet he stands here smiling, attempting to build a bridge rather than drawing a sword. He is a venomous snake, but a remarkably polite one.’
"A gracious loser is a rare sight in this City," Lin Yuan replied calmly, his voice echoing in the grand corridor. "You have spoken your piece, junior. Step aside."
"I will not delay Senior for more than a moment," Xu Tianyang said, maintaining his polite smile, though his sharp, predatory eyes darted toward the spatial ring on Lin Yuan. "However, the thirst for knowledge burns deeply within this junior’s heart. I bid on that weathered painting because Senior’s actions convinced me it was a supreme treasure. Yet, even now, my foolish eyes cannot see the truth of it. Would Senior be willing to impart a single sentence of wisdom? What profound secret lies within that painting?"
It was a clever, likeable approach. Xu Tianyang was playing the role of the eager, humbled student, hoping to stroke the ego of a grandmaster in order to pry out the painting’s secret.
Lin Yuan, however, found the attempt highly amusing. He had no intention of explaining the Dao or the hidden intent of the painting to someone who had just tried to swindle him.
"Wisdom?" Lin Yuan chuckled. "Very well, junior. Listen closely."
Xu Tianyang’s eyes brightened. He leaned forward slightly, his mind racing to memorize whatever was about to be spoken. Even Uncle Yan strained his ears, his hostility momentarily pausing.
"The secret," Lin Yuan began, his tone dropping into that of someone saying a supreme profoundness, "is that paper, when left in the sun, turns yellow. But water, when poured on a rock, makes it wet."
Xu Tianyang blinked.
The young master stood perfectly still, his brilliant mind violently attempting to decipher the metaphor. ’Paper turns yellow... water makes rocks wet. Is this a reference to the passage of time?’
"Do you comprehend the vastness of the heavens now, junior?" Lin Yuan asked, his voice deadpan.
Xu Tianyang opened his mouth, then closed it. Despite his intellect, he was utterly lost. "Senior... I... I fear my comprehension is lacking."
"A pity," Lin Yuan sighed, shaking his head. He placed a hand on Bai Qingyue’s waist, effortlessly guiding her past the confused young master. "Perhaps in another hundred years, you will understand. Let us go, Wife."
As Lin Yuan walked past, Xu Tianyang remained composed, though a wry, self-deprecating smile touched his lips. He realized he was being toyed with. The mysterious senior was feeding him absolute nonsense just to mock his earlier cleverness. Yet, Xu Tianyang couldn’t bring himself to be angry; it was a masterful display of dominance.
Uncle Yan, however, did not share his young master’s composed disposition.
The Dao protector’s blood boiled. He had spent his entire life serving the prestigious Xu Clan. He had crushed countless arrogant rogue cultivators beneath his heel. Seeing his brilliant young master—the future pillar of Clan—being treated like a street-corner beggar by a stranger was an unforgivable insult.
’He acts like a sovereign descending from the Upper Realms!’ Uncle Yan thought, his grizzled face twisting into a vicious scowl as he glared at Lin Yuan’s retreating back. ’He hides behind trickery and vast amount of Spirit Stones, treating my Young Master like a clown! I will strip away his mystery right now!
Unable to restrain his protective instincts, Uncle Yan stealthily mobilized the entirety of his cultivation.
Without moving a muscle, he launched a concentrated, piercing needle of Divine Sense directly at Lin Yuan’s back. It was an incredibly aggressive, and highly disrespectful probing technique designed to violently strip away a cultivator’s aura-concealing and gauge their true realm.
The moment Uncle Yan’s Divine Sense struck the illusory veil surrounding Lin Yuan, the old man gasped.
His mental probe did not hit a physical barrier, nor did it shatter against a defensive artifact. Instead, it plunged directly into what felt like a boundless, terrifyingly deep ocean. It was the absolute, impartial essence of the Dao of Rain that Lin Yuan had woven into his disguise. The sheer depth of the conceptual water instantly drowned Uncle Yan’s probe, threatening to pull his very soul into the abyss.
Uncle Yan violently severed his own Divine Sense, stumbling a half-step backward. A thin line of blood trickled from his nostril as he suffered a minor backlash.
He stared at Lin Yuan, who hadn’t even broken his stride or turned around.
’What... what was that?!’ Uncle Yan’s heart hammered against his ribs in sheer terror. For a brief second, he had felt the breath of the Heavenly Dao itself.
But ego is a blinding force. Uncle Yan was a proud expert. His mind absolutely refused to accept the possibility that he had just probed a Nascent Soul or a Soul Transformation monster. Those entities were myths; they did not exist in the shallows of Azure Cloud City.
His terrified mind desperately sought a rationalization.
’It must be a soul-defense artifact!’ Uncle Yan deduced frantically, wiping the blood from his lip before his young master could notice. ’Yes, that is the only logical explanation. He has endless wealth, so he must have purchased a supreme artifact to artificially project the illusion of a boundless ocean to terrify his enemies!’
Uncle Yan glared at the disappearing figures of Lin Yuan and his wife, his pride slowly cementing his wildly inaccurate conclusion.
’He plays tricks with wealth and trickery,’ Uncle Yan thought, a sneer crossing his face as he finally categorized the mysterious grandmaster in his mind. ’His concealment is profound, but based on the limits of his physical aura... he is at most peak Core Formation!’