How should I describe it? Let's just call it a tiny little fourfold shock for now.
When Chen Xia raised his sword and appeared in front of Wu Saint again, Wu Saint's body shuddered and he hurriedly cried out, "Brother, I was wrong! That's enough, that's enough!"
Chen Xia would never really kill Wu Saint in front of so many people. Besides, Wu Saint didn't previously have the intention to kill, he only wanted to teach him a lesson. Chen Xia had already taught him a lesson in return.
No longer paying attention to Wu Saint, Chen Xia raised his transcendent sword, took a step forward, his blue clothes fluttering, and asked plainly with a smile, "Does anyone else want to inquire about my sword?"
The surrounding saintly ones were silent. Even if they didn't know exactly what had happened, they could still see that something was off with Chen Xia. No one responded.
So Chen Xia simply made eye contact with a pair of blue-red eyes in the distance.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, this was a Great Saint.
Boiling Water Great Saint no longer observed from afar. He strode over, arriving face-to-face with Chen Xia in just a breath, and laughed, "Daoist friend, your flying sword technique is truly overbearing."
"It's nothing much, I just have more things stacked up," Chen Xia calmly replied.
What he called "things" referred to the Great Dao. Boiling Water Great Saint obviously understood, giving a hollow laugh without knowing how to continue. First looking back at the landscape, he then laughed and said,
"Does Daoist friend want to join Saint Hall?"
By addressing him as "Daoist friend", it meant that he viewed Chen Xia as being on the same level as himself.
"Yes, that's right. I heard there's an evaluation system. May I ask what level I might be evaluated at?"
Boiling Water Great Saint didn't reply. His expression sank slightly. After a long pause, he slowly said,
"I wanted to evaluate Daoist friend as Chief, but to evaluate someone as Chief, I'd need to discuss it with the other Great Saint first. Would Daoist friend be willing to wait for some time?"
The surrounding saintly cultivators were slightly shocked upon hearing this. The Chief of Saint Hall was the highest ranked existence below the two Great Saints, bordering infinitely close to a Great Saint.
Throughout Saint Hall's history, there had only been three Chiefs on record, all of whom had grasped three Daos and were ruthless people that left colorful, outstanding strokes in history.
For the person before them to also be evaluated as Chief, wouldn't that mean he was also a Saint of the Three Daos?
Because the various saints had been frozen in time by Chen Xia previously, they didn't clearly know the specifics of his cultivation level and were still speculating. But looking at Chen Xia's expression, they were increasingly shocked.
If he really had three Daos, then he would indeed deserve to become Chief.
Boiling Water Great Saint turned his head again and asked the surrounding saints, "What do you all think about appointing him as Chief?"
Before Wang Yangzi could speak, the collapsed Wu Saint excitedly cried out from the ground, "I agree, I agree! I definitely agree with Brother becoming Chief!"
He even spat out a mouthful of blood from being too emotional.
Boiling Water Great Saint looked at him helplessly without saying anything. After all, Wu Saint had been genuinely chopped by Chen Xia's sword. He knew how terrifying Chen Xia was. His current fawning reaction could only be attributed to fear after being beaten.
"I also agree," Wang Yangzi nodded second.
Seeing this, the other nearby saints didn't dare offend Chen Xia either and successively voiced their agreement.
Boiling Water Great Saint nodded slightly, then continued, "After I discuss it with the other Great Saint, it should be set. Can you wait for some time?"
"It's no problem, I have ample time," Chen Xia laughed lightly. Withdrawing the inverted transcendent sword in his hand, the flying sword instantly vanished without a trace.
From a new entry to Chief.
Overwhelming power.
Such was the might of a Fourth Dao Saint.
Seeing the situation settled with no more entertainment left to watch, the surrounding saints gradually took their leave. Some wanted to ingratiate themselves with Chen Xia, but were afraid he'd be hard to approach. So they decided to send him gifts later to establish ties.
Soon, only Chen Xia, Wang Yangzi, and Wu Saint remained on scene.
Wu Saint shakily stood up and wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth.
Wang Yangzi couldn't help laughing. "You little punk just love playing the troublemaker. I gave you a beating six thousand years ago for the same reason. Hahaha!"
"How can you compare with my brother? My loss to you was purely knowing when I was outmatched. My loss to Brother was because his skill surpasses mine. Isn't that right, Brother?"
Wu Saint rolled his eyes, then smiled at Chen Xia in a fawning manner.
No one could blame Wu Saint for being shameless. No matter which Second Dao Great Saint fought Chen Xia, the result would still be the same.
"Mm-hmm," Chen Xia nodded ambiguously as he suddenly stretched.
Wu Saint hurriedly asked, "Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Are you tired?"
Wang Yangzi stood aside with tightly knitted brows, feeling that this guy should be more concerned about his own heavily injured, still bleeding body before anything else.
Wasn't this going a bit overboard?
Chen Xia shook his head. There was a saying that spoke of "never hitting a smiling face". Seeing Wu Saint act so sensible now, he also felt a tinge of remorse and guilt. He said,
"I used a bit too much force when I drew my sword. Are you alright?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing! We got acquainted by exchanging blows! Hahaha!" Wu Saint quickly laughed.
Wang Yangzi felt something was off. Stepping forward, he asked, "Since you're calling Chen Xia 'Brother', then Chen Xia and I were already friends long ago. Shouldn't you be calling me 'Brother' too?"
"It doesn't work that way," Wu Saint shook his head. "My grudges with you are between us and have nothing to do with Brother Chen."
"Damn, Chen Xia, give him another slash!" Wang Yangzi directed.
"Relying on connections!" Wu Saint retorted back.
"Do I need to rely on anyone to beat you up? If not for seeing your half-dead appearance, I would've already battered you into running around like a panicked mouse."
"Blowing your bullsh*t. If you have the guts, wait until I recover then come fight me man-to-man!"
"..."
The two clamored loudly at each other, beyond control.
Listening from the side, Chen Xia felt that their relationship actually wasn't that bad and was more like children squabbling.
He suddenly turned his head to look.
A figure staggered over, already within a thousand meters of him.
"Halt," Chen Xia spoke.
His voice blew out with the wind, rigidly blocking the figure outside.
Zhang Feiyu knelt down a thousand meters away and kowtowed. "Feiyu has been unfilial and let down Ancestor Chen."
Chen Xia shook his head and gently replied,
"I never expected you all to do that well to begin with, so how could I feel disappointed? It's just that we were never birds of a feather in the first place. I was destined not to stay for long either, so bringing you all to ascend in the end—I see it more as severing karma and bidding farewell."
He chuckled again.
"I've already bid farewell and have no need to linger."
A gentle breeze blew past Zhang Feiyu's side and drifted towards the distance.
Zhang Feiyu asked in a quivering, tearful voice,
"Then... will I ever be able to see Ancestor Chen again in the future?"
"Hard to say. I'm quite nostalgic by nature so maybe, if only to see your face once more. By then, it would have nothing to do with the Zhang family, just meeting you briefly." Chen Xia laughed gently, then pointed towards the dusky sky and continued,
"It's getting late, we should all be on our way."
These were the final words of parting.
The blue figure turned and drifted further and further into the night, gradually becoming blurred.
"Ancestor Chen, I will definitely make the Zhang family very good, very good! And I will also become a powerful cultivator, I won't let you down, Ancestor Chen!"
Zhang Feiyu was still kneeling on the ground, crying out.
He never did understand one truth.
The reason Chen Xia said he might come back to see him wasn't because the Zhang family would become so great or because he wanted to see how powerful Zhang Feiyu would become...
It was simply because of nostalgia.
Now was the time for separation.
Chen Xia's figure vanished between heaven and earth, as if he had never come.
Zhang Feiyu knelt in prayer for a long time before staggering to his feet with melancholy. He walked back the way he came.
Each person had their own path.
And night would never blow the winds of dawn.
Love you guys, Sour Bao