Volume 4, Chapter 146 – The Schedule Is Released

That night, it was not only the disciples who gave Bai Xiang an enthusiastic welcome.

The manager of Cloud-Gazing Wine House conveyed various forms of respect to her and presented her with this or that wine-house package and various high-end gifts. We can set those aside for now.

The truly overwhelming thing was the noise below. Many Cloud-Gazing citizens who had heard the news gathered of their own accord at the crossroads. There were tens of thousands of them, a black mass so dense that the intersection was completely jammed. All of them were shouting words of support up toward the upper floors. They wanted to express their support for Bai Xiang in this way.

After all, Tongyun Circuit had also suffered greatly at the hands of Void People lately.

You could see it just from the situation Bai Xiang and Zhu Qingluo had investigated during the day. Rules were rules, but if a Void Person really got handsy and killed a civilian, would the authorities of Tongyun Circuit actually do anything?

Impossible.

Leaving aside the fact that the people of Great Yu were divided into four classes, and even the death of the lowest class, the servant commoners, might not be investigated, even if those who died were first-class or second-class citizens, the Tongyun Inspectorate would still turn a blind eye for the sake of the so-called greater picture. At most, they would issue a notice of punishment.

But the culprits were never actually arrested. So when those notices reached the common people, they felt more like a provocation. In only a few days, an enormous amount of public resentment had accumulated.

And yet at a time like this, Bai Xiang had stepped forward, suppressing and warning those Void People in the harshest possible manner. Since you’ve come here to compete, lie down and behave yourselves, and if you violate the prohibitions again, don’t blame my sword for showing no mercy. How could the people not be grateful to her?

Of course they gathered to show her support.

Tongyun Circuit had a population of more than fifteen million, and some predicted it would soon be heading for twenty million. It was a true giant metropolis.

Even if only one percent of the population wanted to come see her in person, that would still be over a hundred thousand people. How many people was this, compared to that?

The spread and fermentation of news always lagged behind.

This was only the beginning. Many people still did not even know what had happened yet.

“Does she always have a knack for doing things like this, things no one expects?”

In the room they were sharing, Abbess Li Sheng frowned as she stared at the crowd below, with their light signs, banners, and slogans raised high. Her gaze lingered especially long on one banner that read, “Dao Lord Bai, we adore you!” Only then did she turn back and question Xiang Xian.

“This is a kind of trouble too.” Xiang Xian sat at the dressing table eating boxed rice, and she sounded very excited. “If you scold her, well, she already thought through all the consequences before she acted.”

“And if you don’t scold her, then that amounts to encouraging her. Who knows what huge commotion she’ll create next time.”

It really was the kind of trouble that brought joy.

Reaⅾ on KatRеαⅾіոgCafе

“…” Li Sheng pursed her lips. She always felt that Xiang Xian was showing off in front of her.

“Don’t forget that I taught the Dao Lord swordsmanship too,” she said, deciding to needle Xiang Xian a little. There was no way she was going to let her act so smug.

She had expected Xiang Xian to bicker back with her as before, but instead the woman merely nodded and gave her a faint smile.

“Yes.”

“And you really did help a great deal in getting Xiang’er to where she is today.”

“You…”

Li Sheng’s expression shifted several times.

Of course she could tell that Xiang Xian was not mocking her. She was simply expressing her sincere thoughts.

“I can’t stand the two of you, master and disciple alike!” Li Sheng chose to storm out.

“I’m going to check on the disciples of Shangqing Peak!”

“The tournament is about to start. They’d better not mix with the crowd down there!”

Watching her leave, Xiang Xian smiled even more brightly.

Brother Bai would be very happy too, wouldn’t he?

He still seemed worried about whether that scheme would succeed, but if it was Xiang’er, if it was Xiang’er, then how could anyone remain unmoved by that kind of charm?

The more Xiang Xian thought about it, the happier she became. She chewed her food, unlocked her phone, and browsed all the praise and flattery for Bai Xiang online while she ate. The more she read, the better the food tasted. She was definitely going back for another portion later.

The internet really had exploded.

After all, Tongyun Circuit was hardly the only place that had long suffered under Void People.

To put it nicely, Tongyun Circuit was at least one of the tournament divisions. Since many international media outlets were gathered here, broadcasting events in real time every day, quite a few people still felt the need to preserve some face and did not dare go too far.

Reαⅾ on КаtRеаԁіոɡСаfe

But what about everywhere else, especially the smaller places?

Take Zezhou, for example, a place similar to Qiyun Circuit. Long Qingyu, the prefectural inspector of Zezhou, was personally playing the dog for those Void People. In a situation like that, who exactly could the locals hope for?

The Nine Provinces had long been suppressing immense public resentment. Bai Xiang’s stepping forward truly fulfilled the wishes of the people. So at present the overwhelming majority of voices were supporting and praising her. Only a small minority objected, claiming that her actions were offending the guests and “would make the Void People develop negative feelings toward Great Yu.”

“Nothing but spineless weaklings!”

The main hall had become a temporary gathering place. Hu Hu and the others were doing the same thing Xiang Xian was, eating while browsing public opinion online.

And unlike Xiang Xian, they were not merely watching. Every time they found someone taking the opposing side, they would call over their companions, track down the page, and charge in to unload on them. They were not satisfied until they had flamed the other side into total silence.

But this also invisibly brought the disciples of the various peaks closer together.

The disciples who had been brought here were all among the top of their respective peaks. Even if they had previously heard of each other, in terms of familiarity they still could not compare to their original fellow disciples from within the same sect. Yet now, through this kind of shared mischief, the distance between them was greatly erased. After a few glasses of fruit juice, many of them were already throwing arms over each other’s shoulders, as close as blood brothers.

“They say online that the closeness you build with a senior brother through a hundred good deeds together still isn’t equal to what you build through one bad deed together.”

Bai Maoxu was wiping the glass while shaking his head and sighing.

“Netizens truly do not deceive me.”

“That does make sense.”

Bai Leying had not come this time, because Bai Maoxu at least still had some technical skill with electronics. In Bai Maoxu’s view, Bai Leying couldn’t even practice swordsmanship properly, so he was genuinely useless, which naturally meant he had been left behind in Zhennan to keep training.

That meant no one was competing with Bai Maoxu for the phone. He was having a wonderful time.

After letting the disciples make noise for a while, Bai Xiang had Bai Zhuqing go downstairs and disperse the crowd.

She had no intention of treating what she did that afternoon as some kind of achievement. That sort of restless atmosphere did not suit the eve of competition. A little commotion was enough. It was time to calm down.

Bai Zhuqing did as told. When she came back, she said to Bai Xiang with great admiration, “What I admire most is that Aunt can stay calm at any time.”

And that was the truth.

She had done something this huge!

Rеаⅾ оո ΚаtReαdіոɡСafе

If it were me, my tail would be sticking straight up into the sky.

Keep cultivating calmly after that?

How could anyone possibly continue cultivating after something like that!

Without meaning to, the little girl had let something slip, and in doing so had broken one of the special rules Bai Xiang reserved only for her.

Since she was determined to cultivate her younger sister’s composure, Bai Xiang naturally had to help with full commitment. At once she dragged her younger sister over to train… to practice, using the Vibration Art on her while requiring her to resist with the Clear-Heart Formula.

After one round of training like that, Bai Zhuqing collapsed on the bed like a limp puddle. The white stockings on her feet were soaked through with sweat, and the soles showed a vivid flesh tone through them.

“The schedule is out.”

Her elder sister’s voice came from beside her.

The schedule, so what…

Huh?

The schedule!?

Forcing herself up despite her exhaustion, Bai Zhuqing dragged herself over to Bai Xiang’s side and leaned against her, looking at the phone screen.

It displayed the first day’s schedule. She quickly spotted the Shenming Sword Dao entry and discovered that there would actually be matches the day after tomorrow. Both the Aspiring-to-the-Clouds group and the Peak group had matches, and the opposing dojo was the same one in both cases.

“Wentian Dao?”

The girl stared at the matchup list and racked her brain, yet had absolutely no impression of this force.

How are you supposed to estimate the powers of the Illusory Realms?

Bai Xiang could tell what she was thinking and found it somewhat amusing.

She had already looked up Wentian Dao on the Venerable Net.

Rеaԁ оո ΚаtReαdіոgСafе

Though it had no great reputation in the Void Realm, it was in fact a deeply hidden human-path force, secretly linked to Tianfu Mountain.

The matter of Blood Soul Heaven contaminating the sacred weapon method had not yet spread out.

Bai Xiang stared at the screen and thought.

Perhaps this information could be exchanged with Li Huiran for something. But before that, she naturally wanted the relevant intelligence to be as rich as possible.

And Tianfu Mountain had not been assigned to the Tongyun division.

If Wentian Dao really was close to Tianfu Mountain, that would be a good thing. She could take the opportunity to inquire about Zhang Dai’s situation.

As she was considering having Sun Yaoming arrange a few phone cards for Tianfu Mountain’s team so the two sides could communicate online, Bai Xiang felt Bai Zhuqing twisting about in her arms, apparently growing restless.

Naturally, the reason was that the girl had just seen the listed team leader for the Aspiring-to-the-Clouds group.

It was unmistakably her own name.

“What?”

Bai Xiang quietly reached out, curled her fingers around her younger sister’s shoulder, and gently pinched her cheek.

“You shouted so boldly on top of me earlier, and now you don’t dare go show yourself a little?”

Those words… this…!

Bai Zhuqing’s face turned bright red in an instant, as if steam might start rising from her head at any moment.

Bai Xiang, meanwhile, quietly turned off the light.

The little girl had practiced very diligently that afternoon and had performed well.

She ought to be given some reward.

That would also help draw out a fiercer fighting spirit in her.