After briefly explaining matters to the elders present, Xi Ranchen set off to see off the other Demon Sect folks.
Yang Yao, who was originally supposed to accompany Xi Ranchen, stood not far away, watching those disciples who had just advanced to the Inner Sect. With a casual glance, her gaze landed on a particular figure.
Yang Yao’s eyes narrowed, emotions churning within her mind.
“Yao’er, let’s go. Time to see off those old geezers.”
Xi Ranchen noticed Yang Yao staring at the disciples gathering below. “What? Found a disciple you think highly of?”
She knew Yang Yao had exceptionally high standards. Not to the point of looking down on everything, but it was rare for anyone to catch her eye.
Take Xu Lin for example. Xi Ranchen held him in very high regard, but in Yang Yao’s eyes, that might not necessarily be the case.
“Master.”
Yang Yao hesitated for a moment. “After I go with you, could I take care of some things afterward, and then come find you?”
Xi Ranchen didn’t understand what Yang Yao had in mind, thought for a moment, and gave a slight nod. “Fine.”
Later on, Xi Ranchen had planned to discuss with Yang Yao the matters those old-timers had deliberated upon, and also ask Yang Yao what exactly her trump card had been back then.
Neither of these matters was urgent, but Xi Ranchen noticed that when Yang Yao had been surveying the disciples below, her eyes had revealed a peculiar emotion—a hint of tenderness, along with an unusual struggle.
Even though it vanished in an instant, Xi Ranchen still caught it. This was the first time she had ever seen such emotion flicker across Yang Yao’s face.
Then Xi Ranchen and Yang Yao, along with several elders, transformed into divine rainbows and sped toward the mountain gate.
This was the highest standard of hospitality the Sunset Sect could offer to other sects.
Down below, Xu Lin was forced to put on the Bronze Ghost Mask.
The other Demon Sects were all preparing to leave, but since the Sunset Sect disciples had never seen the Saint’s actual appearance, they only recognized the Bronze Ghost Mask, not the person behind it.
“So, what exactly am I supposed to do?”
Xu Lin asked the elder beside him.
“The Saint just needs to go up and say a few words. Your feat of contending with the other Saints and Saintesses is there for all to see. They just want to get a look at you.”
These disciples were essentially the future pillars of the sect. With the Saint and Saintess appearing at such an occasion, it was simply meant to strengthen their sense of belonging.
Everything else was basically arranged by the elders.
Xu Lin let out a sigh. He had thought that the Sunset Sect, being a Demon Sect, might do something a little different, but in the end, it was no different from the Vast Dao Sect.
That was why Xu Lin always said that the Righteous Path and Demon Sects were mostly the same.
As for himself—a Saint treated like a hostage—now he had to perform for the crowd.
Xi Ranchen really did treat him as some kind of symbol of prestige.
In the arena, disciples murmured among themselves. In the past, when there was only a Saintess, it was always Yang Yao who appeared at such occasions. Now with a Saint added to the mix, they were curious about who would show up.
If it was Yang Yao, that would be much the same as the elders. Yang Yao gave off that cold, aloof aura, radiating a sense of “stay away” from top to bottom.
Jiang Luo stood alone at the side, looking somewhat lost, not knowing who to chat with to ease the awkwardness.
It wasn’t until Xu Lin walked out from the end of the stairs wearing the Bronze Ghost Mask that everyone fell silent at once.
Like everyone else, Jiang Luo stared unblinkingly at Xu Lin. Through the mask, her mind automatically conjured Xu Lin’s face.
Looking down from above, the crowd was packed with people. It reminded Xu Lin of the time shortly after he had transmigrated into the book, when he first addressed the newly admitted disciples as the Senior Brother of Green Cliff Peak in the Vast Dao Sect.
Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for the Saint to speak.
After standing for a while, Xu Lin shook his head, let out a heavy breath, and clicked his tongue.
Under everyone’s astonished gaze, Xu Lin stepped forward and casually sat down on the highest step.
The elders behind him exchanged glances with one another, not understanding what was going on.
Xu Lin sprawled his legs wide apart, propping one hand on his knee to rest his cheek on it, radiating a carefree, roguish demeanor.
“So, let me ask you—now that you’ve advanced to Inner Disciple, do you think you’re impressive?”
Xu Lin’s tone was calm, but from that elevated angle, the question carried an inexplicable pressure.
The disciples below swallowed hard, momentarily unsure how to answer.
Impressive? How would one even define that?
Compared to Outer Sect disciples, they were indeed impressive. But in the face of the Saint, who had contended with so many others, they were still nothing but ants.
Even if they could step into the True Mystery Realm, they might never cross the Three Steps in their entire lives to reach the realm their Saint stood in—the Heavenly Firmament Realm.
“Tsk, they’re just like those Vast Dao Sect disciples.”
Xu Lin thought to himself.
As long as someone bore a certain title, these disciples would all become timid and submissive, not daring to breathe too loudly.
“Let me tell you something.”
Everyone looked at Xu Lin, expecting him to deflate their pride. But the next second, his words caught them completely off guard.
“You really are quite impressive. Being able to squeeze into the Inner Sect within a sect—you could even call yourselves the cream of the crop.”
Regardless of which sect, going from passing the entrance exam into the Outer Sect, then to the Inner Sect, and eventually becoming the sect’s backbone—Xu Lin felt that describing them this way was in no way an exaggeration.
Righteous Path or Demon Sect, Xu Lin currently held no allegiance to any side. He was simply sharing his thoughts.
“Then let me ask you again—after entering the Inner Sect, what should you do next?”
Xu Lin continued.
After a moment of silence, a disciple finally raised his hand and said, “Cultivate diligently, contribute to the sect, and continue to suppress those hypocrites of the Righteous Path.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Lin shot the disciple a deadpan look. “Wrong!”
What Righteous Path? What Demon Sect? What do those grand schemes have to do with any of you?
“What you need to do next is simply stay alive. You need to understand that even within a sect, treachery and scheming are unavoidable—let alone in the outside world, where one careless mistake can cost you your life.”
“Even as cultivators, you might live a few hundred years, even a few thousand years longer than ordinary people, but death doesn’t only come when your lifespan runs out. You can die at any moment. The fact that you’ve survived this long and even advanced to the Inner Sect is already impressive!”
Everyone’s minds trembled, and they snapped back to reality. So the Saint hadn’t been mocking them when he said they were impressive.
“So how do you continue to live well?”
Even the elders behind Xu Lin nodded slightly, waiting to hear what he would say next.
Indeed, the Saint spoke the truth. As elders of the sect, they understood this all too well from experience.
Then Xu Lin stood up, took a deep breath, and declared loudly.
“Got wealth? I squander! Got nothing? I lay low! Suffering? I don’t take it! No blessings? I don’t care! No trouble? I don’t seek it! Trouble comes? I don’t fear it! Other than death, nothing is a big deal! And if there’s truly no way out, death’s even less of a deal!”
Xu Lin said it all in one breath. Beneath the Bronze Ghost Mask, his breath was heavy, as if he hadn’t gotten enough of it.