Chapter 46: I Must Ask You to Withdraw, Senior Brother

"I have only one favor left to grant regarding Lishan, and as it happens, there are two people from Lishan here. This favor is not small—it is only a fraction less than the heavens themselves. Why don't you two discuss it?" As he spoke, he looked toward Wu Yue. Wu Daofa, dressed in stark, contrasting black and white, wore a smile that made his true intentions impossible to discern.

"That is easily settled," the young man in white replied with a smile. "I only need my senior brother to step aside."

Wu Yue finally understood. It was clear that the "senior brother" in question was himself. But what did it mean to "step aside"?

"I must ask you to leave first, Senior Brother." The young man’s expression was gentle, his entire being as flawless and pure as white jade. Yet, his words sounded grating and unreasonable, even as he spoke them with an air of absolute justification. "I can handle this alone. The commotion is over, and both sides are my friends."

"Is that not acceptable?" The young man’s brows furrowed slightly, yet he remained the picture of an elegant gentleman. A flash of light passed through his eyes before he returned to his gentle tone. "It would be better for you to leave, Senior Brother. Do not overthink it. Since Xuan Dao is using a Lishan favor today, then any future grievances involving Lishan shall be borne by Xuan Dao alone."

How reasonable and logical it all sounded. Wu Daofa’s face regained its inscrutable mask; he was enjoying the situation immensely. Watching people from Lishan turn on one another was a delightful sight. Wu Yue felt that something was wrong, but as he gazed into the star-like eyes of the young man in white, Xuan Dao, he found himself thinking that the words made perfect sense.

"Furthermore, the burden of Lishan is too heavy; I fear you cannot carry it, Senior Brother," Xuan Dao said calmly. His left hand held a ball of flame, his right, a palm of lake water. Fire and water from the same source—both were stacking techniques. Wu Yue’s pupils contracted; he only knew the Fire Stacking Technique.

"The Heaven-Toppling Catastrophe is coming, and Lishan is destined to flourish for a century. But we are currently in a period of turbulence; there are monsters beyond the heavens watching like tigers, and factions within the sects pushing us out." The young man spoke eloquently, but while Wu Yue knew of the monsters, he was completely ignorant of this so-called Heaven-Toppling Catastrophe.

The onlookers were bewildered. They were astonished to find that they could not understand a word of what these two were saying—the tone was so strange. Only Wu Daofa stood by, smiling like a friendly neighbor; the expression, while appearing natural on him, carried an underlying aura of transcendence.

Though they could not understand the conversation, they still hoped to see the two fight. They say that a bystander sees more of the game, and that reading a book a hundred times reveals its meaning—this holds true in the cultivation world as well, albeit in a more direct and blunt manner. This was the primary reason why so many people flocked to watch whenever high-level cultivators clashed.

"It seems you know nothing, Senior Brother?" Xuan Dao frowned, though he was not overly surprised. Wu Yue did not want to speak; for some reason, he only wanted to listen to this man—or rather, he felt he had no choice but to listen. Two faint white glimmers flickered in Xuan Dao's eyes.

Wu Daofa saw it all clearly, and Xuan Dao had made no attempt to hide it from him. Wu Daofa was happy to witness this. Isn't this exactly like that person eight hundred years ago watching him endure his own heavenly tribulation? Or perhaps even more like the battle for the Realm Master title five hundred years ago. It was just a shame that, a hundred years from now, those people might not even be qualified to watch the great spectacle. It offered no real benefit to him, but simply watching it made him feel happy.

With Wu Daofa watching with such pleasure, no one dared to cause trouble. Even the masked woman stood quietly to the side. As for the members of the Sky Tower, although they were anxious to find their people, they were forced to maintain an expression of sincerity.

"Senior Brother, you and I both belong to the lineage of Earth, and both belong to the lineage of Lishan. In the starry sky, I have received one of the true inheritances of Lishan, making me the one suited for this time. Of course, there are always accidents; I permit accidents, and I permit you to be an accident."

"The affairs of the world are the hardest to measure. I do not know if it will be you, or me, or perhaps someone else in the end—just like the two words 'protagonist', let us see who the true protagonist is."

"I do not believe that man can conquer heaven; I believe everything is fated. What is called 'man's decree' is merely what heaven had arranged from the start. This 'heaven' I speak of, of course, is not this sky."

Xuan Dao spoke slowly, his words persuasive. Each sentence was like a gentle breeze over still water, yet they stirred massive waves in Wu Yue’s heart.

"I am not killing you now simply because I do not wish to. But today, I must ask you to step aside, Senior Brother, or I will not be so courteous. If I were you, I would go back and cultivate diligently—whether it is to seek revenge on me later or to revitalize Lishan, it will be for the best."

From beginning to end, Xuan Dao remained calm. He was neither arrogant nor bullying, nor was he pretentious, yet every word struck at the heart. He spoke as if stating a simple, logical fact. Wu Daofa made no move to intervene.

Xuan Dao’s voice was like a piece of music that made one’s will wither, and like a long sword piercing into Wu Yue’s heart bit by bit.

"Now, I ask you to step aside, Senior Brother!" This shout was different—it was like a thunderclap on flat ground. He had used the language of the Immortal Spirit Realm. Everyone was shocked, if only by the words "Senior Brother." It made the onlookers wonder what kind of sect could produce two such monsters.

Wu Yue was on the verge of blurting out "Fine." By now, he had bitten his lips without realizing it, and his face was deathly pale. His mind was shrouded in a thick fog, yet suddenly, a sun sought to break free, casting ten thousand rays of light and rolling sunshine.

The onlookers felt that this battle without smoke was, well, very impressive. They certainly couldn't admit they didn't understand it, or how could they survive in Black Curtain City? They could only sigh in private: the waves of the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and the waves ahead have nowhere left to crash.

"Who are you?" Yu Fu shouted, shattering the silence and interrupting the monologue.

Seeing that the scene had remained quiet for so long and that Wu Yue was still standing there, the others had assumed there was no more danger and intended to urge Wu Yue to return. They were likely right, but only Yu Fu had come forward.

"The scent of Lishan," Xuan Dao said with an affectionate smile. "My name is Zhang Xuan Dao. I suppose I am your senior brother—your future senior brother."

"Then why have I never seen you? Have you ever been to Lishan?" Yu Fu rolled his eyes. He didn't want a senior brother to appear out of thin air; his seniority was already low enough, and with only Xue Xiaoyu below him, he certainly didn't need anyone else to make him look even lower.

"Lishan? I will definitely go there in the future," Zhang Xuan Dao said, punctuating every sentence with a smile.

"How can you be so thick-skinned?" Yu Fu’s eyes widened as he gave another exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"Who allowed you to join Lishan?"

"Was it my master? Or the Sect Leader? At most, there is Wu Yue. So who took you as a disciple?"

Faced with the innocent questioning of a child, Zhang Xuan Dao was left speechless.

While Zhang Xuan Dao was fumbling for an answer, Yu Fu asked, "Then what is going on here?" His tone was precociously mature.

Wu Daofa let out a chuckle, showing a rare hint of simplicity, and said to the child, "I have a favor to grant, but I don't know which of these two should receive it. Why don't you decide?"

Yu Fu nodded unceremoniously, pointed his finger at Zhang Xuan Dao, and said loudly, "I assume you are a person of some standing and wouldn't lie to me. I'll call you 'Senior Brother' for the time being."

Just as Zhang Xuan Dao prepared to offer a reassuring smile, Yu Fu added, "Then please, Senior Brother, step aside. In matters of favors, one should always listen to one's elders."

Wu Yue broke into a cold sweat as his mind cleared, only to be met by a playful wink from Yu Fu.

Yu Fu’s words had been spoken with such natural, logical certainty.