Chapter 1312: Mo Hua?

Chapter 1311: Mo Hua?

Mo Hua took a few more steps forward and heard the quarrel inside the main tent grow even louder, thick with anger—mutual accusations and shouted insults.

“Useless trash, a bunch of so-called famous figures…”

“…If you people hadn’t dragged us down a few days ago, we would’ve taken down that Bai Zisheng long ago!”

“Good for nothing, ruining everything!”

Amid the banging of tables, curses, and rebuttals:

“What are you talking about?”

“Who’s the one ruining things? I say it’s you useless lot yourselves…”

Someone sneered. “…Can’t even catch a mere Bai Zisheng—if that’s not ruining things, what is?”

“Wasn’t it said your Qianxue Prefecture is a flourishing land of cultivation, gathering the finest talents of the Nine Provinces, with geniuses emerging in droves? Where are those geniuses? So many people besieged one Bai Zisheng, and you still couldn’t take him down.”

“In my view, Qianxue Prefecture is nothing special at all.”

“Frauds trading on false fame…”

That line immediately drew a barrage of shouts.

“Bullshit!”

“Nonsense!”

“We didn’t catch him—did you?”

“Your so-called geniuses from the Dao Province weren’t they chased into panic by that Bai Zisheng?”

There was the sound of a table shattering and wine cups smashing. “Bullshit your mother! Who was panicking?!”

Someone said coldly, “That Bai Zisheng was nothing more than my defeated opponent. In fewer than ten exchanges, I suppressed him completely. He couldn’t beat me and could only turn and flee.”

“If it weren’t for his good movement technique and his single-minded focus on running away, I’d have captured him already.”

“…What shameless boasting!”

“Are the spiritual roots of you Dao Province geniuses all grown in your mouths?”

“Outrageous! The prestige of the Dao Province—is it something the likes of you can sully?”

“What are you bragging about? You think I’ve never been to the Dao Province?”

“You don’t seriously think I studied in Qian Province because I could only study there, do you? I simply look down on the Dao Province—too pedantic for my taste…”

“What big words!”

“Not convinced? Come spar!”

“Fine—who’s afraid of who?”

Someone frowned. “Enough. If you’ve got this much energy, you’d be better off using it to catch someone. Capture that Bai Zisheng sooner—that’s what matters…”

“Exactly,” someone echoed. “We’ve suffered huge losses at this kid’s hands these past few days. If we still can’t catch him, where will the face of our clans and sects be?”

“That’s your Carefree Sect’s problem. You boast that your movement techniques rank first in Qianxue Prefecture, yet you still let that Bai Zisheng slip away right under your noses.”

“You pushed your movement arts until smoke was coming out, and you still couldn’t catch up, right?”

“You—!”

“Bullshit. You couldn’t beat him or restrain him. Even if we caught up, so what?”

“At the end of the day, it’s you Dao Province people—your strength is just too lacking.”

“You keep talking about Dao Province geniuses unrivaled across the Nine Provinces, yet you still got compared into utter worthlessness by a Bai Zisheng from Qian Province.”

“You’re the one spouting bullshit!”

“He’s from Qian Province, how is that the same as your Qianxue (Qian Academy) Prefecture background?”

A Dao Province genius sneered. “The Bai Clan is from the Ancestral Dragon Prefecture. Their Qian Province, is it the same as your Qian Province?”

“Stop putting gold on your own face…”

A genius from Qianxue snorted coldly. “So what you’re saying is, the Bai Clan stands even higher than you Dao Province aristocratic clans?”

“Absurd! How could the Bai Clan compare with our Dao Province clans?”

“Then why is it that all of you together can’t even beat a single Bai Zisheng?”

“It’s not that we can’t beat him… He just keeps running. He’s no match for us, that’s why he doesn’t dare fight us head-on…”

“Then how did the holes in your body get there? Weren’t they poked through by Bai Zisheng’s spear?”

“That was me being careless—I didn’t dodge.”

“Not a match means not a match. Still talking about carelessness? The strength of your Yuwen Clan is only so-so…”

“At least my Yuwen Clan is a hundred times stronger than your Vajra Sect!”

“What did you say?”

“Vajra Indestructible Art—might as well rename it Vajra Useless Art. My Yuwen Clan had only one disciple suffer losses at Bai Zisheng’s hands. Your Vajra Sect probably has ten or more injured.”

A golden-bodied brute from the Vajra Sect roared, “You don’t know shit! Vajra Indestructible is a body-refining art. Since it’s body refinement, injuries are natural!”

“A loss is a loss, why the sophistry? If the body-refining arts of Qianxue Prefecture are all only at your Vajra Sect’s level, I’d say the whole thing is doomed sooner or later…”

“You—” Vajra Sect disciples refined their bodies and weren’t good with words; he didn’t know how to curse back.

At this point, someone else was displeased as well.

“It’s fine if you talk about the Vajra Sect, don’t drag Qianxue Prefecture into it. Among Qianxue’s body-refining lineages, the Vajra Sect isn’t top-tier at all. Our Dragon Cauldron Sect is number one.”

A Vajra Sect disciple cursed, “You motherf—whose side are you on?”

“I’m just stating facts…”

“Exactly. The Four Grand Sects are the Four Grand Sects; the Eight Great Gates are the Eight Great Gates…”

“You Eight Great Gates lack the skill, what does that have to do with our Four Grand Sects?”

“Four Grand Sects? In today’s Qianxue Prefecture, only the Great Void Sect is truly top-tier. You Four Grand Sects are nothing more than defeated subordinates of the Great Void Sect.”

Dragon Cauldron Sect disciples trembled with rage. “Nonsense!”

“The Great Void Sect has one sect and three mountains—utterly shameless. Three Great Gates added together and ranked first, and that counts?”

“Utterly brazen!”

Someone said, “Anyway, in Qianxue now, the Four Grand Sects aren’t first-rate anymore.”

A Dragon Cauldron Sect disciple said, “At least in body-refining prowess, our Dragon Cauldron Sect is still number one.”

“So what? In the end, didn’t your Dragon Cauldron Sect still fail to defeat Bai Zisheng?”

“At least our people, tempered with dragon blood, didn’t get holes poked in them by him…”

“Enough already. That’s something to brag about? Then how should we count it when our Dao Province Xuanyuan Clan’s Xuanyuan Sword Art almost severed Bai Zisheng’s neck in a single strike?”

“What Xuanyuan Sword Art? It was clearly our Heavenly Sword Sect’s sword art that nearly killed Bai Zisheng.”

Someone sneered. “How can your Heavenly Sword Sect’s sword art be mentioned in the same breath as the sword art of our Xuanyuan lineage?”

“At the root of it all, your Qianxue—mere fifth-grade prefecture-level inheritances—how could they possibly compare to the foundations of our Great Dao Province?”

“A backwater place is still a backwater place…”

Someone snorted coldly. “No matter how big the place or how good the inheritance, if the people are trash, it’s all useless.”

“What did you say?!”

“What—your strength’s trash and your ears are deaf too? Want me to say it again, you piece of trash?”

“You dare belittle disciples of the Dao Province. Sooner or later, I’ll make you pay for it…”

“Come on, do you really think I’m afraid of you?”

“I have an ancestor backing me—”

“Like hell you’re the only one with an ancestor. You think I don’t have one?”

…

Geniuses were all proud by nature, usually disdaining to argue with ordinary disciples, and many of them were cold and indifferent to begin with.

But the problem was that once geniuses of the same level gathered together, once they started competing and clashing, they couldn’t help but start cursing each other just the same.

Not to mention that this also involved extremely complex grudges and conflicts—between Dao Province versus the Nine Provinces, aristocratic clans versus sects, clan versus clan, sect versus sect, different lineages and schools, and even private grudges between disciples—an extremely complex web of conflicts.

Once tempers flared, no one cared about decorum anymore.

When Mo Hua walked into the main tent, the vast interior was packed with a dark mass of sect disciples, wearing different Dao robes, gathered together in a cacophony of noise, accusing and cursing one another.

The tent was enormous, and there were many people inside.

They were busy cursing each other with great enthusiasm and, for the moment, didn’t even notice someone entering.

True-Person Zhuge didn’t speak. His temperament was lazy, and he couldn’t be bothered to interfere in trivial matters.

Mo Hua had always acted low-key as well, silently following behind True-Person Zhuge, dressed plainly, looking just like a little attendant.

True-Person Huá, however, couldn’t remain silent.

The matter of apprehending Bai Zisheng had been entrusted to him by the Dao Court, and the situation before them could only be brought under control by him.

Seeing that the aristocratic disciples in the main tent were still making a racket, True-Person Huá released a wisp of pressure and said in a deep voice:

“Silence!”

Because this was a Second-Grade mountain realm, Feathered Ascension—and even Golden Core—power could not be used, so this pressure was not strong.

But True-Person Huá’s voice, long accustomed to authority, carried an imposing weight.

Gradually, the entire tent fell quiet.

Many people turned to look at True-Person Huá. Seeing that his aura was restrained, they initially didn’t think much of it.

But some well-informed, keenly perceptive genius disciples—who already knew part of the inside story—were startled, their expressions turning solemn as they cupped their hands and saluted:

“Greetings, True-Person.”

“True-Person?!”

This time, everyone was shocked. They all bent forward to salute True-Person Huá:

“True-Person.”

True-Person Huá nodded slightly, then asked calmly:

“How are things progressing?”

After a moment of silence, a young man in a golden-yellow Dao robe stepped forward. He had a dignified bearing and deep cultivation, looking like a young master of the Xuanyuan clan.

“Reporting to True-Person. About seven days ago, we set up a dragnet from the outer perimeter of the Great Wilderness royal domain and gradually closed in, scouring the ground three feet deep to capture that Bai Zisheng.”

“Two days ago, we located Bai Zisheng’s traces.”

“Disciples from all sides launched a joint encirclement, but unfortunately… after a fierce battle, that fellow still managed to escape…”

True-Person Huá glanced at the crowd, seeming somewhat surprised.

“So many genius disciples—of noble birth and superior inheritance—and yet none of you managed to catch that Bai Zisheng? Is this child’s strength… really that formidable?”

The Xuanyuan young master’s expression darkened slightly.

The others, embarrassed yet indignant, also showed anger.

“It’s not that we’re incompetent. It’s just that Bai Zisheng is far too cunning, he only fled for his life and never dared to fight us head-on.”

“If it came down to true strength, we certainly wouldn’t fear him.”

“And besides, there were too many people. Too many people leads to chaos, and chaos achieves nothing.”

“Exactly. If not for so many people mixed together here—each with different intentions, pulling and restraining one another, getting in each other’s way—that Bai Zisheng would’ve been caught long ago.”

“If no one else interfered, my Yuwen clan alone would be enough to capture that brat.”

“My Dragon Cauldron Sect could handle him easily.”

“Oh please, someone who’s already lost to Bai Zisheng still has the face to say that?”

“You—! You’re talking nonsense! When did my Dragon Cauldron Sect ever become his defeated opponent? That Bai Zisheng was never our match to begin with—”

“Shameless boasting…”

…

Just like that, before more than a few sentences were even exchanged, everyone started arguing again.

True-Person Huá merely watched in silence, saying nothing.

Mo Hua was initially a little puzzled, but after listening to the disciples’ quarrel for a while, he gradually understood.

This hall was full of heavenly prodigies, either direct heirs of great clans or true inheritors of major sects.

Not only from Dao Province, but also direct heirs from the other Nine Provinces. Not just sects of the Qianxue Prefecture either, but true inheritors from great sects of all the major prefectures.

So many factions, so many prodigies—main branches and collateral branches intertwined behind them, with countless backgrounds and backers.

If you really counted it up, who among them didn’t have a few Feathered Ascension realm “uncles and aunts,” “elder uncles and elder aunts,” “fathers and mothers,” “grandfathers and grandmothers”?

And tracing their bloodlines even further back, whose lineage wouldn’t lead to one or two Profound-Hollow-Void ancestors?

Those aristocratic geniuses who looked dazzling at first glance almost certainly had extraordinary backgrounds.

These days, “geniuses” weren’t something ordinary cultivator clans could afford to raise.

And some disciples looked mediocre and unremarkable, with no obvious abilities and usually very low-key, but there was no guarantee their backgrounds weren’t terrifyingly deep.

They were simply raised strictly and didn’t show it.

Not to mention, all these disciples were only at Foundation Establishment, cultivators of twenty or thirty years. To True-Person Huá, whose lifespan spanned several centuries, they were still just “children.”

He couldn’t easily step in to discipline them—and even if discipline were needed, it wouldn’t be his turn to do it.

If these “young masters” wanted to argue, True-Person Huá could only let them.

But letting it go on like this was no solution.

If these “young masters” argued themselves into a fury and actually came to blows, that would be real trouble.

True-Person Huá sighed softly in his heart and spoke again:

“Silence.”

The main tent fell quiet for a short while, but not long after, people began muttering complaints at each other again.

Complaints led to arguments; arguments stoked tempers.

Personal grudges could sometimes be endured.

But if someone mocked your cultivation path, your sect, or your clan—there was no way to tolerate that.

You could curse me, but you couldn’t curse my techniques, and you couldn’t curse my lineage.

Otherwise, you were clearly picking a fight.

And so, inside the main tent, voices overlapped, turning everything into utter chaos.

Amid the noise, someone suddenly rubbed his eyes and said in disbelief, “Am I… seeing things? Hallucinating?”

“What is it?”

“Why do I feel like I just… maybe… saw Mo Hua?”

The name “Mo Hua” seemed to carry some strange, eerie power, instantly tugging at everyone’s nerves.

The main tent gradually fell silent.

All the geniuses from the Qianxue Prefecture went completely quiet.

The prodigies of Dao Province were still a bit confused.

“Just now… did someone say… ‘Mo Hua’?”

“I think I heard it too…”

“You must’ve misheard… how could that be possible?”

“Those two words, throw them into the eighteenth layer of hell, grind them to slag, burn them to ash, and I still wouldn’t forget them. No mistake…”

“Who said it?”

“Who?!”

“I…” someone weakly raised a hand.

“Where’s this Mo Hua? Where is he?” someone demanded.

That person pointed in a direction. “That… guy wearing an ordinary Dao robe, kind of inconspicuous—doesn’t his face… look a bit like Mo Hua?”

Everyone followed his gesture and looked behind True-Person Zhuge.

“Well, now that you mention it, there really is some resemblance…”

“Rosy lips, white teeth, looks annoying at a glance…”

“It’s not resemblance…” a burly man ground his teeth. “That damn it—how is that not clearly… Mo Hua?!”

“It is Mo Hua!!”

“Great Void Sect’s… Mo Hua!!”

“The one who disappeared for ten years… Mo Hua!”

In that instant, the entire hall exploded in uproar. All the prodigies’ expressions changed as hundreds, thousands of gazes—sharp as swords—shot straight toward Mo Hua.

True-Person Zhuge and True-Person Huá both froze, then couldn’t help but turn their heads to look at him.

Huá Pīng, delicate and striking in appearance, also stared at Mo Hua, her eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.

Mo Hua sighed, his face full of helplessness.

A man fears fame the way a pig fears growing fat. Was he really that famous?

Were these people so bored that they all had to stare at him?

He had clearly been keeping a low profile…