"You knew Xu Yi's identity long ago, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?"
The Sect Leader of Qinglian looked at Long Haotian, who had stormed in from outside, fuming with rage. He didn't even raise an eyebrow, clearly having anticipated this.
"That's right, I knew. Not only me, but the sect leaders and elders of the other major sects also knew about this matter."
The fact that Xu Yi and Ji Buwang participated in the sect competition while concealing their identities was unfair to the other disciples. Therefore, Xuanji Gate had already apologized to every sect.
Moreover, with the tacit approval of Kunlun Academy, all major sects had kept this news under wraps.
For various reasons, the Sect Leader of Qinglian had chosen not to inform Long Haotian.
As it turned out, his decision was correct. Upon learning this, Long Haotian became listless, his eyes bloodshot, as if his spirit had been utterly drained.
The Sect Leader of Qinglian sighed inwardly.
Children were truly a burden.
"Why! Why didn't you tell me! Did you think it was funny to see me kept in the dark! You knew very well that I..."
Long Haotian couldn't continue.
Recalling now, his earnest feelings seemed like a joke.
There had never been a possibility between him and Xu Yi.
Not in the past, and certainly not in the future.
Long Haotian took a deep breath and, lost in despair, turned to leave.
However, as he tried to lift his foot, he found his feet as if nailed to the ground, unable to move.
He immediately understood what was happening and turned to face the Sect Leader of Qinglian, glaring at him.
The Sect Leader of Qinglian remained silent. Instead, he raised his hand and summoned a water mirror, placing it before Long Haotian.
Long Haotian's struggle instantly ceased.
He saw himself in the water mirror.
He saw a Long Haotian who was both pathetic and comical.
A flicker of bewilderment crossed his eyes.
Was this him?
"Open your eyes wide and look closely! What a mess you've made of yourself!" the Sect Leader of Qinglian commanded sternly.
Long Haotian, who had been seething with indignation moments ago, was now as if his throat were being choked. He lowered his head, saying nothing.
"You ask why I didn't tell you the truth? Because I feared you couldn't handle the blow. You had finally shown signs of progress; was I to ruin it all with my own hands!"
No one knows a son better than his father.
The Sect Leader of Qinglian understood Long Haotian's feelings perfectly.
Ever since Long Haotian met Xu Yi, both his personality and his attitude towards cultivation had undergone a complete transformation.
While the Sect Leader of Qinglian was gratified, he also knew this was a double-edged sword.
It could wound Long Haotian at any moment.
That was why he had kept it hidden until now.
He was even somewhat relieved that Xuanji Gate had only revealed Xu Yi's true identity at this juncture.
Long Haotian was constantly growing, and the Sect Leader of Qinglian believed that the current Long Haotian could overcome this setback and not be crushed by it.
Long Haotian's body trembled.
The Sect Leader of Qinglian's words brought back a flood of past memories.
In his youth, he was arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone. He didn't even take Xuanqing Sect's top genius, Bei Xinghan, seriously.
His entrapment in the mine was the beginning of his change.
Later, he understood what responsibility and humility meant. His reputation within the sect improved day by day, and his cultivation also steadily increased.
He had grown into the person he had once aspired to be. Did he want to return to the past?
Long Haotian was startled, and a chill emanating from his bones extinguished the anger in his heart.
"I understand," he said bitterly, and then he turned to leave again.
This time, he was not hindered and walked out of the main hall smoothly.
"I hope you truly understand."
A deep voice echoed faintly in the hall.
...
Beast Taming Sect.
"Senior Sister Xu? Ancestor?"
Yin Li's phoenix-like eyes widened.
Her left and right looked stunned, and after a long moment, she nodded stiffly.
The information she received was the same.
Yin Li was so shocked she couldn't speak. After an unknown period, she suddenly covered her face, screaming internally.
Aaaah!
She had actually considered targeting Senior Sister Xu before. Was she crazy!
Fortunately, fortunately, she hadn't had time to do anything!
Yin Li felt she was the luckiest person.
"Senior Sister Yin, do you think Senior Brother Xiong and Junior Brother Fei know this news?" Zuo You suddenly asked.
Yin Li lowered her arm, a mischievous smile forming on her lips.
"Looking at how Senior Brother Xiong usually interacts with Senior Sister Xu, he definitely doesn't know. As for Fei Hua, he couldn't possibly know. Let's tell them now and see their reactions. It will be incredibly amusing!"
Yin Li and Zuo You exchanged smiles and simultaneously sent messages to Xiong Zhuangzhuang and Fei Hua.
Fei Hua, who was far away at Qinghui Sect, was somewhat surprised when he received the message from his senior sister. After listening to the message in the sound transmission disk, he was so shocked that he threw the disk away.
As if by fate, the sound transmission disk landed precisely on Chi Xiaoxi, who was not far from him.
"Fei Hua! You attacked me!"
Chi Xiaoxi saw the sound transmission disk at her feet and was so angry her little face puffed up. She was about to retaliate, but Zhan Fei stopped her.
"I, I didn't mean to. I was just too surprised."
Fei Hua quickly apologized, still with a look of shock on his face.
Sect Leader Zhan Fei asked, "What news did you receive that made you lose your composure like that?"
Fei Hua said blankly, "I just received news from my sect. Senior Sister Xu is actually the Ancestor of Xuanji Gate!"
Fei Hua had initially expected the three from Huofu Sect to be as surprised as he was, but to his surprise, all three of them had expressions of taking it for granted.
Chi Xiaoxi added dismissively, "You only just found out? We knew already."
In reality, her "already" meant only a few days before Fei Hua.
Seeing Fei Hua's expression of questioning life, Chi Xiaoxi's previous jealousy over Xu Yi's closeness to him vanished instantly.
Senior Xu and Fei Hua's relationship wasn't that good either, otherwise, Fei Hua wouldn't have found out so late.
"You all knew?"
Fei Hua looked at Wen Yi and Zhan Fei.
Both of them nodded simultaneously.
Fei Hua suddenly stood up and shouted, "Amazing! Truly amazing!"
His emotions were so stirred that he directly took the Treasure Hunting Rat, which had been sleeping, out of the spiritual beast bag, held it high, and shook it repeatedly, overjoyed.
Sect Leader Zhan Fei and the other two: ...
Is this child crazy?
And not a few people were as frenzied as Zhan Fei.
Xu Yi, who had not been mentioned by Kunlun Academy disciples for a long time, once again became the subject of everyone's discussion.
Within Kunlun Academy, the disciples of Xuanji Gate were in a state of misery due to the disciples who came knocking to inquire.
They had known Xu Yi's identity for a long time but were forbidden by sect rules from revealing it to outsiders.
Now, their fellow disciples in Kunlun Academy were all accusing them of being too tight-lipped and repeatedly asking them to confirm Xu Yi's identity, which made them want to laugh and cry at the same time.
Besides them, Xiong Zhuangzhuang and Yu Xiaoyu, who were in the same cohort as Xu Yi, were also affected.
However, the two of them appeared much more composed and calm.
Long before this, Xu Yi had quietly revealed her identity to them.
While surprised, they had also sworn to keep Xu Yi's secret.
Now that the secret was finally revealed to the world, they could finally stop keeping their mouths shut.
The two lamented that Xu Yi was destined to be revered by all from the very beginning.