“I’ve met Elder Bai.”

Bei Fengxiao and Hanyu both bowed slightly to Bai Kui. They had both once been inner-sect disciples, so they’d dealt with him quite a lot.

“What’s going on? Didn’t the Sect Master say it already, we’re not to interfere in outer-sect matters. But… today you two were both dragged out here?”

Bai Kui’s voice was low and heavy.

“Elder, the new outer-sect disciple Long Wuxian had a conflict with my younger sister, Bei Luoyu. In front of everyone he… did something to her. Anyway, his methods were extremely vicious. Not only that, he has no respect for his seniors, he’s arrogant and overbearing, and he even struck Elder Yun of the outer sect.”

Bei Fengxiao spoke, looking a bit embarrassed.

Hearing this, a trace of coldness flashed across Bai Kui’s face. He glanced at Elder Yun not far away.

Elder Yun hurried over and bowed to him. “Please, Elder… please stand up for me.”

“What a disgrace. That guy calls himself an elder? Forget it, get lost, stand to the side. Let me take a look first… which one of you is Long Wuxian?”

Bai Kui’s gaze slowly drifted forward. His tone was already turning light and careless—it was obvious he wasn’t in a good mood today.

Fair enough. He’d been in seclusion for over half a year, not seeing the sun. That was like sleeping for half a year, then suddenly being dragged back into the light.

“That’s me.”

Long Wuxian stepped forward and stopped not far from Bai Kui. His breathing was steady and calm. Even standing before a Saint Emperor–realm elder, there wasn’t the slightest hint of fear on his face.

“Early Immortal Emperor stage? No, maybe even below that… what kind of joke are you playing on me?”

Seeing Long Wuxian’s cultivation, Bai Kui’s eyes almost popped out.

Long Wuxian’s performance on the Holy City Plaza, and his half-year duel agreement with Yu Tianlong, had already shaken the entire Southern Region.

Unfortunately, Bai Kui was a Saint Emperor–realm elder in closed-door cultivation. Normally he didn’t bother about inner-sect affairs at all, much less outer-sect matters.

When he first heard Bei Fengxiao, he’d thought Long Wuxian was just some new disciple. Now, seeing that Long Wuxian was only at the early Immortal Emperor stage, yet had defeated peak Immortal Emperor–stage Bei Luoyu and Elder Yun—how was that possible?

“Looks like Elder Bai still doesn’t know Junior Brother Long. Before this, on the Holy City Plaza, Junior Brother Long killed Yu Fengchen of the Tianlong Sect and made a half-year battle pact with Yu Tianlong. That news has spread through the entire Southern Region. Elder Bai’s been in seclusion the last few days, so not knowing is normal. Junior Brother Long is a disciple I personally recruited. His talent is extraordinary. Even though his cultivation is only at Immortal Emperor, his combat power is terrifying. Even Junior Sister Bei Luoyu isn’t his match.”

Hanyu personally introduced Long Wuxian.

“What? My School of Chi actually has a monster on par with Yu Tianlong?!”

Bai Kui was completely stunned. He couldn’t help but look at Long Wuxian again, his gaze changing. A kid not even firmly in the early Immortal Emperor stage able to defeat a peak Immortal Emperor genius—looking across the Southern Region, even Yu Tianlong probably couldn’t do that.

“Uh… Elder Bai, his talent is indeed monstrous, but he’s also way too arrogant. He doesn’t put anyone in his eyes. It’s only his second day in the sect, and he already dared lay hands on an elder. In the future, who’ll be able to control him?”

Bei Fengxiao sounded troubled. He knew Long Wuxian would be hard to punish, but he still felt the kid needed some discipline, or he’d cause trouble down the line.

“Elder Bai, before the match, Long Wuxian and Junior Sister Bei Luoyu made a wager. Whoever lost would belong to the winner. Now Bei Luoyu lost completely, and Long Wuxian slapped her… ahem. In short, it was all within the terms. There’s nothing really sinful about it. If Long Wuxian had lost to Bei Luoyu, I believe Junior Sister would have made him serve her for the rest of his life.”

Hanyu spoke up, her eyes quietly shifting toward Bei Luoyu, who, from beginning to end, hadn’t dared say a single word.

“Is that so? Even if bullying my sister is no crime, how do you explain him beating an elder?”

Bei Fengxiao shook his head and pressed the point again.

After the brief shock, Bai Kui recovered. He didn’t forget where he stood. No matter how freakish Long Wuxian was, he was still on Bei Fengxiao’s side.

He knew very well how terrifying Bei Fengxue’s strength was. Now Bei Fengxue’s eldest daughter had been humiliated inside the sect. He had to give Bei Fengxue an explanation.

When it came to beating up Elder Yun, Hanyu was also at a loss for words. She glanced in frustration at Long Wuxian, who was still looking calm and unbothered, and cursed him endlessly in her heart: This guy, does he never think before he picks a fight?

As an outer-sect disciple, and on only his second day in the sect, he’d already hit an elder. That kind of offense wouldn’t make sense even in the Elder Council.

“Elder, Senior Sister and I did have a bet beforehand. Elder Yun handled things unfairly, tried to stop us, and even attacked me. I only acted in self-defense.”

Long Wuxian said shamelessly. Even if he knew that one kick from him had made the old guy see stars, just saying “self-defense” like this made a lot of people want to spit blood.

This guy really was too shameless. So you beat up an elder and still manage to sound this righteous?

“Outrageous!!!”

Bai Kui roared, “Assaulting an elder is an act of outright rebellion. It’s only your second day here and you’ve already committed something this heinous. If we let you continue, won’t you tear the sect down someday? Long Wuxian, the sect could turn a blind eye to what you did before. But beating an elder has already touched the sect’s bottom line. In the name of the Elder Council, I’ll now hand down punishment.”

The atmosphere tightened again. But this result was within everyone’s expectations. Bai Kui would definitely side with Bei Fengxiao’s father. The only question now was—how would Bai Kui punish Long Wuxian?

Hanyu’s face turned ugly. She knew very clearly that Long Wuxian had hit an elder, so the crime was real. Bai Kui had every reason to punish him. No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn’t change the fact that Long Wuxian would be disciplined.

If Long Wuxian had only smacked Bei Luoyu’s butt and hadn’t beaten Elder Yun, even if every elder in the council came today, Hanyu would risk everything to protect him.

But as for him beating Elder Yun, she could easily imagine the scene. Elder Yun must have struck first. In that situation, if it had been her, she might have wanted to pound that shameless old coot too. Let alone Long Wuxian, who feared neither heaven nor earth.

Honestly, in this world, it was hard to find anyone he wouldn’t dare hit.

Since punishment was inevitable, it all depended on what kind of punishment Bai Kui chose. She could only hope it wouldn’t be too excessive.

Everyone stared at Bai Kui, wanting to see how this Saint Emperor–realm elder would handle Long Wuxian. With Bei Fengxiao involved, the punishment definitely wouldn’t be light.

“Long Wuxian assaulted an elder and disrespected his seniors, violating the sect’s greatest taboo. Now, I’ll punish you by… ahem… three days of confinement in the place where extreme cold and extreme yin intersect. Any objections?”

Bai Kui spoke blandly.

“The place where extreme cold and extreme yin intersect?”

The moment he spoke, the entire Mixed-Origin School of Chi Plaza erupted, a wave of shocked cries bursting out.

Everyone’s eyes went wide. They suspected their ears had misheard.

They had expected Bai Kui to be harsh, but not this harsh.

Long Wuxian had indeed hit Elder Yun, but he didn’t deserve death.

Sending him to the Extreme Yin–Extreme Cold Land to face the wall for three days—wouldn’t it be kinder to just kill him cleanly?

“Elder Bai is too ruthless. Even for a Saint Emperor–realm expert like him, staying in that place for three days would be hard, right?”

“Yeah. And he wants Long Wuxian to stay there… sigh. He’s just an outer-sect Immortal Emperor. How’s he supposed to last even one day in that extreme yin and cold?”

“This… might as well just kill him. Why bother with this?”

Everyone was furious. Even the bystanders who had nothing to do with it felt angered. This punishment was way over the line.

“Elder Bai, you know how terrifying that place is. The yin-cold energy inside is too intense. It’s meant for disciples cultivating cold-attribute arts and the future Sect Master to train in. Even those who cultivate cold arts can’t last three full days in there. Long Wuxian is only at Immortal Emperor level. Sending him there—how is that different from killing him?”

Hanyu nearly spat her anger in his face. Her temper flared; even an elder she would talk back to.

This wasn’t punishment. This was execution.

“Hanyu, do I need your guidance on how to do my job? Besides, back then, our Sect Master stayed in that Extreme Yin–Extreme Cold Land for four days before he couldn’t endure it. Long Wuxian’s talent is extraordinary, and he’s already acting this arrogant, with no respect for elders. If we don’t punish him strictly, he’ll be impossible to control and could become a disaster for the School of Chi. Hanyu, you know the sect rules.”

Bai Kui’s voice was icy.

“Heh, what a joke. The sect rules also say that if Long Wuxian dies, his belongings get distributed to everyone in the academy. Did you forget that?”

Hanyu’s tone was just as cold.

“There’s no… uh?!”

Halfway through his retort, Bai Kui suddenly seemed to remember something—Bei Luoyu!

If Long Wuxian died, wouldn’t Bei Luoyu have to go be a chicken?

Seeing Bai Kui’s stunned face, Hanyu almost laughed in fury. This old guy was obviously just helping the Bei family get revenge, trying to erase Long Wuxian and dressing it up with some righteous excuse. Some people really had no shame.

Bai Kui still wanted to argue, but Bei Fengxiao grabbed his arm.

“This is my father’s order. Don’t worry, our Bei family will take responsibility for the consequences.”

“Uh… fine.”

He had no choice. Since old man Bei Fengxue had spoken, Bai Kui could only follow through.

But that Extreme Yin–Extreme Cold Land was a core forbidden ground of the sect. Only the successor of the Supreme Elder and the Sect Master were allowed in. And this brat…

Seeing the worry on Bai Kui’s face, Bei Fengxiao could only shake his head helplessly.

“There’s no need for any more arguing. I accept the punishment. Whatever I’ve done, I’ll bear it myself.”

Long Wuxian’s expression didn’t change as he directly agreed.