Xu Xiaoshou became more cautious as he looked at Zhao Xidong, who was now getting mad. Xu Xiaoshou widely chose to be more subservient.

“Not really. We do not have to do that.”

“I will go with you, okay?”

Xu Xiaoshou temporarily put aside the matter of Elder Sang. Perhaps the Dean genuinely had something urgent for him, he thought.

Even if it was not the case, Xu Xiaoshou had the backing of Elder Sang. So, there should be no one in the Spirit Palace who would dare to harm him.

After seeing how powerful the aged man was that night, Xu Xiaoshou had a much clearer picture of who the actual leader behind the Spirit Palace was.

“Let's go!”

Zhao Xidong then went silent, as he had promised himself he would not speak unnecessarily this time.

At that moment, the crowd from the Spiritual Affairs Division had all come out, and they were all looking pretty upset that Xu Xiaoshou left just like that.

However, there was nothing they could do as it was a law enforcer of the Spiritual Law Division who led him away. He wasn't someone to mess around with.

“Such a waste that Xu Xiaoshou got away. Now we can't get his autograph anymore.”

“Haha, haha, are you sure that you were going after him for his autograph? Be honest. Why is your hand injured?”

“I do not know. Someone cut me. Is it not the same with you?”

“What?”

“Why is your hand fractured? Do you not know the reason?”

Everyone got into a heated discussion and then remembered that Xu Xiaoshou seemed to have left one autograph behind.

Instantly, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to the girl who had shown Xu Xiaoshou around.

The girl fell to the ground in horror and asked with a trembling voice, “What… What do you guys want?”

“Hehe, hehe!”

“What do we want? What do you think?”

Everyone advanced toward her and had her cornered. Some people sensed things were not going right, so they ran off to seek help.

Out of the blue, a cry broke out from the crowd.

“Please, I beg you. Sell me the autograph. I will pay any price!”

“No! You must sell it to me!”

“F*ck off, the autograph is mine!”

“Mine!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Amid the chaos, a loud rumble shook the attic.

“Elder Qiao is back!”

Eh?

Then everyone slowly backed off.

“Run!”

[At the Council Hall]

“Pffft! Cough! Cough!”

Qiao Qianzhi spat out the tea in his mouth. He stared in disbelief at Jiang Bianyan, who was sitting right opposite him. He then slammed the teacup onto the table.

“Is Hallmaster Jiang kidding me?”

The quota for entering the White Cave is not just sought after by Tiansang Spirit Palace, but also by every other dominant power of the Tiansang prefecture!”

On top of the prefecture's four great families and some idle forces, there are twelve other cities near the White Cave!”

After sharing with the other dominant powers, the quota given to the Spirit Palace every year is less than ten!”

Yet, here you are casually asking us for one-fifth of our quota?”

Ye Xiaotian quietly agreed with what Qiao Qianzhi had said and nodded. Elder Qiao was indeed the Chief Elder of the Spiritual Affairs Division. He was adept at handling such situations with his choice of words.

If Ye Xiaotian had to respond to Hallmaster Jiang himself, he could not have come up with such a sharp reply.

It brought back memories of his deal with Elder Sang a few days back. It did not take a few days before he ended up losing everything.

Indeed, the Holy Divine Palace was not as selfless as he had imagined. Even the most influential forces on the continent were pretty calculative, as they should be!

In this world, people come and go for only one thing—benefits.

Their forefathers were indeed right about this teaching!

Ye Xiaotian discreetly peeked at Jiang Bianyan, who had put on a poker face. Then he took a sip of the tea and laughed silently in his heart.

The Holy Divine Palace was indeed a greedy bunch. They only helped a little but dared to ask for so many things!

The White Cave had been experiencing anomalies since the Fourth Sword's rumor spread. This could be an excellent opportunity for the Spirit Palace.

If they could seize the opportunity, their ten quotas to enter the White Cave would be extremely valuable. So, how could they possibly give away any?

In addition, Tiansang Spirit Palace even had an added advantage.

Xu Xiaoshou had the Fourth Sword's sheath!

Jiang Bianyan glanced at the two youngsters beside him. If it was just Chen Xingchu, then it did not matter to him who got the quota in the end.

But as Yu Zhiwen was there too, he rued not giving her the opportunity to be there.

Even if he had contributed little during the battle in the Spirit Palace, he had to send the girl into the cave.

“Well, I have underestimated the Holy Va.s.sal's capability. So, I have prepared something in advance. I believe that in terms of its value, it is definitely worth the two quotas.”

Jiang Bianyan took out a ring as he spoke.

Ye Xiaotian shook his head several times.

The Spirit Palace was rich with resources. As the most influential palace in Tiansang Prefecture, it had no intention to expand further. Hence, it was fully self-sustainable. And besides, it was considered quite affluent.

“It is not a matter of a ring. It is because the quota is so limited.”

Ye Xiaotian signaled for Jiang Bianyan to stay seated and continued to speak.

“We have already made preparations to go to the land of trial. The new Inner Yard Thirty-three shall form one group and the traditional people the other group. We have decided on the arrangements way ahead of time. There is no extra quota left at all.”

There are many internal conflicts among the younger generation for the trip to the White Cave. As it is, the quota is already not enough.”

If it was possible, even I would have liked to exchange our resources for more quotas to calm our restless kids!”

Ye Xiaotian chuckled as he spoke. He did not intend to accept the deal proposed by Jiang Bianyan.

Jiang Bianyan did not keep the ring but placed it on the table. He looked at everyone and spoke again.

“It looks like Hallmaster Ye is also aware of the anomaly being experienced by the White Cave. So, the danger level has increased by quite a fair bit. Can your new disciples manage it?”

Jiang Bianyan shook his head and continued to convince his audience. “I want to be frank. It is pointless for them to enter.”

He was blatantly suggesting that the disciples of Tiansang Spirit Palace were weak.

Chen Xingchu looked very c.o.c.ky.

Since the Holy Va.s.sal saga, he had toured around the palace and checked out the people there. He felt that the disciples of the new Inner Yard Thirty-three were rather weak.

He had fought every single one whenever he had the chance. And for those he did not fight with, he a.n.a.lyzed them.

There were some talents, but their abilities could only cope with the Tiansang prefecture, and it was only a small place.

If exposed to the outside world, these talents would be instantly defeated!

Ye Xiaotian and Qiao Qianzhi looked at each other and smiled.

They were very clear on the Spirit Palace's position. Although they had talents, they were not so ignorant as to challenge the Holy Divine Palace, even if it was just their branch.

The Seniors from Spirit Palace did not bother with the Holy Divine Palace visitors looking down on them, since the two parties did not mingle with each other.

However, if any person left this small place, the person would have an unstoppable future. Even the people from the Holy Divine Palace would have to be vigilant.

Elder Sang was such a case, and so was Ye Xiaotian. In the future, there would also be more talents from other Spirit Palaces!

“It seems like Hallmaster Jiang is not giving up so easily?”

Ye Xiaotian looked down the hallway, expecting someone to arrive.

Jiang Bianyan smiled and nodded. How could he give up so easily?

Not only the quota, he even had his eyes set on the sheath!

“How about this? Let us have a bet,” Ye Xiaotian said.

“What bet?”

Ye Xiaotian's spiritual senses had detected Zhao Xidong arriving. So, he turned to Jiang Bianyan and said, “Let us send one person each to a duel. We will settle the terms based on the outcome of the duel.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Bianyan's smile blossomed even wider. A duel?

Had Chen Xingchu's performance over these past two days not been enough to teach the Dean of the Spiritual Palace a lesson?

Somewhat arrogantly, Chen Xingchu even asked, “You guys still have people who can fight me?”

When he spewed those arrogant words, everyone glared at him. The stares made him feel nervous for a moment.

“Sit!” Jiang Bianyan shouted.

He could joke with the Seniors with little thought, but who was Chen Xingchu? How could he be so rude?

“Oh.”

The youngster touched the white jade on his waist and sat obediently.

“May I ask, Hallmaster Ye, who have you summoned?” Jiang Bianyan noticed the white-haired child on the first seat, who was looking into the sky.

Ye Xiaotian did not bother with Chen Xingchu's rude remarks and said, “You have seen this person.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Bianyan tried to recall any outstanding person amongst the new Inner Yard Thirty-three. But he did not remember anyone. How could Hallmaster Ye look so confident?

“The old Inner Yard Thirty-three?”

Ye Xiaotian remained silent as he shook his head. He then looked out of the hall.

“He is here!”