Chapter 948: Old Habits Are Hard to Change
“Hmph, what Steward Sushan said is reasonable.” Mu Fengshu gave a light snort. “Mu Bingyun is the Palace Master of the Ice Phoenix Thirty-Six Palaces and a relative of the Great Realm King. As the Chief Hall Master of Cold Snow Hall, although I cannot tolerate such favoritism, how dare I not give her any face at all?”
Mu Fengshu glanced sideways at Yun Che and said, “Your name is Yun Che, right? Fine, since it’s the personal order of the Ice Cloud Palace Master, I’ll give you a chance. Those who wish to enter my Cold Snow Hall must pass three examinations. Everyone standing in this hall today has already passed the first examination. Because the first examination is a Profound Force test, and all those with Profound Force below the Divine Origin Realm have been weeded out. Those who haven’t even touched the Divine Path are not qualified to take the subsequent examinations. As for a level of cultivation like yours, hah…”
That final low laugh from Mu Fengshu did not hide her deep ridicule at all. However, with her strength and status, she naturally wouldn’t stoop to specifically mocking Yun Che… It was clearly meant to ridicule Mu Bingyun, who had brought him here.
“…” Yun Che remained silent.
“But today, I’ll make an exception and directly waive your first examination. You can join everyone here and directly take the second and third examinations. If you pass, you can naturally enter Cold Snow Hall with a clear conscience, and I won’t say another word. What do you think? As the Hall Master of Cold Snow Hall, I didn’t show any favoritism even to my own nephew, yet I’ve made such a big exception for you… Don’t ever say that I didn’t give Mu Bingyun any face!”
“Pfft…”
“Haha… hahahaha…”
Mu Fengshu’s words caused the onlooking profound practitioners to burst out laughing, followed by unrestrained roars of laughter.
Even an idiot could understand clearly that this was not a concession at all, but rather a mockery… or even an insult. Allowing a person who was merely at the fifth level of the Lord Xuan Realm to directly participate in the second and third trials of Cold Snow Hall… that was simply a joke.
“Alas.” Mu Sushan shook his head and resignedly fell silent. The Cold Snow Hall disciples assisting with the examination around them also struggled to hold back their laughter, repeatedly casting pitying glances at Yun Che.
Mu Xiaolan was so furious her face turned green, but the person opposite was the Chief Hall Master of Cold Snow Hall. Even though she was seething inside, she dared not curse aloud. She could only grit her teeth and turn around, saying angrily, “Yun Che, let’s go!”
“Oh? So you’re rejecting this Hall Master’s goodwill?” Mu Fengshu turned her head in disdain, a flash of satisfaction in her phoenix-like eyes. “When you go back, don’t forget to convey my goodwill to Mu Bingyun. I’ve given her face!”
Mu Xiaolan dragged Yun Che far away, but the sounds of laughter continued behind them. Mu Xiaolan clenched her fists tightly, her face alternating between red and white. “Too much… this is too much!”
She shouted angrily, tears already glistening in her eyes.
In comparison, Yun Che was much calmer. He waved his hand in front of Mu Xiaolan’s eyes and asked doubtfully, “That Chief Hall Master just now, does she have a grudge against Fairy Mu?”
“What grudge!” Mu Xiaolan wiped her eyes and shouted as if venting, “Isn’t it because she wants to replace Master and become the Ice Phoenix Palace Master!”
“Master was afflicted with fire poison over a thousand years ago, and because she lost her power, the fire poison entered her soul. By the time she returned to Yin Xue Realm, there was no cure and she was doomed to die. If the Venerable had passed away, as the Chief Hall Master of Cold Snow Hall, she would have legitimately succeeded Master as the Palace Master of the Thirty-Sixth Palace, because the position of a sub-palace master is also higher than that of a Chief Hall Master. So from over a thousand years ago, she had fully prepared to become the Ice Phoenix Palace Master, and the entire Ice Phoenix God Sect knew about it. However, the Great Realm King and Master had a deep sisterly bond, and the Great Realm King spared no expense to prolong Master’s life. All the life-prolonging items in the entire sect were used by the Great Realm King for Master. So as the years passed, Master remained alive, while Mu Fengshu, who had prematurely declared she would become the Palace Master, had lost all face and seemed to have endured quite a bit of ridicule.”
“I also heard that a few hundred years ago, Mu Fengshu obtained a ‘Muhan Feihong Flower’ in a trial ground, a flower that is rarely seen in a thousand years. It could have assisted her in breaking through her Profound Force, but the Great Realm King found out and forcibly took it away to prolong Master’s life… All these things combined have given her a deep resentment toward Master. She doesn’t dare to do anything to Master openly, but most of the bad rumors about Master that circulate in secret originate from her. And Master is too kind-hearted, always feeling that she has wronged Mu Fengshu, so she never fights back, which only makes Mu Fengshu even worse.”
“…I see.” Yun Che nodded slightly.
“But today… today she really went too far.” Mu Xiaolan stomped her foot angrily. “Master is after all the Ice Phoenix Palace Master and the Great Realm King’s sister. No matter how Mu Fengshu used to behave, she never dared to target the Venerable like this in public… today… today… I’m so angry!”
“It’s simple: because this time she is completely in the right.” Yun Che spread his hands. “Slanderous words, of course, can’t be said in public. But what she said today was righteous and valid. Cutting in line is a shameful act, and she was not wrong in what she said. Even her own nephew is indeed among the examinees, and it’s clear to everyone that she has shown no favoritism. If word spreads, even if everyone knows she is targeting Fairy Mu, public opinion will lean toward her… especially for those profound practitioners who have worked so hard to enter or hope to enter Cold Snow Hall. You heard their laughter just now. Frankly, if I were among them, I probably would have laughed along too.”
“You… Master did all this for you, and you’re still speaking for her?” Mu Xiaolan said angrily.
“Let’s go, we’re going back.” Yun Che stopped walking and then suddenly turned around and headed back.
“Going back? Hey? What are you doing?” Mu Xiaolan quickly grabbed him.
“Although my first principle in the God Realm is to never cause trouble.” Yun Che let out a soft breath. “But this matter ultimately started because of me. Fairy Mu has done everything for me, and I can’t let her suffer such humiliation because of me no matter what.”
“You… what are you going to do? Hey, hey! Don’t do anything reckless! This is Yin Xue Realm, not your Tian Xuan Continent. Not to mention the Chief Hall Master, even any random Cold Snow Hall disciple could… ahh, stop!”
Yun Che completely ignored Mu Xiaolan’s words, his speed suddenly increasing. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to where Mu Sushan and Mu Fengshu were. Mu Xiaolan wanted to stop him but was too late; she could only steel herself and chase after him.
Their auras could hardly escape Mu Fengshu’s perception. When the two turned back, Mu Fengshu had already turned around and said coldly, “What? Is there something else to say?”
“Hall Master Fengshu,” Yun Che addressed Mu Fengshu in the same way Mu Xiaolan did, “You just said you would allow me to skip the first examination and directly participate in the second and third examinations of Cold Snow Hall. Do those words still stand?”
“Heh,” Mu Fengshu gave a faint smile. “This Hall Master’s words are of course as solid as the Nine Tripods. What? Have you changed your mind and decided to accept the exception this Hall Master has granted you?”
Mu Xiaolan said urgently, “Yun Che, don’t mess around…”
“Of course!” Yun Che completely ignored Mu Xiaolan’s shouts and said with utmost seriousness. “Hall Master Fengshu is fair and strict, yet you have made an exception for this junior. Such kindness would be too ungrateful for this junior to refuse. Everything Hall Master Fengshu said earlier was also absolutely correct. If this junior wishes to enter Cold Snow Hall, undergoing the examinations is only proper. Relying on shortcuts would not only be unfair to others, but also disrespectful to the sect’s rules and discipline. Then, I ask Hall Master Fengshu to arrange for this junior to participate in today’s examinations.”
“Yun Che, you…” Mu Xiaolan was both angry and anxious, wishing she could jump up, but in front of everyone, she couldn’t shout too loudly. She could only suppress her voice and say, “You… have you gone mad?!”
“Hahaha!” Mu Fengshu laughed, and all the profound practitioners waiting for the examination also burst out laughing. This time, Mu Fengshu gave Yun Che a meaningful glance… Clearly, she took Yun Che’s words as flattery. Having been the Chief Hall Master of Cold Snow Hall for over two thousand years, she had seen countless instances of sycophancy and had long since grown disdainful of it. But Yun Che’s performance gave her considerable pleasure and satisfaction—because this person was brought by Mu Bingyun, who had specially arranged for him to enter Cold Snow Hall directly, showing that she valued him. And now this person was flattering her, which, while making her despise Yun Che even more, also brought her a sense of psychological gratification.
“…” Mu Sushan sighed inwardly, shaking his head in extreme disappointment. Yun Che’s words were not only seen by Mu Fengshu but by everyone as outright flattery. Yun Che was the only person Mu Bingyun had brought back from the lower realm in all these years. Although his Profound Force was very low, he had piqued Mu Sushan’s interest and curiosity. He never expected him to be such a worthless person.
“Very well.” Mu Fengshu nodded slightly but turned around, unwilling to spare Yun Che another glance. “In that case, you will join the first group. Ji Hanfeng, assign him to the first group. The preparations are almost complete; today’s examination should begin.”
“Yes, Hall Master.” A tall, upright young man dressed in blue stood up and bowed. He was Ji Hanfeng, a disciple belonging to the First Hall of Cold Snow Hall. The examination for today’s first group was to be arranged, presided over, and witnessed by him.
And this first group was the one closest to Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan, the very group that had been watching their spectacle the whole time… The nephew that Mu Fengshu had just called out, Li Mingcheng, who had Profound Force as high as the third level of the Divine Origin Realm, was also in this group.
Mu Xiaolan took two quick steps forward, grabbed Yun Che, and said in a low, fierce voice, “Come with me quickly, don’t disgrace yourself here. You’ll get Master laughed at along with you.”
Yun Che said unhurriedly, “I’m doing this precisely to avoid dragging Fairy Mu into being laughed at. Just watch from the sidelines. Ah, what a hassle…”
Yun Che muttered with some helplessness, turned his body, and at the same time freed himself from Mu Xiaolan’s small hand that was gripping his sleeve.
Ji Hanfeng walked over to Yun Che and said indifferently, “You, join the group. The examination will begin shortly… You are the ‘first person’ in Cold Snow Hall’s history to enter the second round. Don’t forget this special grace from the Chief Hall Master.”
“Pfft…” The surroundings immediately burst into laughter again. Everyone knew what this “first person” meant—it referred to the person with the lowest Profound Force.
As Yun Che stepped toward the examination lineup, the gazes of the tens of thousands of profound practitioners in the first group followed him. They had all shed their earlier tension and caution, their eyes now filled with contempt and mockery. Because they, who had never dared to breathe loudly in Cold Snow Hall, had now found a sense of superiority from one person… a strong sense of superiority in both strength and intelligence.
Mu Fengshu’s offer to waive the first round “for Mu Bingyun’s sake” was already a form of mockery and humiliation. No one had expected that this person, whose Profound Qi was only at the fifth level of the Lord Xuan Realm and who came from a lower realm, not only failed to flee in disgrace but actually accepted it.
They had already begun to see that a huge joke was about to unfold in this Cold Snow Hall examination.