Chapter 905: Stop Joking Around, Xiaochun
Bai Xiaochun was bursting with happiness as he slowly led Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai across the blue rainbow toward his immortal's cave, reminiscing the entire way. It almost felt like they had gone back in time to when they had first arrived in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.
Although Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai were happy to be reunited, they also couldn’t stop thinking about how suddenly everything had just changed for them.
Finally, Big Fatty Zhang asked, “Xiaochun, which member of the senior generation was that just now?”
He could tell that Bai Xiaochun’s cultivation base has made significant advancement. However, despite the fact that he himself was in the late Core Formation stage, he still couldn't assess its exact level.
Xu Baocai was only in early Core Formation, and as such, had even less of an idea of how strong Bai Xiaochun was. However, he could tell that there was something different and mysterious about him. In fact, if he closed his eyes, it was literally impossible for him to detect Bai Xiaochun’s presence.
“Him? Bai Xiaochun blinked, and his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, that was Li Xiandao.”
“Li Xiandao? Why does that name sound familiar?”
Big Fatty Zhang couldn’t place who the name belonged to. However, Xu Baocai had a reputation for being able to know everything about a place, no matter where he went. Therefore, when he heard the name ‘Li Xiandao’, his eyes went wide, and he gasped.
“Li Xiandao!?!?” he blurted. “One of the five deva patriarchs of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect? That Li Xiandao!?!?”
In response to Xu Baocai’s words, Big Fatty Zhang’s jaw dropped.
“I remember now!” he said. “Li Xiandao is the deva patriarch of the Li Clan! He was the one who ordered Xu Baocai and me to be arrested! Xiaochun, you have no idea how wicked the Li Clan is!!” Shaken, Big Fatty Zhang went on to explain to Bai Xiaochun everything which had occurred in the years he had been gone.
Back when Bai Xiaochun left for the Great Wall, Big Fatty Zhang had been forming his Will Core. Neither he nor Xu Baocai had qualified to leave the sect, and thus had no choice but to stay behind in Sky City to manage the business at Bai Xiaochun’s inn.
With guidance from Feng Youde, Big Fatty Zhang had eventually succeeded in his breakthrough. Because of his unique Will Core, he had achieved even greater success with his spirit enhancements. Furthermore, his battle prowess actually surpassed ordinary cultivators in his same cultivation level.
Eventually, he rose through the ranks of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars and came to be viewed as one of the top chosen in the sect.
Perhaps because of Big Fatty Zhang’s rise to prominence, Xu Baocai also achieved a higher level of success. He never truly became one of the superstars. However, he was careful to make the right friends in the sect, and avoid offending anyone important.
Things had proceeded like that for some time, with Big Fatty Zhang making the most progress in his cultivation base. Eventually, word came back to the sect that Bai Xiaochun had gone missing, which was very upsetting to Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai. Although they wanted to go back to the River-Defying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was not the type of place where they could come and go whenever they wanted.
Therefore, they continued to act with the utmost caution within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. However, because Bai Xiaochun was missing, the Li Clan chosen Li Yuansheng finally came back for revenge. With Bai Xiaochun out of the picture, he felt confident enough to strike at Bai Xiaochun’s inn in Sky City, and take it away from Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai.
During the process, he injured Xu Baocai so badly that, if Big Fatty Zhang hadn’t been there to save him, he would have been killed.
The grudge with Li Yuansheng had started many years ago, and his act of taking the inn away made it even worse. Unfortunately, Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai weren’t strong enough to do anything about it, and were forced to simply grit their teeth in frustration. Thankfully, Bai Xiaochun’s old friend Zhao Tianjiao had come back to the sect by that time, and was able to look out for them.
The two of them were aware of the friction between the River-Defying Sect and the other three sects in the Middle Reaches, but being mere Core Formation cultivators, they couldn’t get back to the sect easily. Therefore, Big Fatty Zhang had focused hard on his cultivation in an attempt to break into the top 20 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars.
According to the rules of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the disciples in the top 20 were considered official chosen within the sect. If Big Fatty Zhang could reach that rank, then he would qualify to return to the River-Defying Sect.
Big Fatty Zhang went crazy with his cultivation. One year, he finally achieved his breakthrough and reached the late Will Core stage. That was when he went to make his attempt at the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. However, it was at around the same time that Li Yuansheng also reached late Core Formation, leading to a big competition between the two of them.
Li Yuansheng was a chosen, but in terms of battle prowess, he couldn’t match up to Big Fatty Zhang with his Will Core. Therefore, Big Fatty Zhang defeated him, breaking into the top 20 and leaving Li Yuansheng behind in 21st place.
The conflict between them grew more intense after that, until it reached the breaking point. Ignoring the possibility of offending Bai Xiaochun’s old friends, Li Yuansheng called upon the power of his clan to frame Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai. He even begged for help from his patriarch Li Xiandao, and a Nascent Soul elder, which ended up with Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai being arrested!
If Big Fatty Zhang hadn’t broken through into the top 20 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, then Li Yuansheng would have gone so far as to have him killed. But Big Fatty Zhang had achieved a high enough status that not even deva patriarch Li Xiandao dared to end his life. Instead, he had the two of them imprisoned. Li Yuansheng hadn't been willing to give up, and called upon his connections in the sect to have their sentence officially set at a full sixty-year-cycle!
That was the reason why Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai hadn’t returned to the sect to help during the war; they had both been imprisoned, and didn't even know about what was happening on the outside.
When Bai Xiaochun heard about all of this, his expression turned grimmer and grimmer. Now that he knew the truth about everything the Li Clan had done, his heart turned as cold as ice.
And it all stemmed from the years-long grudge between himself and Li Yuansheng.
“Eldest Brother, Xu Baocai,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m definitely going to get you some major compensation for this! Let’s wait and see how exactly Li Xiandao handles the matter. If it doesn’t meet with my approval, or if he tries to cover for Li Yuansheng, then… I’ll just go beat the crap out of him!” With that, he snorted coldly.
In response to his words, Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai exchanged awkward glances. A moment passed, and then Xu Baocai said, “Junior Patriarch, um… Li Xiandao is a deva….”
Bai Xiaochun stuck his chin up and flicked his sleeve.
“Who gives a crap that he’s a deva!?” he said proudly. “I'm a deva too!”
Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai were visibly stunned. In fact, his words were so shocking that they didn’t actually dare to believe him.
Big Fatty Zhang stepped forward nervously and felt Bai Xiaochun’s forehead. “Xiaochun… are you okay?”
“I really am a deva!” Bai Xiaochun said, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
“Oh, Xiaochun, you don’t need to explain. We believe you!” Changing the subject, Big Fatty Zhang said, “Oh, right. Who did you get to convince Li Xiandao to let us go?”
“Nobody, Eldest Brother, I--” However, instead of finishing his sentence, he looked up at a group of seven or eight disciples who had just come out from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars trials, and were preparing to leave the rainbow.
“Hey you, come over here and tell my friends who I am!”
The disciples were initially taken aback, but then quickly flew over and offered respectful bows.
“Greetings, Patriarch Bai!”
Big Fatty Zhang and Xu Baocai were stunned. They actually knew two of these disciples, who were both in the top 50 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars. One of them was actually a top chosen who was in the teens in terms of the rankings.
“Um… stop joking around, Xiaochun….” Big Fatty Zhang said, panting a bit, still not quite able to convince himself that it was true. As for Xu Baocai, he was trembling, and his eyes shone with profound shock.
“I really am a deva! I'm the sixth deva of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!” Having no other way to convince them, he unleashed the power of his cultivation base. Everything began to shake, and crashing sounds filled the air like thunder. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun’s face appeared high above in the air, looking down superciliously at all creation!
His will descended from above like the will of the heavens!