Bing Wushuang would not speak of these things, and Xue Jianming certainly would not either. As for Hong Qingyuan and the rest, however much their hearts itched with curiosity, they could only hold their tongues and dared not press the question to their faces. After all, these two were both consummate Golden Core experts; to demand answers of them, one would need at the very least to be a Nascent Soul monster. Otherwise they simply would not deign to notice you, and what could you do about it?

Yet the result was this: before anyone had even sorted out the matter of the consummate Golden Core, a Nascent Soul monster had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Were they all going mad?

Still, everyone's first reaction was not belief but the notion that Xue Jianming had been frightened out of his wits. Since he had just been utterly crushed by the other party, he had naturally assumed his opponent must be a Nascent Soul monster; after all, there was no shame in a consummate Golden Core expert being manhandled by a Nascent Soul monster, and saying so would conveniently smooth over his embarrassment.

But then a single sentence from Bing Wushuang left them all utterly dumbstruck: "Only realizing that now? To be as slow on the uptake as you—truly, there is no one else like you."

A wave of sharp intakes of breath rippled through the hall. Everyone, Hong Qingyuan included, gaped so wide that a whole duck's egg could have been stuffed into each mouth, and the same line was plainly written across every face—so he really is a Nascent Soul monster?!

Hearing this affirmative answer, Xue Jianming's already anguished and tormented expression grew still more agonized. He could no longer keep himself upright; his body collapsed to the ground on the spot, and he let out a howl of pain.

If the other party had merely been the strongest sort of Golden Core cultivator, then even if his own strength fell short, he could still have put up a fight. But now the man had suddenly transformed into a Nascent Soul monster—how was he supposed to deal with that?

He never in his wildest dreams could have imagined that Bing Wushuang's real purpose in secluding himself for half a month was not the half-stalk of divine-sense grass he had obtained from him at all, but the supreme Nascent Soul Gathering Golden Pill he had gotten from Wei Zhao!

In half a month, he had not only used up the half-stalk of divine-sense grass but also relied on the supreme Nascent Soul Gathering Golden Pill to condense a Nascent Soul. And the most crucial part was that he had actually succeeded. Bing Wushuang's feat, measured against the whole of the ancient lesser martial world, could be summed up in eight words: without peer in the past, unmatched in the future!

One had to understand that even from Wei Zhao's standpoint, Bing Wushuang's talent was held in the utmost regard. Bing Wushuang's very existence even reminded him of the young follower he had recently taken in on Cloud Terrace Island, Leng Rufeng—the signature figure of the Eastern Continent's Xiangyun Academy, whose formidable talent was beyond all doubt.

Of course, Leng Rufeng was a Mystic Ascension expert, and in terms of present strength the two could not remotely be mentioned in the same breath. But judging purely by talent, in Wei Zhao's eyes Bing Wushuang was on the same level as him. That was virtually the highest affirmation possible—otherwise he would never have invested so many supreme pills in Bing Wushuang for no reason at all.

Though Wei Zhao had the Divine Farmer's Cauldron himself, and so long as spirit herbs were plentiful could produce supreme pills like the Nascent Soul Gathering Golden Pill in any quantity he wished, even a rich household has no surplus grain. If he truly grabbed some worthless good-for-nothing at random and simply showered pills upon him, he would be struck down by heavenly thunder.

At times Wei Zhao could not help but secretly wonder: if he did not have all these heaven-defying cheats, and judged purely by talent alone, could he really have bested freaks like Leng Rufeng and Bing Wushuang?

That was likely a question for the ages.

"Feng'er! Feng'er!" Xue Liping, watching from the side, was utterly dumbfounded. He rushed over at once and gathered the agonized Xue Jianming into his arms.

In former days, as vice sect master, he had cut quite the figure of importance. But now that Xue Jianming and Bing Wushuang had risen to power one after another, Xue Liping had abruptly become rather inconsequential. In matters like today's, apart from echoing his son at the very outset, he had for the most part been little more than scenery—no one paid him any heed at all. Only at moments like this could he claw back a bit of stage time, though it could only be a tragic role.

"Bing Wushuang, what have you done to my son? This is the Council of Elders—he is the newly appointed standing vice sect master! Are you trying to challenge the entire Council of Elders?" Xue Liping demanded, his face full of grief and indignation, not hesitating to clap a great big hat on Bing Wushuang's head. He was not yet certain whether the man truly was a Nascent Soul monster, but such words for the sake of appearances had to be said.

At these words the crowd all turned to look, and in the next instant two people became the focus of attention. One was, without question, Bing Wushuang. The other was Hong Qingyuan, who as sect master ought to have been taking charge of the situation.

Hong Qingyuan said nothing. He merely watched Bing Wushuang along with everyone else, unsure just what was going through the man's mind at this moment—perhaps he was digesting and confirming Bing Wushuang's true strength, perhaps he was pondering how to respond. After all, if the man truly was a Nascent Soul monster, how to deal with him was no longer something he alone could decide; it would have to be handled with the utmost caution.

"Challenge the entire Council of Elders?" Bing Wushuang glanced at him, then at Hong Qingyuan and the others, and retorted, "By your logic, then his striking Elder Xu just now was also a challenge to the entire Council of Elders?"

"Uh…" Xue Liping was instantly struck dumb. Under the strange gazes focused upon him from all sides, his old face flushed bright red, and he forced himself to argue, "That is different! Xu Xiaoshuang rose up against her superior and blocked the way—that is a grave offense. Even if Feng'er had split her in two with a single sword stroke, she would have deserved it!"

"Blocking the way is rising up against a superior? Since when has our Xuejian Sect had such rigid rules—were they newly laid down by Vice Sect Master Xue himself?" Xu Xiaoshuang immediately stepped forward and shot back. In the past she might not have had the nerve, but now, with a powerful figure like Bing Wushuang at her back, she could finally vent some of her long-pent-up anger to his face.

"Xu Xiaoshuang, do not push your luck!" Xue Liping glared at her, suppressing his fury.

"I think that phrase is rather better suited to you and your son." This time it was Bing Wushuang who spoke, gazing down at them with cool disdain. "I will say this plainly: from now on, whoever targets Leng Leng is making an enemy of me. Spare me your talk of sect rules—I do not care in the least. Remember this: the price of making an enemy of me is death, unless you can survive under my hand."

These words left everyone drenched in cold sweat. Not only Xue Liping and his son Xue Jianming, but even Hong Qingyuan and the rest felt their eyelids twitch. Anyone who did not know better might have thought they had wandered into a bandit's den—such words were simply too reckless and unbridled!

Then again, if Bing Wushuang truly was a Nascent Soul monster, he was indeed entitled to say such things.