Kong Xun stood beside Li Guanqi, watching with mixed feelings. However, Kong Xun said nothing more. He had already made his decision.

The Heavenly Calamity Sect... what a joke.

Yet, Pei Shishi’s actions had genuinely rattled the crowd. Those who had mocked her fled rather than humiliate themselves further, especially some of the female cultivators who’d been more vicious. They would rather forgo the Dao Comprehension Platform than endure more.

The man left clutching his severed wrist, and the crowd immediately became much quieter.

Pei Shishi beckoned a few more cultivators, who resigned themselves to their fate and handed over more spirit stones, unwilling to miss out on this chance.

Sun Jie’s lips curled faintly, thinking she was very sensible. She was using her position for personal revenge, but the extra spirit stones were all going into his pockets. Even if the clan found out, she alone would take the blame.

Kong Xun had already changed out of the Heavenly Calamity Sect’s robes and put on a white robe like Li Guanqi’s. Li Guanqi understood what this meant and headed toward the gate.

The young disciple from the Heavenly Calamity Sect was deeply shaken. Perhaps he had been working in vain for the past few years. He decided to travel together with Kong Xun and Li Guanqi.

Watching Kong Xun change out of the sect robes, Pei Shishi narrowed her eyes. Li Guanqi’s group had just obtained feather tokens. They’d even assumed they got a discount because of the Heavenly Calamity Sect’s connections.

Just as they began to move forward, a shrill voice rang out from beside them. “Wait! You three, stop right there!”

Li Guanqi furrowed his brow. Kong Xun frowned and turned to the woman. “Junior Sister Pei, do you need something?”

Pei Shishi walked quickly to stand before them. She looked at Kong Xun, now in plain clothes, and said coldly, “Kong Xun, I respect you enough to call you Elder Kong. However, seeing as you changed out of your sect robes... Did you find what I did today disgraceful?” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Kong Xun’s hands hung at his sides, his gaze calm. He said softly, “It has nothing to do with you. Tomorrow I’ll inform the sect and resign from my position as elder.”

A furious glint flared in Pei Shishi’s beautiful eyes. She was certain Kong Xun thought being in the same sect as her was embarrassing. He had changed out of his sect robes right in front of everyone.

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Li Guanqi standing silently beside Kong Xun, igniting an inexplicable fire in her heart. The person she’d looked down on during the entire journey had witnessed her embarrassment from start to finish. And now Kong Xun was bringing him along.

Pei Shishi looked at Li Guanqi, then turned to Sun Jie. “Brother Jie, I don’t know this person, and he’s not from our Heavenly Calamity Sect! His fee... shall be triple!”

Li Guanqi nonchalantly handed over three thousand high-grade spirit stones.

Sun Jie furrowed his brow. He didn’t understand how a Golden Core Realm cultivator could be so wealthy. He was purchasing the highest-tier access to the Dao Comprehension Platform—it was already expensive, yet he’d casually paid triple the price. And those who hadn’t already purchased tokens from the Six Gates Holy Sect had to pay by the Sun clan’s pricing, which was more expensive than usual.

Sun Jie hesitated. A Golden Core Realm cultivator who could casually produce three thousand high-grade spirit stones... the faction behind him had to be formidable.

Pei Shishi didn’t notice Sun Jie’s expression. “Take back his feather token!”

Li Guanqi looked at her with a calm expression, wondering why her ego was so bruised. “Why should I pay triple? Just because you want me to?”

Pei Shishi’s mind raced with speculation. She sneered. “If you’re poor, don’t come here pretending to be a young master! If you can’t afford it, get out!”

The Heavenly Calamity Sect disciple beside them leaned over and sent Li Guanqi a voice transmission. “Fellow Daoist, if it’s too much trouble, don’t provoke her. Just come back when she’s not around. She thinks she’s the shit now that she’s become a powerful person’s concubine.”

Li Guanqi chuckled inwardly. Even the man who had tried to court her now looked down on her.

Li Guanqi sneered. “She’s making a big deal out of nothing, acting like she’s a phoenix now...”

At those words, the cultivators who hadn’t yet entered all stiffened. They cast sympathetic glances at Li Guanqi. Those two lines had clearly struck Pei Shishi’s sore spot. Wasn’t everything she was doing now exactly what Li Guanqi had described? Given her vengeful nature, they knew she’d make things difficult for him.

Pei Shishi glared at him, her eyes dark. ”Fine. I was already being generous. You refused to pay triple, so now it’s five times. No—ten times!”

Li Guanqi clasped his hands behind his back, smirking. His concealed aura seeped out faintly, letting him appear as a late Golden Core Realm cultivator.

“Oh? Ten times... That would be a full thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones... I bet even some Divine Transformation Realm cultivators haven’t seen that many spirit stones in their entire lives. Are you trying to make things difficult for me?”

Pei Shishi smiled mockingly and crossed her arms, standing beside Sun Jie. “That’s right, I am making things difficult for you. So what? Do you dare touch me?”

Li Guanqi chuckled. “I wouldn’t dare. How could I? But what if I could produce those thirty thousand spirit stones?”

From Li Guanqi’s plain clothes, not even Daoist robes, Pei Shishi had already concluded he couldn’t possibly have that many spirit stones. What elder would let a Golden Core Realm junior carry thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones? They wouldn’t even make it past the front gate before someone killed them.

Pei Shishi was fully confident. She said coldly, “If you don’t have the spirit stones, kneel on the ground in front of everyone and admit that you were wrong!”

Li Guanqi shook his head. Pei Shishi was extraordinarily petty. “Fine. But what if I do produce them?”

Pei Shishi waved a hand. “Name your condition!”

Li Guanqi’s eyes glinted, his smile sharpening into something strange. “Since you like licking so much, get on your knees and lick his feet.”

He pointed at the youth of the Heavenly Calamity Sect. Everyone watched with great interest.

Pei Shishi looked at the young man who had fawned over her for the past few years, always at her beck and call. Her expression shifted several times before she finally said, “Fine! I agree!”

Li Guanqi grinned and raised his hand. A dense shower of high-grade spirit stones appeared, blotting out half the sky above the mountain gate.

Everyone who saw the display gulped, eyes bloodshot with greed. Those densely packed spirit stones... how could there be only thirty thousand? There were probably over a hundred thousand.

Sun Jie broke out in a cold sweat. He no longer thought Li Guanqi was simply a wealthy man. The matter had already slipped beyond his control.

Who exactly is that devilishly handsome fellow?!

Pei Shishi froze in place. Li Guanqi looked at her and sneered. “Is this enough?”

Pei Shishi had turned pale. Her eyes darted to Sun Jie. But Sun Jie was also covered in sweat, clutching a jade slip and sending out multiple messages.

Li Guanqi turned to the disciple from the Heavenly Calamity Sect and said, “I still don’t know your name.”

The youth started, then bowed respectfully. “My name is Zhao Nian.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “What are you waiting for? Take off your shoes.”

Zhao Nian shed his boots in a few swift movements. He shattered his socks with vital force and licked his lips, his eyes alight with excitement.

Li Guanqi turned slowly, looking down at Pei Shishi with contempt. In a measured voice, he said, “Lick.”