3: Chapter 3: Wild Imagination, the Sect Leader Has Arrived!

Wang Tiemian’s half-step back was like a silent thunderclap, shattering all the noise on the square.

The entire world fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as they stared fixedly at the unbelievable scene on the high platform.

That was Wang Tiemian!

An Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, at Foundation Establishment Perfection, known for being impartial and having a will as firm as a rock!

He was actually... scared back by a single sentence from a recognized Qi Refining First Layer trash?

This world had completely overturned their understanding.

Wang Tiemian’s own Dao Heart was nearly crumbling; a bone-chilling cold surged from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head, and his back was already completely drenched in cold sweat.

It's over.

Only these two words remained in his mind.

What had he just done? He actually dared to use his Divine Sense to peer at such a taboo existence!

This was blasphemy! This was a great disrespect!

That the other party didn't crush his Divine Soul into ashes on the spot was already a mercy beyond imagination!

In an instant, Wang Tiemian’s proud and firm will began to frantically "correct" itself at an unprecedented speed.

"This youth... no, this Senior! He is by no means ordinary!"

"Lurking in my Taixuan Sect for three years, enduring endless ridicule and cold stares without ever revealing his true self—what kind of terrifying state of mind is this? What kind of world-shaking scheme is this?"

"The matter of his parents sacrificing their lives to save an Elder was probably no accident either! That might have simply been an Incarnation of the Senior walking the world, just to find a reason to stay in the Sect!"

"Why did he cause such a sensation at today's Assessment Ceremony? Was it to settle a piece of mortal Karma? Or is it... that my Taixuan Sect is facing an impending catastrophe, and the Senior couldn't bear to see our lineage severed, so he appeared to give a warning?!"

The more Wang Tiemian thought about it, the more his Divine Soul trembled, and the more he felt that this was the only truth.

The look he directed at Su Changge had completely shed all suspicion, leaving only the most primitive and pure awe and trepidation.

When Su Changge saw Wang Tiemian’s expression, which looked as if he had seen a Heavenly Lord descend to earth, his heart skipped a beat.

"Holy crap, this guy's eyes... something's not right!"

"Could it be that I really bluffed him? Is the aftereffect of this System's special effects this strong?"

Su Changge suppressed the wild joy and tension in his heart. He understood that he had to strike while the iron was hot and completely solidify his persona as a "Master."

At a time like this, the more one says, the more mistakes one makes.

The most profound words are often the simplest and most baffling.

Thus, he turned slightly, no longer looking at anyone. His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of clouds, landing on the unreachable heavens beyond, and he let out a soft sigh.

That sigh carried a sense of exhaustion and emptiness, as if he had experienced ten thousand eons of Reincarnation.

"This Mortal World..."

He paused, and in a tone so ethereal it seemed it would scatter with the wind, he slowly uttered four words.

"Is but a dream."

[Ding! Detected that the Host's acting has reached the Transcendent level. Automatically matching Heavenly Dao-grade background sound effect: Great Dao Bell!]

Dong—!

An ancient chime, sounding as if it came from the upper reaches of the river of time, didn't ring in the ears but exploded directly in the depths of Wang Tiemian’s Divine Soul!

That chime seemed to contain the ultimate truths of the Universe's birth and destruction. His Dao Heart, which had been agitated due to his damaged Divine Sense, was instantly smoothed over by this chime, and there was even a faint sign of progress!

Wang Tiemian’s Divine Soul shook violently, and his bloodshot eyes were instantly filled with fanatical worship!

Words Become Law!

This is definitely Words Become Law!

With a single word, the Senior can summon the Sound of the Great Dao to heal my Dao injuries! What a Heaven-Defying, god-like method this is!

"Senior!"

Wang Tiemian didn't dare to hesitate for another second. Lowering himself to the extreme, he bowed deeply toward Su Changge’s back, prostrating himself on the ground.

"Junior Wang Tiemian was blind and offended your Heavenly Countenance. I beg the Senior for punishment!"

This bow caused the minds of all the Disciples below the stage to completely short-circuit.

"Am... Am I blind? Elder Wang... is kneeling and bowing to Su Changge?"

"He even called himself a Junior?!"

"He called him... Senior?!"

In the crowd, several sharp-witted Disciples began to tremble uncontrollably as a revolutionary thought grew wildly in their minds.

"Could it be... that Senior Brother Su Changge... is not a waste at all, but our Sect's hidden Supreme Ancestor? These three years, he was... tempering his Dao Heart and experiencing the Mortal World?!"

"Hiss! Only this can explain Elder Wang’s attitude!"

In an instant, the gazes of everyone looking at Su Changge had completely transformed from ridicule to shock, fanaticism, and awe.

Su Changge was already overjoyed, but he still maintained that calm and indifferent posture with his back to the world, as if the kneeling of a Foundation Establishment Perfection expert wasn't even worth him turning around.

Just in this extremely eerie and shocking atmosphere, a sudden change occurred in the sky!

A peerless, brilliant green divine rainbow tore through the clouds, piercing through from the direction of Taixuan Sect's Main Peak at an incredible speed!

Before the divine rainbow even arrived, a terrifying pressure far exceeding Foundation Establishment and as vast as heavenly might had already enveloped the entire square!

"It's the Sect Head!"

"Heavens! The Sect Head has actually come out of seclusion!"

All the Disciples trembled under this pressure, their faces filled with horror.

The green divine rainbow suddenly stopped above the square. The light dissipated, revealing a middle-aged Daoist wearing a green cloud-patterned Daoist robe, with a face as fair as jade and a Transcendent air.

It was none other than the Taixuan Sect Leader, Golden Core True Person, Sect Master!

He had been in death seclusion, pushing for the Golden Core Middle Stage, but at that moment, his Dao Heart had throbbed for no reason. He sensed an indescribable, unobservable supreme aura that seemed capable of causing his Golden Core to disintegrate, flashing across the Outer Sect Square!

This aura shocked him into forcibly breaking out of seclusion!

His gaze was like two divine swords, instantly locking onto the source of that aura on the high platform—Su Changge.

Su Changge felt that gaze which seemed almost capable of seeing through him, and his heart instantly went cold.

"I'm screwed! Even a Golden Core big shot has been alerted! I'm going to be exposed now!"

"Can my superficial System fool a Golden Core True Person?!"

He was so nervous that his palms were instantly drenched in cold sweat.

However, the System always knew how to show off better than its Host.

[Ding! Detected a high-level Cultivator (Golden Core Stage) performing Heavenly Heart Deduction. The Host's Master image is under serious threat!]

[To maintain the Host's absolute prestige, the "Heavenly Dao Disguise" protocol is urgently activated...]

[Over-the-limit special effects triggered—]

[Purple Qi Coming from the East for Thirty Thousand Miles!]