They had gone to repair a barrier, only to stumble upon a conflict between the merfolk and Beast-Taming Manor, getting caught up in the feud. Out of a sense of justice, to punish evil and aid the weak, master and disciple helped the merfolk, uncovering the Manor’s immoral schemes in the process. When the old monster lost control and mutated, Gu Baiqing dealt with him while Mo Xuanli faced the rampaging beasts, ultimately saving Longan Port. The cause of the disaster, they explained, lay with a beast demon who had built a Spirit-Gathering Array.
They also spoke of the grudges between the beast demon, the Manor, and the merfolk, matters already approved by Junhua. But the secret of consuming mermaid pearls and deceiving the merfolk into producing them was never mentioned. That part was glossed over, framed instead as an ancient “blood-recognition bond” ritual from the Demon War era.
The conclusion was clear: Beast-Taming Manor brought ruin upon itself; the merfolk suffered tragedy but were now rebuilding.
Mo Xuanli’s account was flawless—airtight, with no openings for doubt. Even Gu Baiqing, who’d been there, might have been fooled if he didn’t already know the truth. Others stood no chance.
Gu Baiqing had only discussed the general outline of what to say with Mo Xuanli. He hadn’t expected the boy’s eloquence to be this sharp. It struck him again how different Mo Xuanli’s public demeanor was from how he acted in private, each time it left Gu Baiqing a little incredulous.
As Mo Xuanli finished, Gu Baiqing glanced around. Most faces showed little sympathy. Clearly, few here would ever extend their compassion for humans to the merfolk. At best, they just found Beast-Taming Manor’s behavior distasteful.
Zhong Lei’s expression, however, had darkened. He hadn’t expected Mo Xuanli’s explanation to neatly preempt every challenge he’d prepared, leaving him with nothing to criticize.
After all, it was Mo Xuanli who had resolved the crisis of the rampaging beasts.
And the old monster who had endangered the human realm, Gu Baiqing had dealt with him personally.
As the debate wound on, Zhong Lei finally said, “Since the matter is now so clear, why not have the Second Princess of the Merfolk come forth and confirm it herself? That way we wouldn’t be judging the truth based only on words. Or does Disciple Mo think that just because he signed an alliance, he can fully speak on behalf of the Merfolk? That seems somewhat inappropriate. The matter of the alliance is still under discussion, after all.”
Zhong Lei’s words drew murmurs of agreement from several others.
Before Gu Baiqing could speak, Fu Zhiyi cut in, “What’s the use of asking him? His master was there at the time and already refused to let the merfolk come.”
He turned to Gu Baiqing, who said evenly, “The condition for letting the Second Princess come is that no disciple from any sect in the cultivation world has ever bought or sold members of the merfolk race. The princess said she fears being captured like prey if she comes, after all, too many cultivators covet them.”
Fu Zhiyi immediately played along, exclaiming, “Ah? Is that so? Well, our Zixiao Sect certainly has not and would never! The merfolk are our allies. How could we traffic their people?”
At that, the faces of several sect leaders turned somewhat unnatural.
Zhong Lei quickly said, “On that matter, our Taixu Hall will issue an investigation order at once, to help the merfolk recover their missing kin.”
Gu Baiqing replied carelessly, “Then do it before you talk.”
Zhong Lei’s expression darkened.
Fu Zhiyi smiled thinly. “Hall Master Zhong, I’d say calling her here isn’t realistic. The merfolk princess isn’t someone who’ll come at anyone’s command. They aren’t cultivators of our world; they don’t enjoy the benefits of our governance, so naturally they don’t owe us obedience. Besides, after what happened with Beast-Taming Manor, she’s probably sick to death of cultivators. It’s understandable she doesn’t want to come. Better not make things difficult for her. And since everything’s been clearly explained, and I’m sure you can make your own judgment, if there’s no disagreement, why press further? Surely if you can’t distrust this young disciple, you wouldn’t doubt my junior brother, would you? My junior brother is the last person to stoop to lying, nor would he need to, don’t you think?”
Fu Zhiyi’s smile was that of a tiger sheathed in silk, his words barely stopped short of saying outright: The top combatant of the tribulation stage has been polite enough to explain things nicely. Take the face you’re being given.
Zhong Lei could see it clearly now, the Zixiao Sect was standing as one, intent on protecting Mo Xuanli. They couldn’t control the true dragon, perhaps, but they weren’t about to let go of the merfolk alliance either.
Still smiling, Zhong Lei said, “Of course, requesting the princess to come is not because we distrust Elder Luofeng or his disciple. We only wish to discuss the terms of the alliance. Since Disciple Mo has signed it, saying the merfolk princess cannot be summoned doesn’t sound very convincing. What is it you’re afraid of, I wonder?”
Afraid of what? Afraid that you shameless people would take advantage of the merfolk’s weakness to snatch what’s theirs? Bandits acting like they’re entitled to righteousness?
Gu Baiqing frowned instantly, feigning confusion, and said sharply, “What do you mean by that? I don’t understand. My disciple and the merfolk princess formed the alliance between themselves, why should it be discussed with anyone else? And the alliance isn’t a master-servant contract. How could he possibly ‘command’ her? What’s there to be afraid of?”
Gu Baiqing’s reputation for being difficult was well-known. His words immediately wiped the smile off Zhong Lei’s face.
“Elder Luofeng, that’s not quite right,” Zhong Lei countered stiffly. “Disciple Mo may be outstanding, but he’s still young, inexperienced, and his temperament not yet stable. To place such great power in his hands, it’s not appropriate.”
“Indeed,” another elder chimed in. “Could it be that you’re using him as an excuse to seize control of the merfolk’s strength for your own sect? You’re showing a blatant disregard for the rest of us!”
“Eh? Now that’s unfair,” Fu Zhiyi said with an easy grin. “This was Xuanli’s fated opportunity. And besides, our Zixiao Sect has plenty of powerful assets, we hardly need the merfolk’s strength.”
He was bluffing, of course. If the merfolk’s power were truly so insignificant, the great immortal sects wouldn’t have maintained such a delicate balance for so long, each unwilling to be the first to break it.
Fu Zhiyi was simply trying to smooth over the mess caused by this master and disciple.
Then He Jingyuan, the Sect Master of Tianzhao Sect, the one to which Li Xiuran belonged, spoke up: “Brother Fu, that’s not quite right. The merfolk may no longer be at their former peak, but who can say what they’ll become in the future? How could their strength be considered ordinary?”
Baili Jingcheng, however, spoke lazily, “I don’t see the problem. With Baiqing overseeing things, there won’t be trouble. Though Mo Xuanli is talented, he’s surely not powerful enough to command the merfolk’s full might. It’s not as though he could cause a stir even if he wanted to. As he explained just now, it was an emergency, an act of necessity. Besides, both master and disciple were present when it happened. If the merfolk chose Mo Xuanli over Baiqing, it’s likely because of his contract with the true dragon. If anyone’s unhappy about it, they can go ask the merfolk themselves, see if they’re willing to change partners.”
He Jingyuan’s face soured. “Jingcheng, must you contradict us at every turn? You speak so casually, does your father know how far you’re taking this support?”
“Sect Master He worries too much,” Jingcheng replied with a polite smile. “I’m merely stating the truth.”
He Jingyuan gave a cold snort, turning toward the representative of Rufeng Sect, an elder who’d stayed silent so far. “And what does Rufeng Sect have to say?”
“What can we say? Disciple Mo is certainly impressive.”
The tone was laced with sarcasm, making Gu Baiqing glance over. It seemed the incident at Linxun Town had left Rufeng Sect with some lingering resentment toward Mo Xuanli.
“The merfolk have existed for countless years without ever choosing anyone before,” said a monk from Wuxiang Temple, speaking up in their defense. “It seems Heaven’s will has chosen Disciple Mo.”
“Or maybe he just happened to be there at the time,” sneered someone from Chuixue Pavilion, who had long disliked Gu Baiqing. “Perhaps that merfolk princess simply doesn’t have much discernment.”
The hall erupted into a heated argument over the alliance, voices overlapping, most of them leaning toward having Mo Xuanli relinquish this “power.”
As if such a thing could be decided unilaterally.
Utterly unreasonable.
“Enough! You people never stop, do you?” Chu Fei snapped, his voice sharp with irritation. “You dress it up nicely, but how’s this any different from killing someone to steal their treasure? What, if one day someone else finds a treasure in some secret realm, and you all get greedy, are you going to gang up and force them to hand it over too?”
Chu Fei had been waiting for the meeting to end so he could spar with Mo Xuanli, but these people just wouldn’t shut up. And Chu Fei cared even less about social decorum than Gu Baiqing did.
Fu Zhiyi, utterly exhausted, couldn’t stop him in time then Gu Baiqing added coolly, “Why are you blurting out such harsh truths? They don’t like hearing them.”
That line didn’t make the others embarrassed and fall silent, it only made them explode even more, loudly arguing back, each trying to justify themselves as being “in the right.”
In the end, the attacks circled back to Zixiao Sect. They didn’t want Zixiao Sect holding that kind of power, and they made it sound as if a mere young man like Mo Xuanli was unworthy of it.
Gu Baiqing had expected this would be a tough fight, but he hadn’t expected it to turn into such an endless mess.
“Everyone, everyone,” said Zong Lei smoothly, seeing that the tension had built to the right pitch. “I do believe Zixiao Sect has no selfish motives in this, and Mo Xuanli’s action was a forced one in a desperate situation. If we were to strip the alliance from him by force, it would indeed invite criticism. However, I do have a suggestion.”
Gu Baiqing already knew exactly what kind of trick he was about to play and couldn’t help but let out a cold, derisive laugh.
The others turned to him, asking what his suggestion was.
Zong Lei said, “We could set a blood oath for Mo Xuanli, make him swear that he can only use the alliance with the merfolk under the approval of Taixu Hall. Naturally, if Taixu Hall were to invoke that power, it would also be with the consensus of all present, such as in dealing with the demon race.”
His words were deceptively elegant, but in reality, it was a way to covertly transfer the merfolk’s power into public or rather, his own control. It sounded fair, so the others found it easy to accept.
But in truth, it meant that Zong Lei alone would hold the reins. Mo Xuanli either wouldn’t be allowed to use it at all, or would only use it when Zong Lei gave the order, a situation ripe for manipulation.
Gu Baiqing had wanted to laugh at the sheer craftiness of it all, what a sly b*stard. Yet the crowd of so-called righteous sects actually nodded in agreement. The other great sects didn’t object either; after all, it did them no harm. Better to keep Zixiao Sect from growing too dominant.
But of course, all this depended on whether Mo Xuanli agreed.
In the original events, Mo Xuanli had long stopped being anyone’s timid little lamb, there was no way he’d agree. He had outright refused, saying he would never be anyone’s puppet.
With Zixiao Sect and Gu Baiqing behind him, he might get flak but no real losses. He had faced several provocations afterward, and with Junhua, the merfolk princess, standing her ground and refusing to switch alliance partners, the matter had been dropped. Especially since rumors said the demon clan had once sought cooperation with the merfolk, no one dared press the issue further.
But everyone had remembered that insult, deep down.
Now, though, things were slightly different, there were still a few sects on their side, and Mo Xuanli had been calm and humble. Even if he refused, it probably wouldn’t cause too much backlash.
Gu Baiqing waited for Mo Xuanli to refuse. Instead, he saw the boy go quiet, actually thinking it over?
“This isn’t appropriate,” Fu Zhiyi said, his expression darkening. He felt as though he’d failed to protect his disciple properly. From the way things were going, unless they wanted to cause a huge scene, Mo Xuanli might actually be pressured into agreeing.
“What’s inappropriate about it?” Zong Lei replied smoothly. “I only worry that since Mo Xuanli’s cultivation isn’t yet deep, if he were ever deceived or controlled by demons, the consequences would be dire. This is just the safest course.”
“Then what if you, Hall Master Zong, were deceived or controlled by demons?” Gu Baiqing retorted coldly. “By your logic, no one is safe to trust, are they?”
Zong Lei’s face froze, caught off guard by the jab.
Gu Baiqing stood up, walked over to stand protectively in front of Mo Xuanli, blocking all the sharp, probing gazes. His voice rang like iron: “My disciple will never be anyone’s puppet. What he gained through his own skill or fortune is rightfully his. You’ve talked circles around him long enough, did you all take me, his master, for a corpse?!”
His cold, cutting tone silenced the entire hall.
Fu Zhiyi broke into a sweat, while Chu Fei smirked smugly with satisfaction.
Several faces turned ugly; a few people tried to mumble protests.
Mo Xuanli looked at the figure standing before him, dazed, then a sharp pang of inferiority welled up in him. His hands clenched unconsciously.
“Elder Luofeng,” He Jingyuan of Tianzhao Sect said coldly, “you’re not the only one in the tribulation realm.”
“So what, are you planning to rob him by force?” Gu Baiqing’s smile was thin and lethal.
“Everyone, calm down,” Fu Zhiyi said hurriedly, trying to defuse the tension. “My junior brother has only this one disciple, naturally he’s protective. There’s no malice in his words.”
But Gu Baiqing, knowing no one would actually dare start a fight here, didn’t retreat an inch.
Then Jingcheng spoke up: “Baiqing, Hall Master Zong’s concern isn’t entirely unfounded. Power gained too early can bring misfortune. If it were you, it would be another matter, but for a younger cultivator like Mo Xuanli, aren’t you afraid the demons will target him?”
Jingcheng’s words weren’t from jealousy. Though he disliked the idea of Zixiao Sect rising too high, he wasn’t so spineless as to covet another’s gain. His meaning was clear: without a proper plan, Mo Xuanli’s new power would only bring him endless trouble. Were it his own younger brother, he’d never let him touch such a volatile force.
Both Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli had thought of that themselves. This alliance would invite endless trouble, not only for them but for Zixiao Sect as a whole. Yet they couldn’t ignore the merfolk, especially since protecting them was part of Gu Baiqing’s mission.
In short, there was no easy solution.
Gu Baiqing’s eyes hardened. “He accepted it so he’ll bear it. And I’ve already said…”
“As long as I’m still here, whoever dares target my disciple, whether demon or otherwise, they’ll have to get past me first.”
His cold declaration left no room for argument. Gu Baiqing clearly intended to defend him to the very end.
Everyone had originally thought Gu Baiqing, being cold and aloof by nature, would never go so far to defend his disciple but seeing him now, standing protectively before Mo Xuanli, they realized this wasn’t coincidence at all. He was practically treating the boy like the apple of his eye.
Gu Baiqing, meanwhile, had already thrown away his old “strict and distant master” persona entirely. This time, he intended to use the full weight of his Tribulation-stage power to suppress those with ulterior motives, to redirect their fear away from Mo Xuanli. Once their wariness shifted, Mo Xuanli’s future would be far smoother.
This was the plan Gu Baiqing had devised before even coming to Taixu Hall, the last card he could play. In the original version of events, only Mo Xuanli and Junhua were described as opposing the edict of the various sects; the master’s support was never shown as fierce or unyielding as Gu Baiqing’s now. Strange how much difference a single change could make.
Gu Baiqing acted according to his own thinking, and sure enough, the others looked visibly daunted.
Suddenly, Mo Xuanli reached out and took hold of Gu Baiqing’s hand.
Gu Baiqing froze, his first instinct was to pull away. What was this kid doing, grabbing his hand in front of everyone like this?!
But Mo Xuanli gripped tightly. If he could, he might have hugged his master right there. “Thank you, Master. I have an idea that might resolve this matter.”
Gu Baiqing blinked at him in surprise.
Mo Xuanli released him, stepped forward, and stopped beside his teacher.
“I am willing to swear a blood oath,” he said calmly. “But not one that binds me to the Taixu Hall’s command. My vow will be this: that I will only use the merfolk’s alliance power to protect the mortal realm, to protect the merfolk, and to fight against the demonic race, to uphold the righteous path. Never to bully fellow cultivators or harm the innocent. With such an oath, do any of you still have objections?”
Although they had agreed earlier that the merfolk’s alliance would not be handed over, Mo Xuanli hadn’t expected things to become this tense or his master to defend him so fiercely.
In truth, his master had never said that this power was to serve Zixiao Sect’s interests. He had only said that since Mo Xuanli had accepted it, he must cultivate diligently, grow stronger, and protect the merfolk.
But how could Mo Xuanli bear to let his master be scorned for a decision he himself had made?
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