No one could see whether Zhong Hui's current expression was one of resentment, unwillingness, or if he had no expression at all.

Time truly could change many things.

In the short span of a year, Zhong Hui's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and now he was fourth-ranked on the Proclamation of Golden Distinction.

But now his rival was no longer on the same level.

This wasn't speaking in terms of cultivation, but status.

Even if their strengths were similar, could Zhong Hui dare show any disrespect to Chen Changsheng?

The mountain path was still silent.

Innumerable gazes fell upon Chen Changsheng.

As long as he did not speak, Zhong Hui had to maintain his posture of courtesy.

Tang Thirty-Six's lips seemed to carry a smear of ridicule as he prepared to speak.

Zhexiu shook his head.

As time slowly passed, the steward of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets slightly creased his brow. He did not dare criticize Chen Changsheng for anything, but it could be presumed that he had been thinking of it.

Chen Changsheng was not deliberately humiliating Zhong Hui, he just had not come around yet. He did not expect for Zhong Hui to bow to him.

Even when those believers were all kowtowing to him in that village at the base of the mountain, he did not feel himself to be the future Pope.

Suddenly, everyone on the mountain took in a breath of cold air.

Because Chen Changsheng had acted.

He clasped his hands, bent his body, and returned the bow to Zhong Hui. There was no disrespect and his posture was impeccable.

With his current status, if Zhong Hui reverentially bowed to him, he only needed to say a few words in return.

But he very seriously returned the bow. In addition, he had used the etiquette meant for fellow cultivators of the same generation.

The previously frosty atmosphere instantly thawed. Everyone looked at Chen Changsheng, deeply moved and sighing in admiration.

Everyone rejoiced, except Tang Thirty-Six. Only Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu could hear him say, "Perhaps everyone that reads too much ends up this way?"

Chen Changsheng turned to him and asked, "How was it?"

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "You turned into Gou Hanshi."

Chen Changsheng replied, "Thank you."

In his view, to be able to become a person like Gou Hanshi was definitely praise.

Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "A hypocrite."

Chen Changsheng froze, then he very helplessly shook his head and continued forward along the mountain path.

The hundred-some cultivators very naturally followed behind him. No one dared to walk in front of him.

The group on the mountain seemed to have quite some momentum now, yet they did not walk very far before coming to a halt once more.

This time, it wasn't because some old acquaintance who had some old story with Chen Changsheng had appeared on the mountain path, but because a person was intentionally standing in the middle of the path, blocking the way.

Chen Changsheng did not recognize this person, but many other people did.

Fifth rank on the Proclamation of Liberation, the youngest general of the demi-humans and the most talented expert of the past century given birth along the two shores of the Red River, excluding Princess Luoluo.

This demi-human expert had a very cute name: Xiao De.

(TN: Xiao De, 小德, means 'little/small virtue')

However, everyone that recognized him knew that this demi-human expert was not cute at all, and was actually very terrifying.

"You are Chen Changsheng?"

Xiao De looked at him as he spoke, his two bangs of black hair floating upwards, emanating an unyielding aura as they waved around.

As for the question, even someone with such surpassing patience as Chen Changsheng was somewhat fed up with hearing it, so he only nodded his head and did not speak.

In Xiao De's view, Chen Changsheng's refusal to open his mouth was a humiliation.

Or perhaps, he had been waiting for Chen Changsheng to humiliate him so that he could seize the opportunity to get angry.

"I am going to beat you to death," he said very seriously to Chen Changsheng.

His clean and clear pupils suddenly gushed with tawny rays of light while his body emitted a terrifyingly powerful Qi.

Chen Changsheng was somewhat confused. It was obvious that this demi-human expert was specifically targeting him. Of course, this person could not really beat him to death, but he was deliberately saying such ruthless and unreasonable words and putting on such a crude appearance in order to humiliate him.

This was confusing because, due to Luoluo, his relationship with the demi-humans had always been good. Last autumn, he had even received a reward from White Emperor City.

The crowd on the mountain path had all noticed the change in the scene. They thought the same as Chen Changsheng, all knowing that this demi-human expert could not really beat Chen Changsheng to death, but this did not mean that this demi-human expert did not have the ability. It was just that Chen Changsheng's status was rather special.

No matter how amazing Chen Changsheng's talent was, even such that normal initial level Star Condensation cultivators were not his match, there was still a massive gap between him and the top five of the Proclamation of Liberation. It must be said that Xiao De could fight head-on with the likes of Wang Po and Xiao Zhang.

"You don't understand?" Tang Thirty-Six turned to him and asked.

Chen Changsheng nodded.

"Along the two shores of the Red River, the number of young experts wanting to marry Princess Luoluo is uncountable, and whether in terms of cultivation talent, strength, or family background, Xiao De has always been the one with the greatest hope of achieving this. This also means that if nothing too out of the ordinary occurs, in another few years, he would take Princess Luoluo as his wife. Moreover, if Princess Luoluo cannot inherit the techniques of the White Emperor, he would become the future sovereign of the demi-human realm. And it was you that rendered all this into froth and shadows."

After hearing Tang Thirty-Six's explanation, Chen Changsheng now felt different when he gazed at the demi-human expert on the mountain path.

"You changed the circumstances of Princess Luoluo's meridians, which was tantamount to changing the rules that governed the realm of demi-humans for tens of thousands of years. Whether you look at it from this angle or from the angle of your relationship with Princess Luoluo, if I were Xiao De, I would have more than enough reason to kill you."

After finishing his explanation, Tang Thirty-Six walked forward to stand before Xiao De.

Xiao De's body did not seem particularly tall or sturdy. Compared to Xuanyuan Po, he was clearly much thinner, but he gave off a sense of enormous weight.

This sort of feeling was the pressure released by a true expert.

Tang Thirty-Six's expression was extremely solemn. He knew more than anyone else on this mountain path that if this demi-human expert went crazy, he really would dare to attack Chen Changsheng. And the problem was that, no matter how he looked at it, this demi-human expert had every reason to go crazy.

"You know who I am," he said to Xiao De.

Xiao De narrowed his eyes, the fierce, tawny light in the depths of his pupils gradually fading. He somewhat adjusted his voice as he replied, "The Tang clan's young master."

"Since you've recognized me, that makes it convenient. Your tribe has conducted business with us for countless years, so you should know very well that our Tang clan is made up of proper businessmen."

"What business do you want to discuss?"

"You want to marry Princess Luoluo?"

"All the tribes along the two shores of the Red River, and even the animals living deep in the mountains, know this." Xiao De's voice became grave as he warned, "By no means should you tell me that because he's Princess Luoluo's teacher, since I want to marry Princess Luoluo, I should treat him better, and that at the crucial stage, he might even help me by speaking up."

Tang Thirty-Six froze. After a moment, he sighed, "Who said that you demi-humans are all brainless?"

Xiao De smiled, "Presumably, a brainless human said it."

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Then we can't discuss business anymore?"

"Because this was never business, it was fraud." Xiao De gave a forced smile. "Seeing as the relationship between our two sides is good, I naturally can't blame you, but tell me, for what reason shouldn't I be angry at him? What's wrong with me wanting to beat him to death?"

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Just who is defrauding whom? When intelligence is required, you're smarter and more cool-headed than anyone else. When you want to play furious and straightforward, you take out this side of yourself. If we're talking business, just which side of you should I be talking with?"

"No matter which side of me you're talking with, you always have to state your conditions first."

Xiao De's smile faded and he said emotionlessly, "The two shores of the Red River, the eternal domain of the demi-humans, its countless inhabitants—I've lost so much. How much can you compensate me for?"

Just as Tang Thirty-Six was ready to speak, Chen Changsheng's voice rose, very calm and resolute.

"The two shores of the Red River, the eternal domain of the demi-humans, its countless inhabitants..this was never yours and you've never obtained it, so what loss is there to talk about?"

He walked to Tang Thirty-Six's side and looked at Xiao De. "I couldn't understand that talk of business you two were having, but I do know that whether doing business or discussing matters, you should never exchange something you've never owned for the corresponding profit."

As he spoke, he stared into Xiao De's eyes, his meaning exceptionally clear with no intent of retreat—the eight hundred li of the Red River was never yours, and Luoluo was also never yours. Even if you are a demi-human expert atop the Proclamation of Liberation, what qualifications do you have to stand in front of me and speak of reasons, talk business, and demand compensation?

The mountain was deathly still, so quiet that even the birds seemed to have ceased their songs.

If one said that the previous silence when encountering Zhong Hui made people feel awkward from the tension, this current deathly stillness stirred in others a sense of unease.

This was because Chen Changsheng was confronting a demi-human expert that sat atop the Proclamation of Liberation. He had caused this demi-human expert to lose far too much profit, far more than Zhong Hui had ever lost. Moreover, even with the Wenshui Tang clan acting as a buffer, this demi-human expert was seemingly not prepared to lower his demands for compensation. And now, Chen Changsheng had displayed a rarely seen stalwartness.

Xiao De suddenly began to laugh, almost maniacally. The tawny luster in his eyes transformed into the brightest point on a wave of water.

Then he narrowed his eyes and said to Chen Changsheng, "It seems you believe that I wouldn't dare to beat you to death."

Chen Changsheng replied, "I don't believe you have the ability to beat me to death."

These two statements were two completely different things.

In Xiao De's view, even if Chen Changsheng was widely acknowledged to have talent far exceeding the ordinary cultivator, even though he had reached the peak of Ethereal Opening at the age of sixteen, had dealt successive defeats to the initial level Star Condensation experts of the capital's academies, and had even obtained victory over Xu Yourong on the Bridge of Helplessness..he still only needed to extend a finger to pinch Chen Changsheng to death.

But Chen Changsheng was the Pope's appointed successor..so he had used the word 'dare'.

Chen Changsheng had used the word 'ability'. Of course, he was no match for this fifth-ranked expert of the Proclamation of Liberation, but he still believed that he could not be so easily defeated.

His self-confidence naturally had its reasons, such as the countless swords in the Vault Sheath, such as the five stone pearls on his hand, such as the blade techniques he had learned in the Mausoleum of Books. He had many reasons, but other people did not know. Not even Tang Thirty-Six knew of the full strength of the Vault Sheath, so he felt these words rather peculiar.

This was a humiliation aimed at an expert of the Proclamation of Liberation.