Bai Xiaochun was a bit taken aback. However, the grand elder from the Hall of Justice had spoken with warm sincerity, and seemed to be thirsting for knowledge. Apparently, he had no ill intent at all, and really wanted to know about the secrets of thirtyfold spirit enhancements.
Bai Xiaochun didn't say anything at first. Instead, he scrambled for a way to build on the incredible foundation he had already prepared. There had to be a way to show off a bit more, to build on the high profile he had already created, to the point where everyone would prostrate themselves in worship and admiration!
Of course, no one could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking about that. As for the grand elder, he simply waited in quiet anticipation.
Before Bai Xiaochun had provided his answer, most people in the clan had viewed him with scorn. But now, none of them dared to think in such a way. His explanation about the feather becoming a world had moved all of them. Then, his sharp tongue had forced the clan chief to take his own wife into custody. Bai Qi had come close to either being expelled from the clan or executed.
Because of all of that, Bai Hao seemed like a completely different person than the one they remembered....
Plus, they could all see that the grand elder from the Hall of Justice approved of him. With every moment that passed, Bai Hao’s place in their hearts grew.
The fifth young lady was looking at him with a curious gleam in her eyes. Of course, because of the drastic change in Bai Hao that had just been revealed, it occurred to her that he might be an imposter. In fact, she wasn’t the only one to have such thoughts; the clan elders were also thinking the same thing.
It was the same with the clan chief, who even secretly checked the clan’s defensive spell formation to determine whether this was really Bai Hao or not!
The clan spell formation could perform deep analyses of the blood of anyone in the clan, and therefore, if this person was not Bai Hao, but someone else who had secretly entered the clan by some unknown means, it would be able to detect it.
Everyone in the clan knew that, including the fifth young lady. Therefore, she put such thoughts of imposters out of her mind, and continued to wait in anticipation for further explanation from Bai Hao.
It was the same with Bai Lei, who by now was fully convinced that he had simply overlooked Bai Hao in the past, and that his sudden rise to prominence was a good thing.
Not everyone in the clan was happy, though. The hearts of the all the direct bloodline descendants seethed with venomous hatred, although they didn’t dare to reveal that in their facial expressions. After all, Bai Hao’s actions hadn’t just humiliated Bai Qi and Madam Cai; they had humiliated the entire direct bloodline.
In fact, as far as they were concerned, because Bai Hao was also part of the direct bloodline, he was a traitor!
After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Bai Xiaochun looked up, his eyes glittering. Facing the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he clasped hands and bowed.
The grand elder’s expression brightened, and he sat there patiently, waiting to hear what was about to be said. It was the same with the other clan elders, all of whom had very somber expressions on their faces.
“Allow me to answer your question, Grand Elder. My speculations regarding thirtyfold spirit enhancements were rather arbitrary. The thing is, Junior is a rather lonely person, with no brothers or sisters, nor any friends. Oftentimes, I sit alone and daydream about the world around me, feeling alone, as though I am the only person left alive in the entire world....
“Perhaps that feeling of loneliness is what makes me dream of having wings, and of flying off into the distance....” As he spoke, his voice slowly grew more and more hoarse, as though he were immersing himself in memories of his youth.
Most clan members knew a bit about Bai Hao’s situation, and when they heard his words, they could easily imagine a lonely young boy sitting there looking up into the sky and daydreaming about the world.
Many of the clan elders seemed moved. As for the fifth young lady, she wasn’t sure why, but she suddenly felt very melancholy.
Bai Xiaochun was pleased to see this reaction. During the time he had spent thinking moments ago, he had considered long and hard how to give an answer that would shock and move everyone present.
Although Bai Xiaochun didn’t view himself as someone who was adept at bragging and impressing people, he could at least leave them feeling somewhat moved. As he continued to speak, his voice floated in the wind, almost as if they had originated in his youth, and had drifted through the streams of time into the present....
“I often wonder about the shape of the world itself... and how we came to exist in it.... Why are there souls, and why is there multi-colored flame? Why is there such a thing as spirit enhancement...?
"I often wonder if there really are immortals in the world. And I wonder how people learned to practice cultivation....
"I often wonder about the sky, which is so vast. Is there something else beyond it? Is there another world out there? If there is, what does it look like...?" Although he spoke in little more than a murmur, everyone could hear him clearly. The entire area was completely quiet, and everyone was immersed in his words.
The clan elders were holding their breaths, all of them struck with the realization that they had mistakenly overlooked Bai Hao in the past....
That was especially true of the grand elder from the Hall of Justice. His expression flickered through numerous emotions as he thought back to what Bai Hao had been like as a youth. Considering the words he was speaking now, he could almost see what he was describing.
"Are there people in that world beyond ours? If there are... what do we look like to them...?" Bai Xiaochun's eyes gazed softly into nowhere as he continued to speak.
"For all we know, the place we live in is actually an object that some almighty being performed a thirtyfold spirit enhancement on, turning it into a world!!!" As his words echoed out, the sounds of gasps could be heard among the audience.
"Can anyone explain why we even know about spirit enhancements to begin with? Can anyone explain where the practice of performing spirit enhancements came from?!?!"
After a dramatic pause, he concluded, “And that is my explanation!"
Once again, he clasped hands to the grand elder, and then stood there silently. Inwardly, he felt completely pleased. Even he wasn't quite sure of the exact meaning of the words he had uttered; he had spent most of his time earlier trying to come up with some things that sounded incredibly profound and mysterious.
Although he didn't understand what he had just said, he was sure that it was enough to startle everyone. The more enigmatic his words sounded, the more profound mysteries of the Dao they seemed to contain, the better. At the moment, although he seemed completely calm, he was actually surreptitiously looking around, hoping to see a positive reaction.
At the moment, silence reigned. Everyone was staring blankly at him, including the grand elder, whose heart was teetering in shock.
Bai Xiaochun could imagine how incredible he seemed, and could almost see the gears turning in their heads as they realized why he had come up with his answer of the feather becoming a world.
No one could recover from their shock immediately. It was only after about ten breaths of time passed that people began to gasp and utter various exclamations.
"There's another world beyond ours...?"
"What if we really live in some magical item that an almighty being performed a thirtyfold spirit enhancement on?!?!"
"Heavens! Isn't there a story about how the first generation arch-emperor created heaven and earth, and then died in battle to protect it for his people...?"
The fifth young lady and Bai Lei were shaking visibly. The more deeply they thought about the words Bai Xiaochun had just uttered, the more mysterious and profound they seemed.
After hearing the cries of shock, Bai Xiaochun finally calmed down. His goal of leaving everyone shaken had been met. To his pleasure, the clan elders were looking at him with shining eyes. As for the grand elder from the Hall of Justice, he rose to his feet, threw his head back and laughed at the top of his lungs.
“Excellent. Excellent! Excellent!!” Normally speaking, the grand elder was a very somber person who did little more than nod his head in acknowledgment to people. In fact, he had only said the word excellent once to Bai Qi.
But now, he said it three times. Furthermore, the excitement on his face showed how much he approved of Bai Hao. As for Bai Qi, when he saw all of these things, he felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his hands clenched tightly into fists.
Snarling, his killing intent grew even more intense, and he thought, "After I get the deva soul in the ancestral land, I'm definitely going to kill you!!"
As for the clan chief, it was with mixed emotions that he looked at Bai Xiaochun. However, that only lasted for a moment before he cleared his heart and filled it with only icy coldness.
"Just blame the fact that you're a bastard,” he murmured in his heart. “Your mother was scum, and therefore you are destined to be scum. You refuse to submit, and constantly fight back. That's why you deserve the same fate as your mother: death!"