“The audacity!”

Just as Qi Yuan was momentarily stunned by the situation, Piao Genshuo, who had been hiding behind him, shot forward with a sharp whoosh. His face flushed with righteous indignation, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Where the hell did you come from? How dare you impersonate me… I mean, how dare you impersonate the Holy Scion of the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary? Who gave you the gall?”

His sudden outburst startled the entire hall. It was only then that the crowd realized an outsider had somehow slipped in, and dozens of pairs of eyes instantly locked onto him.

Holy shit, how did he get in here?!

Shen Wuji also noticed Piao Genshuo emerging from behind Qi Yuan. His heart skipped a beat, sinking with the distinct sensation of having stepped in something nasty.

“You ugly freak, where did you pop out from?”

After a brief flash of guilty panic, Shen Wuji quickly regained his composure. He let out a cold sneer, scolding the intruder without a shred of politeness.

As an elite disciple of the Saint Sect, maintaining a poker face and gaslighting the opposition were fundamental professional skills. A minor hiccup like this wasn’t enough to rattle him.

Eerily, despite the commotion, the maidservants surrounding Shen Wuji seemed completely deaf to the noise. They stood quietly, gazing at him with tender, lovestruck eyes, as if the rest of the world—and reality itself—had ceased to exist.

“Who the fuck are you calling an ugly freak?! Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death right now!”

Triggered instantly by the words “ugly freak,” Piao Genshuo exploded with rage. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge in and throw hands.

“Brother, calm down.”

Before Piao could take a step, Qi Yuan grabbed him and hauled him back. “You claim he’s impersonating the Celestial Zenith Holy Scion. Do you have any proof?”

“Of course he’s not the Holy Scion!”

Piao Genshuo’s face was crimson, his teeth grinding audibly as he glared at Shen Wuji. “Trust me! The Holy Scion of the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary doesn’t look anything like him. That guy is a fake!”

Hearing this, Shen Wuji scoffed, his tone dripping with mockery.

“Oh? Then tell us, what should the Holy Scion of Celestial Zenith look like?”

Piao Genshuo immediately straightened his spine, puffing out his chest with immense pride. “He should look like me, obviously!”

Instantly, the atmosphere in the hall turned bizarre.

Everyone, including the Formation Spirit, looked at Piao Genshuo as if they were looking at a brain-damaged child. Their gazes held a mixture of contempt and pity.

Not only is this guy hideous, but his brain is also fried.

The majestic Celestial Zenith Sanctuary would never choose someone with such a rat-like, shifty appearance—a face that screamed “chronic kidney deficiency” and moral depravity—as their Holy Scion. Did the Sanctuary not care about its public image?

In reality, very few people outside the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary knew what the Holy Scion actually looked like. Even the rare portraits that circulated were heavily “photoknifed”—artistic renditions so enhanced that the difference between the painting and the person was comparable to the most aggressive beauty filters of the modern era.

For the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary, the situation was awkward. Their Holy Scion had god-tier aptitude, but he was undeniably ugly. Worse, his personal conduct was… problematic. Naturally, they couldn’t parade him around in promotional materials lest he ruin the sect’s glorious reputation.

Thus, whenever the “Celestial Zenith Holy Scion” was mentioned, the public simply imagined a figure of profound mystery and secretive movements.

“What’s with those looks? Are you saying the Holy Scion can’t look like this?”

Sensing the crowd’s skepticism, Piao Genshuo grew even more furious. He frantically tugged at Qi Yuan’s sleeve. “Big Brother, this guy is a fraud! You have to believe me!”

“Stop making a scene.”

Qi Yuan shook off Piao’s hand with a look of distaste. He turned to Shen Wuji, his expression shifting to a warm, diplomatic smile.

“My friend, this associate of mine is accusing you of being an imposter. Now, of course, I personally do not agree with him.”

Qi Yuan paused for effect. “However, to thoroughly clear your name—and to shut my friend up once and for all—I must ask you to produce proof of your identity.”

“As long as you can show us something definitive, I promise to immediately cut ties with this idiot and hand him over to you for punishment. No questions asked.”

“Big Brother! I thought we were best friends! How… how could you do this to me?!”

Piao Genshuo stared at Qi Yuan in disbelief. His eyes reddened rapidly, and he put on a heartbroken expression, looking for all the world like an innocent maiden betrayed by a scumbag lover.

Qi Yuan ignored the drama completely, keeping his eyes fixed on Shen Wuji.

“Oh?”

Shen Wuji raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at the wailing Piao Genshuo before a smirk curled his lips. “You said it. If I produce the proof, Falling Cloud Valley hands this ugly freak over to me. No take-backs.”

Internally, Shen Wuji was ecstatic.

This Big Qi is my lucky star!

If he could use Falling Cloud Valley’s power to capture the real Celestial Zenith Holy Scion alive, he would probably wake up laughing from his dreams.

With such an earth-shattering merit, he wouldn’t just make a name for himself within the Saint Sect; he would become the undisputed number one genius of the younger generation. The position of Holy Son would be his, guaranteed.

Seeing such immense wealth and glory waving at him, Shen Wuji didn’t hesitate. He reached into his robes and pulled out a token, holding it high for all to see.

“This is the exclusive token of the Celestial Zenith Holy Scion. It is crafted from a unique piece of Five-Color Celestial Jade found only once in this world. It is absolutely impossible to forge.”

He sneered triumphantly. “With this Five-Color Celestial Token, my identity is proven beyond doubt, is it not?”

“Let me take a look.”

Qi Yuan nodded with a friendly smile, stepped forward, and took the palm-sized token from Shen Wuji’s hand.

“Big Brother! That’s mine! I lost that! Give it back!”

Seeing his token, Piao Genshuo went berserk. He tried to lunge forward to snatch it, but the Soul Formation realm Formation Spirit casually raised a foot and kicked him.

THUD.

Piao Genshuo was plastered against the wall like a painting.

“You’ve verified it now, right? Give it back.”

Seeing that Qi Yuan had inspected it enough, Shen Wuji reached out impatiently to retrieve his prize.

But the moment the words left his mouth, Qi Yuan moved. With speed that would make a lightning bolt jealous, he flashed away and stood directly beside the Formation Spirit.

The token in his hand vanished into his inventory.

Shen Wuji: “????”

A second later, realization hit. He exploded with rage, roaring at the top of his lungs:

“What is the meaning of this?! Give me back the Five-Color Celestial Token right now, or this Holy Scion will end you!”

Qi Yuan, safe behind the massive spirit, casually rubbed his nose and spoke with deadpan seriousness:

“Well, about that… sorry. The token looks a bit fake. However, you look like a pretty honest guy, so I’m conflicted.”

“Since this matter is of grave importance, I can’t be careless. I’ll need to take this to the Celestial Zenith Sanctuary personally for professional authentication.”

He patted his chest earnestly. “Don’t worry. I am a man of integrity and honor. Even if it turns out to be fake, I’ll definitely return it to you… eventually.”

The turn of events was so sudden, so shameless, that everyone in the hall stood with their mouths agape, feeling their brains short-circuit.