Jiang Chen had never imagined that such a tiny, subtle act of pocketing a bargain would draw Long Baxiang's attention.
He had to admit — Long Baxiang's intuition was formidable.
Under the Emperor's overwhelming pressure, Jiang Chen had no choice but to "comply." He carefully produced the brush holder.
Long Baxiang took it, examining it over and over, but found nothing noteworthy on it. He even inspected each brush inside individually, yet still uncovered no trace of anything unusual.
"Why are you collecting this junk?" Long Baxiang asked coldly.
"The… the truly fine treasures are beyond my reach," Jiang Chen stammered, putting on a show of fumbling explanation.
Long Baxiang stared at him for a long moment, then snorted. He crushed the brush holder and its brushes between his palms, grinding them into a pile of dust.
Jiang Chen's face drained of color. He never would have guessed that Long Baxiang would be this brazenly tyrannical toward a mere "disciple" from a third-tier sect in the Myriad Phoenix Lower Region.
Even the Purple Smoke Sect's grand ancestor found it hard to watch.
Long Baxiang's eyes swept sideways as he let out a strange laugh. "What? Can't stomach it? If you've got a problem, you're welcome to challenge this Emperor anytime. Bring it on."
This Long Baxiang was truly shameless beyond measure. This was open, unapologetic bullying laid bare for all to see.
The Purple Smoke Sect's grand ancestor instinctively shook his head. Even if you gave him ten times the courage, he'd never dare cross Long Baxiang.
Long Baxiang smiled faintly, then finally turned and walked away.
This tiny slight, negligible as it was, laid Long Baxiang's domineering and suspicious nature completely bare. Every person from the second- and third-rate forces witnessed the scene.
Some gloated. Some seethed with silent indignation. Others simply looked on with indifference.
In short, not a single person dared step forward to speak up.
"What an idiot — picking through junk that no one else even wanted, and then getting on the wrong side of Emperor Baxiang for nothing but a humiliation."
"Exactly. Picking through trash to that degree takes real talent."
Listening to these mocking words, Jiang Chen remained utterly composed. From this small detail alone, one could see just how narrow-minded Long Baxiang truly was.
Even something useless, he refused to let fall into someone else's hands. That was why he had destroyed the brush holder and the brushes inside without a second thought.
Better to destroy a thousand innocent things by mistake than let someone score a single lucky find.
This Long Baxiang was truly petty and overbearing beyond all measure.
"Good thing I reacted quickly enough." Jiang Chen shuddered inwardly and swept a glance at his Storage Ring, where a single brush lay quietly resting inside.
The brush holder had originally contained twelve brushes. When Long Baxiang ordered him to hand it over, Jiang Chen had quietly slipped one brush aside and returned the remaining eleven.
Long Baxiang hadn't paid attention to the brush holder in the first place, which meant he'd never bothered to count exactly how many brushes were inside.
As a result, Jiang Chen holding back a single brush went entirely unnoticed. Even the suspicious Long Baxiang could never have guessed that in that brief instant, this young man standing before him could have reacted with such speed.
This particular brush was the one Jiang Chen truly cared about.
The other brush holders, the other brushes — Jiang Chen's assessment matched everyone else's. They were junk among junk, utterly meaningless to a cultivator.
But that one remaining brush was completely different. You could hardly call it a crane standing among chickens, but it was close enough.
The pity was that a genuine treasure had been sitting right there, and not a single person present recognized it.
Jiang Chen nearly suspected that this brush he'd obtained was worth vastly more than all those so-called treasures on the shelves combined.
It was just that this brush had been mixed in with the other eleven, nestled inside an unremarkable brush holder, burying its brilliance beneath layers of obscurity with no one any the wiser.
Meanwhile, the great powers were embroiled in a furious squabble over how to divide the spoils. They had agreed beforehand that distribution would be handled collectively, with no fighting allowed.
But now that it came down to it, few were actually willing to accept a unified allocation.
Still, the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect — those two titans — had already quietly accepted the arrangement without complaint. That left even less room for any other faction to object.
The Upper Eight Regions had claimed ninety percent of the benefits. They already had pre-existing agreements about shares, and while there were some disputes over the division, at least things hadn't fully erupted into open conflict.
But the remaining ten percent was to be split among the second- and third-rate factions present. In an instant, the scene devolved into chaos, filled with complaints and every manner of underhanded maneuvering.
Some powerful second-tier sects attempted to replicate the Upper Eight Regions' approach and carve out the lion's share of that remaining ten percent.
But the cultivators from the other factions flatly refused.
In the end, under the mediation of the Upper Eight Region powers, a full-blown disaster was narrowly averted.
"All right, everyone — you've finished dividing the treasures on the second floor of the treasury. That winged beast is about to come charging in again."
The feverish joy of obtaining treasures was instantly doused with a bucket of cold water.
At that very moment, a shrill cry echoed from beyond. The sky-covering Zhuque had folded its form, shrinking its avatar tenfold, and plunged directly into the palace.
"Hurry to the third floor!" The voice was filled with urgency.
The crowd had just finished dividing the loot and were still buzzing with excitement, but upon hearing that commanding shout, they didn't hesitate for a second. One and all surged toward the third floor.