In the audience, Xiao Dong wanted to argue for his king but one look from the person in question made him fall silent. Why did he feel like he was being insulted with this look? It seemed to say 'You stay away with that golden hair and blue eyes of yours or do you want to condemn me? Even an idiot should be able to think this far ahead!' Xiao Dong’s head drooped. Right, he had forgotten that he himself would easily be mistaken for a demon due to his appearance. He was of no use to his king once again.

Qiu Ling didn’t bother about him and turned to the stage. "What did you just say?"

"Silence!" The Elder’s red sleeves flourished when he grabbed his sword. "This is no place for a demon to speak his mind!"

Qiu Ling cracked his knuckles. This guy actually dared to call him a demon again! He should teach him a —

Qiu Ling stopped midway through the thought and peaked into the audience. From where he stood he couldn’t see him but he felt that his beloved was looking in his direction. Ah! Was he worried about him? Mn, whatever it was, he couldn’t act out now. He wouldn’t want Jing He to see that. After all, his beloved would remember when he woke up so he had to solve this in the most stylish way. Just beating the guy senseless would do the job but wouldn’t impress his Jing He so that was out of the question.

Qiu Ling lowered his hands instead of drawing his own sword and put on a gorgeous smile. "Mn, esteemed guest, I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with the sects here. Could it be that it is your sect’s habit to accuse people of being demons without evidence?"

The red-clothed Elder was livid. "I told you to keep silent!" He turned toward Yuchi Bing Xia next. "Sect Master Yuchi, is this the Yun Zou Sect’s way of doing things? You couldn’t produce a talent in all those years so now you’ve sunken to this point and actually taken in a demon?"

Yuchi Bing Xia frowned. He looked at the burned sphere and then at Qiu Ling. It was obvious that it had been this young man’s blood that evoked this reaction. Normally, that should only happen if the sphere came into contact with non-human blood.

Grandmaster Zhangsun stood up and left the stage, going over to Qiu Ling. He looked at his disciple’s face and took his wrist. He wasn’t worried since he already knew what was up. As a full-blooded dragon, the sphere would naturally react like this. In fact, that was what he had hoped for. After all, his disciple wouldn’t care whether or not he exposed his origins but that might endanger the person waiting in the special dimension. So he had to provide everybody with a reasonable explanation. This opportunity was likely the best he would get.

He closed his eyes and pretended to focus his energy to inspect his disciple’s body. Soon, his expression changed. His eyes flew open and he looked at him in surprise. "You actually …" He stopped as if unable to continue.

The red-clothed Elder smiled triumphantly and pointed at Qiu Ling again. "See that? Even his own Master has acknowledged that he’s a demon! I say we slay him on the spot!"

Some of the other Elders from first-tier sects nodded or even murmured their agreement. All of them wanted this danger to their spot on the ranking gone. The white-clothed Elders from the Yun Zou Sect all had expressions as dark as the bottom of a pot. It couldn’t be that the talent their Grandmaster took in really was a demon, could it? Their Grandmaster wasn’t one to make such a mistake!

Yuchi Bing Xia gulped. He couldn’t imagine it either but he couldn’t exclude the option either. Everyone could make mistakes, even Zhangsun Xun Yi. "Grandmaster Zhangsun, what is it?"

"Ah, it seems I overlooked something when taking him in."

The red-clothed Elder wanted to gloat but Zhangsun Xun Yi’s next words shut him up.

"This disciple of mine actually has a unique constitution."

"Unique constitution?!" The Elders erupted once again. That was … what heaven-defying luck did the Yun Zou Sect have to take in someone with a unique constitution?!

They were already unable to keep straight faces but the Grandmaster wasn’t even finished. "Actually, that’s an understatement. He has the divine constitution that we call 'dragon body'." Zhangsun Xun Yi smiled where the others couldn’t see it. Yes, this was definitely the best way to explain everything. He lowered his hand, stepping away and returning to the stands as if nothing had happened. He sat down with a flourish of his sleeves and then motioned at the Elder that had tested Qiu Ling. "It’s quite normal for the sphere to react like this. It’s a reaction caused by the divine constitution. I fear we’ll have to rely on something else to draw the lots."

His even voice calmed the Elder down and he nodded. Indeed. For somebody with a divine constitution, this was nothing strange. They were different from normal mortals, after all. He should have thought of that and not just believed in the words of that Elder Gongxi from the Yang Huo Sect. That bastard just wanted to drag them down!

While the Yun Zou Sect’s people returned to the previous calmness, the guests were still in shock and couldn’t help but whisper to each other.

Qiu Ling looked at the Elder next to him and then at the Elders on the stand. He couldn’t understand what all the hubbub was about. He had some divine body, so what? Wasn’t that obvious just from one glance? This face, this figure, how could one explain it with anything but the word 'divine'? These puny mortals just hadn’t seen enough of the world!