Bao Gu had originally planned to attend only the opening and closing ceremonies. During the days between them, she would stay in the Cloudsea Forest, engrave the cultivation manuals Bao Nianhui and Qing Ying would need next, and hand them to the two girls. That way, despite having a personal master, they would not have to wander around like orphans, picking up two moves from one person and a few pointers from another, with no complete cultivation path suited to them and their progress delayed. But when she remembered what had happened while she was with Yu Mi the day before, her very soul had been stolen by her senior sister. How could she calm down enough to prepare lessons for Qing Ying and Bao Nianhui? She paused, used a voice-transmission jade talisman to ask where Yu Mi was, and went to find her.
Although Yu Mi was the Young Sect Master, she had no real authority and rarely appeared in the sect. Even though she was presiding over this annual tournament, her role was merely to lend her presence; Elder Feng Menglong of the Hall of Rites and its disciples handled all the arrangements. Still, she was the Young Sect Master, and in the cultivation world her name carried power, influence, and wealth enough to rival a nation. Moreover, in her early years she had brought many exceptionally talented disciples into the Xuantian Sect. Now that those disciples had grown up, they naturally came to pay respects to the Young Sect Master who had ushered them into the sect and curry a little favor. Naturally, many people gathered around her.
Bao Gu liked quiet and knew exactly what her status was. Toward fellow disciples, she could hardly put on an aloof, unapproachable air, so she simply avoided the crowd.
When the tournament officially began and everyone who was supposed to be seated had taken their places, Bao Gu, who had hidden her aura and stood silently in a corner for quite some time, finally walked over and sat down beside Yu Mi.
With Bao Gu’s current cultivation, if she did not want anyone to notice her, no one present would have been able to sense her existence even if she stood right under their noses. When Yu Mi saw Bao Gu approach, she asked with a light laugh:
“Didn’t you say an hour ago that you were coming? What took you so long?”
Bao Gu replied:
“I saw that you were busy, so I stood off to the side for a while.”
Yu Mi raised her brows slightly, a little surprised. Bao Gu had arrived without her noticing? Then she remembered Bao Gu’s current strength and let the matter go.
The tournament officially began. Disciples from the various peaks took the stage by drawing lots. The nearly ten thousand disciples participating in the annual grand tournament were divided into three levels: true disciples, inner disciples, and outer disciples. The arenas were divided into nine tiers, and each winner advanced to the next. Reaching the sixth tier meant entering the top hundred and earning a reward. Every tier after that doubled the reward; once a contestant fought their way to the ninth tier, the matches were for the top ten.
The enormous Xuantian Plaza had drawn tens of thousands of Xuantian Sect disciples. They were packed together in a sea of humanity, and the area around the arenas was filled so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through. Viewing platforms had been built around Xuantian Plaza, but few people had the qualifications to sit on them. The platform where Bao Gu sat was the main dais outside Xuantian Hall, the most conspicuous position of all. Apart from elders, only peak masters could sit there. Behind them stood rows of attendant disciples brought by the various peak masters. Since Xuantian Plaza was large enough, the viewing platform was quite far from the arenas; even the nearest was more than a dozen zhang away. However, the weakest cultivator seated there was already at the Deity Transformation stage, and their divine senses were powerful enough that the distance did not affect their view.
From below, the disciples could see only a platform packed with the great figures of the Xuantian Sect. Even a single glance made them feel immense pressure.
Bao Gu was studying the arenas when a roar rose from the crowd. She looked toward the commotion and saw an outer disciple in the early Golden Core stage wielding a top-grade Nascent Soul sword. With one stroke, the disciple sent a fellow sect member flying off the arena; the opponent had not been able to withstand even one move.
The outer disciple standing on the arena was from Lingyun Peak, and the sword was the very one Bao Gu had just given away. The power of a top-grade Nascent Soul sword, combined with the runes she had branded into it, was enough in the hands of a Golden Core cultivator to multiply their strength dozens of times in an instant. Outer disciples lacked profound cultivation methods, generally had aptitudes with little potential, and were all poor as dirt. Their combat strength was practically worthless. Bringing a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact—one that even true disciples at the Nascent Soul stage would covet—to an outer-disciple competition was not merely bullying; it was blatant bullying. Once the Nascent Soul artifact appeared, its wielder defeated the opponent in one move, earning the right to advance to the next tier.
A number of disciples immediately grew indignant and shouted at the Lingyun Peak outer disciple, who had already leaped toward the next tier:
“You’re already carrying a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact. Are you still worried you won’t become an inner disciple? Why did you even enter this competition?”
Others cried out enviously:
“What kind of opportunity did this kid stumble into? An outer disciple actually got a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact!”
The Lingyun Peak outer disciple sat cross-legged with the sword in hand, putting on an air of detached calm. Before they came, the Peak Master had specifically instructed them to make a high-profile display of the top-grade artifacts while conducting themselves modestly. Anyone who became smug and looked down on everyone else simply because they had obtained a top-grade artifact could wait to be dealt with. The Peak Master had also warned them that if a single artifact could make them lose their composure and peace of mind, they would not go far on the road ahead. Cultivation was cultivation of the heart.
Before long, an outer disciple from another peak won a match and was paired against the Lingyun Peak disciple. Without the slightest suspense, another sword stroke sent the opponent off the arena.
A peak master who was friendly with Yu Jianming said to him:
“This kid is worth cultivating. Once this is over, take him in as an inner disciple at once. Be careful someone doesn’t poach him.”
Yu Jianming replied:
“No hurry. Let’s watch a little longer.”
The peak master said:
“This kid’s luck is impressive. To obtain a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact means he has some prospects as a cultivator.”
Yu Jianming agreed:
“Of course! Getting Little Martial Aunt’s guidance—how could that not be a great opportunity?”
As they spoke, another true disciple from Lingyun Peak entered the arena carrying a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact and, as expected, won with ease.
It was not surprising for a true disciple to possess a Nascent Soul artifact. If one did not have one, that would actually be difficult to explain. Top-grade artifacts were rare, however, so the disciple still drew several extra looks.
After a while, yet another Lingyun Peak outer disciple came out carrying a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact!
Hua Sheng and Feng Menglong instinctively exchanged a glance, then looked at Bao Gu. If one artifact appeared, it could be called an accident: perhaps that outer disciple had obtained it through a great stroke of fortune. If two appeared, it might still be a coincidence; after all, these were disciples selected by Lingyun Peak, and no one without some fortune and ability would have been sent to compete. But three top-grade artifacts appearing in succession, all among Lingyun Peak’s disciples, with two of them in the hands of outer disciples, made the situation seem distinctly unusual.
One after another, more Lingyun Peak disciples appeared, and every single one carried a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact! If they had all been true disciples, people could have said that Lingyun Peak was being extravagantly generous and Yu Jianming was willing to spend. But even its outer disciples were carrying top-grade Nascent Soul artifacts. Had top-grade Nascent Soul artifacts become Lingyun Peak’s standard issue? This was something not even Yu Jianming, let alone Yu Mi, could pull off. It had Bao Gu’s style written all over it.
What was she trying to do?
Those who had entered the Xuantian Sect early, or who had interacted with Bao Gu and understood her ways, felt their scalps prickle. Who had been blind enough to provoke her? Thinking over everything that had happened since Bao Gu’s return, they all instinctively looked toward Jing Wenyuan, the Peak Master of Qiyun Peak.
Jing Wenyuan sensed faint gazes sweeping over him. He probed around with his divine sense but found nothing. Thinking it over, he decided he was being paranoid. These were fellow disciples who lived together day and night; who did not know exactly what the others were like? He gave Yu Jianming and Bao Gu a sidelong, half-smiling glance, then turned to the senior martial brother seated beside him and said:
“Having a sucker at Lingyun Peak really does make a difference.”
Yu Jianming imperceptibly furrowed his brow.
Bao Gu acted as though she had not heard.
Yu Mi turned back and glanced at Jing Wenyuan, whose seniority was even lower than that of Zi Yunshu, the Little Martial Aunt. Her gaze was cold.
Jing Wenyuan laughed.
“Oh? The Young Sect Master doesn’t like hearing it? An outer disciple equipped with a top-grade Nascent Soul artifact—what a joke!”
A cultivator in the early Void Tearing stage seated behind Jing Wenyuan quietly rebuked him:
“Peak Master Jing, that’s enough.”
The speaker was Wen Zixuan. He had joined the Xuantian Sect at Two Realms Mountain back then and had fought shoulder to shoulder with Bao Gu. He had watched her rise step by step and support the Xuantian Sect all along. Seeing Jing Wenyuan deliberately stir up trouble, he naturally felt displeased.
Jing Wenyuan was Zi Tianjun’s disciple and was of the same generation as Feng Yi and Chen Jue. How could he have a friendly expression toward his martial nephew Wen Zixuan, who had originally come from Zhuoyun Peak and whose master had been dead for who knew how many years? He coldly spat:
“You don’t count for shit!”
Bao Gu turned to look at Jing Wenyuan, her eyes full of astonishment. She remained stunned for quite some time. In her impression, although fellow disciples in the Xuantian Sect competed and schemed against one another, they always took their bonds into account. They would never publicly tear into one another with such complete disregard for propriety. She knew Jing Wenyuan was a prickly troublemaker, otherwise he would not have caused such an open scene the day before, but she had never expected him to go this far. If he behaved like this outside, would he not make enemies everywhere and get beaten to death after only a few slaps?
Wen Zixuan’s expression turned cold.
Feng Menglong said coldly:
“Peak Master Jing, you’ve gone too far.”
When Jing Wenyuan saw that Feng Menglong had spoken, he fell silent. Feng Menglong was the Elder of Rites, one of the Xuantian Sect’s great masters, and one of the people the Sect Master relied on as his right hand. Jing Wenyuan did not dare provoke him.
Bao Gu raised her eyes and swept over the expressions and gazes of the peak masters around her. Many of them said nothing. Their reactions were subtle, but clues could still be seen, while faint ripples, almost impossible to detect, stirred beneath the surface, forming a roiling undercurrent. Looking more closely, Bao Gu found that the peak masters present seemed to fall into two factions, old and new.
The old faction consisted of the familiar faces who had come from Cloud City and Two Realms Mountain back then. The new faction was made up of those who had grown up after she left. In terms of cultivation, the peak masters present were not far apart, but their expressions and bearing revealed a clear difference. Feng Menglong, Hua Sheng, Wen Zixuan, and Lu Lei had all grown up when the Xuantian Sect was at its weakest. They carried an air of steadiness and reserve, along with a trace of having weathered life’s vicissitudes. Those who had risen after Bao Gu left had a sharp, arrogant air: less restraint, more flippancy. The difference was subtle, but still visible.
Bao Gu knew that the Xuantian Sect had survived two disasters that had nearly wiped it out. Her Grandmaster, afraid that the lineage would be severed, had treasured these disciples like the apple of his eye, wishing he could bury them under rare spiritual treasures and elixirs until the sect produced a whole host of Void Tearing experts, then use them to spread and strengthen the Xuantian Sect. The sect had indeed grown stronger, but the gap between strength built by piling cultivation resources on people and strength tempered through life-and-death trials was immediately obvious. Could someone with Jing Wenyuan’s temperament shoulder the future of the Xuantian Sect? Could he bear the burden of a peak master? His strength was sufficient, but his character and conduct were not.
A trace of worry passed through Bao Gu’s eyes, and her heart ached. She could not help wondering whether the future of the Xuantian Sect was really going to be entrusted to people like them.
All along, she had believed that the Xuantian Sect was different from other sects. Its members competed with one another, but they watched over and protected one another even more; martial brothers and sisters were family. Yet looking at these people now, how were they any different from the people of other sects? They fawned on the powerful and trampled the weak. They threw cold looks and vicious words at Wen Zixuan, then fell silent before Feng Menglong, whose status was higher. Not one of their fellow disciples tried to mediate. They merely sat to the side with the expressions of people watching a show as Jing Wenyuan hurled abuse.
Bao Gu had indeed handed out the Nascent Soul artifacts partly to vent her anger and slap them in the face, but she had done so openly, on the strength of real ability. She was nurturing the more promising members of Lingyun Peak’s new generation, selected through the competition. And now she had become the sucker? Without this sucker footing the bill, could they sit there enjoying the Xuantian Sect’s current peace and prestige, while possessing such abundant cultivation resources?
Bao Gu cast Jing Wenyuan a cold look and said evenly:
“Peak Master Jing, I was an outer disciple once too, yet I was given an immortal weapon from the Upper Realm. Wouldn’t you have laughed your head off? A dignified peak master loses all decorum and all regard for his fellow disciples over a few Nascent Soul artifacts, then spits abuse at his own sectmates. What a fine achievement!”
Jing Wenyuan heard Bao Gu’s angry rebuke, shot to his feet, and shouted:
“You! By seniority, you still have to call me Martial Uncle! What right do you have to lecture me? Go back to your Kan Gang and swagger around there. This is the Xuantian Sect!”
His outburst changed the expressions of everyone nearby.
A peak master hurriedly rose and grabbed Jing Wenyuan.
“Say no more, say no more! What’s with that temper of yours? Bao Gu rendered outstanding service to the Xuantian Sect back then. She was even powerful enough to have the final say in who became the Young Sect Master. You pick a fight with her—aren’t you afraid she’ll crush you to death with cultivation resources?”
Hua Sheng slammed his hand down on the table and rebuked them:
“Both of you, shut up!”
Yu Mi slowly rose to her feet and stood straight, her gaze fierce.
“If you resent me being the Young Sect Master, if you think Bao Gu bought this position for me by throwing cultivation resources at it, then fine. In the cultivation world, strength is supreme. I accept a challenge from you two martial brothers right now. Come at me together. We will sign a life-and-death contract and let strength decide who lives and dies.”
She could ignore private remarks, but saying such things today, in front of tens of thousands of disciples and at the annual grand tournament, revealed intentions that could not be forgiven.
Bao Gu rose and stopped Yu Mi, asking only one question:
“Are those words the personal opinions of you two, or do they represent the Grandmaster’s position?”
Everyone present changed expression.
Jing Wenyuan and the peak master who had grabbed him did not dare answer. If they said it was not their own opinion, that meant it was the Sect Master’s position. If they said it was their opinion, Yu Mi would immediately fight them to the death. She possessed the battle strength of the Tribulation Transcendence stage, while the two martial brothers were only at the late Deity Transformation stage; together, they would not have been able to withstand a single sword stroke. The peak master’s eyes shifted, and he said coldly:
“Are you actually suggesting that we turn against our own fellow disciples?”
That single sentence exposed his fear.
Bao Gu laughed in anger, but the laugh carried a trace of desolation.
“The predecessors paved the road with their blood, only to raise two things like you.”
Hua Sheng, Feng Menglong, Wen Zixuan, Lu Lei, and the others who had lived through the Xuantian Sect’s old tragedies understood what Bao Gu meant. Memories of those experiences and difficult years stirred their emotions, leaving them melancholy. They had been there. The younger generation, with vast cultivation resources at their disposal, had never endured such suffering. They had spent years sheltered and favored by the Sect Master. When they occasionally went out to gain experience, the halo of being Xuantian Sect disciples meant that others flattered and catered to them. They had never experienced the cruelty and treachery of the outside world. Their horizons and hearts were too narrow; they saw only the sect’s cultivation resources and the little power in their hands. They could not understand how the things they coveted had come to be. They did not know that beneath their glittering feet lay the bones of Xuantian’s predecessors.
The bleak grief in Bao Gu’s eyes made Yu Mi’s heart ache. Yu Mi knew better than anyone what Bao Gu felt for the Xuantian Sect, how much effort she had poured into it, how much sorrow and bitterness she had endured, and how many fellow disciples she had watched die horribly before her eyes. After everything, what Bao Gu had received was an order to go back to her Kan Gang and swagger around because this was the Xuantian Sect. Yu Mi clasped Bao Gu’s hand tightly.
Yu Mi summoned an attendant disciple and ordered coldly:
“Go invite the Sect Master and Martial Uncle Feng.”
She noticed that Bao Gu’s fingers were icy cold and looked at her anxiously.
Bao Gu gently shook her head.
“I’m fine. I’m just a little disheartened. Looking at them, I suddenly feel that my master and the others died for nothing. The cultivation resources they had worked so hard to earn, the foundation they had laid through countless trials, have raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches.”
She sensed movement behind her, turned, and looked toward Feng Yi and Zi Tianjun, who were hurrying over after hearing what had happened.
When Feng Yi and Zi Tianjun met Bao Gu’s gaze, both their hearts jolted. Her eyes were too bleak and grief-stricken, carrying a faint chill. Though that chill was light, it sank straight into the heart.
Jing Wenyuan saw Zi Tianjun and Feng Yi arrive and shouted:
“Master!”
With a thump, he dropped to his knees at Zi Tianjun’s feet, clutched his leg, and wailed:
“Master, save me! I spoke without thinking and offended the Young Sect Master and Bao Gu. The Young Sect Master is forcing me into a life-and-death duel to take my life!”
Yu Mi already knew what kind of person Jing Wenyuan was. She let out an angry snort of laughter, practically feeling that killing him herself would be an insult to her.
Zi Tianjun naturally knew that this disciple, gifted enough to reach the Deity Transformation stage before he was a hundred, had been spoiled by him. As a result, he was arrogant and looked down on everyone, a hotheaded troublemaker without much cunning who offended people at the drop of a hat. Zi Tianjun also knew that Yu Mi and Bao Gu could not bear to see the other wronged in the slightest. If his disciple had truly mouthed off to Bao Gu, Yu Mi really was capable of turning it into a life-and-death duel.
His expression darkened.
“Speak properly! What kind of behavior is this, sobbing and clinging to my leg?”
His expression eased somewhat. He looked at Yu Mi.
“What happened?”
Then he turned to Bao Gu.
“Yuan’er is sharp-tongued and arrogant. I suppose I indulged him a little, and that’s how he ended up with this useless temperament.”
Seeing the situation, Bao Gu understood why Jing Wenyuan had become this way. She studied Zi Tianjun for a moment and said coldly:
“Grandmaster, I have only one thing to say. The foundation of the Xuantian Sect was handed down by Patriarch Xuantian, and my master and countless fellow disciples in the past fought with their lives to preserve it. Cultivation is for the pursuit of immortality, not power and riches. If anyone damages the foundation of the Xuantian Sect for the sake of power and wealth, I will destroy them!”
She gave Jing Wenyuan a cold look.
“And you think you’re worthy of fighting my senior sister?”
She added coldly:
“Trying to pull rank on me? Your seniority isn’t nearly high enough!”
She flung her sleeve and walked away.
Feng Yi knew that Jing Wenyuan sometimes resorted to petty, undignified tricks. The Sect Master was willing to shield him, and since those had been trivial matters, Feng Yi had never paid much attention. But today, Jing Wenyuan had driven Bao Gu, who had always shown Zi Tianjun the utmost respect, to publicly warn the Sect Master without leaving him a shred of face. It truly frightened Feng Yi. He knew Bao Gu’s temperament and strength. Though his master was the Sect Master now, if his master did something outrageous and angered Bao Gu into demanding a new Sect Master, then the change could truly happen simply because she said so.
He asked:
“What exactly did Peak Master Jing say?”
Feng Menglong gave a snorting laugh.
“Nothing much. He said Junior Sister Bao Gu was acting as a sucker by bestowing artifacts on the disciples under her, and told her to go back to her Kan Gang and swagger around because this was the Xuantian Sect. Cheng Wu added that Senior Sister Yu Mi had become the Young Sect Master only because Junior Sister Bao Gu had thrown cultivation resources at the position.”
He paused, his expression tightening.
“But when Junior Sister Bao Gu challenged Cheng Wu’s insinuation about Senior Sister Yu Mi becoming the Young Sect Master, she asked whether those were the personal views of Jing Wenyuan and Cheng Wu, or the Grandmaster’s.”
Senior Sister Yu Mi had hardly involved herself in the Xuantian Sect’s affairs over the years. The title of Young Sect Master had always been nominal; she had never fought for power within the Xuantian Sect. Everyone could see that she genuinely did not care about the position. She had been forced into it and had no way to step down. They could vaguely sense that her occupying the position was part of the struggle between the Grandmaster and Bao Gu. It was faintly apparent that Bao Gu harbored some dissatisfaction with the Grandmaster, but because he was her Grandmaster and had shown her great kindness, she continued to respect and support him. At the same time, because she either did not fully trust him or harbored some unspoken dissatisfaction, she had placed Senior Sister Yu Mi beneath the Grandmaster as a counterweight.
Those who had watched the Xuantian Sect rise knew its circumstances. Although Yu Mi never interfered in the sect’s internal affairs, during all the years Bao Gu was away, would the Xuantian Sect have its current position and prestige if Yu Mi had not held the line outside? Without Yu Mi’s fearsome reputation, without Kan Gang’s Shadow City only a few hundred li away, and without the Qingzhou Grand Formation, the Xuantian Sect would have been attacked soon after Bao Gu left. Even those were arrangements and contingencies Bao Gu had set up before her departure, which Yu Mi had kept in place. Anyone who watched the balance of power in the cultivation world naturally understood this.
What did Jing Wenyuan and those wet-behind-the-ears brats who stayed cooped up in the sect, staring at their tiny patch of ground, know? Jack shit! And now Jing Wenyuan had actually told Bao Gu to get lost? Was this bastard fucking kidding us? The orthodox inheritance of the Xuantian Sect lay with Bao Gu. Even the land on which the sect had been founded belonged to her, and the mountain-protecting formation had been arranged by her alone. The cultivation methods you used had all been provided by Bao Gu, and the cultivation resources you chewed on were tribute from the Kan Gang she had built from scratch! You tried to pull rank on Bao Gu? She was the Patriarch’s direct disciple, personally acknowledged by the Grand Matriarch, and someone who addressed the Grand Matriarch as Master’s Wife. In terms of true seniority, even if you called her your great-great-great-great-great-grandmaster, it still would not be enough!
Zhuo Wangchuan, her so-called master, had barely met Bao Gu a handful of times and had taught her practically nothing; he was a master in name only. Martial Uncle Zhuo was your senior martial brother, so you thought that made Bao Gu your martial niece? Dream on! The Grandmaster was also Martial Uncle Zhuo’s direct master, the person Bao Gu addressed as Grandmaster at every turn. Did you really think even the Grandmaster dared to throw his weight around with Bao Gu? He still had to treat her with respect. You only had any face because she chose to give it to you.
To the disciples who had joined the Xuantian Sect later, Feng Menglong’s words sounded like he was pouring oil on the flames.
One peak master stepped forward.
“Master, this was only something Jing and Cheng said in the heat of the moment. Bao Gu is being far too overbearing. They only spoke out of line because they couldn’t stand it.”
Another peak master also rose and cupped his fists.
“Yes. Jing is a peak master now, at least. Bao Gu lectured him in front of all these peak masters as if she were scolding a grandson. Anyone would be furious.”
A third peak master stood up.
“Grandmaster, the people of Lingyun Peak have always relied on their abundant cultivation resources and superior battle strength to act arrogantly and without restraint. We have tolerated the other things, even when the disciples under us suffered a little grievance, but publicly slapping us in the face on a day this important, in front of more than a hundred peak masters, is simply too disgraceful!”
Another peak master rose.
“Bao Gu is so disrespectful even to you, Grandmaster. You can imagine how she treats us.”
Yu Mi had not even left when she saw this group of senior peak masters crowd around, taking turns complaining about Bao Gu and denouncing her, twisting black into white. She gave a cold snort and very much wanted to turn on her heel and leave. But if she left, Feng Menglong, Hua Sheng, and the others would certainly leave with her, and bringing the matter to a peaceful close would then be difficult.
Zi Tianjun was so furious with these disciples that his face turned livid and his whole body trembled.
“Jing Wenyuan and Cheng Wu have spoken out of line and stirred up trouble within the sect. Strip them of their positions as peak masters and confine them for a hundred years! Anyone else who fans the flames will receive the same punishment!”
He swept his sleeve forcefully and left.
Everyone stared blankly and turned to Feng Yi.
Feng Yi waved a hand, and the disciples of the Punishment Hall behind him came forward to seize them.
Jing Wenyuan and Cheng Wu immediately resisted and shouted:
“I refuse to accept this!”
They summoned their natal artifacts at once. A hundred years of confinement! Being locked in that pitch-black chamber for a century would drive anyone insane!
Below the viewing platform, the disciples were absorbed in the activity on the arenas, and few noticed what was happening above. Those who did notice dared not make a sound. Now the radiance of the artifacts on the platform and the battle-intent aura of Deity Transformation experts spread out, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. They turned and saw that every peak master had risen, standing at varying distances in a loose encirclement, and only then realized that something had happened on the viewing platform.
Jing Wenyuan shouted:
“People who offend the Lingyun Peak lineage get a hundred years of confinement? On what grounds? Disciples of Qiyun Peak, heed my command—”
He pushed off from the viewing platform and flew down, landing in Xuantian Plaza. Raising his artifact and peak-master token, he summoned the disciples under his command to protect him.
When Cheng Wu saw what Jing Wenyuan was doing, he remembered that he too had been stripped of his position as peak master and sentenced to a hundred years of confinement. He rushed to Jing Wenyuan’s side and summoned the disciples of his peak to protect him.
The annual grand tournament was thrown into chaos by this sudden upheaval.
Zi Tianjun had barely stepped into Xuantian Hall when his face went green with rage.
