Chapter 319: The Calamity of the Yin Manor

Excluding the True Disciples who were away, over seven thousand True Disciples were still gathered within Xuanxin Hall. Many of these Disciples had cultivation levels lower than the current threshold for True Disciples; however, none of the Disciples objected to this. In fact, they very much agreed with the School’s approach.

The School would raise the threshold for True Disciples every few years, and it had now reached the Yangyuan Realm Sixth Layer. If this rule didn’t exist, many Disciples would inevitably worry about being eliminated and might resort to extremes.

The newly promoted True Disciples also wouldn’t mock those older Disciples whose cultivation was difficult to progress, because the Qingxiao Sect never lacked Geniuses, and they too would have a day when they were surpassed.

As all the Disciples gathered, they conversed in low voices, waiting for the Sect Leader to appear.

Li Qingqiu did not keep them waiting long and soon made his appearance.

He appeared out of thin air above the steps, standing behind the Hall Masters. The Hall Masters had already spread out and were not standing together, so the Disciples could spot his figure immediately.

【Written here, I hope readers remember our domain name, reading Taiwan books is super worry-free】

Upon seeing Li Qingqiu appear, Xuanxin Hall quickly fell silent.

Zhang Yu raised his hand, bowed, and said loudly, “Greetings, Sect Leader!”

Over seven thousand True Disciples followed suit, bowing together in a uniform and magnificent display.

“Greetings, Sect Leader!”

All the Disciples respected Li Qingqiu from the bottom of their hearts, so their voices were sonorous, merging together as if they were about to overturn the firmament.

The Hall Masters turned one after another and bowed to Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu turned and walked toward the throne at the back.

He originally didn’t want this throne, but the other high-level members insisted, saying he must sit at the highest point to manifest the spirit of the Qingxiao Sect Leader.

There were nine steps leading up to this throne. The throne was wide, enough for a person to even lie on it, and it was crafted entirely from white jade. The back of the chair was inlaid with nine precious swords, with radiant light flowing through them.

Li Qingqiu turned and sat down. It had to be said that looking down at the hall from this angle truly gave a sense of being high and mighty.

This seat was named the Qingxiao Dao Seat, and only the Sect Leader could sit upon it.

“Very thoughtful, but I suppose this was also prepared for future generations?”

Li Qingqiu thought silently. According to common perception, no one would hold absolute power forever; just like the position of Qingxiao Sect Leader, it would sooner or later be taken over by younger Disciples.

As he sat down, everyone looked at him, and he could read those gazes.

There was admiration, respect, yearning, and also expectation.

Li Qingqiu did not intend to step down; he wanted to sit in this position until the very end. Of course, he couldn’t say this out loud.

“Today, we shall first determine the seats of the ten great true monarchs.”

Li Qingqiu’s first sentence made the True Disciples’ eyes light up. Regarding the seats of the ten great true monarchs, the Disciples had long been discussing them.

It was not easy to assemble ten of the strongest and most prestigious people.

But a few people were bound to be among them.

“Jiang Zhaoxia——”

Li Qingqiu continued. The first name he uttered surprised no one; it was very reasonable.

Jiang Zhaoxia smugly raised an eyebrow at Xu Ning, who gave a slight huff.

Li Qingqiu continued reading down the list: “Xu Ning, Shen Yue, Yuan Li, Xue Jin, Cloud Color. These six shall hold seats among the True Monarchs. The other four seats will be determined later.”

The hall broke into an uproar, including the Hall Masters. They hadn’t expected Li Qingqiu to actually leave four seats vacant.

No one could find fault with these six True Monarchs. Cloud Color’s achievements over the years were significant; she was frequently on the contribution list of the Experience Hall, and she had the fierce battle record of soloing a Spiritual Consciousness Realm demon-ghost.

As for the other five, their military merits were even more illustrious and beyond reproach.

Zhao Zhen, Ji Ya, Sword Solitary, Han Lang, Yang Dong, Invincible Xiao, and others—the Geniuses already in the Spiritual Consciousness Realm—felt a sense of loss.

They also had no objections to the six True Monarchs, but they were disappointed in themselves; they hadn’t satisfied the Sect Leader.

However, there was still a chance; they could compete for the remaining seats.

“The position of True Monarch is not eternal. If younger Disciples can surpass them in cultivation or contribution, they may replace them.”

Li Qingqiu continued. These words made the Disciples feel exhilarated, while the six who had already become True Monarchs, like Jiang Zhaoxia, looked confident and unafraid of challenges.

Whoosh—

Standing in the crowd, Hu Yan’s eyes revealed a rare ambition. He also wanted to become a True Monarch.

Not far away, Zhu Qingling, who had joined the Qingxiao Sect on the same day as him, glanced at him. With just a glance, she looked forward again, her eyes also filled with confidence.

One day, she would also be this radiant.

“Will the five True Monarchs please come forward to receive their True Monarch qingxiao tokens!”

Chu Jing spoke as he raised his right hand. One by one, golden tokens flew out from his Storage Pouch, hovering before the steps of the Qingxiao Dao Seat.

Jiang Zhaoxia and the others immediately stepped out and walked toward the Qingxiao Dao Seat.

As a Hall Master, Xue Jin only had to turn around to face Li Qingqiu. He looked at the True Monarch qingxiao token, his eyes burning with heat.

He had already restrained his sharp edges, but he had always looked forward to the Sect Leader’s recognition.

His natural talent could no longer keep up with the younger Disciples, but he would not be discouraged. He had been Cultivating hard and had never slacked off. He had originally thought he was no longer good enough for the ten great true monarchs, but he hadn’t expected to be chosen.

Li Qingqiu looked at Xue Jin and winked at him. Such a small gesture made him feel overwhelmed by the favor.

The other four came up one after another. Cloud Color and Xu Ning walked together. The two women were like Fairies, both possessing powerful auras. Xu Ning was colder, while Cloud Color appeared more high-spirited.

Cloud Color arrived before the True Monarch qingxiao token and looked smugly at Li Qingqiu, her eyes seemingly saying something.

Xu Ning caught this scene and curled her lip slightly.

She decided to find an opportunity to spar with this girl.

Yuan Li was quite calm. He thought of his brother, Yuan Qi.

If Yuan Qi were still here, he would surely be very happy at this moment.

Six of the ten great true monarchs had been appointed. This news quickly spread throughout the Qingxiao Sect, and the names of Jiang Zhaoxia and the others were once again mentioned by the people of the School.

This Xuanxin Hall meeting also informed them of the status and power of a True Monarch. A True Monarch stood on equal footing with a Hall Master. When the School was in danger, a True Monarch could urgently mobilize the forces of various immortal cities and outposts, and all Disciples below the rank of Hall Master had to obey.

Such power greatly shocked the School’s Disciples. No matter how one looked at it, their power was greater than a Hall Master’s, and they were also unrestrained.

——

For a time, who would become the remaining four True Monarchs became a topic of discussion for many Disciples.

A voice said that the first-place winner of the next Dharma Battle Assembly would likely become a True Monarch. Consequently, discussions about the Dharma Battle Assembly heated up again.

There was only one year left until the third Dharma Battle Assembly.

Many Geniuses at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm began to rub their palms together in anticipation of the Dharma Battle Assembly’s arrival.

On the other side.

Far to the west, there was a Dynasty on a piece of land named Great Xia.

Great Xia was a Dynasty with five hundred years of history. Its territory was vast, possessing over a thousand cities.

Anxuan City, Yin Manor.

Inside a main hall, the head of the Yin family, Yin Xiao, was sitting in a chair, his brow furrowed with worry.

A woman in blue walked gracefully into the hall. In her arms, she held a child who looked to be only a year old.

“Husband, what are you worrying about?” the woman in blue asked. Her face was exquisite, her features elegant—a rare beauty indeed—and her voice was even gentler.

Yin Xiao had a burly build. Even in casual clothes, one could feel the powerful strength hidden in his physique. He looked up at his wife, unable to muster a smile.

“The people from the Myriad Yin Cult will be here soon. I’m worrying about how to deal with them,” Yin Xiao sighed, his tone unable to hide his unease.

The woman in blue comforted him, “Don’t worry. Although the Myriad Yin Cult is a Cultivator sect, they can’t just do whatever they want. We are in the city, under the protection of the Great Xia Dynasty. The Emperor and the Righteous Path sects will protect us.”

Yin Xiao said helplessly, “I know, but if we don’t cede enough wealth, the people from the Myriad Yin Cult won’t let go. Moreover, the methods of Cultivators are beyond what you and I can imagine.”

At the mention of Cultivators, his eyes were full of fear.

He stood up and looked at the young son in his wife’s arms, a smile finally appearing on his face.

“Jingxing, don’t be afraid. Father will definitely protect you all,” Yin Xiao said softly, then reached out to grasp his young son’s hand.

Seeing this, the woman in blue also began to smile, though she too felt some panic in her heart.

Usually, no matter how much trouble Yin Xiao encountered, he wouldn’t be this worried. This meant that his previous contact with the Myriad Yin Cult had not been friendly.

“If it really doesn’t work out, you could mention that Jingtian is Cultivating in the Feihong Sect. Perhaps they will give you some face,” the woman in blue suggested.

Yin Xiao shook his head. “Jingtian has only been there for a few years. Should we add more enemies for him? The Feihong Sect is no match for the Myriad Yin Cult.”

The woman in blue fell silent. She was also at a loss and could only pray for Heaven to look after them.

Just then.

Thunder rumbled from beyond the sky, drawing the couple to the door. They looked up and saw rolling dark clouds covering the sky over Anxuan City.

“Is it going to rain?” the woman in blue asked.

Yin Xiao looked at the sky and frowned. “No, it’s them. Why such a display?”

He felt increasingly uneasy, sensing that something big was about to happen.

He immediately said to the woman in blue, “Take Jingxing and hide in the cellar. Unless I come for you, you absolutely must not come out. No matter who calls for you, you must not listen. Quickly!”

The woman in blue turned pale at his urging, but she still followed his arrangements, picking up her young son and leaving immediately.

Yin Xiao walked into the courtyard and looked up at the rolling dark clouds, where he could faintly see ghostly figures darting through the clouds.

“Cultivation——”

Yin Xiao clenched his fists. Once, he had also wanted to become a Cultivator, but unfortunately, he had no Spiritual Root and was rejected by the Feihong Sect.

Because of this, he was full of expectations for his two sons.

Yin Jingtian had already been found to have a Spiritual Root. If Yin Jingxing had one too, their Yin clan could rise.

Unfortunately, before he could see that day, the Myriad Yin Cult had come knocking.

From their first contact, he knew the Myriad Yin Cult had ill intentions. He was just a Mortal; what use would worldly wealth be to the Myriad Yin Cult?

He had thought about fleeing Anxuan City, but he knew the methods of Cultivators all too well; he couldn’t escape at all. Having his wife and child hide in the cellar was merely a form of prayer.

He suddenly saw a burst of black Qi emerge from those rolling dark clouds, sweeping toward him like a tornado.

The powerful wind pressed down, making him take a few steps back. The flowers and trees in the courtyard swayed violently, and tiles shattered on the ground.

The black Qi landed in the courtyard and quickly dispersed, revealing the figure of a Man in Black.

This Man in Black had a cold face, with Evil Qi showing between his brows. His black hair was gathered in a purple jade hairpin. Standing there, he looked like a supreme, wicked Devil Head.

Looking at him, Yin Xiao found it difficult to remain calm.

“Do one thing for us, and you will not be mistreated afterward,” the Man in Black said. His voice was devoid of emotion, like a knife stabbing into Yin Xiao’s heart, making it impossible for him to refuse.