Chapter 986: The Thunder Sect Master

“Report! Report!!”

On Mount Jingting, a man raced wildly, lightning coiled around his legs.

At this early hour, the senior leaders of Mount Jingting were in session; hearing the commotion, the hall fell silent at once.

“Who is it?”

“Stop!” the guards outside barked, raising their halberds.

“It’s me! Brother! I’m from Tiger Whisker Hall!” The man finally halted, and his utterly disheveled state left the two guards gaping.

The man’s heart sank with shame.

From the foot of the mountain to the summit, he had passed through checkpoint after checkpoint, questioned by countless guards.

Each time, seeing his tattered clothes and battered body, people stared in disbelief.

How could a disciple of the Second-Rank Divine—Eastern Thunder—sink to such a state?

Not to mention your combat strength, but even your speed alone is among the finest in the world!

If you wanted to retreat, even a Sea Realm cultivator couldn’t catch the hem of your robe!

How could this be?

“I have urgent news for the Sect Master! Please, let me report to him!” the man pleaded desperately, a deep wound on his arm still oozing blood.

“Enter!” A voice rang from within, powerful and commanding.

The guards immediately stood aside; the disheveled man bowed his head and hurried into the grand hall.

The hall was carved and painted with exquisite detail, strikingly lavish—considering the scarcity of resources on Sacred Spirit Mountain, such grand architecture was itself a feat.

At the hall’s depths stood a massive dragon throne, its carving extraordinarily refined.

Seated upon it was a man in his mid-forties, dignified in appearance and towering in stature.

He wore a purple robe, expressionless as he regarded the newcomer, radiating authority without raising his voice.

“Sect Master Lü!” The disheveled man trembled as he reached the center of the hall and dropped to his knees.

“Speak.” Lü Xiao spoke coolly.

“Sect Master Lü, Tiger Whisker Hall was attacked! We were ambushed near Misty Rain Lake—our Tiger Whisker Hall Master—”

Several in the hall couldn’t hold back: “Stop dawdling, spit it out!”

“Ah!” The man flinched, squeezed his eyes shut, “Tiger Whisker Hall Master is dead!”

“What?”

“What did you say?” Shock erupted through the hall.

Mount Jingting had ten halls, each led by a Sea Realm cultivator.

Tiger Whisker Hall Master was among the elite—his martial skill superior, his courage unmatched, ranked among the top on Mount Jingting!

Yet Tiger Whisker Hall had only departed yesterday—and today, their master was dead?

“Y-yes!” The man’s face was ashen, his voice trembling, “Tiger Whisker Hall was annihilated—all of them… dead.”

“What?!”

“So the Thousand Boats Alliance has finally grown some balls?”

“Damn it!” The hall erupted in fury.

But there were also voices of doubt.

“Impossible! How could Tiger Brother be killed by those trash from the Thousand Boats Alliance? Tell me the truth!” A burly man strode forward, as if ready to crush the disheveled man beneath his feet.

“The enemy wasn’t from the Thousand Boats Alliance!” the man cried out urgently.

“Hu Lian!” A frail voice rang out, halting the burly man’s advance.

To either side of the dragon throne sat two smaller chairs, equally finely carved.

On the left sat a middle-aged woman, elegant and noble.

She too wore a purple robe, sitting upright and coldly observing the chaos in the hall.

On the right sat a tall, thin old man, seemingly seventy or eighty years old.

It was this white-haired elder who had spoken.

“Hmph!” The burly man, called Hu Lian, snorted in anger, glaring fiercely at the kneeling Tiger Whisker Hall disciple.

“Who?” A calm voice came from the dragon throne.

Instantly, the entire hall fell silent.

Lü Xiao remained expressionless, watching the trembling Tiger Whisker Hall disciple.

The man was already terrified beyond reason.

As a River Realm cultivator, even facing the pressure of a single Sea Realm cultivator would make his heart race.

Now, surrounded by so many Sea Realm cultivators glaring at him—how could a River Realm man possibly survive?

“N-no… I don’t know.”

The man stammered, finally managing to utter a complete sentence.

This answer only fueled more anger.

“Ah!” The man’s survival instinct surged—he trembled as he cried, “There were West Wasteland believers! There was a sandstorm!”

At the words “West Wasteland believers,” everyone in the hall was startled.

Mount Jingting had held this territory for at least thirteen years—West Wasteland believers were almost never seen here.

“The enemy also… also…” The man suddenly remembered something, blurting out, “At the time, our Hall Master was resting in the lake—the enemy somehow slipped in and suddenly appeared beneath the water!”

They ambushed us, blasting our Hall Master into the sky!

Then sandstorms rose—we couldn’t see a thing…”

The man swallowed hard, describing in terror: “No one knows how the enemy appeared beneath the lake—perhaps an invisibility technique, or a teleportation technique…”

“Teleportation.” The composed woman seated to Lü Xiao’s left turned her head toward him.

Those two simple words were enough for Lü Xiao to understand her meaning.

The Qiang Xiu sect?

Unlikely—the southeastern region of Sacred Spirit Mountain rarely saw Qiang Xiu disciples.

But there was another possibility—the Dog Demon believers!

Long ago, Luo Tiantu, the chief of Tian Tu Mountain Village, had come seeking aid, warning Mount Jingting that a Dog Demon believer who had fallen into darkness had appeared in this region.

Later, Tian Tu Mountain Village was utterly destroyed.

The entire mountaintop was burned to ashes!

It’s hard to imagine that even under Mount Jingting’s protection, Tian Tu Mountain Village was still massacred and razed.

Who would do such a thing?

Either the enemy bore a blood feud with Tian Tu Mountain, so consumed by rage they’d kill anyone who stood in their way…

Or the enemy was so powerful they didn’t even regard Mount Jingting as a threat!

Or perhaps…

Both.

“Hmm.” Lü Xiao leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlocked beneath his chin.

Was the one who destroyed Tian Tu Mountain also the one who slaughtered Tiger Whisker Hall?

Those who disregard Mount Jingting are rare.

Those who possess teleportation techniques are rarer still!

“And—and! The enemy also had Jade Talisman believers! When the sandstorm rose, the entire ground turned into a river of sand—sand whips lashed out, and I got struck on the ankle…”

The disheveled man looked haunted—somehow, he’d survived purely by luck!

“What?”

“Flowing Sand Talisman?”

The moment the man finished speaking, the hall exploded in uproar!

For Mount Jingting had already received intelligence: at Ling Feng Hall’s temporary outpost, the terrain had also turned into solidified rivers.

Fang Lingfeng and her Ling Feng Hall had vanished for nearly half a month!

What are the odds of such a coincidence?

In other words, Ling Feng Hall and Tiger Whisker Hall were both killed by the same group?

“I f***ing *!**!” Hu Lian roared, facing the depths of the hall, “Sect Master Lü, this is a coordinated attack against our Mount Jingting!

These bastards are begging for death!!”

“Silence!” The tall, thin elder on the right barked sharply.

Hu Lian, reprimanded again, turned angrily on the elder: “Master Wang! They’ve already dared to strike at our door!”

“Exactly!”

“Those insolent bastards are probably mercenaries hired by the Thousand Boats Alliance!”

“Right! Both Ling Feng Hall Master and Tiger Whisker Hall Master were killed while investigating the Thousand Boats Alliance!”

The hall erupted in clamorous rage.

Mount Jingting had always been the one crushing others—when had they ever been humiliated like this?

Each Sea Realm disciple of Eastern Thunder was arrogant and domineering—how could they endure this insult?

Suddenly, the hall fell utterly silent.

For the Sect Master on the dragon throne had slowly risen to his feet.

Lü Xiao stood over two meters tall; his massive frame cast an overwhelming aura of pressure.

Lu Xiao stepped down the stairs one by one, walking toward the man kneeling on the ground.

A crushing pressure, advancing with the sect leader’s footsteps, made the disheveled man tremble violently, his body curling into a trembling ball.

“Westerly Desert believers, Yu Fu believers, and one elusive follower—that’s the intelligence you brought back?”

Lu Xiao spoke calmly, head bowed, staring at the trembling man at his feet.

“I—I also heard explosions! And yes, there were roars too! Ah!” the man shrieked.

Lu Xiao bent down, his large hand gripping the disheveled man’s skull.

Then, Lu Xiao slowly straightened up.

The disheveled man dangled from his hand, like a pile of mud, legs limp and dragging on the ground.

“No! Sect Master Lu! I provided intelligence—I ran back to report!”

“Crack!”

The sound of shattered water armor suddenly rang out.

As the armor shattered, the man’s skull was slowly crushed within Lu Xiao’s palm.

“Ah! Aaaah!” The piercing screams did not last long.

The disheveled man’s flailing arms went slack and hung limply.

His skull shattered—he died on the spot.

The Dongting Sect can summon lightning and activate the body, enhancing all physical attributes comprehensively.

But the problem was, Lu Xiao had not activated this divine art.

Even if Lu Xiao were at the Sea Realm, Fifth Stage, it would be impossible to crush Jiang Pin’s Water Armor by brute force alone.

Yet he wore a jade ring on his finger.

The ring was blood-red, radiating a deep crimson glow and exuding a bloodthirsty aura, granting Lu Xiao savage strength!

“Huh.” Lu Xiao closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

The Blood Jade Ring trembled gently, continuously drawing in the blood caked on its master’s hand, nourishing itself.

Everyone in the hall fell silent as if frozen.

Though Sect Master Lu showed no expression, all could feel the lord’s fury.

After a long while, Elder Wang from the depths of the hall rose and said:

“Sect Master! The Thousand Boats Alliance has gained a pack of lackeys—we must revise our strategy.”

“No need.” Lu Xiao cut off Elder Wang’s words.

He opened his eyes and stared at the corpse at his feet.

No one dared speak again. Lu Xiao lifted his foot and stepped on the skull, half-crushed.

“Crack! Crack!”

Lu Xiao’s face remained expressionless as he slowly ground down, speaking calmly:

“Today, we march against the Thousand Boats Alliance.”

(End of Chapter)