Chapter 248: The Holy Master

Ye Tinglan felt a chill in her heart but instinctively chose to trust Lu Xingzhou's judgment, closing her eyes at once and extending her divine sense.

Earlier, when the Tingxue Pavilion members saw the Tianyao Holy Master intervene, they knew the matter was lost; by the time Si Han and others entered the hall, they had already left in sullen frustration. Now they hadn't gone far—just barely flown a hundred li away.

Suddenly they sensed entering a sword array; sword qi surged skyward, catching the Tingxue Pavilion experts off guard, forcing them to dodge in all directions.

Shadows flickered around them; suddenly a group of black-robed figures surrounded them: "Since you've discovered our secret, you won't be leaving."

The Tingxue Pavilion members: "..."

We just stumbled into this sword array—we didn't discover any of your secrets.

But these people were clearly demonic cultivators, doing something secret below; triggering the sword array was no different from exposing their secret, so wanting to silence you was perfectly normal—demonic cultivators are just like this.

Wei Linfeng still tried to explain: "Gentlemen, this is a misunderstanding—we're merely passing through. We are the Tingxue Pavilion; please think carefully—do you truly wish to make such a powerful enemy..."

But the black-robed figures paid no heed whatsoever—"Shuashuashua!"—ten thousand swords fired at once, hurling every grand technique and treasure they had.

Wei Linfeng's words choked back into his throat; he barely parried a streak of sword light, his heart freezing: "First grade!"

Just stumbling upon a band of demonic disciples and they're first grade?

Add to that the encircling sword array—is this really an accident, or a deliberate ambush?

Whether accident or ambush, this fight won't be easy.

Wei Linfeng had been secretly smuggled into the Yingyue Sect's internal chaos; naturally, the number allowed in was small—himself included, only four people. Meanwhile, the enemy numbered over ten, all third grade or higher, led by a first-grade commander, plus the pre-planted sword array...

The Tingxue Pavilion members fought back fiercely, but within moments each was wounded.

Wei Linfeng recognized the attackers' identity: "Bingyu Sect..."

Due to differing systems, "crackdown intensity" varied; demonic cultivators in Tianshuang Country weren't suppressed into hiding like those in Daqian. Instead, they openly maintained bases, wielded great power, and even the orthodox sects had little recourse against them.

Bingyu Sect was among the most notorious, its overall strength nearly equal to the Tingxue Pavilion's; if they eliminated these few here, their total strength would surpass the Tingxue Pavilion's, and they wouldn't fear retaliation.

If things continued, Wei Linfeng might still have a chance to escape the encirclement, but his key subordinates would surely die here.

Wei Linfeng's heart bled—he should never have meddled in the Yingyue Sect's turmoil; this fall would be devastating...

"Senior brother, don't mind us—just escape yourself! Avenge us later!" A loyal junior shouted from behind: "This might be Si Han colluding with demonic forces to retaliate against us! If you die here too, who will uncover the truth and restore our justice?"

Wei Linfeng gritted his teeth, preparing to fight his way out—when suddenly, overwhelming pressure descended from above.

A vast divine sense pressure engulfed the entire battlefield; everyone's ears rang with a soft hum.

Though faint, the hum exploded like a great bell in their hearts; everyone felt their blood surge violently, and combat halted involuntarily.

Each person's mind conjured an image: Ye Tinglan seated cross-legged, floating before them, slowly opening her eyes, light spreading across the ground.

The pressure of that instant was mountainous; some even broke into cold sweat.

Ye Tinglan's voice echoed then: "What are you waiting for? Go."

Wei Linfeng snapped out of his daze and swiftly led his juniors away: "Holy Master's great grace—we the Tingxue Pavilion will forever remember."

By the time the Bingyu Sect members realized and tried to pursue, it was clearly no longer worth it.

The Bingyu Sect leader turned to look again—the divine descent of Ye Tinglan had vanished.

"Damn, we were tricked by this woman—her remote divine descent couldn't exert much power; we could've easily crushed the Tingxue Pavilion despite the pressure..."

"Forget it. Leave a thread with the Tianyao Sacred Land. Offending the Tingxue Pavilion and offending the Tianyao Sacred Land aren't the same thing. Let's go—this isn't over yet..."

Over there, Ye Tinglan opened her eyes, looking at Lu Xingzhou before her, her expression deeply complex: "You..."

Lu Xingzhou smiled faintly: "No need for praise—how about a reward?"

Ye Tinglan feigned a swipe: "I'll reward you with a head full of bumps!"

Lu Xingzhou seized her hand in one grip.

Ye Tinglan forgot to squeeze, turning her head: "The Tingxue Pavilion was indeed ambushed by the Bingyu Sect—I arrived just in time. Had I come any later, only the Tingxue Pavilion's leader might have escaped, losing all his right-hand men; the Tingxue Pavilion would have been ruined forever."

"What affinity does the Bingyu Sect have?"

"Demonic." Ye Tinglan's expression remained complex: "You were right—Si Han is colluding with demonic forces, and this collusion is hidden, leaving no trace on the surface, made to look like the Tingxue Pavilion accidentally triggered the Bingyu Sect's sword array and was silenced... Si Han's methods are fundamentally no different from Gu Zhanting's."

"So being a hero comes at a cost... the kind of hero you want doesn't seem to exist."

Ye Tinglan stared fixedly at him: "What about you?"

"Me? I'm a demonic cultivator—I've never wanted to be a hero. But..."

"What?"

"You want me to be one?"

Ye Tinglan looked into his eyes: "What if I said I did?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "What's the benefit?" Just asking that question made him no hero—Ye Tinglan angrily snatched her hand away: "We still have to enter the hall—what kind of decorum is this!"

She turned and swept her sleeve, walking toward the Yingyue Sect hall.

Lu Xingzhou followed behind, grinning.

Inside the hall, Si Han and others sat uneasily—the Tianyao Holy Master was Daqian's state advisor, naturally aligned with Daqian; they didn't know if Gu Shaoli's words had swayed her opinion.

Just Gu Shaoli alone had already crushed the Yingyue Sect's morale—if Ye Tinglan also turned against them, the Yingyue Sect could be wiped out outright.

Seeing Ye Tinglan enter the hall with Lu Xingzhou—but without Gu Shaoli—Si Han exhaled deeply, rising to bow deeply: "Holy Master, your aid today, your life-saving grace—I, Si Han, will never forget. Should you ever command me, I will face fire and mountains without flinching."

Ye Tinglan pointed at Lu Xingzhou: "Thank him—if not for his suggestion, I wouldn't have come here."

Lu Xingzhou leaned close: "Again using your sister's name to deceive others?"

Ye Tinglan hadn't expected such a remark—her momentary pout vanished instantly, nearly laughing, her eyes curling slightly.

The Yingyue Sect members: "..."

Rumor had it that after yesterday's ice glacial battle, the Tianyao Holy Master vanished with the little puppy. Now it was clear—the little puppy truly enjoyed her favor: publicly elevating him before all, even bantering with him.

"Um..." Si Han cleared his throat twice, stepping aside from the main seat: "Please, Holy Master, take your seat."

Ye Tinglan didn't refuse, sitting squarely on the main seat, then turning to Lu Xingzhou: "Sit beside me."

The hall fell silent.

This so-called main seat was, in fact, a throne.

It is just that the Tian Shuang Kingdom's ritual system is crude, lacking such an obvious throne appearance, but one should still be able to roughly imagine it.

For Ye Tinglan to sit so casually is itself a hint at her purpose in coming here.

She did not come purely out of kindness to do a good deed and leave; saving your entire sect carries political intent.

Si Han had already figured it out long ago and quickly said, "I do not know what instructions the Holy Lord has; the entire Tian Shuang Kingdom will do its best to satisfy them."

Ye Tinglan looked at Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly twice and asked on behalf of Ye Tinglan, "Although the Tian Shuang Kingdom is said to be a sect alliance system, there should at least be dedicated positions responsible for the connections and resource flow between the various sects. These belong to Wang Ting duties, not Yingyue Sect, correct?"

Si Han said, "Indeed so. In fact, our alliance is not as rough as outsiders imagine; over these years, many dedicated offices have been gradually established. Many of these offices are managed by people from other sects, not under our Yingyue Sect's jurisdiction."

Lu Xingzhou said, "If the Tian Yao Holy Land requests positions for Tian Yao disciples in such places, and to establish a Tian Yao Observatory within Yingyue City, would Lord Si agree?"

Si Han did not answer immediately; instead, he said, "Given our Tian Shuang Kingdom's strength and sect model, the Tian Yao Holy Land could actually unify Tian Shuang directly. I, Si, would be willing to attach myself to its tail."

Lu Xingzhou said, "The Tian Yao Holy Land does not interfere with secular power. Rather, if Tian Shuang Kingdom has children who wish to join the Tian Yao Holy Land and can pass the assessment, the Tian Yao Holy Land would be delighted to accept them as disciples. Please, Lord Si, inform the Tian Shuang Kingdom of this information."

Si Han was stunned for a moment, his expression changing slightly: "Can Young Master's words represent the Holy Lord?"

Ye Tinglan, expressionless, said, "I am sitting right here; do you think I can or not?"

Si Han pressed his lips together.

Many high-ranking members of Yingyue Sect present at the time did not immediately grasp the meaning contained here; most revealed expressions of joy.

The Tian Yao Holy Land is a true Holy Land; who knows how many supreme-grade cultivation arts it possesses, and supreme-grade cultivators certainly number more than just Ye Tinglan. Those in the top three grades are as common as carts and baskets, and compared to other so-called first-grade powerful sects, they are not on the same level at all.

Cultivation is arduous; besides talent, luck, and so on, the most critical factors are the monopoly and scarcity of cultivation arts and high-end resources. For a new first-grade powerful sect like the Yan Luo Palace, as long as Yuan Muyu dares not leak the Tian Yao Holy Land's cultivation arts, there is no way she can provide her little man with cultivation arts of a higher grade; this alone reveals the situation.

Although our Yingyue Sect is also a first-grade powerful sect, if given the opportunity to cultivate supreme-grade arts, I fear the entire sect would rush to take it.

Of course, the Tian Yao Holy Land would absolutely not accept us, adult cultivators whose worldviews are already formed and who have huge political tendencies behind us; it would only select minors to accept as disciples. And the threshold for this first batch of disciples recruited from the Tian Shuang Kingdom will certainly not be that strict; already, many high-ranking members of Yingyue Sect are mentally selecting which of their own little brats are suitable.

Only Si Han realized that actually, the Tian Yao Holy Land already has disciples originating from the Tian Shuang Kingdom; it was just that the distinction was not so clear before. Now that the Tian Yao Observatory is established, once the Tian Yao disciples originally from the Tian Shuang Kingdom are inserted into their posts and their networks of relatives and friends are spread out, the Tian Yao Holy Land will already be able to exert a decisive influence over the entire Tian Shuang Kingdom.

And a few years later, when a large number of Tian Shuang Kingdom disciples from the Holy Land graduate and widely occupy important positions in the Tian Shuang Kingdom, what will the situation be then?

This is turning the Tian Yao Holy Land into the Tian Shuang Kingdom's Holy Land; it won't even take a few years, or even now, it already has a say.

His own secret schemes, under the overwhelming pressure of the Tian Yao Holy Land's momentum, seemed to have become a joke.

But the temptation of the Holy Land was right there; Si Han knew he could not refuse. Once he refused, even his own elders, who had just been very loyal, would not stand on his side this time.

He could only agree... Actually, agreeing was nothing; at least the fact that the Tian Yao Holy Land does not involve itself in political power has already been verified in Da Qian. At that time, with the Tian Shuang Kingdom backed by the Holy Land's support, why could it not become another Da Qian, or even replace Da Qian?

It was just damn strange; the Tian Yao Holy Land has always only had this level of interaction with Da Qian. When did it start having the ambition to extend its tentacles into various countries?

Si Han's gaze fell upon Lu Xingzhou.

Because of a little puppy?

(End of this chapter)