Master Summoned

River Center Prefecture, Yancheng.

Inside a tavern.

"Have you heard? The Tianhe Sect has been wiped out for colluding with the Huanyuan Cult."

"Tsk tsk, who doesn't know about that."

"This 'Bowing-Free' Wang Longtang is truly formidable. It is said he exchanged a hundred moves with Luo Shan without losing."

"Word has it that all the masters of the Tianhe Sect were executed, and only the seventh and fourth disciples among the Seven Masters of Tianhe were away from the sect, narrowly escaping with their lives."

"Those who collude with evil cults deserve to be exterminated."

......

The crowd chattered noisily, filled with righteous indignation and outrage whenever the Tianhe Sect was mentioned.

The storm surrounding the Tianhe Sect was gradually subsiding.

Even so, the sudden collapse within just a few days of this major sect, which had stood in River Center Prefecture for a century, remained a hot topic of conversation and a source of deep sighing.

After all, no one expected that the Tianhe Sect, which always prided itself on being part of the orthodox path, would actually collude with the Huanyuan Cult.

"Detestable!"

In a corner, a fair-faced, delicate-looking scholar gripped his wine cup tightly, a trace of fury etched across his face.

This man was none other than Duan Anyu.

Suppressing the surging anger in his heart, he lowered his voice and said, "My Tianhe Sect was clearly framed and slandered."

Bai Ziyun, seated beside him, shook his head and replied, "Public opinion has already been manipulated. These people lack brains; they never give a second thought to the news they hear, blindly following the crowd and parroting others. Why bother getting upset with such people?"

Duan Anyu took a deep breath. "Uncle-Master Bai, someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes. I suspect it's the Four Symbols Sect."

It was not actually difficult to figure out who had framed them. After the fall of the Tianhe Sect, whoever stood to gain the most was naturally the culprit.

First, the Tower Beyond Towers could be ruled out. Given how the Tianhe Sect and the Four Symbols Sect had kept each other in check around the prefecture capital, the Tower Beyond Towers actually benefited from the situation; naturally, it would not shatter the balance.

Meanwhile, the Xie family had always been on good terms with the Tianhe Sect, so without even thinking, it was obvious that the perpetrators had to be the Four Symbols Sect and the Wang family.

"What if you do know it's the Four Symbols Sect?"

Bai Ziyun picked up a mouthful of food and said, "Can you storm the Four Symbols Sect and demand justice from Xi Yinzheng?"

Hearing this, Duan Anyu felt like a deflated ball.

Who was Xi Yinzheng?

One of the three grandmasters of River Center Prefecture—let alone him, even Song Yang was no match for Xi Yinzheng.

Filled with rage and a desire for vengeance, he found his enemies to be figures he could only look up to with awe.

Duan Anyu sighed. "Uncle-Master Bai, what should we do now? Should we go find Uncle-Master Zhang and Uncle-Master Zhong?"

Bai Ziyun shook his head. "After something like this happened, the two of them went into hiding long ago. Finding them in a short period of time will be very difficult."

Duan Anyu asked, "Then what should we do now?"

Bai Ziyun took a sip of wine and asked, "Do you want revenge?"

Duan Anyu said in a deep voice, "I do. Of course I do."

Bai Ziyun traced the character for 'Huan' on the table with his finger. "In that case, we shall go to..."

Duan Anyu's pupils constricted sharply, and his face turned pale. "Uncle-Master, you..."

A cold gleam flashed in Bai Ziyun's eyes. "Since they've already judged us guilty anyway, we might as well just go along with the current and make a clean break of it."

"But..."

Duan Anyu hesitated, a sudden chill creeping into his heart.

Could it be that Uncle-Master Bai really had ties to the Huanyuan Cult?

Bai Ziyun placed a hand on Duan Anyu's shoulder. "You have already become a wanted criminal on the Golden Feather Guard's bounty list, and you are being hunted by the Four Symbols Sect. You have no way out."

"Our only course of action now is to endure hardships and bide our time until the bitter end passes and better days arrive."

Duan Anyu kept his head lowered, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Bai Ziyun narrowed his eyes and asked, "Well?"

Clenching his fists tightly, Duan Anyu replied with a deadpan earnestness, "My life was saved by Uncle-Master Bai. I will listen to Uncle-Master Bai."

"That's right."

Hearing this, Bai Ziyun revealed a satisfied smile. "Let's go. Don't linger too long in one place, lest we draw the attention of the Golden Feather Guard."

With that, he dropped a silver ingot and walked out of the tavern.

Bai Ziyun did not notice that the moment he turned around, a flicker of vicious resentment flashed across Duan Anyu's eyes, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

.......

Four Symbols Sect, Xuanwu Courtyard.

At this moment, the disciples of the Xuanwu Courtyard were gathered together, discussing animatedly.

"The Vermilion Bird Courtyard and the Azure Dragon Courtyard received the most resources. Every disciple can get dozens of Hundred Fragrance Pills and even pick a weapon from below the third floor of the Treasure Pavilion."

"Really?! They can even pick weapons from the Treasure Pavilion?"

"I also heard that the Divine Elegance Sword of the Tianhe Sect has already been reserved by the chief disciple of the Vermilion Bird Courtyard."

"The Xuanwu Courtyard contributed effort as well. Why are we allocated the fewest resources?"

"What can be done about it? The courtyard heads of the other three branches argued reasoning with the Sect Master tooth and nail."

"Why didn't Master go?"

"The other three branches have more Dan-realm disciples than our Xuanwu Courtyard, and all of them have intermediate Dan-realm disciples who can hold their own. Naturally, their courtyard heads have much more weight when speaking."

"When will our Xuanwu Courtyard ever be able to hold our heads high?"

"Sigh!"

........

The sect assembly had not yet been convened, but the gossip was already circulating widely.

The Azure Dragon Courtyard and the Vermilion Bird Courtyard were able to secure the lion's share.

This left the disciples of the Xuanwu Courtyard consumed with envy.

After all, in this eradication of the Tianhe Sect, the Four Symbols Sect had reaped countless unimaginable benefits.

For instance, the martial arts manuals collected by the Tianhe Sect over hundreds of years, the divine weapons and sharp blades in their treasury, medicinal ingredients, rare treasures, and so on.

Because the Vermilion Bird Courtyard and the Azure Dragon Courtyard possessed formidable strength, their disciples enjoyed substantial privileges. Even the slightly inferior White Tiger Courtyard was much better off than the Xuanwu Courtyard.

Circumstances dictate strength.

The Xuanwu Courtyard was overall the weakest, and there was simply no helping that.

Even Quan Shuangwu, who usually buried himself solely in cultivation, hurried over at this moment to discuss the matter with his fellow apprentices.

Yu Baoquan furrowed his brow slightly and said, "Alright, alright, stop talking this nonsense."

Hearing Senior Brother Yu speak up, the crowd muttered a few more words before dispersing to cultivate on their own.

Yang Xing stood alone in a corner, practicing the Xuanwu Seal.

Having unblocked three primary meridians, his internal Qi had grown robust, enhancing even the might of the Xuanwu Seal.

"Hah!"

With one complete cycle of the Xuanwu Seal finished, Yang Xing exhaled a breath of stale air.

Just then, Mother Mei walked out.

"Yang Xing, the Courtyard Head wants to see you."

"Understood!"

Acknowledge the command, Yang Xing walked toward the back courtyard.

The back courtyard featured winding streams, small bridges, pavilions, and towers, all arranged in an orderly fashion.

In the center of the courtyard, a massive alchemy cauldron was still burning, emanating a faint medicinal fragrance.

"What kind of medicinal pill are they actually refining?"

Yang Xing looked at the blazing cauldron, a trace of curiosity welling up in his heart.

Every time he came to the back courtyard, the fire beneath this alchemy cauldron was burning, almost never going out.

Suppressing his curiosity, Yang Xing arrived at the doorway of the study, cupped his fists respectfully, and said,

"Master!"

"Come in."

Huang Zhen's aged voice came from inside the room.

Creak—!

Yang Xing slowly pushed the door open and entered. He saw Huang Zhen sitting cross-legged on a couch, dressed in a white robe. The room was fragrant with sandalwood, and a calligraphy scroll bearing the words "Peace of Mind and Calmness" hung on the wall above. Combined with the setting, it gave him a rather immortal and transcendent aura.

...........

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