The nine sect leaders who wanted to withdraw changed their expressions instantly upon hearing this, it was clearly a leverage point, if things escalated that far and the Gu family head exaggerated the matter, who could predict the consequences?
The Soul Refining Sect Leader quickly stood up, “You’re all just afraid of the Immortals, but right now, while Lin Yun hasn’t officially joined an Immortal’s sect, this is the perfect chance to get rid of him.”
“Otherwise, once he’s under an Immortal and trained by them for a few hundred years, he’ll surely be able to crush our factions, do you really want to see the Heavenly Sword Sect rise and trample you underfoot?”
The Seven Stars Sect Leader added, “From the moment you joined the Zhutian Alliance, we were all tied to the same rope, we prosper together, we fall together, none of you can escape the consequences now!”
The nine sect leaders who’d planned to leave fell silent for a moment, then slowly sat back down one by one.
Clearly, they’d made their choice.
They knew there was no turning back from this pirate ship, the arrow had been loosed, no recalling it now.
Seeing this, the Gu family head’s face broke into a smile again, “Excellent, welcome back, everyone, as the Soul Refining Sect Leader said, I believe if we act quickly enough, before he officially joins an Immortal, it won’t be a problem.”
The Soul Refining Sect Leader took over, “So, we must act as soon as possible, we definitely can’t strike in Xingwu City, we wait for him to leave the city! Once he’s out, we move fast!”
…
After the banquet ended, the Immortals didn’t linger, they all left Xingwu City.
As for taking disciples, the six-month window remained valid, they naturally wouldn’t stay just to wait for Lin Yun, they were the ones taking disciples, not begging for a father, it was up to Lin Yun to seek them out.
Meanwhile.
Lin Yun and Mo Qing arrived at Xiaoyao Tower.
As soon as Lin Yun stepped inside, the attendant recognised him immediately, after all, Lin Yun was a regular customer.
“Lord Lin Yun, your esteemed presence graces us, I’ll inform Master Hong at once!” the attendant said with utmost respect.
“What? Lin Yun?”
The guests inside Xiaoyao Tower turned their gazes towards Lin Yun upon hearing the attendant’s words.
Most of these guests weren’t qualified to attend the Wanhua Banquet in the palace, so they hadn’t seen Lin Yun in person.
But two and a half days had passed since the Wanhua Tournament, news of Lin Yun’s championship had already spread throughout Xingwu City, even across the entire Xingwu Empire.
Who among them hadn’t heard of Lin Yun?
“He’s the Wanhua Tournament champion, Lin Yun? Good heavens, I’m actually seeing him in the flesh!”
“So young! Truly a prodigy at such an age!”
…
The tower buzzed with excitement, Lin Yun’s arrival instantly ignited the atmosphere in the ground-floor hall, he was like a dazzling star, drawing countless gazes of awe and admiration.
Among them were several female cultivators, casting him heated looks.
“Who’s that beautiful woman beside Champion Lin Yun? She seems to be a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, how enviable, to walk side by side with Champion Lin Yun, truly the one closest to the tower gets the moon first.”
“Lin Yun, you’re a big shot now, but when I stand with you, I don’t want to be seen as a mere decoration, I’ll work hard to get stronger!” Mo Qing’s beautiful eyes sparkled with determination.
Mo Qing had a strong personality too, she knew that if her strength wasn’t up to par, Lin Yun’s brilliance would overshadow her, standing beside him, she’d be looked down upon, those odd gazes made her uncomfortable…
She resolved firmly that she must gain enough strength to stand beside Lin Yun as an equal, not as a useless ‘decoration’.
Lin Yun turned to Mo Qing with a wry smile, “Senior Sister, how could you be a decoration? You’re strong too, reaching the top hundred in the Wanhua Tournament at such a young age.”
At that moment, Master Hong hurried out from the back courtyard.
“Lin Yun, I didn’t expect you’d come straight here after the banquet, you’re truly bringing honour to our humble place!”
As he approached, Master Hong smiled and continued, “Lin Yun, congratulations on winning the Wanhua Tournament, I was there at the event, your performance gave me quite a shock, incredible! You’re just too incredible, me and my friends were exclaiming non-stop, one of them didn’t think much of you at first, but your display slapped him right in the face, haha.”
Master Hong suddenly felt that befriending Lin Yun back then was an incredibly wise decision!
Even he hadn’t imagined Lin Yun would shine this brightly.
“Master Hong, you’re too kind, I only won because I improved during the fight, otherwise I’d have lost, luck played the biggest part,” Lin Yun said with a humble smile.
Lin Yun knew that without advancing his swordsmanship mid-battle and unleashing the ninth form of the Tianhong Sword Technique, relying solely on the eighth form’s power, plus the wristguard and the Heaven-Shaking Hand, even if he’d briefly gained the upper hand, he couldn’t have fully defeated Wang Luo, once those moves were spent without a decisive victory, he’d have been out of steam, with no means left to counter Wang Luo, the championship would’ve gone to Wang Luo instead.
“Improving your swordsmanship mid-battle only proves your brilliance even more, being chosen by four Immortals is an incredible opportunity, by the way, have you decided whose sect to join?” Master Hong asked with a smile.
“I came here this time to get some information on these Immortals to look over before deciding,” Lin Yun said.
“Hmm, choosing a master is indeed a serious matter, it’ll greatly affect your future growth, with four options, you’ll want the one that suits you best,” Master Hong nodded.
“Take our esteemed guest Lin Yun to the back courtyard first.”
Master Hong turned to instruct the attendant.
Then he looked at Lin Yun again, “Lin Yun, wait in the back courtyard, I’ll fetch what you need.”
“Alright, thank you for the trouble, Master Hong,” Lin Yun clasped his fists, ever polite.
“Lin Yun, I’ve met plenty of prodigious geniuses, all brimming with arrogance, but someone as humble as you is a rare find,” Master Hong remarked.
With that, Master Hong went to retrieve the information, while Lin Yun and Mo Qing were led to the back courtyard by the attendant.
In the back courtyard.
“By the way, Senior Sister Mo Qing, if you need any resources, just say the word, I’ll have the attendant fetch them, I’ll cover everything,” Lin Yun said with a smile.
“You rascal, you’re talking big, I don’t need anything,” Mo Qing replied.
Though Mo Qing didn’t want Lin Yun to buy her anything, her heart felt warm and sweet.
Soon, Master Hong returned with the information to the back courtyard.
“Lin Yun, here are the four sets of information you wanted, take a look.”
Master Hong placed four scrolls in front of Lin Yun.
