Intimidation

Han Zhuang had also realized that things were going badly.

With the Wine Maniac alone having come for Chen Ning, he could still have hoped to get lucky.

But the Sword Immortal's arrival scared Han Zhuang out of his wits.

Looking back, he couldn't help feeling a chill all over.

How had he ever found the courage to press Chen Ning for answers?

How had he found the courage to demand the sect master's removal?

If he were given another chance, he wouldn't dare publicly call for the sect master's removal even if he were beaten to death!

And now, the Wine Maniac alone had the nine elders on guard as if facing a great enemy.

Much less the pressure brought by a Sword Immortal of the present age.

But no matter how hard Han Zhuang thought, he couldn't understand how Chen Ning, an orphan the old sect master had saved while away from the sect three years ago, could possibly know such figures.

He had thought Chen Ning was nothing more than a puppet he could manipulate at will, but in the blink of an eye, he had become a superior looking down on him from above.

The change had been completely unexpected.

Boundless regret welled up in Han Zhuang. The nine elders had held back earlier because Chen Ning had no one to rely on.

But now that the Sword Immortal and the Wine Maniac were here, even the nine elders dared not slight Chen Ning in the least.

It was too late to say anything now.

For Han Zhuang, this was a complete dead end.

Faced with Chen Ning's questioning, he hurriedly looked toward the eighth elder, hoping he would step in and save him.

Lin Xiaotian's face was ashen on the platform.

This time, Han Zhuang had dragged him into terrible trouble.

Lin Xiaotian looked down from the platform. The Wine Maniac was watching the commotion with an utterly bored expression.

The Sword Immortal Li Changtian merely stood there, but even so, no one dared oppose Chen Ning at a time like this.

Chen Ning also understood that this was the perfect time to borrow the tiger's might like a fox. Only by keeping his position as sect master would the first option of the choice count as complete.

Although he didn't know what the Heaven-Reaching Talisman was, a rare-grade reward shouldn't let him down.

Su Ling'er, meanwhile, had stayed close behind Chen Ning. Although she was there to protect her sect master brother, even now, everything felt a little unreal to her.

It was like an illusory dream.

She had thought her sect master brother was on the verge of losing his position under Han Zhuang's pressure.

Yet two great figures whom even her grandfather couldn't afford to offend had appeared one after another.

Now the situation had turned around, and Su Ling'er was delighted.

She felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Perhaps her sect master brother had already devised a way to deal with this, or perhaps he had been fearless from the very beginning, secure in his support and disdaining the tricks of a jumping clown like Han Zhuang.

"Han Zhuang, if no one had put you up to this, you wouldn't have had the nerve to publicly force me from my position. Tell me who it was, and I can guarantee your safety and let you leave the Dragon-Seeking Sect."

Chen Ning stepped closer and stared into his eyes.

"All right, everyone disperse."

The old man in charge of the Azure Cloud Rite called out. The Dragon-Seeking Sect disciples were genuinely curious about the person behind Han Zhuang, and with the answer still unknown, they left the garden surrounding the Azure Cloud Platform feeling rather disappointed.

Once the crowd dispersed, Han Zhuang seemed to feel that he could no longer bear the mental torment. He was about to speak.

The next moment, a palm print of Essence Power slammed into Han Zhuang's chest.

"Bang!"

Blood gushed wildly from Han Zhuang.

Eyes wide with fury, he looked up at the platform, where Lin Xiaotian said with a look of disgust, "You fool who knows neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth! How dare you slander the sect master at the Azure Cloud Rite and try to force him to step down? You cannot escape death for your crime!"

With that, Lin Xiaotian sprang up from the ground and struck him with another palm print.

This time, Han Zhuang breathed his last.

"You!"

Anger shone in Chen Ning's eyes as he glared at Lin Xiaotian.

He had known all along that Lin Xiaotian was the one behind it, but he hadn't expected him to be so ruthless.

"Elder Lin really can't tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye."

Chen Ning sneered.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I was merely relieving the sect master of a burden, relieving the sect master of a burden."

Lin Xiaotian now dared not be the least bit careless with Chen Ning. Arrogant before and deferential now, he was utterly humble, terrified of displeasing the man before him and having him order the Wine Maniac to chop him into eight pieces.

Although silencing Han Zhuang had been somewhat risky, if he hadn't done it and Han Zhuang had named him, he wouldn't have come to a good end either.

"Prepare two courtyards. My two friends should have somewhere to stay when they come again."

Chen Ning gave the order in an indifferent voice.

Cang Yue immediately replied, "I'll have someone prepare them right away."

"Good."

Chen Ning answered casually. He always felt that, as the master of a sect, he ought to have a catchphrase with a little more class.

He would settle on that one. It sounded profound.

Preparing the courtyards was another of Chen Ning's schemes to borrow the tiger's might like a fox. It showed that these two powerful backers would return, intimidating the elders present.

Sure enough, after hearing that exchange, the last trace of hope in Lin Xiaotian's heart vanished.

The other elders also bowed to Chen Ning one after another.

None of them showed the indifference they had displayed when Han Zhuang tried to force him from power. Every one of them now revered Chen Ning as sect master from the bottom of their hearts.

Several elders even wore beaming smiles, as though Chen Ning were dearer to them at this moment than their own fathers.

Chen Ning couldn't help glancing at Li Changtian.

He hadn't expected Li Changtian to wield so much influence that he could intimidate the entire body of elders.

The Dragon-Seeking Sect was one of the foremost top sects in the Nine Provinces, and it stood above all others in the Spirit Province Territory. Only Flying Cloud Valley could compare with it in status.

And the source of Flying Cloud Valley's strength was none other than the Sword Immortal holding the fort there.

The Sword Immortal was unmatched in the Sword Dao. Even the old sect master at his peak had only fought him to a draw.

How could the elders not be shaken to see such an unparalleled figure behaving so humbly toward Chen Ning?

"All right, kid, are you finished here? It's about time we went back, isn't it?"

The Wine Maniac was rather impatient. He was in a hurry to get back to drinking.

Chen Ning nodded to him, then said, "Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, the Azure Cloud Rite will be held another day. Does anyone object?"

"The sect master is sagacious!"

The elders answered in unison and respectfully saw Chen Ning, the Sword Immortal, and the others off.

Only when the four of them stepped out of the garden did several elders let out long breaths.

The pressure brought by the Sword God had simply been too great.

The third elder, the most senior among them, had felt it even more keenly.

"Third Elder, why do you look half-dead?"

Everyone looked at the third elder, who seemed utterly drained, and asked in confusion.

"You don't know, but this Sword Immortal's Sword Dao cultivation seems to have risen another level. It was almost enough to crush the breath out of me," the gaunt third elder said with a labored breath.

The others were shocked to hear this.

The third elder steadied his breathing, then continued, "I've cultivated the sword for decades, and I followed the old sect master when he saw the Sword Immortal fight, so I can't be mistaken. The Sword Immortal's realm in the Sword Dao has improved again."

"What?"

Everyone was astonished.

But immediately afterward, a wave of lingering fear washed over them, and their backs turned cold.

Fortunately, they hadn't let the sect master actually be removed. Otherwise, if the sect master had flown into a rage and asked the Sword Immortal to act, who could have withstood such wrath...