Different Intentions

After a short while, a disciple led Zhang Tian toward the Yun Lan Sect's Inner Hall.

This was not Zhang Tian's first time here, but this time, he sensed a faint chill and gloom within the main hall.

It was likely because Yun Shan's ties with the Soul Hall were unclear. Whether he had cultivated the Soul Hall's techniques or something else, he had somehow become tainted by that icy aura.

The disciple left after leading Zhang Tian to the entrance. Zhang Tian also knew this male disciple. His name was Mo Cheng, the First Elder Yun Leng's disciple. He was usually quite diligent and had always been exceedingly attentive toward Zhang Tian.

Sensing Yun Yun's familiar aura within, Zhang Tian entered the hall. This was his first time meeting Yun Lan Sect's true Sect Master, Yun Shan.

Perhaps he had once been nothing more than withered branches and fallen leaves, but after breaking through to Dou Zong, it was as though he had been reborn and gained endless possibilities. Yun Shan himself believed the same.

Within the great hall stood a white-haired old man. Simply standing there, he seemed to resonate with the surrounding space. He wore spotless white robes, and though his long hair was snow-white, it did not lack vitality in the slightest.

Yun Shan slowly turned to look at Zhang Tian. The first impression he gave was youthfulness, yet his face also carried traces of age. Weatheredness and youth intertwined, creating a contradictory feeling.

Yun Shan's face was not rosy. It possessed instead a snow-white pallor, smooth and devoid of a single wrinkle. Thus, no one could discern his age; if anything, he even retained a trace of handsomeness.

"May I ask whether you have been satisfied with the Yun Lan Sect during these days, young friend?" he asked. His voice was extraordinarily magnetic, one that never grew tiresome to hear.

"You jest, Old Sect Master. As the Yun Lan Sect's Second Elder, it is I who am ashamed of having rarely contributed even my modest efforts." Zhang Tian clasped his hands politely, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Yun Shan stared at Zhang Tian for a while before the corners of his mouth suddenly curled into a smile.

"You jest. Those of us at the Dou Emperor level should not be devoting too much energy to such trifling matters." The smile on Yun Shan's face became more pronounced as he paced several steps through the hall, then turned back toward Zhang Tian.

"In truth, our very existence is a deterrent to others. Maintaining our formidable strength is the greatest contribution we can make to the sect's development." Yun Shan said with a chuckle.

Zhang Tian nodded at those words. The deterrence of the strong needed no explanation. Because the Gama Empire possessed so many Dou Emperors, even though Medusa Queen was stronger than Jia Xing Tian, the Snake-People Tribe still did not dare rashly start a war and could only remain secluded in one corner of the Tagor Desert.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tian could not help viewing Yun Shan in a better light. His impression of him had changed somewhat. He had originally assumed Yun Shan would be a rigid old fellow who would reprimand him for acting like a hands-off shopkeeper.

"In a few days, we will declare war on the Gama Royal Family. I hope the Second Elder will give us his full support." Yun Shan seemed to say it casually, but the corner of his eye remained fixed on Zhang Tian.

Yet Zhang Tian acted as if he had not seen Yun Shan's flickering gaze or Yun Yun's subtle signal, and simply interrupted on his own.

"The Yun Lan Sect has indeed helped me greatly, but due to certain circumstances a few days ago, I owe the Gama Royal Family a favor. Please forgive me, but I cannot agree to this." Zhang Tian shook his head in refusal. If Yun Shan intended to move against the Gama Royal Family, then he would certainly stop him.

He owed the Yun Lan Sect many favors, but he also owed the Gama Royal Family one.

It was not as though they would be even simply because he chose not to act. That would instead amount to betraying the Gama Royal Family.

If he did not intervene, the Gama Royal Family could only meet defeat and destruction. Therefore, the true way to repay that favor was to ensure that the Gama Royal Family was not destroyed in this war.

"What favor would that be?" Yun Shan's smile faded, though not a trace of emotion could be seen on his face.

"A few days ago, I was cultivating a Dou Technique that had certain requirements regarding musical theory. Since I happened to be nearby, I went to seek instruction from the Seventh Princess." Zhang Tian spoke openly. Helping him master a Heaven Rank Dou Technique was neither an insignificant favor nor an overwhelmingly great one.

Yun Shan paused slightly, and traces of cold light emerged in his eyes.

"You call such a minor kindness a favor, and even demand that a Dou Emperor intervene on its behalf? Is that not an exaggeration?" Light flickered in Yun Shan's eyes as his aura rose unconsciously, pressing down on Zhang Tian.

"Or are you deliberately saying this because you simply do not wish to help the Yun Lan Sect grow stronger? Surely you are not such an ungrateful man." Yun Shan's anger rose. He did not even call him Second Elder anymore, directly addressing him as "you."

"Forgive me." Zhang Tian clasped his hands.

"The reason cannot be revealed to outsiders. I truly have no choice." He spoke apologetically. Though he understood Yun Shan's anger, Zhang Tian could not reveal that he had learned a Heaven Rank Dou Technique. Such a secret was better kept buried.

At least until Xiao Yan reached Dou Ling, he had no intention of exposing it.

"Zhang Tian! How dare you!" Yun Shan roared, fury blazing in his eyes.

"My Yun Lan Sect has treated you with every courtesy, yet you repay us with ingratitude! Today, when I ask something of you, you make excuse after excuse." Powerful Dou Qi swept across the hall, and faint cracks even appeared beneath his feet. Though he was an elderly man several hundred years old, his body contained terrifying power.

A cold glint flashed through Yun Shan's eyes. He clenched his hand, and Dou Qi surged as a massive palm imprint slammed toward Zhang Tian. Zhang Tian dodged with a flicker, leaving a fissure several meters long across the floor of the hall.

Zhang Tian flashed to a spot some distance away. Facing Yun Shan's overwhelming aura, he showed no hint of retreat. A thread of green flame rose and coiled around the hand hidden behind his back.

"Nine-Star Dou Huang. I did underestimate you." Yun Shan's face was cold. Though he had calmed somewhat, he spoke with lingering anger.

"If it was merely a matter of musical theory, Yun Er also knows a thing or two. Why did you not ask her? Why would you instead betray the sect?"

"Phew." Zhang Tian exhaled a breath of stale air and dispersed the Azure Lotus Core Flame behind his back.

"Old Sect Master Yun Shan, I do not know the extent of Sect Master Yun Yun's attainments in musical theory, but the favor has already been incurred. No matter what, I will not take action. There is no use saying anything further."

"You! Bastard!" Yun Shan's anger surged into his chest once more. He slapped the ground beside him, sending shattered stones flying in all directions.

"This matter is my fault. If Old Sect Master Yun Shan insists on an explanation, then Zhang Tian is willing to relinquish his position as the Yun Lan Sect's Second Elder." Drawing a deep breath, Zhang Tian looked at Yun Shan with an incomparably serious expression.

Yun Yun was the most distressed of them all. Caught between the two sides, she could not take either side. She directly ignored the look her master gave her, one of disappointment at her failure to live up to expectations, and lowered her head in helplessness.

"Are you threatening this old man?" A hostile expression appeared on Yun Shan's face.

"This is not a threat, but I must repay kindness. Still, I ask Old Sect Master Yun Shan to show mercy where mercy is due." Zhang Tian stepped forward. The aura of a Nine-Star Dou Huang clashed against Yun Shan's, yet he was not the least bit weaker. In fact, he even seemed to hold a slight advantage in their confrontation.

Yun Shan found himself conflicted. If he fought Zhang Tian, the Yun Lan Sect would certainly suffer considerable losses, and it would also lose a Dou Emperor expert. That would bring nothing but harm to the upcoming campaign against the Gama Empire.

The favors owed to the Yun Lan Sect could be repaid, but if Yun Shan intended to attack and keep him here, Zhang Tian could not possibly refrain from fighting back.

"I will not intervene in the war between the Chuyun Empire and the Gama Empire, but I can kill one Dou Emperor from the Chuyun Empire."

Yun Shan's heart wavered as well. Naturally, his preferred target was the Gama Empire, not the neighboring Chuyun Empire.

In the past, the Gama Empire had Jia Xing Tian, the Michelle Family's Supreme Elder, the Five-Star Dou Huang Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong, and the Rank 6 Nether Sea Flood Dragon that served as its guardian beast. These three Dou Emperor-level combatants had kept the Yun Lan Sect and the Gama Empire at peace.

However, the mutual suspicion and friction between the two had long since become irreconcilable. As the Yun Lan Sect grew increasingly powerful, the Gama Royal Family's vigilance against them deepened by the day.

Yun Shan could not forget this hatred. At the foot of Yunlan Mountain, hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers were still stationed!

The resources required for an army of hundreds of thousands to remain at the foot of the mountain without doing anything were an enormous sum. Yet even at such a great cost, they had not given up monitoring the Yun Lan Sect.

The so-called peace was merely superficial posturing between the two sides.

Though unwilling, Yun Shan recalled the task assigned by the Black Robe Protector: conquer an empire as soon as possible. Out of fear of the Soul Hall Protector, he could only nod helplessly.

"Then I shall trouble the Second Elder to act. I also hope the Second Elder will not take offense and will remain with the Yun Lan Sect."