Yantian Sect Bows Its Head

"Hurry! Sign up now! Such a fortune only comes once in a thousand years!" A cultivator crushed a Communication Jade Slip on the spot to summon his friends and family.

Ling Cangqiong stood in the shadow of the city wall. A clever scheme.

Yet even more astonishing was yet to come.

The Ming He Sect Master suddenly stepped forward and, under the gaze of thousands of cultivators, bowed deeply:

"Our Ming He Sect is willing to merge entirely into the Yantian Sect! From this day forth, the Star River lineage shall be renamed 'Yantian Pavilion'!"

Pfft--!!!

The entire Tianyan City erupted into chaos!

Two top-tier sects merging?

This was a cataclysmic shift capable of reshaping the entire Great Yan Imperial Dynasty!

Ling Cangqiong's pupils sharply contracted.

He suddenly realized—this was no spur-of-the-moment decision, but a meticulously crafted open scheme!

This must be why the two sect masters had suddenly competed earlier...

After speaking, the Yantian Sect elders stationed in Tianyan City immediately set up a temporary registration office.

At that moment, Tianyan City buzzed with noise; countless rogue cultivators, flushed with excitement, surged toward the temporary registration point set up by the Yantian Sect.

"Me! I'm signing up first!"

"Move aside! I'm at Qi Condensation ninth layer, just one step from Foundation Establishment!"

The crowd shoved and jostled, the scene nearly spiraling out of control.

Yet the three family heads standing on high ground wore grim expressions, exchanging glances.

Chen Xuanfeng, head of the Chen Family, narrowed his eyes and muttered, "The Yantian Sect suddenly lowers its threshold, and the Ming He Sect directly submits... This is off."

"Indeed," Lin Yue, head of the Lin Family, echoed in a low voice. "These two sects have always been at odds. Why would they suddenly join forces? And they chose to fight right outside Tianyan City..."

Su Yuanzheng, head of the Su Family, was about to speak when suddenly—

"Ah!!"

A piercing scream erupted from the crowd!

A young disciple in Yantian Sect robes collapsed to the ground, a short, azure-blue blade embedded in his chest, its edge coated with poison. The disciple didn't even have time to struggle before he died on the spot!

"What's going on?!" The Yantian Sect elder was shocked, but before he could step forward to check—

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

A series of dull thuds followed as several more Yantian Sect disciples fell inexplicably!

Among them were even a few Core Disciples at the Divine Treasury Realm!

"Enemy attack! There are assassins!" The Ming He Sect elder roared.

But the scene was a sea of people; the killer had already melted into the surging crowd and vanished without a trace.

In the distant shadows, several figures cloaked in black robes quietly converged.

The scar-faced leader, Blood Edge, licked the blood from his face and sneered, "Mission complete. Withdraw."

—It was the Iron Blood Squad!

In an instant, the once-boiling crowd descended into utter chaos. Ling Cangqiong stood in the shadow of the city tower, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

The Yantian Sect elders stood frozen, their faces ashen. They released their Spiritual Sense to sweep through the turbulent crowd, but could never catch a trace of the culprit.

In the end, they could only grimly continue the registration—after all, the dead could not be revived.

Meanwhile, the Yantian Sect Master appeared above Tianyan City, his furious gaze sweeping across with his Spiritual Sense, scrutinizing everything.

Just then, a terrifying pressure suddenly enveloped the entire Tianyan City!

"Boom—"

The Yantian Sect Master's figure materialized above the Imperial Capital, unleashing the full force of his Dharma Aspect Realm ninth-layer might without restraint.

His eyes bloodshot, his violent Spiritual Sense swept like a tangible force over every inch of land, causing even the air to tremble.

"How insolent!"

A cold rebuke suddenly rang out.

Ling Cangqiong stepped slowly out of the void, his black dragon robe flapping in the wind.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze like lightning as he stared straight at the Yantian Sect Master:

"Yantian Sect Master, to so brazenly sweep Imperial We's Imperial Capital with your Spiritual Sense—do you take the Great Yan Imperial Clan for nothing?"

Before the words faded, nine resplendent golden Dragon Qis burst forth from Ling Cangqiong's body, soaring like nine true dragons into the sky, weaving together into a Dragon Pattern Heavenly Net that blotted out the heavens and covered the sun.

That vast Imperial Dao Pressure forcibly repelled the Yantian Sect Master's Spiritual Sense, which was at the ninth level of the Dharma Aspect Realm!

This scene left all the cultivators in the city pale with shock.

After all, Ling Cangqiong was a Cave Perfection expert!

The Yantian Sect Master's pupils contracted sharply, a storm of shock surging within his heart.

He had intended to use this opportunity to demand that Ling Cangqiong seal off the entire city, but now he had no choice but to rein in his edge.

"This old one overstepped."

He spoke in a low voice, the boiling True Essence around him gradually calming.

Yet in his crimson eyes, an unyielding flame of fury still burned.

"However..." The Yantian Sect Master shifted his tone, his voice suddenly sharpening, "My Yantian Sect disciple died a brutal death in Tianyan City. I ask His Majesty for an explanation!"

At these words, the entire city fell silent.

He dared to face a Cave Perfection expert with such a forceful stance!

Ling Cangqiong's gaze flickered slightly, a faint, almost imperceptible cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The two faced off across the void, their intangible auras clashing, causing even the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth to stagnate.

This was exactly the effect Ling Cangqiong wanted.

He wanted all the civil and military officials to witness firsthand how arrogant and overbearing these sect cultivators were, daring to openly challenge imperial authority within the Imperial Capital!

The ministers who had risen by clinging to imperial power indeed changed expression drastically.

They owed their current status entirely to the support of the royal family.

If sect forces were allowed to override imperial authority, their interests would be the first to suffer!

"Boom—"

At that moment, the Four Great Imperial Guard Commanders led their elite guards striding through the air, a sky-piercing aura of slaughter soaring upward.

The leading Azure Dragon Commander's eyes flashed like lightning, his long halberd pointing straight at the Yantian Sect Master:

"How dare you! A mere sect master, and you presume to demand an explanation from His Majesty? What do you think you are!"

With his roar, several terrifying auras suddenly erupted from the depths of the Imperial Palace.

The experts of the Hall of Offerings did not reveal themselves, but the faint, looming pressure they exerted left everyone present breathless.

Ling Cangqiong stood with his hands behind his back, a cold gleam flickering in his eyes.

He had been waiting for this moment.

"However..." The emperor's voice suddenly rang out, carrying an unassailable authority, "since you dared to kill in Imperial We's Imperial Capital..."

"Shen Changqing!"

A cold shout, and the Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division instantly appeared before the throne, kneeling on one knee.

Ling Cangqiong looked down at him from on high, speaking each word deliberately:

"Imperial We gives you three days to find the true culprit. If you fail..." The emperor's voice turned abruptly cold, "Imperial We would not mind replacing the one who holds the Heaven Suppressing Division!"

"The Heaven Suppressing Division oversees the realm, yet it allows such despisers of imperial authority to run rampant in the Imperial Capital—what crime is that?!" Ling Cangqiong suddenly raised his voice, "And as for the matter of the Demon Race, the Heaven Suppressing Division seems increasingly unworthy of its name..."

The unfinished words were thick with murderous intent!

Sweat beaded on Shen Changqing's forehead as he bowed deeply: "Your servant... accepts the decree!"

At this moment, everyone felt the emperor's wrath.

Ling Cangqiong was not only using this incident to pressure the Heaven Suppressing Division, but also declaring to the entire world—within the Great Yan Territory, imperial authority was not to be challenged!