[Xingyao and the others sensed those three auras. They hurried to their feet and flew out of the treasure ship.]
[Three figures stood silently in the void.]
[At the center was the Dao Venerable. To his left stood the Pure Yang Patriarch, his black beard floating in the wind; to his right was the gold-robed youth Bao Zhen.]
[Below, the cultivators of the East Sea's Unorthodox Nine Schools bowed as one.]
["Greetings, Dao Venerable! Greetings, Pure Yang True Person! Greetings, Daoist Bao Zhen!"]
[You gave a slight nod. Their congratulations were pleasingly brief.]
[Earlier, some disciples had privately composed several elaborate greetings, full of lines like "for ten thousand generations" and "the Dao Venerable alone reigns supreme." Hearing them had left you rather helpless.]
[Bao Zhen, on the other hand, had loved them. He had nearly asked the disciples to recite them a few more times on the spot.]
[At your insistence, all that pomp and ceremony had been cut away, leaving only these few short greetings.]
[Now your gaze swept over the cultivators below. Your voice was calm, yet it rang in every direction.]
["Today we travel to Yu Province in the Central Lands. Along the way, none of you may use your power to bully others or harm the innocent."]
["Those who disobey—"]
[You paused. The final word fell lightly from your lips. "Die."]
[In an instant, everyone's heart lurched! An indescribable fear rose from deep within them, as though your gaze had pierced every person and looked straight into their heart.]
[It was not only the disciples with low cultivation. Even the sect masters felt a chill down their spines and dared not raise their heads.]
[Then they answered in unison, "We obey the Dao Venerable's command!"]
["Depart."]
[With that, the three Supreme Grandmaster auras receded, and