The great hall on the Cloudpiercing Sect's Main Peak had already filled with the sect's highest-ranking leaders. The atmosphere was solemn and heavy.
The seven court heads and elders of every branch had taken their seats. Low voices filled the hall as everyone discussed the Mahayana Evil Cult's unusual movements and the urgent turmoil in Qingchuan Prefecture, worry etched on their faces.
Yet beneath the solemn proceedings, a faint undercurrent of doubt and disagreement quietly spread.
Many veteran elders and branch heads glanced now and then at the empty seat reserved for the Fire Vajra Court. Their eyes held a subtle mix of hesitation and disapproval.
The Cloudpiercing Sect had always placed great weight on experience, seniority, and the depth of one's cultivation.
Cheng Heng had joined only recently. He was barely in his twenties. Though his talent was peerless and none of his generation could match him, his experience was still too shallow and his seniority too low.
When Lu Ding entered seclusion, he had temporarily appointed Cheng Heng acting court head. Everyone had obeyed the sect leader's decree, but doubts had lingered in their hearts.
To elders and court heads who had lived for decades and devoted their lives to martial arts, Cheng Heng was still a junior, no matter how talented he was. He was a newly promoted core disciple who had yet to establish himself in the Vajra Realm or oversee an entire court.
The Fire Vajra Court was among the Cloudpiercing Sect's strongest and most deeply rooted branches. Putting a young junior in charge, then seating him at the sect's highest council as an equal to its elders, was hard for many to accept.
"Cheng Heng's talent is peerless, yes, but he's far too young and inexperienced. He may not be able to shoulder the