They were all martial disciples selected by the sect to head to the front lines. Even the weakest were in the skin tempering realm, nearly a hundred had reached sinew tempering, and there were also many in bone tempering and manifest force. Leading them were the Sect Master and several elders, all experts in the transforming force realm.
The alchemy disciples, ordinarily gentle and amiable, spending their days with pill furnaces and medicinal herbs, had now shed every trace of scholarly mildness. They radiated a chilling edge, poised to move.
At the very front of the square stood a towering platform.
Today, the Azure Elixir Sect Master had abandoned his usual plain Daoist robes and refined, scholarly appearance.
He was fully outfitted in black martial armor edged with gold. Its plates gleamed coldly, its patterns austere, its shoulder guards heavy and solid. An unadorned ancient longsword hung at his waist, and his long hair was tied up. His expression was steady and solemn as he gazed toward the distant horizon, his presence imposing and weighty, like that of a great general.
Beside him, the three elders accompanying the expedition were also fully armored.
The elders, who ordinarily spent their days refining pills, cultivating, and sitting in quiet discussions of the Dao, were clad in iron armor today. Their killing intent remained contained, but their eyes were sharp as blades.
The four stood upon the platform like towering mountains, anchoring the entire gathering.
Mountain winds swept past, whipping the hems beneath their armor into sharp, snapping flutters.
On both sides of the square, all the disciples, alchemists, and servants remaining behind stood in formation, silently watching the sect's expeditionary force in the center.
Lin Fan, Chu Lingxi, Lin Ruoruo, and the others also stood at the front of the crowds on