Gathering

Great Capital.

A fine drizzle fell.

The City Lord's Mansion was enclosed by high walls, imposing and inviolable.

Inside the City Lord's Mansion at this moment, many martial artists and specialists from all corners of the land had gathered.

At this time, from within the high walls, a shouting voice could faintly be heard.

"The Azure Lord is tyrannical, diverting the Taiqing River and moving Mount Taiqing, causing hundreds of thousands of laborers to suffer and die. This action is truly an outrage against heaven and man."

"The Azure Lord is not fit to be the ruler of the Central Plains!"

At this moment, a scholar in a green robe stepped forward, looking at some of the specialists in front of him, his face filled with righteous indignation.

"Esteemed specialists, do you have a plan to assassinate the Azure Lord? If the Azure Lord dies, Great Cang will surely fall!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the specialists present changed.

The Sect Master of the Eight Trigrams Gate was a short old man, dressed in simple attire, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

This seemed somewhat at odds with the Eight Trigrams Gate's pursuit of the harmony of yin and yang and the natural way.

He spoke slowly, his voice tinged with a hint of regret, "The Azure Lord is not that easy to kill.

Otherwise, Zhao Sheng wouldn't have been defeated so miserably."

Mentioning Zhao Sheng, the scholar in the green robe's expression shifted slightly.

He naturally knew that Zhao Sheng was the most powerful among the rebel forces, even receiving strong support from the Dragon Number Cave, one of the twelve major powers.

Unfortunately, even with such backing, Zhao Sheng had been defeated.

Moreover, his defeat was comically ignominious, with his army being wiped out by a meteor shower that crashed into their camp.

The Dragon Number Cave, on the other hand, had almost all its specialists killed, with the survivors seeking refuge with the Tai Qing Palace.

"If the Azure Lord does not die, we will never have a chance to rise again, and the common people will be plunged into eternal damnation," the scholar in the green robe declared, his voice carrying a hint of pleading for the people.

"Alas."

The other specialists sighed.

They had come here precisely to discuss how to deal with the Azure Lord.

Once Mount Taiqing was successfully moved to the Tai Qing Palace, the gathering of destiny would be complete, and they would have no hope of victory whatsoever.

"Let's put this matter aside for now. Once the people from the Three Extremes Sect and the Dan Jian Sect arrive, we will first select a leader before deciding how to deal with the Azure Lord,"

a burly man said. His voice was deep and resonant, and his bare arms, thighs, and chest were covered in black hair, resembling a bear.

He was the Sect Master of the Armored Gate, whose body was so tough that five horses could not tear it apart.

"Indeed, let's confirm the leader first before continuing our discussion," said Qi Guangying, the Sect Master of the Light Feather Gate.

The Light Feather Gate was also one of the twelve major powers.

The unique artifact of this sect was a feather, which bestowed unparalleled lightness and agility upon the family, even causing their bloodline to mutate.

The descendants of the Qi family were naturally light.

It was possible that they could jump from a tall building and suffer no harm.

"I heard that the Dan Jian Sect is sending a greenhorn this time?" the Sect Master of the Armored Gate mused, stroking his chin.

He was very enthusiastic about this alliance of the seven major powers, as he harbored ambitions of becoming the leader.

And his strength, among these seven powers, was indeed the strongest, deserving of the title.

"He's a prodigy," Qi Guangying replied. "It's said that he's already qualified to have the Dao Sword recognize him as its master."

"Heh heh," the Sect Master of the Armored Gate chuckled. "An artifact recognizing its master is nothing but a joke."

The more he understood unique artifacts, the more the Sect Master of the Armored Gate realized that they were both a blessing and a root of disaster.

The recognition of a master was all a pretense.

The powerful spiritual energy within these unique artifacts was something that no one could resist.

The fact that the Azure Lord could make the Azure Dragon Stone recognize him as its master was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Of course, this was information that only he knew; others were completely unaware of it.

Just then, a voice announced.

"Young Sect Master Lin Ping of the Dan Jian Sect, and Sect Master Mo Fengxue of the Three Extremes Sect have arrived."

Following this announcement, a tall and straight man entered the courtyard.

A half-step behind him, Mo Fengxue followed, her expression calm, by Lin Ping's side.

This detail indicated that Mo Fengxue regarded Lin Ping as her superior.

The people present, almost all leaders of their respective factions and shrewd individuals, naturally noticed this detail.

Their evaluation of Lin Ping increased by another notch.

"Now that Lin Ping of the Dan Jian Sect and Sect Master Mo Fengxue of the Three Extremes Sect have arrived, our seven families are all present," the Sect Master of the Armored Gate stated.

Here, seven major powers have currently gathered: the Dan Jian Sect, Three Extremes Sect, Armored Gate, Light Feather Gate, Eight Trigrams Gate, Empty Mountain Temple, and Jiang Tian Xie Family.

These seven powers are in complete opposition to the Azure Lord.

The other four major powers are very close to Kyoto and are forced to serve the Azure Lord.

The sect leader of the Armored Gate continued, "The Azure Lord is tyrannical. We have gathered here today to seek a way to deal with him.

Before that, we must choose a leader to accomplish this!"

The sect leader of the Armored Gate looked at everyone, his ambition clearly visible in his eyes, "Should we decide the leader by martial strength, or should you all vote together?"

A confident expression appeared on the sect leader of the Armored Gate's face.

In terms of martial strength, he was the strongest present.

His greatest concern was Lin Ping of the Dan Jian Sect.

Since Lin Ping was not here, he had no worries.

As for voting, that was just talk.

Among the leaders of the seven major powers present, plus the rebel leader Huang Xian, who would be willing to be subservient to someone else?

Therefore, the victor would undoubtedly be decided by martial strength.

Just then, Mo Fengxue stepped forward.

"Competing in martial strength is too troublesome and inevitably leads to injury. I choose to cast my vote for the young sect leader of the Dan Jian Sect, Lin Ping."