With Zhen Muguang's approval, the anger Shang Wu and his companion had long struggled to contain finally found release.
For a time, faced with Yi Guye and Bai Yi pressing ever closer,
the two stopped restraining their subordinates altogether. Within just a few days, magical duels erupted in one market town after another.
Even the surroundings of the once-peaceful market towns suddenly teemed with powerful bandit cultivators, who constantly harassed, intercepted, and killed rogue cultivators and members of lineages heading to Easy Pill Hall to make purchases.
"How many times has it been now?"
"This is already the seventh time today."
"Even Lanhai Sect's inner disciples have joined in. Several outer disciples died fighting on the platforms this morning."
The storm that had suddenly surged up filled the many cultivator lineages that depended on the market towns for survival with dread.
Since the duel between the two Lanhai Sect True Disciples that day, Easy Pill Hall and Pill Hall had torn away all pretense of civility in their conflict.
Their struggle had even caused business in the market towns to fall by around twenty percent.
"True Disciple Bai, as you instructed, we haven't backed down in any of the four market towns. Instead, we've been even more aggressive than Shang Wu and the others."
On an island in the Inner Sea.
Yi Guye stood beside Bai Yi. Beside him stood Wang Mingshi, another True Disciple who had joined them because of the suppression he had suffered.
"What has the response been?"
Bai Yi slowly opened his eyes.
Challenges for the Top Five True Disciple seats could only take place once every ten years. Where would he find that much time?
After all this groundwork, Lanhai Sect should have reached the limit of its patience. Barring any surprises, word would arrive