Chapter 1763: Battle Pavilion Young Pavilion Master

“Sect Master! Young Pavilion Master Qingya is a renowned young prodigy in the cultivation world of Congyun State. She has arrived with her four strongest guardians, so there must be a special reason for their visit. You should go out and meet them. A few younger disciples tried to stop them outside, but they were directly sent flying.”

“Oh? You mean they laid hands on our disciples? They injured members of my Xuanhuang Sect?”

Upon receiving an affirmative reply, Xu Yang finally closed the book in front of him. The next instant, he vanished from his spot, leaving the injured disciple wide-eyed and stunned.

“My goodness, is this the new Sect Master’s power? It’s truly astonishing. His movement speed is so fast, it’s beyond my visual perception. It’s terrifying! No wonder he remained so calm even after hearing that Young Pavilion Master Qingya personally came to visit.”

The mountain guard scratched his head, bewildered, as he left the room. How could he know that the new, astonishingly powerful Sect Master standing before him was a figure before whom the entire main continent would bow? What did a mere Qingya or a mere Zhan Tian Pavilion amount to in front of Xu Yang?

Long Kun had reportedly gotten drunk and gone off to sleep somewhere. Xiao Hua and Ling Yao were also busy with their own matters. The reason was simple: none of the three took this sudden visit from Zhan Tian Pavilion’s Young Lady seriously. As a result, the matter was delayed for half a day. Qingya, with her four guardians, fought their way directly from the foot of the mountain up to the sect gate, killing dozens of mountain guards along the way. Yet, no top-tier expert capable of handling the situation appeared.

Finally, Xu Yang, left with no choice, personally arrived at the sect gate, blocking the path of Qingya and her four guardians.

With a quick glance, Xu Yang immediately determined that Young Pavilion Master Qingya had reached the Mid-Soul Transformation stage. Such power certainly gave her cause for pride throughout Congyun State, almost capable of crushing the sect masters of groups like the Donghua Sect. Even among her four guardians, aside from the strongest one who had also entered the Soul Transformation realm, the remaining three were all at the Peak Nascent Soul stage.

“Heh heh, crashing into our Xuanhuang Sect with such a grand display, I wonder what Young Pavilion Master Qingya’s intention is this time. Could it be that our Xuanhuang Sect has done something to offend you?”

Qingya stood with her hands behind her back, still dressed like a man, though the heroic spirit between her brows was hard to conceal. She subtly curved her lips and walked up to Xu Yang, circling him three times to the left and three times to the right for a while.

“It’s not surprising that you know me. There isn’t a single young cultivator of some standing in Congyun State who hasn’t heard of Qingya. What does surprise me, however, is why you are here. The old Sect Master of Xuanhuang Sect has visited Zhan Tian Pavilion more than once to pay homage to our authority, and I’ve even received that old fellow before. I wonder when the Xuanhuang Sect changed hands.”

Xu Yang smirked, still looking playful.

“My apologies, we forgot to notify your Zhan Tian Pavilion. A few days ago, my brothers and I inadvertently saw the Xuanhuang Sect suddenly dispatch more than half of its elite disciples, heading to an unknown destination. Since the sect’s interior was conveniently empty, we seized the opportunity to attack the Xuanhuang Sect and took over their mountain base. It just so happened that I inherited the position of the new Sect Master of Xuanhuang. Perhaps heaven was protecting us. We had originally prepared to ambush those powerful individuals, but we never expected those old fellows to never return; they, along with their disciples, all perished at the Donghua Sect. The reason my brothers and I didn't inform Young Pavilion Master Qingya of Zhan Tian Pavilion immediately was because we feared your displeasure. After all, we're not exactly well-established or influential; simply seizing the position of Sect Master of Xuanhuang like this would be hard to justify.”

Xu Yang adopted this demeanor partly to align with his current persona, to avoid being too high-profile, and to save face for the other party. On the other hand, he wanted to use this opportunity to gauge Young Pavilion Master Qingya and Zhan Tian Pavilion's attitude towards the Xuanhuang Sect. If they continued to act like rabid dogs, attacking anyone they saw, Xu Yang would not hesitate to eliminate them all, thereby shifting his territory once again, from the Xuanhuang Sect to Zhan Tian Pavilion, the largest sect in Congyun State. Anyway, for Xu Yang and his brothers, where they resided made little difference. But if there was a better stronghold, they would certainly not cling to the Xuanhuang Sect's mountain.

However, to Xu Yang's surprise, Young Pavilion Master Qingya seemed quite interested in him. Hearing Xu Yang's explanation, she showed no intention of exposing his story; instead, she smiled and nodded gently.

“In that case, I might as well grant you a favor. Whether you truly had the strength to take over the Xuanhuang Sect’s mountain, or if it was luck or some other reason, I don't care about any of that. As long as you uphold the Xuanhuang Sect’s internal traditions and regularly submit the prescribed amount of cultivation resources to our Zhan Tian Pavilion each month, we will not pursue this matter further. Whether it's Zhang San or Li Si who is the Sect Master of Xuanhuang, we are simply not interested.”

Xu Yang displayed a puzzled expression. “So there’s such a thing. Can I consider this a form of tribute? Weaker sects must appease more powerful ones with resources to ensure their long-term stability, is that it?”

No sooner had Xu Yang finished speaking than one of the four guardians beside Qingya scoffed. He said coldly, crossing his arms:

“It's good that you understand the rules. Just don't do anything beyond your capabilities, or else, your position as Xuanhuang Sect Master, which you've held for only a few days, will likely…”

Before the young man could finish his sentence, his head had already separated from his body. No one saw how Xu Yang had struck.

From start to finish, he maintained a composed, polite, and scholarly smile towards the cross-dressing Young Pavilion Master Qingya.

But when her four guardians instantly became three, Qingya finally realized that this person before her was truly hiding his immense power.

However, to Xu Yang's surprise, this woman, despite being a female, showed no sign of panic when such an unexpected event occurred.

Instead, it was her remaining three guardians who, in a fit of rage, were about to attack Xu Yang but were quickly stopped by Young Pavilion Master Qingya.

“Do not act without my command, any of you. Why do you think Fourth Brother was eliminated by him?”

At Qingya's words, the three guardians immediately calmed down.