Chapter 1774: Ten Elders

Qing Ya spoke with a chilling expression.

“You know very well who it is. For years, your major sects have repeatedly colluded in secret, constantly scheming to bring down our War Heaven Pavilion and take our place. Since you’ve all delivered yourselves to us today, I’ll make this quick.”

As soon as Qing Ya finished speaking, she stomped her foot, instantly appearing in the center of the great hall below, where she immediately engaged in a fierce battle with the several peak Nascent Soul realm experts, all at the level of Deputy Sect Masters.

“Be careful, dear,” the War Heaven Pavilion Master, Qing Ya’s father, called out. He had never imagined his daughter would suddenly become so formidable. Yet, witnessing her incredible agility and the martial prowess she now wielded, which far surpassed anything he’d seen before, the Pavilion Master found himself increasingly astonished.

Meanwhile, Xu Yang and Long Kun, still lurking in the background and concealing their presence, showed no inclination to intervene. Instead, they watched with keen interest as Qing Ya single-handedly taught these arrogant old men a lesson.

The four peak Nascent Soul realm experts fought an earth-shattering battle within the main hall of the War Heaven Pavilion. Had it not been for the extremely powerful ancestral seals protecting the outer perimeter of this main hall, their combined martial might would have easily reduced the entire chamber to dust.

As both sides traded blows, powerful martial auras continuously erupted. Throughout the entire exchange, Qing Ya relentlessly pressed her attack with incredibly potent martial skills. Around her, waves of crimson energy pulsed outwards, exerting a terrifying suppressive effect on the three Deputy Sect Master-level experts.

True to form, another wave of close-range attacks erupted. Immense power burst forth from two directions, spreading outward. The resulting shockwaves displayed incredible destructive force, causing the entire War Heaven Pavilion hall to tremble violently.

“There’s nothing left to hesitate about,” he declared. “We old men came to War Heaven Pavilion seeking justice, but given your attitude, there’s no room for civility. Let’s fight to the death today!”

Elder Bai, the Deputy Sect Master of the Second Sect, erupted in fury.

The old man suddenly activated an unknown martial arts technique, causing the qi within his body to swell to approximately ten times its previous intensity.

His hair bristled with rage, and two golden beams of light shot from his pupils. Xu Yang was no stranger to techniques that temporarily amplified one’s martial cultivation.

However, he knew well that such a self-sacrificing combat method, which practically drained one’s vitality, was rarely employed by cultivators in this era.

The sudden use of such an overbearing technique by this old man in such circumstances could only mean that he had no intention of leaving alive.

Xu Yang couldn’t help but frown, turning to Long Kun beside him.

“Kid, doesn’t something about this feel off?” Xu Yang mused, glancing at Long Kun. “If you were this Deputy Sect Master Bai, would you, in this situation, recklessly unleash such terrifying power to fight to the death with an opponent? It seems there’s no benefit for him in doing so. Even if they somehow received a satisfactory explanation from War Heaven Pavilion this time, and War Heaven Pavilion made concessions, Elder Bai still wouldn't need to stake his life to secure these benefits for the Second Sect.”

Long Kun stroked his chin. After hearing his boss, Xu Yang, speak, he increasingly felt the validity of his assessment.

“It certainly seems that way. After all, he's just a Deputy Sect Master, not the owner or supreme leader of the Second Sect. Fighting to the death in this place doesn't seem to benefit him much. Could it be that the old man is simply too old and his mind is failing him?”

Xu Yang chuckled.

“Do you really think their peak Nascent Soul cultivation was simply handed to them?” Xu Yang retorted. “They've spent a lifetime cultivating to this level, yet they’re unhesitatingly employing such life-draining offensive methods. If my guess is correct, these three old men have likely been used as pawns.”

Long Kun’s expression shifted to one of incredulous shock upon hearing this.

“Boss, are you saying there’s a true mastermind behind these old men?”

Xu Yang’s smile deepened.

“Don’t be impatient; the truth will soon surface,” Xu Yang assured him. “No matter what conspiracy lurks behind them, with me, Xu Yang, here, all of them are merely pawns.”

Xu Yang’s words were utterly domineering. Long Kun, standing beside him, didn't hesitate to give his boss a thumbs-up. Just then, the suddenly berserk Elder Bai did not immediately attack Qing Ya. Instead, he thrust a palm out to his left and another to his right, seizing the chests of the two other peak Nascent Soul realm Deputy Sect Masters who had been fighting alongside him.

A ferocious devouring power instantly erupted from his palms—an incredibly domineering technique designed to consume others' martial cultivation. He directly locked his power onto the two Deputy Sect Masters beside him.

“Old Bai, what are you doing?!”

However, at this moment, Elder Bai appeared to have completely lost his mind, becoming utterly berserk and reckless, no longer caring about the identities of those around him.

He would do anything that could temporarily boost his combat power and grant him greater cultivation strength.

“You two old wastes, you haven’t managed a single breakthrough in all these years,” he cackled. “Why not contribute your core pills to me? I will get justice for you, commemorating you with the blood of these War Heaven Pavilion wretches! Hahahaha!”

Elder Bai laughed wildly, his hair flying in his rage. Simultaneously, the two beams of light radiating from his eyes slowly began to turn blood-red.

From his palms, the life essence of the two Deputy Sect Masters on either side continuously surged forth. Soon, these two powerful Deputy Sect Master-level experts were drained into mere skeletons by the old man named Bai.

The War Heaven Pavilion Master, whose presence had seemed imposing from above, immediately flew down to Qing Ya’s side.

“Bai, if you wish to go mad, do it elsewhere!” the Pavilion Master roared. “How dare you act so recklessly on my War Heaven Pavilion’s territory? Do you truly believe that by ranting and raving here alone, you can preemptively defeat our entire War Heaven Pavilion? Someone, fetch the Ten Grand Elders! Suppress this old lunatic!”

As soon as the Pavilion Master's words fell, several personal inner disciples on either side moved swiftly.

Before long, the War Heaven Pavilion's Ten Grand Elders – the very old men who had previously harbored reservations about Qing Ya, most of them at mid-Nascent Soul cultivation – appeared around the hall, surrounding the rampaging Deputy Sect Master Bai.