Public Outrage

*Bong!* *Bong! Bong!* Nine melodious chimes of the bell rang out one after another. Behind Tianjian Peak, a thousand-zhang white jade square floated suspended in midair. By now, the square was densely packed with disciples from the eight peaks! All of them stood in orderly ranks, each group occupying their respective direction corresponding to the Eight Peaks. The masters of the eight peaks, along with all the elders, consecrated elders, and deacons, stood beneath the central high platform just like the disciples. Sect Master Lu Kangnian stood at the very front of the entire assembly, with Qin Xian, Ling Daoyan, and the others standing behind him. Presently, Lu Kangnian and his peers were all in the late Soul Formation Realm, nearing peak great perfection. They, too, were eager to gain insight into the Void Refining Realm. *Boom!* Several beams of light shot straight into the clouds! Dressed in the resplendent robes of a sect elder, Li Guanqi held one hand behind his back, squared his shoulders, and said softly, "Let's go." *Swish!* Five figures radiating majestic auras materialized upon the square's high platform in an instant! Li Guanqi cast a calm, indifferent glance in every direction. He could sense how many cultivators were gathered outside the borders of the Great Xia Sword Sect... a dense crowd numbering well over tens of thousands. Yet before the stunned gazes of the onlookers, Li Guanqi dispelled the heavenly flame barrier. Even the barrier a hundred li away vanished with it, as that was merely the perimeter barrier along the borders of the Great Xia Sword Sect. Even if Li Guanqi had not dispelled it, it likely could not have kept out so many ambitious and curious cultivators. Seeing this, Ye Feng and Xiao Chen instantly withdrew their heavenly flame powers as well. *Whoosh!* This move immediately caused an uproar outside. Everyone assumed the Great Xia Sword Sect had finally succumbed to pressure and chosen to let them audit the lectures. "Hahaha! Didn't I say the Great Xia Sword Sect wouldn't dare provoke public outrage?!" a man in extravagant robes remarked with a sneer. Even the old man behind him scoffed and shook his head. "Hmph. As I said, how could the Great Xia Sword Sect pass up such a golden opportunity to make a fortune?" "Let's head over and get our spirit stones ready." "Five Void Refining cultivators imparting Dao for seven full days—such an opportunity is extraordinarily rare. We might never encounter it again in our lifetimes." Although the heavenly flame barrier was gone, the core barrier thirty li outside the Great Xia Sword Sect remained intact. Only when the crowd swarmed forward did they discover... Within a thirty-li radius of the Great Xia Sword Sect's territory, there was still a core formation screen barrier that had not been opened! This formation screen was noticeably thicker and sturdier. Even as light swirled across its surface, one could still vaguely make out the scene within. Countless cultivators saw the sea of Great Xia Sword Sect disciples assembled on the square. A distance of thirty li might have been difficult for Core Formation cultivators to see through, but Nascent Soul cultivators could already make out the five figures upon the platform. They could only see what was happening inside, yet could not hear a single sound. Although the barrier formation was not excessively strong—and many Nascent Soul cultivators could even tear through space to enter—no one yet understood what was happening or what the Great Xia Sword Sect intended to do next. The hall masters of Wuxiang Palace, Lingwu Palace, and Liuxu Palace stood shoulder to shoulder. A man with a goatee frowned and murmured, "Just what is the Great Xia Sword Sect up to? They took down the curtain wall of heavenly flame, yet won't open this formation screen... Lu Kangnian hasn't replied to any messages. *Hiss*... are all those young men and that woman really in the Void Refining Realm?" Beside him, the hall master of Liuxu Palace—a plump middle-aged man—was also frowning deeply. "What's the meaning of this? They expect us to just watch blindly without hearing a word?" Inside the barrier, the disciples and Lu Kangnian were equally bewildered, having no idea why Li Guanqi had done this. Li Guanqi, however, paid no mind to what the crowd outside thought. Looking down at Lu Kangnian and the others standing below, he asked in surprise, "Sect Master, why are all of you down there as well?" Lu Kangnian smiled faintly and brushed his sleeves. Leading everyone from the Great Xia Sword Sect, he bowed deeply and shouted at the top of his lungs! "Your students pay our respects to the venerable teachers!" "Your students pay our respects to the venerable teachers!!" Their voices rose in wave after wave, rolling like a surging tide! The earth-shattering roar threatened to overturn the heavens. Outside, the onlookers could only see countless mouths moving, hearing nothing at all. In such an atmosphere, Xiao Chen and the others felt their blood surge, their eyes burning with excitement. Concealed beneath their sleeves, their hands unconsciously clenched into fists. Wearing the robes of Great Xia Sword Sect elders, Xiao Chen and Cao Yan felt a sensation that was completely unfamiliar yet thrilling at this moment. Even Meng Wanshu, who was always aloof and haughty before outsiders, carried a faint smile on her face. Lu Kangnian led the disciples in bowing with cupped fists. A rough glance revealed nearly five thousand disciples! Among them, Li Guanqi even spotted Zhou Zhi, former Senior Martial Brother of the outer sect, and Jiang Su, the Senior Martial Sister! Judging by their travel-worn appearance, they had rushed back from outside as well. Deeply moved, Li Guanqi listened as Lu Kangnian's calm, steady voice echoed across the square. With a warm smile, the sect master said, "Today, every single one of us is a student." "There is no distinction of age or seniority, nor rank or status." "He who has attained the Dao is the teacher. Today, we are all students, and we ask that our teachers generously share what they have learned." With that, Lu Kangnian was the first to sweep aside his robes, straighten his back, and sit cross-legged on the ground. Immediately after, Qin Xian, Ling Daoyan, and the others followed suit. All of them looked upon the five figures on the high platform with gratified eyes and smiling faces. *Rustle—* Hearing their sect master's words, a rare gleam flashed in the eyes of every Great Xia Sword Sect disciple. They believed that perhaps only the Great Xia Sword Sect could do such a thing. Which master of another sect or Disciplinary Law Enforcer was not an aloof, high-and-mighty figure? At a crucial juncture like today, when the Great Xia Sword Sect was showcasing its formidable strength to the world, who wouldn't want to assert their own prestige and standing? Yet from the Sect Master of the Great Xia Sword Sect came only a single line: *He who has attained the Dao is the teacher!* At this moment, profound waves of emotion washed over every disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect—especially knowing that countless figures outside were watching them! By now, the cultivators outside had caught on as well. The Great Xia Sword Sect had lowered the heavenly flame barrier on purpose! "Isn't that just plain spiteful?! After all this, they only took down the heavenly flame barrier because they were afraid we couldn't see this spectacle?!" "Who came up with this idea?! This is utterly shameless!! With so many of us gathered out here, how dare the Great Xia Sword Sect pull a stunt like this?!" "Exactly! Isn't anyone going to do something? I don't believe this..." "Hmph! The Great Xia Sword Sect has gone too far!! We traveled all the way from the Southern Domain, and we aren't even allowed to audit?!" "That's right! We're already here—at worst, we can just give them some spirit stones! It's just a lecture on the Dao anyway; how could our auditing possibly affect anything?!" "As a top sect of the Qingyun Continent, does the Great Xia Sword Sect really possess so little magnanimity? How petty!" "Tsk, tsk. The Great Xia Sword Sect only attained its current status thanks to Li Guanqi, yet now they're putting on such airs!"