Chapter 446 - 3: February 7
As he watched Du Huating’s dejected back, a cold glint flickered in the depths of Chang Wudao’s eyes.
Among all his fellow disciples, Du Huating was the most talented. But he wasn’t ruthless enough, which was the one thing Chang Wudao disliked most about him.
If he’d had any other choice, he wouldn’t have tasked Du Huating with this matter.
"My dear junior brother, I hope you’ll make the right choice." Chang Wudao’s icy voice echoed through the secret chamber, like the whisper of a devil.
’He had reached a critical juncture. There was no room for the slightest error!’
Du Huating returned to his cave residence with a heavy heart. His head direct disciple, Liuu Ruowei, was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing him, she hurried forward. "Master, is there any news from the Sect Leader?"
At her words, Du Huating nodded, but then quickly shook his head.
Looking at the disciple before him who so resembled a younger version of himself, Du Huating felt his throat go dry. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
The Song Clan had been flourishing in recent years, but the Martial Spirit Sect hadn’t been idle either. They had gained three new Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Two were Loose Cultivators, and the third was Liuu Ruowei. She was the only one to reach the Foundation Establishment realm without a Foundation Establishment Pill, and she was not yet forty years old.
Du Huating had placed high hopes on her, expecting her to one day inherit his mantle. ’But now...’
"Ruowei, I have a task for you," Du Huating said, his expression calm as he suppressed his inner turmoil.
"Please, Master, give me my orders."
"The younger generation of the Song Clan has been developing rapidly these past few years, and we can’t afford to fall behind. Go and select a group of outstanding disciples from our sect. I intend to train them personally."
Liuu Ruowei hesitated. "And the selection criteria?"
"Select those with outstanding talent between the ages of fourteen and thirty. It would be best if they have a unique skill. The limit is twenty people. And remember, select them only from within our sect."
Du Huating stressed the words "our sect." Although the four-clan alliance had been forced to merge into the Martial Spirit Sect, they’d had far too little time to integrate. The sect’s interior was still a mess, completely disunited. No matter the task, disciples from the original core clans were always prioritized—this was the "our sect" he referred to.
Not suspecting a thing, Liuu Ruowei accepted the order and left immediately.
After she was gone, Du Huating mechanically opened the entrance to his cave residence and collapsed onto a chair. For him, it was going to be an impossibly long night...
「The next day.」
The sect assembly resumed. Du Huating immediately dropped a bombshell that made everyone in attendance stare in astonishment.
"Has the Sect Leader truly reached the final step?" Qiu Tianyang asked, his voice grave. Without even realizing it, his form of address had changed.
"Correct. I have already contacted the Lieyang Sect. With their support, it won’t be difficult for us to survive this period."
"Six months. Give us six months. If the Sect Leader hasn’t broken through by then, I promise you all will be free to leave or stay as you wish. During this time, I will open the Sect Treasure Vault for everyone to use as they see fit." Inside the assembly hall, Du Huating spoke with impassioned fervor, a stark contrast to the man he’d been the day before.
Everyone present exchanged glances, their minds racing.
’Six months isn’t actually that long. Even though Song Xianming has broken through to the Purple Mansion realm, he won’t be coming to cause trouble for us right away.’
’Besides, they weren’t pushovers. They had fortified Baiyun Peak until it was nigh impregnable. If the Lieyang Sect also came to their aid, not even Song Xianming himself could hope to breach their defenses easily.’
’If Chang Wudao managed to break through, they could sound the charge for a counterattack. And if he didn’t? No matter. Their legs were their own; what was stopping them from simply fleeing?’
’It was only six months. That was a gamble they could afford to take.’
After a moment of quiet discussion among themselves, Yu Cheng Mountain stood up. "In that case, we shall do as the Grand Elder says. Everyone, return to your clans and have your men prepare for battle!"
After the assembly, the entire Martial Spirit Sect sprang into action. True to his word, Du Huating opened the Treasure Vault, allowing everyone to take what they needed.
While the Martial Spirit Sect’s morale was soaring, a gloomy cloud hung over the Liuyun Sect.
Although Liu Hongye had also been preparing to break through to the Purple Mansion realm, the race was over before he’d even started. This news utterly crushed the ambitions of everyone in the Liuyun Sect.
In recent years, while the Liuyun Sect’s overall power hadn’t grown, the last Demon Wolf invasion had severely weakened Grand Elder Xia Aii’s faction. This, in turn, allowed Liu Hongye to reclaim most of the authority, forging the sect into an almost monolithic entity under his control. In terms of immediately available combat strength, they might even have been slightly stronger than the Martial Spirit Sect.
Unfortunately, none of that mattered in the face of the Song Clan and their new Purple Mansion Cultivator.
"Sect Leader, you have to make a decision!" a member of the Liu Clan said anxiously, looking at Liu Hongye seated at the head of the hall.
But Liu Hongye seemed not to hear him. He just stared at the table before him, his expression grim, lost in thought.
Xia Aii was starting to panic as well. Seeing the stalemate, he couldn’t help but say, "Let’s ally with the Martial Spirit Sect! We have a common enemy. If we combine the strength of our two sects, the Song Clan won’t be able to touch us!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Liu Hongye’s younger brother, Liu Hongyan, sneered. "The Martial Spirit Sect hasn’t even resolved its own internal issues. They’re a bunch of short-sighted fools. Ally with them? We’d just be another disorganized mess, turning ourselves into a laughingstock."
Xia Aii’s old face flushed crimson. Liu Hongyan’s words were a clear insult to him as well. He slammed his hand on the table. "This won’t work, that won’t work—well, why don’t you come up with a plan, then!"
Liu Hongyan was about to fire back a sarcastic retort when a disciple rushed in from outside. "Reporting to the Sect Leader and Elders! There’s a visitor at the gate. He claims to be an Elder from the Song Clan."