Chapter 41: White Sword Sect, This Powerful?

The Main Hall of the Yangsheng Sect.

Exquisitely detailed murals were carved into the opulent, brilliantly lit main hall, where a large gathering of disciples had now assembled.

Upon the dais at the front of the hall, a middle-aged man dressed in tight cyan attire swept his gaze across the crowd below. Although a smile lingered on his face, it emanated an intangible sense of oppressive authority.

"I believe you are all already aware that our Yangsheng Sect has received an invitation from the Hehuan Sect, requesting our sect's grand elders and elite disciples to visit them as honored guests! For the time being, I shall be acting as the head of the sect, and during this period, all petty matters within the sect must be handled thoroughly!"

Although Dai Xiao's tone sounded casual, the underlying, subtle pressure caused the assembled disciples to nod in succession.

Now that he had finally managed to temporarily take charge of the sect, he naturally wanted to manage it impeccably, laying a solid foundation for his future succession as the sect master.

Although his cultivation was not exceptionally formidable, he was, after all, the personal disciple of the sect master and was essentially being groomed as the next leader.

Hearing this, the disciples puffed out their chests. By now, everyone knew that Dai Xiao was the sect master's most trusted confidant.

However, quite a few disciples were still muttering under their breath.

Every so often, the Hehuan Sect would invite their sect master and other upper echelons to visit as guests, primarily for the sake of dual cultivation.

It was precisely for this reason that the sect master and the others had become thoroughly addicted; after all, not only was it immensely pleasurable, but it could even accelerate their cultivation progress.

Yet, this spelled hardship for the ordinary disciples. Once the Yangsheng Sect was managed by a single individual, though no major chaos would erupt, bullying the weak and throwing one's weight around was inevitable.

What gave them even greater headaches were the various assigned tasks. At present, only the Ancestor remained within the sect, while all the other Nascent Soul stage experts had departed.

Even among the Core Formation stage, a mere four individuals had been left behind, and these four were basically out executing missions, forcing the lower-ranked disciples to bite the bullet and handle whatever problems arose.

These thoughts, however, remained strictly in their minds, as none of them wished to leave a bad impression in Dai Xiao's eyes.

Observing the expressions of the disciples, the corners of Dai Xiao's mouth twitched upward. He seated himself upon the throne behind him and finally asked, "What incidents have occurred in our sect recently? Report them one by one!"

The Yangsheng Sect was by no means small, so routine gatherings were typically utilized to summarize the events of the preceding period.

"Let me speak first regarding the situation in Chicheng City. Due to a beast tide, Chicheng City has suffered severe devastation, rendering them temporarily unable to pay their tribute."

"The Niaoyi Sect and the Guanling Sect have decided to submit to our Yangsheng Sect. These two sects should each deliver twenty thousand spiritual stones to us annually, and surrender one-fifth of all mined spiritual stones!"

"The spiritual beasts in the vicinity of the sect have been cleared out once. Three Foundation Establishment disciples were injured, but the hunted spiritual beasts yielded two thousand spiritual stones in exchange."

"..."

***

Listening to the reports from below, Dai Xiao nodded one by one, intending to arrange for people to handle those troublesome matters later.

However, when the turn came for the Fourth Branch, the scene abruptly fell silent.

"Where are the people from the Fourth Branch?"

Dai Xiao furrowed his brows. Although Shi Rongxuan's strength was decent, the disciples under him should not have dared to openly disregard his authority at a time like this.

He cast a glance across the crowd below, yet failed to spot a single disciple from the Fourth Branch, arousing a surging flame of anger within his chest.

He had already harbored resentment toward that fellow Shi Rongxuan, and for him to not even dispatch someone to make a report at this juncture was tantamount to a direct slap to his face.

That Fourth Branch had been established by the sect master and the others when they departed a while ago, and Dai Xiao was not entirely clear on what specific mission they had been assigned.

It was rumored that they were dealing with some obscure, unheard-of minor sect, yet they had failed to return by now—especially since this assembly had been announced well in advance.

Observing Dai Xiao's blazing expression of fury, the disciples below all shook their heads.

"Unclear. Word has it that they went to deal with a sect called the White Sword Sect, and by all accounts, they should have returned by now."

"I reckon he simply resolved that minor sect and lost track of time playing around. You know how Shi Rongxuan is, Senior Brother—utterly unrestrained and unconventional."

"No news received yet, but they are likely on the road. After all, this isn't the first or second time Senior Brother Shi Rongxuan has carried out a mission in this fashion."

Regarding the Fourth Branch led by Shi Rongxuan, no one took the matter very seriously.

Among all the Core Formation senior brothers, Shi Rongxuan was the only one who behaved in such a manner.

In fact, they had grown accustomed to it; even if he was currently losing track of time indulging himself over there, it would be entirely normal.

Yet, the moment they caught sight of Dai Xiao's stern gaze, a sense of unease began to creep over them.

Because Dai Xiao's expression at that moment was exceptionally grave, and arguably rather unsightly.

"I wouldn't be surprised by such behavior from Shi Rongxuan, but if I remember correctly, Lu Kang went along with them."

Although Dai Xiao did not know the exact details of the mission, Lu Kang had always handled matters with extreme prudence. Otherwise, Lu Kang would not have been specifically assigned to accompany him.

Given Lu Kang's temperament, even if Shi Rongxuan lost track of time playing around, Lu Kang would never have forgotten to transmit the information back to the sect.

Yet, at present, there was complete silence from the Fourth Branch, giving him a vague sensation that something was amiss.

***

Hearing this, the disciples below could not help but freeze.

If it were anyone else, they might not be certain, but Lu Kang was widely regarded as the most reliable person in the entire Yangsheng Sect.

Although he was merely in the late Foundation Establishment stage, his handling of affairs was always airtight. It was precisely for this reason that many individuals maintained good relations with him.

If Lu Kang had tagged along, then this situation was definitely abnormal. Anyone else might shirk responsibility, but Lu Kang never would.

"Perhaps they encountered some thorny trouble, but with Brother Lu Kang there, it shouldn't pose any major problem."

"Indeed. Senior Brother Shi Rongxuan possesses transcendent strength, and Lu Kang always acts with steady caution. It's likely they simply haven't finished handling the matter yet, which is why they haven't sent a report."

"Senior Brother Dai, you needn't worry too much. I'm sure it will be sorted out shortly."

The disciples hastened to offer words of comfort. The two men happened to complement each other's traits, and besides, it was merely an ordinary mission; the probability of danger was virtually negligible.

Just at that moment, however, the sphere floating above the main hall suddenly blazed with fierce light, crimson flames igniting at its center.

A voice left behind by Lu Kang echoed from within.

"All senior and junior brother disciples, our Fourth Branch has been completely wiped out. The situation is perilous, the enemy possesses formidable strength—exercise utmost caution!"

A mere single sentence, yet it caused the expressions of everyone present to contort into absolute ugliness.

Wiped out!

And this was with Shi Rongxuan personally taking action! Even if the man had an eccentric personality, his strength was undeniable.

Furthermore, not a single person had managed to escape!

They were utterly dumbfounded.

What... on earth was going on?!

Could this so-called White Sword Sect truly be this formidable?