Within Yuwang City, the gates of the Yu Emperor Sect buzzed with disciples and soldiers. Yet, around one secluded bamboo cottage, not a single maidservant or disciple dared to linger.
Inside the cottage, a man of striking handsomeness sat cross-legged, clad in flowing, soft purple robes. Silver strands laced his temples. This was Yu Feng, the prodigious talent who, in the last seventeen years, had just broken through to the Void Realm—the third Void Realm expert in the entire Yu Emperor Sect.
"Hm?" Yu Feng's expression twisted suddenly as he snapped his head up, gazing toward the southeast.
"Not good!" He clearly sensed two formidable soul auras rapidly hurtling toward the Yu Emperor Sect, their intensity far surpassing his own, just newly entered into the Void Realm.
Simultaneously—
"Liu Xia, Huang Tianqin, show yourselves!!!" A resonant shout, like a god's thunderous reprimand, instantly echoed throughout Yuwang City. Millions of citizens, along with travelers and merchants from every corner of the land, all abruptly ceased their activities, looking up at the sky in astonishment.
In that moment—
Countless people across Yuwang City saw it: high above, suspended in the air, was a massive, flame-like divine bird. Even from that distance, many couldn't clearly make out the figures resting upon the creature's back.
"The Undying Phoenix. It’s the Undying Phoenix."
"The divine beast Fire Phoenix."
A chorus of gasps erupted immediately.
"The Undying Phoenix is here, which means Teng Qingshan must have arrived!" Within moments, the streets of Yuwang City filled with citizens craning their necks skyward. Over the past seventeen years, tales of Teng Qingshan had spread through every alley and lane. Who hadn't heard of the connection between Teng Qingshan and the Undying Phoenix?
It was much like how the Undying Phoenix had once followed the supreme master, Li Taibai.
Now, mention the Undying Phoenix, and the immediate association for everyone was Teng Qingshan.
Whoosh!
Teng Qingshan stood atop the Undying Phoenix, looking down upon the vast city below. As he unleashed that roar, a streak of light shot out from within the Yu Emperor Sect, weaving rapidly through the city's architecture, hurrying toward the outskirts.
"Hmph."
Teng Qingshan sneered coldly. His purpose this time was to make an example of them—to use the Yu Emperor Sect as a demonstration to awe the myriad sects of the world. If the commotion wasn't loud enough to alert everyone, how could it possibly serve to 'deter' the various factions, to truly 'slay the chicken to scare the monkeys'?
"As expected of the most ancient sect; I didn't think the Yu Emperor Sect would gain another Void Realm expert in these seventeen years. However... judging by the aura, it's only a Void Realm master who has just begun to grasp the 'Path of Water'." Teng Qingshan could easily use the Undying Phoenix's speed to intercept and kill him.
But he did not.
"He must be going to find Huang Tianqin and Liu Xia."
The Undying Phoenix flapped its wings mightily, swiftly following the fleeing Void Realm expert from the Yu Emperor Sect.
...
Beyond the walls of the Yu Emperor Sect lay the Bear Claw Mountain Range. The sect's true foundation was situated here, among the dozen or so palaces that appeared utterly ordinary.
"Liu Xia, Huang Tianqin, show yourselves!!!"
That booming voice also reached the Bear Claw Mountain Range.
"Hm?"
Liu Xia, cloaked in green, and Huang Tianqin, in his yellow robes, simultaneously burst out of their sacred hall and hovered in mid-air. They immediately spotted a streak of light rushing toward them—it was their junior, Yu Feng, the sect's third Void Realm expert. The two elders didn't even bother flying to the nearest peak; Yu Feng instantly flashed and landed there.
"Elder Liu Xia, Elder Huang," Yu Feng stated, glaring fiercely at the fiery red light approaching from the southeast. "That must be the Undying Phoenix. Teng Qingshan has arrived."
"Yes, it is Teng Qingshan," Huang Tianqin's gaze turned icy.
Liu Xia beside him looked grim. He spoke in a low voice, "This Teng Qingshan dares to publicly denounce Elder Uncle and myself above Yuwang City. This is utter contempt for the Yu Emperor Sect! If we do not teach Teng Qingshan a harsh lesson this time, everyone across the Nine Provinces will certainly look down upon us."
"This time, I'd like to see what right Teng Qingshan has to be so arrogant!" Huang Tianqin was equally furious.
This public challenge was far more humiliating than the previous incident when they had merely sent word.
It was like being kicked right to their doorstep.
If they showed weakness again, they would disgrace their founding ancestor.
"Hahahaha..." A loud laugh drifted from the distance. The Undying Phoenix hovered in the sky, Teng Qingshan, clad in white robes, standing upon it with the Wheel of Reincarnation Spear in hand. He looked towards the three Yu Emperor Sect Void Realm experts standing atop an ordinary mountain peak. "Liu Xia, Huang Tianqin. You two should know precisely why I have come!"
Teng Qingshan fixed his gaze on the trio. Clearly, their faces were all thunderous.
Huang Tianqin, wearing the yellow robe and seemingly leading the group, delivered a crisp, severe reply: "Teng Qingshan, your Xingyi Sect and my Yu Emperor Sect have kept to our own affairs. Yet, you, Teng Qingshan, have provoked us repeatedly. Do you truly believe the Yu Emperor Sect is so easily bullied? Today, if you cannot state your reasons, do not dream of leaving this mountain range alive."
The other two also stared at Teng Qingshan with biting intensity.
...
At this moment, the four figures were positioned: three on the mountain peak, and Teng Qingshan on the back of the Undying Phoenix in mid-air.
Within the Bear Claw Mountain Range, many demonic beasts and elite disciples of the Yu Emperor Sect stared upward at the three figures above. Though it was morning, the summer sun was scorching, and a wave of heat already permeated the mountains. Yet, every disciple looked up.
"Reasons?"
Teng Qingshan laughed with absolute rage, glaring at the three figures on the distant peak. "Today, I will certainly state my reasons."
"Last year, your Yu Emperor Sect used deceitful tactics to forcibly abduct disciples practicing my Inner Strength lineage. In all of history, I have never heard of a sect recruiting apprentices by outright kidnapping!" As soon as Teng Qingshan uttered this, Liu Xia on the opposite side couldn't help but shout, "Teng Qingshan, that was last year's affair! Furthermore—we have witnesses and physical evidence regarding the people we captured!"
Teng Qingshan gave a cold smile.
Witnesses and evidence?
For Void Realm powerhouses standing at the peak of the Nine Provinces, such 'witnesses and evidence' could easily be fabricated. But Teng Qingshan understood their meaning... The Yu Emperor Sect had clearly been publicly shamed by him once last year. They hadn't retaliated then, implying they considered the matter closed between the two sides.
"Fine, we will set that matter aside for now."
"At the beginning of this year, within Yanzhou territory, a detachment from my Qingshan Martial Hall, tasked with escorting Inner Strength practitioners, included over a thousand disciples intending to join my Xingyi Sect. However—mid-journey, they encountered an ambush by a mysterious army." When Teng Qingshan said this, the three from the Yu Emperor Sect froze momentarily, clearly confused.
"Those disciples were all young teenagers! Boys filled with heroic dreams, not yet truly trained. I never expected your Yu Emperor Sect to stoop so low!" Teng Qingshan berated them fiercely.
"Nonsense! My Yu Emperor Sect did no such thing," Huang Tianqin shouted from afar.
"Hmph, do you think you can just argue your way out of this?"
Teng Qingshan reached into his robes and pulled out a stack of papers. He then tossed them out violently. Enveloped by the power of heaven and earth, the stack of papers shot toward the three Yu Emperor Sect members like luminous orbs. "My Xingyi Sect has thoroughly investigated. The leaders of the contingent attempting to slaughter my thousand Xingyi disciples are named 'Guo Jexiu' and 'Gan Zitao.' Do you dare claim these two are not affiliated with your Yu Emperor Sect?"
Huang Tianqin and the other two took the papers and examined them, their expressions turning bewildered.
"I never imagined your Yu Emperor Sect could be so ruthless."
"Besides this second matter, there is a third!"
Teng Qingshan roared coldly, "Recently, your Yu Emperor Sect stole the crucial secret manual of my Xingyi Sect, the Nine Emperor Cannon Fist. And right now, quite a few people within your Yu Emperor Sect are practicing this Nine Emperor Cannon Fist. Just now, from the sky, I personally witnessed someone inside your sect practicing the Nine Emperor Cannon Fist. Surely you have nothing to say about this matter."
Teng Qingshan's successive declarations of 'facts' only bred deeper anger and resentment within the three men on the mountain peak.
...
In the Bear Claw Mountain Range, many disciples gazing upward were filled with shock and doubt.
"Did the sect really send people to slaughter a thousand young Inner Strength practitioners?"
"Surely not."
Every cultivator has moments where they harbor grand aspirations, so the massacre of a group of youths who hadn't even truly begun their training was something that invited ridicule. Even these elite disciples of the Yu Emperor Sect found it hard to believe.
...
Teng Qingshan's relentless accusations were imposing and filled with righteous anger. However, the Yu Emperor Sect side quickly regained their composure.
"Hahaha, Teng Qingshan, you claim my Yu Emperor Sect sent people to ambush a thousand of your Inner Strength youths? That is pure fabrication! Even if 'Guo Jexiu' and 'Gan Zitao' were involved, it's possible they were bought off by outsiders. Moreover—I suspect this evidence you present was entirely fabricated by your Xingyi Sect," Huang Tianqin sneered.
Teng Qingshan's face darkened.
"The Yu Emperor Sect is truly silver-tongued. But you cannot deny stealing my Xingyi Sect's secret manual, can you?" Teng Qingshan's voice carried across the air.
"Steal?"
Huang Tianqin transmitted his voice with a cold laugh. "Years ago, your Xingyi Sect disseminated a manual called Tiger Form Fist and sold it at a high price. Our Yu Emperor Sect also purchased a treasured edition of the Tiger Form Fist at a premium. This time, the Nine Emperor Cannon Fist was similarly acquired by the Yu Emperor Sect after spending a great deal of gold."
"So? Last time our Yu Emperor Sect bought a manual, and this time we bought another. We neither stole nor robbed—where is the fault?" Huang Tianqin's presence was imposing.
"Shameless!" Teng Qingshan erupted in a sudden, furious shout.
Huang Tianqin's face flushed a bruised purple with rage.
"This Nine Emperor Cannon Fist was created by me, Teng Qingshan," Teng Qingshan sneered. "It is my technique. To dare use it in front of me without my permission, and for your Yu Emperor Sect to be so arrogant while speaking such righteous nonsense—truly shameless!" Teng Qingshan was no ordinary person; he was the founder of the entire Inner Strength lineage!
This martial art was his creation!
Huang Tianqin, Liu Xia, and Yu Feng were all rendered speechless by anger.
"Our Yu Emperor Sect spent a great fortune to acquire this manual. We have nothing to be ashamed of! Teng Qingshan, stop causing trouble at my Yu Emperor Sect," Liu Xia commanded.
Huang Tianqin beside him added coldly, "Teng Qingshan, see clearly. This is the Yu Emperor Sect! It is not a place for you, Teng Qingshan, to run wild."
Silence...
The entire mountain range fell quiet. Even the black bears seemed subdued by the imposing aura of the Void Realm experts; not a single bear dared to roar.
On the back of the Undying Phoenix, Teng Qingshan, clad in white robes, remained silent for a long while before flashing a grin: "Since you refuse reason... it seems we must rely on fists."
"Hm?"
The faces of the three Void Realm experts, including Huang Tianqin, changed drastically.