Following the Vermilion Bird Sect, the White Tiger Sect was the next to arrive, followed by the Azure Dragon Sect.
During this time, disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect continued streaming into the Black Guardian Square, quickly filling up all the seats. This naturally included the core disciples as well.
Smiling Swordsman Kang Fuping.
Demon Hunter Han Xing.
Corrupt Judge Duan Lei.
Death Blade Wei Yuandi.
Frost Empress Zhang Xi.
Indomitable Heart Guan Fengshan.
For the first time in a while, all six of them were gathered at the same location, drawing looks of fervent admiration from their junior martial disciples. However, one had to admit that the core disciples of the other great symbol sects did not appear to pale in comparison.
These were the future leaders of the Four Great Symbol Sects. Regardless of their personality and reputation, their capabilities were certainly well recognised by all present.
However, this did not guarantee good relationships among them.
The moment Wei Yuandi entered with the other core disciples, Quan Hui's glare instantly transferred from Cheng Kai onto him, with animosity almost written in her eyes.
After all, even though Cheng Kai did beat her in the mystic realm, it was still part and parcel of the usual competition among disciples. Not just that, but he had also defeated other core disciples from the other great symbol sects, so she did not look as bad.
On the other hand, Wei Yuandi had actually threatened to kill her before!
She would never forget that day in the woods, when he had given absolutely no regard for her face in front of her many fellow junior martial brothers and sisters. The most enraging thing was that even now, she shuddered to imagine what would have happened if she had allowed her emotions to get the better of her back then.
Considering Wei Yuandi's personality, she, as well as her various junior martial brothers and sisters, might not even be alive today!
To meet their end at the hands of a fellow core disciple of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, that would truly be a shame.
Quan Hui made up her mind then and there. Once her cultivation level caught up with Wei Yuandi, she would definitely teach the latter a lesson!
She had to let him understand what it felt like to have to grovel at her feet!
Then again, to possess such intensely negative sentiments towards a core disciple was a rare matter.
Most disciples present felt nothing but idolisation towards the core disciples. In this particular regard, Zhang Xi stood out even among the various core disciples across the Four Great Symbol Sects.
Famed for being exceptional in appearance, demeanour, and talent, Zhang Xi was not only widely regarded as the goddess of the Black Tortoise Sect, but also had admirers and fans across the entire Duyuan Empire. In fact, it was no secret that several core disciples of the other three great sects had been trying to pursue her as their future cultivation partner.
Seeing her in the flesh, it was not difficult to imagine why.
Of course, the greatest attention was still drawn towards the prime disciples of the Four Great Symbol Sects.
"Warrior of Heaven Ye Qianwen of the Azure Dragon Sect; Hell Sculptor Qu Enqi of the Vermilion Bird Sect; First Spear Jian Tian of the White Tiger Sect; and of course, Smiling Swordsman Kang Fuping of our Black Tortoise Sect. Even if you forget everyone else, make sure to remember their names and faces," Zhao Yunxiao emphasised. "If nothing unexpected happens, they would likely become the future leaders of the Four Great Symbol Sects."
"Got it! I remember their faces now!" Lu Zhiying nodded as she committed the four individuals to memory.
That said, she could not help but notice that the Black Tortoise Sect's prime disciple looked strangely ordinary. She had already felt this way when she first saw him in the past, but this feeling was further amplified now that she could directly compare him to the other three prime disciples, who were all exuding naturally sharp auras that clearly distinguished them from ordinary cultivators.
Heh, their prime disciple sure was interesting!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four bright flares shot up into the sky from each corner of the Black Guardian Square, turning into four distinct fireworks that were all beautiful in their own right. That said, everyone present understood that there was more to these flares than just being exquisite works of art.
They were the respective distress signals of the Four Great Symbol Sects. Each disciple of the four factions was given a few of such flares so that they could call for help whenever necessary.
By putting them on display here, it was a reminder to everyone about the alliance between the Four Great Symbol Sects, as well as how they should try to help one another out should they come across these distress signals in the future.
From within the dissipating flares, four powerful surges of energy suddenly shot down from the sky, turning into familiar silhouettes as they landed in the centre of the Black Guardian Square.
Everyone present immediately rose to their feet, bowing slightly while clasping their fists towards these new entrants. A loud roar filled the square as everyone shouted out in unison.
"Greetings, sect masters!"
Sect Leader Zhi Ming of the northern Black Tortoise Sect.
Sect Leader Ling Guang of the southern Vermilion Bird Sect.
Sect Leader Meng Zhang of the eastern Azure Dragon Sect.
Sect Leader Jian Bing of the western White Tiger Sect.
Each one among them would command great awe and respect no matter where they went within the Duyuan Empire. Even outside of the Duyuan Empire, their names had spread far and wide, striking fear into the hearts of villains.
And at this moment, all four of these renowned cultivators stood proudly in the centre of the Black Guardian Square, each facing the section where their respective sect members were seated as their robes and hair fluttered gently with the breeze.
It was a simple yet majestic scene that brought trepidations of excitement to the hearts of the disciples, and pride to the sect administrators.
They were the Four Great Symbol Sects – one of the strongest orthodox alliances in the world!
After a few moments that felt far too short, the four finally turned around to face one another.
"As the representative of the Black Tortoise Sect, I would like to once again welcome our allies to Purple Plum Mountain for this year's Meeting of the Great Symbols," Sect Leader Zhi Ming said with a smile.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and wore a full beard with a head of thick hair. He might not be considered tall, but his physique looked extremely sturdy with a full body of bulging muscles that could hardly be hidden beneath his robes.
The other three answered by clasping their fists towards him.
"With that, allow me to invite the sect leaders to take their seats," Elder He Luoxuan stood up and declared. "Let the meet commence!"
As the four sect leaders casually made their way towards their respective seats, Elder He Luoxuan initiated the first agenda of the meet – discussions on the affairs of the world.
This was actually the main intention, and also the most important part, of the meet. It provided alignment among all four sects, allowing them to take a unified stance when dealing with major events in the year to come.
Unfortunately, this was also the part that most disciples hated the most.
To most disciples, all they focused on was growing stronger and gaining influence. In contrast, they thought little of all these macro events in the world, as sect responses would be decided by the sect administrators anyway. All they had to do was to listen to the conclusion at the end and obey the instructions passed down from the top.
Of course, the more far-sighted ones understood that things were not that simple.
Every bit of information that went into the discussion could contain hints on the undercurrents not just in the world at large, but also within each of the four great sects. If they could decipher them all, they would be able to get a glimpse into the minds of the sect administrators, understanding their stance not just on world events, but also on individual disciples.
Armed with that information, they would then be able to choose the missions that involved more potential rewards or less potential risks. If the opportunity arose, they might also be able to go beyond basic instructions to do things that would please individual sect administrators.
For that reason, Zhao Yunxiao naturally perked his ears and listened intently to the discussions that ensued.
And unsurprisingly, the threat of the Scarlet Leaf Sect was brought up once again. By now, it had already become a permanent topic on the agenda.
"As fellow cultivators have probably already realised, the Scarlet Leaf Sect seems to be ramping up its activity in the past year," Elder He Luoxuan said. "It would be good for everyone to be more active in maintaining the peace in the empire, as well as to warn the younger disciples not to overdo things in case they end up getting in danger instead."
"Agreed," First Elder Que Yuyan of the Vermilion Bird Sect chimed in. "There is also the issue of corruption proliferating in increasingly many areas of the empire. While we do not have any concrete evidence, we do have reason to believe that the increase in corruption is the work of the Scarlet Leaf Sect."
"Apart from them, there are few capable of doing things on such a large scale," Sect Leader Ling Guang elaborated.
His porcelain-like skin was smooth and translucent, coupled with a lean figure and slim waist. He was exceedingly handsome, with soft features that looked slightly effeminate. His long black hair was mostly let down freely, accentuated by a neat top bun.
If one did not pay close attention, it would not be surprising to mistake him for a beautiful female. Of course, no one would dare say that in front of him or the members of the Vermilion Bird Sect.
The various elders, including those from the subordinate sects, started chiming in as they stated their own observations. The more they listened, the more they started to correlate the increased reports of corruption to the increased activity of the Scarlet Leaf Sect.
"Speaking of which, I have also received a report that not long after a Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit had been sighted at Blueflag Mountain here in the northern region, the mountain suddenly became completely uninhabitable due to a huge spike in the aura of corruption. It is worth mentioning that this outfit is believed to be led by a Midrib-ranked member of the Scarlet Leaf Sect," Elder He Luoxuan rubbed his chin as he added. "We might not have confirmed direct causation, but it definitely ties in with what everyone has observed so far."
Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch as he was struck by a pang of guilt.
Elder He Luoxuan must have seen his recent post-mission report. However, despite what he had reported, Zhao Yunxiao knew very well that the sudden spike in the aura of corruption at Blueflag Mountain was due to the Untethered Sage, not the Scarlet Leaf Sect.
He only pushed all the blame onto the Scarlet Leaf Sect as he did not want his discovery of the Untethered Sage's legacy to be discovered. Who knew that it would be brought up at such an important discussion?
Forget it. Now that things had turned out this way, he just had to stick to his version of the story to the very end!
In any case, it was not like he had lied regarding that matter.
From start till end, he had never once mentioned that the Scarlet Leaf Sect was responsible for the spike in the aura of corruption at Blueflag Mountain. All he said was that the aura of corruption had suddenly increased greatly after the sighting of the Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit, which was technically still the truth.
What's more, it was also a fact that Ke Huofen and the Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit had been gathering the aura of corruption on Blueflag Mountain to help fuel their unorthodox array. In that sense, they still had something to do with the aura of corruption!
Zhao Yunxiao quickly shook off the thoughts in his mind. The less he thought about it, the less guilty he would feel about the matter!
Seated in another section of the Black Guardian Square, Chen Pingxi immediately perked up upon hearing Elder He Luoxuan's words.
She had long tapped on her connections within the Black Tortoise Sect to secretly provide her with any information pertaining to Zhao Yunxiao. Because of this, she understood that the latter had visited Blueflag Mountain alone just recently.
Chen Pingxi had thought little of it prior to today; but now that Elder He Luoxuan was suddenly mentioning this, there was no doubt in her mind that this report he spoke of had to be provided by Zhao Yunxiao. This was especially considering how few cultivators would deign to visit the unimpressive Blueflag Mountain.
Did Elder He Luoxuan send Zhao Yunxiao there to investigate the matter?
To investigate the link between the recent increase in the levels of corruption and a Scarlet Leaf Sect outfit led by a Midrib-ranked member?
An ordinary outer disciple at the Advanced Essence Gathering realm was actually sent to do such a thing? Not just that, but he was even sent there alone?
An incredulous smile slowly appeared on Chen Pingxi's face.
Even she at the Peak Origin Core realm would not have dared to take up such a mission without making ample preparations!
Just what kind of capabilities had Zhao Yunxiao been hiding under that facade of his, that Elder He Luoxuan would actually be willing to trust him with such an incredibly dangerous task?
Was he even truly at the Advanced Essence Gathering realm?
She definitely had to peel off that cover of his, bit by bit, until she finally uncovered the secrets within!