Danyang Zi in front, Pei Xuanjing falling half a step behind, both making their way towards the hall that True Martial Sect had set aside for discussions.
Walking beside Danyang Zi, Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but show a slight change in his expression.
Feeling Danyang Zi'S presence now, it seemed unfathomably majestic, leaving him unable to suppress his astonishment.
Pei Xuanjing had met many accomplished martial artists, yet the impression Danyang Zi was giving him now equated to the formidable strength of the Yama King whom he had just slain, possibly even surpassing it.
One couldn't help but exclaim, the Shenxiao Sect indeed had profound depths, even though it had fallen at this juncture, Danyang Zi ts strength was still immeasurable.
Danyang Zi, seemingly oblivious to Pei Xuanjing's anticipation, continued to drift forward, speaking to him, "The Great Yuan's master is bearing very strong hostility upon us, seemingly just against martial arts factions, in actuality, a probing towards us all from the imperial court. If we cannot stall it, I'm afraid it will lead to a catastrophe in the martial arts world. Now with Master Sanfeng•s self-seclusion, if he is unable to emerge promptly, I'm afraid there will be a massacre upon Taihe Mountain."
With a sigh, Danyang Zi spoke to Pei Xuanjing, 'When the time comes, I hope you won't be impulsive, protect yourself, await upon the future."
Even though Taihe Mountain had an assembly of multiple strong martial artists, Danyang Zi's pessimism toward their situation was still overwhelming. He knows the Master of Great Yuan holds extraordinary power, the only one who could possibly deter him would be Master Sanfeng.
Danyang Zi, having lived a century, experienced the Shenxiao Sect's fall from flourishing times, and took most things in his stride. If not for the sentiment held towards the Shenxiao Sect, which raised him, he would have joined his former fellows in death long ago, not holding onto life till now.
The rise of Shenxiao Sect was during the former dynasty, then fell due to Great Yuan, now Danyang Zi confronted his end, forgoing any hopes of survival, the only lingering concern was towards his disciple.
Pei Xuanjing was taken aback, he would never have predicted Danyang Zi'S pessimistic attitude.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother, is the Great Yuan's master that strong?"
"Very strong, to a point where it causes desperation." Slight flashes of memory appeared in Danyang
Zits eyes, as he shook his head, "In this world, I'm afraid the only one comparable is Master Sanfeng."
Danyang Zi had once seen the Master of Great Yuan from afar, even though they were miles apart, he could feel the terrifying pressure emitted by the other.
Danyang Zi had a feeling, even though they were miles apart, the other party had detected him. Even going as far as saying if the other party wished to make a move, he wouldn't stand a chance.
For some unknown reason, the Master allowed him to leave unmolested.
"Could he have already broken through the First-grade Realm?" Pei Xuanjing asked curiously. A rival who can instill such fear in the Danyang Zi intrigued him.
Initially, he had thought that as powerful individuals like himself and Danyang Zi had already reached the peak of First-grade realm, even if there existed some gap, it wouldn't be terrifying.
Danyang Zi shook his head and said, "No, but I feel like he is just on the verge of a breakthrough, only lacking an opportunity."
Following the records of the Shenxiao Sect, it's natural to know there exists a realm beyond First-grade martial artists. -however, Danyang Zi was sure that the fellow has not broken through yet, but it seemed like it won't be long.
Danyang Zi was also guessing, it seemed that the Master's actions were not just for Great Yuan's imperial court, they might also be seeking an opportunity to break through with the contest.
"Perhaps, he has sought to fight Master Sanfeng, aiming to seek an opportunity to break through amidst the battle," Pei Xuanjing's suspicion aligned with Danyang Zi's.
Danyang Zi nodded at him, reminding Pei Xuanjing, "Therefore, be cautious this time. Foucus on preserving yourself. "
Pei Xuanjing nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Since he had come here, he would naturally not miss this opportunity.
To engage with a formidable force like the Great Yuan's master was indeed an unprecedented challenge for Pei Xuanjing.
"Greetings to both Taoist friends from the Shenxiao Sect." An approaching middle-aged Taoist spoke out.
The middle-aged Taoist, named Qiu Yuanjing, was a disciple of Master Sanfeng who established the True Martial Sect.
The present True Martial Sect was not as noteworthy as the future Dragon Tiger Mountain's Zhidao Gate.
The True Martial Sect, that had only been established for a few decades, was dependent entirely on the reputation of Master Sanfeng. With the exception of Master Sanfeng, known as the number one person in the Central Plains Martial Arts, the rest were just minor figures.
Even though Qiu Yuanjing had been personally tutored by a great martial artist like Master Sanfeng himself, he had only just broken through to the First-grade martial artist boundary a few years prior.
If placed elsewhere, First-grade martial artist level would gain respect, yet at Taihe Mountain, where heroes were gathered, considering the high-level martial artists from all directions, their strength was considered barely adequate.
"Greetings Qiu Daoyou." Danyang Zi didn't put on any airs of seniority.
Under Qiu Yuanjing's guidance, they proceeded to the grand hall used for meetings.
They had not yet entered the grand hall when the sounds of chatter and heated debate could be heard.
"In my opinion, there's no need to play fair with the damned Great Yuan's Master. We should simply launch a joint attack, see if we can't bring him down."
Someone suggested a disregard for martial righteousness and proposed that a joint attack was enough to deal with an opponent like the Great Yuan's master..
Of course, some people had objections to this. "Not to mention the strong powers of the National Master of the Great Yuan, even if we all gang up on him, can we kill him? And if we do kill him, how many of us will have to die?"
"Exactly, if we anger the Great Yuan Imperial Court, draw in the soldiers and horses to surround the mountain, none of us will be able to escape." Some also voiced their opposition. After all, they all had substantial families and businesses, countless disciples and grand-disciples. Faced with the encirclement of soldiers, they wouldn't be able to run anywhere.
"By your reasoning, might as well just sit still and wait for death here. Why even bother coming to Taihe Mountain?" someone retorted angrily.
At this point in the Great Hall of Deliberation, with a variety of suggestions being floated, each person had their thoughts and calculations, making it difficult to reach a consensus.
True, everyone present at this meeting in the Great Hall, those with the eligible to speak, was either highly skilled or dominated a corner of the Jianghu.
How could they be easily persuaded by others?
One of Master Sanfeng's disciples, Li Jingxiu, who stayed in the Hall of Deliberation, felt overwhelmed. Compared to this crowd he was just a junior.
Facing these incessant arguments, he had no way to stop them, despite his persistent attempts at persuasion, but nobody was listening.
He glanced at the current Celestial Master sitting quietly nearby, several masters from the North Zen Sect, the current leader of the Chunyang view, and so on – those elders with the requisite status to halt these people. Each of them seemed wholly unconcerned, showing no fear at the idea of these people breaking into a fight.
Just as Li Qingxiu was at a loss about the current situation, his eyes lit up when he saw his junior brothers, Danyang Zi and Pei Xuanjing being led into the hall. A smile crept onto his face.
"Senior Danyang Zi, I wonder what your thoughts are on this matter?" Li Qingxiu's voice rang out in the hall, strikingly clear, and landing in the ears of everyone in the hall.
The Elder Celestial Master, who had been closing his eyes to rest, smiled at the sight, muttering to himself: Cunning fox.
Danyang Zi, who had just walked in, had a twitch at the corner of his mouth. How could he not understand that this junior was asking him to help quell this squabble?
Seeing Li Qingxiu look towards him with a pleading expression, he reluctantly shook his head, accepting the other party's petition.
"Hahaha, everyone, please listen to an old Taoist's words. How about it?" Danyang Zi started with a light laugh.
His voice was deep, resonating through the hall. Even without amplifying it with True Qi, it was as booming as thunder, suppressing the noise in the hall.
The crowd's gaze could not help but turn to this Taoist, who had been extremely low-key since his arrival on Taihe Mountain.
The famous Shenxiao Sect is known to almost everyone. Especially Danyang Zi, the sect leader of Shenxiao Sect, who had quite a reputation in the world of martial arts.
After all, when the Shenxiao Sect was in decline, many forces tried to take advantage, but all were forcibly suppressed by Danyang Zi, solidifying his well-renowned status.
However, after arriving at Taihe Mountain, he remained low-key, which led to many people nearly overlooking his presence.
Now seeing him suddenly stand up, people couldn't help but pause.
After all, the martial world still respects their mightiest practitioners. As a powerful man, Danyang Zits casual words would make many people think hard.
Now since he's about to state his stance, these people can't ignore his opinion.
Seeing that the noise died down, Li Qingxiu looked at Qiu Yuanjing and forced a bitter smile. In the end, their group's power was still weak. Even as the hosts of the place, their words weren't as effective as Danyang Zi's.
Danyang Zi gave a smile of gratitude to those who showed him respect and the moment everyone was waiting for his advice, he surprised them by saying, "Masters of the Zen Sect, I wonder what your esteemed opinions on this matter are? After all, the Zen Sect has exceptional strength, I believe even the Great Yuan Imperial Court doesn't dare easily provoke you?"
Being old made you a fox, throughout these many days of discussions, no viable solution had come about. Where would Danyang Zi dare to wade into these muddled waters?
If not for Li Qingxiu just setting him up, he would never have spoken so easily, and certainly would have continued to play dumb with the Elder Celestial Master.
The Shenxiao Sect and the Zen Sect have been old rivals. Since the rise of the Shenxiao Sect as the leader of the Daoist School, they have clashed with the Zen Sect several times.
So, no one understands the strength of the Zen Sect better than Danyang Zi. At this moment, since he stepped forward, he wouldn't face these people alone and decisively dragged in the Zen Sect.
"…" The Zen masters were startled. They never expected Danyang Zi to be so shameless and blatantly drag them into this dispute.
This was Taihe Mountain, after all. Taoist Sanfeng was originally from the Zen Sect before he left, establishing the Taihe Mountain True Martial Sect. This caused great embarrassment to the Zen Sect.
They were already here at this meeting for the sake of martial arts fraternity, to hold up appearances. They did not plan to get seriously involved.
But this shameless Danyang Zi directly pulled them in, catching them off guard.
Everyone's gaze followed Danyang Zi's question and turned to the Zen masters, waiting for their response..