"Sect Master! Sect Master, please save me!"
Yang Tiangui felt utterly terrified and desperately screamed for help.
However, Mo Canglan's face turned dark as he completely ignored his disciple's pleas.
The Tianque Sect was nothing compared to the Yuntian Sword Sect, and even though he and Chen Changfeng were both in the Core Formation Realm, Mo Canglan knew very well that even ten cultivators of his strength wouldn't be able to compete with Chen Changfeng!
He dared not make a move when he was completely outmatched in both influence and power.
"Su Zhan, I know I was wrong, please—"
Swish!
The sound of a sword cutting through air rang out.
Yang Tiangui, the supposed top genius of Liang Province, was beheaded!
"I can't trust your words," Su Zhan muttered, sheathing his pale crimson sword and staring at the grim-faced Mo Canglan standing nearby.
"Sect Master Mo, today I have injured your sect's elder and even killed the genius of your sect. Do you have any objections?"
You injure my sect's elder and even kill the genius of my sect, and you still ask if I have any objections?
Mo Canglan's face turned red, his fists clenched, and his head throbbed with anger.
If it weren't for Chen Changfeng's overwhelming aura suppressing him, he might have attacked Su Zhan immediately.
Chen Changfeng glanced at Mo Canglan and calmly declared, "Sect Master Mo, the Tianque Sect is an orthodox sect and should uphold righteousness. Speaking logically, your sect's disciple deserved to die, correct?"
Mo Canglan took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Yes, Elder Chen is absolutely correct."
"Very well then. I thought you might secretly plan to kill me to avenge Yang Tiangui. But it seems that Sect Master Mo is a magnanimous person. Besides, it's merely the death of one disciple. Furthermore, the Tianque Sect has many disciples," Su Zhan said with a mocking smile.
Mo Canglan's face darkened further as he glared at Su Zhan with barely contained fury.
Indeed, the Tianque Sect had many disciples, but there was only one genius like Yang Tiangui in their entire sect.
If Su Zhan had joined the Tianque Sect, killing Yang Tiangui wouldn't have been a significant issue, but now he had joined the Yuntian Sword Sect instead. Mo Canglan had to witness their sect's most outstanding genius being executed without being able to do anything about it.
Furthermore, so many people had heard Su Zhan's words today. If Su Zhan was ever killed in the future, suspicion might fall upon him.
Considering these factors, Mo Canglan felt so frustrated he nearly spat blood.
"Yang Tiangui indeed deserved to die. Therefore, let's end this matter here."
With a grim expression, Mo Canglan departed in his bronze carriage after finishing his statement.
Upon hearing his words, the surrounding spectators felt mixed emotions.
They then looked at Su Zhan with complicated expressions.
Unexpectedly, the Tianque Sect—the number one sect in Liang Province—had been trampled upon by a youth today!
Even the sect's strongest genius had been easily killed, and Mo Canglan, as the sect master, hadn't dared to retaliate!
The Sun God Divine Body... the Yuntian Sword Sect... a young prodigy.
As these thoughts merged, the hearts of the powerful experts filled with admiration.
Witnessing the emergence of a divine physique genius today made their journey worthwhile!
After seeing Mo Canglan leave, Su Zhan immediately turned toward Chen Changfeng.
"Elder Chen, I understand that your Yuntian Sword Sect has the finest cultivation environment and the most superior martial arts techniques in the entire Xia Nation. But the question is, will I actually have access to them once I join? I've heard that large sects have strict hierarchies and many restrictions on accessing cultivation techniques and martial arts."
"You're absolutely correct—there are many restrictions, but those only apply to ordinary disciples," Chen Changfeng laughed heartily.
"For you, I can guarantee that all restrictions will be nonexistent!"
"Excellent, then I will join your Yuntian Sword Sect."
Su Zhan nodded without hesitation.
"When do we depart?" Hearing this confirmation, Chen Changfeng was immediately overjoyed and asked eagerly.
"In three days! I want to bid farewell to my father first."
"Understood. I will accompany you, and after you settle all your affairs, we will return to the Yuntian Sword Sect together!"
"..."
Su Zhan's expression looked strange.
The powerful expert who could easily intimidate Mo Canglan actually wanted to accompany him back to Qingcheng City?
Wasn't the time of these powerful cultivators extremely valuable?
Although he didn't quite understand Chen Changfeng's reasoning, Su Zhan didn't refuse.
He then looked at Su Zhaoyue. "Zhaoyue, this is our parting for now."
"Yes, Su Zhan. When we meet again, I will definitely close the gap between us!"
Su Zhaoyue clenched her small fist, waved it determinedly, and spoke with a confident smile.
"Oh? Does this young miss also want to join our Yuntian Sword Sect?"
Chen Changfeng casually assessed Su Zhaoyue and found that her talent was also quite impressive. Although not as exceptional as Su Zhan's, with her abilities, she could definitely rank among the top disciples of the Yuntian Sword Sect, so he extended an invitation.
"Thank you for your generous offer, Elder, but I already have my own goals," Su Zhaoyue replied without hesitation.
Su Zhan had expected this response.
Su Zhaoyue needed to search for strange fires, and after this encounter, she would likely travel to the next location where strange fire existed. Although the Yuntian Sword Sect was incredibly powerful, it would be of no use to her particular path.
After exchanging a few more words, Su Zhaoyue departed, and Su Zhan and Chen Changfeng returned to Qingcheng City.
The arrival of a powerful Core Formation Realm expert at the Su family compound brought immense joy to Su Tianhai and the family elders. They felt an unparalleled sense of pride.
If it weren't for their concern about offending Chen Changfeng, they would have surely commissioned an artist to paint a portrait of him with Su Zhan and display it prominently in the Su family ancestral hall. Then, people from nearby factions would come to pay their respects to the Su family.
After staying in Qingcheng for a day, Su Zhan decided to depart for the Yuntian Sword Sect immediately.
During their journey, Chen Changfeng occasionally informed Su Zhan about the Yuntian Sword Sect's structure and customs.
The disciples of the Yuntian Sword Sect were divided into three levels: outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples, corresponding to the Qi Sea Realm, Yuan Condensation Realm, and Spirit Forging Realm, respectively.
Since Su Zhan was in the Yuan Condensation Realm, he would become an inner disciple upon entering the Yuntian Sword Sect. However, due to Su Zhan's unique circumstances, many of the restrictions imposed on inner disciples would be lifted for him.
The Yuntian Sword Sect maintained a relatively independent cultivation environment. Aside from the lectures regularly given by the sect's experts, most of the time disciples practiced independently.
Su Zhan took note of this fundamental information during their travels.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the Yuntian Sword Sect.
Contrary to his expectations, there weren't many sword cultivators flying through the sky on their weapons.
But that wasn't particularly surprising, since one needed to reach at least the Spirit Forging Realm to achieve sword flight. The Yuntian Sword Sect only had a limited number of true disciples, and the sect officials and elders wouldn't fly without clear purpose.
"Su Zhan, the Fenghua Hall lies ahead. Yesterday, I already sent a message explaining your situation. They know I will bring you back, and the sect master and elders are waiting for you there," Chen Changfeng explained, pointing to the magnificent hall before them as they walked across the white stone plaza at the mountain's peak.
"The Fenghua Hall? What purpose does this place serve?"
"The Fenghua Hall is where talent assessments are conducted, but usually only exceptional disciples are brought here. Most disciples undergo standard examinations using the testing stone."
Chen Changfeng elaborated, "Although I have informed the sect master and elders that you possess the Sun God Divine Body, they still feel skeptical until they witness it firsthand. After all, the Sun God Divine Body is an extremely rare physique that hasn't appeared in the Xia Nation for hundreds of years."
"I understand."
Su Zhan nodded and followed Chen Changfeng into the main hall.
Inside the hall, seven powerful experts were already waiting for him. When they saw Su Zhan enter, they immediately focused their attention on him.
"Hmm, his talent appears above average, but that's the extent of it. There are many talents of this caliber in our Yuntian Sword Sect. It seems he doesn't possess the unmatched potential claimed by Senior Brother Chen."
"Indeed. Normally, someone's innate talent must be extraordinarily high to awaken the Sun God Divine Body. However, this young man's talent cannot be considered exceptional."
"When someone awakens the Sun God Divine Body, their physique undergoes transformation, and their talent greatly increases. If this represents his talent after awakening the Sun God Divine Body, doesn't that mean his original talent was quite ordinary?"
"Brother Chen, could you be mistaken?"
Doubts arose one after another.
"I don't want to bother explaining to you fools!" Chen Changfeng sneered at them before bowing respectfully to the elderly figure seated in the main position. "Sect Master, may we begin the talent assessment now?"