"Y-young court chief!"Upon hearing that voice, You Ruoxin"s eyes narrowed in shock. She quickly turned her gaze over, only to see the coc.o.o.n blasting apart layer after layer. At the same time, the Otherworldly Demon aura that was emanated a moment ago swiftly transformed into a pure yin aura, and it felt as if everything within tens of thousands of li would be turned into ice under the aura.
Hu!
A slender figure burst forth from the coc.o.o.n and rose into the air. The surrounding spiritual energy swiftly surged toward her, forming a huge vortex with her at its center. At the same time, the water vapor in the air formed into a glistening icy robe around her, emanating a bone-freezing chill.
"That is… the perfect awakening of the Pure Yin Body?" You Ruoxin"s body stiffened in astonishment.
While the preceding court chiefs had managed to awaken their Pure Yin Bodies, most of them had still been far from achieving a perfect awakening.
There was a legend in the Glacier Plain Court that if one achieved a perfect awakening of the Pure Yin Body, one would be able bring frost to over ten thousand li with just a wave of one"s hand. It would not pale in comparison even against the Innate Poison Body; if anything, its prowess might exceed it even!
Even the founder of the Glacier Plain Court had failed to achieve this level, only barely managing to awaken it through the reconciliation of yin and yang. Who could have thought that Zhao Ya would actually successfully awaken it!
Did her meridians not collapse completely, causing her cultivation to be destroyed?
What in the world happened?
"It"s our First Senior!"
Zheng Yang and the others clenched their fists in agitation.
"Not bad…" Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
Using the new meridian network to reconstruct Zhao Ya"s meridians was a risky move, but it had paid off. Not only had her cultivation been restored, her Pure Yin Body had also been fully awakened. With this, she would be able to push her cultivation up to an unfathomable level.
It was fortunate that his effort had not been in vain.
"It"s me!"
As the vortex of spiritual energy vanished, the young lady"s figure appeared before everyone"s eyes. She wore a robe made purely out of white snow, and the cold air in the surroundings seemed to bend to her will, as if she was the overlord of ice.
You Ruoxin watched the imposing figure in a daze for a moment before hurriedly falling to her knees. "You Ruoxin pays respect to the new court chief of the Glacier Plain Court…"
With the complete awakening of her Pure Yin Body, Zhao Ya would be officially viewed as the court chief of the Glacier Plain Court. This was the rule that had been pa.s.sed down by the ancestors.
Not to mention, Zhao Ya had even achieved a perfect awakening! With this, there was no longer anyone in the Glacier Plain Court—and this was including the wills of the preceding court chiefs—who would dare oppose her!
"Very well, it seems like you still recognize me as your court chief. Right now, I shall make my decree!" With her hands behind her back, Zhao Ya gazed down coldly on You Ruoxin. "From this day forth, my teacher, Zhang Xuan, will be the greatest benefactor of the Glacier Plain Court. Any disciples of the Glacier Plain Court must accord him with the respect toward a teacher. Should anyone fail to abide by this decree, she shall be expelled from the Glacier Plain Court and executed upon sight!"
"Yes, court chief!" You Ruoxin replied with a forceful yet slightly quivering voice.
"My teacher has devoted his time and effort in order to awaken my unique const.i.tution, but you abused your authority and influence to frame him for sins that he hasn"t committed, compelling the Master Teacher Pavilion to issue an arrest warrant on him. I hereby order for You Ruoxin to be imprisoned in the Chanting Serenity Hall, and she"s not to leave the compounds without my command!" Zhao Ya spat coldly.
"Also, you are to release my mother and return her freedom!"
Her mother had been imprisoned by the First Elder for willfully escaping from the Glacier Plain Court. Now that she had become the court chief and wielded unparalleled authority, it went without saying that the first thing that she should do was have her released!
"Yes, court chief!" You Ruoxin hurriedly nodded.
"Very well, go on and execute my orders!" Zhao Ya waved her hand authoritatively.
You Ruoxin might have been hostile to her and her mother previously, but her loyalty to the Glacier Plain Court was unquestionable. Zhao Ya had no doubt that You Ruoxin would abide by her commands now that she had become the court chief.
Thus, she turned her sight to Ren Qingyuan and said, "Pavilion Master Ren, I believe that you should have heard my decree as well. Zhang Xuan is my teacher and my benefactor, and the Glacier Plain Court will do everything within its means to protect him, even if it means going against the Master Teacher Pavilion. I ask of you to reconsider your options!"
"This…" Ren Qingyuan"s eyebrows shot up.
Who could have thought that the court chief of the Glacier Plain Court would actually become his student too?
The Glacier Plain Court, the Poison Hall, the Zhang Clan, the Spirit Awakener Hall, the Combat Master Hall, the Yuan Clan… Those were behemoths that could send tremors running through the Master Teacher Continent just with a stomp of their feet, and yet, they had all bowed to the command of a single man.
"Zhan s.h.i.+…" Sighing helplessly, Ren Qingyuan turned his sight to the deputy sanctum head of the Sanctum of Sages and asked, "The Glacier Plain Court and the Zhang Clan have already expressed their intentions to reconcile with Zhang s.h.i.+. May I ask what the stance of your Sanctum of Sages is?"
"I…" Zhan s.h.i.+ lowered his gaze in a dilemma.
This was really a difficult position for him to be in.
The Sanctum of Sages was indubitably weaker than both the Glacier Plain Court and the Zhang Clan, but it still had to uphold its long legacy as the number one academy where countless powerhouses had originated from. Considering the devastation that had occurred to it, if they let the matter go so simply, what right would they have to serve as the teachers of the geniuses of the world?
More importantly, he would not be able to face those injured elders back in the sanctum either!
"If I drop the matter at this, the preceding generations of sanctum heads will never forgive me… So, I can only stake my life in the end. Even if I die from this, at the very least, I won"t have let the ancestors down!" Zhan s.h.i.+ said resolutely.
He could chicken out, but the Sanctum of Sages could not!
If others learned that the Sanctum of Sages had bowed down to another person, even if the other party was the head of the Zhang Clan and had many formidable experts, what authority would it have left?
"This…" Knowing Zhan s.h.i.+"s thoughts, Ren Qingyuan also did not know what he could say to dissuade the other party.
Zhang Xuan was a student of the Sanctum of Sages, yet he had refused to abide by its orders and even injured the elders and the deputy sanctum head, not to mention that he had destroyed many buildings. If they let this matter go just like that, the Sanctum of Sages would really lose its dignity!
"Given that even Sword Saint Xing isn"t your match, there"s no way that I"ll be able defeat you either." Zhan s.h.i.+ flew into the air and declared resoundingly, "Zhang s.h.i.+, I have brought the Deputy Sanctum Head Token here, and as long as you withstand its attack, the Sanctum of Sages will let this matter go!"
"Deputy Sanctum Head Token?"
"That"s right," Zhan s.h.i.+ said. "This token represents my ident.i.ty, and it harnesses the wills of the predecessors. It"s one of the Guardian Artifacts of the Sanctum of Sages, which only generations of deputy sanctum heads are qualified to wield. I wouldn"t be a match for you given my limited cultivation, but through the Deputy Sanctum Head Token, I will still be able to put up a fight against you. If you are able to withstand my strength even then, it can only mean that you are already beyond the Sanctum of Sages" current means to deal with, and there will be no purpose in it pursuing this matter any longer!"
Zhan s.h.i.+ did not think that it was too likely that he would be able to defeat Zhang Xuan even with the Deputy Sanctum Head Token, but this was something that had to be done in order to make the Sanctum of Sages" stance clear.
If he was still unable to defeat Zhang Xuan with the strength of the Deputy Sanctum Head, that would mean that even the predecessors were unable to defeat him. It would show that while the Sanctum of Sages had no choice but to back down due to its lack of strength, by no means had it grown cowardly or lost its dignity!
"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded.
He was currently invincible against all beneath Ancient Sage, so no matter how powerful the Deputy Sanctum Head Token was, he was confident that he would be able to withstand it with ease.
"Good."
Zhan s.h.i.+ tapped his finger forward, and a token emanating a faint violet glow appeared before him.
Zhan s.h.i.+ bit his finger, and a droplet of blood fell on it. In an instant, the token turned burningly hot, and a powerful, formidable aura burst forth from it.
Countless experts had risen from the Sanctum of Sages over its many years of history, and it was with their wills that the Deputy Sanctum Head Token was created. While it came nowhere close to matching up to the real Sanctum Head Token, its power was not to be underestimated.
Noticing the hint of the anxiety of Sword Saint Meng"s face, Sword Saint Xing grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Rest a.s.sured, given that even I am no match for him, he should be fine…"
"Go!"
Boom!
Under Zhan s.h.i.+"s control, the Deputy Sanctum Head Token released a light buzz, and unbelievable burst of energy shot forth from it. Even before reaching its target, the s.p.a.ce in its path was already crumbling inch after inch.