A wise man was one who recognized his circ.u.mstances. With things as they were, the 38 sects were now starting to wisen up. While each of them might have an indignant feeling in their hearts, they could only keep it within.
As for the Jiuxiao Sect disciples, all of them were now looking at Lin Fan with gazes of adoration.
By the looks of it, Senior Brother Lin was simply way too cool! Haughty and arrogant earlier on, these 37 remaining Grandmasters were like obedient small kids right now. No matter what their Grandmaster said, they were just complying nicely.
As for the ceremony, it continued smoothly without interruptions.
Lin Fan sat down quietly without saying anything more. Today was a great event in his Brother Xinfeng’s life. Hence, the limelight should naturally be on him. Lin Fan was just there to ensure that there were no hiccups.
Even though these remaining 37 Grandmasters did not say anything much, Lin Fan knew that they must still have quite a few thoughts within their minds.
After the ceremony was over, Xinfeng invited them to stay for a meal, but all of them declined gently.
In regards to that, Xinfeng did not insist on it as well. He knew that these Grandmasters did not want to stay there. The only reason why everything had proceeded smoothly was because of the presence of his Brother Lin. Now that the plots of these men were taken down, there was no longer any reason for them to stay here.
"Grandmaster Xin, I’ll definitely send the gift within 7 days of the ceremony." Red Cloud Sect’s Grandmaster Hu said with a look of pain.
In response, all the other Grandmasters made a similar offer. Not only did they go home empty handed, but they also had to pay a high price for their acts. What a tragedy!
"Seems like all the Grandmasters here are heading back to prepare their grand gifts. But today’s the big day of my brother’s ascension ceremony. How can he make do without receiving any gifts at all? Since everyone is present, I shall present my humble gift too." Standing up, Lin Fan looked down at the crowd and let out a wide grin.
All the Grandmasters who were leaving turned around to look at Lin Fan. They were curious as to just what this man would gift.
"Treasure guardian spirit, open the vaults and prepare to receive the gift!" Lin Fan shouted into the voids.
The treasure guardian spirit of Jiuxiao Sect heard this call within the treasure vault, looking extremely frail. He was almost non-existent right now without the constant rejuvenation of the treasure auras for him. He wasn’t meant to last much longer in this world at this state.
Boom!
The doors of the treasure vault were bolted open. Even though the treasure spirit was too weak to exit the place, his voice was desperately heard indeed.
"Treasures…treasures…!"
"Glory Sect and Jiuxiao Sect has been bosom sects for generations! Now that Jiuxiao Sect is in dire need of help, naturally I cannot just sit back and watch. Accept this humble gift of mine!" Sweeping his robes, a thick flow of treasures began spraying out.
The area outside the main hall was filled with a dense treasure aura.
The moment everyone caught sight of this thick flow of treasures, they were stumped.
"How could this be…!" All the 37 Grandmasters were thoroughly stunned. They had not expected this man to take out so many treasures altogether!
‘Heaven Peris.h.i.+ng Rock’
‘Spirit Sealing Crystal’
‘Greater Celestial Fruit’
One by one, the treasures floated up into the air. Each of these treasures was invaluable. In fact, these sects might not even possess even one of them.
"Haha! Treasures are here!" Suddenly, the treasure guardian spirit within the treasure vault leaped up in joy as it sniffed in the strong treasure aura. Following which, it began to absorb in all the treasures.
Grandmaster Hu and the eyes were extremely dumbfounded. After that, they were thoroughly convinced right now.
Jiuxiao Sect and Glory Sect were not at odds!
In fact, their relations.h.i.+p was definitely extremely st.u.r.dy! Just these treasures alone would suffice to take over any one of their sects, probably even more than required!
The Jiuxiao Sect disciples were clear of the fact that their treasure vaults were empty right now. This was a tragic state for any sect to be in.
A sect without treasures was akin to a sect without any backing. The importance of maintaining a treasure guardian spirit within their midst was clear to any of them. The guardian spirit could maintain and rejuvenate the treasures, allowing them to grow even stronger with time.
But looking at the flow of treasures coming out Senior Brother Lin’s sleeves, all of them could only watch with jaws agape as they stared blankly at Senior Brother Lin.
They had not expected the gift to be so humungous! This was far beyond their wildest imaginations!
"Brother Lin…this…!" Xinfeng looked at Lin Fan with an extremely astounded look on his face. He did not know what else he could say to this!
Lin Fan waved his hand casually, "Don’t bother with the formalities. The gift is nothing compared to our deep bonds. Jiuxiao Sect’s affairs are as good as Glory Sect’s affairs."
"Don’t worry, Brother Lin. I’ll be sure to return all these." Xinfeng did not say anything else. He knew what these treasures represented, and he also knew that Jiuxiao Sect was in dire need of them right now.
This act of kindness today would be remembered in Xinfeng’s heart. As long as Jiuxiao Sect could tide this through, he would definitely do his best to repay this debt.
"Return you’re a*s. You’re trying to slap my face with that sentence?" The moment Lin Fan heard that, he was displeased momentarily.
Xinfeng looked at Lin Fan emotionally in grat.i.tude and did not say anything further.
Grandmaster Hu looked at the scene before him in extreme distaste. But even if that were the case, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Grandmaster Xin, Peak Master Lin, we’ll take our leaves now." All of them bid their farewells.
Looking at these Grandmasters, Lin Fan continued, "Hold on, everyone. There’s something else I forgot to mention."
"Please continue, Peak Master Lin." Everyone stopped in their tracks, wondering what was about to come.
Now that the fighting strength of Jiuxiao Sect had been reduced significantly, there was no one left to hold the fort. Even if these people were to leave willingly right now, Lin Fan could not guarantee that they harbored no more ill thoughts within their minds. As such, he felt that he still had to take some precautions regarding this matter.
"Now, when I slapped Grandmaster w.a.n.g to death, it wasn’t meant to serve as a warning to you boys. I did have the intention of killing every single one of you right here. However, considering the fact that you guys had not sinned gravely, I decided not to lay down the ma.s.sacre. But you must bear in mind that if anything were to happen to Jiuxiao Sect in the future, whether or not it has anything to do with you, ALL of your sects will cease to have any reasons to remain alive. If you feel indignant about this, feel free and try me. But just don’t say that I didn’t give you any warnings." Lin Fan said in a calm and casual manner.
Even if he were to take down these 38 sects right now, given the strength of Jiuxiao Sect right now, it was still far from enough to maintain control over the entire far west region. On the other hand, he might as well leave these guys alive as a s.h.i.+eld for Jiuxiao Sect’s growth from here on forth.
If these guys were smart, they’d know what they had to do from here on.
Even though the faces of Grandmaster Hu and the others were peaceful, it would be a lie to say that they were not burning within their hearts. Lin Fan’s words were just like tight slaps slapping across their faces.
But thinking of Lin Fan’s strength, of Glory Sect’s strength, no matter how indignant they were, they had to swallow it back down.
"Understood, Peak Master Lin." After staying silent for a moment, Grandmaster Hu and the others clasped their fists together and replied.
"Well, it’s good that you understand. I won’t see you out." Lin Fan waved.
With a cold face, Grandmaster Hu and the others finally left the place.
After the 38 sects left, the Jiuxiao Sect disciples erupted out in cheers.
Everyone could only look at Senior Brother Lin with awe. That speech was simply way too awesome! The look of those people from the 38 sects being scolded in fear was even more revitalizing for these disciples.
"Brother Xin, my apologies for taking away your limelight." Lin Fan laughed out.
"HAHA…!" Xinfeng broke out into a loud laugh. "Brother Lin, everything aside, from this day forth, you’re my only brother in life."
"What? You mean to say I wasn’t to begin with?" Lin Fan joked back.