120: Chapter 120 Mastery, Change (4k)

Inside Tianyin Hall, it was incredibly quiet.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the white-clothed youth sitting on the black throne.

The members of the Demon Sound Sect looked at each other, none daring to make a sound.

Regarding this youth who had suddenly appeared, everyone was still in a state of bewilderment.

Originally, today's True Disciple competition should have been a brilliant display of skill.

But no one expected it to end like this.

That stranger could crush the Grand Elder's head with a single punch and send the Return to Truth Realm Sect Master flying with one palm strike.

This level of strength was simply unheard of!

As the atmosphere grew increasingly silent, a voice suddenly came from a distance.

"I... I agree!"

Jin Tianli was the first to react, prostrating himself.

"Your subordinate Jin Tianli greets the Sect Master!"

His voice trembled, yet it held a hint of wild joy.

Regardless of whether this person was Que Wuhua, as long as he could secure this position, he, as a "founding official," would definitely reap benefits.

With Jin Tianli leading the way, the other Disciples also woke up as if from a dream.

People of the demonic Sects naturally admired the strong.

Might makes right.

Although Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was a Return to Truth Realm powerhouse, he couldn't even last one move against this mysterious youth.

How could they even fight?

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

"Your subordinate is willing to serve the Sect Master with total devotion!"

Rustle.

Inside the hall, hundreds of Disciples knelt in unison, their shouts deafening.

Those Disciples who had originally wanted to see Chen Ran made a fool of himself now wished they could bury their heads in the cracks of the floor, fearing retaliation from the new Sect Master.

Below the high platform, several heavily injured inner Sect Elders looked at each other.

They looked at the unfathomable youth on the throne, then at the massive crater outside the hall where Sect Leader Fang Tianxing had crashed.

Finally, they sighed helplessly and, dragging their injured bodies, slowly knelt down.

"Your subordinates... greet the Sect Master."

The situation was already decided.

Even the Sect Master was no match for him; any further resistance would only result in needless casualties.

Chen Ran sat on the throne, looking at the crowd kneeling below, a satisfied curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The Demon Sound Sect was effectively under his control.

He turned his gaze toward a corner.

There, Li Feng was pinned to the wall by a broken sword, blood pooling on the ground.

Luo Chuan and Bai Peilin were shivering and shrinking away, not even daring to look at Chen Ran.

"The three of you."

Chen Ran spoke indifferently.

Li Feng's whole body shook, and he suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with terror.

"Sect Master, spare my life! Sect Master, spare my life!"

Ignoring the sharp pain in his thigh, he kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy.

"Your subordinate was blind and offended the Sect Master. I beg for the Sect Master's mercy!"

Luo Chuan and Bai Peilin also kowtowed frantically, their foreheads bleeding.

"Sect Master, we were only misled by Li Feng to disrespect you!"

"We beg the Sect Master to spare our wretched lives!"

Chen Ran looked at these three once-lofty True Disciples with no pity in his eyes.

"Since you think the Heavenly Prison is so good..."

His tone was flat, as if he were discussing something trivial.

"Then send them to the Heavenly Prison."

The True Disciples tried to explain.

But Chen Ran no longer cared to listen.

He waved his hand.

Several inner Sect Elders immediately understood and pounced on them like wolves and tigers.

To show their loyalty to the new Sect Master, they were extremely ruthless.

Crack! Crack!

Several crisp sounds rang out.

The Dantians of Li Feng and the other two were directly destroyed, their cultivation vanishing into nothingness.

Following that, the Elders crushed their throat bones and applied Seal Talismans.

The entire process was clean and efficient.

The three once-arrogant True Disciples were turned into cripples in an instant, unable even to scream, left paralyzed on the ground like dead dogs, their eyes filled with despair.

Having dealt with the three, Chen Ran stood up and walked out of the hall.

"Jin Tianli."

"Your subordinate is here!" Jin Tianli quickly responded.

"Clean this place up."

Chen Ran ordered without looking back.

"Yes!"

...

Behind the mountain of the Demon Sound Sect.

Inside a quiet secret room.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing lay on a stone bed, his face pale and his aura withered.

He was already heavily injured.

After taking another palm strike, although it didn't kill him, it left him with severe internal injuries.

The door to the secret room was pushed open.

Chen Ran walked in with his hands behind his back.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to gasp in pain.

"You... who exactly are you?"

He stared at the man before him, his eyes full of resentment and fear.

A grand Return to Truth Realm powerhouse had been defeated so thoroughly.

Chen Ran walked to the stone bed and looked down at him.

"You don't need to know who I am."

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing gave a bitter laugh.

"The winner takes all; I have nothing to say."

"Do with me as you please."

Chen Ran shook his head.

"I'm keeping you alive because you're still useful."

He pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked calmly:

"Tell me, how did a Return to Truth Realm expert like you get so heavily injured?"

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was silent for a moment before sighing.

"It was the Sect Master of the Corpse Refining Sect, Shi Wuxie."

"That old monster somehow got lucky and reached the Late Stage of the Return to Truth Realm."

"In a moment of carelessness, I was ambushed and heavily injured, only managing to flee back to the Sect to heal in seclusion."

A flash of hatred crossed Sect Leader Fang Tianxing's eyes.

"If not for him, I wouldn't have been defeated so miserably."

Chen Ran nodded slightly.

So that was it.

No wonder that old fellow's attack just now was all bark and no bite; he was already severely wounded.

"Corpse Refining Sect..."

Chen Ran stroked his chin, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

This was an unexpected gain.

"I'm too lazy to manage the Sect's affairs; I'll leave them to you in the future."

Chen Ran stood up and looked at Sect Leader Fang Tianxing.

"But every month, the Demon Sound Sect must provide a batch of Heaven And Earth Treasures and rare medicinal herbs."

"Also, gather intelligence from the Jianghu for me, especially regarding the movements of the major Sects and the imperial court."

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was stunned for a moment.

He had thought he was a dead man, but he hadn't expected the other party to let him continue managing the Demon Sound Sect.

Although he would be a Puppet, at least he had kept his life.

"Your subordinate... obeys."

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing lowered his head and responded respectfully.

Chen Ran said no more. Blood-red light flickered in his hand as a glowing crimson orb appeared.

At the same time, a powerful Devilish Qi emanated from his body.

Gusts of wind howled, making the surroundings rattle.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was startled, his eyes fixed on the blood-red light.

He muttered to himself, "This... this is the Blood Transformation Great Art. Your cultivation in it is so deep, yet I've never heard of your name?"

The Blood Transformation Great Art was a Demonic Technique that had circulated in the Jianghu for a long time.

Basically, every so often, it would cause a stir.

As the Sect Master of the Demon Sound Sect and a Return to Truth Realm powerhouse, Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was naturally no stranger to this technique.

But... to be able to control the Blood Transformation Great Art so effortlessly...

In his memory, no one had ever reached such a level with this technique.

Most practitioners were controlled by the Demonic Technique in the Early Stage, becoming mindless killing machines.

"Sect Master Fang, since you know this technique, I don't need to explain further, do I?"

Chen Ran pushed the floating Blood Seed forward.

"Hehe, you are truly extraordinary, Lord. It's not a disgrace to lose to you."

Knowing he couldn't resist, Sect Leader Fang Tianxing swallowed the Blood Seed directly.

Ugh!

A surge of blood-red light pulsed. Sect Leader Fang Tianxing clutched his chest, only recovering after a long while.

"Wait for my orders."

Seeing that the Blood Seed was planted and the other party was fully controlled, Chen Ran didn't waste any more words.

With a flicker of his body, he quietly vanished from the secret room.

Only Sect Leader Fang Tianxing remained, looking at the empty room with a complex mix of emotions.

"When did such a terrifying Devil Head appear in the Jianghu..."

...

Capital City, Six Doors Headquarters.

Inside the archives, scrolls and records were piled high.

Lin Wan sat behind a large desk, her brow furrowed as she read through a piece of intelligence.

The report contained only a few lines:

"Sudden changes in the Demon Sound Sect; suspected reappearance of Que Wuhua?"

Lin Wan rubbed her temples, a look of doubt in her eyes.

Que Wuhua?

Isn't he already dead?

Back then, near the execution platform, she had seen it clearly; that corpse was definitely Que Wuhua himself, it couldn't have been faked.

"Could the Demon Sound Sect be spreading false news again?"

Demonic cults were always mysterious and deceptive, and the information they leaked was a mix of truth and lies.

From time to time, rumors would spread about some Devil Head having peerless Demonic Technique and wanting to unite the Jianghu.

Or some divine Demonic Technique appearing, attracting everyone's attention.

However, most of this information was completely false.

Real situations were rarely exposed.

This information was likely just a temporary reassurance thrown out by the Demon Sound Sect to maintain its stability.

Lin Wan shook her head, no longer paying much attention to this demonic Sect information.

She put away her pen and paper and pulled a secret letter from under the desk.

This contained some clues she had extracted from the list Chen Ran provided at the time.

Over the past few days, she had indeed uncovered some unusual points.

Lin Wan felt the letter paper and whispered:

"Li Luo, in his early forties, unknown identity, wanted by the imperial court for over ten years, recently beheaded..."

As Lin Wan read the contents of the letter, her gaze deepened.

Her brow furrowed involuntarily.

She had personally arrested this wanted criminal back then. Her impression of him was that his Physical Body was extremely strong and his external cultivation level was very high.

"If the martial arts he practiced are from the same source as that mysterious Saber Master, then by following this clue, won't I eventually find out who he is?"

"However, this person's information seems to have been deliberately erased; there's no record of his past experiences."

The trail ended there.

But Lin Wan was in a decent mood; at least she had a concrete point of investigation.

Humming a tune, she stretched and stood up.

As she stepped out of the archive room, she saw a youth walking toward her from a distance.

Lin Wan looked closely and was a bit surprised, smiling teasingly:

"Chen Ran, why are you here? Didn't I hear you were practicing with the brothers in the squad recently?"

"Lord Lin, the rumors about Que Wuhua have been spreading widely lately. Some commoners in the capital think Que Wuhua might have escaped by faking his death. Your subordinate has come to ask for your opinion on how we should proceed next."

Your subordinate has come to ask for your opinion, how should we act next?

"Don't worry about this matter; it's just groundless rumors. Que Wuhua is definitely dead; it won't be long before these rumors collapse on their own."

Lin Wan brushed her hair aside and gave her orders casually.

"I heard your cultivation has been progressing well. Want to spar?"

She looked at the handsome youth before her, her eyes filled with unmistakable satisfaction.

No one had expected that Chen Ran, whom she had temporarily snatched from the Heavenly Prison, would have such great martial talent.

In just a few days, he had made quite a name for himself within the Six Doors.

She heard he could even hold his own against many veteran members.

Hearing this, Chen Ran paused slightly.

"If Lord Lin could give your subordinate some pointers, that would be for the best."

...

Six Doors, training field.

Lin Wan was dressed in tight-fitting martial attire, her black ponytail tied up, her skin fair, and her aura full of heroic spirit.

Opposite her stood a man with a tall and straight build.

Chen Ran wore the standard uniform and held a long saber.

"Hey, do you think Deputy Captain Chen will be taught a harsh lesson?"

"Who knows? Anyway, when I first joined the squad, I was beaten pretty badly by Chief Lin."

Around the training field, Constables who had heard the news surrounded the area.

They were also very curious about this new squad member.

Among them was a burly man with a bushy beard who said to a companion nearby:

"I heard you sparred with Deputy Captain Chen a few days ago. What was the result?"

"What else could it be? I lost. Let me tell you, don't let his young age fool you; his combat ability is far beyond imagination."

"Quite a few people in the squad have lost to him."

...

Whispered conversations filled the perimeter of the training field.

Lin Wan raised an eyebrow and pulled a wooden sword from a nearby rack.

"Chen Ran, don't hold back. I want to see your true strength."

"Yes, Lord Lin."

Chen Ran weighed the long saber in his hand, then tapped his foot on the ground, his figure rushing forward rapidly.

Whoosh.

His speed was so fast that it created a whistling sound in the air.

This speed was much faster than that of an ordinary Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.

The next moment, the long saber swung directly toward Lin Wan.

Bang!

The long saber was blocked in the middle and then lightly flicked away by the wooden sword.

Lin Wan's eyes brightened slightly with delight.

"Not bad, continue."

...

A few minutes later.

With a light thrust from Lin Wan's sword, the long saber in Chen Ran's hand flew out and clattered onto the stone floor.

"Let's stop here."

Lin Wan nodded in satisfaction and sheathed the sword.

"Yes."

Chen Ran pretended to rub his aching wrist, thinking to himself.

"Pretending to be weak is actually more tiring than going all out."

He naturally couldn't reveal his true strength, so he deliberately showed the level of a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.

Clap, clap, clap.

The observing crowd broke into applause. Although Chen Ran was still defeated within a few moves.

But being able to last this long was already quite good among the Constables.

At this moment, everyone's attitude toward this "parachuted" Deputy Captain Chen had improved significantly.

Seeing Chen Ran's silence and fearing he might be too discouraged, Lin Wan spoke words of comfort:

"Your talent is very good. Work hard, and you'll have a chance to break through to the Inner Breath Realm within three years."

Currently, Chen Ran's talent was among the best in the squad; no wonder Centurion Zhao had been so reluctant to let him go.

Lin Wan didn't suspect anything. Chen Ran's talent was indeed good.

But in the capital, such geniuses were a dime a dozen.

Someone like Chen Ran, who came from a poor background and only had access to low-rank martial arts in the beginning.

There were many cases where their strength would skyrocket after joining the Demon Suppression Division and gaining access to higher-rank techniques.

Practicing martial arts was often a matter of Family background.

A Genius from a poor Family, even with daily hard work and diligent practice.

It was difficult for them to compete with Disciples of large families who had been soaked in medicinal baths and practiced high-rank techniques from a young age.

Thinking of this, Lin Wan spoke in a calm voice:

"Chen Ran, come with me."