Surrender

Outside the small courtyard, which appeared ordinary, simple, and yet neat and tidy, Sword Wushuang knocked on the door.

“Master, the people have arrived!”

As his voice faded, not long after, a response came from inside.

“Come in!”

The voice was like a gust of wind, exuding an air of calm and detachment.

Hearing this, Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect and his group uncharacteristically grew nervous.

Generally speaking, as an Old Ancestor of the Intercepting Heaven Sect, Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect had seen countless storms.

The others, too, held high positions and had lived for a long time.

Logically, people like them should have, more or less, cultivated a Realm where their expressions remained unchanged even when mountains collapsed before their eyes.

But at this moment, everyone was indeed nervous.

No other reason than the sights and sounds along the way were truly too astonishing.

With curious and anxious hearts, everyone followed Sword Wushuang's footsteps and entered the small courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, the furnishings were relatively simple.

Two jujube trees were planted.

In the middle of the jujube trees, there was also a stone table.

Around the stone table, there were four stone stools.

It exuded an ancient charm, full of vitality.

At this moment, Zhong Qing was seated on a stone stool.

He slowly drank his wine, tapping his fingers on the long table, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the Intercepting Heaven Sect members.

Everyone, led by Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect, noticed Zhong Qing immediately.

They saw him in a white robe, unblemished by dust.

His hair cascaded down to his waist, like a waterfall of stars.

His features were picturesque, with red eyebrows and Phoenix eyes, and his skin was like white jade, clear and translucent.

His figure was tall and lithe, exuding an ethereal and elusive Qi.

Seated there, he was like a painting of a banished immortal descending upon a city, coming to life before them.

For a moment, it was hard to tell whether the painting gained its ethereal quality because he was in it, or if the entire small courtyard became a painting because of him.

Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect told himself that he had seen countless people in his life, as numerous as grains of sand.

But not a single person possessed Zhong Qing's kind of Qi.

Ling Wushuang considered himself the epitome of gentle refinement, yet upon seeing Zhong Qing, he felt a sense of shame.

Fang Changtian and the others sighed inwardly, thinking, if there were immortals in this world, this must be what they looked like!

Within the small courtyard, the atmosphere was subtle.

After taking a sip of wine, Zhong Qing slowly said, “I heard you want to join the Phoenix Feather Sect and become its subordinate?”

He lightly tapped his fingers on the long table, asking nonchalantly.

His gaze carried a hint of scrutiny and inquiry.

Nothing else.

His, Zhong Qing's, relationship with the Intercepting Heaven Sect was completely unrelated.

For these people to suddenly say they wanted to become subordinates, their intentions were hard not to suspect.

At this moment, Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect stepped forward, bowed to Zhong Qing, and respectfully said, “I dare not deceive Senior, my Intercepting Heaven Sect has encountered a life-or-death crisis.”

“A force called Asking Heart Sect previously wanted to take all the Disciples from my Intercepting Heaven Sect who might ascend the Heavenly Dao Rankings, and we naturally refused, leading to a conflict between the two sides.”

“Their strength is formidable; just one of their branches dispatched four Supreme powerhouses.”

“Fortunately, my Intercepting Heaven Sect had some foundation and repelled that group of people.”

“But they once declared that the day the Heavenly Dao Rankings concluded would be the day my Intercepting Heaven Sect would be annihilated.”

“If the opponent comes out in full force, my Intercepting Heaven Sect admits it cannot resist these villains. We now seek the protection of a force, and looking across the entire Void Domain, the only one capable of protecting my Intercepting Heaven Sect is the Phoenix Feather Sect.”

“Please, Senior, take us in.”

“If Senior is willing to help, my Intercepting Heaven Sect will certainly follow Senior's lead in the future.”

As he spoke, Zhong Qing had already activated his Heavenly Eye.

He also understood that these people had no other intentions and were indeed sincerely seeking refuge with the Phoenix Feather Sect.

This surprised him.

The Intercepting Heaven Sect was already one of the five strongest forces in the Void Domain.

Yet, a single Asking Heart Sect, just one branch, almost completely overwhelmed them.

It seemed that this Asking Heart Sect's strength was not to be underestimated!

At the same time, he pondered whether it was necessary to offend such a force for the sake of the Intercepting Heaven Sect.

However, in a moment, Zhong Qing had his answer.

Because Zhong Qing had gleaned a piece of information from Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect's words.

That was, this so-called Asking Heart Sect seemed to be plotting something related to the Heavenly Dao Rankings...

If that were truly the case.

Then this so-called Asking Heart Sect seemed to be naturally on the opposing side.

From another perspective, the Phoenix Feather Sect would sooner or later emerge from the Chaotic Land and step onto the grand stage of the Void Domain. If the Intercepting Heaven Sect became a subordinate of the Phoenix Feather Sect beforehand, it would save a lot of trouble.

So, upon careful consideration.

Agreeing to the Intercepting Heaven Sect's submission would certainly be more beneficial than detrimental to him.

Thinking of this, Zhong Qing looked at Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect and the others.

“You are quite honest!”

“I can provide you with protection.”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a huge weight lifted from their hearts.

Their faces erupted in a surge of wild joy.

“Thank you, Senior!”

Everyone shouted in unison, immediately kneeling to show their submission.

No one had expected the entire process to be so smooth, smoother than they could have imagined.

At this moment, Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect seemed to recall something.

“Senior, the Asking Heart Sect did not get the Prodigies from my Intercepting Heaven Sect. They might not let this matter rest.”

“If they use any underhanded tactics, my Intercepting Heaven Sect might not be able to fully protect them.”

“May I ask if our sect's Prodigies can come to the Phoenix Feather Sect to avoid disaster?”

Zhong Qing naturally would not refuse this small request.

Moreover, he had long intended to absorb some Core Disciples from the Intercepting Heaven Sect into the Phoenix Feather Sect.

“You can arrange to send them over.”

“Also, I intend to take them as Named Disciples. What do you think?”

Hearing this, Ye Wujun, Old Ancestor of Jie Tian Sect could hardly believe his ears.

What kind of existence was Zhong Qing?

He was a Supreme figure capable of cultivating over ten thousand Innate Dao Bodies.

He was the master of Imperial-grade Divine Weapons.

To be taken as a Disciple by such an existence was simply good news for the Intercepting Heaven Sect, and an enormous Opportunity for the Intercepting Heaven Sect's Core Disciples.

So many Innate Dao Bodies could not possibly be naturally occurring. He guessed that this Senior probably mastered some secret method that could cultivate this Supreme Dao Body on a large scale.

Putting aside everything else, if one Disciple from the Intercepting Heaven Sect could catch Zhong Qing's eye and be bestowed with this Heaven-Defying Physique, they would truly soar to the heavens.

Correspondingly, the status, position, and even future achievements of their Intercepting Heaven Sect would also rise with the tide.

After all, these many Disciples, even after becoming Zhong Qing's Disciples, did not mean their connection with the Intercepting Heaven Sect was completely severed.

There were still intricate ties between the two sides.

For a moment, his face was overcome with uncontrollable ecstasy.

“To be valued by Senior is their blessing. On their behalf, I thank Senior here!”

Zhong Qing nodded: “Handle this matter quickly!”

For Zhong Qing, the current Heavenly Dao Rankings was his most pressing concern.

Even with over ten thousand Innate Dao Body Disciples in the Heavenly Dao Institute, he had no idea how many could make it onto the rankings.

After all, he had no prior experience with this kind of thing.

However, the Core Disciples of the Intercepting Heaven Sect already possessed the qualifications to be on the rankings. If he cultivated them further, making it onto the rankings should be a sure thing.

Thinking that each additional Heavenly Dao Rankings spot meant an extra System reward, Zhong Qing naturally wanted to maximize the number of spots occupied as much as possible.

In this wave, he and the Intercepting Heaven Sect could be said to have a win-win situation.

...