93: Destroyed, Duan Cang gave way

Rong Yuanliang was deeply blaming himself for his actions.

Why hadn't he believed Lu Hao's words and brought out this Mahayana Puppet from the very beginning?

He could have clearly saved Brother Lin, and saved thousands of Heaven Sword Sect Disciples...

They clearly didn't have to die...

His heart ached, aching so much that he couldn't stand.

In the end, Rong Yuanliang actually crouched on the ground, burying his head in his hands and sobbing, his mouth continuously emitting sounds of confusion.

"Why, why..."

"Sigh..."

The Grand Elder and the Sect Master had already silently walked behind him, both reaching out and simultaneously placing their hands on Rong Yuanliang's shoulders.

The Grand Elder spoke first:

"Elder Rong, you have already done very well. At the very least, you have avenged Elder Lin and the other Disciples."

"The two major powers have now been annihilated; surely Elder Lin and the others would be happy to know this in the afterlife. Elder Rong, this time, I thank you on behalf of the entire Sect!"

Subsequently, the Sect Master also said:

"If not for your final intervention, I do not know how many more Disciples of our Heaven Sword Sect would have died. Elder Rong, your contribution in this battle is immense!"

"I have decided that after this matter, you shall be the Sect Master of the Heaven Sword Sect. The Grand Elder personally suggested this; he believes you can definitely shoulder the banner of the Heaven Sword Sect!"

"I believe that under your leadership, the Heaven Sword Sect will surely become more and more glorious!"

Rong Yuanliang barely managed to control his emotions and slowly stood up.

"But, Brother Lin will never come back... and those who died..."

"He will always live in the hearts of all the Disciples, don't you agree? Sect Master..."

At this moment, the wooden Puppet had already returned behind Rong Yuanliang.

In its hands, it was still holding that Dao Grade Cultivation Technique and Magic Treasure,

Its entire body was stained with fresh blood, looking exceptionally bloody and terrifying.

On its fists, there were still some shredded pieces of clothing.

It had actually used its Physical Body to beat the opponent to death!

...

The battle across the entire battlefield was gradually drawing to a close.

The people of the Heaven Sword Sect were all blinded by bloodlust; as long as it was someone from the other two Sects, regardless of who it was, they killed upon sight!

Conversely, the Disciples of the other two factions, after Yi Kangping, Master of Chen Yin Tower, and Cheng Honglang, Valley Master of Feng Luo Valley, as well as the other Elders, were killed,

they had already completely collapsed, with not a shred of Battle Intent, running as fast as they could!

In truth, as Disciples, they did not have much choice; they were merely following orders.

Ever since Yi Kangping, Master of Chen Yin Tower, and Cheng Honglang, Valley Master of Feng Luo Valley, used the Heaven Sword Sect's Disciples to threaten the other side, many Disciples had already felt a bit of dissatisfaction.

Was this not the behavior of the Demonic Path?

Now that these two were dead, naturally, they scattered like birds.

The Heaven Sword Sect Disciples chased them for a hundred miles before gradually stopping; after venting the anger within their hearts, they became much calmer.

The main culprits were the high-ranking members of the two factions; it actually didn't have much to do with the Disciples.

Now that everyone above the Nascent Soul stage in both powers had been killed, the hatred in their hearts had mostly vanished.

However, there was still an indelible sorrow lingering in the depths of their hearts.

Half a day later, the Heaven Sword Sect held an entire Sect assembly!

The Heaven Sword Sect first erected a statue of Elder Lin Ao in the center of the plaza.

Then, next to it, they erected a giant stele, with the names of all the Heaven Sword Sect Disciples who died this time carved onto the stele.

They were all heroes.

That statue of Elder Lin Ao was about a hundred feet tall and was crafted from high-quality jade.

Rong Yuanliang personally took action and carved this stone statue; his facial features were exactly the same as they were during his lifetime.

He was still wearing that gentle smile, slightly lowering his head.

Looking down at the land of the Heaven Sword Sect.

Looking down at every Disciple of the Heaven Sword Sect.

Looking down at his home.

Elder Lin Ao had no Dao Companion or offspring in his life; he had joined the Heaven Sword Sect since he was young and had stayed within the Heaven Sword Sect for a thousand years.

After the statue was completed, all the Disciples of the Sect gathered before the statue and the giant stele, with the Sect Master and the various Elders standing at the very front of the ranks.

Everyone observed a moment of silence for ten minutes.

In those short ten minutes, sobbing sounds kept faintly drifting over.

It made one feel incomparably sad to hear it.

After the moment of silence, they held the highest-spec funeral in the entire Sect for Elder Lin Ao, matching the funeral rites of past Sect Masters.

Then, they set up a cenotaph for every deceased Disciple.

The dead had no remains left, so they could only find their belongings from when they were alive to hold the funeral.

After everything was completed, the Sect returned to its daily order.

However, the trauma this incident brought to some Cultivators could only be smoothed over by time.

This matter could be considered closed at this point.

The dead are gone, and the living must continue to move forward.

Three days later, in the main hall of the Heaven Sword Sect, an Elder meeting was held once again.

The Sect Master, Duan Cang, sat at the very top, scanning the people below.

There were thirteen people in attendance; it was a pity that there were originally fourteen.

Duan Cang cleared his throat and began to state the matter of this assembly.

"Chenyin Pavilion and Fengluo Valley have already been annihilated. This is a rare opportunity that our Heaven Sword Sect hasn't seen in a thousand years. Regarding the remaining Disciples and resources, we must discuss a solution today."

"In my opinion, those Disciples should either all be killed or all be dismissed. In any case, I do not want to let them join our Heaven Sword Sect!"

An irritable Elder slammed the table and stood up, speaking loudly.

At this moment, another Elder slightly frowned and slowly said:

"Neither approach is appropriate. Killing them all would be too harmful to the natural harmony and might damage our Sect's ten-thousand-year Luck.

But if they are dismissed, it is hard to guarantee that they won't establish a new power and threaten our Heaven Sword Sect in the future!"

Rong Yuanliang said:

"Fifth Elder's words make sense. I think we cannot kill them, nor can we let them go; instead, we must control them!"

Upon hearing this, the Sect Master immediately asked:

"How to control them?"

"It's very simple. Just let the spies we have embedded within their Sects become their Tower Master and Valley Master, wouldn't that work?"

"Now that all their Cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage have been wiped out, with our intervention, I presume it will be quite easy to support someone to take the position. If anyone objects, then kill them!"

"I think Elder Rong's method is feasible. In this way, on the surface, there are still three major powers, but in reality, they are all dominated by our Heaven Sword Sect."

Duan Cang immediately adopted this suggestion, and then everyone began to discuss the details of this proposal.

For example, who to support to take the position, whether that person would guarantee loyalty to the Heaven Sword Sect after taking the position, how to control the person in power, and so on.

Everything was arranged in detail.

Seeing that the first matter had been resolved, Duan Cang paused for a moment and stated the second matter.

"Next is the second matter. My cultivation has been at the Bottleneck stage for too long. I intend to resign from the position of Sect Master and enter closed-door cultivation! If I do not reach the Mahayana stage, I swear I will not come out!"

"After consulting with the Grand Elder, we have decided to pass the position of Sect Master to Elder Rong!"

"Elder Rong can be said to have made the greatest contribution in this battle! With his own strength, he annihilated the enemy's high-ranking members, and his own cultivation has reached the Void Refining Middle Stage, sufficient to assume the position of Sect Master!"

"I wonder what everyone thinks?"