358: Only three people

Leading one side were only three people. The old man in front had hair as white as snow and an ancient face, carrying a massive bronze sword casket on his back. Just by standing there, the air within three feet of him seemed to be shredded by invisible blades, and even the falling Soul Spirit Fireflies would split in two upon approaching him.

"Qingming Sword Sect, Sword Venerable Duan Yue," Second Senior Brother Qin Yi explained to Su Ming.

Behind Duan Yue, two young Sword Cultivators had eyes like lightning, scanning the Cloud Concealment Disciples below with undisguised scrutiny and a faint arrogance.

On the other side was a beautiful middle-aged woman dressed in a flowing-cloud wide-sleeved Formation robe, holding a jade ruyi with an elegant bearing. Her gaze fell upon the Kindling Fire Platform and the entire valley's Formation, her eyes sparkling with interest as her fingers moved rapidly within her sleeves, seemingly calculating the mysteries of the Formation in silence.

"Xuanji Sect, Master Miaozhen. An expert in Formations; be careful not to let her capture the fluctuations of your True Seal."

The final party was a plump, rounded fat man with a face full of smiles, looking like a wealthy merchant from the mortal world. However, his small eyes flashed with sharp light, mostly observing the equipment and spirit of the young Cloud Hidden Sect Disciples.

"Duobao Pavilion, Shopkeeper Jin. This man is an abacus incarnate; he's likely estimating how much supplies Cloud Hidden Sect will need to buy after this battle is over."

Su Ming's gaze brushed over these people briefly before landing at the end of the Elders' queue.

There, the usually drowsy old guardian of the Merit Dispensation Pavilion had also made a rare appearance today.

Su Ming's heart settled.

The memorial ceremony reached its end, and the entire field fell into silent mourning.

This should have been the most solemn and dignified moment, but an abrupt voice broke the silence.

"Reporting to the Sect Head and Seniors!"

From the queue of Heavenly Sword Peak's True Disciples, a burly young man suddenly stepped forward. His voice was infused with spiritual power, causing the surrounding mist to churn.

"With the heroic spirits before us, this Disciple is deeply pained! We, the Disciples of Cloud Concealment, should take this as inspiration to sharpen our cultivation and use the swords in our hands to slay all the world's demons and avenge this blood debt!"

These words were impassioned and stirring, causing many hot-blooded Disciples to nod in agreement.

His voice rose, each word like a nail driven into the ground: "I hope all my fellow Disciples will encourage each other and not stray onto the wrong path!"

Su Ming's expression remained calm, his eyelashes not even twitching, as if Wang Gang were merely commenting on the nice weather.

But Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang, standing before him, moved.

She didn't draw her sword or speak; she simply took a half-step forward with her left foot.

Crack—

A crisp sound of freezing rang out.

Centered on Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang, the black Soul-Underworld Stone ground within a ten-zhang radius was instantly covered in a thick layer of ethereal blue frost!

It wasn't ordinary ice, but "Ice Soul" infused with an extreme Sword Intent.

A bone-chilling cold and sharp Sword Intent erupted instantly, the temperature in the air plummeting, and even the fluttering Soul Spirit Fireflies were frozen mid-air. The nearby Heavenly Sword Peak Disciples' faces turned pale instantly, their protective spiritual light fluctuating violently as they couldn't help but retreat repeatedly.

Wang Gang, bearing the brunt of it, felt a terrifying chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to his crown, as if an icy sword were pressed against his throat, forcing his next words back into his gullet.

Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang slowly looked up at Wang Gang.

Her gaze was indifferent, yet colder than the freezing wind in the valley.

She uttered only two words:

"Noisy."

Two words, spoken lightly, yet they struck like a heavy hammer on a drum, causing Wang Gang's face to flush red as his protective spiritual light emitted the sound of cracking under the strain.

On the viewing platform, the previously disinterested Sword Venerable Duan Yue's eyes flashed with sharp light as he praised under his breath, "What pure 'Ice Soul Sword Intent'! This girl has already attained the Samadhi of the Sword Dao!"

Master Miaozhen also raised an eyebrow, looking at the Yun Miao with a half-smile.

The scene fell into another kind of dead silence.

Wang Gang was stuck in a dilemma, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He hadn't expected the usually taciturn Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang to be so assertive in front of the Sect Head.

"Enough."

Yun Miao Yun Miao's calm voice broke the stalemate.

He glanced indifferently at Wang Gang, then at the unthawed frost beneath Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang's feet, and spoke slowly: "To honor the heroic spirits, a sincere heart is sufficient. All cultivation arts are methods to protect the Dao; there is no distinction of superior or inferior."

"Wang Gang, step back."

His tone was flat, without a hint of anger, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

Wang Gang's face turned from red to white, feeling a burning sting. He gritted his teeth and bowed: "This Disciple... obeys."

He lowered his head and retreated into the queue, his lowered eyes filled with resentment and malice.

Yun Miao Yun Miao looked toward the viewing platform and nodded slightly: "I apologize for showing my Fellow Daoists such a scene. The young ones' Heart-Natures are not yet settled and still require tempering."

Master Miaozhen's lips curled slightly as she sent a divine transmission to the Disciple beside her: "The interior of Cloud Hidden Sect is not a monolith either. This female Sword Cultivator from the Formation Peak is remarkable. As for that young Disciple being targeted... is that Su Ming? His aura is steady, remaining calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him; he doesn't seem like a superficial or opportunistic person."

Throughout the process, Su Ming kept his eyes lowered as if in mourning, but in reality, the Ruoshui Art within him was running at full capacity, elevating his spiritual senses to their limit.

He "heard" the underlying jealousy and instigation in Wang Gang's words; "saw" the varying expressions of the surrounding Disciples from different peaks; and even "felt" the faint Divine Thought scans from the big shots of the external sects.

Especially that Sword Venerable Duan Yue, whose Divine Thought was like a blade, lingering at his Dantian for three full breaths; and that Master Miaozhen, whose Divine Thought was as delicate as a Spider Web, attempting to analyze the imperceptible spiritual rhythm around him.

Su Ming understood.

This Kindling Fire Sacrifice was not just a memorial, but a conflict without the smoke of gunpowder.

It was a display of power, a statement of stance, and a hidden struggle for resources and the right to speak. And he, because of that True Seal and becoming the Disciple of Master Xuan Heng Xuan Heng, had already been placed at the edge of this whirlpool.

This was the price of being a True Disciple.

The tree that stands out in the forest will be buffeted by the wind. But fortunately, in this forest, there were still great trees to block the wind for him.

Su Ming looked at Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang's still upright back before him, a warm current rising in his heart.

The ceremony ended, and Yun Miao Yun Miao departed with the guests from the external sects.

The Disciples began to leave in silence... Back at Star Gazing Cliff, Su Ming immediately activated all the Formations.

Following Lin Yu's instructions, he even specially set up a "Void Breath-Concealing Formation," sealing the black egg and the xuantian ring together into a lead box that isolated spiritual power.

Only after all this was done did Lin Yu's phantom slowly emerge.

This time, he didn't joke around as usual; his expression was more serious than ever before.

"Su Ming, the situation is more severe than I imagined."

Lin Yu paced back and forth in the quiet room; although there was no sound of feet on the ground, his anxiety was clear.

"During today's ceremony, that old sword sect fellow Duan Yue's Divine Thought swept over you at least three times intentionally, lingering slightly at your Dantian and Sea of Consciousness each time. That feeling was like a hunter scrutinizing a prey's weaknesses."

He paused, his voice low: "That woman from Xuanji Sect is even more terrifying. Her Divine Thought is like spilled mercury, penetrating everywhere. She was trying to analyze the natural flow of spiritual rhythm around you. If not for the double cover of the Breath Concealment Art and the xuantian ring, your secrets would have been laid bare by her long ago."