“Enemy attack at the back mountain, why aren’t we allowed to support the Alliance Leader?”

“Did we come to Quanrong Mountain just to watch a show?”

“Our Martial Arts Alliance has stood in Sword Province for six hundred years, as old as the nation itself. When have we ever feared external enemies? Even if we’re crushed to powder and our bones shattered, we must fight the enemy to the death.”

“With no elders at the front lines, we young ones are just being cowards fearing death.”

The commotion at the back mountain drew the attention of Martial Arts Alliance members and affiliated sect disciples. Young hotheads, fearless as newborn calves facing tigers, upon hearing of the enemy attack, grabbed their weapons one after another, blood boiling to rush to the back mountain for a death battle.

For this, Cao Qing Yang had made arrangements in advance. Vice Alliance Leader Wen Cheng Bi, who managed internal affairs, led members to block the necessary paths to the back mountain.

In battles at the Transcendent realm, forget young people – even Fourth-grade martial artists could play extremely limited roles.

Cao Qing Yang would never let these “ants” participate in the battle at the back mountain.

This was also why Ji Xuan and others specifically targeted the old Alliance Leader in their surprise attack on the back mountain.

Once the old fogey fell, the subsequent task of eliminating the rest would become very easy.

“Vice Alliance Leader, the elderly, children, and women of the mountain have been arranged to go down the mountain, temporarily staying at the military garrison where troops can protect them.”

Wen Cheng Bi listened to his subordinate’s report, slowly exhaling as his expression softened. He instructed:

“Have the garrison prepare horses and carriages, have the cavalry ready. Once they see warning signals from the mountain, immediately escort the women, elderly, and children to Sword Province City to find the Provincial Administrator.”

The subordinate left with his orders.

At this time, a middle-aged man wearing light armor and carrying a long blade walked in, saying in a deep voice:

“Vice Alliance Leader, emotions are running high outside, we can barely contain them anymore.”

“Many people have gone to the old Alliance Leader’s seclusion place through the forest and back cliffs.”

Wen Cheng Bi pondered briefly, then said flatly:

“No need to mind them, prepare to pacify the situation.”

Alliance Leader Cao’s task for him was to escort the women and children away and prevent the disciples from approaching the back mountain.

The former would have no problems or obstacles, but the latter was extremely difficult because the Martial Arts Alliance was ultimately a force composed of jianghu people. Although well-trained, in terms of discipline, the martial artists on the mountain couldn’t compare to the troops in the military garrison.

The characteristics of jianghu martial artists: are pride, confident, only respect for the strong (not necessarily).

Therefore, when the Martial Arts Alliance headquarters at Quanrong Mountain faced an enemy attack, how could the proud jianghu martial artists endure?

Would they be content to do nothing and obediently turn away?

Directly declaring the enemy’s strength could indeed wake up most hot-headed crude martial artists, but this would inevitably cause panic.

It was highly possible that enemy spies lurking in the Alliance would seize the opportunity to incite panic and create chaos.

Then, some ill-intentioned people would add fuel to the fire…

Even at this stage, Wen Cheng Bi still had countermeasures.

…

Young Master Liu followed his master, and the two followed the crowd to the forest entrance leading to the back mountain.

The place was crowded with people, Alliance disciples holding various weapons, emotions running high, wanting to go to the back mountain to investigate and support the Alliance Leader and others.

Young Master Liu swept his gaze around and saw Miss Rong Rong and other women from the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower. They were frowning, their faces both anxious and confused.

“Miss Rong Rong…”

Young Master Liu went forward, nodding in greeting to the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower people, then eagerly asked:

“What’s happening? The back mountain is where the old Alliance Leader is in seclusion, right? Is it…”

Is it that the old Alliance Leader was attacked? Is this the reason the Martial Arts Alliance summoned us?

He didn’t dare ask these questions because everyone’s emotions were very tense right now.

Rong Rong glanced at the beautiful matron, saying softly:

“I think this is why the Alliance Leader summoned us.”

The Ten Thousand Flowers Tower women beside them remained silent, not finding it strange. Anyone with a brain could easily figure out this matter.

Rong Rong’s master, the beautiful matron, pondered:

“No need to worry. Even setting aside the old Alliance Leader, our Martial Arts Alliance’s strength is top-tier. Unless the court is determined to eliminate the Martial Arts Alliance, there won’t be any enemies within the Central Plains.”

As for outside the Central Plains, she couldn’t think of any reason why external enemies would target the Martial Arts Alliance.

At this moment, several men carrying blades suddenly burst out from the dense forest leading to the back mountain. Their faces were terrified, like woodcutters who had encountered a great beast and barely escaped with their lives.

“Where did you sneak in from!”

Two armored guards shouted angrily.

The heroes who had returned from the back mountain completely ignored them, shouting to the crowd:

“It’s Third Grade, enemies at the Third Grade realm!”

“Our Martial Arts Alliance has provoked Third Grade martial artists!”

“There are also many Fourth Grade experts, and, and Buddhist experts…”

The words “Third Grade” were like a huge stone thrown into a lake, instantly causing the already restless crowd to explode, the clamor like huge waves rising.

Young Master Liu clearly saw his master’s face change drastically, saw Miss Rong Rong’s beautiful eyes widen, saw the beautiful matron’s face stiffen, and saw the extreme terror and confusion on the faces of those around them.

“Why would Third Grade martial artists target our Martial Arts Alliance?”

“No wonder they suddenly gathered all the sects, no wonder Alliance Leader Cao issued the red flag order.”

“This, this… I wondered why the Qi fluctuations were so terrifying. Let’s flee quickly, if we’re late, we’ll all die.”

“Flee what? Let’s go to the back mountain and see. If we can watch the battle, it’s worth dying for.”

The situation was somewhat out of control. The timid proposed fleeing Quanrong Mountain to avoid being caught up in it. The bold were excited, disregarding life and death.

Pessimists had already begun spreading the word that a great disaster had befallen the Martial Arts Alliance, running around to tell others.

Of course, there were also skeptics who, after hearing these claims, wanted to investigate the back mountain themselves. They began rushing the “checkpoint,” getting into physical conflicts with the guards.

“Everyone, quiet!”

Wen Cheng Bi arrived with a squad, his subordinates clearing a path through the crowd for the Vice Alliance Leader to pass.

“Listen to me.”

As Vice Alliance Leader, Wen Cheng Bi had enough prestige to suppress the chaos. The crowd quieted somewhat, all eyes focusing on the Vice Alliance Leader.

“Not long ago, Alliance Leader Cao received notice from Silver Gong Xu that the Martial Arts Alliance would face great enemies – people from the Witch God Cult and Buddhist sects. As for the reason for the enemy attack, it’s still unclear.”

“After receiving the news, Alliance Leader Cao immediately gathered brothers from all major sects to jointly resist the great enemy. This matter wasn’t announced to avoid panic.”

“Please rest assured, with the old Alliance Leader, Silver Gong Xu, and Alliance Leader Cao here, this crisis is nothing significant.”

Wen Cheng Bi’s words were very skillful. He didn’t blindly conceal and deny, which would have instead intensified panic and caused disciples to lose trust.

Then, he brought up Xu Qi An.

Since the incident of executing the Foolish Ruler in the capital, Xu Qi An’s reputation had risen like fire meeting oil, becoming almost deified among civilians and in the jianghu.

They called him one born for the times, the savior who would rescue Great Feng.

Since Emperor Yuan Jing became obsessed with cultivating the Dao, his reputation has steadily declined, with his image as a foolish ruler deeply rooted in people’s hearts. When people encountered natural and man-made disasters and lived difficult lives, they would instinctively attribute blame to the ruler.

Throughout history, many emperors would issue self-blame edicts during years of disaster to quell public resentment – this was the principle.

Sure enough, upon hearing that Silver Gong Xu was involved, the fearful emotions immediately diminished significantly.

Many people felt relieved, their expressions notably improving.

Compared to the old Alliance Leader who existed only in legends, Silver Gong Xu was a real, positive figure who could put people at ease.

Wen Cheng Bi continued:

“Battles at the Third Grade level are not for ordinary people to watch. The back mountain has become forbidden ground – everyone please stay away and disperse quickly. Return after the situation settles.”

On the spot, most people chose to leave, some going to pack their valuables and flee Quanrong Mountain to avoid being caught up in the conflict.

But Wen Cheng Bi knew very well that a large group would secretly sneak to the back mountain through other routes.

Completely preventing this was impossible. The purpose of his earlier speech was to make lower-cultivation disciples know better than to try, and even if these newborn calves weren’t afraid of tigers, their elders would stop them.

…

“Master, I, I want to go see.”

Young Master Liu’s eyes shone, simultaneously excited, thrilled, and fearful.

The middle-aged swordsman glanced at him, saying flatly:

“If you want to die, I won’t stop you. It’ll be perfect – I can pass this sword to my son in the future.”

“If you want to go to the back mountain, fine, but first take the Ink Pavilion disciples down the mountain.”

How dare someone without even a wife talk about sons… Young Master Liu grumbled internally, seeing Miss Rong Rong’s eyes also shine with what seemed like fear, yet also excitement.

Transcendent battles held a fatal attraction for the jianghu people.

After arranging the Ink Pavilion disciples, Young Master Liu followed his master, taking a detour through the side peak to the back mountain. Along the way, they met many martial artists with the same purpose.

Some relied on their high skills and courage to go alone, others were master-disciple combinations.

The middle-aged swordsman said in a deep voice:

“The cliff top of South Peak can see the back mountain. The distance is far enough to be relatively safe, but this master doesn’t know the true extent of third-grade battle power. Therefore, you must stay by my side at all times, don’t run around. At the first sign of trouble, I’ll take you away.”

He was quite confident in his lightness skill.

Young Master Liu was about to respond when he suddenly saw a golden light fall from the sky, crashing toward the back mountain.

The martial artists heading to South Peak to watch the battle also looked up, noticing that golden light.

…

“Alliance Leader!!!”

As confident as they had been before, Yang Cui Xue and others were now that terrified.

Descending from the sky and stepping the Third Grade Cao Qing Yang into the ground with one foot – the Buddhist Vajra’s strength and terror exceeded the Martial Arts Alliance side’s expectations.

And seeing that ugly Vajra’s relaxed posture, this seemed to be just a small matter to him.

So there are differences even among Third Grades… This thought naturally arose in the minds of fourth-grade martial artists like Fu Jing Men.

“Huh huh…”

From Cao Qing Yang’s throat came sounds like a broken bellows, just like Azure Dragon who had just died.

Destructive Vajra’s one kick had caused massive damage to his internal organs, his broken ribs piercing his heart.

If not for Xu Qi An’s essence blood still being effective, he would have died under that kick just now.

“The Central Plains martial arts world hasn’t produced a Transcendent in several hundred years. Your talent is quite good.”

Destructive Vajra looked down at Cao Qing Yang, nodding slightly to acknowledge his talent, saying:

“If you’re willing to convert to Buddhism, this seat will personally take you as a disciple and teach you the Vajra Divine Technique. Within five years, you can enter Third Grade, becoming a Buddhist Dharma-protecting Vajra. Receiving incense offerings from tens of thousands in the Western Regions.”

Cao Qing Yang’s bloodshot eyes stared at him intently, not speaking.

“Our Buddha is merciful, but this seat is not a Chan master. My responsibility is to protect the dharma and kill bandits, unrestricted by Buddhist precepts.”

Destructive Vajra increased his force. There was a “crack” as more ribs broke.

Cao Qing Yang’s vision darkened as his throat spewed large amounts of blood, the blood from his chest staining Destructive Vajra’s barefoot, dark golden feet red.

Destructive Vajra said flatly:

“Cultivation is not easy. Patron Cao, don’t mislead yourself. This level of cultivation achievement would take ordinary people several lifetimes.”

Cao Qing Yang painfully turned his neck, rotating his eyeballs to look toward the stone gate behind.

Destructive Vajra made an “oh” sound, then swept a glance at the stone gate:

“Buddhism doesn’t force people. Since you have attachments, this poor monk will help remove your worldly concerns.”

He withdrew his foot, no longer looking at Cao Qing Yang, walking slowly toward the stone gate.

…

“Alliance Leader!”

The Martial Arts Alliance crowd cried out, their gazes toward Destructive Vajra filled with shock and anger mixed with frustration.

This Buddhist Dharma-protecting Vajra wanted to force their Alliance Leader to enter monkhood right in front of where the old Alliance Leader was in seclusion, right before their eyes.

Arrogant!

But even so, besides raging internally, they dared not make any effective resistance in actual action.

Because the result would be Destructive Vajra casually slapping them, directly turning the Martial Arts Alliance’s Fourth Grade martial artists into meat paste.

This mantis-blocking-cart, pure suicide behavior made even the most proud Fu Jing Men unable to summon any courage to resist.

On the other side, Young Master Liu and others quickly climbed South Peak, gathering in groups at the cliff top, watching from their high vantage point as the situation at the back mountain stone wall came into view.

“Is that… Alliance Leader Cao?”

Young Master Liu squinted his eyes to the limit, vaguely seeing a huge figure dark gold in color, like an iron tower, stepping on someone beneath his foot.

That person was covered in blood, faintly recognizable as Alliance Leader Cao Qing Yang.

His eyesight wasn’t quite that good, so he immediately looked to his master beside him and other martial artists for confirmation.

Young Master Liu saw fear and unease in their eyes.

It is Alliance Leader Cao… Young Master Liu didn’t speak, widening his eyes, slightly opening his mouth, and letting expressions of shock and panic ferment on his face.

“Where’s Silver Gong Xu?”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice shrilly called out.

“Didn’t they say Silver Gong Xu was involved too? Why are only our Martial Arts Alliance people here? Why isn’t Silver Gong Xu here?”

This was a woman from Ten Thousand Flowers Tower, her pretty face slightly pale.

The one-armed White Tiger shook his head, smiling:

“The Buddhist sect’s habit of forcibly converting people hasn’t changed in all these years.”

“If Cao Qing Yang converts to Buddhism, will he turn around and take revenge on us?”

Liu Hong Mian cared more about this.

“He won’t.”

Qi Han Dan Xiang shook her head, saying:

“Converting to Buddhism requires listening to sutras for three days. After three days, even the most heinous villain will only think of Buddhism’s goodness, becoming very loyal.”

“Hehe, the Buddhist sect calls this ‘all four elements are empty.'”

At this time, Jin Yuan said flatly: “With Uncle Master Du Fan appearing, it should be enough to make Xu Qi An show himself.”

Meanwhile, Destructive Vajra approached the stone gate, his steps steady and powerful, leaving footprints in the ground with each step.

Like an unstoppable giant.

But when the iron tower-like figure was less than one zhang from the stone gate, suddenly azure light arose as a white-robed figure blocked the path between the Vajra and the stone gate.

This person was of ordinary height, ordinary appearance, and ordinary bearing, just like the most unremarkable among the masses.

If you weren’t paying attention, he would blend into the crowd and become impossible to find.

“Administrator…”

Sun Xuan Ji looked at Cao Qing Yang in the distance, seeming to want to explain.

Cao Qing Yang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he said with difficulty:

“I understand… no need for explanations…”

This man was the only one who didn’t need to speak for Cao Qing Yang to understand.