242: Chapter 242 A Battle Is Inevitable

When the news reached the Qixia Sect, the entire Sect was stunned.

The opponent has a Grandmaster-level Genius? How is that possible!

The high-level members of the Qixia Sect confirmed it repeatedly. The scouts they sent out sent back the same news one after another. Finally, even the Qingyun Sect itself admitted it openly—the news was absolutely true: Li Yun had already stepped into the Baodan Realm and was a genuine Sixth-Rank Grandmaster.

The expressions of everyone in the Qixia Sect changed. The Elders, who had been eager and waiting to watch a spectacular duel, were like people doused with a basin of cold water, unable to say a word for a long time. A few elderly Elders even sighed, shook their heads, and walked away; their backs looked as if they had aged ten years all at once.

On Zixia Peak, Peak Master Su Hanyan slammed her palm onto the table. The high-quality mahogany tabletop split in two with the sound of the impact, and the teacup jumped up and shattered on the ground.

She was trembling with rage, her chest heaving violently, and her eyes were filled with fury.

"Despicable and shameless!"

She grabbed her outer robe, threw it over her shoulders, and rushed out without even having time to tidy her hair. The Disciples and Elders she encountered along the way were all so frightened by her appearance that they stepped aside, and no one dared to step forward to speak to her.

She passed through the mountain gate and stormed directly into the guest hall where the Qingyun Sect was staying. She kicked open the courtyard gate and shouted coldly: "People of the Qingyun Sect, come out!"

Her voice was like cracking ice, shaking the leaves off the old trees in the courtyard, causing them to rustle down.

The main door of the guest hall opened slowly, and the Grand Elder of the Qingyun Sect walked out unhurriedly. He was an old man with half-white hair and beard, a thin Face, and he was wearing a blue robe. His expression was as calm as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

Seeing Peak Master Su Hanyan's livid Face, he wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said: "Peak Master Su, what wind has blown you here? Is there something you need?"

Peak Master Su Hanyan gritted her teeth and said word by word: "You have a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster, why didn't you say so? To hide such important news until now—that is too despicable!"

After hearing this, the smile on the Grand Elder's Face deepened. He shrugged his hands, his expression as innocent as an old fox who had been wronged: "You can't blame us for that, Peak Master Su—you didn't ask. Besides, didn't your Qixia Sect also receive treasures from the Martial Kings Treasury? Could it be that you haven't cultivated a Sixth-Rank Genius?"

These words were like salt sprinkled on Peak Master Su Hanyan's wounds. She trembled with rage, her True Dan rotating crazily inside her, and a sharp Aura erupted from her, causing the fallen leaves in the courtyard to swirl into the air.

She wished she could fight this old fox right there—this was impossible to win. No matter how strong Lin Tian was, he could never be a match for a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster. The gap between the Fifth Rank and the Sixth Rank was not a small stream, but a chasm.

Just as she clenched her fists and took a step forward, a hand pressed firmly onto her shoulder.

The Sect Master had appeared behind her at some point. His expression was equally gloomy, but the strength in his hand was steady, and his tone was low but unquestionable: "Peak Master Su, calm down."

Peak Master Su Hanyan turned her head, her eyes red: "Sect Master, they—"

"I know." The Sect Master interrupted her, his voice kept very low, audible only to the two of them, "But we cannot act now. They are guests from afar, and the whole world is watching us. If you make a move here, the Face of the Qixia Sect will be completely lost."

Peak Master Su Hanyan's fists clenched until they creaked, but in the end, she let go. The Sect Master brought Peak Master Su Hanyan back to the Sect's main hall, then issued an order to summon all the Peak Masters and Elders of the other peaks for a meeting.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the main hall was filled with people, and the atmosphere was as heavy as lead. The Qingyun Sect had produced a thirty-year-old Sixth-Rank Grandmaster; this news had left everyone dizzy.

The Sect Master sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and he asked straightforwardly: "Speak up, what should we do about this matter?"

There was a silence in the main hall. Then, the Peak Master of Chixia Peak spoke first. His expression was calm, his tone unhurried, but the words he spoke made Peak Master Su Hanyan's heart sink: "In my opinion, since the news has already spread and the whole world knows about this duel, retreating without a fight is absolutely out of the question. The Qixia Sect cannot afford to lose that much Face. Even if we lose, we must lose in the Arena."

The Peak Master of Jinxia Peak immediately followed up, nodding in agreement: "That's right, I agree with the Chixia Peak Master's opinion. Losing is a matter of inferior skill; losing without a fight is a lack of backbone. In any case, this battle must be fought."

Peak Master Su Hanyan looked at them coldly, her heart feeling icy. She knew their intentions all too well—they were speaking high-sounding words, but in their hearts, they were gloating.

During the previous Seven Peaks Tournament, Lin Tian had defeated their Geniuses, taken first place, and snatched away a large amount of Cultivation resources; they had been holding this grudge in their hearts ever since. Especially later, when Lin Tian was designated to represent the Qixia Sect against the Qingyun Sect, it made the people of these peaks even more unhappy—why should Zixia Peak get all the limelight?

Now it was perfect; the Qingyun Sect had a young Grandmaster, so Lin Tian was bound to lose this battle, and he would lose in front of the whole world.

It would be losing the School's Face, losing Face before the world, and by then, Lin Tian's status in the Sect would plummet, and Zixia Peak would also be unable to hold its head up. This wasn't their fault; it was because Lin Tian himself had inferior skills—what did that have to do with them?

Peak Master Su Hanyan took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and stood up: "We won't compete. How can we compete? Knowing it's a loss, yet pushing the child forward to be trampled on—this is sending someone to their death!"

The Chixia Peak Master slowly picked up his teacup, blew away the tea foam, and said in an indifferent tone: "Peak Master Su, the news has long been released, and the entire Dynasty knows about this duel. Are you saying we won't compete now? What will the world say about our Qixia Sect? That we didn't even dare to step onto the Arena, and that we were scared out of our wits as soon as they revealed the name of a Grandmaster? You might be able to afford to lose this Face on Zixia Peak, but the Qixia Sect cannot."

Peak Master Su Hanyan turned her head sharply to stare at him, her voice as cold as a knife: "If we compete, can our Face be saved? Sending a Fifth-Rank Disciple to fight a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster, only to be knocked off the Arena in two or three moves—won't the world laugh at us then? The Face lost then will be even greater!"

The Jinxia Peak Master sighed and put on an appearance of being sincere and earnest: "Peak Master Su, you can't put it that way. Defeat and surrendering without a fight are, after all, two different things. If we are defeated, outsiders will at most say our strength is insufficient; if we surrender without a fight, outsiders will say we have no backbone. Peak Master Su, I know you care about your Disciple, but the reputation of the Sect is far more important than the Face of one Disciple."

The other Peak Masters echoed him one after another; some nodded and said "That makes sense," others sighed and said "It can only be this way," and some patted the armrests and said "The thousand-year reputation of the Qixia Sect cannot be ruined by an admission of defeat."

On the surface, it looked like they were all thinking about the reputation of the Sect, but Peak Master Su Hanyan clearly caught a trace of imperceptible gloating in the corners of their eyes.

She was trembling with rage and turned her head sharply to look at the Sect Master, with a last glimmer of hope in her eyes.

The Sect Master was silent for a long time, the candlelight in the main hall casting flickering light and shadows on his Face. Finally, he looked up and said slowly: "We cannot admit defeat directly. This battle concerns the thousand-year reputation of the Qixia Sect; we cannot afford this loss. We must fight."

Peak Master Su Hanyan's heart sank to the bottom. But before she could speak, the Sect Master waved his hand, his gaze passing over the crowd and looking straight at her, his tone becoming solemn and serious: "Peak Master Su, I will ask you one thing—is it possible for Lin Tian to reach a Breakthrough to the Sixth Rank within half a month?"