As for the proposal to appoint Ian Song as acting sect master, all the Supreme Elders were deep in thought.
He is the world's only holder of an Emperor-Rank Martial Soul.
He has condensed a Heaven-Rank Five-Element Domain.
Although his cultivation is only at mid-stage Grandmaster, he can fight late-stage Grandmasters.
All in all, he’s a freakishly talented young man with a real chance to become a peerless powerhouse.
The only thing they worried about was the Military Council’s attitude.
But hey, there’s no such thing as a risk-free bet in this world. The Military Council may be overbearing, but for the sake of their reputation, they probably won’t attack Pristine Way Sect directly—they’ll just incite nearby sects to stir up trouble.
That way, Pristine Way Sect actually stands a chance to keep going. After all, the sect now isn’t what it used to be—it’s got six ninth-grade spirit artifacts.
At this thought, most Supreme Elders had already made up their minds.
"I’m willing to support Leon Huang as acting sect master!" one Supreme Elder said with a smile.
A genius like Leon Huang leading Pristine Way is a blessing for us. I agree too!
"I agree!"
............
In an instant, more than forty elders voiced their support, making Marcus Ma’s face look especially sour.
The outcome was decided!
Darren Fang Easton, Cole Chong Duan, and Elder Shea couldn’t hide their joy.
Leon Huang, now that you’re our sect master, why don’t you say a few words to everyone?" Cole Chong Duan reminded him.
Ian Song nodded, then bowed to the crowd: "Thank you, elders, for your support. But I’m still inexperienced and unworthy of being acting sect master!"
"At least you know your own limits!" Marcus Ma sneered. In his eyes, Ian was just putting on an act.
Leon Huang, you...!" Cole Chong Duan blurted out, anxious.
Ian Song waved his hand to signal Cole Chong Duan not to worry, then continued: "As the saying goes, ‘no merit, no reward.’ I haven’t made any real contributions to Pristine Way Sect yet, so how could I just take the sect master’s seat? That’s why I’m willing to make an oath: if I can repel the Sea Emperor Sect, Divine Moon Sect, and Sky-Net Gate in three months, I’ll take the acting sect master position. If I fail, I ask the elders to choose someone else. How about it?"
"This...!"
All the Supreme Elders hesitated—not because they didn’t believe in Ian, but because they thought driving off three allied sects in three months was basically impossible.
"Please, seniors, grant me this chance!"
Ian bowed again.
"Sigh, since you’re so determined, I’ll support you," Darren Fang Easton said with a helpless sigh.
Seeing Darren had agreed, the other Supreme Elders had no choice but to go along.
Half an hour later, inside Darren Fang Easton’s small courtyard in Pristine Way Sect’s small-world realm.
"You really make me wonder what to say to you. How could you let such a golden opportunity slip away?" Darren grumbled at Ian.
"Don’t worry, Master. I’m confident!" Ian replied mysteriously, full of self-assurance. "Besides, even if I really became acting sect master, some people wouldn’t accept it. But if I beat back the three sects and earn major merit, then no one will dare complain when I take the seat!"
Darren could only nod helplessly. "Fine, you’ve made up your mind. I won’t say any more. But if you need anything, just ask me!"
"Alright, Master. If I need help, I definitely won’t be shy."
After chatting with Darren for over an hour, Ian took his leave.
Seven days flew by. During that time, Ian was always out early and back late, making all the Supreme Elders watching him very curious—just what was he up to?
Inside his room.
Ian pulled out a map.
It was a territorial map of Pristine Way Sect.
Right now, Pristine Way controls three major states: Ling State, Tianhe State, and Yan State.
Across these three states, there are more than three hundred cities.
But over sixty of those cities have already been seized by the Sea Emperor Sect alliance, so Pristine Way’s real territory is only about two and a half states.
If the three allied sects keep eating away at the territory like this, in less than five years Pristine Way’s lands will be completely taken.
As the saying goes, ‘a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.’ Pristine Way’s younger generation is weaker than Sea Emperor Sect’s, but its senior experts are stronger. So even if Sea Emperor Sect wants to wipe out Pristine Way, they won’t dare do it too aggressively.
Instead, they’re using the ‘boiling frog’ approach.
Putting away the map, Ian activated Great Teleportation and vanished from his room, reappearing above the valley.
The three Martial Saints were still trapped inside the valley’s formation.
After seven days and nights, all three looked gaunt and pale, their eyes sunken. To save energy, they’d stopped struggling and just sat cross-legged in place.
Seeing this, Ian’s lips curled into a cold smile.
With a thought, he wove a few array hand seals and changed the scene inside the formation—a horde of Strongarm Bull Devils appeared and charged at the three.
These Strongarm Bull Devils were condensed from spiritual qi, half-real and half-illusory.
The three, startled, quickly got up and began slaughtering the Strongarm Bull Devils.
All three were Martial Saints, strong as hell. The conjured Strongarm Bull Devils weren’t individually powerful, but there were endless waves of them. No matter how many the three killed, more kept coming—and their true qi was burning fast.
An hour passed.
The three Martial Saints looked miserable, finally realizing this was all just a scheme to drain their true qi. So they stopped fighting and tried to run.
"Heh heh!"
Seeing this, Ian just let out a scornful laugh.
The whole formation was under his control—how could they escape?
So no matter where they ran, waves of Strongarm Bull Devils kept popping up to attack them.
In the blink of an eye, several hours went by.
The three Martial Saints were in terrible shape—robes torn like beggars, bodies covered in wounds, and their true qi was down to less than thirty percent.
But the formation was burning through energy pretty fast.
If he just kept the three trapped, the formation could last at least a month.
But with so many conjured Strongarm Bull Devils today, it could only hold out for ten more days at most.
With a thought, Ian dismissed the endless Strongarm Bull Devils.
All three Martial Saints breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did you really think it was over?"
Ian grinned playfully and cast a few more hand seals.
Suddenly, the formation space was plunged into pitch darkness.
Then, shadow assassins appeared one after another, launching sneak attacks on the three Martial Saints.
These shadow assassins were about Grandmaster-level. Even in ambush, they couldn’t really hurt a Martial Saint.
But Ian’s goal wasn’t to have the assassins kill them—he just wanted to keep the three Saints constantly on edge.
Sure enough, just as Ian expected.
After a whole night, the three Martial Saints were exhausted, but didn’t dare relax for a second. If they did, the assassins lurking in the darkness would strike.
"Vanish!"
With a wave of his hand, Ian restored the light inside the formation.
The shadow assassins disappeared, but the endless Strongarm Bull Devils surged forth again.
Seeing the stampede of Strongarm Bull Devils, the three Martial Saints felt like they were about to go crazy. Their hatred for the unseen array controller hit the roof.