Elder Chu also realized she was being too greedy and had drawn Elder Nian's displeasure. So, as soon as Elder Nian finished speaking, she couldn't wait to declare, "We must utterly annihilate Heavenly Melody Sect—only then can we intimidate all the great sects under heaven."
"That's right! No matter what, Heavenly Melody Sect cannot be spared!" Elder Zachary Zhang said through gritted teeth. His disciple, Victor Zhang, had been killed by Heavenly Melody Sect—among all the elders present, his hatred ran the deepest.
Next, a chorus of elders voiced their support, all agreeing with the proposal to attack Heavenly Melody Sect.
"Since everyone has no objections, the proposal to attack Heavenly Melody Sect is passed," Elder Nian confirmed with finality. "Now, let's discuss the main points: when to send out the troops, how many to send, who will lead them, and how many Martial Saints should accompany the army!"
For a while, everyone dove into a heated debate over this second topic.
In the end, after an hour of discussion, they reached a decision: to attack Heavenly Melody Sect, the Military Council would deploy three million elite soldiers, appoint Invincible Yan—currently commander at the Dragon Mountain Battlefield—as overall marshal, set the departure date for seven days later, and assign forty Martial Saints to the expedition: ten late-stage, thirteen mid-stage, and seventeen early-stage.
Once the elders' resolution passed, the Military Council's massive war machine began to roar into action. Elite soldiers from all regions were rapidly redeployed toward the East Domain border, and as soon as Invincible Yan received his transfer order at the Dragon Mountain Battlefield, he wasted no time—he summoned his subordinates, gave a few quick instructions, and rushed straight to the Holy City.
The Military Council's mobilization was simply too massive—and they made no effort to hide it. News that the Council was about to strike Heavenly Melody Sect spread like wildfire.
Sanctum Martial Academy.
Ian Song and Harriet Gu appeared here together.
Sanctum Martial Academy was founded, at least on the surface, to train Martial Saints for the Human Race. In reality, the six deans created it to resist the Military Council's hegemonic rule. Their stance, though, is much milder than Heavenly Melody Sect's—they don't openly lead all of East Domain's sects in rebellion.
Ian's old courtyard was still preserved, and the twin handmaidens gifted by the Military Council—Lynn Meng and Annie Meng—had not left either.
This genuinely surprised Ian.
"Why haven't you left?" Ian looked at the sisters and asked.
"Do you really want us to leave?" Lynn Meng huffed, her temper as fiery as ever—impulsive, always saying exactly what she thought.
"Lynn, don't be rude to the young master," Annie Meng scolded, then quickly gave Ian an apologetic look. "Young master, Lynn is impulsive. She didn't mean any disrespect."
"It's fine!" Ian waved it off.
Annie Meng gave a grateful smile, bit her lip, and said softly, "Young master, although my sister and I were originally part of the Military Council's female-official corps, once we were formally gifted to you, we no longer belong to that department!"
"So that's how it is." Ian nodded. Maybe the sisters really hadn't left, or maybe the Military Council had given them orders to stay and act as undercover spies.
Either way, whether they were truly free of the Military Council or just undercover, Ian didn't really care. After all, both girls were only early Grandmaster realm—their cultivation couldn't possibly affect him.
"Alright, you two can keep staying here. I have things to do, so I'll head out first!"
"Young master, wait!"
Annie Meng suddenly called out.
"Is there something else?" Ian asked.
"If you're leaving, could you take us with you?" Annie Meng looked at him hopefully—even Lynn Meng had the same look in her eyes.
After a brief hesitation, Ian said, "I won't be staying at Sanctum Martial Academy for long. If you don't mind, you can follow me back to Pristine Way Sect."
"Thank you, young master."
Both girls' eyes filled with gratitude as they bowed to Ian.
"Alright, I have things to handle—I'll come find you when it's time to leave!"
Leaving the courtyard, Ian headed straight for where the six deans were gathered. His purpose at Sanctum this time was to persuade them to join forces with the East and South Domains and openly resist the Military Council.
In terms of raw strength, Sanctum Martial Academy is actually weaker than Heavenly Melody Sect.
However, the power and influence backing the six deans far surpass anything Heavenly Melody Sect can muster.
First, Dean Xander Xuanyuan is the master of the High Heaven Alliance—the number one human sect.
Vice deans Tanner Nangong, Harvey Huangpu, and Adrian Zhuge are the respective sect masters of Heavenly Dragon Sect, Heavenly Tiger Sect, and Heavenly Elephant Sect. Combined, these three sects are no weaker than the High Heaven Alliance.
Then there are the Venerable Dragon Sword and the Melody Empress.
Both are originally independent cultivators, revered among the scattered martial artists. If these two called for support, at least seventy or eighty percent of all unaffiliated martial artists would answer.
So, if Ian could win the six deans to his side, his confidence in toppling the Military Council would grow even stronger.
Now, under the name Leon Huang, Ian had become Sanctum's star—thanks to him, the academy's new recruitment numbers had multiplied several times over, and its influence had soared.
So, when Ian arrived, all six deans were present, and their gazes toward him were full of warmth.
As for Harriet Gu, who came with Ian, she went off to visit her brother, Howard Gu.
Howard Gu Xie Huajian was deeply changed by the Yvette Hu incident. Not long after, he went into closed-door cultivation.
So, even for Ian Song and Harriet Gu's wedding, he didn’t attend.
Ian and the others arrived at a good time, because Howard had just come out of seclusion yesterday, having broken through to early Great Grandmaster. The brother and sister hadn’t seen each other in ages, so naturally, they had a lot to talk about.
Harriet doesn’t like these kinds of occasions anyway, so Ian let her visit Howard while he went alone to seek out the six deans for major discussions.
“Little Huang, how does a big sect master like you have time to visit us old fellows?”
Venerable Dragon Sword joked with a smile. Although Ian never formally became his disciple, he had shared all his sword-dao notes with him, so he could be considered half a master to Ian.
“Deans, can I say I’m here to talk business with you?” Ian said with a smile.
“Kid, you really don’t give us any face!” Venerable Dragon Sword said, feigning annoyance.
After exchanging greetings, the seven of them entered the main hall.
“Deans, although I’m here to discuss business, I’ve also brought gifts for you all!” Ian grinned and took out six brocade boxes.
“No way! If we accept them, how are we supposed to refuse you later?” Venerable Dragon Sword waved his hand.
“Since you don’t want it, I won’t force you. But don’t regret it later!” Ian quickly put away the brocade box meant for Venerable Dragon Sword.
“You brat, I was just joking, and you took it seriously!” Venerable Dragon Sword looked speechless.
Just then, Melody Empress suddenly opened her brocade box and instantly showed a look of ecstasy—inside were eighteen supreme-grade spirit crystals.
Venerable Dragon Sword noticed Melody Empress’s expression, instinctively glanced at the box, and immediately looked excited too. He reached out to Ian, saying, “Hand it over!”
Supreme-grade spirit crystals are cultivation resources so rare that even money can’t buy them. At this moment, Venerable Dragon Sword shamelessly abandoned all dignity and reached straight for Ian’s gift.