Nina Ning glared venomously at Grace Gao and shouted, "You're trying to set me up—hoping I'll go to the Holy City and die? No way! If it comes to that, I won't be sect master anymore!"
"The position of sect master of Heavenly Melody Sect is not a joke! You can't just take it when you want and throw it away when you don't!" Grace Gao snapped sharply.
"Whatever! I can't be sect master—whoever wants it can take it!" Nina Ning roared, tossing the sect master insignia and token at Grace Gao before storming out.
Watching Nina Ning flee as if escaping disaster, Grace Gao knew she would never again threaten her position. Someone who chases after benefits but bolts at trouble could never shoulder the burden of sect master.
"Congratulations, Sect Master Gao."
Leon Huang's figure flickered and reappeared.
"This is all thanks to Young Master Huang's help. I'm deeply grateful!" Grace Gao bowed to Leon Huang in thanks.
With Nina Ning no longer causing trouble, the contract was quickly signed.
With this contract, even if Heavenly Melody Sect wanted to go back on their word, they'd have to consider their reputation.
No one would dare cooperate with a sect that doesn't honor its word, so Leon Huang wasn't worried about Heavenly Melody Sect going back on their agreement.
"Young Master Huang, what do you plan to do next?" Grace Gao asked, her eyes full of hope and anxiety.
Leon Huang smiled mysteriously. "How about this? Sect Master Gao, please come with me personally and see how I resolve Heavenly Melody Sect's crisis!"
"Of course!" Grace Gao nodded, though she was extremely curious—what exactly was Leon Huang going to do? If it were her, aside from begging Elder Nian in the Holy City, she had no other plan.
"Are we leaving?"
Leon Huang reached out and took Grace Gao by the arm; with a flicker, the two of them vanished.
The old woman saw this scene, her eyes suddenly narrowing as if shining with light. She muttered, "Such a movement technique is simply unheard of!"
Whoosh!
A blur of movement passed, and Grace Gao realized she was now standing atop a mountain peak. As she looked around, it seemed vaguely familiar; suddenly, a flash of recognition struck her, and she exclaimed, "Is this Azure Hill?"
"That's right!"
Leon Huang nodded.
Getting Leon Huang's confirmation, even the well-traveled Grace Gao couldn't help but gape in shock; after all, Azure Hill was a full five thousand li away from Heavenly Melody Sect.
To traverse five thousand li in an instant—who in the world could do such a thing?
Maybe a Martial God could!
For a moment, she felt Leon Huang was more unfathomable than ever.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Leon Huang ignored Grace Gao's inner thoughts and, with nearly a teleportation, brought her to a city after just over ten breaths.
This city was called Watchguard City; it had originally belonged to Heavenly Melody Sect, but now it had been conquered by Skywater Palace, one of the three great East Domain sects.
Skywater Palace ruled thirteen prefectures, with six Martial Saints in residence—making it even stronger than Heavenly Melody Sect.
Besides Skywater Palace, the other two major sects in the East Domain were Black Tortoise Gate and Divine Bird Pavilion.
Black Tortoise Gate was comparable in strength to Heavenly Melody Sect, with five Martial Saints.
Divine Bird Pavilion was slightly weaker than Heavenly Melody Sect, with four Martial Saints.
Standing atop Watchguard City's walls, Grace Gao was still in shock—crossing a hundred thousand li in just over ten breaths was truly astonishing.
"Let's go."
With a flicker, Leon Huang brought Grace Gao directly to a great hall in the City Lord's Mansion.
The three great sects had joined forces to attack Heavenly Melody Sect, advancing like a hot knife through butter; in just a few days, Skywater Palace had nearly conquered an entire state's worth of territory. Watchguard City was the largest city in Purple Sun Prefecture, and after its capture, Skywater Palace's high command decided to celebrate with a victory banquet in the City Lord's Mansion.
The tables were laden with rare delicacies and fine wine; Skywater Palace's upper echelon ate and drank with wide smiles. Below the dais, a group of beautiful women danced for entertainment—but their faces were full of humiliation, for they were all Heavenly Melody Sect disciples captured by Skywater Palace.
Suddenly.
A blur of movement—and a man and a woman appeared in the center of the hall.
Instantly, all laughter and chatter ceased. The Heavenly Melody Sect disciples, upon seeing the middle-aged woman, broke into expressions of wild joy and grievance, then knelt to the ground: "Disciples greet the Sect Master!"
The Sect Master of Heavenly Melody Sect had personally arrived.
Everyone in the great hall was startled.
"You've suffered—everyone, get up!" Grace Gao said to the group of beautiful disciples.
"Thank you, Sect Master!"
Bang!
The elder at the head table saw this and slammed his palm on the table, roaring, "Grace Gao, you've got a lot of nerve—daring to show up here alone!"
This man was Du Kaishan, one of Skywater Palace's Martial Saint experts; his cultivation had already reached the late Martial Saint stage.
Besides him, there was also an early-stage Martial Saint in the hall.
So even though Grace Gao was the sect master of Heavenly Melody and extremely strong, he wasn't afraid; on the contrary, he was eager to take her down—if he succeeded, Heavenly Melody Sect would collapse without a fight!
Hearing this, Leon Huang was dissatisfied with Du Kaishan—damn, is he blind? There are clearly two people, yet he says 'alone.' Does he think I'm invisible? Just for that, I can't let him off easy.
Grace Gao ignored Du Kaishan and instead looked at Leon Huang: "Young Master Huang, it's up to you."
Leon Huang nodded, stepped forward, and looked at Du Kaishan: "I'm Huang Liang, here to discuss something with you."
Du Kaishan finally turned his gaze to Leon Huang, but with a trace of contempt—a late-stage Grandmaster brat daring to speak to him directly.
"Boy, what do you want?"
"I hope you will lead Skywater Palace's army back to your own territory!" Leon Huang said seriously.
"What?"
Du Kaishan almost thought he was hearing things, then burst out laughing: "Boy, are you still dreaming, or is there something wrong with your head? Skywater Palace's army is sweeping through everything, and you want me to retreat? What a joke!"
"You can choose not to retreat, but don't regret it!" Leon Huang said with a smile.
Du Kaishan's face suddenly turned cold. He slammed his palm on the table and said in a low voice, "Arrogant brat, how dare you spout nonsense on my turf? Men, seize him!"
At that very moment, a voice rang out: "Who's so bold as to touch my true body?"
Just then, a figure identical to Leon Huang strode into the hall, followed by six men wearing bronze masks.
The six men in bronze masks didn't bother hiding their aura. As soon as they entered the hall, everyone felt an overwhelming pressure wash over them!
Du Kaishan's face turned ugly and shocked, staring at the six masked men. Six Martial Saints, and all late-stage—where did so many Martial Saints come from? Are Martial Saints not rare anymore?
"True body, I didn't come late, did I?" Huang Yan said with a smile.
"Not late! Not late. Is everything done?" Leon Huang asked with a grin.
"When have I ever let you down?" Huang Yan replied proudly.
"Exactly!" Leon Huang nodded. "In that case, let's take them all down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Leon Huang stomped his right foot on the ground. Instantly, space and time in the hall twisted, and the entire hall was dragged into a formation space.