Chapter 383: Yuan Gate’s Inner Conflict

Chapter 383: Yuan Gate's Inner Conflict

Time slipped by unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed. As the atmosphere in Dark Demon City grew increasingly intense, the sect competition was finally about to begin.

On the third day, as the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, Dark Demon City erupted in a frenzy. Overhead, the sky buzzed with the sounds of powerful gusts as shadowy figures, like swarms of locusts, rushed toward the entrance to the Demon Domain.

Not far from the northern side of Dark Demon City lay a vast black plain, and at its edge, the space warped, separating the plain from the lands beyond. Above this outer plain, the sky was crowded with figures, and from afar, even more silhouettes could be seen speeding toward it, adding to the already massive throng.

Whoosh!

A large group of figures arrived, halting a thousand meters from the space barrier. At the front stood Lin Langtian, leading the disciples from Yuan Gate's Fire Division. Yet the other seven divisions were nowhere in sight.

It was clear that even before they entered the Demon Domain, the rivalry between Lin Langtian and the "Three Little Kings" had already started to show.

"A magnificent sight," Lin Langtian murmured as he and the others hovered in mid-air, gazing out over the endless crowds of people. The size and grandeur of this event, the most significant in the East Xuan Region, could indeed only be described as vast.

Keeping a calm expression, Lin Langtian's gaze swept across the skies before lingering on a group of figures not far away, each carrying long swords on their backs. The sharp aura emanating from them seemed to pierce the heavens themselves.

At the forefront of this group stood a man who, while unassuming in appearance, radiated a keen, cutting aura that caught Lin Langtian's attention.

"Those are disciples of the Sword Sect," noted Song Yun, who had observed Lin Langtian's gaze. "The one leading them is Xue Ling, known as the 'Sword Fanatic,' the most skilled of Sword Sect's younger generation, and a Nine-Yuan Nirvana Realm expert."

Song Yun, an experienced member of the Fire Division, continued providing information on other notable disciples from different sects.

"The disciples dressed in white and yellow," he pointed out, "are from the Divine Sect and Sigil Valley, respectively. The top talent from Divine Sect this time is a young woman named Xue Wan. And Sigil Valley's leading disciple is called Mao Shan. Both of them have reached the Nine-Seal Divine Talisman level in spiritual power."

Lin Langtian's gaze followed Song Yun's directions. At the front of the white-clad disciples stood a woman in a flowing white gown, her form wrapped in a powerful yet invisible spiritual energy that distorted the space around her. Lin Langtian lingered on Xue Wan for a moment before turning to examine the Sigil Valley contingent.

There, a young man clad in a yellow robe, adorned with strange sigils that emitted a faint glow, was standing. It was evident that the yellow robe was itself a formidable artifact.

"Nine-Seal Divine Talisman Masters," Lin Langtian noted, raising an eyebrow. His own spiritual power was still at the level of an Eight-Seal Divine Talisman Master, putting him slightly behind these two.

"Over there," he observed, "must be the Desolate Hall."

Moving on from Sigil Valley and the Divine Sect, Lin Langtian's gaze settled on another group of large, rugged-looking men. At the front, however, stood a surprisingly slim man whose slender frame seemed almost childlike compared to the towering figures behind him, creating a striking contrast.

"Yes, that lean man is Wu Hong, the head disciple of Desolate Hall," Song Yun nodded. "Don't let his build fool you—he's honed his body to an extraordinary degree."

As they spoke, the sound of wind being sliced reached their ears. In a few moments, another large group appeared in the sky. With their arrival, the crowd on the plain became even more excited, their eyes all drawn toward the disciples from Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace.

At the front of the group, a woman stood, dressed in pure white, standing gracefully upon a lotus. She radiated a cool elegance, as if an ethereal being who had descended from above. It was Ling Qingzhu.

"Hmm?" Lin Langtian's gaze swept over Ling Qingzhu before pausing, his attention drawn to two figures behind her.

One was a girl he recognized immediately—Su Rou. Alongside her was another girl in an ice-blue dress, surrounded by an intense aura of frost that seemed to keep others at a distance. Her icy blue eyes only softened slightly when they looked upon Ling Qingzhu.

"If I'm not mistaken," Lin Langtian murmured, "that must be Shuang Wu…"

Although they were far apart, he sensed a familiar energy from her, one that reminded him of Jin Wu. It was clear to Lin Langtian that Shuang Wu's strength was considerable; her aura rivaled that of an average Yuan Gate Spirit General. Under Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace's guidance, Jin Wu's sister had indeed grown to be quite formidable.

As Lin Langtian observed, Su Rou seemed to sense his presence. Her gaze lifted and found him standing with the Fire Division, that familiar, slightly amused expression on his face.

"Brother Langtian!" Su Rou's eyes widened in surprise and delight, a smile of pure joy spreading across her face as she raised a hand to wave at him.

Lin Langtian returned her warm gesture with a slight smile of his own. Su Rou's cheerful reaction did not go unnoticed by the Fire Division disciples beside him. They looked at him in awe, admiration filling their eyes—after all, their senior brother seemed to know people everywhere he went.

"Heh, that's Su Rou," chuckled Mo Tie, who knew of her connection to Lin Langtian. "She was practically Brother Langtian's biggest fan during the Hundred Empire War."

Hearing this, the disciples' respect for Lin Langtian grew even stronger.

Meanwhile, over at the Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace group, Ling Qingzhu, noticing Su Rou's reaction, glanced over and asked, "You know him?"

"Yes. During the Hundred Empire War, if it hadn't been for Brother Langtian, my older brother and I wouldn't have made it to the Mountain of a Hundred Empires," Su Rou replied, nodding with a smile. "Brother Langtian is incredible. At the end, even those scoundrels from the West Xuan Region couldn't compete with him."

Her face was filled with admiration, a sight that stirred some jealousy among the nearby male disciples. None of them had ever seen Su Rou display such admiration before, even though she had become one of Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace's most talented disciples in the past year.

Next to Lin Langtian, a young girl dressed in an icy blue robe softly repeated his name to herself, her frosty face betraying a slight expression of surprise. Her gaze drifted toward Lin Langtian, though when she noticed that the person she'd hoped to see wasn't by his side, a hint of disappointment filled her eyes. Ling Qingzhu noticed this and softly reassured her, "Don't worry. I've already arranged it with him, so it shouldn't be long before you can meet your long-lost brother."

The frosty girl nodded and gave a small smile, her face softening as she replied, "Thank you, Sister Qingzhu…"

At that moment, far away, Lin Langtian's gaze turned back from Nine Heavens Taiqing Palace and shifted toward the sky in another direction. "The Dao Sect disciples are here."

As soon as he spoke, the sound of sharp winds tearing through the air grew louder, heralding the arrival of Dao Sect's large entourage. Lin Langtian was familiar with Dao Sect's people, so he didn't need Song Yun to explain.

At the front were Lin Dong and his three companions. However, due to their opposing sect affiliations, Lin Langtian merely nodded to Lin Dong from afar. Lin Dong noticed him and responded with a gentle smile. As for Ying Xiaoxiao, her gaze met Lin Langtian's for a moment before she looked away, a rare shyness clouding the usual confidence of Dao Sect's senior sister.

In contrast, Ying Huanhuan looked at Lin Langtian with a pout, leaving him puzzled, while Wang Yan's usually cold expression turned wary, even fearful, as he looked at Lin Langtian.

Seeing the array of reactions from Dao Sect's four prominent figures, Lin Langtian blinked in surprise before shaking his head. Just as he was about to close his eyes to meditate, he felt a shift in the air and looked up.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the direction of his gaze, a dense wave of disciples in dark robes advanced aggressively, almost like a storm cloud, before landing at the closest point to the spatial barrier. It could only be Yuan Gate, the head of the East Xuan Region.

At the forefront of Yuan Gate's group stood three figures exuding a forceful aura that seemed to pulse into the sky, causing those around to flinch.

The Three Little Kings of Yuan Gate!

Seeing the three standing there so boldly, Lin Langtian's lips curled in disdain. Although he wasn't afraid of them, the other sects' young elites were visibly wary, their eyes flickering with apprehension, especially at the sight of Yuan Cang.

Lin Langtian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Though Yuan Cang had fallen to him in battle, the respect and fear he commanded after years of achievements and reputation were clearly not something Lin Langtian could challenge easily as a newcomer.

Under the gaze of the surrounding crowd, Yuan Cang, clad in blue, turned his head and looked toward Lin Langtian and the Fire Division's disciples.

"Junior Brother Langtian," Yuan Cang spoke, his voice cold as he addressed him with a heavy implication, "the head of the sect gave me full command. So why did you separate from the main group to come here on your own? Are you planning to establish your own faction?"

The remark, seemingly casual, was barbed and calculated to humiliate Lin Langtian before everyone. After all, even if Lin Langtian's strength surpassed his, the command authority lay with Yuan Cang. Lin Langtian had no right to disobey him without appearing to defy the sect entirely.

Behind him, Lei Qian and the others sneered at Lin Langtian. So what if he'd won the Sect Trials? The Three Little Kings were the headmaster's trusted disciples, and Lin Langtian, at best, was still an outsider.

Seeing this, even members of other sects, who had been making quite a racket, fell silent. The Three Kings' show of power was something they enjoyed witnessing, as Yuan Gate's reputation as the most powerful sect in the East Xuan Region was matched only by their notorious infighting.

The crowd knew of Lin Langtian, the new prodigy of Yuan Gate who'd defeated Dao Sect's Wang Yan and even Yuan Cang himself. Still, they could see that internal politics and favoritism within Yuan Gate made his journey harder than most.

Even Ling Qingzhu and Ying Xiaoxiao found themselves watching the situation closely. Ling Qingzhu's gaze was fixed on Lin Langtian's direction.

"Oh, Senior Brother Yuan Cang," Lin Langtian replied calmly, unperturbed by the accusatory tone, "you must be mistaken. I wouldn't have the ability to form a separate faction even if I wanted to. Before we left, the headmaster explicitly granted the Fire Division independent action, exempting us from the chain of command. Surely, you received this information?"

His reply carried no trace of emotion, neutral but firm. Yuan Cang had sought to use the headmaster's authority as leverage, so Lin Langtian simply threw it right back at him, invoking the headmaster's direct command as his own defense.

At Lin Langtian's response, Yuan Cang momentarily froze. Of course, he knew of the Fire Division's independent action rights. He had only brought up command rights to provoke Lin Langtian, hoping to see him react in anger.

Seeing that his plan hadn't worked, Yuan Cang's eyes glinted with disappointment. However, he didn't let it show and instead put on a faint smile. "The Fire Division may have independent action rights, true. But Junior Brother Langtian, not all the Fire Division disciples share your enthusiasm for marching toward ruin."

As soon as he finished speaking, a few figures stepped out from the Fire Division and bowed to Yuan Cang. "Senior Brother Yuan Cang, the Fire Division resists the greater mission. We see our errors now and would like to join you instead!"

Their declaration sent a ripple of surprise through the crowd. It was clear to everyone that in this Yuan Gate power struggle, the Three Little Kings held the advantage, while Lin Langtian's faction, even his loyal followers, had begun to defect.

Watching, Yuan Cang and the other two Kings exchanged smug glances. As expected, this public rebuke, coupled with the visible defection, would shake Lin Langtian's confidence.

However, Lin Langtian looked at the traitors—led by Ling Chi and Zhang Hao, former Spirit Generals of the Fire Division—and didn't seem upset. Instead, a glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. He chuckled.

"Well, as the saying goes," he quipped, his voice filled with a lighthearted sarcasm, "one bad apple spoils the bunch. Thank you, Senior Brother Yuan Cang, for helping me remove these rotten apples."

In one sentence, Lin Langtian shattered the Three Little Kings' smug expressions, and the defectors, Ling Chi and Zhang Hao, were left red-faced with anger and humiliation.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1