Chapter 8: A War Over a Seat at the Table

The Grand Sect Assembly was supposed to be a diplomatic event—an opportunity for sects to display their strength, form alliances, and establish their influence over the cultivation world.

Instead, it had turned into a silent battlefield.

Thousands of cultivators—sect masters, grand elders, and prodigies—stood frozen, staring at the scene before them in absolute disbelief.

Lin Feng, the Supreme Ancestor of the Supreme Sect, had done nothing.

And yet, Liu Qian, the Flame Crown Prodigy of the Solar Emperor Sect, was now on his knees, completely motionless. His divine spear had disintegrated, his entire body trembling as if he had just glimpsed the abyss beyond reality.

The surrounding cultivators couldn't process what had just happened.

"I… I didn't even see what happened," a young disciple whispered.

"What technique did he use?!" another genius muttered.

A grand elder's face paled. "No… this is beyond technique. He didn't do anything. It was just… his presence."

For Lin Feng, this was just another headache.

He looked down at the kneeling Liu Qian, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Uh… Are you okay?"

Liu Qian's lips quivered. Sweat dripped down his face. His entire cultivation base was intact—and yet, his body refused to move. It was as if the laws of existence had rejected his right to stand.

Lin Feng glanced at Xiao Yan. "What's his problem?"

Xiao Yan, still in awe, whispered, "Master… You defeated him simply by existing."

Lin Feng sighed. "Well, that's not my fault."

Liu Qian suddenly gasped for air, his breath ragged and broken. He looked up at Lin Feng with pure terror.

"Y-You… You're not a cultivator… Y-You're… You're something else…"

Lin Feng frowned. "Look, I'm just a guy trying to get through this event without trouble, okay?"

Liu Qian's eyes shook. He suddenly slammed his forehead to the ground in a full kowtow.

"Supreme Ancestor… please forgive my arrogance!"

Gasps echoed across the assembly.

"The Flame Crown Prodigy… just surrendered?"

"A genius ranked #4 on the Rising Dragon List just—just gave up without a fight?!"

Lin Feng sighed. "Alright, whatever. Can I sit down now?"

Xiao Yan immediately stepped forward, his voice booming with divine authority.

"The Supreme Ancestor of the Supreme Sect has arrived! Bring forth his seat!"

The Seven Star Sect's elders tensed.

A seat?

The Grand Sect Assembly was governed by strict hierarchy. The seating arrangements represented a sect's status in the cultivation world—only the Five Great Sects were permitted to sit at the main table, while weaker sects were given distant or insignificant placements.

A low-ranking sect like the Supreme Sect had no right to even stand near the main hall.

But now—

Because of Lin Feng's presence, the balance of power had suddenly shifted.

One of the Seven Star Sect's great elders, an old man with seven flowing star patterns on his robe, rose to his feet.

"Hold." His voice carried the weight of a divine decree. "The Supreme Sect is but a small, rising power. It has not yet earned the right to sit at the central table of this assembly."

Silence.

Xiao Yan smiled. It was a smile filled with undeniable confidence.

"The seating is based on a sect's power and status, is it not?" he asked.

The great elder narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

Xiao Yan gestured toward Liu Qian, who was still kneeling, his forehead pressed against the stone tiles.

"In that case, if the Solar Emperor Sect is permitted to sit at the main table, but their top genius was just defeated without effort… then surely the Supreme Sect has the right to take their place."

The hall erupted into chaos.

Lin Feng's eyes twitched. Wait. Is that how this works?

The Solar Emperor Sect's elders immediately stood up, their auras flaring.

"Ridiculous!" one of them barked. "This is an insult to the hierarchy of the cultivation world!"

Xiao Yan's smile widened. "Is it? Or are you simply unwilling to acknowledge the truth?"

The Solar Emperor Sect's sect master, a middle-aged man with golden-red robes, stepped forward, his expression thunderous.

"Our Solar Emperor Sect has stood at the peak of the cultivation world for over 8,000 years!" he declared. "You are nothing more than an upstart sect with an unknown master!"

Lin Feng, at this point, was barely listening. He just wanted to sit down and drink some tea.

But before he could stop Xiao Yan, his first disciple spoke again, loud and clear.

"Then let us settle this in the traditional way—with battle!"

Silence.

Lin Feng's eye twitched harder.

Oh, for the love of—

The Solar Emperor Sect's sect master smirked coldly. "Very well. I shall personally test whether your sect is worthy!"

Xiao Yan's aura surged. "You will not fight my Master. You will fight me."

The entire assembly exploded in shock.

"The first disciple of the Supreme Sect… is challenging a sect master?!"

"That's insane!"

But the Solar Emperor Sect's sect master just laughed.

"You think you are worthy to face me?" he sneered. "I have ruled over the Solar Flame Dao for over three millennia. You are just a boy!"

Xiao Yan's gaze was unshakable.

"My Master has taught me well."

Lin Feng, meanwhile, sighed deeply.

"I really haven't," he muttered.

Xiao Yan clenched his fist, his battle intent blazing.

"If I win, the Supreme Sect will take the Solar Emperor Sect's seat at the main table!"

The Solar Emperor Sect's sect master narrowed his eyes. "And if you lose?"

Xiao Yan's voice rang clear.

"Then my Supreme Sect will acknowledge your dominance in this assembly."

Lin Feng raised a hand. "Okay, wait a sec—"

The Solar Emperor Sect's sect master smirked. "Very well. We shall fight before the entire Grand Sect Assembly!"

The entire plaza trembled as spiritual energy surged through the sky.

A battle between a first disciple and a legendary sect master was about to begin.

Lin Feng sighed again.

"…Can I just leave?"

[No.]

Lin Feng groaned.

"Figures."

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End of Chapter 8

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