Chapter 599: Yun Cangqiong’s Anger

Outside the Tianjian Sect, Lin Dong didn’t have to wait long. Yun Cangqiong led everyone from the sect out together. In an instant, inside the mountain gate, over ten thousand disciples and elders of the Tianjian Sect radiated murderous intent, while outside, tens of thousands of guards from the Lin’s Inn stood calmly, creating a tense standoff between the two sides.

“Master Lin, what brings you here?” Yun Cangqiong asked loudly and directly, his gaze lingering briefly on the Tianpeng Bird. With his keen eyesight, he could easily tell that this golden mountain was actually a Tianpeng Bird magnified by more than ten times.

A Tianpeng Bird magnified by ten times—was it still a Tianpeng Bird? Moreover, its feather color had changed from gray to gold.

The elders like Qin Mengtai also spent considerable time staring at the Tianpeng Bird. Like Yun Cangqiong, they recognized it as a Tianpeng Bird. But unlike him, they sensed immense pressure emanating from it.

Even ninth-tier spiritual beasts and birds could mutate. But to such an extreme degree was truly astonishing.

“Lin Dong pays his respects to his father-in-law. I feel ashamed for asking him to come out personally to meet me,” Lin Dong said.

Although he was there to force a marriage, Lin Dong still followed the proper rituals by first kowtowing to Yun Cangqiong.

“Scoundrel! Trying to force a marriage—do you think you’re who you are?” Qin Mengtai roared angrily.

Not far away, his eldest disciple, Feng Zhengyang, drew his sword and declared loudly, “Sect Master, Elder, I, Feng Zhengyang, am willing to take action and kill this arrogant thief who dares to try to force a marriage with the sect master!”

“Get up!” Yun Cangqiong moved swiftly, stepping in front of Lin Dong and helping him up. Clearly, he was also well-versed in marriage customs.

This attitude made the elders frown.

All the elders had heard about Lin Dong and Yun Lan’s relationship and, like Qin Mengtai, were firmly opposed to it. After all, Yun Lan was the heir to the Tianjian Sect’s leadership. According to the rules of various sects, to prevent their secret techniques from leaking outside, the heir could only marry another disciple from the same sect, no matter what. Even the sect master couldn’t change this rule. Although the elders of the Tianjian Sect respected Yun Cangqiong, they gave priority to the sect’s interests—especially those related to its secret techniques.

“Sect Master, don’t forget the rules!” Qin Mengtai warned coldly.

“I haven’t forgotten the rules. I also have no intention of interfering in this matter,” Yun Cangqiong replied calmly, looking at Qin Mengtai. “But right now, I am just Yun Lan’s father! Do you really want to take away my right as a father?”

“But you are also the head of the Sky Sword Sect!” Qin Mengtai retorted sharply, showing no willingness to back down. He had always believed that upholding principles in matters of great importance was what a senior elder should do most of all.
“The head has gone on a journey. Now, I am just Yun Cangqiong!” Yun Cangqiong said casually. “If anyone disagrees, they can unite to remove me from my position as head.”
The elders were all shocked—his words struck them like a thunderbolt. Many hesitated to speak, their convictions beginning to waver. The Sky Sword Sect’s rise to become the undisputed leader among all sects in Xue Man Peak and even across the entire Hongjin Mountains over the past decade was entirely due to Yun Cangqiong’s strength and tactics. For both public and personal reasons, no one wanted to remove him from his position—even Qin Mengtai not.
But now, with Yun Cangqiong speaking such words, it was clear he was siding with Lin Dong. If things escalated further, it might force Yun Cangqiong to abandon everything and live freely as he preferred.
“Head, do you really intend to ignore the sect?” Seeing the elders wavering, Qin Mengtai shouted loudly.
“If the sect ignores me, why should I care about the sect?” Yun Cangqiong dismissed him with disdain.
The elders then felt relieved. Qin Mengtai’s words reminded them that just as they couldn’t force Yun Cangqiong to leave the Sky Sword Sect, Yun Cangqiong couldn’t ignore it either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken over as head and become its leader and guardian.
“Head, once a mistake, never again. Miss Yu died of sorrow back then—do you really want Manager Lin or Yun Lan to follow in her footsteps?” Qin Mengtai sneered.
Yun Cangqiong’s expression darkened instantly, and his gaze toward Qin Mengtai turned fierce and menacing.
“How dare you mention Yu?”
Whoa…
The elders stepped forward together, surrounding Qin Mengtai. They understood that if they didn’t separate the two soon, the head would lose his temper completely.
“Why shouldn’t I mention her? It’s the head who has no right to mention her!” Qin Mengtai shouted among the crowd, ignoring Yun Cangqiong’s anger completely. The incident involving Yun Cangqiong back then was also one of the things he despised the most.
The sect’s rules must not be violated. Back then, Yun Cangqiong, just like Yun Lan now, fell in love with someone from outside their sect. Moreover, Yun Cangqiong’s love was even stronger—he loved the heir of another major sect.
This incident not only caused a huge stir between the two major sects but also shook the entire Great Han Kingdom.

In the end, the youthful and ambitious Yun Cangqiong produced a large number of spiritual elixirs before launching a full-scale attack on the sect where Yun Lan’s mother lived. After being severely injured, coupled with Yun Lan’s mother cutting off her own meridians to sever ties with the sect, the sect leader and elders were forced to compromise. As a result, one of them bore the shame of injustice, while the other carried the blame of disloyalty. Both the Tianjian Sect and Yun Lan’s mother’s sect became objects of ridicule for failing to discipline their heirs properly. Later, the elders of the Tianjian Sect united to oppose Yun Lan’s mother, and due to the heir’s defection, the sect leader ignored all sect affairs out of anger, causing the sect to fall apart. Other sects took advantage of this weakness to destroy it. Overwhelmed with guilt, the sect leader fell ill and eventually passed away. For Qin Mengtai, this was a disgrace to the Tianjian Sect. For Yun Cangqiong, it was the greatest pain and resentment of his life. If not for his deep affection for the Tianjian Sect, he would have long given up. It was because of this incident that Yun Cangqiong turned his guilt toward his wife into compensation for Yun Lan, making him value Yun Lan even more than the Tianjian Sect. Originally, the foremost duty of a sect leader was to always put the sect’s interests first. Apart from Qin Mengtai, who believed it was only natural and that Yun Cangqiong was at fault, the other elders also felt somewhat guilty toward Yun Cangqiong’s family, which is why they turned a blind eye. “Elder!” Seeing that Qin Mengtai was still arguing, the elders spoke up together to stop him. Even Liang Liren, who was known for being easygoing, couldn’t help but glare angrily at Qin Mengtai. Like Qin Mengtai, they also placed the sect’s interests first, but unlike him, they weren’t so rigid and could better understand others’ feelings. “Qin Mengtai, if you dare mention those old events again, I’ll have your head cut off,” Yun Cangqiong said coldly, staring at Qin Mengtai. Qin Mengtai tried to argue again but was firmly held back by several elders. “Father-in-law, please calm down!” Lin Dong turned his gaze toward Qin Mengtai. Since his future father-in-law was so angry as to want to kill his own sect brothers, it was only natural for him, as the future son-in-law, to take matters into his own hands. “Lin Dong, daring to cause trouble in our Tianjian Sect? Don’t think just because you’ve stumbled upon some materials that aid cultivation you can act arrogantly. Don’t you realize who you are?” Feng Zhengyang, having suffered a great loss before, seized the opportunity and immediately drew his sword at Lin Dong. Yun Cangqiong smiled, a vicious smile. “What a great master and disciple pair. Feng Zhengyang, do you want to kill Lin Dong?”

“Reply to the sect leader—yes!” Feng Zhengyang gritted his teeth and forced himself to confront Yun Cangqiong. Last time in Lingnan City, he was beaten until he knelt and begged for mercy, losing all face. Over these two years, he had endured hardships and practiced spiritual techniques diligently just to avenge himself. Last time, he was only one realm behind Lin Dong, but through hard training and the spiritual materials obtained from Lin’s Inn along with his fellow disciples, his strength had advanced rapidly—he had risen from the ninth level of the Mind Reversal stage to the second level. With the pills from the Sky Sword Sect, even at the risk of internal injuries, it wouldn’t be hard for him to reach the fourth level of the Mind Reversal stage. At the fourth level, Feng Zhengyang felt it was enough to avenge his past humiliation. According to his calculations, Lin Dong had used roughly the same amount of spiritual materials for cultivation as he had—after all, Lin’s Inn only had a few such materials, and he had used them all. By the time Lin Dong reached the first level of the Mind Reversal stage, he might have also used these materials. Even if Lin Dong trained day and night like him, limited by his talent, he could at most reach the second level in two years. With the fourth level of the Mind Reversal stage against the second level, there was no way he wouldn’t win. “Good, you have ambition! Lin Dong, let him be killed!” Yun Cangqiong roared. “Let him face a hundred swords—let him survive them all, and then destroy him!” Lin Dong smiled, his gaze still fixed on Qin Mengtai, and said calmly, “You come too—it’ll be a hundred swords either way!” “What an arrogant tone!” Feng Zhengyang accelerated instantly, aiming a sword at Lin Dong’s throat. Following Yun Cangqiong’s orders, Lin Dong allowed the tip of the spiritual sword to pierce his throat. With a choking sound, Lin Dong remained as steady as a rock, while Feng Zhengyang’s arm snapped, sending him flying backward. With a crash, he landed more than twenty meters away. The Sky Sword Sect was in shock—how strong must one be to knock Feng Zhengyang into such a state? The sect’s elders sent their mental senses out to investigate Lin Dong. The results left them stunned. Impossible to probe! Most of the elders of the Sky Sword Sect had already reached the seventh level of the Mind Reversal stage, which meant Lin Dong was already at the level of a peak warrior. Another peak warrior under thirty in the Great Han Nation! “How… how is that possible?” Qin Mengtai stared at Lin Dong, his body trembling slightly. Compared to the elders, he found Lin Dong’s current strength even harder to believe. “Are we still fighting?” Lin Dong asked calmly. Qin Mengtai’s forehead veins bulged, but he didn’t know how to respond. At the eighth level of the Mind Reversal stage, facing a peak warrior was nothing but self-destruction.

“It seems Elder Qin has no interest in slashing me with a hundred swords first. If that’s the case, then Lin Dong won’t be polite.” Lin Dong smiled coldly. On his way here, he hadn’t planned to ruin anyone from the Sky Sword Sect. Yun Cangqiong’s anger and his willingness to use Lin Dong to ruin Feng Zhengyang made Lin Dong change his mind. Better to ruin them both at once to avoid future complications!