Chapter 1167: Chapter 1167
"Moonlight, we..."
Mu Qingcheng, who hadn’t spoken a word to Yang Yan for a long time, finally mustered the courage to speak, but saw Yang Yan shake his head without a word, and had to close her mouth.
"This is not the Hidden World, and Moonlight’s title is just a hollow name. You can just call me Yang Yan."
Before she could nod, Yang Yan suddenly said, "Someone’s coming."
Then, he closed his eyes and began cultivating as if no one was around.
Mu Qingcheng, standing nearby, quickly walked towards the door, expressionless.
She acted as though Lin Zimu wasn’t there when she slipped out silently.
Lin Zimu, staring at Mu Qingcheng’s departing figure, was taken aback. Just then, Yang Yan opened his eyes, and Lin Zimu hurriedly approached to ask, "What’s wrong with her?"
Yang Yan calmly shook his head, "Nothing, she’s just packing some things to move to the sect’s allocated residence. It’s not appropriate to keep staying here at my Butcher Palace."
Lin Zimu slightly furrowed his brows and asked in surprise, "What about the other Nine Swords? Have they all moved out?!"
Yang Yan lightly nodded, "Yes! Actually, having an independent residence is quite good."
The more indifferent Yang Yan’s demeanor appeared, the more astonished Lin Zimu felt inside.
He feared Yang Yan might be genuinely upset but was pretending not to care, bearing all the pain himself.
Just like... he did in the past.
Thus, although Yang Yan’s status was higher, as the senior brother of the Inner Sect, he couldn’t avoid stepping in to offer some guidance.
Lin Zimu organized his words slightly and then cautiously said, "Yang, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say."
"Please speak, Zimu." Yang Yan thought with a bitter smile, showing no change in expression.
From the look of things, the events recently between him and the Ten Swords were affecting the sect.
Lin Zimu was evidently unaware and had been deceived by the worsening "conflict" between them.
"Yang, though it’s true you brought the Ten Swords back, and they have indeed brought considerable talent to the sect, however..."
At this point, Lin Zimu paused!
Oh well!
It seemed this guy was about to start preaching.
Clearly, Lin Zimu was genuinely concerned about the relationship between him and the Ten Swords.
Yang Yan pinched his nose, feigning a posture of being taught, while using his spiritual power to block his ears.
Thus, despite Lin Zimu’s earnest and lengthy efforts, Yang Yan heard none of it.
Finally, seeing Yang Yan was somewhat distracted, Lin Zimu hurriedly stopped and changed the topic:
"Outside, many disciples have significant grievances against them. Especially concerning resource distribution, there have been many disputes."
"Some old Inner Sect disciples, who have worked hard for a long time and finally became Core Disciples, feel the Ten Swords have taken away the cultivation resources that should’ve belonged to them."
"Though they can’t beat the Ten Swords, causing trouble every day is not good either."
Knowing Yang Yan’s tendency to protect, Lin Zimu intentionally defended those disciples while recounting.
But seeing Yang Yan merely nod mechanistically after listening, with no intention of intervening, Lin Zimu was a bit puzzled.
Was this the Yang Yan he knew?
There were people causing trouble for the Ten Swords, yet he remained indifferent!
Just a few days ago, he had fought against ten Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators for the Ten Swords on his own!
The stark contrast was truly puzzling to him.
When Lin Zimu stopped speaking, Yang Yan removed the shield and regained his hearing.
Then, he heard Lin Zimu say, "There’s an Inner Sect disciple at Qi Cultivation level nine, dissatisfied with them later surpassing, already challenging Frost Heaven, with the stakes being the cultivation resources Frost Heaven obtained."
Upon hearing there was a battle, Yang Yan showed a bit of interest and followed Lin Zimu to the challenge arena.
He was also curious to know the level of improvement of Cui Shuangtian, ranked third among the Ten Swords.
When Yang Yan and Lin Zimu arrived at the challenge arena, a large crowd had already gathered.
It seemed that all the disciples of the Ancient Abyss Sect had come to watch the fight.
Frost Heaven had recently broken through to Qi Cultivation level eight, while the challenging old Inner Sect disciple had reached level nine.
At first glance, the challenge seemed somewhat unfair, but since Frost Heaven dared to accept, it indicated he was quite confident.
This was why so many people came to watch.
Because the sect’s resource tilt towards the Ten Swords was something all Ancient Abyss Sect disciples cared about.
They often only heard of the Ten Swords’ reputation and were truly curious about how they fought.
Yang Yan and Lin Zimu proudly stood in the air, looking down at the two contestants below.
Before Yang Yan arrived, the two on stage had already exchanged several moves.
Frost Heaven, usually a bit lackadaisical, instantly became a different person when fighting, appearing very composed.
The Inner Sect disciple at Qi Cultivation level nine would mock with every attack, while Frost Heaven continuously evaded silently, only blocking with his sword when necessary.
Frost Heaven did not attack proactively, merely evading, so even ordinary disciples watching uniformly thought Frost Heaven was at a disadvantage, and defeat was just a matter of time.
"After all, there’s a whole level difference! It’s already good that he’s lasted till now."
Even Lin Zimu seemed to believe Frost Heaven was about to lose, saying with a sigh.
However, as he was about to say some comforting words to Yang Yan, he suddenly heard Yang Yan laugh:
"This is good? You’re underestimating Frost Heaven too much. The other guy isn’t his opponent at all!"
As if responding to Yang Yan’s judgment, Frost Heaven suddenly halted after a period of silence and said before the other disciple could speak: "You’re talking too much."
With that, a terrifying aura entirely different from before burst from him, like a miniature storm.
"Gale—"
With his shout, a sudden strong wind blew, making it hard for people to keep their eyes open.
"It’s just a simple Wind Control Technique."
Seeing this scene, the other person sneered indifferently and said:
"Competing Daoist Technique with me is simply overestimating..."
Before finishing, a crack suddenly appeared in the spiritual power shield around him.
Then another crack!
And then another...
Soon, more and more.
"Blade Resolution—"
In the blink of an eye, the spiritual power shield around him was riddled with holes, finally breaking apart. Before he could react, a thick Wind Dragon Scroll rushed in, taking advantage of the situation.
Unprepared, it threw him off the challenge arena.
Frost Heaven’s actions were fluid and seamless.
Many disciples watching barely had time to see clearly before the contest ended.
Upon hearing Yang Yan’s judgment, Lin Zimu, who initially wanted to debate a bit, had to retract his earlier words in embarrassment after seeing the outcome.
