Don't underestimate their intelligence network.

The female disciples of the Joyous Union Sect giggled so hard they trembled like flowering branches in the wind. The amorous glances they cast at Su Ji were so wet they practically dripped water.

Meanwhile, the cultivators who prided themselves on belonging to orthodox and righteous sects frowned, their faces plastered with undisguised disdain.

He was a sect master, and this was his inauguration ceremony. To act so frivolously during such a solemn occasion...

What a scandal!

Simply absurd!

Feeling the various gazes shooting over from all directions, Su Jiu's face burned hotly.

Truth be told, with her upbringing, she would never normally make any inappropriate little gestures at such a highly anticipated, formal occasion.

But the problem was, Su Ji was just so incredibly punchable!

She hesitated for a long time, but the small foot clad in a moon-white shoe ultimately couldn't hold back. She lifted it, then brought it stomping down hard.

"Hiss—"

Su Ji feigned pain, turning back to shoot her a bared-teeth glare.

In return, he only got Su Jiu's icy profile, as if that stomp just now had absolutely nothing to do with her.

The two walked one after the other, finally stepping onto the highest viewing platform prepared for the sect master.

Su Ji didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down heavily in the seat of honor with his legs spread wide, even shifting into a more comfortable posture by crossing his legs, lightly swinging his foot in a completely shameless and unruly manner.

This posture caused the eyes of many esteemed old men in the audience to twitch.

It was just... too improper.

Su Jiu stood quietly by his side, eyes on her nose, nose on her heart, trying her best to turn herself into an emotionless background prop.

Li Fan, on the other hand, stood like a silent iron tower. Holding a brand-new, heavy broadsword, he stood expressionlessly behind Su Ji. The faint, oppressive aura of the Golden Core realm emanated from him, warning off anyone harboring malicious intentions.

Su Ji lazily swept his gaze over the "guests" below the stage. He cleared his throat. His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly across the entire plaza.

"Ahem. Thank you, fellow Daoists, for doing me the honor of attending the succession ceremony of my Yearning Sect."

"I won't waste time with nonsense. The previous sect master is gone. Now, I, Su Ji, am the new sect master."

He paused and grinned.

"Eat and drink to your heart's content. If you have any complaints, or if you feel I, Su Ji, have done something wrong, feel free to bring it up anytime."

"I've always been a very reasonable person."

"And very open to advice."

This brief and somewhat crude opening speech left the crowd looking at each other in dismay, entirely unsure of how to respond.

Normally, at a time like this, a long-winded speech was inevitable.

Something about ruling with diligence, leading the sect blah-blah to a blah-blah future.

After a brief silence, a burly, red-haired middle-aged man from the Blood Fiend Sect was the first to stand up, his voice booming like a bell.

"Congratulations to Sect Master Su on your succession! A small gift, to show our meager respect!"

He waved his hand, and a disciple behind him immediately stepped forward holding a blood-jade treasure box.

Li Fan stepped up to receive it. Opening it, he found a thousand-year-old blood ginseng inside, brimming with spiritual energy and of extraordinary quality.

For any individual cultivator, this gift would be considered a priceless treasure.

But for a grand ceremony between sects, it could only be described as... barely adequate.

Su Ji took a look but said nothing, merely waving his hand to signal Li Fan to accept it.

With the Blood Fiend Sect taking the lead, representatives of the other sects and families also stepped forward, offering various flowery words of congratulation alongside their gifts.

"The Azure Sword Sect congratulates Sect Master Su, wishing the Sect Master a smooth path to immortality and eternal youth! We present ten catties of refined profound iron!"

"The Joyous Union Sect wishes Sect Master Su and the Vice Sect Master a match made in heaven and perfect marital harmony! We present a pair of Joyous Union Warm Jades!"

"The Wang Family of the North..."

For a time, the atmosphere in the plaza grew lively. Various treasures flashed with light as rare materials, miraculous pills, and high-grade magical artifacts were presented one by one.

A small mountain soon piled up on the table behind Li Fan.

However, Su Ji's expression grew increasingly strange.

He picked up the gift ledger, flipping through it casually.

They spoke words of congratulation, but the items they sent were shabbier than the last.

Refined profound iron? It sounded impressive, but it was actually just leftover scrap from forging mid-grade magical artifacts.

Joyous Union Warm Jade?

That was even more of a joke. Aside from helping spear cultivators whose stamina was failing to get their 'spears' up faster and temporarily improving their 'spearmanship' by thirty to forty percent, it was completely useless.

His, Su Ji's, spearmanship had already reached the absolute pinnacle; he had absolutely no need for such a thing.

Even among cultivators, this kind of gift was usually given in secret. To present it so openly carried more than a hint of mockery.

As for those pills and artifacts, they were so poor that even Su Ji looked down on them.

These old foxes all spoke sweeter than a song, but their petty calculations were practically written on their faces.

They wanted to probe the depths of this new sect master, yet feared drawing trouble upon themselves. They didn't dare send anything too valuable, afraid of throwing meat buns at a dog.

They really wanted to act like whores while erecting a monument to their chastity.

"Heh."

Su Ji suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

The laugh wasn't loud, but like a needle, it instantly pierced the hypocritical liveliness of the plaza.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and cast inquiring glances toward the seat of honor.

Su Ji casually tossed the gift ledger onto the table, producing a light smack.

He picked up his wine cup, swirled it gently, and stared at the clear liquid inside, speaking at a leisurely pace.

"I, Su Ji, appreciate everyone's intentions."

"It's just that..."

He raised his head and swept his gaze across the crowd below. His eyes, which usually carried a hint of mockery, were now completely calm.

"You took this pile of garbage and actually had the nerve to come congratulate my Yearning Sect?"

"Are you looking down on me, Su Ji, or... looking down on the Yearning Sect?"

As his words fell, the entire venue plunged into a dead silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

The smiles on most people's faces froze.

There was a saying: see through it, but don't say it.

No one expected this seemingly cynical young man to so directly tear right through this layer of hypocritical window paper in front of everyone.

The expressions of many Golden Core elders turned extremely ugly.

This was practically slapping the face of the entire Great Xia cultivation world!

The reason they had uniformly sent these inexpensive gifts was, of course, because they had colluded with each other beforehand.

As far as they knew.

The Great Elder of the Heavenly Puppet Holy Land had indeed been beaten into signing an IOU for a million spirit stones.

But also as far as they knew, the Yearning Sect didn't have the guts to go to their door and collect the debt.

This million-spirit-stone IOU had seemingly become a joke.

Therefore, this new sect master's strength was roughly higher than a Holy Land Elder's, but lower than a Holy Land Lord's.

Very strong.

At the very least, he was a figure who counted for something within Great Xia.

But...

Of all the things he shouldn't have done, he shouldn't have used the Heavenly Puppet Holy Land to establish his dominance...

As far as they knew... the Yearning Sect had practically hollowed out its foundation these past few days, tinkering with numerous formations...

Did they really think they could resist the Heavenly Puppet Holy Land just like that?

Did they even know what the 'foundation of a Holy Land' meant?

This kid was calm on the surface, but he was probably already sweating buckets in reality.

He shouldn't underestimate their intelligence networks.