Establishing Authority

Jiang Qingshan took a deep breath. The spiritual energy within his body circulated frantically, and his Golden Core trembled with increasing violence.

He wanted to make a move, to fight back, to let Gu Chengyin know that the Qingjian Sect was not some soft persimmon to be easily squeezed.

But Jiang Qingshan did not dare.

Because he felt another gaze.

Lin Qingyan.

From the moment Gu Chengyin released his aura, this Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master Mansion had locked onto him.

Jiang Qingshan swept his peripheral vision over and saw Lin Qingyan standing there quietly, her expression cold and detached.

Her aura did not leak out, her spiritual energy was not circulating, and she had not even assumed any offensive posture.

But Jiang Qingshan knew that if he made even the slightest abnormal movement.

In the next second, he would directly face Lin Qingyan's golden lightning.

That was the strongest killing power of this generation in the Heavenly Master Mansion, an invincible Golden Core existence capable of fighting three at once.

What was more, the bloodline suppression was still continuing, and his Qingjian Mantra had already been weakened by thirty percent.

To fight Lin Qingyan under these circumstances.

He would undoubtedly lose.

Jiang Qingshan froze in place, the expression on his aged face shifting constantly.

Time trickled by.

The sunlight turned from molten gold to a warm orange, and dust motes floated slowly in the rays of light.

The kneeling disciples had gradually recovered from their shock.

Yet they remained kneeling. It was not that they did not want to get up, but that they could not.

The bloodline suppression was still ongoing. In the face of this suppression, their Qingjian Mantra was like a mouse meeting a cat, unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

Some tried to forcibly circulate their spiritual energy, but only trembling came from their dantians.

Some struggled to stand up, but the moment their knees left the bluestone, they were suppressed and fell back down.

Looking from afar, among the pavilions, on the sword terraces, and along the mountain paths, kneeling figures were everywhere.

Some wore azure Daoist robes, some carried long swords on their backs, and some even maintained their sword-practicing postures.

But at this moment, all of them bowed their heads before the bloodline suppression.

In the center of the plaza, Gu Chengyin still stood quietly.

His aura was still radiating, the Qingyun Mantra was still circulating, and that faint smile still hung on the corners of his lips.

He just looked down upon the entire subjugated sect like this.

There was no smugness, no arrogance, and not the slightest look of complacency.

Only calmness.

A calmness as if he were doing an insignificant little thing.

But this calmness was more heart-stopping than any arrogance.

Because he was not showing off, he was merely demonstrating.

Demonstrating what absolute power was.

Demonstrating what bloodline suppression was.

Demonstrating what it meant to crush someone completely.

Finally, Gu Chengyin withdrew his aura.

The bloodline suppression that had forced the entire Qingjian Sect to bow receded like the tide, vanishing into the air.

The kneeling disciples felt as if they had received a grand pardon. They slumped to the ground one after another, panting heavily.

The gazes they directed at Gu Chengyin were filled with shock mixed with bewilderment, and bewilderment mixed with an indescribable reverence.

This was a reverence born in their bloodlines.

When the Qingjian Mantra met the Qingyun Mantra, this sense of submission could not be resisted by mere willpower.

Jiang Qingshan stood in place, taking a deep breath.

His white robe was already soaked with sweat, and his aged face was full of exhaustion.

Although the bloodline suppression had disappeared, his Qingjian Mantra was still trembling slightly, like a beast that had not recovered from its fright.

He looked at Gu Chengyin, his gaze extremely complex.

There was anger, wariness, incomprehension, and a reverence that even he himself was unwilling to admit.

The heir of the Qingyun Immortal Clan.

These words only truly sank into Jiang Qingshan's heart at this moment.

"Sect Master Jiang, have you rested enough?"

Jiang Qingshan's Adam's apple bobbed, but he did not speak.

What could he say?

He remained silent for a long time before finally cupping his hands and bowing.

"Sect Master of the Qingjian Sect, Jiang Qingshan."

"Respectfully welcomes the heir of the Immortal Clan."

This bow was not a courtesy to an imperial official, nor was it a pleasantry to the head of the inspection team.

It was a submission to a superior.

Gu Chengyin smiled faintly and reached out to help Jiang Qingshan up.

"Sect Master Jiang, there is no need to be so polite. This junior still respects you very much."

"Now, we can rest."

From beginning to end, Gu Chengyin released his aura for only one purpose.

To let Jiang Qingshan, the elders and higher-ups behind him, and the entire Qingjian Sect clearly know one thing.

He was the heir of the Qingyun Immortal Clan.

At the same time, he was the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Prince, the Chief Eunuch of the Internal Affairs Department, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the Marquis of Equal Standing.

He was also the head of the Sect Inspection Team.

And within this inspection team, there was Lin Qingyan, invincible in the Golden Core realm.

There was Chen Busha, the strongest in the Foundation Establishment realm.

There were the Golden Feather Guards, the Internal Affairs Department, the Luodu Heavenly Master Mansion, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Chief Surveillance Office, the Ministry of Justice, and so on.

From top to bottom, there were a full two hundred elite experts.

Therefore, he, Gu Chengyin, was no ordinary person.

He was not a chess piece to be arbitrarily controlled by the Qingjian Sect.

On this chessboard, he was the chess player.

This was an establishment of authority.

It was also a deterrent.

And as the Sect Master of the Qingjian Sect, Jiang Qingshan had only two choices before him.

First, clash head-on.

The consequence would be Gu Chengyin ordering the entire Qingjian Sect to be directly flattened.

With the strength of the Sect Inspection Team, coupled with the bloodline suppression of the Qingyun Mantra, this would by no means be a difficult task.

Afterward, a simple sentence like "Bandits were found gathering at the Qingjian Sect" would settle the matter.

The grand banner Gu Chengyin had prepared could be used on other sects, and it could also be used on the Qingjian Sect.

Second, submit.

This was also the choice Jiang Qingshan ultimately made.

After being personally helped up by Gu Chengyin, Jiang Qingshan stood in place, the expression on his face shifting unpredictably.

He was at the Golden Core realm, the Sect Master of the Qingjian Sect, and an expert who had cultivated for decades.

He had seen great storms, court intrigues, sect struggles, and life-and-death moments.

But at this moment, facing Gu Chengyin, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Because Gu Chengyin had far too many cards in his hand.

So many that he simply had no choice.

So many that he could only yield.

Jiang Qingshan took a deep breath, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation.

But Gu Chengyin did not move. He just stood there, looking indifferently at Jiang Qingshan.

Jiang Qingshan's heart tightened.

What did this mean?

Was he still not satisfied?

What more did he want?

While he was pondering, he saw Chen Busha behind Gu Chengyin slowly raise his hand.

Then press it down gently.

In the next breath.

Waves of spiritual energy fluctuations suddenly surged from the surroundings.

It was the experts of the inspection team retracting their auras.

Jiang Qingshan's pupils shrank slightly as his peripheral vision swept the area.

Just now, he had been so immersed in Gu Chengyin's bloodline suppression that he had not noticed.

The surroundings had unknowingly been filled with people.

These people wore various official robes: the black armor of the Golden Feather Guards, the brocade robes of the Internal Affairs Department, the Daoist robes of the Heavenly Master Mansion.

There were the green shirts of the Ministry of Rites, the martial attire of the Ministry of War, the Xiezhi badges of the Chief Surveillance Office, the dark official uniforms of the Ministry of Justice...

A full two hundred people, all of them in the Foundation Establishment realm, and all of them experts.

They stood behind pillars, hid atop pavilions, or concealed themselves in the shadows of the trees.

When that bloodline suppression erupted just now, they had made no movement.

But Jiang Qingshan knew that as long as Gu Chengyin gave the order, these people would strike immediately.

Flattening the Qingjian Sect.

It was absolutely not an empty threat.