I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

Elder Nie Hongyuan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and clasped his fists.

"Congratulations, Sect Leader."

Four words, resounding with conviction.

One Daoist bows and congratulates another—these four words are entirely sincere.

The sect leader nodded slightly: "Elder, you're too kind."

Between the ruler and his ministers, everything is understood without words.

However, at this moment—

"Now that everyone is here," the sect leader suddenly spoke, his voice echoing throughout the hall, "I have an announcement to make."

The whole place fell silent.

From this day forward—

Her gaze fell on the languid figure beside her.

"Li Hanshan, you are hereby promoted to Elder of my Hehuan Sect."

"The position of Elder is above that of the Peak Masters. To see an Elder is to see the Emperor himself."

boom--

The square exploded.

"Senior Brother Li has grown old?!"

"How many years has he been an apprentice?!"

"My God, skipping core disciples, skipping peak masters, and going straight to elder?!"

The disciples erupted in uproar, their discussions spreading like a tidal wave.

In the crowd, Yan'er was so excited that her face turned red, and she proudly puffed out her little chest—as if the person who was announced as an elder was not her bastard master, but her own father.

Yan Qingsong stood in the crowd, mouth agape, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "Outrageous... utterly outrageous..."

The peak masters exchanged glances, all seeing the same thing in each other's eyes—envy, fear, and a hint of inexplicable awe.

The young man they once regarded as their "new favorite" is now on equal footing with them.

No.

It's like stepping on their heads.

At the front of the crowd, Ye Shuanghua looked at the figure standing side by side with the sect leader in mid-air, a faint smile spreading across her usually cold eyes.

That guy took another big step forward.

The Ninth Elder's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

He took a step forward and shouted sharply:

"Sect Leader! I object!"

"The sect's ancestral rules are as follows: newly promoted elders must undergo elder examinations and trials to verify that they possess the necessary cultivation, merits, and qualifications before they can enter the Elder Hall!"

"This young man has only been a disciple for a few decades, has no qualifications whatsoever, and has not undergone the slightest examination—what right does he have to sit in the position of elder?! What about the ancestral rules?! What about the regulations?!"

"The ancestral system has three trials—questioning one's conscience, demonstrating martial arts skills, and evaluating merits—which trial did he pass?!"

"If we make an exception today, and everyone follows suit in the future, wouldn't the threshold of the Elders' Hall become nothing more than a formality?!"

The Ninth Elder became more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, appearing righteous and awe-inspiring.

The entire venue fell silent instantly.

All eyes were on the Ninth Elder.

They also focused their attention on Li Hanshan.

Li Hanshan picked at his ear.

"Are you done talking?"

The Ninth Elder was taken aback: "What did you say—"

Before he could finish speaking...

boom!!

A blur of motion swept across the square.

No one saw how Li Hanshan moved.

Yan Qingsong later boasted to others that he had seen a flash of light.

Some people said they saw nothing—they only saw that the person where Elder Li was standing was gone, and the next moment, Elder Jiu flew away.

Hokage Step, one punch.

That's it.

Before the Ninth Elder could finish speaking, he was struck by lightning. His protective aura failed to extend for even a moment before he was sent flying sideways, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air before crashing heavily into the stone wall at the edge of the plaza!

Rock fragments flew everywhere.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

The tens of thousands of people in the audience were completely silent.

You could hear a pin drop.

The Ninth Elder was embedded in the stone wall, and it took him a long time to crawl out from among the rubble.

He was both shocked and furious, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Pointing at Li Hanshan, his finger trembled like a withered branch in the wind: "You...you..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

Li Hanshan flicked his wrist and spoke calmly:

"I've put up with you for a long time."

"Back then, when I was betrayed by the Immortal Alliance, who delivered every single detail of my whereabouts, appearance, and background to the Immortal Alliance?"

"Ninth Elder, I will remember this debt to this day."

"The grudge against the Immortal Alliance will be avenged today, half of it."