The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

"The Abbot and Daoist Chongxu have also arrived? Please come with me to greet them."

After saying this, Zuo Lengchan addressed the crowd and then led a group of Songshan disciples down the mountain to greet them.

"There's nowhere to sit here."

Linghu Chong looked around.

At this time, many martial arts practitioners had already sat down on the ground.

Linghu Chong looked around, his eyes darting around, as if he had thought of something. He rolled up his sleeves and started wiping something on an open space, leaving Yue Buqun looking on blankly, wondering what he was doing.

"All right."

Linghu Chong wiped the open space clean, stood up, and said to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze.

"Master and Mistress, please have a seat."

"..."

Yue Buqun glanced at Linghu Chong, then at the open space, and after a moment said, "I'm not tired. Standing is fine too."

He simply couldn't bring himself to sit on the ground in public.

Ning Zhongze smiled and said, "Chong'er is so thoughtful."

Despite saying that, Ning Zhongze had no intention of sitting down.

Seeing that neither of them sat down, Linghu Chong felt a little down. Then he noticed Jiang Ning.

At this moment, Jiang Ning stood still, as if he were in a meditative state.

"Junior brother, what are you doing?"

Linghu Chong approached Jiang Ning and asked.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning glanced at Linghu Chong and shook his head.

"nothing."

"Ok?"

Linghu Chong looked at Jiang Ning again and couldn't help but scratch his head.

He sensed some changes in Jiang Ning, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Now that he was closer, the changes became even more pronounced. Sometimes he felt Jiang Ning's aura was very strong, like a surging, turbulent wave, and other times it felt like a gentle, trickling stream.

Linghu Chong shook his head, completely baffled, and then left to talk to Yue Lingshan.

Seeing that Linghu Chong had stopped bothering him, Jiang Ning turned around.

Actually, he was adjusting his breathing and internal energy just now.

After breaking through to the fourth level of the Innate Skill, Jiang Ning felt changes within his body, the most noticeable of which was the speed at which the Innate Skill circulated within him.

In the past, when breaking through the Innate Skill, the speed of the Innate Skill's internal energy circulation would increase, and Jiang Ning would have to adapt to it first.

In addition, Jiang Ning also felt that something was changing in his body, and that it was slowly transforming.

He couldn't sense the specific changes; he probably wouldn't know until his body had fully undergone the transformation.

Jiang Ning closed her eyes and continued to adjust to the changes in her body.

Time passed second by second.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Sect Leader Yue."

An aged voice came from over, causing Yue Buqun and Master Mo Da, who were waiting, to turn their heads to look.

The one speaking was Fang Zheng.

At this moment, Fang Zheng was heading this way, with Daoist Chongxu beside him, and disciples from both sects following behind him.

"Abbot, Daoist Chongxu, how have you both been lately?"

Yue Buqun went up to greet him with a smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader Yue. Everything is fine."

Fang Zheng said with a smile.

At this moment, Fang Sheng, who was behind him, saw Jiang Ning in the crowd and smiled.

"How have you been, Benefactor Jiang? Do you still remember this humble monk?"

Jiang Ning opened his eyes, looked over, and smiled.

"Master Fang Sheng looks even more radiant than before, after not seeing him for many days."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Fang Sheng laughed heartily, as if he were having a conversation with an old friend.

"Young Master Linghu, how is your practice of the Wudang swordsmanship that I taught you last time?"

At this moment, Daoist Chongxu also smiled at Linghu Chong.

Yue Buqun narrowed his eyes as he watched the two men, one after the other, flirting with his disciple.

Chapter 364: Why Not Let My Master Sit Here?

"Thank you for teaching me swordsmanship, Daoist Master."

Linghu Chong was flattered and quickly bowed.

Master Chongxu stroked his beard and smiled.

"Sect Leader Yue, is Abbess Dingxian from the Hengshan Sect still missing?"

At this moment, Fang Zheng said to Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun withdrew his gaze, looked at Fang Zheng and smiled, "Master Dingxian and the others will be delayed for a while, but they will arrive today."

"Amitabha."

Fang Zheng nodded, recited a Buddhist chant, and then said nothing more.

At this moment, Zuo Lengchan walked up the steps of the Fengchan Platform, looked around, and asked a question.

"Has the Hengshan Sect not arrived yet?"

"Reporting to Master, we have not yet received any news from the Hengshan Sect."

A disciple from Mount Song dressed in yellow replied from below the stage.

Zuo Lengchan nodded, but then swallowed back what he was about to say.

Many martial arts practitioners, seeing that the Shaolin and Wudang groups had arrived but the grand gathering had not yet begun, waited in vain until noon. Many of them began to feel very hungry and started shouting.

"What's going on? Are we not starting?"

"I'm starving."

The room suddenly became very noisy.

Upon seeing this, Zuo Lengchan channeled his inner energy and shouted, "Please be patient, everyone. Of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, only the Hengshan Sect has not yet arrived. We need to wait for the Hengshan Sect to arrive before we can officially begin the conference. If you are hungry, please go down the mountain first. The Songshan Sect has prepared fine wine and meat to entertain you."

Upon hearing that there was food, some martial arts practitioners quieted down and, led by the disciples of Mount Song, went down the mountain to eat.

"mob."

Upon seeing this, Yue Buqun couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Among the many martial arts figures who came this time, their qualities varied greatly. Apart from the major sects such as Huashan, Emei, Shaolin, Wudang, and Kunlun, many of them were just idle people from the martial arts world. Judging from their actions just now, most of them were just a mob.

"Sect Leader Yue..."

At this moment, Fang Zheng came over and started chatting with Yue Buqun. Also coming over were the Kunlun Sect leader and the Beggar Clan leader, the Diancang Sect leader.

Two familiar faces from the Diancang Sect also came this time.

"Sect Leader Yue, it's been a long time."

Diancang stepped forward with his twin swords and bowed to Yue Buqun.

"Thank you, Brother Xie, Brother Liu."

Upon seeing these two old acquaintances, Yue Buqun's smile became much more genuine.

While Yue Buqun was catching up with acquaintances, Jiang Ning was adjusting his internal energy.

Another hour passed, and many martial arts practitioners had eaten and drunk their fill. However, the conference had not yet started, and these people began to stir again.

Upon seeing this, Zuo Lengchan returned to the steps, channeled his inner energy, and shouted.

"Everyone, today is the day when the Five Mountains Sword Sect re-elects its leader. However, the Hengshan Sect has not yet arrived. The conference will officially begin once Abbess Dingxian arrives."

Zuo Lengchan's voice echoed throughout the Fengchan Terrace on Mount Song, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Sect Leader Yue, the Hengshan Sect has yet to arrive. It is already past noon. Our Left Sect Leader has sent me to inquire whether the sect leaders should continue to wait for the Hengshan Sect to arrive."

1

While Zuo Lengchan was explaining the situation, a disciple from Songshan came over and said something to Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun glanced at him, then at Zuo Lengchan in the distance, and said, "Since today's conference is a joint effort of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, we should naturally wait for the Hengshan Sect to join us."

The four factions have come to Mount Song no longer for the matter of becoming the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, but to confront the Mount Song faction. Naturally, they have to wait for the Mount Heng faction to arrive.

"I'll go back and report right away."

After receiving the answer, the Songshan disciple left, while other Songshan disciples also emerged from the Hengshan and Taishan factions.

"Master, the Huashan, Taishan, and Hengshan sects all have to wait for the Hengshan sect to arrive before they can begin."

After receiving the answers from his disciples, Zuo Lengchan frowned slightly, glancing at the three factions' camps in the distance, lost in thought.

After a short while, Zuo Lengchan summoned several disciples from Songshan Mountain and whispered something to them. Soon after, these disciples entered the crowd and moved among them. Before long, many martial arts practitioners began to make a fuss.

"We won't wait for the Hengshan Sect since they haven't arrived yet. Alliance Leader Zuo, let's begin."

"Yes, we've been waiting for so long and the Hengshan Sect still hasn't arrived. They must have given up on the position of alliance leader. In my opinion, the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance should be elected from among the four sects of Songshan, Huashan, Taishan and Hengshan."

Such voices rose and fell among the crowd, attracting many江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people from all walks of life) to echo them, growing louder and louder until they eventually became just one voice.

Zuo Lengchan continued, “I am grateful for your kind invitation to attend the Five Mountains Sword Sect Alliance Leader Election Conference. However, the Hengshan Sect is late in arriving. Time waits for no one. Since the Huashan, Taishan, and Hengshan Sects have already arrived, why don’t we start the conference first? Before the Hengshan Sect arrives, the new leader will be chosen from among our four sects. If Abbess Dingxian has any objections to the new leader after she arrives, she can discuss with the new leader to determine the position.”