Chapter Thirty-Four: What a Talent

The power brokers present were no fools; they were all old foxes. Naturally, they saw through Wan Yi’s feigned appearance, but even if the act was fake, his words were undeniably true. Previously, everyone had assumed that the actions of the Danding Sect were trivial, but after Wan Yi magnified them to the extreme, the implications suddenly became chilling.

Seeing the atmosphere shift, Ge Honggen hurriedly interjected, "Gentlemen, do not listen to this ignorant child’s slander! The Danding Sect has always acted with integrity; how could we commit the base acts he describes? Do not let yourselves be deceived by him!"

Without waiting for the crowd to react, Wan Yi pressed his spear against the ground, clutched his chest with one hand, and put on a look of profound heartbreak. "Respected seniors, have you ever considered the consequences of the Danding Sect becoming the sole power and monopolizing the pill business? Sky-high prices are only the beginning. Pills are indispensable to us cultivators. Once they hold everyone’s lifeline in their hands and use the supply of pills as a threat, what will you do then? Furthermore, the people of the Danding Sect are all of crooked character. What if, once they monopolize the pills, they add other substances during the refining process to make you addicted, or use poison to control you? What will you do then?!"

At this point, he pointed to a stone pillar nearby and continued, "He claims they are upright! If they were truly upright, would the disciples of the Danding Sect have arrived at my Haohan Sect carrying death warrants? Under the guise of friendly exchange, they injured my senior brother from the Alchemy Peak and sought to slaughter my Haohan Sect’s disciples on the arena stage! Do you call that acting with integrity?!"

The representatives of the various sects fell into deep contemplation after hearing Wan Yi’s words. They thought to themselves, "This kid is right. If the pill market is monopolized by the Danding Sect, we will be at their mercy. And if they really do tamper with the pills as he says, the consequences would be unimaginable. One should not have the intention to harm others, but one must have the defense against being harmed. We must be very careful with the Danding Sect from now on!"

As the crowd weighed these thoughts, Lin Qiaosheng suddenly asked, "Is what you said about the death warrants true?"

Wan Yi nodded repeatedly. "Of course it is true. I simply couldn't stand it anymore, so I went onto the stage! I signed the death warrants and fought them several times. Fortunately, I did not bring shame to my sect and slaughtered the seven provocative disciples!"

By then, disciples from other sects had already recounted the events to their respective masters.

The crowd was astonished to hear that this young man had actually taken out six Foundation Establishment peak-stage disciples and one late-stage disciple of the Danding Sect. What was his cultivation level? Only early-stage Foundation Establishment, and looking at him, he seemed to have only just broken through recently.

Meanwhile, Lin Qiaosheng looked at Ge Honggen and sneered, "Old Monster Ge, you’ve heard it all now. What else do you want me to account for?!"

Ge Honggen had no way to voice his grievances and could only swallow his bitterness. They had intended for their junior disciples to use this opportunity to suppress the Alchemy Peak, but they had failed and suffered a loss instead. He could not avenge his disciples today, but burning with rage, he was unwilling to let it go.

He rolled his eyes and cupped his hands toward the other representatives. "Gentlemen, although my five disciples signed death warrants and died on the stage without complaint, they were still the hard work I had painstakingly cultivated for years. Now that they have died tragically at the Haohan Sect, I, as their master, cannot do nothing. Today, I declare: regarding the Righteous Alliance, if the Haohan Sect is in, the Danding Sect is out! If the Danding Sect is in, there is no place for the Haohan Sect!"

This declaration caused an uproar. The idea of forming a Righteous Alliance had existed among all the sects for a long time; it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision caused by last night's events at the Haohan Sect, though Lin Junxiu's death had accelerated it. Now that Ge Honggen had issued such a threat on behalf of the Danding Sect, the other representatives felt a jolt of anxiety. Whenever the righteous path had joint operations, their pill supplies came from the Danding Sect. While not free, the sheer volume of procurement meant that if the Danding Sect withdrew, they would truly be at a loss.

Unexpectedly, Wan Yi mocked, "You all see? The Danding Sect hasn't even monopolized the market yet, and they are already threatening you! If they were to truly control the market, would you even have a path to survive?!"

Wan Yi paused, then shifted his tone and chuckled. "But you don't need to worry. If the Danding Sect won't sell you pills, our Alchemy Peak will. As I said before, our pills are not only high quality and potent, but the variety is also complete. We have what they have, and we have what they don't. Most importantly, the prices are favorable. Furthermore, the weapons and artifacts forged by our Weapon Peak are just as impressive. You can do all your procurement in one stop, with bulk discounts!"

The crowd was stirred. They had long been accustomed to buying from the Danding Sect, but after hearing Wan Yi’s pitch, they realized that alternatives were quite possible. Some began to consult with Zhou Shuo and the Master of the Weapon Peak.

Seeing this, Ge Honggen felt the world spin, and he vomited a mouthful of blood in his fury!

The disciples of the Danding Sect rushed to support him and fled the Haohan Sect in disgrace. Wan Yi grinned, "Damn, I'm really something—I actually made an Emperor-realm expert cough up blood!"

Little did he know, several pairs of eyes were burning with interest as they watched him. The first was Liu Long, Master of the External Affairs Hall. Wan Yi’s performance forced him to admit internally: "What a talent!"

"To have such a talent cleaning toilets—I have no idea what those people in the Internal Affairs Hall are thinking! If he came to my External Affairs Hall to handle our business ventures and diplomatic relations with other sects, wouldn't he be a natural fit?!"

The Master of the Sword Peak, Chu Zhentian, had similar thoughts. He had heard of Wan Yi’s combat record from his subordinates and had even watched the entire process through a recording stone. With Wan Yi’s combat ability, it was a waste for him to practice the spear. While he had only just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it was not too late to bring him to the Sword Peak to specialize in the sword. In the future, this kid would surely bring great glory to the Sword Peak!

Meanwhile, even the Sect Master, Lin Qiaosheng, had a new perspective on him. Through a series of bold moves, this kid had not only sown seeds of discord between the other sects and the Danding Sect but had also invisibly boosted the popularity of the Haohan Sect, subtly binding the other sects to them. Even he, the Sect Master, had to admit to himself: "That kid is truly a talent!"