<h4>Chapter 422 - The Sect Leader’s Words</h4>


    Chen Fan flew toward his destination, moving at an incredibly high speed. Soon, he reached the depths of the sect where he saw Feng Baiyu, the sect leader.


    “Sect Leader.”


    Feng Baiyu seemed to radiate a divine light. When he spoke, his voice resonated with purity and authority, akin to the brilliance of the sun itself. It also sounded like the voice of truth that soothed the mind and roused reverence.


    “You’re back. It seems you’vepleted the mission I assigned you.”


    Chen Fan stood there with his head slightly lowered and said neither subserviently nor arrogantly, “Reporting to Sect Leader, I have indeedpleted my holy disciple mission.”


    “Well done, tell me about it.”


    Without dy, Chen Fan recounted the sequence of events he had experienced.


    "Sect Leader," he continued, presenting the heads of Sword Venerable Ling Yun, Young Master Xue Yi, Wanderer Hundred Poisons, and others as evidence.


    “Very good, wonderful!” Feng Baiyu eximed, visibly pleased as he inspected the trophies. “These are indeed the heads of those notorious individuals."


    “These peoplemitted all sorts of atrocities in the jianghu, earning infamy throughout thend. Many orthodox experts have tried hunting them down, but these people are formidable and incredibly cunning, escaping on numerous asions. They have even killed many orthodox path experts, including a Core Formation realm elder from our sect.[1]


    “You did well, killing them all. Chen Fan, you’ve performed marvelously andpleted this mission perfectly. You’re more than qualified to be our Spring Autumn Sect’s twenty-fourth holy disciple.” Feng Baiyu sounded very happy.


    “This is something I ought to do.”


    Feng Baiyu waved his hand and said, “No need to be humble. When I assigned you this mission, I expected you to fail to kill these demonic path cultivators. Merely uncovering their intentions would have counted aspleting your mission.


    “However, you exceeded my expectations, aplishing something unthinkable. It''s a delightful surprise to witness such an achievement. Very good. I’m pleased that another one-in-a-century genius has appeared in our sect.”


    “You''re too kind, Sect Leader," Chen Fan replied cautiously, unsure of Feng Baiyu''s true intentions.


    Of course, he did not spill a word about Daoist Corpse Spirit or the spy in the sect.


    After all, Daoist Corpse Spirit was an ancient demonic path expert. Despite being under suppression for three thousand years and standing on hisst legs, he still wasn’t someone a Core Formation realm cultivator could handle.


    To reveal such information would raise suspicions, potentially leading to investigation or, if Feng Baiyu was ruthless, the use of soul-searching techniques to uncover all his secrets.


    While one should refrain from harboring ill will toward others, one should always have their guard up against others.


    Moreover, he and the sect leaders belonged to different camps, to begin with.


    Unaware of Chen Fan''s thoughts, Feng Baiyu continued, “Chen Fan, with the wlesspletion of your assigned task, you are officially the twenty-fourth holy disciple of our Spring Autumn Sect.


    “Of course, being a holy disciple signifies more than mere status. It also represents that you are one of the potential sessors of the Spring Autumn Sect.”


    “What?” Chen Fan was shocked. He looked up at him and asked, “What do you mean by that, Sect Leader? Isn’t Duan Jingtian the sessor to the Spring Autumn Sect?”


    “Haha, you’re mistaken.” Feng Baiyuughed lightly and continued, “All holy disciples in our sect are potential sessors. The position isn''t fixed. The one among you twenty-four holy disciples to reach the Divine Nascent realm first will be the next leader. Does that rify things?”


    Chen Fan nodded and said, “I understand.”


    “Chen Fan,” called the Sect Leader again.


    “Yes.” Chen Fan became a little more respectful. He needed to maintain the necessary etiquette.


    “Now, I shall make a decree and formally appoint you as a holy disciple in the presence of all.”


    Feng Baiyu waved his arm. A gentle energy lifted Chen Fan, and the scenery in front of his eyes quickly changed.


    Simultaneously, the powerful sound of a horn echoed throughout the Spring Autumn Sect.


    <i>Woo, woo, woo. Woo, woo, woo...</i>


    “The Holy Prestige Horn! Someone is being promoted to holy disciple. All grand elders must attend the ceremony. It''s been ages since west witnessed such a grand event."


    Deep inside the Spring Autumn Sect, on the private cultivation mountains, numerous grand elders with powerful auras came to their senses from their immersed cultivation. Their eyes flickered, and their figures quickly blurred as they soared through the air like lightning.


    On one of the cultivation mountains, Feng Tianxia narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered, “The Holy Prestige Horn. That brat Chen Fan has passed the holy disciple test, as expected. This summons requires all grand elders and holy disciples to witness the appointment of the new holy disciple by the sect leader."


    At Heaven’s Alliance’s headquarters, Xie Feng, who had taken over Yuan Kun’s position, had a twisted and hideous expression. His aura erupted uncontrobly, sending chairs flying and shattering valuable porcin.


    “Damn it, that damnable bastard Chen Fan has be a holy disciple. We''re all obliged to attend the ceremony. Damn it, damn it. Why didn’t that damned little bastard die!”


    A look of joy appeared on Wei Buyu’s face. He didn’t expect Chen Fan to reallyplete his mission. “It’s the Holy Prestige Horn. Looks like Chen Fan haspleted his mission and returned.”


    <i>Swish, swish, swish...</i>


    Swiftly, many grand elders and holy disciples ascended into the sky, converging toward the central battlefield of the Spring Autumn Sect. Their formidable auras flooded the space.


    The central battlefield had been closed since the Four Sects Martial Arts Competition ended; now, it was open again.


    Appointing a holy disciple was a grand asion, no less important than the martial artspetition. It signified that another extraordinarily talented disciple had appeared in the sect and had advanced into the Core Formation realm.


    Many disciples in the inner sect rushed toward the central battlefield to witness this event.


    “As expected of a grand sect event. Look at all the grand elders and the rarely seen holy disciples making their appearances."


    Many inner sect disciples sensed the powerful auras descending and whispered among themselves.


    <i>Swish, swish.</i>


    Sect Leader Feng Baiyu brought Chen Fan with him, captivating the attention of the gathered crowd.


    “Sect Leader.”


    “Sect Leader.”


    Irrespective of their rank—be they grand elders, holy disciples, or the thousands of inner sect members—everyone bowed their heads respectfully, offering greetings to Feng Baiyu.


    Many inner sect disciples were overwhelmed with excitement since this was their first time seeing Sect Leader Feng Baiyu’s true appearance.


    If holy disciples were said to be rarely seen, then the sect leader of the Spring Autumn Sect was even more so.


    For many, encountering Feng Baiyu even once in their lifetime was a distant dream.


    1. Ripped from WW Glossary, Jianghu(江湖) literally trantes as “Rivers and Lakes”, but figuratively refers to the “underground world of martial arts”. A section of society consisting of martial artists, gangsters, thieves, beggars, prostitutes, merchants, entertainers, and anyone else wanting to operate outside of mainstream society or in the gray area of thew. ?