With the Life Summoning Jade Token activated, every Powerful Warrior was controlled through Primordial Spirit Essence Blood. In an instant, six Sea Stepping Warriors charged in.
Feng Ji was momentarily stunned upon hearing Zhang Yan announce his identity. However, seeing that there were only a few Sea Stepping Warriors, his courage swelled, and a flicker of contempt flashed in his eyes. Regardless of whether Zhang Yan’s claims were baseless threats, as long as he seized the Elixir Pills and fought his way out, no one would be able to do anything to him.
Instead of showing fear, Feng Ji actually grew more excited. He shouted, "Brothers, this person dares to humiliate the people of the Six Rivers and Four Islands! Do not hesitate—if anything happens, Senior Brother Su will shield us. Take the Elixir Pills with me and leave!"
These twenty-some individuals were not ones to shy away from trouble. Hearing his call, they all began clamoring in agreement. Various Magic Artifacts and Flying Swords were drawn and aimed at the Sea Stepping Warriors.
The True Yuan and Mana of the Sea Stepping Warriors were equivalent to a Second Realm Cultivator in the Ming Qi stages. Their bodies, tempered like forged steel, were impervious to ordinary Flying Swords and Spiritual Energy. However, compared to the Mountain Moving Warriors, they were a level inferior. When faced with Magic Artifacts, their defenses failed, and in the blink of an eye, three of them were struck down. Their lives hung in the balance, their fate uncertain.
Some others grew increasingly exhilarated with the fighting and even aimed a few Magic Artifacts directly at Zhang Yan. Yet after Zhang Yan effortlessly neutralized several attacks with a flick of his hand, their hearts ached for their broken weapons, and they no longer dared provoke him.
At that moment, no one noticed the faint trace of mockery that flashed across Zhang Yan’s face.
He could have summoned Mountain Moving Warriors instead. Yet he deliberately called only six Sea Stepping Warriors, precisely to leave room for the other side to resist.
To Zhang Yan, how could the weight of someone like Feng Ji suffice? He was merely a small ant. The goal of this situation wasn’t simply to drag all of the Six Rivers and Four Islands into the quagmire, but at the very least, to pull the Madam Feng lineage into the mud, letting them taste the bitter sting of being outmaneuvered.
To assassinate and besiege a True Disciple, even knowing his identity and continuing to attack, blatantly ignoring the sect rules—such actions, on a grander scale, were tantamount to rebellion against the sect.
The bigger this matter blew up, the more advantageous it would be for him.
Seeing that the casualties among the Sea Stepping Warriors had reached an appropriate level, Zhang Yan deemed it the right moment. With the Life Summoning Jade Token, he issued a new command, and three Mountain Moving Warriors arrived in response to his call. These warriors were utterly unafraid of the bombardment of Dharma Treasures. They stepped forward, struck down their targets with single blows, and subdued all twenty-some individuals in no time.
Zhang Yan ordered the confiscation of their Magic Artifacts, bound the group with refined ropes, and tossed them into the hall below. As their insults and curses echoed incessantly, he commanded for their mouths to be sealed. Then, he approached the desk, picked up a brush and paper, and wrote a brief letter. Summoning a Powerful Warrior, he handed him the missive along with a Flying Boat, instructing that the letter must be delivered to Ning Chongxuan without fail.
Watching the warrior leave the hall, Zhang Yan turned to glance at the defiant glares fixed upon him from below. A cold smile curved his lips as he mused to himself, "Brother Ning, the stage has been set. Let’s see how you perform the following act."
Since entering the Upper Court, Zhang Yan had always been regarded favorably by Ning Chongxuan. With his status as a True Disciple, if he gained recognition from Master Ning’s lineage, it was foreseeable that he would become a core pillar of their direct faction. Yet at this crucial juncture, Feng Shang unexpectedly interfered, throwing him into the tutelage of Zhou Chongju. As a result, all of Ning Chongxuan’s plans crumbled into nothing.
To say that Ning Chongxuan and the lineage behind him weren’t infuriated by this would be impossible. However, they had been unable to find an appropriate excuse to act. Now, the crime of assaulting and besieging a True Disciple provided more than enough justification.
Moreover, during the previous struggle over the shell field, Ning Chongxuan had stood by while five noble family True Disciples were killed. Later, the manhunt for Luo Xiao turned up empty. As a result, the Du and Zheng families united to confront the Sect Leader faction.
At that time, the shell field had just been seized from the Three Pools Lake Demon, and the distribution of interests among the factions had yet to be decided. Many noble families sought to grab more benefits, harboring ulterior motives, and followed suit, further intensifying the chaos. Master Ning’s lineage decisively sent the Shell King True Dew to the Du Family to assist in Opening Meridians and preemptively arranged for Zheng Xun to advance to the Upper Court. Through additional secret discussions, they managed to pacify these two families and quickly resolved the matter, though not without suffering some losses.
From Zhou Chongju’s remarks earlier, it was clear that the division of interests among the factions had now been finalized. With Master Ning’s lineage regaining their footing, they were undoubtedly looking for an opportunity to strike back. Today, Zhang Yan had handed them such a colossal advantage on a silver platter; there was no reason for them to refuse.
Even in the unlikely case that Master Ning’s lineage chose to disregard this matter entirely, Zhang Yan could settle for the next best thing: taking Feng Ji’s life. At the very least, it would be enough to repay the grudge of being manipulated by Feng Shang.