Chapter 24: The Chronicles of the Great Summer Dynasty – A New Era for the Qinglian Sect!
Liu Ruyan’s words enraged the three sect masters completely.
The fiery-tempered Chengyang Daoist snapped first. “Insolence! You’re just a mere junior who has barely broken into the Nascent Soul Realm, yet you dare spout such arrogance!”
“Reckless as soon as you break through? Youngsters must learn that being overly rigid leads to ruin!” the sect masters of Tianxin Sect and Seven Star Sect echoed, chiming in with their rebukes.
Despite their scolding, none of them moved from their seats.
If the challenger had been a seasoned cultivator who recently ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm, they might have stepped forward without hesitation. After all, even a small difference in stages within this realm represented a significant gap in power.
But Liu Ruyan was no ordinary cultivator—she was a prodigy who had reached the Nascent Soul Realm in just 200 years of cultivation.
Everyone knew that prodigies defied common logic. The three sect masters, though indignant, felt an undercurrent of hesitation. Without a word exchanged, they tacitly agreed to try pressuring her with seniority and experience rather than direct confrontation.
Unfortunately for them, Liu Ruyan had come to the Grand Competition with one goal in mind: to make her name known far and wide.
Her disciple, Nangong Ling, had already paved the way by defeating disciples from the Twelve Great Sects. Now, it was her turn to take the stage as the Qinglian Sect’s leader.
Had her breakthrough been longer ago or her physique fully under her control, she might have challenged Tianyue Zhenren himself, who was in the seventh stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.
She let out a cold laugh and pointed at the three sect masters.
“You speak of seniority and experience. Since when did the cultivation world value filial piety so much?” she mocked.
“By your logic, the Nascent Soul turtle spirit in Yuandan Academy’s Abyssal Pond, which has lived for five thousand years, should receive your *kowtows. Have you finished honoring it? If so, I’d love to witness it next time.”
[*kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission as part of Chinese custom.].
Her words struck like daggers, and stifled laughter from the crowd pricked at the trio’s nerves.
Exchanging glances, the three sect masters teleported onto the arena in unison.
“Very well. Today, we’ll teach Sect Master Liu a lesson on discretion!” Chengyang Daoist growled.
He summoned his whisk, its multicolored beast hairs flaring outward and transforming into corresponding spirit beast phantoms. They circled him, exuding an overwhelming aura.
The sect master of Tianxin Sect closed his eyes and sealed his five senses.
A deep, steady heartbeat echoed from his body, ancient and primal, shaking the souls of those nearby.
The sect master of Seven Star Sect was no less imposing. He wielded a seven-star sword, each star engraved on it lighting up in sequence. In response, the corresponding stars in the daytime sky began to shimmer, aligning to form a celestial phenomenon that boosted his aura to its peak.
Liu Ruyan raised her eyebrows and sneered.
These old men claimed to be teaching her a lesson, but their moves were anything but gentle. Each attack was clearly meant to kill.
Still, this was precisely what she wanted. She had avoided battles thus far, but now was the time to shine.
The Qinglian Sect and her title as Qinglian True Monarch would soon resound across the Great Summer Dynasty!
Liu Ruyan’s spiritual energy surged as her white hair danced wildly in the air. Her body rose into the sky as ice lotuses blossomed around her, dreamlike yet deadly.
Beneath their ethereal beauty lay a cold, murderous intent.
Her cultivation was rooted in ice techniques, and after awakening her Heavenly Ice Soul Constitution, her mastery of ice had ascended to an entirely new level.
The chilling aura from the lotuses spread rapidly, affecting even the protective formation around the arena.
Within moments, the array, meticulously crafted by Yuandan Academy, froze over and became ineffective.
The three sect masters’ faces turned grim as they shouted in unison, “Attack!”
Liu Ruyan’s expression remained cold as she clenched her hand lightly.
“Lotuses in bloom—twin petals as one.”
A deafening explosion rocked the sky, shaking even the distant immortal mountains.
“An earthquake? No… it’s coming from above!”
“What’s happening up there?”
The disciples of various sects, still immersed in the aftermath of the competition, looked up to see countless dazzling light particles descending from the sky.
When the wind brought them closer, they realized these were fragments of ice crystals.
“In the middle of summer, and it’s snowing?”
Many disciples reached out to touch the crystals, including those from the Qinglian Sect.
But Nangong Ling’s expression changed instantly. He darted aside and issued a low warning, “Don’t touch them!”
Anyone who came into contact with the ice crystals froze into sculptures in an instant. Though they were still alive, their meridians were sealed, rendering them completely immobile.
Meanwhile, the crystals that fell onto the arena spread pure, chilling energy across the immortal mountain.
Within moments, the lush, verdant mountain transformed into a frozen wasteland.
According to the Chronicles of the Great Summer Dynasty:
“In the year 3280 of the Great Summer Calendar, Nangong Ling of the Qinglian Sect emerged victorious as the top disciple among the three thousand sects, her divine eyes unmatched.
On the same day, Qinglian True Monarch Liu Ruyan, sect master of the Qinglian Sect, single-handedly defeated the Nascent Soul sect masters of Tianxin Sect, Bixiao Pavilion, and Seven Star Sect.
Eyewitnesses claimed she froze all three into ice spikes and spun them like tops.
By 3285, the Qinglian Sect was officially ranked eighth among the Great Summer Dynasty’s Twelve Great Sects. Its reputation soared.
That same year, Liu Ruyan initiated reforms, expelling all male elders and disciples from the sect and transforming it into an all-female sect.
Thus began a new era for the Qinglian Sect.”