Pu Weiming felt the aura of Dean Qin becoming even more terrifying.
He was in trouble, he thought. Would Dean Qin kill him?
Was his position as Peak Master going to end here?
He was filled with dread and anxiety, but after waiting for a long time and not receiving Dean Qin's judgment, he cautiously raised his head to catch a glimpse. He only caught sight of a fleeing shadow.
Dean Qin, who had been standing before him moments ago, had already reached the True Eye Talisman and reached out to touch the constantly rotating, crimson phantom talisman hanging in mid-air.
"Dean Qin, every time the True Eye Talisman is activated, it's a new killing formation and..." Before he could finish speaking, Qin Siren was pulled into the True Eye Talisman.
Pu Weiming swallowed the words "killing intent" and remained silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah! I must quickly relay the news of the Dean's return to Uncle-Master Qianying..."
He hurried out of the True Eye Talisman and saw students who had already reached the peak. He frowned.
"Everyone take a rest today and disperse. Do not linger on the peak."
For reasons unknown to the students of Talisman Peak, upon hearing they could have a day off, they didn't hesitate and quickly left.
Ever since the change of Peak Masters, their Talisman Peak had become the most arduous. Every day was either spent drawing talismans for the other peaks or diligently cultivating on the peak. They were practically becoming talismans themselves.
In the city of Yuan Jin, now Anping City, a meeting convened by various forces from across the Divine启 Continent was underway.
The representative of the Great Ning Dynasty, Prime Minister Wen, and the Crown Prince of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom were in a heated argument.
"Crown Prince Jin displays great spirit, abandoning thirty thousand civilians without a second thought. It's no wonder the Golden Sparrow Kingdom would collude with external continents! But your Golden Sparrow Kingdom, only responsible for the safety of one hundred and fifty thousand civilians, wants to push thirty thousand onto Great Ning. Don't you think you are rather incompetent?"
Prime Minister Wen was the maternal grandfather of the current Emperor of the Great Ning Dynasty and Princess Qin Yue. He hated the Golden Sparrow Kingdom so much that even in front of so many noble families and the State of Qi Zhou, he showed no deference to the Crown Prince of Jin.
However, the current Golden Sparrow Kingdom indeed could not command any respect.
Because of the Nine Revolutions Fortune Seizing Array created by the National Master of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, demonic energy was now rampant in Anping City, and it had harmed so many innocent civilians. Anyone with a conscience would not hold any favorable impression of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom.
Crown Prince Jin, enraged, pointed at Prime Minister Wen. "You are insolent! You, you simply..."
"Enough!" The woman in golden-red silk, seated at the head of the table, frowned and reprimanded, "Crown Prince Jin, this is a place for discussion, not for arguing. If you want to argue, go outside and do it!"
As her words fell, a powerful aura followed.
A cold glint flashed in her crimson eyes, and everyone felt as if the air in the room had suddenly thinned, as if a great mountain was pressing down on them.
The Qing family, Mei family, Sun family, Tang family, Wei family, and others who had been harboring restless intentions were forced to calm down.
With the Divine启 Academy's attitude, it was likely that if they had any objections, they would end up like Crown Prince Jin.
However, they were also unwilling to suffer losses.
"Venerable Qianying, it's not entirely Crown Prince Jin's fault. The Academy wants us to help provide people to protect these civilians. This is no small matter, and the cost is also considerable."
The speaker was Sun Wuwei of the Sun family.
The elders of the Sun family's clan were very dissatisfied with the head of the Sun family's enmity with the Divine启 Academy and Bai Sheng Yi. If it weren't for the outstanding talent of Sun Ling in the head of the Sun family's lineage, who was also the only one with an heir, the position of family head would have long been unstable.
However, even so, the elders of the Sun family's clan had begun to scout for talent from collateral branches. For example, with Sun Chongyang entering the seeded list this time, Sun Wuwei's lineage had regained the clan's attention, and he was sent as a representative to this meeting.
Sun Wuwei, having lived for several hundred years and confident in his seniority and cultivation, spoke politely but always with a hint of disdain and contempt.
He felt that the Divine启 Academy's actions were becoming increasingly naive.
Qianying glanced sideways at him with her beautiful eyes, curving her lips. "If you have something to say, say it directly."
"The Academy must give us some benefits, right?" Sun Wuwei straightened his back, a smile on his face, appearing like a kind elder, but his words were quite impolite. "After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, right?"
"Exactly," the head of the Wei family quickly whispered in agreement.
The Wei family had been declining in recent years, almost falling out of the eighteen noble families. They certainly didn't want to waste this effort for nothing.
The current head of the Mei family said sarcastically, "Isn't the Divine启 Academy always like this? They are the foremost power on the continent and expect us to do as they say. How could they consider our difficulties?"
Due to the actions of Mei Shuying, the Mei family was also becoming increasingly inferior to its past glory. If it weren't for Mei Caibing holding things together, they would have likely ended up in the same situation as the Wei family.
The heads of several noble families expressed their dissatisfaction one after another.
A hint of smugness appeared on Sun Wuwei's face. Juniors were thin-skinned; with so many people opposing her, she would have to consider them in any case—
"Bang!"
Sun Wuwei watched as Qianying slammed her palm onto the conference table. The hard purple copper ore table turned to dust. His smug expression froze.
"Patriarch Sun, one of your statements is incorrect. You are not helping the Academy," Qianying said, patting her hands as if what she had just crushed was not purple copper ore, but merely a piece of jade.
Her beautiful eyes turned cold, and she stood up directly, scanning the crowd. "You all enjoy the offerings of the people in your territories. Now, in the face of this great calamity, you wish to abandon the people. Are you not afraid of karmic retribution?"
If this matter did not concern the entire Divine启 Continent, and the Academy could not bear the burden alone, Qianying would have been too lazy to deal with these families with their intricate schemes.
She was about to say more when she noticed her communication talisman light up. She frowned slightly, took out the communication talisman, and her expression shifted.
"I have other matters. Everyone, please consider carefully. However, the shattering of the dimensional barrier is likely only a matter of days. Tomorrow, I expect to hear all of your answers!"
After speaking, Qianying ignored the crowd and waved her hand. "Elder Wen, Elder Ling, bring people to host our esteemed guests and do not neglect them."
As her voice fell, she vanished from the spot.
"What... what is her cultivation level?"
In the dead silence, the head of the Wei family stammered.
Although everyone now knew that Golden Core was no longer the highest cultivation level for cultivators on the Divine启 Continent, seeing Qianying teleport away so abruptly still astonished them. This meant that Qianying's cultivation might even be above Nascent Soul.
This was incredibly difficult for these family heads, who prided themselves on having many Golden Core cultivators within their clans.
As if unknowingly, they had fallen behind the times.
"You still have the mood to care about her cultivation level? Haven't you realized we've been effectively placed under house arrest by the Divine启 Academy?" Sun Wuwei glared at the head of the Wei family with a look of frustration.
"Venerable Sun, please don't misunderstand. The younger generation is here to take care of all of you, lest you find Anping City inconvenient. Anping City is currently rife with demonic influence, and the Academy is concerned for everyone's safety." Zhan Jiuzhou yawned lazily, looking as if he hadn't woken up.
It was understandable. After toiling day and night to mend the heavens for five or six years, he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. He had just returned and intended to sleep for nine days and nine nights, but he was called out again by Wen Jiuyin.
Although he didn't have a bad temper when woken up, he certainly wouldn't speak kindly to these arrogant noble families.
"Insolent! Zhan Jiuzhou, who gave you the courage to speak to us like this?" Sun Wuwei shot up, his face darkening. "Have you forgotten that you are also from a noble family?"
He looked towards the direction of the head of the Zhan family. "Brother Zhan, aren't you going to do something about this?"