Still, Lu Kangnian let them follow him inside.

Li Guanqi glanced sideways at the troublemakers, and they forced faint smiles in unison.

Li Guanqi let out a cold laugh. If he didn’t give the old geezers a proper warning, there was no telling what kind of mess they might stir up later.

He exchanged glances with Ji Yuchuan. Ji Yuchuan returned a nearly imperceptible nod, a faint smile on his lips.

The disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect who had returned earlier, along with the peak masters and elders of previous generations, were all stunned by the strength and influence Li Guanqi had revealed. Once the shock faded, overwhelming pride in the sect surged through them. For the younger generation of disciples, especially Li Guanqi’s peers, that feeling grew even stronger.

Lu Kangnian glanced back at Li Guanqi, who walked half a step behind him, and grinned from ear to ear.

The disciples lined the path on both sides as the group slowly made its way toward the sect plaza. The vast plaza looked a bit crowded now; even the tables and seating barely fit.

Seeing this lively scene, Xi Yunhuai waved his brush in midair. Immediately, formation lights flashed, causing the original square to expand further, with over a thousand zhang of suspended formation platforms extending outward.

Lu Kangnian flew up to the highest platform and waved Li Guanqi over. Resigned, Li Guanqi could only stand to his right. Lu Kangnian swept his sleeve and laughed loudly. “Everyone, please be seated!”

Even the sects and factions that had come earlier to observe were invited into the territory. They all stood by the tables.

Emotion swelling in his chest, Lu Kangnian raised his wine cup and said, “Today is a great day for the Daxia Sword Sect. Friends from far and wide have come to offer their congratulations, and I am deeply grateful. But before anything else, this first cup is for those who returned from afar! Your devotion to the sect has truly moved me. For the prosperity of the sect, cheers!”

With a clatter, everyone raised their cups and drained them in one go.

Lu Kangnian laughed heartily and called out, “Enjoy the music! Dance! Everyone, drink to your heart’s content!”

That night, the Daxia Sword Sect rose to stand among the top sects of the entire Daxia Territory. It had become, without a doubt, the number one sect on the Azure Cloud Continent.

No one dared look down on the Daxia Sword Sect anymore, despite the sect not yet having a Combined Body Realm cultivator of its own. After all, Li Guanqi had close ties to more than one Combined Body Realm expert.

The banquet was filled with laughter and lively conversation. Only Duantai Yiting’s table of three sat deserted. Everyone wanted to strike up a conversation with Li Guanqi, but they also knew they weren’t qualified, so they shifted their attention to the people from the Guanyun Pavilion instead.

Tang Ru moved through the major factions with Qian Qiusui. Song Yunshu watched Li Guanqi with lingering emotion, her gaze scarcely leaving him. When she drank with Qian Qiusui, the sharp back-and-forth between them even made Tang Ru’s scalp tingle.

Li Guanqi, meanwhile, walked over to Tu Zhongqiu and Nangong Qianyan with a wine cup in hand, chatting and laughing as if they were already old friends. By the end of the night, Nangong Qianyan and Tu Zhongqiu’s impression of Li Guanqi had improved dramatically.

But Li Guanqi knew the banquet was only the beginning. The real event would come at the sect assembly the next day.

The lively atmosphere carried into the next day, and many were still drinking and celebrating.

Duantai Yiting, Han Chengxian, and Ji Hong had all left the banquet early. From start to finish, not one person had come over to toast them. The awkwardness was beyond words. Lu Kangnian and Li Guanqi had simply left the three of them aside.

Ji Hong still had remnants of Li Guanqi’s vital force lingering inside him. Sitting at the banquet had been like sitting on pins and needles.

By mid-morning, many disciples were already cleaning up the banquet site, and the visiting sect factions had long since departed. They had hurried back to their clans to discuss what came next. By this point, the Azure Cloud Continent... was likely already under the undisputed dominance of the Daxia Sword Sect.

Li Guanqi and Lu Kangnian sat in a study room drinking tea, with Ling Daoyan and Qin Xian seated beside them. The four of them were the current core figures of the Daxia Sword Sect.

Qin Xian frowned and said quietly, “Right now, there are undercurrents stirring within the sect. The communication jade slips across the territory kept fluctuating throughout the night, and many people were constantly on the move. It’s unclear whether they were simply catching up with old friends or plotting something else behind the scenes.”

Sitting nearby with a wine gourd in hand, Ling Daoyan let out a cold sneer. “Duantai Yiting and Han Chengxian are up to no good. After cultivating for thousands of years, any attachment they once had to the sect should be thinner than paper. Their return... is not a good sign.”

Li Guanqi curled his lips slightly. He poured a cup of tea for the others and said calmly, “There’s no need to worry about them. If they have bad intentions, just kill them. If they don’t overstep, let them be.”

Lu Kangnian nodded. With the strength Li Guanqi had revealed, those few alone could not cause any real trouble. Still, he had no intention of placing all that pressure on Li Guanqi’s shoulders.

Lu Kangnian pulled a simple, ancient-looking cyan jade slip from his robes and handed it to Li Guanqi with a faint smile. “Leave the rest to us old fellows. This is the key to the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm. You should bring Ye Feng and the others inside to cultivate soon. Your injuries still haven’t fully recovered, have they?”

Li Guanqi took the jade slip but didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he frowned. “Sect Master, should I wait a bit longer?” 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Lu Kangnian shook his head, concern in his eyes. “It’s fine. Focus on healing your injuries first. Leave the rest to us. If anything happens, don’t we still have the Guanyun Pavilion?”

Lu Kangnian winked as he spoke, and Li Guanqi smiled helplessly. They were just a few old fellows from previous generations, so he really wasn’t worried about them. The people from Guanyun Pavilion were already concealed throughout the sect, and simply keeping watch on those men would be more than enough.

After a moment’s thought, Li Guanqi stood up slowly and cupped his fists. “Then I’ll head into the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm to recover from my injuries. If anything comes up, Sect Master, just call for me.”

Li Guanqi’s figure flickered and vanished. A moment later, his divine consciousness swept outward, and he looked toward the rooftop of a pavilion with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Ye Feng, Cao Yan, and Xiao Chen were sprawled across the rooftop of Duantai Yiting’s pavilion, drinking wine as if they owned the place, their auras on full display. The old man inside was probably furious enough to cough up blood.

Li Guanqi waved at them, then sent a voice transmission to Peng Luo and Nine Heavens.

“Heh heh, got it, Master. We’re coming, we’re coming,” Peng Luo replied.

A roar rang out. The four of them landed on Nine Heavens’s back. Peng Luo tore through the void to arrive, even bringing a purple-skinned ginseng along.

Dragon’s might surged, and Nine Heavens’ cold eyes swept over the pavilion below as it let out a sky-shaking roar. Then Nine Heavens vanished from the spot.