Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Concerted Effort

"Is that so?" A chilling glint flashed in Zhu Tianlan’s eyes. "As a member of the Thirteen Nations Alliance, I have a duty to protect its people," he said coldly. "The Profound Mystery Sect may be powerful, but if you want to kill a disciple of our alliance, there’s no way I will stand idly by. We may be weak, but we won’t let just anyone take a piece of us."

Zhu Tianlan saw the situation clearly. Elder Gale’s claim that he was only after Ye Xuan was a complete joke. The Profound Mystery Sect had hidden Luan Hong and his people within the Thirteen Nations Alliance long ago; they were clearly after the alliance’s resources. If he didn’t act today, then sooner or later, the Profound Mystery Sect’s experts would come for his Celestial Gold Kingdom.

"That’s right. We of the Thirteen Nations Alliance may be weak, but we won’t let any rabid dog take a bite out of us."

Xia Qixi stepped out from the crowd, her voice sharp.

As the foremost genius of the Celestial Gold Kingdom, Xia Qixi naturally had many admirers. Seeing her step forward, many of the younger disciples from the Thirteen Nations Alliance felt their spirits surge.

The experts from the various kingdoms also felt their blood boil.

"The Thirteen Nations Alliance... What is an alliance if not a single entity? We will not allow anyone to humiliate us!"

"Your Profound Mystery Sect is strong, but look how many of us there are! If you make a move, we’ll fight you to the death! I refuse to believe a handful of you can slaughter us all!"

The experts from the various kingdoms present roared in anger, their faces filled with indignation.

None of them were fools. They knew the Profound Mystery Sect’s true target wasn’t Ye Xuan, but their entire alliance. If they backed down today, they would be next.

"You want a fight? We’ll give you one!"

United as one, the Thirteen Nations Alliance’s intense battle lust surged skyward. It converged in the air, forming a terrifying, almost tangible aura that seemed to shake the very heavens and earth.

Ye Xuan was taken aback. He hadn’t expected so many experts from the kingdoms to stand up for him.

Elder Gale’s expression changed. His gaze swept coldly over the crowd as he bellowed, "What do you think you’re doing? I suggest every last one of you think this through. Today, I only want Ye Xuan. Are you really going to besiege an elder of the Profound Mystery Sect for a disciple who isn’t even from your own kingdoms? Aren’t you afraid my sect will annihilate your entire alliance?"

Elder Gale scanned the crowd with cold eyes. He couldn’t believe all these Martial Artists of the Thirteen Nations Alliance would dare to offend him—and by extension, the Profound Mystery Sect—for a single disciple like Ye Xuan.

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Qi Xian, who had seemed rather dejected, suddenly roared with laughter. It was a domineering, unrestrained sound. Then, his eyes narrowed, flashing with a deadly glint. Dripping with killing intent, he said, "Annihilate our Thirteen Nations Alliance? Come and try it, if you have the guts! You think any of us are cowards? Forget an elder like you. Even if your Profound Mystery Sect’s own Sect Master came in person, we still wouldn’t fear his threats!"

"That’s right! As if we Martial Artists of the Thirteen Nations Alliance are afraid of you!"

"Haha, what a show of power! Anyone who didn’t know better would think the whole continent belongs to the Profound Mystery Sect."

"If you dare to attack the Thirteen Nations Alliance, we’ll die fighting just to make the Profound Mystery Sect the laughingstock of the world!"

"That’s right! Our strength may be humble, and we might not be able to reach the Profound Domain, but we can reach the Dream Realm Plain. I’m sure the other top powers there would be very interested to hear what the Profound Mystery Sect has been up to."

The experts of the Thirteen Nations Alliance all laughed with bold defiance, their gazes cold and utterly fearless.

Martial Artists defy heaven to change their fate. They fight bathed in blood and live on the edge of a blade. They respect death, but they do not fear it. Was there any Martial Artist who lacked courage? Who lacked passion? Now that an enemy was at their doorstep, were they supposed to cower like turtles in their shells?

Every one of them knew they weren’t just standing up for Ye Xuan; they were standing up for themselves.

Elder Gale’s face was grim, shaken by the collective resolve of the Thirteen Nations Alliance. He never imagined they would actually oppose the Profound Mystery Sect for a single disciple.

His own strength was indeed greater than any single person’s present. But looking around, he saw at least one Tier Six Martial Venerable, twenty Tier Five Martial Sect experts, and countless Celestial Martial Artists. What’s more, half of them were also Soul Refiners.

If a fight broke out, even someone as strong as him might not make it out alive from under the assault of so many people.

"Elder Gale, what do we do now?" one of the experts behind him asked via a private sound transmission.

"We’re retreating for now. We’ll reassess the situation later," Elder Gale replied. His gaze then fell upon Zhu Tianlan as he spoke, his voice cold. "Fine. Very fine. I’ll let you off for today. But remember this: the death of a Core Disciple of our Profound Mystery Sect within your Thirteen Nations Alliance... this matter isn’t over."

"Let’s go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Gale and his men quickly departed, darting into the forest and vanishing from sight.

"Phew!"

Seeing Elder Gale and his group actually leave, Dongfang Yanyu let out a long sigh of relief. He then turned to thank everyone who had spoken up.

The crowd returned the courtesy.

"Dongfang Yanyu, be careful. I don’t believe those people from the Profound Mystery Sect will give up so easily," Zhu Tianlan said, his face devoid of joy and his tone grave.

Dongfang Yanyu and his companions’ hearts sank. This was their greatest fear as well. It would be a miracle if that group just gave up. They were most likely hiding nearby, waiting for everyone to disperse so they could attack them individually.

"Ye Xuan, President Dongfang Yanyu, why don’t you come back with us to the Celestial Gold Kingdom?" Xia Qixi said, looking at Ye Xuan with concern. "Once you’re at the Xia family estate, I guarantee those people from the Profound Mystery Sect won’t dare to touch you."

Qi Xian and Zhu Tianlan glanced at Xia Qixi in surprise. They had heard rumors about the Xia family’s true power, but would that elder of the Xia family really offend the colossal Profound Mystery Sect for Ye Xuan’s sake?

Although they hadn’t had much contact with the Xia family’s elder, both Qi Xian and Zhu Tianlan knew that this senior wasn’t particularly concerned with the affairs of the Thirteen Nations Alliance. The only reason he occasionally offered them guidance was because they resided in the Celestial Gold Kingdom.

"There’s no need. I can handle this myself." Ye Xuan understood Xia Qixi’s kind intentions but politely declined. A cold glint flashed unnoticed in his eyes.

’If I hadn’t needed to hide Jin Lin from the crowd, would I have let Elder Gale and his men leave so easily? If they’re still not giving up, then all the better. If they dare to come back, I’ll make sure none of them leave alive.’

"Elder Gale, why did we retreat?" one of the Profound Mystery Sect experts asked anxiously, as the group came to a halt in a dense forest a hundred miles from the valley. "Those people just came out of the Floating Light Secret Realm; they must be loaded with treasures. If we leave now...?"

"Exactly! Now is the perfect time to plunder their treasures," the burly man added, his voice rumbling with confusion. "Once they return to their respective kingdoms, it will be too late. Our Profound Mystery Sect can’t actually go to war with the entire Thirteen Nations Alliance, can we?"

Elder Gale sneered. "You think I haven’t considered that? However, now is not the time to move against the Thirteen Nations Alliance."

"Why not?" Zhou Liang asked, confused.

"Do you really want to ruin the Profound Mystery Sect’s reputation?" Elder Gale shot him a cold glance.

"It’s true the people of the Thirteen Nations Alliance can’t get word to the supreme Profound Domain. But they can spread the news across the Dream Realm Plain. When that happens, and those fools from the Nine Yang Sect, the Sky Empire, Profound Sound Valley, and Gale Light Academy find out what we’ve done, do you really think they’ll just stand by and watch?"

"So, now is not the time to make our move."

Elder Gale said coldly.

There was one more thing he left unsaid. While Zhu Tianlan and the others had certainly obtained treasures from the Floating Light Secret Realm, they were likely just Tier Five and Tier Six Spirit Medicines. Such things were valuable, but not essential to him. The Earth Fire on Ye Xuan, however, was something he coveted relentlessly.

In any case, it would be another ten years before the Floating Light Secret Realm opened again. The Profound Mystery Sect had plenty of time to lay its plans in those ten years. There was no need to completely burn their bridges with the Thirteen Nations Alliance right now.

"So we’re just going back empty-handed?" the burly man asked, his expression grim.

They had worked so hard to get here from the Profound Mystery Sect, and Luan Hong’s group had spent over half a year setting up their plans. How could they be willing to return with nothing to show for it?

A sinister smile played on Elder Gale’s lips. "Of course not," he said, his voice chilling. "We’ll ignore the others for now. But those few from the Liuyun Kingdom... they must die."

A sinister gleam flashed in his eyes. He wanted to kill Ye Xuan not only for the potential Earth Fire, but also to nip a future threat in the bud.

With talent that surpassed even Luan Hong’s, if Ye Xuan were allowed to keep growing, he could very well become a threat to the Profound Mystery Sect. The experts from the other kingdoms, on the other hand, posed no threat whatsoever to the colossal sect.

"The Elder is wise."

The other members of the Profound Mystery Sect sneered in unison. They had heard from Zhou Liang that the Liuyun Kingdom’s experts had reaped the greatest rewards of any kingdom in the Thirteen Nations Alliance during this trip to the Floating Light Secret Realm. They had even obtained a Tier Seven Seven-Colored Lotus. If they could seize all of their treasures, the trip wouldn’t be a total loss.

Back in the valley, the experts and Soul Refiners from the various kingdoms began to depart.

Along the way, the experts from the various kingdoms were on edge, terrified of being ambushed by the Profound Mystery Sect. To their confusion, however, they made it all the way out of the Water Mist Mountain Range without being attacked.

Once they were clear of the Water Mist Mountain Range, the teams from the major kingdoms began to bid each other farewell. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Ye Xuan, I still think you should come back with us to the Celestial Gold Kingdom." Seeing that the group from the Liuyun Kingdom was about to depart, Xia Qixi couldn’t help but try to persuade him one last time.