Chapter 160: Taking Possession of East Wood Mountain-The Path to Becoming the Master of Mount Hua(Hong Yan)

"Eldest Senior Brother!" Seeing Jiang Yan standing beneath the martial arts stage, Yunying's pretty face bloomed with a triumphant smile. With a whoosh, she leaped down from the railing and hurled herself into Jiang Yan's embrace.

"Woof woof!" The white Heavenly Hound barked twice, bounding over from the edge of the stage.

"Woof woof..." Another beastly roar echoed as a black shadow flashed. The black Soul-Howling Hound appeared by Jiang Yan's feet, wagging its tail and lifting its canine head in a flattering manner.

Jiang Yan nudged the two spiritual beasts at his feet with his toe, gently ruffled Yunying's small head, and sighed in surprise, "You little rascal, bringing both spiritual beasts out with you. What are we going to do about guarding the mountain gate, you imp?" With a fond chuckle, Jiang Yan pinched Yunying's delicate, doll-like cheek affectionately.

"Tee-hee!"

Yunying giggled, brushed aside Jiang Yan's fingers, and pouted with unconcealed defiance. "Junior Fourth Brother is tending to the sect, Eldest Senior Brother! Besides, Little Black and Little White are extremely powerful. When the two of them join forces, they are formidable!"

Freeing herself from Jiang Yan's embrace, Yunying grabbed his large hand and ran toward the other end of the martial arts stage, the black and white spiritual beasts hopping and prancing joyfully around her.

Upon reaching the opposite end of the stage and taking in the scene before him, Jiang Yan froze in sheer astonishment.

Beneath the stage, dozens of Golden Flame Sect disciples clad in yellow robes squatted on the ground, clutching their heads. Even masters of high renown like Bai Tong and Xu Mingyuan were not spared this miserable fate. Xu Mingyuan was slightly better off, with only a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, but Bai Tong looked utterly wretched. Most of his hair had been torn out in clumps, and his yellow robes were tattered to shreds, revealing blood-seeping wounds beneath the torn fabric.

"Aroo..."

The low growl of a golden-winged tiger resonated through the air. Growing impatient with guarding the captive cultivators of the Golden Flame Sect, the beast let out a deeply disgruntled rumble.

"All these bad guys were captured by Little Black and Little White!" Yunying tugged on Jiang Yan's large hand, her delicate, doll-like face radiating pride.

"Wuu..." In the distance, the golden-winged tiger suddenly emitted a faint, tapering whine of protest, as if insisting that it too had played a major role in subduing this bunch.

"Right, Little Jin helped too." Yunying glanced at the golden-winged tiger, which was lifting its majestic head and gazing at her with hopeful eyes. After a long internal struggle, she finally decided to award a share of the credit to the tiger.

"Little Jin?" Jiang Yan looked at the plump, massive golden-winged tiger vigorously nodding its head and burst into hearty laughter. To give such a gigantic beast the diminutive name "Little Jin" was truly doing it a grievance. Who knew how much suffering the tiger must have endured under this little demon king, Yunying, before willingly accepting such a ridiculous moniker.

"It has been several days, Layman. Have you been well?" Monk Kongse's voice broke in from ahead.

Jiang Yan looked up to see Monk Kongse draped in a moon-white monk's robe, one palm held vertically before his chest, smiling benignly at him. Jiang Yan similarly raised one palm in a salute and returned the greeting. "Little Monk Kongse, what are you doing wandering off to East Wood Mountain instead of staying put at your Huasheng Temple?"

Monk Kongse cast a glance at the squatted Golden Flame Sect disciples on the ground and replied with an easy smile, "I have come specifically to save lives."

Walking up to a spot just a few paces away from the huddle of Golden Flame Sect disciples, Monk Kongse pressed his palms together. "To save a single life is to build a seven-tiered pagoda; to spare a life is equivalent to saving one. Layman, for the sake of this humble monk's meager reputation, might you spare some of these Golden Flame Sect disciples?"

"Wuu..."

"Woof woof..."

Monk Kongse took another step forward, but the sudden, sharp roars of the golden-winged tiger, the Heavenly Hound, and the Soul-Howling Hound erupted simultaneously, barring his path to the disciples.

"You have raised quite the pair of fine spiritual beasts, young layman," Monk Kongse said with a helpless sigh, casting a wary eye at the tensed golden-winged tiger and the braying hounds with their bristles standing on end, before turning his gaze to Yunying.

Yunying looked up at Jiang Yan and, seeing no sign of objection from her Eldest Senior Brother, gave a wave of her small hand to halt the beasts from attacking the monk, piping up crisply, "Little Black, Little White, Little Jin, stand down!"

Obeying her command, the three beasts instantly crouched in place, not daring to twitch a muscle.

Seeing the beasts restrained, Monk Kongse stepped up to the edge of the stage, reached down to help Bai Tong and Xu Mingyuan to their feet, and asked in a steady voice, "The two of you, what are your thoughts today regarding this poor monk's proposal from the other day?"

Bai Tong glanced at the disciples still squatting on the ground, a flicker of lingering fear crossing his features. "We leave our fate entirely in the Master's hands."

Xu Mingyuan looked at Xu Shi squatting nearby, then shifted his gaze to Xie Wenyuan, who was currently losing ground in a fierce duel with Mu Yun on the martial arts stage. After a complex series of expressions flitting across his face, he finally gritted his teeth. "Xu yields to whatever arrangement the Master deems fit."

Monk Kongse smiled broadly at Jiang Yan, a trace of smug triumph coloring his tone. "Well, Layman, what say you?"

In an instant, every gaze in the arena converged on Jiang Yan at the side of the stage.

Wen Tingshi of the fifth-rank sect wore a look of mild surprise; the Mount Hua sect master was astonishingly young—wonder if he had any chance of becoming...

Monk Daozhi of Pingqing Temple shifted his gaze back and forth between Monk Kongse and Jiang Yan before quietly chanting a Buddhist mantra.

Zhuge Shang of the Sword-Washing Sect stood behind Wen Tingshi, his eyes shifting before finally locking onto Jiang Yan.

Yun Tiannan of the Falling Wild Geese Sect stared curiously at Jiang Yan, eager to see how he would handle the situation.

"Woof..."

The black Soul-Howling Hound suddenly threw back its head, and a wave of soul-shaking resonance instantly swept across the entire arena. Except for a few Grand Completion cultivators, the gathered crowd clearly dazed for a fraction of a second. Even the combatants Mu Yun and Xie Wenyuan suffered a momentary stiffness, halting their duel for a split second.

"Whoosh..."

A gray shadow flashed, and Jiang Yan materialized directly between Mu Yun and Xie Wenyuan. Curling his hand into a claw, he lunged fiercely at Xie Wenyuan's throat.

Sensing the incoming assault, Xie Wenyuan instinctively tilted his head to evade, but the prolonged suppression by Mu Yun, compounded by the numbing psychological shockwave of the hound's howl, slowed his reflexes by a fraction of a second too many.

"Crack..."

Jiang Yan's fingers clamped onto Xie Wenyuan's throat. Spurtive spiritual energy surged through his grip, instantly sealing multiple meridians within Xie Wenyuan's body and completely cutting off his access to spiritual power.

"Clatter!" Xie Wenyuan's Golden Flow Greatsword slipped from his control and crashed heavily onto the bluestone pavement of the stage.

"Thud."

Ignoring the flustered Mu Yun entirely, Jiang Yan hauled Xie Wenyuan up and hurled him unceremoniously off the edge of the stage. His voice dripped with icy malice. "Hand over what I want. Xu Mingyuan, Bai Tong, kill Xie Wenyuan and his son right now, and I will allow the Golden Flame Sect to continue existing."

Without hesitation, Bai Tong lunged into the cluster of crouching disciples, dragged out Xie Beilun, and tossed him heavily beside Xie Wenyuan, using his actions to declare his total surrender to Jiang Yan.

Xu Mingyuan rose to his feet, drew a jade talisman from his robe, walked up to the stage, and presented it respectfully to Jiang Yan with trembling hands. "Master Jiang, this contains the intelligence regarding the murder of your late master."

Taking the jade talisman, Jiang Yan swept a cold gaze over Xie Beilun and Xie Wenyuan lying on the ground. His tone remained frozen in frost. "Bai Tong, kill Xie Wenyuan, and I will appoint you as the master of the third-rank Golden Flame Sect. Xu Mingyuan, kill Xie Beilun, and your past offenses against my disciple are written off."

Bai Tong and Xu Mingyuan exchanged a look, each seeing the profound helplessness mirrored in the other's eyes...

"Schwing—"

Two simultaneous sword-draws rang clear across the arena. A pair of golden dragons manifested abruptly in mid-air, shaking their heads and thrashing their tails as they lunged straight downward toward the father and son of the Xie family.

"Xu Mingyuan, Bai Tong, you ungrateful curs! How dare you—"

As the golden dragons plunged, Xie Wenyuan's furious curses were abruptly cut short, dissolving into a mangled heap of flesh and blood right beneath the martial arts stage.

...

"From this day forth, the East Wood District shall be governed by Mount Hua. Those who defy our orders shall share the fate of the Xie family..."

Jiang Yan stood proudly atop the martial arts stage, proclaiming his decree to the gathered cultivators of the East Wood District below.