Free Web NovelChapter 239: Public Announcement
If things go quickly, it will be finished within this month. But even if they don't, it'll be ready next month.
Over these ten years, if he had to figure out what he had spent the most money on, purchasing pills was only one of the candidates. Refining a custom spirit-treasure-level alchemy furnace for Xie He was another. But the largest expense had definitely been the spirit treasure he was looking at.
In terms of total investment, the Gathering-Separation Ring had already exceeded three hundred million.
Of course, the reason for such a massive investment lay mainly in his relatively low cultivation. An outer core refined from someone else's Crimson Golden Core was ultimately inferior to the Golden Core obtained through personal cultivation. Especially if that outer core was unstable.
With that in mind, Yaoguang calmed himself and continued refining the spirit treasure.
When he was nearly done working for the day, he sensed something. After making some preparations, he separated a portion of his spirit-mind and entered the Void Psychic World.
It was a fan-shaped conference hall. Because he had been slightly delayed, by the time Yaoguang arrived, numerous figures were already present. Clearly, this meeting was unlike the previous ones, which had involved only a handful of high-level figures.
This time, all the hall masters, deputy hall masters, elders, branch sect masters, and domain lords had gathered. Nearly two hundred people filled the Void Psychic World.
The moment Yaoguang appeared, many took the initiative to greet him. He returned each greeting in turn, then exchanged a few words with a few familiar figures like Zhao Siliang.
The branch sect master glanced around at the crowd, somewhat surprised. "Is something major about to happen? Are we going to reclaim the Shiwan Mountains?"
"Reclaiming the Shiwan Mountains... will likely be placed on the agenda in this meeting. But the real matter is the Infinite Star Palace’s withdrawal from the Black Feather Sect on the Black Flame Continent," Yaoguang replied.
"The Infinite Star Palace withdrew from the Black Feather Sect?" Zhao Siliang froze briefly.
He quickly grasped the seriousness of the situation, yet still felt puzzled. "If they retreat now, it will severely affect their prestige. Strictly speaking, they haven’t achieved a decisive victory at the Black Feather Sect. The Black Feather Sect and the remnants of the Northern Alliance still launch attacks from time to time."
"The current global situation no longer allows the Infinite Star Palace to keep wasting time at the Black Feather Sect. They have a stronger opponent to deal with," Yaoguang answered succinctly.
"A stronger opponent? Who? The Thousand-Beast Sect? Have they made some new moves?" Zhao Siliang asked in surprise.
Yaoguang glanced at him and smiled, answering with a question. "Is it possible... that this opponent is us?"
"Us?" Zhao Siliang’s pupils constricted sharply.
Yaoguang merely smiled and said nothing more.
Although Zhao Siliang was a branch sect master of the Nine Heavens Domain, he was only part of the higher-ups of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, but was not involved in any decision-making. The ones calling the shots in the Nine Cauldrons Sect had always been just over a dozen individuals.
Many matters were beyond his knowledge. Thus, he had no idea how powerful the Nine Cauldrons Sect had become in the last fifteen years.
As the two spoke, a figure suddenly appeared at the very front of the fan-shaped hall. The moment this figure appeared, all discussions ceased.
Everyone, from hall masters down to branch sect masters, domain lords, and elders, stood and bowed respectfully. "Perfected Master."
There was a hint of surprise in their expressions. After all, Li Hanqiu had never attended such meetings before. Whenever he appeared, it signified matters that could determine the future direction of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Li Hanqiu nodded to the crowd. Then his gaze fell on Yaoguang, seated in the third row, and he beckoned.
Seeing this, Yaoguang ended his conversation with Zhao Siliang, stood up with a smile, and, under Zhao Siliang’s astonished gaze, walked straight to the front row.
The front row contained only eight people. Perfected Master Li Hanqiu, Sect Master and Warfare Hall Master Li Qingshan, Grand Elder Huang Tianhao, Deputy Sect Master and Deputy Warfare Hall Master Lou Yuyu, Deputy Sect Master and Heavenly Palace Hall Master Murong Hui, Deputy Sect Master and Garrison Hall Master Jiang Zhouyue, Deputy Sect Master and Punishment Hall Master He Xifeng, and Xu Nianhua, the sect's Daoist Seed, assistant and also the sect master's disciple.
Xu Nianhua had only gained the qualification to sit among them after breaking through to the Unity Realm seven years ago and becoming, aside from Yaoguang, the only cultivator at the third tier of the Golden Core Realm. Before that, the front row had consisted of only seven people.
As for Yaoguang being invited to sit in the front row, no one found it strange. In fact, many felt he should have been seated there long ago.
However, what truly surprised them was that, after bringing him forward, Li Hanqiu had him sit directly beside him, on his left. This arrangement even placed him slightly above Sect Master Li Qingshan.
Murmurs spread through the hall. But seeing that Li Qingshan and all the hall masters didn't seem fazed by the choice, the others quickly suppressed their shock.
"D-Does this make him the number two figure?" Zhao Siliang muttered in disbelief from the back.
Based on what he knew, it wouldn't be strange for Yaoguang to enter the front row, nor even to rank fourth, behind the ancestor, Li Qingshan, and Huang Tianhao.
But now, he had surpassed even the grand elder and overtaken the sect master himself. It was truly astonishing.
Once everyone had taken their seats, Li Qingshan exchanged brief greetings with Yaoguang and Li Hanqiu before stepping onto the stage.
His powerful spiritual consciousness spread through the Void Psychic World, instantly reaching everyone present.
"Originally, we were going to hold our annual meeting in a month. However, due to some special circumstances, we’ve moved it forward. Since we are all cultivators, there is no need to fuss over formalities," Li Qingshan said with a smile.
Without waiting for any responses, he waved his hand, and streams of light projected downward from above. "Let’s first go over the sect’s progress..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the materials in his hand, paused briefly, then continued, "The graphs are very thorough, but I believe there’s a better way to present this. Let’s directly compare our current data with that of twenty years ago. That way, everyone can gain an intuitive understanding of how the sect has changed over the past two decades."
"We’re using real data this time?" Yaoguang asked Li Hanqiu beside him via psychic thought transmission.
"There’s no hiding it anymore. We might as well reveal something real. After all, under your leadership, the sect has been advancing with each passing day. In a few years, even these ‘latest’ figures may already be outdated, so whether we keep them confidential no longer matters," Li Hanqiu replied.
Li Hanqiu smiled faintly. "Besides, it’s time they gain a proper understanding of the sect’s true strength, so as to build confidence. Judging from the current situation, the Infinite Star Palace will inevitably make a move against us within five years, perhaps sooner than that. When that moment comes, we cannot have everyone panicking and falling into despair, thinking we have no chance of victory."
"That won’t happen. Everyone in the Nine Cauldrons Sect has witnessed our development over the years. Anyone can tell we’re far stronger than we were twenty years ago."
"Being stronger is one thing. Exactly how strong we’ve become is another," Li Hanqiu said, then glanced at Yaoguang. "It's just like your growth. I can understand you less and less."
Yaoguang chuckled softly. "The sect master said I would go up later to report on the export situation of the Purple Firmament Institute. At that time, I’ll also explain my own situation."
Li Hanqiu was slightly startled upon hearing this, and his expression rarely turned serious. "You can say it now?"
He clearly understood the deeper meaning behind Yaoguang’s words.
"I can." Yaoguang gave a firm answer.
At once, a smile spread across Li Hanqiu’s face. "Good! Good! Excellent! This is truly wonderful!"
He looked toward Li Qingshan on the stage and immediately said, "I’ll call him down right now. Forget the report, you go up first. I can’t wait to see just how far you’ve progressed over these ten years!"
"No, no." Yaoguang quickly waved his hand. "Let’s follow the original schedule."
Although Li Hanqiu was eager to know what gave Yaoguang the confidence to step fully into the open, he suppressed his curiosity and instead sent a voice transmission to Li Qingshan. "Hurry up. Keep it concise. It’s time for Yaoguang to step into the spotlight."
Li Qingshan was momentarily stunned on the stage. However, since his martial uncle had given the order, he could not ignore it.
He quickly skipped over some less important sections and went straight to the key point. "Twenty years ago, our Nine Cauldrons Sect had a nominal spirit stone output of 50,310,000, with an actual output of 81,250,000. Now, after improving our spirit-gathering arrays multiple times, our total output has risen to 464,100,000!"
The moment this figure was revealed, an uproar broke out across the entire hall.
"So much!?"
"This is... quite unexpected."
"Were the figures in previous reports deliberately lowered?"
Based on the sect’s lavish spending over the past few years, as well as the smooth approval of various construction and array projects, everyone had already suspected that the sect’s income must be substantial.
Most had guessed it exceeded three hundred million, but none could say how much, nor did they dare speculate further. Yet now, with Sect Master Li Qingshan personally announcing it...
464,100,000! What an astonishing figure!
Not even top-tier powers like the Thousand-Beast Sect, the Lunar Sect, the Dharma Heaven Pavilion, or the Golden Temple could compare. Only the Infinite Star Palace and the Immortal Alliance could surpass them. But, aside from the Infinite Star Palace, there was no sect whose spirit stone output could surpass theirs.
The Immortal Alliance was a coalition by nature, formed by eight great families along with over a hundred small and medium-sized families. In terms of cohesion, unity, and mobilization, it was far inferior to the tightly united Nine Cauldrons Sect.
To a certain extent, the current Nine Cauldrons Sect could already be considered the second-largest force in terms of spirit stone production.
If they could reclaim the Shiwan Mountains in the future, reclaiming and upgrading the arrays there, becoming the true second-largest spirit stone-producing power in Cangwu would not be beyond reach.
"This is our economic strength. Next is the current military strength of our Nine Cauldrons Sect." As Li Qingshan spoke, another set of data appeared.
But this time, with nothing concealed, the discussion in the hall abruptly stopped. The earlier uproar vanished completely. Everyone’s gaze instinctively fell upon the words at the very top.
"Dharma Form, I understand. That’s our sect’s guardian spirit treasure, the Origin World. But what do they mean by ‘Crimson Golden Core’?!"
