Chapter 270: What Are Qualifications? I Only Know Strength!
The vast energy continued to radiate outward.
Each surge of energy felt like a slap in the face to everyone present.
Aside from Abbot Huiyuan, who was relatively steady, the other old-timers were all swaying and on the verge of collapse.
Abbot Huiyuan squinted his eyes. His wrinkled, aged face looked calm on the surface, but inside, his emotions were churning.
He had never underestimated this young man, who had been hailed as unparalleled since a young age, but he was still stunned by the immense aura Zhang Yangqing radiated.
If it weren’t for the Diamond Indestructible body he had painstakingly cultivated for decades, he might have already rolled off the platform.
Many people on site were starting to wonder: were these sect leaders, who had cultivated for decades, really this fragile?
If Zhang Yangqing possessed such terrifying strength, didn’t the others have any power to fight back?
But what they didn’t understand was that at this moment, anyone who dared to unleash their aura would be directly challenging Zhang Yangqing.
If they released their aura and still couldn’t overpower Zhang Yangqing, then he would have every right to strike them down right then and there.
In the cultivation world, these were the so-called rules.
No one was stronger than him, so they could only endure.
Moreover, as Zhang Yangqing’s energy grew stronger, some people could barely even speak, let alone unleash their own power.
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t the type to hide his strength and slowly reason with people.
He put his power right out in the open. If you think you can overpower me or even kill me, go ahead and try!
Instead of wasting my breath arguing with you, I prefer that you all listen to what I have to say.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t like listening to others lecture him. Wasn’t his cultivation exactly meant to make others listen to his reasoning?
With Zhang Yangqing’s provocative words, the atmosphere on site became increasingly tense.
Deliberately arriving late and then deliberately picking a fight.
Wasn’t that just flaunting his power?
You wanted a chance to teach me, Zhang Yangqing, a lesson, didn’t you? Well, today I’m giving you that chance. Let’s see how you’re going to teach me.
The old-timers on site were also having a tough time. They all looked at each other, hoping someone would speak up to ease the tension.
Many turned their gaze to Yao Ci, the president of the Kunlun Mountain Association, who was also the host.
Yao Ci also found it hard to speak. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing and ending up in an embarrassing situation.
Wasn’t Zhang Yangqing just waiting for someone to open their mouth so he could make an example out of them?
At that moment, Tang Chong, the president of the Tang Sect Association, stepped forward. A dense, powerful energy surged out from within him, supporting him as he walked up to Zhang Yangqing.
When everyone saw him, they were filled with admiration. Truly worthy of being the president of the Tang Sect Association—he had real backbone.
He dared to offend Zhang Yangqing at a time like this? If you get beaten to death, we’ll erect a monument for you right away!
But unexpectedly, just as Tang Chong strode over with such momentum, the scene suddenly took a sharp turn.
He put on a ‘kindly’ smile and said, “You’ve arrived at just the right time. We only just got here ourselves.”
Everyone: “…”
Everyone present was stunned. How could this old man say something like that with a straight face?
We’ve been standing here for three or four hours, and you say you just arrived?
We thought you had some backbone, but it turns out you’re spineless too!
You were the one talking the loudest, remember? You’ve been declaring for days that you were going to teach Zhang Yangqing a lesson.
So now that Zhang Yangqing is standing right in front of you, you chicken out?
You’re a disgrace to the cultivators of our country.
Everyone looked down on him for this behavior.
If Tang Chong knew what they were thinking, he would immediately grab the person who despised him, drag them in front of Zhang Yangqing, and say, “Why don’t you say that to his face?”
This kid has clearly taken a fighting stance. From the very beginning, he’s made it clear he’s not going to play by the rules. How could I dare say anything?
With Tang Chong breaking the ice, Yao Ci immediately stepped forward as well.
“Heavenly Master Zhang, your presence here truly brings light to our humble, shabby little place. Please, this way.”
Hearing these words, not just the other cultivators who were there to watch the show, but even the Kunlun Mountain cultivators themselves were dumbfounded.
When had they ever seen Yao Ci act so humble?
Was this still the Yao Ci who had commanded decades of prestige in the country?
Kunlun Mountain was a sacred place for cultivation in the country, with many sects.
The Heaven Worship Altar was a holy and sacred site, and the cultivators of Kunlun Mountain were also very proud.
As the president of the Kunlun Mountain Association, he was someone who could look down his nose at others.
And now he only dared to call the holy land of Kunlun Mountain a ‘shabby little place.’
In the art of the Chinese language, to elevate the status of a guest, one belittles one’s own place.
From this statement, it was clear that Yao Ci had truly lowered his posture to praise Zhang Yangqing.
His words immediately resonated with the surrounding old-timers, because when Zhang Yangqing’s gaze swept over them, they had to show their stance.
Don’t think Zhang Yangqing would let them off the hook. He had heard before he arrived that this group wanted to teach him a lesson.
No matter how they intended to do it, that meant they were hostile.
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t going to let a single one of these people off the hook.
You’d better make me believe you’re not a threat, or I won’t hesitate to eliminate the danger.
Don’t gamble on whether I dare to act. If I do, the worst I’ll get is some criticism. But you? You’ll be facing the annihilation of your entire sect.
Under Zhang Yangqing’s sweeping gaze, aside from the president of the Taoist Association, everyone else put on a smile and came forward to greet him.
It wasn’t that Master Qingxu didn’t want to give face, but Zhang Yangqing’s gaze simply never fell on him.
After all, they were from the same tradition, so he had to show some courtesy.
The old-timers who were caught in Zhang Yangqing’s gaze all expressed their respect to him, their voices filled with enthusiasm and welcome.
“I have often heard your great name. It has rung in my ears like thunder. To meet you, Heavenly Master Zhang, is a blessing for us all.”
“I have long heard that Heavenly Master Zhang possesses the bearing of a celestial being. Now that I see you today, it is truly so!”
“To be able to converse with Heavenly Master Zhang, I feel as if I have found a priceless treasure. I am truly flattered, and this honor is beyond words!”
Even Abbot Huiyuan, who was not usually talkative, came up and said a few words.
The underlying message of all this flattery was: We know you’re incredibly powerful. Please, we beg you, stop showing off!
With that, Yao Ci invited Zhang Yangqing to take the seat of honor. Zhang Yangqing naturally sat down without any hesitation.
But even at this point, Zhang Yangqing still didn’t retract his aura from the surroundings, which made it impossible to proceed with the Heaven Worship Ceremony.
And they couldn’t very well tell Zhang Yangqing directly, since he had clearly shown he didn’t care about saving face for them.
So this group of old-timers could only turn to look at Master Qingxu again.
Among everyone present, the only one Zhang Yangqing might show any consideration for was you. Won’t you please say something to him?
We’ve already said what we needed to say. If you Taoists let this continue, how are we going to end this today?
Master Qingxu had no choice but to go up and greet Zhang Yangqing.
Only then did Zhang Yangqing slightly retract his aura, and many people on site breathed a sigh of relief.
If Zhang Yangqing had kept it up, these people would have been in real trouble.
Especially the younger generation. They were all amazed: Is that Heavenly Master Zhang on the platform, the one who made the presidents of the seven major associations back down with just his presence, really of the same generation as us?
The Heaven Worship Ceremony had already been delayed for a long time. Yao Ci, seizing the moment before things escalated further, began the ritual.
He announced that today, everyone was present, and this was the most impressive gathering of honored guests ever.
He told the disciples below the stage to perform well and receive the blessing of heaven.
By age, Zhang Yangqing should have been the one receiving the blessing, but instead he sat in the highest seat.
But this time, he used his strength to show everyone that this seat belonged to him.
And no one questioned whether he had the ability to sit there.
Seniority? What was that?
Zhang Yangqing used his power to prove that as long as you’re strong enough, you can sit wherever you want!
The Heaven Worship Ceremony was an event organized by the Kunlun Mountain Association. The other associations were just there to observe, or to send a couple of their disciples to participate.
There were only seven seats on the main platform for this Heaven Worship Ceremony.
In fact, they had originally not planned to prepare a seat for Zhang Yangqing at all. Their initial intention was to leave him standing off to the side when he appeared.
They didn’t think Zhang Yangqing would have the nerve to try and take a seat from them, the old-timers.
But as soon as Zhang Yangqing arrived, Yao Ci voluntarily gave up his own seat.
If Zhang Yangqing didn’t sit there, would anyone else dare to?
While Yao Ci was methodically conducting the Heaven Worship Ceremony, Tang Chong, the president of the Tang Sect Association, who was sitting next to Zhang Yangqing, leaned over and said, “Heavenly Master Zhang, back in the day, your master and I were like brothers. Once upon a time…”
Since the hard approach wasn’t working, Tang Chong switched to a sentimental one.
He chatted about old times, subtly implying that he and Zhang Yangqing’s master were of the same generation.
His goal was to make Zhang Yangqing understand that he should respect his elders.
“How come I’ve never heard about that?”
Zhang Yangqing’s blunt, honest reply left even Tang Chong, the white-haired old man, completely dumbfounded.
Your master and I were making our way in the cultivation world decades ago.
You hadn’t even entered the sect back then. How could you possibly know?
So your attitude is basically, ‘If I didn’t see it happen, I don’t acknowledge it,’ right?
Fine, fine, fine. If that’s how you want to play, then I’ll just have to lower my own status.
Because it was obvious: Zhang Yangqing was putting on an act of ‘I don’t recognize any of you as my elders.’ What were you going to do about it?
Either talk to me nicely, or fight me. The choice is yours.
Try to pull rank on me? Not a chance. Even Master Qingxu wouldn’t dare call himself my elder. Who do you think you are?
If you have the guts, go find my master and bring him here. Otherwise, I’ll send you to meet my master myself.
Seeing that Zhang Yangqing was immune to both soft and hard approaches, the presidents of the various associations fell silent.
At this moment, many people didn’t actually notice that Zhang Yangqing hadn’t come up the mountain alone this time. He had also brought a disciple from Dragon Tiger Mountain with him.
It was just that Zhang Yangqing was so dazzling that everyone naturally overlooked him.
Xiao Xuan, not having the status to show off on such an occasion, had found a corner to blend into.
He had been watching the whole time as Zhang Yangqing suppressed that group of old-timers, who were gnashing their teeth in anger but didn’t dare to speak loudly.
Seeing this, Xiao Xuan was overjoyed.
Maybe you think our lack of elder figures at Dragon Tiger Mountain is a disadvantage for us.
But you never expected this: it’s actually a huge advantage.
Because no one can boss us around.
“Are you going to keep standing behind me?” Xiao Xuan asked calmly without turning around, still watching the show.
His talent wasn’t low, so he could sense something was up.
“When your sect’s Heavenly Master starts throwing punches, he’s not going to hit you too, is he?” Luo Hao’s voice came from behind him.
If he hadn’t spoken, it would have been hard for anyone to detect him.
“Of course not,” Xiao Xuan replied confidently. Zhang Yangqing had no reason to beat him up out in public.
“Well then, standing behind you is definitely safe.” Luo Hao had a triumphant smile on his face.
Xiao Xuan: “…”
Man, you’re really afraid of dying, aren’t you?
Luo Hao meant: What else would I do? With so many people here, if I went up there and got beaten up, that would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?
He wouldn’t say he understood Zhang Yangqing completely, but he knew one thing: if you couldn’t beat Zhang Yangqing in a fight, then Zhang Yangqing wasn’t going to do you any favors.
If he had been up on that platform, wouldn’t those old-timers have made him go and greet Zhang Yangqing?
And then Zhang Yangqing would definitely have beaten him up to make an example of him.
It wasn’t like the bad ideas were his, Luo Hao’s, to begin with. Why should he go looking for trouble?
So Luo Hao simply hid in the back.
That was also why Yao Ci couldn’t find him earlier.
Without Zhang Yangqing showing off, the Heaven Worship Ceremony began quickly.
Yao Ci, with his crane-like white hair and beard, raised his sword to point at the sky, his aura powerful and deep.
High above the nine heavens, a purple mist came from the east.
An auspicious aura enveloped the area.
“Everyone sit cross-legged and feel the divine gift with your hearts!”
Yao Ci said solemnly to the disciples below the stage.
No matter how far or near these disciples were, they could hear his words clearly.
The disciples did as instructed. After walking all day, standing straight all morning, and being tormented by Zhang Yangqing for a while,
they could finally rest a bit. They sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and meditated.
The celestial light sprinkled down, bathing each person.
At that moment, a figure ran up, panting heavily.
“Oh my, I’m exhausted! You jerk, you didn’t wait for me!”
Chu Yiyi had finally made it up the mountain. It was the first time she had climbed such a high peak to reach such a magnificent holy land.
As a disciple of a small, insignificant sect, her sect had limited resources—just a mountain rich in spiritual energy—nothing as grand as other sects.
Arriving at the Heaven Worship Ceremony, she naturally found Zhao Kai, who was watching from the sidelines.
Zhao Kai had some status in the secular world, but here he couldn’t get onto the main stage. With no elders to bring him in, he could only watch from the side, unable to enter the center of the ceremony.
He could only envy the disciples who were being blessed.
There were actually quite a few disciples like him, all around the edges.
Seeing Chu Yiyi arrive, Zhao Kai excitedly told her how their idol, Heavenly Master Zhang, had made his domineering entrance and awed everyone there.
He, Zhao Kai, might not have much ability himself, but seeing his idol put those arrogant old-timers in their place made him very happy.
He had arrived relatively early, so he knew that those old-timers had wanted to teach Heavenly Master Zhang a lesson. He had been worried at first.
But seeing that Heavenly Master Zhang not only came out unscathed but also taught them a lesson, he was overjoyed.
Anyway, those old-timers looked down on him too. He didn’t even have the qualifications to suck up to them.
Heavenly Master Zhang was much nicer to talk to, willing to take a photo with him.
“You really missed out by not seeing it.”
Today, Zhao Kai had not only seen it but had also recorded Zhang Yangqing’s heaven-shaking performance, just like many of the others watching from the outside.
The kid immediately posted the video to his WeChat Moments, adding his location.
Within two minutes of posting, the likes and comments had already exceeded a hundred.
They were all full of praise and envy.
Those who hadn’t come were deeply regretting it.
Some people nearby even posted the video online, and early in the morning, it shot straight to the top of the trending searches.
It allowed many ordinary people to witness such a grand ceremony. Some also remarked that just being able to stand there and take pictures made them a prodigy in the eyes of ordinary people.
If an ordinary person were nearby, when Heavenly Master Zhang unleashed all that pressure, they’d probably cough up half a catty of blood on the spot.
Even more people urged them to take more videos and get closer, hoping to capture a close-up shot of Heavenly Master Zhang.
But that was really asking too much of the cameramen. It was impressive enough that they could film from the periphery. They didn’t have the qualifications to go inside.
Don’t you see that, besides Heavenly Master Zhang, everyone else inside was basically a white-haired old man?
The young people could only stand in the back.
After seeing the video Zhao Kai had taken, Chu Yiyi was full of envy.
But she hadn’t come away empty-handed. She had hidden the bottle Zhang Yangqing had given her inside her clothes.
She didn’t even dare to brag about it.
If anyone else found out she had this, the big sects might not bother to steal it, but the small sects nearby would probably beat her to death for it.
No matter how much she wanted to show off, she could only bury this secret deep in her heart.
When the purple mist above the nine heavens dispersed, the Heaven Worship Ceremony came to an end.
The Heaven Worship Ceremony wasn’t such a simple, casual affair that you could summon heaven’s blessing with a few props.
It was a gathering of the precious resources of the various Kunlun Mountain sects to pray for heaven’s favor.
Even in a resource-rich place like Kunlun Mountain, it could only be held once every few years.
The disciples who had received the blessing all bowed their heads in thanks for heaven’s grace.
Even the young people watching from the sidelines gained some benefit.
Then Yao Ci gave a rousing speech to encourage the young people present, urging them to cultivate diligently because the future of the country depended on them.
This Heaven Worship Ceremony stirred the hearts of many young disciples because they had witnessed something unforgettable.
As for what Yao Ci actually said, it wasn’t important to them. They all aspired to be like Zhang Yangqing, who didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion and could suppress heaven and earth wherever he went.
Having a goal gives you motivation.
Seeing the fervent, excited look in the disciples’ eyes, Yao Ci stroked his beard, very pleased with their expressions. He thought his speech had been excellent.
The Heaven Worship Ceremony was just the beginning of the day’s events. The main event was still the afternoon’s summary meeting.
This meeting would involve many more participants.
By tradition, they would also announce the progress the seven major associations had made over the past few years.
If some sects had major conflicts, they could be mediated here.
If any sects were facing difficulties, they could also bring them up here for discussion.
After all, with the presidents of the seven major associations all present, many things could be decided.
But none of this was the most important matter at this summary meeting. The most important thing was, of course, deciding the allocation of slots for the Weird Tales World and the rules and regulations they had established beforehand.
Since this was a newly emerging resource, as members of the country, everyone naturally had the right to access it.
At noon, the Tianshan Sect and other Kunlun Mountain sects prepared a sumptuous lunch for everyone.
If you weren’t used to it, you could also eat in nearby cities. They didn’t force anyone.
In the afternoon, everyone gathered at the Tianshan Sect for the summary meeting.
Yao Ci glanced at Zhang Yangqing, who was seated upright in front, and symbolically invited him to dine at the Tianshan Sect, but Zhang Yangqing declined.
This was within Yao Ci’s expectations, but as the host, it was only proper to extend the invitation.
“Then I’ll be waiting for you at the Tianshan Sect this afternoon.”
After saying this, Yao Ci led his people away from the place.
The presidents of the other associations, those old-timers from the various sects, quickly left as if fleeing.
Because the atmosphere next to Zhang Yangqing was just too oppressive.
After leaving the Heaven Worship Altar, Yao Ci, with his white hair, felt a bit melancholy.
The last time he had felt this nervous was when he was under twenty years old.
He just couldn’t figure it out. What level had that kid cultivated his techniques to, to have such power?
Amazing! Strange!
