Chapter 2586: Challenging the Leader

Gongsun Zhi snorted coldly. He looked at Bai Yu and Donglin Yanxue in fury and said, “The legacy came from my ancestor. Even if it’s supposed to go to someone, it’s supposed to go to a descendant. Jian Chen is an outsider and a member of the Martial Soul lineage. What right does he have to obtaining the legacy?”

“Moreover, my ancestor’s legacy had already chosen me in the Tower of Radiance. It was Jian Chen who forcefully stole it. He stole the Method of the Exalted Saint from the legacy, or the cultivation method would have been mine already.”

Gongsun Zhi looked at the several dozen elders present and asked, “Tell me, is Jian Chen a thief or not?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Everything has been laid out on the table. Jian Chen is obviously a thief,” an elder said as soon as Gongsun Zhi asked the question.

“Most importantly, Jian Chen is a member of the Martial Soul lineage. The supreme cultivation method of our Radiant Saint Hall cannot end up in the hands of the Martial Soul lineage…”

“We need to retrieve the Grand Exalt’s cultivation method…”

The elders a.s.serted from below. At least half of them spoke out and opposed Jian Chen.

Gongsun Zhi could not help but smile complacently when he saw so many people stand on his side.

Ever since he gained a protector sword, ever since he learnt that he was the descendant of a Grand Exalt, his wild ambitions had swelled. Han Xin and Bai Yu had spent the past few years cultivating, whereas he had moved around in the sacred hall, using his special ident.i.ty as a protector to begin developing his own faction. Now, roughly half of the elders in the Radiant Saint Hall stood on his side.

As a result, some elders immediately supported him when he expressed his opinion.

Bai Yu and Donglin Yanxue’s faces darkened in anger when they saw so many elders voice their opinions against Jian Chen, but they could do nothing about it.

After all, these elders were their seniors. They possessed great authority in the Radiant Saint Hall and were respected. Against so many elders, they too felt powerless.

The leader of the Radiant Saint Hall, Yu Chen, watched on calmly. He said nothing. He did not voice his opinion regarding this matter.

“Cough, cough.”

With the gentle coughs, the noisy hall immediately fell quiet.

One of the vice-leaders seated there stood up and said, “Since we already know Jian Chen’s whereabouts, I think we should take back the Method of the Exalted Saint as soon as possible.” With that, the vice-leader clasped his fist towards Yu Chen and asked, “I wonder what the leader thinks.”

Immediately, all the people in the hall looked towards the leader of the Radiant Saint Hall. Whether the Radiant Saint Hall would attack Jian Chen and take back the Method of the Exalted Saint would be completely up to the leader.

After all, the leader was the person who held the greatest authority in the Radiant Saint Hall. He was the final decision maker. Even the wielders of the protector swords could not match up to him in terms of that.

Yu Chen remained calm. He showed no particular emotions at all. He glanced at Gongsun Zhi deeply before scanning past Bai Yu, Donglin Yanxue, Han Xin, Xuan Ming, and Xuan Zhan. He said, “What do you think? You better speak your minds as well. After all, you are protectors of the Radiant Saint Hall.”

With that, Donglin Yanxue and Bai Yu immediately began to retaliate.

“It doesn’t matter whether he’s Chang Yang or Jian Chen. He was my student in the past after all, my proudest student. If you plan on targeting him, I will never agree to it,” Han Xin expressed his personal opinion.

Three of the six protectors had already spoken that they opposed doing anything to Jian Chen.

Gongsun Zhi snorted coldly. He glanced past Han Xin, Bai Yu, and Donglin Yanxue coldly before folding his arms and looking to another side. He was not surprised by this. He already utterly resented the three of them.

The vice-leaders and the elders of the Radiant Saint Hall and looked towards the father and son pair, Xuan Zhan and Xuan Ming.

Without a single doubt, Gongsun Zhi was the person who wanted the Method of the Exalted Saint back the most. Out of the six protectors, only the duo had yet to express their opinion.

Xuan Ming thought over it a little when he sensed everyone’s gaze. He said, “I’ll do whatever my father does. What my father chooses is my choice as well.” With that, Xuan Ming shut up and stood to one side quietly.

“Vice-leader Xuan Zhan, the Method of the Exalted Saint is the greatest legacy of our Radiant Saint Hall. We can’t let it end up in the hands of the Martial Soul lineage, or it’ll form a great problem in the future. As a matter of fact, our Radiant Saint Hall might be destroyed as a result,” said Gongsun Zhi. The opinions of the protectors would influence the final decision of the leader, so before Xuan Zhan had spoken, Gongsun Zhi b.u.t.ted in and attempted to persuade him.

Xuan Ming thought about the whole thing. Only then did he ask, “Gongsun Zhi, may I ask how your cultivation of the secret techniques from the legacy is going?”

Gongsun Zhi frowned as he felt contempt inside. He thought Xuan Zhan was threatening him. He thought Xuan Ming wanted the secret techniques from the legacy, or he would not stand on his side.

“All the ancient secret techniques and battle skills in the legacy are extremely strange. To be honest, I haven’t managed to comprehend any single one of them completely, which is why the Method of the Exalted Saint is crucial to practising these ancient, powerful secret techniques. Without this crucial cultivation method, these secret techniques are useless.” Gongsun Zhi looked right at Xuan Zhan. Although Xuan Zhan was both a wielder of a protector sword and the leader of the eight vice-leaders, he showed no respect at all. Instead, he began to despise Xuan Zhan secretly due to his question. He continued, “Of course, if vice-leader Xuan Zhan is interested in these secret techniques and doesn’t believe me, I’m willing to make a few public so that everyone here can check.”

“There’s no need for that.” Xuan Zhan waved his hand. He said, “I’m not interested in the items of the legacy. I just want to confirm some of my thoughts and now, I’ve basically confirmed them all.”

Xuan Zhan paused and looked at the leader. He said, “Leader, I think this matter isn’t as easy as it seems. We need some time to properly investigate it and get to the bottom of it all.”

“What’s there to investigate? It’s such a simple matter, so why do you need to investigate at all?” Gongsun Zhi flew into a fury. What Xuan Zhan said basically meant that out of all the protectors, everyone apart from him stood with Jian Chen.

As Gongsun Zhi was furious, he felt extremely puzzled as well. He could understand why Bai Yu, Donglin Yanxue, and Han Xin would support Jian Chen. After all, they had ties with him in the first place. What truly confused him was Xuan Zhan’s decision.

“Enough. Stop arguing,” said the leader of the Radiant Saint Hall. He sat calmly on the throne and said with great authority, “It’s rather strange that Jian Chen could obtain a portion of the legacy. I will converse with the artifact spirit of the Tower of Radiance about this. Once I understand everything, I will make my decision.”

“The artifact spirit of the Tower of Radiance has already fallen into a slumber again. If it doesn’t wake up, when are we supposed to wait until?” Gongsun Zhi snarled. He refused to accept this very much. His face had already darkened.

“Perhaps, he might awaken very soon.” Yu Chen glanced at Gongsun Zhi deeply and felt even more displeased with him.

“The meeting ends here. Everyone is dismissed,” Yu Chen ended the meeting and immediately stood up, about to leave.

“Hold on!” Gongsun Zhi called out. His face was sunken as he stared right at Yu Chen with an icy-cold gaze. He said, “Leader, the Method of the Exalted Saint is the greatest legacy of our Radiant Saint Hall. It’s utterly crucial to us. Yet, you always remained reluctant to take it back as the current leader of the Radiant Saint Hall, allowing the Martial Soul lineage to grow more powerful with each coming day. What intentions are you harbouring?”