“Dongfang Xiaotian, why are you here too?”
As Dongfang Xiaotian was glancing around, a rather unfriendly voice rang out.
Dongfang Xiaotian followed the voice and saw a tall man, his face bearing an expression that screamed, “You owe me eight million.”
But the problem was, Dongfang Xiaotian had never borrowed any money in the Four Sages Academy. He racked his brain but simply couldn’t recall who this person was.
“Just out for a stroll.”
Dongfang Xiaotian casually responded and then leaned in to quietly ask his Second Junior Sister, “Who’s that guy?”
Although Dongfang Xiaotian kept his voice low, everyone here was a cultivator—so the words reached everyone’s ears. The man with the “everyone owes me eight million” look on his face twitched slightly.
Seeing her Eldest Senior Brother’s genuinely serious expression, Tushan Bingxian couldn’t help but restrain her urge to pretend not to know him and retorted, “Let me just confirm, how many people do you even remember in your head these days?”
“I basically remember all the important people, like the elders in the academy and so on.”
That was about all Dongfang Xiaotian could recall. “After all, I rarely have contact with the other disciples.”
“Then do you still remember how you became the Outer Sect Senior Brother?”
“I beat the previous Senior Brother.”
At the mention of this, Dongfang Xiaotian suddenly came to his senses. “That’s Fang Yu?”
Fang Yu, the previous Outer Sect Senior Brother of the Four Sages Academy.
When Dongfang Xiaotian first brought his Little Junior Brother to join, he was looking for a laid-back job, so he had just entered the Four Sages Academy when he beat up the then-Senior Brother Fang Yu.
No wonder the other party looked at him like he owed him eight million. Put yourself in his shoes—if someone suddenly stole your cushy, idle job, who wouldn’t be upset?
So, Dongfang Xiaotian shot Fang Yu an apologetic look.
But apology was one thing—he certainly wasn’t going to give up his position. “Dongfang Xiaotian, if you want a fight, just say so!”
Fang Yu’s mouth twitched. That was no apologetic look at all!
It was clearly saying: While I regret it, regret is all I can offer. If you have the skills, come fight me!
“You want to fight? Fine by me.”
Tushan Bingxian stepped in front of Dongfang Xiaotian, eager to try her hand.
“I just made a breakthrough myself and was looking for someone to test my strength on.” “Second Senior Sister, I also just made a breakthrough.”
Fang Yu lifted his chin and said, “If you really want to protect that guy, then don’t blame me for being rude!”
Tushan Bingxian grinned. “I couldn’t wish for more!”
Suddenly, two waves of Half-Step Foundation Establishment aura clashed, and it looked as if a fight would break out at any moment. Just then, a sword qi shot in between them, breaking their balance.
“That’s enough! I called you here for business, not to watch you fight among yourselves!”
A cold, clear voice sounded out. Everyone turned to look and saw a slightly pale woman in her twenties stepping in from outside the tent.
Everyone, including Dongfang Xiaotian, stood respectfully and greeted her. “Greetings, Third Elder!”
“Mm, sit down, all of you.”
Liú Bingchan nodded and didn’t bother with pleasantries. She simply tossed a shattered jade token before the group. “This matter is urgent, so I’ll get straight to the point. Do you know what this is?”
“That’s… a Command Token, it’s Senior Brother Li Moyan’s Command Token!”
Someone suddenly answered.
But then, someone else blurted out in shock, “Why is Senior Brother Li Moyan’s Command Token broken?”
The Command Token, simply put, was a tool that could sense the life and death of its owner. If the person was in danger, the jade would crack; if the person died, the jade would shatter.
Of course, some said, once a person is dead, what’s the use of knowing their life and death?
It certainly had its uses. Normally, every inner sect disciple in the major sects would carry such a Command Token.
It not only signified one’s status as an inner sect disciple—a treasured child of the sect—but also served as a deterrent.
After all, to put it plainly, cultivation was a world where the strong preyed on the weak.
No matter how powerful the force behind you was, if the threat wasn’t visible, there would still be many who’d think, “It’s not like anyone will know it was us.”
Therefore, the various major sects came up with many methods.
Some tokens could summon sect elders anytime, anywhere; some inner sect disciples received powerful talismans as soon as they joined.
In the beginning, the sects would bestow all sorts of precious protective treasures upon their inner sect disciples.
All of this was to say: Our disciples carry powerful items—if you dare target them, think carefully about your own strength first.
But later, these inner sect disciples were targeted even more.
After all, everyone knew that sect disciples carried good stuff. Maybe they couldn’t win in a direct fight, but they could always set traps from the shadows.
Many inner sect disciples had great grades, but had never left the sect before—naïve, easily deceived.
The sects underestimated the greed and recklessness of those demonic cultivators.
Of course, the drawbacks weren’t just being targeted by evil cultivators; the cost was also too high. Equipping every inner sect disciple with treasures consumed astronomical resources.
Top-tier sects like Ice Ling Immortal Palace, where Beichen Yue resided, could bear this burden, but for smaller sects, it was simply impossible.
So, someone came up with a simpler solution: the Command Token.
Command Tokens usually came in pairs, parent and child. The child jade stayed with the disciple; the parent jade was held by the sect or an elder.
Whenever an inner sect disciple went out and reported to the sect, if they died, the sect would immediately know where they died, as the Command Token also recorded the person’s spiritual aura, aiding follow-up investigations.
The sect would then dispatch elders to avenge the disciple. Since they couldn’t prevent demonic cultivators from scheming, they made sure the perpetrators would weigh the consequences.
The disciple died in the morning, the elder arrived at noon, the city was locked down by afternoon, and the culprit was buried by night.
Don’t be fooled by Dongfang Xiaotian’s freedom in moving through the Four Sages Academy and the Shen Dai Ruins.
Ordinary rogue cultivators didn’t have a flying immortal boat like him and couldn’t get far at all.
Because ninety-eight percent of cultivators in the Saint Hua Dynasty needed to cultivate spiritual power—even just refining a talisman required channeling spiritual energy—the likelihood of vengeance was nearly a hundred percent.
Although there were still ways to circumvent the Command Token, such as “hiring assassins,” it indeed greatly reduced casualties, which was why it remained in use to this day.
Now, the jade token Liu Bingchan placed before everyone was broken, which signified its owner was dead.
Dongfang Xiaotian couldn’t help but sweat. No way, right? Could it be such a coincidence?
“Wasn’t Senior Brother Li Moyan at the third level of Foundation Establishment? And he was known for his agility, his speed unrivaled in our sect! If even our fastest Senior Brother met his end, who among us could escape?”
“But the truth is right before our eyes.”
Liu Bingchan, seated at the head, massaged her forehead and sighed.
“The fact that I’m gravely injured proves that this time, the Heretic God Sect came fully prepared. We can’t afford to take this lightly! That’s why the moment I woke up, I summoned Li Moyan and had him send word back to the sect. But just two hours ago, Li Moyan’s Command Token suddenly shattered.”
Two hours ago?
Dongfang Xiaotian let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it wasn’t the two he had killed—they had died only half an hour ago.
“But that’s not even the worst of it.”
As she spoke, Liu Bingchan tossed out two more broken Command Tokens.
“Chen Kang, Wu Da, their Command Tokens also shattered almost simultaneously half an hour ago… Which means, all Foundation Establishment disciples stationed here have fallen.”
Liu Bingchan’s words were like a heavy bomb, draining all color from everyone’s faces. They all looked grave, except for the guilty-looking Dongfang Xiaotian.
War!
Liu Bingchan swept her gaze over the group and continued, “There’s no doubt, the crisis we face this time may not be any less than the Three Sects Calamity of those years.”