Against The Heavens 92 Meeting The Elders.

The man was incredibly fat, so fat that Li Yang wouldn't be surprised if someone told him that he weighed at least 250 kilos. The man in front of him had reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, so if he wanted to he could easily lose most of that weight. This could only mean that the man deliberately chose to keep his weight as it was, a rather strange choice to make. Seeing Li Yang step out of the house, the man politely cupped his hands in a greeting.

"Good morning, Junior Brother Yang. I am Song Jiahao, a disciple of Tenth Elder Gengxin. Forgive me for disturbing you while you are focusing on recuperating, but my teacher and a few of the other elders wish to meet with you. So please, follow me."

Li Yang returned the greeting by cupping his hands, beckoning for Song Jiahao to lead the way. Song Jiahao nodded his head and turned around, heading towards the tall mountain that was the center of the Yuan clan. He purposefully slowed his walking speed, seemingly worried that Li Yang's wounds would prevent him from moving too fast.

The two started to ascend the mountain, following the Ascending Carp Staircase up to about the halfway point of the mountain. The spot where they left the staircase was clearly a bit different from the lower parts of the mountain. There were fewer buildings here, with most of them being palaces that Li Yang found to be a tad too decadent, decorated with statues of either jade or rare metals, with exquisite carvings decorating the sides of the palaces.

Song Jiahao led Li Yang past a few of the palaces, allowing him to notice that each of the palaces was surrounded by both a defensive formation and a formation that drew in the surrounding Qi to make cultivation easier. After they walked past four different palaces, they arrived at a palace that resembled a gothic castle built using deep crimson stone. The castle was surrounded by six large golden pillars, each pillar carved with the image of a different Divine Beast that looked exceedingly lifelike.

Song Jiahao opened the large wooden gate and had Li Yang follow him inside, entering a large hall where the entire floor was covered in a carpet made from a type of white fur. The inside of the hall was mostly empty, save for a few marble statues depicting human cultivators posing proudly, their weapons raised towards the skies in an act of defiance.

Song Jiahao didn't let Li Yang linger in the hall for long, leading him down a s.p.a.cious arching hallway located at the right side of the room, stopping in front of two large wooden doors. Song Jiahao kneeled down in front of the door, announcing his arrival in a loud voice.

"Teacher, I have brought over Junior Brother Yang."

Shortly after Song Jiahao announced his presence, Li Yang could feel several gazes land on him, inspecting him. This was something that most cultivators could do once they reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, sending out a part of their mind so that they could keep an eye on their surroundings.

Li Yang was capable of doing something similar thanks to his law of lightning, but this way of sending out one's mind gave far more visual information, it also used less energy so it was better if one had to keep it active for longer periods of time.

Normally one would not be able to tell when someone with a higher strength was inspecting you like this, but not only was Li Yang very sensitive to foreign types of energy, but he also had exceptionally sharp instincts, so he was able to notice the gazes despite the difference in strength. After the various gazes finished inspecting Li Yang, a soft voice came from the other side of the doors.

"He may enter, prepare some tea for us."

Song Jiahao was a bit curious why he had to prepare tea for this meeting, but he didn't show it on his face, swiftly nodding his head and leaving after pushing open the doors for Li Yang. With Song Jiahao leaving, Li Yang stepped into the room, which seemed to have been built specially for meetings.

There were very few decorations in the room, only a few paintings on the walls, a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a few potted plants lined along the walls. The only furniture in the room was an oval marble table that was so long that there was s.p.a.ce for 9 chairs on each side of the table.

Of the 18 chairs, nine were currently taken up, five on the left side of the table and four on the right side. Of the nine people that were sitting there, Li Yang was only able to see the appearances of three of them, the other six using their own Qi to obscure their bodies. This was a thing some mighty cultivators liked doing, acting like they were too good for other people to lay their eyes on. Li Yang found it laughable, but there was no way he would show any sign of it here.

He couldn't even tell what cultivation any of the nine people in front of him had, which meant that they had at least reached the late stage of the Primordial Rune realm, some had probably reached the Celestial Immortal realm. It seemed like some of the big shots of the clan had taken an interest in him, surprising him somewhat.

His performance was excellent, but he knew that it wasn't enough to draw the attention of someone at the Celestial Immortal realm. If he could replicate this cultivation and strength disparity when he reached the Immortal Rebirth realm or the Primordial Rune realm, then he would certainly be able to draw their attention. But now, when he was only at the Ascending Heaven realm?

His thoughts were racing, but his expression stayed perfectly calm as he politely cupped his hands, swiftly sweeping his gaze over everyone in the room.

"This Junior Disciple has arrived to answer your summons."

He wasn't able to see the appearances of everyone in the room, but he was able to just barely sense their intentions, what they felt towards him. From what he sensed, one among the nine was hostile, three of them were kindly disposed towards him, and the rest were inspecting him with either curiosity or indifference.

The first one to speak up after Li Yang broke the silence was the one who seemed hostile towards him. He was one of the three who Li Yang could properly see, a man in his late fifties who had brown eyes and the same light-green hair as Yuan Yijun. His face carried a disgruntled expression as he looked Li Yang up and down.

"So you're the beast who savaged my grand-daughter? Who do you think you are, what right do you have to beat my grand-daughter like that, even going as far as almost cheating by using a strengthening technique to boost your own strength? Do you get off on beating defenseless women?"

Li Yang felt like sneering at the man, Yuan Lim. This was a pattern he had seen plenty of times amongst the arrogant clans and sects in his previous life. The moment you beat one of the younger generation, someone from the older generation came to reclaim the face that had been lost. He didn't really mind it too much, he too would be mad if someone beat his children or grand-children after all. What irked him was that they always came up with some stupid excuses as to why they were in the right. If they would just be honest and state their intentions, he would respect them a bit more.

And just what sort of bulls.h.i.t was this man spewing? Almost cheating by using a strengthening technique? Didn't Yuan Yijun activate one of her own? And was he supposed to fight someone two cultivation stages above him without using all the strength he could? It was clear that Yuan Lim was so incensed at having his grand-daughter beaten that he was grasping at straws to justify himself and protect the face of Yuan Yijun. Li Yang could only put on a calm smile and respond, acting as if he wasn't bothered while simultaneously testing out something.

"What right do I have to beat your grand-daughter? What right did she have to send people to beat up the provisional disciples provided to me by the clan? Had she just left me alone like I asked, none of this would have happened."

Li Yang didn't even bother to mention the point where Yuan Lim said that his strengthening technique was practically cheating, after all, almost everything was legal in the arena. Yuan Lim seemed adamant to shift the blame away from Yuan Yijun, letting out a cold snort that caused the room to tremble slightly.

"Humph, it's just a couple of provisional disciples, so what if she beats them? It's their fault for being too weak to resist."

Hearing the response of Yuan Lim, Li Yang had to resist the urge to smile, he had taken the bait. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, stretching out his arms by controlling them using his law of lightning.

"Since that is how you feel, then I can only return those words to you. Your grand-daughter was too weak to resist me, so what if I beat her?"

The moment Li Yang started talking, his entire body tensed up, all his strength and Qi gathering in his legs, just in case. As expected, having something like that said to his face, Yuan Lim instantly flared up.

"You little s.h.i.t, how dare you?!"

Yuan Lim stood up from the chair with such force that the exquisite wooden chair was thrown against the wall, shattering. A gust of searing wind flew at Li Yang, aiming to smash him into the floor. Li Yang was just about to unleash the energy he had gathered in his feet to dodge, but before he could move, one of the seated people waved his hand and caused the searing wind to dissipate.

"Now now, this isn't what today's meeting is about. Elder Lim, please restrain your temper. Disciple Yang, please take a seat."

The one who spoke was one of the people whose appearance Li Yang was unable to see, one of the three people who were kindly disposed towards him. The only reason Li Yang had spoken as he did was to test just how kindly disposed these three people were. And looking at the result, it seemed like they were aiming to protect him.

not only did they aim to protect him, but it also seemed like they wanted him to feel kindly disposed towards them as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until the attack was right in front of Li Yang before dissipating the attack, they would have done it before he was in any danger. But since they had done it when he was in the direst of situation, it would only be normal for Li Yang to feel good towards them for protecting him. He had tested them, but at the same time, they had tried to subtly manipulate his mindset.

Li Yang cupped his hands once more, stepping forward and sitting down on a normal wooden chair that suddenly appeared at one end of the table. Shortly after he sat down, Song Jiahao brought over two porcelain kettles of fragrant tea, pouring everyone in the room a cup before leaving. As he left, he cast a quick glance at Li Yang, wondering why he was receiving such favorable treatment.

Li Yang sipped the tea lightly, enjoying the soft and fruity flavor that it had. When the tea entered his body, he could feel it unleash a peaceful stream of energy that meandered towards his wounds, speeding up the healing process.

Yuan Lim and the other people in the room were also sipping the tea, but looking at the calm expression Yuan Lim wore, Li Yang guessed that the previous outbreak was only a ruse. It seemed like he had followed the orders of someone else, giving the three elders that were kindly disposed towards Li Yang a chance to impress him.

Li Yang could tell that Yuan Lim was still a bit angry at him, but it was nowhere near the level of hostility it had originally been, so it seemed like he was more reasonable than Li Yang first a.s.sumed. After everyone had gotten a bit of time to enjoy the tea, the elder that had dissipated the attack spoke up, his gaze landing on Li Yang.

"I believe it is about time we bring up the actual reason we called you here. Disciple Yang, would you mind telling us about that strengthening technique you used during the battle?"

It was perfectly reasonable for them to ask about his strengthening technique, it had after all greatly increased his strength after all. But Li Yang still felt that the actual reason for being called here was something else entirely. Still, he nodded his head with a calm smile, telling them the story he had already prepared shortly after entering the clan.

"I cannot tell you too much, my Master has forbidden me from teaching anyone else the technique. He called it Burning Hope, and it's a technique that uses concentrated fire to forcefull increase my physical strength. If I'm not careful, the technique might backfire and wound me, so I can't use it for too long."

Li Yang felt a strange energy surround and enter his body, measuring the movements of his Qi, his blood, his heartbeat, even the movements of his soul and mind. They were clearly keeping an eye on him, checking if he was lying by scanning the movements of his body and mind. Sadly, this way of telling if someone was lying was very common even during Li Yang's past life, so he was easily able to deceive them. After scanning him to see if he was lying, the same obscured elder spoke up again.

"Your master? Could you tell us a bit about him? Of course, you don't have to if he has forbidden you from talking about him."

The elder's voice sounded perfectly normal, but Li Yang was able to detect a tremor so faint that it was nearly unnoticeable. From the looks of it, the elder might already have a few guesses as to who Li Yang's 'master' was. Li Yang didn't reject the elder, nodding his head with a smile as he continued to spin the tale he had prepared.

"No, it's fine, Master didn't forbid me from talking about him. I met Master, I believe he said his name was Jing Yimu, in Mourners Refuge, he was looking at the four statues that are standing there. He said something about me having a great affinity, so he allowed me to travel with him for a bit, teaching me what he knew. The strengthening technique I used in the fight, Burning Hope, was the last thing he taught me before he said he had to leave. He said he wanted to check out a cursed place to reclaim something, but he didn't tell me exactly what it was."

Even if Jing Yimu had spent a great deal of time in the hidden realm set up by Zhao Feng, there was no way someone like him, a cultivator of the Celestial Immortal realm, would not be known by the higher-ups of the various clans and sects. Li Yang had killed Jing Yimu inside that hidden realm, so unless he had left behind a soul jade somewhere, something that Li Yang found unlikely, there was no way for anyone to know that he had died.

And just like he expected, the nine people sitting around the table shivered ever so slightly after Li Yang spoke the name of his 'master'. Even if it was a large clan like the Yuan clan, they were not willing to anger someone at the Celestial Immortal realm. They had their own Celestial Immortals, but Jing Yimu was very old and very powerful, so he alone could hold back around five or six normal Celestial Immortals. After regaining their calm, one of the obscured elders nodded their head.

"So it was indeed his technique you were using, no wonder it felt so familiar to me. Thank you for answering, that was all we were wondering about so you may return to your abode and return to your recuperating. You should take this, it'll help you recuperate even faster, making it certain that you will be in top condition for the upcoming rank-up test."

The elder waved his hand, a crystal bottle containing a light blue drop of liquid appearing in the air in front of Li Yang. Even though it was inside the bottle, Li Yang could feel that this single drop of liquid was far better than the pill that Yuan Luoyang had given him. But the pill she had given him was enough to heal his wounds, so he didn't need to use this drop, he could either save it or use it for cultivation, so he didn't reject it.

He accepted the bottle and gratefully cupped his hands, standing up and leaving the room. Looking at how swiftly they had dismissed him after hearing his response, he guessed that they had already figured out that Jing Yimu had likely taught him the technique, making him even more certain that they had called him over for a different reason. After all, they wouldn't call him over just to confirm something that they had likely already figured out. He didn't know the real reason they called him over, so he decided to be warier in the future, preparing to leave the clan if there should ever be a need for it.

After he left the room and the doors closed themselves behind him, only the nine elders seated at the table remained. The six who had inspected Li Yang with curiosity or indifference exchanged a few glances before finally breaking the silence with a question.

"Grand Elder, was there really a need to call him in so that we could have a look at him just because he was taught by the Burning Monk?"

Burning Monk was the t.i.tle Jing Yimu had been given, much like how Li Yang's previous t.i.tle used to be Thunder Monarch. To be taught by someone as great as Jing Yimu certainly made Li Yang worthy of interest, but it was not at a stage where it deserved their attention, not when he was just at the Ascending Heaven realm. The obscured elder, the Grand Elder, who had dissipated the attack launched at Li Yang turned his head to look at the six who were looking at him with a curious gaze, shaking his head slightly.

"Were it just for him being taught by Jing Yimu, he would not be deserving of our attention. But that is only part of the reason I had you come here to take a look at him, the main reason is a message that was delivered to our clan about a month ago."

The Yuan clan had 18 elders, nine of which were currently in deep cultivation. Had it not been for them being in deep cultivation, the Grand Elder would have called over everyone. After making sure that everyone in the room was listening closely to his words, the Grand Elder continued talking, shocking everyone.

"We received a message from the Heaven's Gate sect and the Roaring Soul sect, a message written by the Twin Phoenix Queens themselves. The message is very simple, if we lay a single hand on that boy, it means all-out war."

The Twin Phoenix Queens was a t.i.tle given to the twins Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu. One was the Ice Phoenix Queen of the Heaven's Gate sect and the other was the Fire Phoenix Queen of the Roaring Soul sect, and both were people who were exceedingly aloof and hard to get close to. The Grand Elder couldn't help but wonder, just how had Li Yang gotten so close to both of them that they threatened the Yuan clan with all-out war if they laid their hands on him?