Aotian stood before all the disciples, looking at the elders who faced the crowd like generals before their armies.

Behind the elders, enormous cranes flapped their wings imposingly, occasionally letting out sharp cries and screeches that further heightened the tension of the impending battle.

Most of the disciples couldn’t help but feel a slight thrill at the heavy and tense pre-war atmosphere, even knowing that most of them wouldn’t participate directly.

But it was only with the sudden appearance of a figure standing before the elders, gazing at the disciples, that the atmosphere reached its peak.

Tian Zhu, the leader of the Infinite Dao Sect, appeared in all his majesty. He wore black robes adorned with golden dragon patterns that, as they swayed in the wind, seemed ready to come alive and roar at the heavens.

His hands rested gently behind his back, and his indifferent eyes looked upon everyone in the sect with a chilling calmness.

His oppressive presence silenced even the thousands of cranes behind him.

In the absolute silence that followed, where the sound of a falling needle could be heard, Tian Zhu softly opened his lips.

“War is not something that brings joy to our sect. War brings sadness to families, death to the innocent, and terror to the afflicted.”

His voice, soft and controlled, reverberated throughout the entire sect and beyond. Despite not raising his tone, everyone could hear him clearly. However, his words left some disciples confused and distracted.

“But, before the might of absolute strength, we are granted the gift of choice. The Infinite Dao Sect does not revel in war, but neither does it fear it. We possess the strength to fight without shedding innocent blood and without spreading terror to the afflicted.”

With each sentence, the disciples’ eyes lit up, and determination formed on their faces.

Many clenched their fists, finally understanding the strength they possessed and the weight of the power they carried.

“The Eternal Sovereign Sect and the sects under its rule are not righteous forces. But we must not generalize. We must judge beyond prejudice. My order as sect leader is this: eliminate evil, do not harm the innocent. Let our sect’s name be a symbol of terror to the wicked and one of hope to the righteous.”

As he finished his words, he turned. His black sleeves swayed gently as he reappeared atop a crane, watching everyone with the same icy calm.

The disciples’ blood boiled. This was, indeed, a sect worth fighting for.

Then, without anyone knowing who started it, the shout rose.

“FOR THE INFINITE DAO SECT!”

What followed was the expected roar of fourteen thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“FOR THE INFINITE DAO SECT!”

“FOR THE INFINITE DAO SECT!”

“FOR THE INFINITE DAO SECT!”

“FOR THE—”

Everyone roared with all the strength of their lungs, and with their continuous cries, the entire mountain seemed to tremble under their power.

The elders’ eyes gleamed with satisfaction. This was the power Aotian had built from scratch.

They also swayed their sleeves and appeared atop the cranes.

At the forefront of the disciples, Rihai held Aotian’s hand and smiled gently at him.

He looked back at her and nodded, giving a slight smile before adopting a serious expression and turning his gaze forward.

With a firm step, he, as the representative of the disciples, led them, guiding them toward the cranes.

Without hesitation, the other core disciples followed him. Soon after, the inner ones, and finally, the outer disciples.

There was no confusion in their steps. Each had already been assigned to a specific crane and to their respective missions by the Missions Pavilion.

On the cranes, painted characters marked their numbers on their backs and chests.

The first twenty-seven cranes were positioned at the center of the plaza, with the elders on top of them. No other crane had elders.

It was on these that the eight core disciples and the two hundred fifty-one inner disciples boarded.

The core disciples boarded crane number one, where Tian Zhu, Jian Huiyin, four inner elders, and ten outer elders were.

The inner disciples occupied the other twenty-six cranes. Fifteen of them had one inner elder and one outer elder, while the last eleven had two outer elders. The inner disciples were divided into about nine per crane, with the first seventeen receiving ten each, totaling the two hundred fifty-one.

Next came the thirteen thousand five hundred sixty-eight outer disciples, who boarded, on average, twelve per each of the remaining nine hundred eighty-three cranes.

Seeing everyone properly allocated, Tian Zhu shifted his gaze to the plaza, where one inner elder and three outer elders remained. They would fulfill the promise he had made to Jian Huiyin to protect her sect while they were away.

The four clasped their fists and bowed to the sect leader before straightening respectfully.

Tian Zhu gave them a slight nod and turned his gaze forward.

“Move out,” his voice sounded soft, but it echoed clearly in everyone’s ears.

The cranes, in a synchronized movement that was both beautiful and terrifying, spread their enormous wings—larger than buildings—and beat them powerfully.

Their gigantic bodies, carrying the disciples, slowly rose into the sky and advanced out of the sect.

At the foot of the mountain, the sect entrance was not as empty as usual. There, lined up in order, 983 flying ships rested on the ground, occupying a massive space.

Inside the ships, cultivators of different shapes, sizes, and genders crowded together, all of them, without exception, staring in horror at the swarm of cranes whose massive bodies, auras, and impressive numbers blocked out the sun.

The only exception were the sect’s outer disciples aboard the ships, responsible for managing the crowd of cultivators who were to work as miners, and had been hired in various nearby cities over the past month.

To the miners’ despair, 983 cranes descended toward the ships without any hesitation, opening their enormous talons in their direction.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!”

Screams of panic echoed as scenes of fainting and pure terror spread across the ships.

If not for the oppressive pressure released by the cranes keeping them immobile, many would have jumped off the ships in desperation.

To the relief of those who remained conscious, the cranes did not attack them. Instead, they grabbed the ropes tied to the ships and began pulling them into the sky.

Aotian did not have enough materials to build that many flying ships. Therefore, the ships were simple, mass-produced with inferior quality materials, made only to float and withstand the towing force. The true transportation work was done by the cranes.

Aotian looked at the many fainted miners and couldn’t help a playful thought.

‘Lucky for them. If cultivators shat themselves, there would probably be an unbearable stench on those ships right now.’

Shaking his head to drive away such thoughts, he turned his gaze forward.

The thousand cranes flapped their wings in unison and moved forward, creating a majestic scene with their white feathers gleaming under the sun as they dragged the flying ships.

As they flew, they slowly began to disperse, each heading toward its destination.

ROOOAAARRR!!

Aotian lowered his eyes and saw a huge Red Tiger on the ground, roaring proudly at the sky as he followed them, coming from the sect.

The tiger’s feet lifted from the ground, and with firm steps in the air, he began to rise.

Unlike in the past, he no longer needed to use explosions to create platforms under his feet, for now his own energy could lift him directly through his core without harming himself, allowing him to fly with ease.

It was no longer the exhausting, short-lived flight of before — it was now natural and free, a flight reserved only for beings who had reached a certain level of power.

The aura he exuded was unmistakable: the oppressive presence of a Third-Level Beast.

Aotian smiled, clearly pleased and amused, for he hadn’t expected that.

The tiger had been about to advance and had isolated himself, so Aotian hadn’t planned to bring him on this mission. But who would have thought he would leave seclusion at the exact moment of departure?

Holding Rihai’s hand, he jumped off the crane without the slightest concern.

The proud Red Tiger froze for an instant upon seeing his master’s actions. Then, helplessly, he accelerated as much as he could, reaching Aotian and gently catching him and Rihai on his back.

He would not forget that he had advanced so quickly thanks to his master. Nor would he forget the terrifying experts behind him, much less the promise made by his master’s sect — the promise to evolve his bloodline, just as had been done with the cranes, if he performed his duties well.

Aotian lay relaxedly on the tiger’s broad and spacious back, which had grown so much that it was now even larger than the cranes themselves.

Rihai watched him, amused, with a small smile on her lips. Aotian was showing off again, and glancing at the thousands of disciples staring at them with their mouths wide open, she would say he had been quite successful.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep