The martial artists of the Nine Kingdoms have never heard of the Canglan Sect, nor understand the Flame Dynasty, but the logic of the world is universal.
Within the Nine Kingdoms, there are distinctions between strong and weak powers.
When forces with lesser strength encounter disciples or young members from major powers, they often feel intimidated due to the influence behind those individuals.
From Lin Chen’s words, and the expressions of these Innate Powerhouses, many have guessed that the Canglan Sect Lin mentioned might be significantly stronger than the Nine Palaces Sect and the Profound Nether Sect.
Otherwise, these Innate Martial Artists wouldn’t appear so wary and uncomfortable.
But when did Lin Chen become a disciple of the Canglan Sect?
No one has heard of the Canglan Sect reaching into the lands of the Nine Kingdoms.
"Canglan Martial Arts Academy, Lin Chen is a disciple of the Canglan Martial Arts Academy. Is there a connection between the Canglan Sect and the Canglan Martial Arts Academy?"
Someone with a keen mind had already gleaned some insights.
While one might say the Canglan Martial Arts Academy and the Canglan Sect share a coincidental name, the fact that Lin Chen belongs to the Canglan Martial Arts Academy cannot simply be chalked up to coincidence.
At the same time, Kong Qifeng and the two others, assisted by others, also set their gaze upon Lin Chen.
As the Minister of Martial Affairs, Kong Qifeng is the most closely connected to Lin Chen and knows the most secrets about him.
Lin Chen had informed Hua Qianwu of the Canglan Martial Arts Academy about the Canglan Sect, who in turn wrote a letter informing him.
The Canglan Sect comes from the Flame Dynasty, but he did not know what strength and status the Canglan Sect holds in the Flame Dynasty, or whether it could deter sects like the Profound Nether Sect.
Now it seems the Canglan Sect can indeed deter sects like the Profound Nether Sect.
However, there’s still worry in his heart. He knows Lin Chen is not truly a disciple of the Canglan Sect. According to Lin Chen, he only obtained the qualification to participate in the Canglan Sect’s admission test by mastering the Canglan Finger technique.
Do these people from the Profound Nether Sect know this?
As Kong Qifeng was worrying, a comment from Liao Kai turned his worries into reality.
"Hahaha, you almost fooled me, kid. The Canglan Sect issues the Canglan Order to outsiders. Those who obtain it are eligible to attend the Canglan Sect’s admission test; you aren’t truly a disciple of the Canglan Sect,"
Liao Kai laughed heartily, and his words also brought understanding to the other four Innate Martial Artists.
Previously, because of the Canglan Sect, their first thought was that the Canglan Sect was involved here. Given the terrifying power of the Canglan Sect, they were briefly taken aback.
Now, reminded by Liao Kai, they understood: the Canglan Sect wouldn’t bother with this small island, even if it contains Innate Energy.
The most likely scenario is that a disciple of the Canglan Sect once visited here, left behind the Canglan Order, and Lin Chen acquired it and mastered the Canglan Finger technique, gaining qualification for the Canglan Sect’s admission test.
"Kid, in consideration of your possession of the Canglan Order, we won’t move against you, but hoping to scare us away with mere admission test qualifications is overly optimistic."
Zhang Xun smirked coldly; while Lin Chen held the Canglan Order, they couldn’t openly act against him, but the chance for proxy action wasn’t absent.
From this island to the Canglan Sect, the journey is long. Who can say what might happen in between?
After all, Lin Chen is just a martial artist eligible for an admission test; even if the Canglan Sect wanted to investigate, they would at most send a sect disciple to inquire, rather than make a big fuss.
Of course, whether to secretly act against Lin Chen is another matter.
"Junior Brother Lin, since you have the Canglan Order, you should head to the Canglan Sect soon,"
Pei Qingming was quick to understand the situation just from the words of Liao Kai and Zhang Xun.
That Canglan Sect must be extremely powerful, for Junior Brother Lin’s eligibility for their admission test to make these men hesitant to act against him.
But the stronger the sect, the higher its demands on its disciples.
Junior Brother Lin’s martial talent is top in the Nine Kingdoms, but in the Canglan Sect, it might not stand out; the sect might not pay much attention to Junior Brother Lin.
What Junior Brother Lin should do now is to quickly go to the Canglan Sect, improve his strength within the sect, and only by showing higher martial talent can he attract the sect’s attention.
"Brother Pei, as I said, this time I won’t let you steal all the spotlight."
Lin Chen smiled slightly; from the start, he planned to use the Canglan Sect to scare off these outsider Innate Powerhouses, but later, upon realizing it was impractical, he abandoned the idea, foreseeing the current situation might arise.
No matter how strong the Canglan Sect is, mere admission qualifications aren’t enough to scare these people away.
Therefore, he fought so hard to elevate his ranking on Martial Arts Mountain, doing everything he could to attract the attention of the mighty figures in the Canglan Sect.
"Lord Kong, I forgot to report one thing to you, my lord. I intended it to be a surprise,"
Lin Chen suddenly turned to Kong Qifeng, clasped his hands in salute, and with a slight upward curl of his lips, under Kong Qifeng’s puzzled gaze: "Recently, I received notice from the Canglan Sect that an Elder wishes to take me as a direct disciple."
"Hahaha!"
As Lin Chen’s words fell, before Kong Qifeng could respond, two of the five innate powerhouses burst into loud laughter.
"A Canglan Sect elder taking you as a direct disciple? This is the biggest joke I’ve ever heard. Like mushrooms that don’t know of the sun’s brightness or cicadas unaware of the seasons, you probably don’t even understand what the Canglan Sect represents in the Flame Dynasty, yet you dare to boast here."
None of the five, including Zhang Xun, believed Lin Chen’s words. They were already convinced that Lin Chen was trying to use grand claims to impress.
Unfortunately, the claim was too grand.
"I am in a benevolent mood, so I’ll point out where your flaw lies."
"The Flame Dynasty currently has twenty-one major domains with a total of twenty-four super sects, and Canglan Sect is one of them. It has thousands of innate powerhouses, three thousand inner sect disciples, each with the potential to become innate martial artists. Only a few outstanding ones among the three thousand inner sect disciples can catch the attention of the sect elders. Even if you must lie, you should at least make it believable."
As Zhang Xun spoke, all the martial artists present were shocked at the strength of the Canglan Sect.
Thousands of innate martial artists—what kind of concept is that?
The entire Nine Kingdoms is already powerless against the arrival of just these ten or so innate martial artists. If there were thousands of them...
They couldn’t even imagine how immense the Canglan Sect might be and how profound its foundation must be.
"If you said you had been accepted as a disciple by the Canglan Sect, I might have believed you to some extent. But boasting shamelessly about being accepted as a direct disciple by an elder reveals your stupidity and ignorance."
"Lin Chen, I initially intended to spare you, but unfortunately, you seek your own death. Let me remind you, Canglan Sect’s sect rules are strict. As someone qualified to take the entrance assessment, daring to falsely claim to be a direct disciple of an elder violates the sect rules. Killing you here would be to uphold Canglan Sect’s reputation, and the sect would bear no grievance."
"There are truly few who dig their own graves willingly."
The innate martial artists no longer had any reservations; from the moment Lin Chen impersonated a direct disciple of a Canglan Sect elder, the sect would no longer protect him. Slaying Lin Chen would instead be cleansing the sect on behalf of Canglan Sect.
The expressions of the martial artists at the scene varied as they listened to Zhang Xun and the others.
There was worry, regret, and even ridicule...
Realizing the strength of Canglan Sect, they acknowledged the words of Zhang Xun and the others, admitting that Lin Chen, the foremost genius of the Nine Kingdoms, might be of no consequence in Canglan Sect.
"In fact, even if Canglan Sect were an ordinary sect, we could see through the loopholes in your story. You are in the lands of the Nine Kingdoms—how could you contact Canglan Sect? The Canglan Sect wouldn’t travel to your Nine Kingdoms to develop, at most leaving a Canglan Order when a disciple passes through."
Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had to admit, their analysis was reasonable.
By normal logic, Canglan Sect wouldn’t venture to the Nine Kingdoms for expansion, unlike the Xiang Kingdom, which could contact the Galo Sect after the Annihilation Storm subsided.
By normal logic, with thousands of innate martial artists and countless geniuses, it was impossible for him to be accepted as a direct disciple by an elder of the Canglan Sect.
By normal logic...
Unfortunately, he wasn’t bound by normal logic.
Lin Chen reached into his robe and took out the Canglan Order from its folds.
The Canglan Order emitted a soft, ice-blue glow. Zhang Xun and the others showed no change in expression upon seeing the Canglan Order. It was natural for Lin Chen to have a Canglan Order since he had successfully mastered the Canglan Finger.
The existence of this Canglan Order validated their previous speculations that a disciple of the Canglan Sect had once been here and left behind the order.
So it seemed that the area where the Canglan Martial Arts Academy of the Liang Kingdom was located should indeed be a place where disciples of the Canglan Sect left their legacy.
"Junior Brother Lin, the sect elders wanted me to tell you that when facing these people, simply infuse Canglan energy into the Canglan Order, and anything from their sects will have to bow down."
Regarding the infusion of energy into the Canglan Order and what changes it might undergo, Lin Chen was unsure. Previously, to clearly see the serial number on the Canglan Order, he had infused Canglan energy into it, and it just enlarged a bit, allowing him to make out the engraved numbers on the back more clearly.
But he trusted that since the elders dared to let Senior Brother Xing convey such a message, the Canglan Order would undergo significant changes.
Now, having learned about the strength of the Canglan Sect from the others, he was even more certain that the elders’ words were not exaggerated.
"Since you don’t believe me, I can only use facts to prove it."
Lin Chen held the Canglan Order, Canglan energy circulating within, flowing into the order from his hand.
The Canglan Order shone brilliantly, radiantly resplendent, and then slowly floated up from Lin Chen’s palm under everyone’s gaze.
Zhang Xun and the others wore cold smiles, not making any attempts to stop him. They wanted to see what other tricks he had.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
After three breaths, the Canglan Order suddenly flared up, with countless ice-blue Canglan energy pouring out, and the entire sky was dyed in ice-blue at this moment.
The cold smiles on Zhang Xun and the others’ faces froze, and all the martial artists inside and outside Lingxiao City looked towards the sky. Many years later, they still couldn’t forget the scene they were about to witness.
PS: As the month is nearing its end, asking for a wave of monthly votes.

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