The Sword God of the Universe
Chapter 702: Ten Hall Masters

Chapter 702: Chapter 702: Ten Hall Masters

Standing to the side, hands dangling, head bowed, and not saying a word.

This was the current Third Hall Master, Kui Long.

His eyes betrayed awe, terror, and a bit of confusion.

Clearly, he felt a deep-rooted fear for Jing Yan from the bottom of his heart. Kui Long was a person who greatly feared death, cherishing his own life. In the battle that just took place, he was suppressed and pinned to the ground without any capacity to resist—this was an experience he did not want to repeat.

Jing Yan glanced at Kui Long and was quite satisfied with his current reaction.

In fact, if Kui Long had been on his guard from the start and had summoned his Defensive Spiritual Artifact, even with Jing Yan’s superior attack power, it would not have been possible to suppress Kui Long in one move.

However, the battle was over, and Kui Long wouldn’t dare challenge Jing Yan again.

Saint Master Shen Chong and the others quickly approached from afar.

The Hall Masters each had different expressions, but one sentiment was the same: even in Martial Arts, they had no advantage over Jing Yan.

Among those present, perhaps only the power of the Holy Master, Realm Master, and the Holy Palace might be able to suppress Jing Yan. The others lacked such confidence.

"Third Hall Master, you no longer have any objections to Jing Yan becoming one of the Ten Hall Masters, do you?" Shen Chong asked Third Hall Master Kui Long.

Kui Long shook his head vigorously.

"Holy Master, Jing Yan, the Great Alchemist King, must hold the position of Hall Master. Should anyone have difficulty accepting this, I, Kui Long, will be the first to object," Kui Long said earnestly, as if the person who had been against it wasn’t him at all.

"Hall Master Jing Yan, I truly respect you from the bottom of my heart. If you have any orders in the future, just call on me!" Kui Long added to Jing Yan.

Shen Chong also rolled his eyes.

Jing Yan gave Kui Long a speechless look.

This guy really had a thick skin!

"Now that everyone has agreed, there should be no problem. Jing Yan, you are now the tenth Hall Master of the Holy Hall. Later, I will have Chang Huan give you the Hall Master Token," Shen Chong told Jing Yan.

"Thank you, Holy Master!" Jing Yan bowed in gratitude.

Having the status of a Hall Master was like holding an official position. As a Hall Master, Jing Yan could establish his own private army. To confront the Gai Family, relying on Jing Yan alone was definitely not feasible, at least not in the short term.

The Gai Family, with its heritage spanning thousands of years, had such profound foundations that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.

No one could predict what kinds of techniques were hidden within the Gai Family. To rashly attack the stronghold of the Gai Family without preparation would leave the outcome uncertain.

"Chang Huan, first arrange for a residence for Jing Yan within the Holy City. Later, come to me to get the Hall Master Token," Shen Chong instructed Chang Huan.

Previously there were only nine Order Tokens. Now with the addition of Jing Yan, another needed to be refined.

"Yes!" Chang Huan complied.

"Alright, this Hall Master meeting is hereby concluded. Hall Masters, you may leave at your discretion," Shen Chong told the other Hall Masters, waving them off with a smile.

He knew that these Hall Masters would definitely want to communicate with Jing Yan, asking him for help in Alchemy. Although he had similar plans, he wasn’t in a rush at the moment, preferring to wait for the Hall Masters to finish their talks with Jing Yan before approaching him.

The Ten Hall Masters left the Holy Palace.

Chang Huan led Jing Yan around Holy Peak, selecting a residence.

Truth be told, Jing Yan wasn’t too particular about residences; any place would do. Therefore, it didn’t take long for Jing Yan to settle on a residence.

Next came the process of moving into the residence. Only after the other Hall Masters confirmed Jing Yan’s residence did they bid their farewells. They, too, needed to prepare if they were going to ask Jing Yan for help with Alchemy.

After Chang Huan also departed, only Jing Yan and Hu Donghe remained in the residence.

"Jing Yan, is your Martial Arts Realm at the Early Stage Dao Emperor Realm?" Hu Donghe had wanted to ask this for a long time, but because there were always outsiders present, he had held back until now.

"Old Brother, my realm is indeed at the Early Stage Dao Emperor Realm. However, my combat power is somewhat stronger than that of a typical Dao Emperor Realm Practitioner," Jing Yan said.

"That’s incredibly strong, isn’t it? Kui Long is a Late Stage Dao Emperor Cultivation Martial Artist, and it seemed his Martial Arts and Secret Technique were quite formidable. Yet, in front of you, he was as feeble as a chicken made of clay," Hu Donghe found it somewhat incomprehensible.

"Kui Long was too overconfident. He thought I was no match for him and aimed to defeat me as quickly as possible, which is why things turned out the way they did. Had he been careful from the beginning, prepared his Defensive Spiritual Artifact, defeating him wouldn’t have been difficult for me, but it certainly wouldn’t have been as easy as you saw," Jing Yan said with a smile.

"Of course, my combat power should be somewhat stronger than that of an average practitioner at the Peak of the Dao Emperor Realm. If I were to clash with Gu Wanquan, he would probably also find it difficult to kill me," Jing Yan stated with a focused gaze.

Hu Donghe’s eyes widened.

"Jing Yan, what do you plan to do next?" After a moment, Hu Donghe changed the subject.

"Now that I’ve become a Holy Hall Master, I definitely need to establish good relations with the other Hall Masters first. It’ll be easier to ask for their help when it comes time to fight the Gai Family," Jing Yan pondered.

The strength of the weaker Hall Masters was also at the Late Stage Dao Emperor. Even if they couldn’t use their official positions to lead official forces to aid Jing Yan, they could still help privately.

"Yes, that’s one aspect!"

"We must definitely win over those Hall Masters. Especially the Seventh and Eighth Hall Masters, they are indeed worth befriending. But beyond that, you need to build your own private army. Now that you’re a Hall Master, the Holy Master should assign an official Guard to you, but you probably won’t be able to use these official forces against the Gai Family."

"If you establish your own army, recruiting soldiers and horses, creating a private army, then it can be completely utilized," Hu Donghe said slowly.

"Old Brother, do you have any good suggestions? I need to speed up the process and form a considerable force in a short time," Jing Yan said, his eyes flashing as he looked at Hu Donghe.

"I do have an idea!"

"Jing Yan, your ability in Alchemy Dao is hard to match across the whole Continent, except for your master," Hu Donghe looked at Jing Yan.

After the Alchemy competition, Hu Donghe had probed, and Jing Yan had admitted to having a master. But increasingly, Hu Donghe was skeptical about which Pill Master on the Continent could teach someone as exceptional as Jing Yan.

However, it also wasn’t appropriate to directly inquire. Should he ask if Jing Yan had deceived him back then? Moreover, if Jing Yan didn’t have a master, where did his Alchemy abilities come from? Was he naturally born with the ability to refine Elixirs?

"Old Brother..." Jing Yan smiled helplessly when he heard Hu Donghe, "Actually, my master is no longer on the Heavenly Origin Continent, and is likely to have left this world."

Jing Yan didn’t know quite how to explain. As for his master, the head of the Death Temple could be considered as such since Jing Yan had accepted his legacy. To say this to Hu Donghe was not entirely untruthful.