The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat strange and many people looked at Zhou Yuan with gazes full of astonishment.
No one thought Zhou Yuan would propose to establish the Cangxuan Alliance and then put himself forward as the leader because, generally speaking, such a matter should be discussed by all parties first. Also, even if everyone agreed, the person for that position should be nominated and should decline three times first. Only then would it show his humility and that he was honorable.
But Zhou Yuan skipped all those steps and came directly to the result stage, which caught everyone off guard.
Wouldn’t his action look too ugly?
Under a strange atmosphere, Zhou Yuan lifted his gaze, and his face didn’t ripple in the slightest. “I have wandered all-heavens over the years. I won’t say I am knowledgeable and experienced, but although this might make me sound arrogant, everyone present is well-aware of Cangxuan Heaven’s background and you should know that it is a small pond for me.”
The hall fell silent and many experts exchanged glances with each other, but they couldn’t refute in the end.
Zhou Yuan was no longer a little junior at the Divine Dwelling stage. He had made success while wandering all-heavens, which no one from Cangxuan Heaven had managed to in hundreds of years.
Zhou Yuan was also regarded as the strongest below the Saint stage.
If he wanted to, top heavens such as Hunyuan Heaven or Qiankun Heaven would pay a huge price to keep him. Cangxuan Heaven was indeed a small pond compared to the other heavens.
They understood what Zhou Yuan wanted to say. Zhou Yuan regarded the Cangxuan Heaven’s background as inferior, and thus he wouldn’t care about the so-called Cangxuan Alliance.
The leader position that they valued a lot had no attractive force to Zhou Yuan.
“I spoke bluntly because I don’t want to waste time and energy in all those steps. You all also should understand that there would be a lot of trouble if this position was handed over to one the four sacred sects. You have dragged on this issue for years, and I don't have time to wait for the result. Also, the Cangxuan Alliance is just established to deal with the Sacred palace and it will disband when the Sacred palace is destroyed.”
Zhou Yuan ran his eyes over the four sect masters. “I wonder if you think I am qualified for that position.”
He spoke calmly, but even the four sect masters felt pressured under his gaze.
Standing behind sect master Qing Yang, Liu Lianyi, the peak master of the Snow Lotus Peak, curiously studied Zhou Yuan and whispered, “Impressive, this little guy was clever and bright when he was cultivating in Cangxuan Sect, but after not seeing him for ten years, his power has reached such a stage…”
Liu Lianyi's physical body was destroyed during the battle in Cangxuan Heaven, but fortunately, her Spirit was undamaged and she recovered in the end.
The white-browed old man of Spirit Rune Peak smiled. “There’s no first or last in cultivation. Given Zhou Yuan's current strength, there is indeed no one comparable to him in Cangxuan Heaven. But regardless, he is from the Cangxuan Sect and the Cangxuan Sect can benefit from association with him.”
“Back when Zhou Yuan was in the Cangxuan Sect, he had quite a huge conflict with the Sword Cometh Peak. Ling Jun, what do you think about him?” Gu Tianhong of the Hongya Peak said with a smile.
Peak Master Ling Jun’s face twitched as he said unnaturally, “Back then, it was just a competition between disciples. What do you mean by conflict?”
The other three peak masters glanced at each other, laughing inwardly.
“Cough…”
While Liu Lianyi and the others were whispering, sect master Qing Yang coughed out loud and cast his gaze to Zhou Yuan. “The present you, in terms of strength or prestige, is worthy of taking that position. Our Cangxuan Sect does not object.”
The other three sect masters muttered in their hearts, Zhou Yuan is part of your Cangxuan Sect. Of course you won’t object to him being the alliance leader.
But sect master Qing Yang was indeed right. Zhou Yuan was indeed stronger than them and his prestige was far greater than them. In that sense, Zhou Yuan was indeed the most suitable candidate.
They were so hesitant because they couldn’t accept the fact that a junior had surpassed them.
“We have no objection.” The three sect masters eventually nodded.
Zhou Yuan's expression also relaxed when he heard that and he said, “Sect masters, thank you for your cooperation.”
“The Cangxuan Alliance is established to mobilize all forces in Cangxuan Heaven to fight against the Sacred Palace. I am not familiar with them all, so I will have to trouble the four sect masters to handle this matter.”
Although he had great prestige, the four great sacred sects obviously had more influential power to the sects and factions in Cangxuan Heaven.
The four sect masters nodded. “This is within our duties.”
Sect master Qing Yang hesitated for a moment, and then he said, “The biggest trouble in dealing with the Sacred Palace is Sheng Yuan…”
The name ‘Sheng Yuan’ made all the other three sect masters’ faces overcast. Ever since the war back then, the three sect masters had hugely improved their strength but they knew that Sheng Yuan’s strength had grown even more terrifying.
Even if Sheng Yuan wasn’t a true Saint, they still felt extremely dangerous waves of power when they neared the Sacred Palace’s area.
They speculated that they likely couldn’t threaten Sheng Yuan even if they combined their strengths.
Fortunately, palace master Sheng Yuan hadn’t left Sacred Palace in recent years. Otherwise, the situation in Cangxuan Heaven would be very different than it was now.
Zhou Yuan said indifferently, “I will handle palace master Sheng Yuan.”
The four sect masters stared dumbstruck at Zhou Yuan. Although Zhou Yuan had the title of strongest below the Saint stage, Sheng Yuan was a semi-saint!
Although he wasn’t a true Saint, anyone with the word Saint wasn’t an ordinary mortal.
Could Zhou Yuan contend against a semi-Saint?!
Seeing their skeptical gazes, Zhou Yuan said bluntly, “I don't have huge confidence that I would win, but I would only know then.”
Even Zhou Yuan didn't dare to underestimate semi-Saint Sheng Yuan. Zhou Yuan had encountered more Saints than the four sect masters had and so he knew more about the powers of a Saint.
The four sect masters fell silent. They couldn't help but envy Zhou Yuan's drive because he didn’t act cowardly in the face of a semi-saint. Perhaps it was that bravery that allowed his strength to surpass them in just over ten years.
“But I have a requirement if I were to fight Sheng Yuan alone,” stated Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment and then said each word clearly, “I hope you can gather all the fragments of the Cangxuan Saint Stamp apart those in the Sacred Palace’s hands and give them to me.”
Those words caused even greater shock than when he recommended himself to be the alliance leader.
Even the higher-ups in the other three sects other than Cangxuan Sect broke into a commotion and their faces darkened. After all, the Saint Stamp fragments in each sect’s hand were acquired through difficult battles over the years. Moreover, the title of alliance leader was just a name but the opportunity contained in the Cangxuan Saint Stamp was real.
If one day one could pry into the mystery of controlling the Cangxuan Saint Stamp fragments, wouldn’t one reach the sky in a single bound?
How would they be willing to give Zhou Yuan all the fragments?
Zhou Yuan ran his eyes across the chaotic hall expressionlessly, but anyone could feel a chilling pressure pervading the hall.
The commotion subsided.
Zhou Yuan looked at the four sect masters without saying anything but the disappointment in his eyes made everyone somewhat embarrassed.
He didn't say anything, but he flicked his sleeve and sent a ball of light suspended in front of him.
Four Saint Runes revolved around the ball of light, and at the core was a mysterious fragment.
“These four Saint Runes are removed from the Cangxuan Saint Stamp, and the fragment is a Saint Stamp fragment.”
Many eyes suddenly blazed.
But that didn’t last long because Zhou Yuan’s next sentence made everyone as silent as cold cicadas like a bucket of ice water was poured over them.
“I am willing to hand them over, but whoever takes them has to deal with Sheng Yuan. What do you say?”