Lin Qian’s words left Lei Qian speechless and equally outraged.
The incident Lei Qian mentioned was well known to him, initiated by the Eight-Armed Sea Clan’s recent attempt to purchase battleships.
Initially, some elders of the Wanxiang Sect were in extreme favor of selling the battleships as soon as possible to acquire resources for developing and counterattacking the Coastal State.
However, Ye Xin was consistently against it, insisting that the decision on the sale of the battleships should wait until Lin Qian’s return.
Her reasoning was simple—the battleships belonged to Lin Qian himself, and they had no right to decide whether to sell them or not, even herself.
The elders of the Wanxiang Sect felt helpless about Ye Xin’s insistence.
After Lin Qian left, the scholar in charge of the battleships only listened to three people, in order of increasing authority: Guard General Lei Qian, Emperor’s Teacher Wei Wushuang, and Empress Mother Ye Xin.
Of course, others were unaware of this relationship.
Many elders expressed their dissatisfaction to Qin Wushuang, arguing that as a disciple of the Wanxiang Sect, the wealth that Lin Qian possessed was surely discovered in relics, likely during his time back in Bashan City.
Logically, these items should have been submitted to the Sect, and Lin Qian’s privatization of assets like the battleship was inappropriate—it should have been handed over to the Wanxiang Sect!
At that time, Lei Heng, Lei Qian’s grandfather, shared the same stance as Qin Wushuang, opposing the views of those elders.
But those elders were simply obsessed, their minds muddled by the gifts from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, incessantly clamoring to sell the battleship—that it should belong to the Wanxiang Sect.
"Now, Grandfather and Sect Master Qin no longer manage them and are solely focused on their cultivation. After all, considering past relations, it’s not easy to take any action," Lei Qian said, shaking his head sighingly.
The actions of those Wanxiang Sect elders were indeed detestable.
Moreover, recently those elders had even been inciting the emotions of the sect disciples. Fortunately, only a minority of the disciples were swayed by these elders; most of them still stood with Lin Qian.
Of course, among these elders, there were those who spoke up for Lin Qian, including the initial Array Formation Elder.
"No matter, let them argue. There will be opportunities to discipline them in the future," Lin Qian said, calming his heart, "After all, they are also elders of the Wanxiang Sect, and I will give my uncle a face by not troubling them for now."
Just as Lin Qian’s words concluded, a scholar outside the Council Hall sought an audience, and upon being granted entrance, reported an update that metaphorically slapped him across the face.
According to this scholar’s report, a group of Wanxiang Sect elders had forcibly barged into the location of the battleship.
Not only that, they had disclosed the location of the battleship to the Shengtian Sect!
"What?" Lei Qian exclaimed in shock and anger, rising incredulously.
Simultaneously, Lin Qian’s face darkened as he slowly rose and silently walked toward the room door.
Seeing this, others quickly followed behind, rushing to the scene to uncover what had actually transpired.
Once they arrived on deck, the battleship had already gathered quite a crowd, forming a standoff between two sides.
On one side, leading the group were Qin Wushuang, Wei Wushuang, Wei Qingqing, Mei Yuexia, Lei Heng, the Array Formation Elder, and the Punishment Elder, with numerous disciples also gathered around them.
At the opposite side, there were also a dozen elders, with an old man whose beard and hair were completely white at the forefront. He furrowed his brows as he looked at Qin Wushuang, "Little Qin, are you really planning to stop me?"
"Uncle Master, when Wanxiang Sect was in trouble, you were not within the Sect but in seclusion in your hometown city. You do not understand the help Lin Qian has given us. These are all his belongings, and we have no right to interfere." Qin Wushuang pointed at the elders standing behind him, "Back then, you were also present. Don’t you understand?"
"He is a disciple of Wanxiang Sect. Anything obtained within the territory of Wanxiang Sect should be handed over. Is that not correct?"
"As a disciple of Wanxiang Sect, everything should prioritize the Sect. Don’t think I don’t know that he secretly made trade transactions with the Sea Clan and sold battleships, likely reaping considerable benefits without informing us. He just wants to privately hoard the profits." The leading elder pointed at Qin Wushuang and spoke.
Seeing this elder, Qin Wushuang and his companions felt helpless.
The man was named Peng Jiangtian, the junior brother of the former Sect Master and also the senior brother of Lei Heng, but he was known for being extremely harsh and arrogant due to his age.
After all, he was the Supreme Elder of Wanxiang Sect, and they didn’t know how to handle his unreasonable entanglements.
Qin Wushuang was quite troubled, and he once asked his senior brother how he should act.
However, his senior brother Wei Wushuang just told him that Lin Qian could resolve the matter himself, and it would be best if he stepped forward, sparing them from interfering further.
"This old bastard is such a hassle. . ." Standing in a distant corner, Gao Benli furrowed his brow, and just then, he suddenly saw a familiar figure approaching, startlingly his junior brother Lin Qian.
"Junior brother." Seeing Lin Qian arrive, Gao Benli walked up to greet him, "You’re pretty capable, eh? Disappearing for two years and making a huge deal upon your return without giving your senior brother a bit of pocket money?"
"That’s not the case; there are quite a few new flavors of edible jade." Saying this, Lin Qian tossed a storage ring to him.
Seeing his senior brother’s demeanor, Lin Qian knew that he had recovered from his grief.
Catching the storage ring, Gao Benli examined it and showed a trace of surprise. The quality of the storage ring was extremely high, far surpassing the one he wore.
Especially when he opened the storage ring and noticed it was filled with valuable items, Gao Benli raised an eyebrow and popped a piece of edible jade into his mouth, "Munch munch. . . Hmm, that’s the flavor."
"Lin Qian, Lin Qian has come."
"That’s right, he really has returned. Could it be that everything Supreme Elder Peng said was true?"
At that time, many disciples also noticed Lin Qian’s arrival and began discussing among themselves.
During this period, Lin Qian’s whereabouts were very secretive, and many disciples didn’t even know he had returned.
Especially seeing Zhang Qi coming with him, their eyes widened in even greater astonishment.
"Humph, you disobedient disciple have some nerve to show up." Peng Jiangtian snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied.
Lin Qian looked at the Supreme Elder in front of him, whose face was covered with wrinkles and white beard and hair, wearing a robe that was clearly a soul device of not low grade and seemingly only purchasable with soul crystals.
He could see, in Peng Jiangtian’s eyes, an overwhelming greed.
"From today, I withdraw from Wanxiang Sect and will no longer be a disciple of Wanxiang Sect," Lin Qian said loudly just as Peng Jiangtian finished speaking.
"From now on, I declare that the Huaxia Empire is officially established in the Coastal State, and I am the Emperor of the Huaxia Empire."
"Going forward, I will establish an alliance with the Wanxiang Sect."