“Greetings, Sect Leader!” the disciples greeted as they bowed to an Elder who was gradually making his way to the central seat.

As he lifted an arm, the Leader of the Heavenly Sound Sect swept his glance across everyone present, and began to speak.

Meanwhile, ten masked men from the Abyss emerged in a secluded corner just outside of the Nine Peaks Mountain.

These ten men were none other than Wang Xian and his gang.

The information which Mo Yuan and the rest had obtained did not seem out of the ordinary. In addition, as a Sacred Sect, the Heavenly Sound Sect had managed to cover their tracks well enough. Hence, the group could only sneak their way in by means of their incredible abilities and combat powers.

“The Heavenly Sound Sect is unlike the Flame Palace. As a long established Sacred Sect, their defense is no doubt more complicated than one can imagine!” Wang Xian explained.

After which, Wang Xian and gang peered at the nine gigantic summits with heavy looks on their faces.

Yet, other than its impressive heights and majestic beauty, one could barely detect any sense of danger from the nine summits.

They seemed to be nothing more than nine ordinary mountains.

Yet, it was the seeming mediocrity of the mountains which cautioned the group.

After all, the Heavenly Sound Sect was not the Flame Palace, hence its defense was anything but simple.

Wang Xian gazed at the nine typical mountains ahead as he narrowed his eyes. In a quick movement, he changed his position and hopped onto a tree along the fringes of the mountain.

Tweet, tweet!

Just then came a chirp from a tree branch beside Wang Xian. It was a bird, staring intently at Wang Xian as it called out. Soon after, the little bird flew towards the Nine Peaks Mountain and within its vicinity.

“Huh?” Wang Xian frowned in confusion. With quick reflexes, the Power of the Divine Dragon oozed out of him and overshadowed the surroundings.

Tweet, tweet!

The little bird flapped its wings as hard as it could, before it flopped onto the ground.

“So that’s how they work!” Wang Xian exclaimed in realization. WIth a grin, he continued, “No doubt a Sacred Clan. Even the mode of defense is beyond expectations.”

Wang Xian observed his surroundings, and noticed an overwhelming number of nests. These bird nests came in all sorts, and had settled on the branches of trees all over Nine Peaks Mountain.

He even briefly spotted a nest which spanned about six to seven meters across, located thousands of meters away.

With such a gigantic nest, one can easily imagine the size of the bird settling in it.

“It must be a flying bird of the Inborn level. The Heavenly Sound Sect has resorted to using flying birds as implicit sentinels numbering up to the tens of thousands. Perhaps even the millions. Seems like there’s no way of hiding any entry into the Sect grounds,” Wang Xian assessed.

He was mildly impressed by the Sect, which no doubt deserved its sacred status. By using millions of birds as surveillance, even a mosquito flying in would be clear for all to see.

“That said, these birds can’t be that intelligent. They also possess obvious shortcomings!” Wang Xian exclaimed with a faint smile, while Mo Qinglong and the rest scurried over.

“Let’s go!” Wang Xian directed. But, as he was about to make a move, a bunch of tree branches clung onto Wang Xian and gang, twining them in like saplings.

In one leap, he sprung forward. The birds around looked over in curiosity. But they soon became indifferent once again, and continued to chirp incessantly while resting on the branches.

They were, after all, ordinary birds with low intelligence.

To the extent that some of them had no idea as to why these few saplings could actually move.

The ten men shot through the Nine Peaks Mountain at lightning speed, and in no time arrived at the peak of one of the mountains.

“Over there!” Wang Xian pointed as he narrowed his focus. In a flash, he landed mid-mountain on one of the nearest summits, and stared coldly at the training field.

Meanwhile, at the training field, a girl dressed in all black was suspended in mid-air with a black Devil Zither. Across from her stood another girl with a refined and graceful face.

Panicking while cold sweat trickled down her forehead, the young maiden clung onto her Pipa as she battled the girl dressed in black. 1

Standing beside Wang Xian, Mo Qinglong looked at the training field, where Hu Qingqing was.

“That’s the girl, Hu Qingqing. Based on the most confidential information from the Dark Conjurers, she’s the one who issued the assassination orders.” Mo Qinglong pointed out coldly.

“Not only did she order to have Tang Yinxuan killed, she’s also involved in two other missions, alongside that young man standing at the fringe. The other two assassinations were carried out successfully!” he added.

Wang Xian surveyed the girl in black, who boasted a charming face and a glamorous figure.

“How unscrupulous. Resorting to killing a fellow Sect member for the Saintess’ position. Vile is a woman’s heart, more poisonous than a viper’s bite or a hornet’s sting!” Wang Xian said coldly as he observed.

Thereafter, he swept his gaze across and counted silently.

“There are a total of seven Inborn experts, with more absent. They’ve either hidden themselves within the Nine Peaks Mountain, or gone travelling!” Wang Xian contemplated in silence. Just seven Inborn experts alone was a handful.

Moreover, members of the Heavenly Sound Sect were known for their incredible combat powers and powerful attacks.

However, Wang Xian and gang had not come to annihilate the Heavenly Sound Sect. Rather, they were just here to kill Hu Qingqing. In addition, they need not clash with the Sect.

“Young Master, should we just charge over and slaughter her right away?” Mo Qinglong asked as he stood beside Wang Xian.

“Kill!” Wang Xian ordered. He had just uttered the word, when he looked below and froze in his tracks. “Hold on!” he shouted.

“Yep!” Mo Qinglong and the rest nodded in response, and hid away quietly.

“Senior Sister Hu’s too powerful. She’s holding the legendary Copperhead Viper Zither in her hands. That’s a Level nine zither! Goodness, where did she get that from!?” An audience member gasped from amidst the crowd.

“A Level 9 zither, plus Senior Hu’s prowess as a Half-step Inborn, in addition to the unique Art of Cultivation of our Heavenly Sound Sect; Senior Hu’s almost unrivaled amongst the Half-step Inborns!” another added.

“Seems like it’s more or less decided that Senior Hu will become the Saintess. She’s too powerful. To think that Senior Sister Fang Jiuhua’s totally defenseless against her!” one more chipped in.

“It feels like Senior Hu’s prowess is about to overpower the Saint’s!” a last commented.

And there was Hu Qingqing, standing on the stage. With a charming smile, she fought on without a care in the world. Around the training field, the crowd of disciples watched on in shock and admiration all at once.

The senior management of the Heavenly Sound Sect also gazed at Hu Qingqing, pleased with her performance.

The prowess she displayed was simply impressive.

“The Copperhead Viper Zither’s a Level 9 zither. It’s enough to qualify as the third most powerful zither within our Heavenly Sound Sect. To think that Qingqing managed to obtain it!” a senior praised.

“I’m taken by surprise too! The Copper Viper Zither along with Qingqing’s Fei Fei Demonic Note. She’ll be unrivalled in the world of Inborns!” another commented.

“Congratulations, Vice Sect Leader! You’ve found a successor!” a third cheered.

On the stage, several Elders chatted in whispers to the Vice Sect Leader. Seated in the middle, the Vice Sect Leader responded with a hearty laugh.

His granddaughter would soon ascend to become the Saintess.

On the training field, Hu Qingqing eyed Tang Yinxuan coldly. A look of disdain swept across the former’s eye as she glanced at the latter’s Green Zither.

“Tang Yinxuan, just concede defeat. You’re no match for me. Nor are you qualified to exchange blows with me!” Hu Qingqing gloated.

Tang Yinxuan had been in another battle earlier, where she had defeated Ouyang Yan using her Green Zither. And although her skills were up to par, it had taken her a long time before she emerged victorious in the battle.

This was a huge contrast to Hu Qingqing’s easy win.

“Let’s have a fair competition, where both of us will use an ordinary zither!” Tang Yinxuan suggested to Hu Qingqing in a composed manner.

“”Haha! Fair competition, using an ordinary zither. Tang Yinxuan, are you kidding me?” Hu Qingqing laughed.

Endnote:

1 A Pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument