Chapter 454 - The Grand Elder

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John's reply caused everyone watching, from the disciples to the branch sect leaders, to suck in a breath of cold air. Only Lilian, as well as the other Yuan Continent disciples remained calm and even laughed lightly, as they were familiar with John's overbearing and brash persona.

Whisperwind, who was already fuming from seeing her star disciple beaten into near unconsciousness, became even more angry as her face turned a darker shade of red. Her power began to flare as she was unable to control her emotions, before a light cough sounded out. 

Whisperwind glanced over to the source of the cough, and her power instantly faded as she bowed her head slightly.

"Sorry, Grand Elder. I lost my calm for a moment," Whisperwind said, as the one who had just coughed was supposedly the Grand Elder.

'Grand Elder? I wonder what type of rank that carries?" John mused as he stared at the man who had just interrupted Whisperwind. Clearly he was not happy with her antics, as she was showing callous disregard for the Heavenly Lightning Sect by flaring her power before the Heavenly Lightning Palace.

The Grand Elder appeared to be a middle-aged man, who had a clean-shaven face and bald head. He appeared almost like a monk, and his calm expression only further added to that appearance. Unlike other sect members who wore robes of blue and white, the Grand Elder wore a golden robe, making him look quite grand. Standing behind the Grand Elder were six other Elder's, who wore the usual white and blue colored robes of the sect. 

John couldn't tell what his cultivation was exactly, but he could vaguely tell that the man was around Thunderzen's level in strength. 

'He's most likely also in the World Expansion Realm!'

While John couldn't say who was stronger, the man being around Thunderzen's level of power was a testament to his might. 

"Make sure it doesn't happen again," the Grand Elder replied calmly, before his gaze shifted to the group of recently arrived branch disciples. 

His gaze rested on John for a moment, and John could feel the Grand Elder's piercing gaze attempting to see through him, before it shifted to the other disciples. His gaze paused on a few other disciples as well that he found interesting, before he turned to the look at the branch sect leaders.

"It appears you've brought us some incredibly promising youths this year," the Grand Elder said to the group before gazing at Lilian directly. "Especially you. You and Thunderzen have far exceeded our expectations."

"Thank you for your praise, Grand Elder," Lilian said as she nodded her head slightly towards the Grand Elder as a sign of respect. 

The Grand Elder's gaze shifted back towards the group of disciples, and his hand outstretched towards the group.

John, as well as the rest of the disciples, suddenly felt themselves wrapped up in the Grand Elder's power, and their bodies began to levitate a small distance off the ground. Startled cries echoed out from several disciples as they found themselves floating in a certain direction, unsure of what was going on.

John remained calm as he felt this power move him about, and before long, he found himself moved just several yards away from the Grand Elder himself. His head turned to look behind him, and he found a long line of all the disciples formed behind him.

The line was thousands of disciples long, and stretched almost to the other side of the courtyard. All the branch sect leaders other than Lilian opened their eyes wide at what they saw.

Directly behind John were the three strongest youths from the other branch sects, followed by Chase, Adam, Iris, and then a mix of disciples from all the branch sects. However, what shocked the branch sect leaders the most was that the Yuan Continent sect, the weakest branch every year, made up over seventy percent of the top one hundred disciples. 

John smiled as he saw the line behind him, as he could immediately tell it was a ranking of the amount of badges they had. He had given both Chase and Adam quite a few badges to ensure a high ranking for them, as well as gave Iris some of her badges back, as she had supposedly sworn loyalty to him from here on out.

"What is the meaning of this?" Whisperwind couldn't help but exclaim as she saw the rankings. She was already incredibly upset, and wanted to vent her frustrations. "The Yuan Continent is always the weakest by far. Clearly they cheated somehow."

As soon as Whisperwind said these words, the other branch sect leaders all winced slightly at the stupidity of her words. Whisperwind's expression quickly turned from anger to realization at what she had just said, but it was too late to take it back.

The Grand Elder calmly gazed at Whisperwind, although there was a piercing menace behind eyes. "To dare claim a test administered by us Elders would allow cheating," the Grand Elder said to Whisperwind. "Either you think us Elders are corrupt, or inept. Either way, your words have gone too far this time Branch Sect Leader Whisperwind, or should I say, Whisperwind."

The Grand Elder's words were incredibly clear, as he had taken the "Branch Sect Leader" off her title. Clearly he was stripping her of the title of Branch Sect Leader. 

"Grand Elder," Whisperwind called out. "I lost myself for a moment. Please forgive me."

"I'll hear no more of this," the Grand Elder cut her off. "Return to your branch sect and inform Branch Vice-Sect Leader Lighthand of his promotion to Branch Sect Leader," the Grand Elder instructed Whisperwind.

Whisperwind's face blanched, but she knew arguing would only worsen her situation. After a moment of hesitation, Whisperwind bowed her head towards the Grand Elder.

"I will do as you say," Whisperwind replied before leaving without another word.

Watching all this from the front of the line, John raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

'This sect is far more no-nonsense than the Yuan Continent branch. I wonder if I'll be able to get away with as much as I did under Thunderzen's leadership."

The Grand Elder watched Whisperwind fly away for a moment, before his calm gaze once again focused on the line of disciples before him.

"Congratulations on successfully entering our Heavenly Lightning Sect. The line you find yourself standing in is based on your performance in the trial.. I will now inform you of what your placements mean regarding your entrance to this sect."

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