Tang Xuan, the Sect Leader of Fire Worship Sect, was merely suspicious. He thought it was too much of a coincidence to be true. When Duan Ling Tian left without any signs of reluctance at all, he began to doubt his suspicion even more.
"I hope you're not that man... Otherwise..." Tang Xuan muttered to himself as his eyes gleamed with a hint of viciousness.
If Duan Ling Tian was just an ordinary true disciple in the Fire Worship Sect, Tang Xuan could easily force him to swear on the lighting penalty oath to verify his suspicion. However, Duan Ling Tian was no longer a true disciple. He was now a Guardian of the Fire Worship Sect.
A Guardian was a pillar of the Fire Worship Sect. Unless Tang Xuan was sure of his suspicion, he would not force Duan Ling Tian to swear on the lightning penalty oath just because of his suspicion or because he was stronger than Duan Ling Tian.
If Tang Xuan was wrong about his suspicion, it might offend Duan Ling Tian, and the Fire Worship Sect might lose one of its Guardians. Moreover, if they lost Duan Ling Tian, they would lose the Saint Weapon, the Devilseal Tablet, that could defeat the Devils as well.
If the Devil Clans appeared and the Fire Worship Sect did not have the Devilseal Tablet, they would be at a huge disadvantage. Tang Xuan would not let such a thing happen unless it was absolutely necessary.
For this reason, Tang Xuan would not ask or force Duan Ling Tian who was now a Guardian of the Fire Worship Sect to swear on the lightning penalty oath over his speculation unless he was certain.
"I have a lot of time. If he's really the Saint Girl's man from the Lower Province, he'll eventually make a mistake and expose himself," Tang Xuan muttered under his breath before he returned to his cultivation place.
Duan Ling Tian was, naturally, unaware of this. After he left, he was still thinking about how he could save Ke'er and their daughter as soon as he could. He was afraid of unforeseen circumstances that might crop up if he took too long.
After Duan Ling Tian left the cultivation place of the Sect Leader of Fire Worship Sect, he returned to his residence that he used to live in when he was still a true disciple. Everything was still the same as when he had left it a few years ago. The only thing that had changed was his strength and position.
In the next three days, the Fire Worship Sect was in an uproar over Duan Ling Tian's return and his actions in the White Tiger Sanctum and the Enforcement Hall.
Duan Ling Tian had made a big splash as soon as he returned to the Fire Worship Sect after being away for a few years. As soon as he returned, he went to the White Tiger Sanctum and defeated the Sanctum Leader of White Tiger Sanctum easily. After that, he went to the Enforcement Hall and killed Elder Yang, an Enforcement Hall elder, Dong Lin, and Dong Yuan Jin, one of the Vice Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall. Apart from that, he even injured Jiang Qin, another Vice Hall Master in the Enforcement Hall. What was even more shocking was he even injured Leng Ying, the Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall, who had broken through to the Seventh Form of the Saint Celestial Stage.
"From what I know, the Divine Abilities that Hall Master Leng Yin has mastered are extremely extraordinary. In fact, Guardian Hong Yun has even said that she might not be a match for him once he has broken through to the Seventh Form of the Saint Celestial Stage!"
"Indeed! I remember Guardian Hong Yun saying this as well!"
"Apparently Duan Ling Tian only used three strikes with his sword to defeat Hall Master Leng Ying!"
"He defeated Hall Master Leng Ying with three strikes?"
"Based on this, I think the news from Sin City is true. With his current strength, it's not impossible for him to kill Golden Lion King Xie Kang Xun, one of the four great Karmapas of the Black Kshetra Sect, with just three strikes."
"That's right! In terms of strength, the Golden Lion King Xie Kang Xun of the Black Kshetra Sect is a lot weaker than Guardian Hong Yun. Since Duan Ling Tian's able to defeat Hall Master Leng Ying whom Guardian Hong Yun said would be stronger than her once he has a breakthrough, it's definitely possible for Duan Ling Tian to kill the Golden Lion King with three strikes!"
News of Duan Ling Tian's current strength spread everywhere in the Fire Worship Sect.
"I can't believe there's someone like that among the true disciples... He's like a monster!"
"That's right! I don't think there's even such a strong true disciple in the history of the Fire Worship Sect, right?"
"There is an age limit to become a true disciple. Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian hasn't even passed the age limit. To think he's already broken through to the Seventh Form or above of the Saint Celestial Stage. Even Pei Si Hai who's widely acknowledged as the number one prodigy in the Dao Martial Saint Land by the sectless cultivators for breaking through to the Eight Form of the Saint Celestial Stage before turning 100 years old can't compare to Senior Brother Ling Tian, right?"
"Hurmph! Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian from our Fire Worship Sect is the true number one prodigy in the Dao Martial Saint Land!"
Some people began to compare Duan Ling Tian and Pei Si Hai. Duan Ling Tian had not even reached 50 years old, but it seemed as though his strength could rival that of a powerhouse at the Eighth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage. Pei Si Hai was a prodigy for breaking through to the Eighth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage before turning 100 years old, but his feat was nothing compared to Duan Ling Tian.
Many people in the Fire Worship Sect began to regard Duan Ling Tian as the number one prodigy in the Dao Martial Saint Land.
In the cultivation place of Lu Tie, the Sanctum Leader of Azure Dragon Sanctum.
"The number one prodigy in Dao Martial Saint Land?" When Bu Hong found out about what Duan Ling Tian had done since his return, he was so furious that he almost fainted. He did not expect that the true disciple who had crippled his innate talent back then would be so strong now that he had returned.
"Hong'er, forget about the enmity between you and him... You'll only bring trouble to yourself if you don't let this matter go." Even Lu Tie, the Sanctum Leader of Azure Dragon Sanctum, had no choice but to lower his head in front of the current Duan Ling Tian.
What a joke!
Duan Ling Tian had easily defeated the Sanctum Leader of the White Tiger Sanctum, and Lu Tie's strength was on par with him.
Based on Duan Ling Tian's innate talent, he would only grow stronger and stronger in the future.
Moreover, what Duan Ling Tian had done in the Enforcement Hall made Lu Tie realize that Duan Ling Tian was not a kind or forgiving person. If he and Bu Hong decided to oppose Duan Ling Tian, their outcome would be similar to the Dong family.
"I understand, master," Bu Hong said as he lowered his head. However, if one looked closely, one could see the reluctance in his eyes.
Three days passed by in just a blink of an eye.
At this moment, in the Central Square on the Saint Island in Fire Worship Sect.
Tang Xuan, the Sect Leader of Fire Worship Sect, had appeared. His appearance, naturally, caused a commotion. Many Saint Land disciples swarmed to the Central Square immediately. After all, this was the first time the Sect Leader of the Fire Worship Sect made a public appearance after breaking through to the Ninth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage, the Celestial Ascension Form!
"Lord Sect Leader!"
"Lord Sect Leader!
When the group of Saint Land disciples in the Central Square saw Tang Xuan, all of them became excited. After a while, they noticed there were two other people standing behind Tang Xuan.
"It's Hall Master Leng Ying from the Enforcement Hall and Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian!"
The people standing behind Tang Xuan, the Sect Leader of Fire Worship Sect, were none other than Duan Ling Tian and Leng Ying.
"Silence!" Tang Xuan said.
The entire place fell silent immediately.
Tang Xuan did not beat around the bush and instantly announced, "I, Tang Xuan, the Sect Leader of the Fire Worship Sect, hereby announce that we'll have two new Guardians in the Fire Worship Sect. These people standing behind me are Guardian Ling Tian and Guardian Leng Ying!"
Tang Xuan directly announced to all the disciples and high-ranking officials in the Fire Worship Sect that there were no longer three, but five Guardians in the Fire Worship Sect. As soon as he finished speaking, he gave the Guardian identity tokens to Duan Ling Tian and Leng Ying, officially bestowing them the position of Guardians.
Just as expected, the crowd burst into a commotion immediately.
Although most people had already prepared for this, they could not help but feel excited when they witnessed this spectacular event.
After a moment, the high-ranking officials led by the two Vice Sect Leaders of Fire Worship walked up and began to congratulate Duan Ling Tian one after another.
"I'd like to pay my respect to you, Guardian Ling Tian. Congratulations, Guardian Ling Tian!"
"I'd like to pay my respect to you, Guardian Ling Tian. Congratulations, Guardian Ling Tian!"
Among these people who came to congratulate Duan Ling Tian, there were a few familiar faces as well. Silver Flame Elder Guo Xiong and Overseer Nie Zui from the Palace of Death in the Black Turtle Sanctum were among them. They stood further away as they congratulated him, this was because their positions were lower than the group of high- ranking officials who were standing in front.
Apart from the two Vice Sect Leaders, the group of Fire Worship Sect high-ranking officials were mostly Golden Flame Elders like the Sanctum Leader of White Tiger Sanctum, whom Duan Ling Tian easily defeated a few days ago and the Sanctum Leader of Azure Dragon Sanctum.
"En." Duan Ling Tian nodded calmly in response to all the congratulatory words. He felt that time had passed by really quickly. These people who congratulated him were people whom he looked up to in the past. However, they were now respectfully congratulating him.