After waiting for a long time outside the main gate of Mount Tai Sect, and hearing that the distant rumbling had ceased, Wang Hai and the others exchanged glances.
After a while, Zhou Yingxue spoke, "Is this... over?"
Deng Bauxan shook his head, "Let's wait a bit longer. Rushing over now would only cause trouble for the Commander."
The three sect leaders had by this point calmed their minds and, like Liu Baiyun, consciously positioned themselves as subordinates to Li Miao.
They were truly convinced.
To be honest, if Li Miao had used his Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) identity to pressure them, they wouldn't have been able to resist, but that wouldn't have been genuine submission—just a forced compliance due to circumstances, which would inevitably lead to feigned obedience later.
Cheng Yuanzhen was also a Juedian (Apex), yet the three sect leaders still dared to draw their swords against him.
But Li Miao's martial arts had genuinely subdued them.
People in the martial arts world, to some extent, harbor the thought, "You just have power/money; can you even take one of my sword strikes?" This was true even for the three great sect leaders.
However, they only submitted to martial prowess.
Today, even just by listening to the distant roars, the three sect leaders could imagine how terrifying that battle, which they dared not even witness, must have been.
After a while longer, Wang Hai said, "Let's go. The Commander should have already killed that Plum Blossom Bandit."
The remaining few looked at each other, only able to trust Wang Hai's judgment.
Everyone slowly walked towards the main hall of the Mount Tai Sect, but except for Wang Hai and Xiao Si, who looked relaxed, everyone else secretly gripped their sword hilts, with their internal energy surging, ready to use their light-body techniques to escape at any moment.
As they walked, Xiao Si suddenly clutched her chest and slowly squatted down.
"Hai Gege... it's the Commander..."
"The poison in my body can only be barely suppressed. This is when I'm most sensitive to the outside world. I can't go any further..."
Wang Hai nodded and turned to the others, saying, "I'll stay to look after Little Sister Si; I won't go over. You all go find the Commander."
The few nodded in agreement and continued forward.
As they got closer, they began to understand why Xiao Si had stopped.
They also began to feel that sensation.
The internal energy in their bodies seemed to be pulled by a mysterious force, growing stronger and stronger, as if it was about to be forcibly torn out of their bodies.
Although the sky was already bright, the further they walked, the darker their vision seemed to become.
Their usually agile hands and feet also began to tremble uncontrollably.
The sword hilts in their hands vibrated slightly.
The first to stop were several disciples from the three sects who had followed them.
"Sect Leader... I can't walk anymore..."
A middle-aged man in his forties said, fine beads of sweat appearing on his face.
The internal energy in his body had been forcibly pulled out of its circulation by that mysterious force, now darting wildly within him.
If he were to go any further, he might suffer a deviation of internal energy and become possessed.
The three sect leaders exchanged glances.
Zhang Jingfeng said, "The two sect leaders and I will go on; the others stay here."
With that, the three sect leaders slowly walked forward.
Finally, they reached the entrance to the outer plaza of the Mount Tai Sect's main hall.
At this point, Deng Bauxan, with the shallowest cultivation, was already breathing erratically, panting heavily.
He had actually wanted to stop long ago, but since Zhang Jingfeng and Zhou Yingxue hadn't stopped, he could only force himself to continue to save face for his sect.
The few of them stepped onto the plaza.
With each step, the situation changed dramatically.
The three only felt their vision go black, as if they had appeared on a boundless black beach.
And in front of them was a black, vast ocean, upon which a storm was slowly brewing.
Zhou Yingxue, with the strongest mental fortitude among the three, decisively bit her tongue, and the pain allowed her to break free from the illusion.
She then poked the other two with her sword hilt, waking them up as well.
"What was that just now!?" Deng Bauxan said, panting heavily.
"Look."
Zhang Jingfeng whispered.
In front of them was a ruin.
In front of the ruin, on the ground, lay a head, half flesh and blood, half skull.
And next to this skull was Li Miao, leaning back in a chair, eyes closed, one hand resting on the armrest, the other supporting his face, as if he were merely asleep.
But the three sect leaders could feel the internal energy within them being constantly pulled towards Li Miao, almost beyond their control, given their martial arts.
"If one isn't a first-rate master... are they not even worthy of a glance...?"
Zhou Yingxue said with a hoarse voice.
The three remained silent, and Deng Bauxan simply sat on the ground, focusing on controlling his internal energy.
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Meanwhile, Li Miao was having a fragmented dream.
Swords, guns.
Official robes, tall buildings.
Winding farmlands on the ground, steel objects soaring across the sky with a thunderous roar.
He leisurely woke up.
Li Miao clenched his fist and felt the internal energy within him.
He had initially thought this mission was a small matter, so he had traveled slowly and hadn't paid it much mind.
The current situation had escalated into the biggest mission he had undertaken, besides the one fifteen years ago. It was also fifteen years ago that he broke through to the first-rate and entered the Juedian (Apex).
He had saved the people of a city, crippled more than half of the Ming Cult, and killed a Yun Zelin who had merged three paths.
Cheng Yuanzhen had fled on his own, and the Great Shuo's "Eastern Depot" might also cease to exist because of this.
The ensuing "emolument" was also incredibly generous.
Li Miao felt that he could now perfectly master a martial art above Juedian (Apex) without showing signs of the "Celestial Human Five Declines."
His golden finger was very simple.
Every day, he had four hours to do things. He could choose the time or not, and if he didn't, his golden finger wouldn't appear.
His all-night exertions had already far exceeded four hours. This was a loophole he had discovered—he could choose the last four hours of the first day and the first four hours of the second day, effectively linking the two days.
After four hours, he would begin to have this dream.
Upon waking, he would receive "emolument"—the larger the task, the more he received.
Moreover, this task was judged not by good or bad, but by its impact.
If he were to go and kill the emperor right now, he might directly become a true "Martial Arts Myth."
However, that was something only a madman would do.
Besides, he might not even be able to kill him.
Reality was not a storybook; Great Shuo was a flesh-and-blood, real world. Martial arts had long permeated every corner of this era, and it must have changed some things.
Sanfeng Zhenren attained enlightenment in the early Yuan Dynasty, so why didn't he kill the Yuan Dynasty emperor?
Was it unwillingness... or inability?
Li Miao had thought about these things countless times, and there was no need to dwell on them now.
He had already reached "Impregnable," and had time to slowly climb to the Juedian (Apex). One day, he could truly "transcend."
Li Miao stood up, and the oppressive atmosphere dissipated with him.
He smiled and greeted the three sect leaders, "Are you three ready to serve the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)?"
He no longer said "the imperial court," but "the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)."