The Supreme Being Against Heaven

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The figures of the 9 core disciples vanished from the spirit vessel in an instant, reappearing at the left side of the ranking stage.

Even though exquisite spirit wine and various spirit fruits were placed on the jade tables, they did not spare them even a glance.

Song Qingqiu raised his head and looked at the 9 core disciples with utmost respect, then bowed deeply.
“All outer sect elders, along with myself, pay our respects to the 9 core disciples!”

“We pay our respects to the 9 core disciples!”
The other 12 elders behind Song Qingqiu bowed in unison.

At the same time—

More than 1,000,000 outer sect disciples knelt down and kowtowed together, their voices shaking the heavens:
“We disciples pay our respects to the 9 core disciples!”

At that moment, the Grand Elder of the Holy Soul lineage—Daoist of Holy Soul—lightly waved his hand from his seat.
“No need for such formalities.”

“Thank you, Core Disciples!”

Amid the thunderous response, everyone stood up together.

The 13 outer sect elders also straightened their bodies.

“Mm…”

The Daoist of Holy Soul nodded slightly, then spoke in a deep voice that echoed across the entire میدان:

“Qingqiu, in order to temper the outer sect disciples, our sect has spared no expense in resources.”

“First, we opened the space-time tunnel to Twilight Divine Valley. Then, we also activated the Mustard Seed Space-Time Tower for their trials.”

“Now that the trial disciples have returned, I and the other core disciples have been eagerly waiting—quickly invite them onto the stage.”

Hearing this, Song Qingqiu acknowledged the order, then turned to Tan Yun and the others.
“Trial disciples, heed my command—step onto the ranking stage immediately!”

“We obey!”

The moment the words fell—

Tan Yun and the other trial disciples vanished from below and appeared in orderly formation on the ranking stage in an instant.

“Hm?”

The Daoist of Holy Soul swept his gaze across the trial disciples, his white brows slightly furrowed.
“Qingqiu, there were more than 3,000 trial disciples, yet only 861 stand before me. Could it be that the rest are unaware that I and the other core disciples have arrived? Summon them here at once!”

Seeing such a small number, the first thing he thought of was not death—but that some had not yet arrived.

The other 8 core disciples thought the same.

Although they resided in the inner sect, they knew well that within a radius of 980,000 li of Twilight Divine Valley, the strongest demonic beasts were only at 2nd-stage adulthood.

Such creatures could not possibly have caused the deaths of more than 2,000 trial disciples!

Moreover—

Over the span of more than 10,000 years of trials in Twilight Divine Valley, the highest number of deaths in any single trial had never exceeded 500!

Therefore—

The 9 core disciples believed that some disciples had already returned but had not yet arrived.

Because of this, the way they looked at Song Qingqiu carried a trace of dissatisfaction.

As the head of the outer sect, allowing such a situation to occur clearly indicated “dereliction of duty.”

Seeing the expressions of the 9 core disciples change—

A trace of fear flashed in Song Qingqiu’s murky eyes. He quickly bowed and explained:
“Reporting to the core disciples, this time, a total of 861 trial disciples have returned from Twilight Divine Valley… and all of them are present here.”

“What did you say?”

The voice of the Daoist of Holy Soul turned icy cold. His sharp gaze pierced straight into Song Qingqiu’s eyes.
“You mean… all the remaining disciples… are dead?”

Song Qingqiu lowered his head deeply and forced himself to answer:
“Reporting to the core disciples, some disciples perished in the jaws of demonic beasts… thus only this number remains…”

He deliberately avoided mentioning Tan Yun’s killings—clearly showing how much he was protecting him.

Upon hearing this—

The other 8 core disciples showed different expressions, but none spoke.

However—

The Daoist of Holy Soul suddenly seemed to recall something extremely dreadful!

His aged body trembled as he abruptly stood up!

A terrifying aura burst forth from his body, enveloping the more than 1,000,000 disciples below in an instant!

Moments later—

He withdrew his spiritual sense, his body still trembling slightly, then fixed his gaze on Song Qingqiu. His voice was filled with urgency and tension:

“Song Qingqiu! Answer me immediately—”

“Where is my great-grandson, ‘Changkong’?!”

“Core Disciple, please calm your anger…”

Song Qingqiu said in panic, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
“Reporting to the core disciple… your great-grandson… unfortunately perished during the trial in Twilight Divine Valley…”

“Dead… dead…”

Just these 3 words—

echoed repeatedly in the mind of the Daoist of Holy Soul, like thunder striking both body and soul!

His wrinkled hands began to tremble, then his legs… until his entire body shook uncontrollably.

Cloudy tears streamed from his eyes, rolling down his deeply lined face.

He raised his head toward the sky, tears covering his face as he cried out in a trembling voice:
“More than 2 years ago, Changkong came to see me in the inner sect. He told me he had lost a bet to Murong Kun—98,000,000 low-grade spirit stones…”

“I even personally disciplined him a few times…”

“I never thought… never thought… that would be the last time I would ever see my great-grandson!”

“Heavens! Why must you be so cruel to me!”

“Changkong… was the only bloodline of my Linghu family!”

The wailing of the Daoist of Holy Soul was filled with indescribable sorrow.

However—

Among the other 8 core disciples present, not a single one spoke to console him.

Not even a simple “my condolences.”

Because—

Since the founder passed away 50,000 years ago, the Huangfu Sacred Sect had been divided into 9 major lineages, from the sacred sect down to the inner sect.

Each of the 9 lineages claimed to be the true orthodoxy.

As time passed—

a balance of power formed between 3 factions: the Inner Sect, the Immortal Sect, and the Sacred Sect, all stemming from the same origin.

Even the current Sect Master was unable to eliminate the conflicts between the 9 lineages and unify them as in the era of the founder.

Therefore—

the other 8 core disciples chose to remain indifferent to the Daoist of Holy Soul’s grief.

The path of immortality… is merciless.
The Great Dao… is equally without compassion.

At that moment—

it was only the outer sect elders, who held the lowest status, that spoke words of comfort:

“The dead cannot return. Core Disciple, please restrain your grief…”

“Yes, Core Disciple, your health is most important…”

“…”

The consoling voices still echoed in his ears.

The Daoist of Holy Soul let out a long breath, then clenched his teeth tightly.

His sharp, blade-like gaze swept across Tan Yun and the 861 trial disciples as he roared:

“Tell me!”

“Which demonic beast… killed Changkong?!”

“I will tear it into pieces, grind its bones to dust, and scatter its ashes to the wind!”

The rage born from grief—

stimulated every nerve in his body violently!

He was filled with endless fury and desperately needed an outlet!

The target… was the “culprit” who took his great-grandson’s life!

Under that terrifying roar—

a chill ran through Tan Yun’s entire body.

Mu Mengyi, Zhong Wu Shiyao, Xue Ziyan, and Rongrong all turned pale, lowering their heads in silence.

The other 856 disciples at the Nascent Soul Realm pressed their lips together, their expressions hesitant.

They… were afraid.

Afraid of Tan Yun’s future retaliation!

“What are you hesitating for?!”

The Daoist of Holy Soul roared again, his voice thunderous:
“Answer me!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In an instant—

all 856 disciples dropped to their knees in fear.

One of them shut his eyes tightly, his body trembling as he spoke in a shaking voice:

“Re… Reporting to the Core Disciple… Linghu Changkong… was not killed by a demonic beast…”

“But was… was…”

“Senior Brother Tan Yun… killed him!”

--Translated by likesnovel--