Chapter 240.2: One Palm Sends a Martial Saint Flying! Every Sacred Land Shaken! (II)

At this point, the people of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land finally stepped in.

A Martial Saint approached the group, smiling genially. He glanced at Lu Changsheng, then at the thoroughly disheveled Elder Xue.

"Fellow Daoists, this is all a misunderstanding," said the Azure Mountain Saint. "The business with the ranking is nothing more than disciples messing around. Hardly worth the two of you raising arms over.

"Besides, the Exchange Convention is nearly upon us, and a little clash of tempers among disciples is perfectly normal. Let them settle it at the convention so we don't destroy the harmony here. What do the two of you say?"

It was no surprise that a Martial Saint of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land was playing peacemaker. However, both the Great Snow Mountain and Heavenly River Sacred Lands knew their hosts had been watching the whole affair from the shadows, waiting until the fighting was over to emerge and make peace.

Elder Xue drew a deep breath. "The fault here was my own recklessness. Before the Exchange Convention begins, I will keep my disciples in hand. No Great Snow Mountain disciple will provoke others again."

With that, Elder Xue gathered the Great Snow Mountain disciples and left in haste.

The Azure Mountain Martial Saint turned around. "Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Feng..."

"Say no more. This began with the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land. Since they will keep their disciples in hand, the Heavenly River Sacred Land has no objection."

With that, Feng Tianxing and Lu Changsheng took their disciples and departed as well.

The Great Snow Mountain contingent returned to their assigned cave residences with heads bowed and spirits low. Elder Xue's face stayed dark throughout.

"Speak, then. Who exactly is this Lu Changsheng?" Elder Xue demanded.

Every disciple and Elder of the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land knew what a beating he had taken, and none had dared open his mouth. Only when he asked directly did one elder dare speak up.

"I have already looked into it. This Lu Changsheng is quite the character. His name carries enormous weight throughout the Sacred Earth. While still at the Divine Ability Realm he cut down a Martial Saint against all odds. He also condensed the immeasurable divine ability and used it as the foundation for his Saint Body. Safe to say, he's unfathomably strong.

"Afterward he went to the Heavenly River Sacred Land and passed the titled elder trial. Word has it that during that trial, he destroyed a hundred Saints in a single strike. It shook the whole of the Heavenly River Sacred Land.

"So, Elder Xue, please do not be upset about that clash. At the Human Saint Realm, I doubt anyone at all is a match for Lu Changsheng."

Elder Xue had listened to all of it in complete silence.

An immeasurable divine ability! And a Saint Body forged upon it, no less. Indeed, I never stood a chance against him.

Still, that did not lessen the humiliation Elder Xue had faced that day. Word of his clash with Lu Changsheng had likely spread to every sacred land by now, and he had become the laughingstock of all of them.

"Hmph. The Azure Mountain Sacred Land people certainly knew about this beforehand. They let us fight with the Heavenly River Sacred Land while watching from the side.

"Enough. My skills fell short and I lost, and that is that. My own disgrace is nothing, but the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land must not be disgraced. When the Exchange Convention begins, the Great Snow Mountain disciples will make up for my humiliation. Understood?"

Elder Xue was able to let go when necessary. Now that he knew who Lu Changsheng truly was, he abandoned any thought of redeeming himself. The gap between him and Lu Changsheng was simply too vast. Elder Xue would only stand a chance against Lu Changsheng if he became an Earthly Saint, which was quite unattainable for him. He lacked the potential for it, and if potential was the measure, Lu Changsheng's far exceeded his own.

That day, he had lost face, so he faced the loss squarely, admitting it openly so that the Great Snow Mountain disciples might be spurred to reclaim their sacred land's honor.

And sure enough, it seemed like his speech had made an impression on the disciples. Heads lifted throughout the ranks of the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land, and their morale surged noticeably.

"Rest assured, Elder. We will give everything we have!"

"If we encounter disciples from the Heavenly River Sacred Land, we will show no mercy!"

"Elder, we shall reclaim your honor!"

Seeing his disciples' spirits restored, Elder Xue allowed himself a slight smile. Inwardly, though, he tasted only bitterness. The disgrace had been just too great. He would never hold his head up before his peers among the sacred lands again.

He even resolved that once he returned to the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land he would enter secluded cultivation and never leave its grounds again.

News of the clash between the Heavenly River Sacred Land and the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land raced through the Azure Mountain Sacred Land.

The Elders and disciples of the other sacred lands all learned of it, and the report threw the whole of the Azure Mountain Sacred Land into an uproar. They could scarcely believe that the Heavenly River Sacred Land's Lu Changsheng was so formidable.

Yet the slightest investigation left them all marveling. There was a great deal of word on Lu Changsheng out there, and it was by now essentially confirmed.

A hundred Saints destroyed in a single strike!

That one piece of intelligence alone was enough to silence anyone. Essentially every sacred land now knew that the Heavenly River Sacred Land had a Lu Changsheng, and that he was not to be trifled with. They would take care not to provoke him.

Still, this was an exchange among the sacred lands' disciples. Lu Changsheng was an elder and would not take the field himself, which put the various sacred lands somewhat more at ease. If Martial Saints were permitted to compete, they would rather concede than face him.

Lu Changsheng would probably be the very first to make the proud martial artists of the sacred lands lower their heads and concede. Throughout history, no matter how dazzling a martial artist's talent, there had always been someone unwilling to bow. But when it came to Lu Changsheng, no one out there was unwilling to yield.

The name "Saint Lu" now rang through every sacred land.

Hm? The momentum of the masses has increased again?

Lu Changsheng's perception of the momentum of the masses was keen now, and he felt it surge once more. It had to be connected to his battle with Elder Xue. His prestige in the eyes of the Heavenly River Sacred Land disciples had presumably risen again, and so the momentum of the masses had also surged.

Is there a possibility, then? That I could draw the momentum of the masses from the Heavenly River Sacred Land and from other factions at the same time? Other sacred lands, for instance?

The thought struck him, and he turned it over, analyzing his own momentum of the masses carefully.

In truth, the momentum of the masses within him came not only from the Heavenly River Sacred Land but from the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect as well.

The Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect's portion was negligible beside the Heavenly River Sacred Land's, but it was definitely there. Joining the Heavenly River Sacred Land did not appear to have affected it at all.

It was a promising line of thought, one which Lu Changsheng pursued at length.

If I joined another sacred land and the upper ranks of the Heavenly River Sacred Land took offense, my standing there would suffer, and the momentum of the masses from the Heavenly River Sacred Land would drop sharply. Still, that does not mean the principle itself is false.

Suppose I do not join another sacred land. Suppose instead I join factions the Heavenly River Sacred Land has no objection to, or factions it pays no mind to, and accumulate momentum of the masses that way, a little at a time.

Given enough of them, my momentum of the masses would pile up to a terrifying degree, and my Saint Body's cultivation would accelerate...

Lu Changsheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter. The more he considered it, the more workable the method seemed.

Joining one faction after another, and holding a high position in each to draw a substantial share, would naturally be quite difficult for most people.

Of course, Lu Changsheng was not like most people. He stood among the very highest of Human Saints, and whatever power he entered would gain enormously by it. Even a sacred land. His joining had benefited the Heavenly River Sacred Land, after all.

Ultimately, this "many a little makes a mickle" approach was genuinely worth attempting. Still, even to attempt it, Lu Changsheng first had to see this Exchange Convention through.