The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 307

He felt like his worldview was about to collapse.

"Brother Tong, you should know why I called you here today."

Dongfang Bubai did not respond to Tong Baixiong's words, but instead brought up other topics.

Although Tong Baixiong's emotions were fluctuating greatly at the moment, he composed himself and nodded when he heard Dongfang Bubai ask the question.

"Is this the reason for Ren Woxing's appearance?"

Ren Woxing's return to the martial world was a grand affair, and as an elder and leader of the Fenglei Hall, he was naturally well aware of it.

"good."

Dongfang Bubai glanced at Yang Lianting and then said, "I heard that some people in the sect have chosen to leave Blackwood Cliff and join Ren Woxing, supporting him as the leader of the Divine Sect."

"absurd!"

As soon as Dongfang Bubai finished speaking, Tong Baixiong became furious.

“There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two leaders in a religion. Although Ren Woxing once served as the leader of the religion, you are now the leader of the religion. How can they support Ren Woxing, the former leader, to seize power? Isn’t this an act of usurpation?”

Dongfang Bubai was not surprised by his reaction, but Yang Lianting was somewhat taken aback.

Is that old bastard Tong Baixiong really that loyal to Dongfang Bubai?

“Brother Tong, Ren Woxing has now escaped his predicament and has rallied many people within the sect to reclaim the position of sect leader. The Divine Sect is on the verge of collapse. I hope you can stand on my side.”

The Way of the Invincible East.

Tong Baixiong's excitement instantly cooled down.

"You want me to help you deal with Ren Woxing?"

Dongfang Bubai nodded.

Tong Baixiong didn't say anything more.

“Since you are alright, I will definitely support you as the leader. Apart from you, I, Tong Baixiong, will never recognize anyone else as the leader of the Divine Cult.”

Tong Baixiong was very determined.

Dongfang Bubai was not surprised by his answer.

In fact, when Ren Woxing was still the leader of the Sun Moon Sect, Tong Baixiong and Ren Woxing were at odds. Ren Woxing was too domineering and had no say in the sect. His methods were also extremely cruel, which made Tong Baixiong very dissatisfied with him. If Ren Woxing hadn't been imprisoned in West Lake by Dongfang Bubai, Tong Baixiong would definitely have been dealt with by Ren Woxing, given his personality.

"Brother Dongfang, you shouldn't have been so soft-hearted."

Tong Baixiong said.

He wasn't stupid. Back then, Ren Woxing disappeared suddenly while practicing martial arts in seclusion. Later, Dongfang Bubai smoothly took over as the leader of the sect, and Ren Woxing's whereabouts were unknown. He knew in his heart that it must have been Dongfang Bubai's doing. He didn't know whether he killed Ren Woxing or imprisoned him. But now that Ren Woxing has reappeared in the martial arts world, it means that Dongfang Bubai did not kill him back then, but only imprisoned him somewhere. Now that the other party is free, Tong Baixiong felt that Dongfang Bubai did not do it thoroughly enough back then, which led to this big trouble.

"If you hadn't neglected the Divine Cult all these years, causing it to fall apart, even if Ren Woxing reappeared in the martial world, it would have been impossible for so many people in the cult to join him."

After seeing with his own eyes that Dongfang Bubai was unharmed, Tong Baixiong's long-standing worries disappeared, but at this moment he couldn't help but complain a little.

If Dongfang Bubai hadn't allowed Yang Lianting to act recklessly, things wouldn't have come to this.

Yang Lianting was furious at being implied again.

Old thing!

Chapter 409: The Overall Structure of the Sun Moon Cult

"After I became the leader, although everyone in the sect called me the leader, many of them still harbored ulterior motives and supported Ren Woxing. They outwardly obeyed my orders but inwardly disobeyed them. That's why I asked Brother Lian to purge the sect. Brother Lian's methods were a bit too drastic."

Seeing how blatantly Dongfang Bubai was protecting Yang Lianting, Tong Baixiong had nothing more to say.

What else could he say.

"Who has joined Ren Woxing now?"

After calming down, Tong Baixiong said.

The most important thing now is how many people in the church have gone to Ren Woxing's side.

Dongfang Bubai glanced at Yang Lianting.

Yang Lianting understood, and although unwilling, he still told the truth.

"Among the known high-ranking members of the Divine Cult, Xiang Wentian, the Left Envoy of Light, and five of the ten elders—Bao Dachu, Wen, Ge, Du, and Qiu—have sided with Ren Woxing."

Tong Baixiong's face turned ugly.

In the organizational structure of the Sun Moon Cult, the highest position is held by the leader, namely Dongfang Bubai. Below him are the Left and Right Envoys of Light, and then the Ten Elders. These thirteen positions form the core power structure of the Sun Moon Cult's upper echelons.

However, Yang Lianting now tells him that six of the absolute high-ranking members of the Sun Moon Sect have already sided with Ren Woxing, which is more than half.

Aside from Dongfang Bubai, there are twelve positions below, but the position of Right Envoy of Light is vacant. Qu Yang, one of the Ten Elders, was kicked out by Yang Lianting long ago and is still being hunted down.

In other words, excluding Dongfang Bubai and the Grand Steward position he specially created for Yang Lianting, there are currently only ten people in the Sun Moon Sect's high-ranking leadership.

However, six of these ten people had already betrayed him, a serious situation that made Tong Baixiong very worried.

"correct."

Yang Lianting added, "The White Tiger Hall Master, Shangguan Yun, and the entire White Tiger Hall have sided with Ren Woxing."

Tong Baixiong's expression changed upon hearing this.

Below the Ten Elders are twelve halls: Azure Dragon Hall, White Tiger Hall, Vermilion Bird Hall, Black Tortoise Hall, Wind and Thunder Hall, Heavenly Wind Hall, etc. Each hall is in charge of its respective incense hall and its own flag. In addition, there are the Seven Star Envoys responsible for intelligence and assassination. These make up the entire Sun Moon Sect.

Each of the twelve halls has three positions: elder, hall master, and deputy hall master. Shangguan Yun is the elder and hall master of the White Tiger Hall.

Of these twelve halls, the Azure Dragon Hall is the strongest and holds the highest position, followed by the White Tiger Hall. Now that Yang Lianting has told him that Shangguan Yun has led the entire White Tiger Hall to side with Ren Woxing, Tong Baixiong's shock is almost comparable to his feelings when he first met Dongfang Bubai today.

"How could Shangguan Yun make such a decision?"

Tong Baixiong exclaimed in shock and anger.

He hadn't lost his composure like this when he heard that five of the ten elders had sided with Ren Woxing.

Although the Ten Elders held a higher position than Shangguan Yun and the twelve hall masters, they had no real power. To command these hall masters, they would only have the authority to do so during a major battle between the righteous and demonic paths, or when the sect leader issued an order. Otherwise, they had no right to instruct them to do things.

So when Tong Baixiong heard that one of the elders had betrayed him, he only felt a sense of solemnity, but at this moment he could no longer sit still.

He couldn't understand why Shangguan Yun would betray him. Shangguan Yun was already the leader of the White Tiger Hall. Although the Left and Right Envoys of Light and the Ten Elders were above him, in reality, those people were not as comfortable as him. Now that Shangguan Yun had chosen to betray him, Tong Baixiong was very puzzled and furious.

"..."

Yang Lianting remained silent. He was also shocked when he heard the news, and then he wished he could grind Shangguan Yun to dust.

At this moment, Dongfang Bubai spoke.

"Shangguan Yun is arrogant because he joined the sect early and has deep seniority. He believes he is capable of serving as the head of the Azure Dragon Hall. However, I did not do as he wished and chose to promote Jia Bu to be the head of the Azure Dragon Hall. Although he has not said it openly over the years, he may have some resentment towards me in secret, thinking that I am bad at judging people."

Dongfang Bubai laughed.

"Now that Ren Woxing has reappeared in the martial world and wants to compete with me for the position of sect leader, and since I no longer show my face in the sect, he probably thinks that something has happened to me, so he has turned to Ren Woxing's arms."

Tong Baixiong remained silent upon hearing this. In fact, he also did not understand why Dongfang Bubai did not promote Shangguan Yun back then, but instead promoted Jia Bu, who was inferior to him.

Dongfang Bubai spoke softly, explaining his reasons for promoting Jia Bu.

"Shangguan Yun's martial arts skills are indeed quite good, and he is indeed much stronger than Jia Bu, but he is not as loyal as Jia Bu. If I asked Jia Bu to commit suicide, Jia Bu would not hesitate at all, but Shangguan Yun might not."

Tong Baixiong remained silent.

"Besides Shangguan Yun and the White Tiger Hall, are there any other hall elders or hall masters who have betrayed us?"

Tong Baixiong didn't bring up Shangguan Yun's matter again, and continued to ask.

Yang Lianting took the initiative to say, "Besides the White Tiger Hall, the Divine Firmament Hall, the Crimson Fire Hall, the East Wood Hall, and the West Golden Hall have also betrayed us."

Yang Lianting named four different branches in a row, making a total of five branches that had defected, including the White Tiger Branch.

However, Tong Baixiong's reaction to hearing the names of these gangs was not as strong as before.

These four halls ranked low among the twelve halls of the Sun Moon Sect, and their strength was inferior to the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise halls, and even less than his Wind and Thunder Hall.

The Wind and Thunder Hall ranks only below the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Halls among the twelve halls, and its strength is quite formidable. The strength of just one hall is equivalent to the combined strength of the Crimson Fire and Western Gold Halls, not to mention the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird Halls.

After learning about these circumstances, Tong Baixiong breathed a sigh of relief.

Besides the White Tiger Hall, the other three halls are under their control, so they still have an advantage.

"In that case, Brother Dongfang, just give the order. I, Tong Baixiong, will not hesitate to do whatever is required."

Tong Baixiong said directly.

Dongfang Bubai smiled and said, "Brother Tong, the most urgent task is to stabilize the current internal situation of the Divine Sect, prevent others from harboring disloyal intentions, and stabilize our strength."

Tong Baixiong nodded.

This is indeed the case.

Dongfang Bubai thought for a moment and said, "After you killed the previous Elder Luo of the Vermilion Bird Hall, there has been no elder to fill the vacancy. So, Brother Tong, you can take on the role and also serve as the head of the Wind and Thunder Hall."

In the Twelve Halls of the Sun Moon Sect, the Hall Master of each hall is the second-in-command, while the Elder of each hall is the head. Usually, the Elder also serves as the Hall Master of his hall, just like Tong Baixiong.

Tong Baixiong was originally an elder and head of the Fenglei Hall, and now he also serves as an elder of the Zhuque Hall. Yang Lianting's pupils contracted when he heard this news.

The power that Dongfang Bubai granted was far too great.

The Vermilion Bird Hall ranks third in strength among the twelve halls, and the Wind and Thunder Hall ranks fifth. Now, Tong Baixiong controls both halls alone, making his strength extremely terrifying. He directly surpasses Jia Bu's Azure Dragon Hall, and his status has risen sharply. In the current Sun Moon Sect, he is probably second only to Dongfang Bubai.

Chapter 410: Let him grow.

Dongfang Bubai gave Tong Baixiong far too much power, even more than he could.

After all, he only became the Grand Steward because of the favor bestowed upon him by Dongfang Bubai, but Tong Baixiong was a person of real power.

Yang Lianting's face was grim.

Tong Baixiong and he were already at odds, and now that the other party has taken control of the Vermilion Bird Hall, he probably doesn't take him seriously at all.

Tong Baixiong couldn't help but look at Dongfang Bubai at this moment.

Yang Lianting went on to say, "The Divine Sect has never had such a precedent."

Indeed, no one in the history of the Sun Moon Sect has ever simultaneously managed two halls.

Dongfang Bubai smiled.

"There has never been a precedent of two leaders in the religion. In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken."

Yang Lianting said nothing more.

Tong Baixiong hesitated at this moment.

"Won't this upset other members of the church?"

Dongfang Bubai did not reply to him; his gaze drifted into a daze as he was lost in memories.

After a while.

Dongfang Bubai murmured.

"Back when I was besieged by the Seven Tigers of Ludong in the Taihang Mountains, my life was hanging by a thread. If it weren't for Brother Tong risking his life to save me, I probably wouldn't be alive today."

Upon hearing Dongfang Bubai's words, Tong Baixiong was taken aback, and his gaze softened.

"It's been so long, I didn't expect you to still remember."

"Why don't I remember?"

Dongfang Bubai asked a question in return, and then laughed and said, "Later, when I first took office as the leader, Elder Luo of the Vermilion Bird Hall was dissatisfied with me and intended to join forces with other elders to oust me from the position of leader."

Dongfang Bubai's voice was soft and gentle.

"It was Brother Tong who made the decisive move to kill Elder Luo with one strike and support me as the leader. Otherwise, my appointment as leader would not have been so smooth."

Tong Baixiong sighed slightly as he recalled the past.

Dongfang Bubai continued, "I've known you since I was eleven. When I was young, my family was poor, and there was a famine. My parents passed away and we had no money for their burial. You took care of their funeral arrangements for me. Later, I followed you into the Divine Cult. Decades have passed in the blink of an eye. Your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. Now I'm putting you in charge of the Vermilion Bird and Wind and Thunder Halls. No one else in the cult will say anything."

When Dongfang Bubai mentioned these past events, Tong Baixiong couldn't help but lose his composure.

Only Yang Lianting's expression changed at this moment.

"Don't worry, I will never allow Ren Woxing to take away your position as leader, even if it costs me my life."