Chapter 1721 - A Mere Spirit Array
Sha Hu and the imposing middle-aged man’s gazes collided, and sparks seemed to fly, causing all the people from Sea Temple to not dare breath loudly, all of them standing aside in fear.
After a long time, Sha Hu sighed and the aggression in his eyes faded as he spoke to this middle-aged man despondently, “Huai An, Yang Kai is this old master’s guest, so he will entertain him himself, you and everyone else can withdraw!”
Hearing how Sha Hu addressed this middle-aged man, Yang Kai immediately understood who the latter was.
Sea Temple’s First Temple Master, Jiang Huai An!
Yang Kai had also heard Jiang Huai An’s name before. When he participated in Heavenly Fate City’s auction for the first time, this Jiang Huai An had used an incredible sum of money to buy one of the Origin Grade Low-Rank Origin Condensing Pills he had sold.
Yang Kai heard from Wei Gu Chang later that Jiang Huai An had bought this Origin Condensing Pill for his son.
However, this was Yang Kai’s first time meeting him.
Yang Kai casually examined this Sea Temple’s First Temple Master and found that Jiang Huai An had reached the peak of the Origin Returning Realm and his aura was a bit denser than Qian Tong when the latter was still at the same level. It seemed this man was qualified to be named Sea Temple’s First Temple Master.
Moreover… this man’s courage obviously was not small. Yang Kai did not know what kind of conflict there was between Jiang Huai An and Sha Hu, but it was obvious their relationship wasn’t very harmonious.
Jiang Huai An smiled and said, “Martial Uncle Sha’s words are somewhat improper. Although this Sect Master Yang may be your guest, he seems to want to collude with the Sea Clan, so Martial Uncle will have to forgive Martial Nephew for not being able to stand idly by. Martial Uncle should also understand the deep grievances between the Sea Clan and my Sea Temple. Every year, many of my Sea Temple’s disciples die tragic deaths at the hands of the Sea Clan, especially those from Sea God Palace. Saying Sea God Palace is my Sea Temple’s greatest enemy would not be an exaggeration. Martial Uncle, since you know this person, it would be best if you removed yourself from this situation and allowed Martial Nephew to process it properly. Once Martial Nephew is finished, he will give you a satisfactory explanation.”
Yang Kai raised his brow as he faintly realized that he seemed to be caught up in some kind of internal power struggle between Jiang Huai An and Sha Hu.
[It looks like every family has its own share of troubles] Yang Kai sighed secretly.
“Huai An, do you really insist on acting this way?” Sha Hu’s face became gloomy, not showing any intention of backing down.
“Martial Nephew is acting in Sea Temple’s best interest!” Jiang Huai An replied bluntly, showing neither evasiveness nor guilt, “Please forgive me, Martial Uncle!”
Sha Hu stared at Jiang Huai An unkindly, and there were even faint signs of him condensing his Saint Qi, as if preparing to attack. Perceiving this, Jiang Huai An actually showed no fear. Rather, an eager light flashed across his eyes, as if hoping Sha Hu would indeed act.
“Old Sha, what’s going on here?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.
Sha Hu turned his head and glanced at him before sighing and saying, “This old master is ashamed. Because he showed too much compassion, he has involved you in this mess.”
“Old Sha is too serious,” Yang Kai chuckled. “It’s just that all of this has left me a little baffled.”
“Just wait a moment while this old master settles this matter. I will speak to you after!” Sha Hu said.
“Sure!” Yang Kai nodded, putting on a posture of a bystander as he smiled lightly.
Sha Hu turned his gaze to Jiang Huai An and said with a heavy tone, “Huai An, many years ago, you were one of greatest geniuses of my Sea Temple, but you were too narrow-minded at the time. This old master had thought that after so many years had passed and you inherited the position of First Temple Master, standing higher and seeing further, your attitude would change, but you’ve greatly disappointed this old master. It seems that no matter how high you climb, or how deep the cultivation becomes, Jiang Huai An will always be the same Jiang Huai An from back then, nothing will change!”
After being defamed so blatantly by Sha Hu in front of so many of Sea Temple’s masters, Jiang Huai An obviously became somewhat annoyed and snapped, “Martial Uncle need not concern himself with how Martial Nephew handles his duties.”
Sha Hu slowly shook his head, “A man’s position may change, but his nature does not! This old master has been missing for three hundred years and was only able to return to Sea Temple thanks to Sect Master Yang’s assistance. After returning home, this old master brought with him an opportunity for Sea Temple to develop and grow, thinking he could contribute something to make up for all the years he failed to attend to the Sect, but now it seems that you, the first of Sea Temple’s three Temple Masters, believes this old master wants to use this as an opening to seize the position of First Temple Master. Nonsense! To be perfectly blunt, this old master could not care less about being a Temple Master of Sea Temple!”
Jiang Huai An’s brow twitched slightly as he stared at Sha Hu, as if trying to see whether he was telling the truth or lies.
Yang Kai, standing at the side, however, showed a look of understanding, finally comprehending what this situation was all about.
Obviously, Jiang Huai An was being overly suspicious and pessimistic, thinking that Sha Hu’s return was a threat to his status, so he was making things difficult here in an attempt to suppress Sha Hu.
As for colluding with the Sea Clan, it was just a convenient excuse. Even without this excuse, Sea Temple would have found some other reason to refuse Yang Kai’s proposal. It could only be said that Yang Kai had inadvertently stepped into a power struggle and was now being regarded as a type of bargaining chip.
Sha Hu obviously did not want to fight for power with Jiang Huai An. After living three hundred years on Shadowed Soul Island, Sha Hu had clearly moved beyond caring about status and fortune and was now solely focused on pursuing greater heights in the Martial Dao.
However, Jiang Huai An was now Sea Temple’s First Temple Master, so no matter how unhappy Sha Hu was with his attitude, he could not bring himself to take decisive action against him.
This was why Sha Hu had said this was all a result of too much compassion on his part.
Now that Jiang Huai An had come forward to threaten Yang Kai though, Sha Hu could no longer endure patiently and was forced to come forward.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through Yang Kai’s mind like sparks, allowing him to grasp the situation before him in short order.
“This old master will give you one last chance! Apologize to Sect Master Yang and I will act as if this never happened. From now on, you will remain the First Temple Master of Sea Temple while this old master can leave and never return!” Sha Hu looked at Jiang Huai An coldly and stated bluntly.
The latter’s brow furrowed as anger clearly flashed across his eyes.
Sha Hu relying on his age and status to talk down to him in such a commanding tone naturally made Jiang Huai An very unhappy. If he did as Sha Hu said and apologized to Yang Kai here, Jiang Huai An would lose all face as the First Temple Master; everyone would simply assume from now on that he was a puppet that Sha Hu arranged to show the public while he ruled from behind.
This was intolerable to Jiang Huai An.
“Martial Uncle, you are the most senior master in Sea Temple and Martial Nephew has always respected you, but today you have disappointed Martial Nephew greatly. As one of my Sea Temple’s Grand Elders, not only do you ignore Sea Temple’s position, you even demand this Temple Master apologize to an outsider. Martial Uncle, this Temple Master will also give you one last chance to leave and not participate in this matter. Do so, and Martial Nephew promises to continue respecting you as his Senior in the future, otherwise, don’t blame Martial Nephew for not showing due courtesy.”
“It looks like there’s nothing more to say,” Sha Hu sighed sadly.
He also did not expect that he would encounter such a farcical situation so soon after his long-awaited return to Sea Temple. If he had known this before, he would have simply chosen to remain on Shadowed Soul Island until he calmly died of old age.
“Martial Uncle, are you determined to fight against this Temple Master and against Sea Temple?” Jiang Huai An narrowed his eyes at Sha Hu while levelling some outlandish slander.
Sha Hu remained silent; his expression simply sorrowful.
“Since that’s the case, Martial Nephew won’t act polite!” Jiang Huai An suddenly yelled, “Start the array!”
As soon as these words fell, all Black Reef Island suddenly buzzed and trembled, and in the next moment, a bright light curtain shrouded the entire island and the sea within a hundred kilometres of the shore began to tumble and surge.
An incredibly rich Water Attribute aura gathered towards Black Reef Island rapidly as numerous strange beasts and weapons composed entirely of Water Attribute Energy quickly began to form densely.
A ruinous pressure erupted at the same time!
Sha Hu’s face changed drastically as he exclaimed, “The Blue Roaring Tidal Array! So, you were planning all along to embarrass this old master with this array?”
Jiang Huai An smiled and said, “Martial Uncle must be joking, this Spirit Array is not aimed at Martial Uncle; after all, you are still a member of my Sea Temple.”
Having said so, Jiang Huai An turned to look at Yang Kai.
“Rather than coping with Old Sha, you intend to use this to deal with me?” Yang Kai pointed to his own nose nonchalantly.
Jiang Huai An smiled coldly, “I’ve heard that Sect Master Yang is so powerful that even the leaders of Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Mountain cannot compare, so this Temple Master naturally must take some precautions!”
“Temple Master Jiang is too polite, it’s all just a little undue praise which was spread out by others.”
“Hmph! Sect Master Yang is the Sect Master of High Heaven Sect and should have kept his nose out of my Sea Temple’s affairs, but since you dare collude with the Sea Clan, that makes you an enemy of my Sea Temple! Sect Master Yang, surrender without a fight!” Jiang Huai An looked at Yang Kai proudly, as if he was completely confident that Yang Kai could not resist in the face of this Blue Roaring Tidal Array.
“Yang Kai, leave now!” Sha Hu suddenly shouted, “The Blue Roaring Tidal Array is my Sea Temple’s Sect Defending Array and can draw power from the surrounding rich Water Attribute aura. Once activated, it’s might is infinite and none below the Origin King Realm can break it! However, with your ability, it should not be difficult for you to leave. You go first, this old master will buy you some time!”
“As expected of Martial Uncle, your understanding of my Sea Temple’s Sect Defending Array is quite profound, but should Martial Uncle really be explaining these secrets to an outsider?” Jiang Huai An sneered at Sha Hu.
“Dissolute! This old master has already said that he has no intention of competing with you, why must you act so short-sighted? If you continue acting this way, sooner or later, Sea Temple will decline in your hands. For the sake of the ancestors, this old master does not want to fight with you.”
“Old Sha, stay calm!” Yang Kai gently patted Sha Hu’s shoulder, looking completely calm and relaxed.
“You… you!” Sha Hu stomped his feet in annoyance, “Once this Spirit Array is activated, the longer you wait, the more power it accumulates and the stronger its power becomes, if you continue to hesitate, even you won’t be able to escape.”
“Why should I escape?” Yang Kai chuckled, “It’s just a mere Spirit Array.”
“A wha…?” Sha Hu’s jaw went slack hearing Yang Kai’s nonchalant evaluation of the Blue Roaring Tidal Array. However, seeing Yang Kai’s extremely indifferent expression, Sha Hu’s furrowed brow relaxed, and he thoughtfully said, “Since you have such confidence, this old master won’t waste his breath, just be careful.”
