At this moment, Li Lin's goal was simple; he only hoped that Lv Xiaoling would bring out her spatial beast pouch, so he could take the opportunity to retrieve his own spatial beast pouch.

"The tribute from the Flying Spirit Sect is only seven or eight million gold coins, right? Just give it to Ling'er as a gift. Although it's a bit less, I'll send a big gift later," Dai Daozi immediately said, his eyes clearly showing a flicker of emotion before returning to normal.

"How could I accept this? Thank you so much, Uncle," Lv Xiaoling came back to her senses and then stared fiercely at Li Lin, her eyes filled with triumph, as if to say: Your space pouch will be mine from now on.

Li Lin almost collapsed. Unable to retrieve it, but then he chuckled to himself, thinking how just one sentence saved him seven or eight million gold coins. It was too much of a bargain.

"Please come inside," Dai Daozi said with a slight bow, then led Lv Xiaoling and the others into the great hall.

Observing the inside of the great hall, Li Lin saw that both sides were already filled with many people, each concealing their aura but still enveloped by an invisible pressure.

At a glance, Li Lin spotted many martial generals and even more with the cultivation of martial souls.

Strong individuals, all of them strong in his eyes. Li Lin sighed internally, assessing them from their attire. Aside from the Ghost Martial Sect's members, there were also individuals from the Jiuhua Sect, Qianshan Sect, Tianyi Sect, and Yunshan Sect, all sitting scattered throughout the hall.

Each faction's sect leader and elders brought along a few younger disciples.

Upon entering the great hall, all eyes were on them, with individuals from sects like Qianshan Sect curious about who the Ghost Martial Sect's sect master personally welcomed.

"Please..." Dai Daozi directly led Lv Xiaoling and the others to the chief seats.

"Li Sect Master, the seats for the Flying Spirit Sect have been arranged for you," Du Yunshan pointed to a row of about a dozen empty seats at the side of the hall below and said to Li Lin.

"Thank you, Elder Du," Li Lin said discreetly, not minding that these seats were right at the entrance of the hall, the furthest from the chief seats, with Qianshan Sect and other sects seated above the Flying Spirit Sect. He was about to sit down.

"Li Lin, you sit next to me," Lv Xiaoling suddenly said.

"Right, I almost forgot, those were the former Rakshasa Sect's seats, naturally, they cannot be given to Brother Li Lin," Dai Daozi said with a change of expression, then immediately spoke.

At this moment, many in the hall sized up Li Lin, with everyone from the major sects and the Ghost Martial Sect aware of the Flying Spirit Sect's annihilation of the Rakshasa Sect. Knowing the Flying Spirit Sect's sect master was just a youth, they were curious.

Among them, individuals from a sect were looking at Li Lin, whispering among themselves with several showing cold expressions.

Seeing all this, Li Lin was not surprised. These people, from the memories of a Quadra-Spiritual Master from the Treasure Gathering Sect, he knew were from the Jiuhua Sect. The leading middle-aged man with a somewhat sinister and arrogant appearance was Mo Tianwen, the current sect master of Jiuhua Sect, with the cultivation of a fifth-level martial general. Behind him were several Jiuhua Sect elders, all at the martial soul level, and one with a cultivation not far from a martial general.

Although Li Lin didn't know what the Jiuhua Sect people were saying, from their expressions, he guessed and sneered internally. The Jiuhua Sect must have known about the incident in Hua Gate Town, but this was just the beginning. He would deal with the Jiuhua Sect slowly later.

"Miss Xiaoling, Elder Wang, Elder Liu, it's an honor," at the chief seats, another middle-aged man in a black robe, resembling Dai Daozi, stepped forward.

"Another martial marshal," Li Lin's expression darkened slightly. This man's aura was not inferior to Dai Daozi's; it was likely Dai Gangzi, Dai Daozi's brother and the Ghost Martial Sect's vice sect master. Reportedly half-brothers, the presence of internal strife within the Ghost Martial Sect, given the relationship between the sect master and the vice sect master, was hardly surprising.

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"Vice Sect Master is too polite, sorry for the disturbance," Elder Wang and Elder Liu responded.

"Not at all," Dai Gangzi smiled, though it seemed a bit unnatural. Li Lin paused for a moment, observing Dai Daozi and then Dai Gangzi, wondering if the Ghost Martial Sect was experiencing internal conflicts.

Li Lin then sat next to Lv Xiaoling at the chief seats, his presence there significantly boosting his status.

However, Li Lin noticed that others from different sects, upon seeing him seated at the chief seats, showed some disdainful expressions, as if they looked down on him.

As everyone settled down, the disciples of the Ghost Martial Sect had already arranged a variety of fresh fruits and pastries in front of them, many of which Li Lin had never seen before.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is the annual sect convention of our Ghost Martial Sect. You are all part of our family, and I thank you for your continuous support of the Ghost Martial Sect. We have prepared some modest drinks today, and I hope everyone enjoys themselves," Dai Daozi said with a penetrating gaze, scanning the nearly two hundred people in the great hall after everyone had taken their seats.

"Dai Sect Master is too kind. We all depend on the Ghost Martial Sect for our achievements today, and we will continue to rely on the Ghost Martial Sect in the future," people from the various sects within the hall said one after another.

"Alright, let's drink," Dai Daozi politely suggested, signaling everyone to drink more.

After a round of eating and drinking, with the disciples of the Ghost Martial Sect continuously bringing up delicacies, Li Lin also ate unreservedly. Meanwhile, Dai Daozi was engaging in some inconsequential conversations with Elder Wang and Elder Liu. Below in the great hall, there were soft discussions, and next to Lv Xiaoling, Dai Changan and Dai Changyun also deliberately sat close to her.

Li Lin didn't mind all this and focused on enjoying his meal.

"I'm bored, cousin, didn't you say there would be some martial contests? Why hasn't it started yet?" After a while, Lv Xiaoling couldn't bear the boredom anymore. Such occasions of eating, drinking, and exchanging pleasantries held no attraction for her.

"Cousin, it will start soon," Dai Changan hastily said.

"Miss Xiaoling, it will be lively soon. I will also take the stage," Dai Changyun added.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as usual, our Ghost Martial Sect's sect convention also includes some activities, which we are about to begin now," Dai Daozi said a moment later, his voice infused with a hint of true energy, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

As his words fell, many of the younger disciples in the hall immediately became excited, starting to whisper among themselves with eager expressions.

Dai Daozi waved his hand, glanced over the crowd, and continued, "This time, as before, it seems that the various sects have brought more young disciples than in the past, with commendable cultivation strengths. It's truly pleasing. Our Ghost Martial Sect's future strength will grow stronger with these young generations. As usual, all the young disciples will compete, and the first place will receive a fourth-grade low-level Dan medicine, a scroll of yellow-grade low-level martial arts, and a weapon forged by a Spirit General."

"What a generous reward! I wonder who will claim it today."

"A fourth-grade Dan medicine is worth over a hundred thousand gold coins."

"Yellow-grade low-level martial arts are even more valuable, as they're something you can't buy even with gold coins."

The hall immediately buzzed with excitement, as such prizes were indeed generous. For the younger generation of disciples, all at the martial master level, a fourth-grade Dan medicine, yellow-grade low-level martial arts, and a weapon forged by a Spirit General were all highly valuable.

"Silence..." Dai Daozi continued, "The second place will receive a fourth-grade low-level Dan medicine and a scroll of yellow-grade low-level martial arts. The third place will only receive a fourth-grade low-level Dan medicine. However, the same rules as before apply: life or death is inconsequential, and aside from bringing demonic beasts into the arena, there are no restrictions!"

Upon Dai Daozi's words, the disciples from various sects were filled with fighting spirit, looking at each other with eager and competitive eyes. The allure of the prizes was significant. "It's quite generous indeed. So, this is what happens at the Ghost Martial Sect's sect convention," Li Lin was somewhat surprised. A fourth-grade low-level Dan medicine valued over a hundred thousand gold coins, and yellow-grade low-level martial arts were even more expensive, valued at over a million gold coins, and not necessarily available for purchase. To the yellow-grade martial arts, it was a treasure that could be the foundation of a small clan.

And a weapon forged by a Spirit General was also highly valuable, worth tens of thousands to nearly a million gold coins. Combined, the first place prize amounted to over two million gold coins, a tremendous temptation for cultivators at the martial master level.

"Li Lin, young brother, you came from the Flying Spirit Sect alone. Given your age, although you're the sect master of the Flying Spirit Sect, you could also be considered part of the younger generation. Will you personally participate?" Dai Daozi asked, looking at Li Lin.

"I..." Li Lin paused, swallowing a piece of meat in his mouth, wiped his mouth, and said, "Sect Master Dai, can I choose not to participate?"

"Not participate?" Dai Daozi was taken aback, then smiled, "There's no rule against it. If the young brother doesn't wish to participate, it's fine."

"Then I'll..." Li Lin had no interest in this, his injuries were mostly healed but not fully, and in such a situation, it was better for him to keep a low profile, fearing that the prizes wouldn't be easy to win.