On the cliff edge.
In the colorless and tasteless air, a ripple suddenly appeared like water waves.
At first, it was only the size of a palm, but in the blink of an eye, it grew to the size of a basin, and then, a figure wearing an ancient robe suddenly emerged from it.
"Rip!"
The sound of fabric tearing erupted.
Immediately following, a faint and indistinct growl came from within the ripples, and along with the ripples, it disappeared together.
"That was close, I almost lost my life in there."
Elder Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look at his half-bitten garment, shivering with fear.
If he had moved a little slower, it wouldn’t have just been a half-torn garment, but a whole leg.
"Fortunately, I got this thing, it was all worth it."
As he spoke, a long root appeared in his hand.
The size of a palm, its surface white, exuding a faint fragrance that made one want to take a bite.
This item was called the Celestial Net Root, an extremely rare treasure, only found in the secret realm just now. Even for a Celestial Realm Martial Artist, it was greatly beneficial, let alone for a True Essence Realm Martial Artist.
"If Chen Fan can fully absorb the medicinal power in this treasure, his True Qi will surely increase significantly, what a pity."
Elder Wang recalled the earlier experience.
There were several more Celestial Net Roots in that medicinal garden. If he could have harvested them all, perhaps Chen Fan could break through to the Celestial Human Realm.
However, if he had harvested one more, he would have been devoured by the demon beasts that detected his presence.
"I will come back if I get the chance in the future."
He put away the treasure, a smile appeared on his face.
This time, as he was leaving, he calculated that a day had probably passed.
He wondered if anything had happened in Anshan City, but since there were some awakeners in the city, there should not be any major problems.
Suddenly, he thought of something and took out his phone.
Seeing several missed calls on his phone, his expression changed slightly.
The calls from Chen Fan were easy to guess; he probably couldn’t find him in the morning, so he called.
But Shi Tao also called, and several times at that.
Evidently, something important had happened.
"Could it be that something happened to Shi Tao?"
Elder Wang’s smile froze on his face.
He knew his personality all too well; he wouldn’t call multiple times unless it was something extremely important.
"Looks like I’ll have to contact Chen Fan later, better find out what happened with Shi Tao first."
He selected one of the missed calls and dialed back.
A few minutes earlier, at the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association Headquarters.
The large conference room on the second floor was crowded, with roughly thousands of people in attendance.
More people continued to pour in through the entrance.
"So many people!"
Someone who had just entered was stunned by the sight.
"What’s going on? Why were we suddenly called for a meeting?"
"Yeah, I was in the middle of an experiment."
Many voices of frustration could be heard.
"I don’t know, but this meeting was called by the President, so it’s definitely to announce something important. An experiment can wait until after the meeting." Someone said.
Compared to doing experiments, they were more eager to attend the meeting because the President was not someone they could meet easily.
"That’s true."
Hearing that, many people nodded.
But some more astute individuals sensed that something was off.
Since the establishment of the headquarters, the President had only called a full assembly once several years ago, and at that time, the headquarters did not have as many people, and the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association did not have such fame.
With the development over these years, the headquarters had grown larger, and the President was mostly engrossed in cultivation. Even if something important came up, it was communicated via email.
But now, a full assembly was being called, and it happened to be at the critical point of a beast tide outbreak.
"Could it be that the beast tide is almost here?" someone thought, feeling a jolt inside.
Was the beast tide coming to Jiangnan City soon?
Finally, nearly everyone at the headquarters had gathered.
Low murmurs filled the large conference room.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and the surrounding noise instantly faded to quiet.
Everyone looked up with faces of respect as Shi Tao slowly walked to the stage.
Even Elder Tang and others, despite any complaints, remained silent at this moment.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
Shi Tao looked at the crowd, "The reason I’ve gathered you all today is to share an important piece of news. This is not good news, and I hope you all prepare yourselves mentally before hearing it."
In an instant, the thousands of faces in the room lost their smiles.
Bad news?
Could it be that the beast tide was imminent?
Although mentally prepared for that scenario, hearing it still caused their hearts to tighten.
Under the stage, Shen Si and the others had red eyes upon hearing this.
After about a minute, when everyone started to lose their patience, Shi Tao finally spoke, "I announce that, from this moment on, the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association is officially disbanded."
The room fell silent for a moment, followed by a burst of exclamations.
"What? The association is disbanded?"
"The Jiangnan Martial Arts Association is officially disbanded?"
"Did I hear wrong, or is this really what the President said?"