Grand Elder's Strategy (Part One)

After Hall Master Zhou left, Li Qiye casually flipped through the roster of disciples at Wash Stone Peak's Martial Teaching Hall. There were three hundred disciples under Wash Stone Peak's Martial Teaching Hall, and the longest-serving ones had been enrolled for nearly five years.

After looking over the roster, Li Qiye glanced at Nan Huairen, then said, "What are your thoughts?"

Nan Huairen gave a dry laugh and said, "In reply to Senior Brother, this little brother dares not make rash conjectures. If Senior Brother insists on hearing my humble view, then this little brother can only venture to say a word or two."

Nan Huairen was smooth and adaptable in every direction, and he spoke with great tact. He had already thrown his lot in with Li Qiye, so naturally he stood in Li Qiye's camp.

"Bullshit." Li Qiye shot him a cold sidelong glance. "If you put those flowery schemes of yours into cultivation, perhaps your cultivation could rise another realm."

At Li Qiye's words, Nan Huairen laughed dryly all the more and could only say, "One's nature is inborn. The kind of person one is meant to be is the kind of person one is destined to become."

"Enough, stop beating around the bush with all those flowery twists. Tell me what you think." Li Qiye lightly waved a hand. He did not mind Nan Huairen's verbal games; a disposition as smooth and adaptable as Nan Huairen's could not be changed.

Nan Huairen said quietly, "This little brother heard some news. Grand Elder originally intended for Senior Brother to teach at the Martial Teaching Hall on Strange Jade Peak, but Second Elder has consistently advocated that Senior Brother teach at the Martial Teaching Hall on Wash Stone Peak."

"Tell me about the difference." Li Qiye smiled faintly, already having a plan in mind.

Nan Huairen did not dare show off lightly before Li Qiye, but he still solemnly laid out his view. "Second Elder holds great influence in the Wash Stone Peak branch. Senior Brother He Yingjian came from that branch. Although Senior Brother He is only a third-generation disciple, in truth, he has long stood on equal footing with the martial uncles of hall master rank."

Nan Huairen did not dare voice his own conclusions too freely, stopping as soon as he had made the point. He knew that Li Qiye was absolutely no fool; his thoughts and schemes were even more terrifying than anyone imagined.

"Oh, then what are the factions among the six elders like?" Li Qiye asked with a smile.

"This..." Nan Huairen could not help pondering. Matters involving the six elders were not something he, a third-generation disciple, could be certain about.

"It is very simple. It depends on whether Grand Elder has any intention of contending for the position of sect master." At that moment, a genial voice rang out.

Second Senior Brother Tu Buyu walked in. Though he was over a thousand years old, he remained vigorous and agile, and his face still bore a kindly smile.

"Let's hear it." Li Qiye did not mind Tu Buyu being present, nor did he fear Tu Buyu involving himself in the matter.

Tu Buyu said with a smiling expression, "Senior Brother, in our Washing Yan Ancient Sect, when it comes to influence alone, none can compare to Grand Elder. Grand Elder is stern by nature and fairly just in his dealings. More importantly, he was the previous sect master's personally taught chief disciple. In terms of seniority and qualifications, he had the greatest chance of becoming the Washing Yan Ancient Sect's sect master."

"Wasn't our master the Washing Yan Ancient Sect's previous chief disciple?" Li Qiye was somewhat surprised by Tu Buyu's words. Since Su Yonghuang was the sect master, he had assumed that Su Yonghuang had been the previous sect master's personally taught chief disciple.

Tu Buyu gently shook his head and said with a smile, "Master's circumstances are somewhat special, unlike Grand Elder's. Among the first-generation disciples, Grand Elder has always had the best chance of inheriting the position of sect master. In fact, among the six elders, aside from Second Elder Cao Xiong, the other four elders support Grand Elder in principle."

"Then what does Grand Elder himself think?" Li Qiye smiled, stroking his chin.

Tu Buyu shook his head. "What Grand Elder thinks, I fear only he himself knows. Everyone knows that Cao Xiong has always wanted to ascend to the position of sect master, but as for Grand Elder, he has never made his stance known, even though the other elders support him. Some attitudes cannot withstand the grinding of time. In my view, over these past years, the attitudes of the other four elders have likely begun to waver as well."

Li Qiye could not help smiling as he looked at Tu Buyu. He said leisurely, "Master spends all year outside the sect, and Junior Brother is not within the Washing Yan Ancient Sect either. It seems Master and Junior Brother are still remarkably well-informed!"

There was much to ponder in this. Su Yonghuang did not personally oversee the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, yet he understood its affairs extremely well. However, Li Qiye did not care what attitude Grand Elder or Su Yonghuang held toward this matter. His determination to rebuild the Washing Yan Ancient Sect could be stopped by no one! No one could bar his path—not even Su Yonghuang, his master in name!

"Senior Brother jests. As disciples of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, the Washing Yan Ancient Sect is our Household. Naturally, we must care about our own Household." Tu Buyu replied with a genial smile.

Once Tu Buyu spoke, Nan Huairen knowingly kept silent and stood to one side. Tu Buyu had lived for more than a thousand years, so he had more right to speak on matters concerning the Washing Yan Ancient Sect.

Without question, Tu Buyu was an old fox. Li Qiye glanced at him and smiled calmly. "Since Junior Brother has returned, then Junior Brother should know what attitude Master holds."

Any clever person could understand Li Qiye's meaning. Moreover, Li Qiye did not conceal anything and went straight to the point.

Tu Buyu's expression remained unchanged as he said with a smile, "Senior Brother is the Chief Disciple of our Washing Yan Ancient Sect and represents its glory. Senior Brother naturally has his own judgment regarding what he does, and Master will not interfere."

What a fellow—he had played tai chi beautifully. He truly was an old fox who had lived over a thousand years. This made Li Qiye somewhat interested in Tu Buyu. As a disciple, Tu Buyu had already lived for over a thousand years; then what about Su Yonghuang, his master?

Li Qiye merely smiled faintly at Tu Buyu's words and made no further comment. Still, he was in no rush to act against the Washing Yan Ancient Sect's overall situation. Once his cultivation entered a higher realm, he would have his own plans.

After hearing Tu Buyu out, Li Qiye offered no comment and merely instructed Nan Huairen, "Huairen, bring me all the cultivation methods practiced by the disciples of the Martial Teaching Hall. I want to see what methods they cultivate."

Nan Huairen acknowledged the order and hurried off to handle it, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

However, before Li Qiye could wait for Nan Huairen to bring the cultivation methods, he was invited away by a disciple sent by Grand Elder. Grand Elder had sent his own disciple to ask Li Qiye to pay him a visit.

The Washing Yan Ancient Sect had once controlled more than a thousand main peaks. Yet now, only seventy-three main peaks truly remained under its control, and all seventy-three had begun to decline, their Heaven and Earth Essence gradually withering away.

As Grand Elder, Elder Gu naturally had the qualifications to occupy a main peak all to himself. Moreover, the Heaven and Earth Essence of the main peak Elder Gu occupied remained comparatively abundant.

Grand Elder received Li Qiye in the great hall. For a third-generation disciple to be received alone by Grand Elder was an incomparable honor in the eyes of many young disciples of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect.

Li Qiye sat down in the hall, composed and at ease. Before Grand Elder, he showed not the slightest restraint and remained as relaxed as ever.

Grand Elder sat at the head seat and looked at Li Qiye without speaking for a long time. Li Qiye likewise remained silent for a long time, waiting for Grand Elder to speak.

After a long while, Grand Elder finally opened his mouth. Looking at Li Qiye, he softly sighed. "Li Qiye, I can no longer see through you. If you were sent by the Nine Sacred Demon Gate, then you are far too arrogant."

Grand Elder opened with such words, seemingly throwing open the skylight to speak plainly. Li Qiye merely smiled faintly. "What does Elder think? Am I a spy sent by the Nine Sacred Demon Gate?"

"Whether you are or not is not something I alone can decide." Grand Elder looked at Li Qiye and finally said in a deep voice.

Li Qiye could not help smiling at these words. He already had his answer. Looking at Grand Elder, he said, "How others see it is unimportant. How does Elder see it? For example, my appointment to teach at the Martial Teaching Hall on Wash Stone Peak."

Grand Elder rose and walked to the window, where he stood silently for a very long time, as though he had become a stone statue. After a long while, he finally came back to himself. Looking at Li Qiye, he eventually said, "Not every matter of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect can be controlled by me alone, especially at this point in time!"

"The attitudes of the other four elders have wavered!" Li Qiye smiled as he recalled Tu Buyu's words and understood Grand Elder's predicament. Although the other four elders had always supported Grand Elder, even supporting his becoming sect master of the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, attitudes could never endure the grinding of time. Grand Elder's stance toward seizing the position of sect master had always been impossible to fathom, while Cao Xiong was brimming with ambition. Without doubt, as time passed, the other four elders would ultimately begin to waver.

"I grew up in the Washing Yan Ancient Sect. My late master showed me kindness as weighty as a mountain." At last, Grand Elder spoke in a deep voice. "Within the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, no one wishes less than I do to see the day when the Washing Yan Ancient Sect faces a great catastrophe!"

Li Qiye sat quietly, waiting for Grand Elder's words. After a while, Grand Elder looked at Li Qiye and said in a deep voice, "The enemies of our Washing Yan Ancient Sect should not come from within the Washing Yan Ancient Sect, but from outside, such as the Holy Heaven Sect."

"Elder has pointed out the path through the mist." Rarely, Li Qiye nodded seriously and answered with a sincere attitude.

Grand Elder sat down and softly sighed. "Thirty thousand years ago, our Washing Yan Ancient Sect fought the Holy Heaven Sect and suffered a crushing defeat in the capital, retreating back to our ancestral lands and losing control over the entire ancient kingdom. Over these thirty thousand years, one great figure of the older generation after another has passed away in meditation, and the Washing Yan Ancient Sect's decline has become impossible to reverse. Although our Washing Yan Ancient Sect has fallen, we still possess things the Holy Heaven Sect covets. The Holy Heaven Sect has remained patient and refrained from acting only because it has its misgivings. If one day the Holy Heaven Sect discovers that we have no so-called trump card, that will be the day our Washing Yan Ancient Sect perishes!"

Nan Huairen had spoken of the battle between the Washing Yan Ancient Sect and the Holy Heaven Sect. In truth, fifty thousand years ago, Li Qiye, who had still been the Shadow Crow, also knew certain things about the Holy Heaven Sect. But his condition at the time had been extremely poor, so he could not be bothered with such trivial chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin matters!