Plans

Hiss! Hiss!

A pure white carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew into a large complex of buildings.

This complex was located in a corner of Qinghe Commandery City, occupying a considerable area, with a hidden aura of Dragon Coiling Tiger Crouching. It was clearly no ordinary place.

The pedestrians around either looked on with envy or hurried past with their heads down, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

Because this was the stronghold of the local emperor of Qinghe Commandery, the Gui Ling Sect!

"Coo coo!"

The carrier pigeon landed in a secluded courtyard within the Gui Ling Sect and was caught steadily by a hand as white as jade.

"Master! Urgent report from Qingye City!"

The owner of the jade-like hand removed the message strip tied to the pigeon's leg. Her expression changed slightly as she looked at a beautiful woman beside her, whose face was half-covered by a veil.

This woman was around thirty to forty years old, with a graceful and voluptuous figure. Her eyes sparkled like stars, bright and alluring, as if containing autumn ripples. One could imagine she must have been a great beauty in her youth.

She was the Sect Leader of the Gui Ling Sect, the only Martial Ancestor in Qinghe Commandery—Shi Yutong!

This supreme authority of the Gui Ling Sect, who was rumored to have recently left with her beloved disciple to visit friends, was now astonishingly back at the main headquarters.

Shi Yutong, looking like a noble lady, read the letter. Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, and her tone was somewhat heavy, "Song Zhong has gone too far!"

She naturally knew that Song Zhong had lost his beloved son, and it was understandable that he might act a little out of line.

If he had merely destroyed a few forces like Kou Family Village, it would have been nothing.

But to act against a sect elder based on suspicion was truly too much.

"Master!"

The young girl beside Shi Yutong also spoke, "My father..."

"Don't worry, I've already secretly ordered sect members to escort Steward Lin out of that troublesome place in Qingye City. Soon, Yue'er, you'll be able to meet him in the commandery city!" Shi Yutong smiled faintly.

This refined young girl was none other than Steward Lin's daughter—Lin Leyue, who was once betrothed to Fang Yuan.

Shi Yutong was in a talkative mood, analyzing the various factions within the sect one by one, seemingly wanting Lin Leyue to quickly grasp this level of politics. "With Song Zhong acting like this, Elder Yan's faction won't be able to say anything. As far as I know, the Zhou Family wasn't completely wiped out. We just need to wait in the commandery city for them to file a complaint, and then we can preside over justice!"

"Just like that..."

Lin Leyue seemed hesitant.

"Do you think your master is being a bit heartless?"

Shi Yutong smiled faintly, her beautiful eyes darting as if she could see through Lin Leyue's thoughts.

"Lei Yue wouldn't dare!"

Lin Leyue quickly bowed and apologized.

"This is what I'm going to teach you today: balance!"

Shi Yutong's tone grew slightly heavier. "As Sect Leader, you must learn to balance the forces beneath you! Elder Yan's faction has been quite arrogant lately. This is a good opportunity to strike them a blow, and by borrowing their strength, with Elder Han backing Zhou Tong, we can mediate from the center and hold the power of life and death. That is the most crucial point, do you understand?"

"Master means that we shouldn't easily intervene ourselves, but act as high and mighty arbitrators?"

Lin Leyue blinked her eyes.

"Precisely!"

Shi Yutong nodded with satisfaction. "You're a clever girl, with good comprehension. You must know that any organization or force will inevitably have internal factional struggles. As the leader, the first thing you need to master is this balance. By maintaining equilibrium, you force both sides to rely on us, and then you can command them as easily as moving your own arms..."

These were things she wouldn't normally tell an ordinary disciple, but Shi Yutong was grooming Lin Leyue to be a future Sect Leader, so she naturally passed this knowledge down early.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

Lin Leyue understood clearly that a mere remnant of the Zhou Family was nothing to her Master. Being able to come to the commandery city was his good fortune; if he couldn't, it would only mean he lacked the destiny.

Since Master had decided to act, Song Zhong would certainly not meet a good end.

As the Martial Ancestor in charge of the Gui Ling Sect, Shi Yutong naturally possessed such presence and confidence.

"Heh heh... Speaking of which, it's quite amusing. That son of Song Zhong, Song Yujie, seemed to want to pursue you, Lei Yue, right? Truly a toad wanting to eat swan meat... greedy and insatiable, it's fitting that he died..."

Shi Yutong glanced at Lin Leyue and teased, "Our Yue'er is so talented and beautiful, who knows how many men she'll captivate in the future?"

"Master!"

Lin Leyue's face instantly turned red, and she stomped her foot. "Even you are teasing me now!"

"You've always been able to distinguish priorities, and that's why I'm more at ease with you!"

Shi Yutong's expression turned solemn as she spoke slowly.

Lin Leyue had been practicing profound internal arts under her, which required a pure Yin constitution. However, inside and outside the sect, suitors flocked to her like a river, merely seeking a formal title. Both master and disciple knew exactly why.

"This world is vast! What I showed you before was just the tip of the iceberg..."

Shi Yutong said earnestly, "Lei Yue, you were born with all your meridians open and possess the Spiritual Moon Body. It is the most compatible with my 'Bright Moon Art'. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine by far, and you will come into contact with the true world of cultivation..."

"The true... world of cultivation!"

Lin Leyue murmured, her eyes also filled with longing.

This Alchemist friend her master visited this time truly opened her eyes.

As existences rarer than the legendary spellcasters and spirit masters, Alchemists possessed a unique skill: they could use their internal alchemical fire to extract spiritual materials and herbs, refining them into spiritual pills with incredible efficacy.

These spiritual pills were not only free of alchemical toxins but also possessed divine effects. Each one was enough to make martial artists fight tooth and nail for it.

For example, the 'Condensing Moon Pill' her master sought for her this time was quite compatible with her physique. It could allow her martial arts practice to progress by leaps and bounds, and even give her an additional few tenths of a chance when she eventually attempted to break through the three perilous gates!

Before witnessing it with her own eyes, Lin Leyue could never have imagined such wondrous items existed in the world!

And since Alchemists possessed this ability, they were naturally honored guests of various powers, fawned over and never dared to offend.

Take the one she visited this time, for instance. He even had a Martial Ancestor by his side for personal protection. If it weren't for Shi Yutong having a past connection with him, she wouldn't have acted on Lin Leyue's behalf at all.

Even so, this Alchemist was merely a corner of a higher cultivation world!

Thinking of this, Lin Leyue felt a surge of excitement.

Even as a woman, she harbored dreams of climbing to even greater peaks.

"Disciple will certainly not fail Master's expectations!"

Lin Leyue bowed gracefully, her expression resolute.

"Haha... Very good!"

Shi Yutong helped her up, her eyes also filled with excitement. "Now, you just need to focus on practicing martial arts. With the aid of the spiritual pill, you'll undoubtedly break through the Harm Gate swiftly and generate internal energy. Then, I will directly designate you as my successor, and no one will be able to object!"

"Also, I will handle all other worldly matters for you!"

'Brother Fang...'

Upon hearing this, Lin Leyue's body trembled. She thought of a certain ordinary young man in the Secluded Valley.

Back then, her master had canceled the engagement without asking for any explanation, and she had no room to resist at all.

But if she could do it all over again, would she truly have the resolve to argue her case?

Lin Leyue's mind was a chaotic mess, lost for the first time...

"We've arrived at Qinghe Commandery City!"

Not far away, an ox cart slowly approached. Fang Yuan shaded his eyes, gazing at the silhouette of the city walls not far ahead, and smiled.

This was his first time visiting such a large city, and he felt a touch of excitement.

"Cough... cough..."

Zhou Wenwu forced himself to stand, his face flushed unnaturally. "Once we reach the sect's main headquarters, even Song Zhong won't be able to cover the sky with one hand. However, at this moment, he will undoubtedly have people arranged to block us at the city gates..."

There were countless routes to take. As long as one was willing to take a detour, unless Song Zhong was the Sect Master of Gui Ling Sect, he wouldn't be able to intercept them.

But if he guessed that Zhou Wenwu's destination was Qinghe Commandery City, then lying in wait would be extremely simple.

"Brother Fang, do you have any brilliant plans?"

Zhou Wenwu looked at Fang Yuan, anticipation in his eyes.

When they went out, Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't let others call him 'Layman' one after another, lest it attract attention.

Besides, he and Zhou Wenwu were around the same age. After some back and forth, the two had become familiar, and he took the opportunity to change their form of address.

"No brilliant plans, but I do have a foolish one!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth. "Just pick a gate and charge through. It's that simple!"

"Such..."

Zhou Wenwu's facial muscles twitched. He hadn't expected Fang Yuan's solution to be so simple and crude.

"This matter was initiated by Song Zhong alone. Do you think his faction would dare to defy public opinion and send people to block us again?"

Fang Yuan spread his hands. "Besides, the commandery city has four gates. Does Song Zhong have clones? As long as our luck isn't too bad, we won't run directly into him..."

If the ones blocking the way were just a few of Song Zhong's disciples, he could handle them with one hand.

"But what if..."

Zhou Wenwu seemed hesitant. Seeing that revenge was imminent, he didn't want any unexpected complications.

"What if we're truly unlucky and run into Song Zhong face-to-face? Then we'll just have to fight. Anyway, as long as we make a big scene, someone from Gui Ling Sect will come to our aid, right?"

Fang Yuan glanced at Zhou Wenwu.

If he couldn't even seize this great opportunity, then Zhou Tong's faction would have likely been wiped out by Song Zhong long ago, root and all.

"Precisely! Let's do as Brother Fang suggests!"

Zhou Wenwu gritted his teeth.

Even an outsider like Fang Yuan dared to act this way; what did he have to fear?

Alas, the young master Zhou was unaware that Fang Yuan dared to do this entirely because he had martial arts backing.

Even if Song Zhong came, he could just abandon Zhou Wenwu and run.

After all, Song Zhong didn't know he was the killer of his son yet, so he shouldn't chase him like a mad dog.

He could even publicly hand Zhou Wenwu over to Song Zhong to silence him, thus solidifying Song Zhong's guilt!

"Of course, factional disputes like this are most sensitive to outside interference... If I act rashly like this and don't handle it properly, I'll likely be attacked by both factions, or simply used as a pawn!"

With his life experience from another world, Fang Yuan's mind was as clear as a mirror. "No matter what, after this is done, I must disengage immediately and stay away from the vortex!"