Zhou Xuan sat in a chair in the Secret Chamber, his thumb rubbing back and forth over the Jade Slip engraved with Little Stone's name.
His mind was filled with memories of collecting scraps in the Chore Servant Courtyard.
Back then, that brat Zhou Ye had followed him around all day calling him Boss, with a hide thick enough to stop a flying sword. He had been unmatched at running errands and doing odd jobs.
Tan Lei had farmed on Desolate Mountain, his face covered in dirt, honestly and diligently tending the spirit rice.
Life had been hard then, and resources scarce, but they had lived with their feet firmly on the ground.
Now he was the Alliance Leader of the Two-Region Alliance in the Northern Lands, with a whole host of Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators under him, and millions of mortals outside the city supplying vow power.
But when it came to baring his heart or entrusting someone with his back, he still felt most comfortable relying on his old brothers from the Chore Servant Courtyard.
Zhou Xuan tucked the Jade Slip into his robes and dug a palm-sized bronze mirror out of the depths of his Storage Ring.
It was a communication artifact Lin Qingzhu had left with her covert network in the Western Desolate Region, used specifically to transmit the Cloud Pavilion's top-secret intelligence.
He injected a strand of Taiyi Divine Power into the Bronze Mirror. Ripples spread across its surface, and a faint azure glow soon appeared.
"Connect to the Western Desolate Region, the Cloud Pavilion's old network. Look into the Spirit Sword Pavilion's current situation."
Zhou Xuan gave his instructions to the Bronze Mirror.
Waiting for the reply was agonizing.
The brazier in the Secret Chamber crackled, its light flickering across Zhou Xuan's