Flaw

The smoky figure's words left Luo Qiuzhen utterly stunned.

Luo Qiuzhen kept turning it over in his mind. Suddenly, he realized something and asked urgently, "Brother, when someone disperses their cultivation, their spiritual power spills out and has an enormous impact on their body. They can even use the opportunity to twist their body and reshape their muscles and bones. If they deliberately controlled it, could they change their height and build? And the smoke and fire might alter their voice, too?"

The man inside the black smoke stared blankly for a moment, then replied after a long pause, "I've never dispersed my cultivation. How would I know? It's only a rumor, and no one has confirmed it. But in theory, it should be possible. Reshaping the body must be excruciating, though—especially when you also have to endure the pain of being burned."

"Then among these three people you know, is there anyone with a resolute nature and a strong will?"

The man in the black smoke considered it for a moment before answering, "Qing Lin is carefree. He loves fine wine, chess, and beautiful women. I don't think he has the ruthlessness to ruin his own face for revenge. As for Xin Xiaoye, she's Xin Ranzi's daughter and was spoiled from childhood. She's a good girl, more or less, but when it comes to perseverance and willpower, she falls far short. She might not even have such a thought."

"What about Bai Yu?"

The man in the black smoke thought for a moment. "I don't know him well."

"You don't?"

"I haven't had much contact with Bai Yu. I only know that he's been in the sect for three years, yet spends all day loafing around, dabbling in this and that instead of doing anything useful, wasting resources. He often makes our sh—makes Xin Ranzi furious, but Xin Ranzi still thinks highly of him and favors him to an absurd degree..."

At the words "favors him," a thick thread of jealousy crept into the smoky man's voice.

Luo Qiuzhen understood what he meant. "So this Bai Yu doesn't seem like the sort who could do something like that, either?"

"Ruin his face, disperse his cultivation, melt and reshape his muscles and bones in a raging inferno, and remake his body—only someone with immense resolve could do such a thing. I truly don't believe any of those three could manage it. I know I couldn't. Luo Qiuzhen, I'm afraid you picked the wrong target this time."

As the man in the black smoke spoke, he slipped away without a sound, leaving Luo Qiuzhen standing there in a daze.

At that moment, Luo Qiuzhen's mind was just as clouded.

Perhaps Fu Dongliu was right. A line of reasoning built on conjecture could be completely wrong if even one part of it was mistaken.

But Luo Qiuzhen had finally found a clue. He was unwilling to give up now.

After thinking for a long while, Luo Qiuzhen finally said, "Xi Jiang."

The Inspection Hall disciple appeared at Luo Qiuzhen's side. "Here, sir."

Luo Qiuzhen said, "I've always felt there was something off about Ning Ye, but I've found no evidence. So I'm giving you a task."

"You want me to keep an eye on him?"

"Yes. With your cultivation, he won't notice you watching him. I want you to record all his habits and keep track of everything he does each day."

Xi Jiang hesitated, then finally nodded.

But as he watched Luo Qiuzhen's back, Xi Jiang snorted. "Keep an eye on him for all twelve shichen of the day? Is he crazy? Don't I need to cultivate?"

With that, he called over a subordinate. "Get a few people to take turns watching this man called Ning Ye."

Then he left.

Inside the Thousand Mechanism Hall, Ning Ye watched the scene and smiled.

Suddenly, he realized that Luo Qiuzhen had a major flaw, too.

Though clever, he wasn't good at using people.

Everyone had their own self-interest, and managing people was a profound discipline. Luo Qiuzhen was single-mindedly focused on getting ahead and devoted all his energy to solving cases; he clearly knew little about management. In truth, this wasn't just his problem. It was a problem shared by all the Immortal Sects. When a regime was built on force, it naturally became enamored with force and scorned everything else.

Whether intelligence gathering or management, neither was valued by the Immortal Sects. Anyone who did value such things would instead be seen as distracted by irrelevant pursuits and straying from the Great Dao.

That might be true, but it was also Ning Ye's opportunity—and what truly made him superior to all these people.

Discovering Luo Qiuzhen's flaw let Ning Ye breathe a sigh of relief.

But another question surfaced in his mind.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sect had been destroyed. Why had the traitor remained so mysterious all this time?

It made no sense!

He lit a Soul-Lodging Token, only to find that the person was protected by a powerful expert. He couldn't divine anything at all, and the token had gone to waste.

Ning Ye couldn't make sense of it. This time, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't figure it out.

"Ah! Junior Brother, I can't take it anymore!"

"Just let me die!"

"Hold on. Don't give up."

"No! No!"

Xin Xiaoye cried out in agony and tried to escape the fire, but Ning Ye struck without mercy and forced her back into the flames. She struggled and wailed in the blaze, begging desperately for mercy. Ning Ye, as heartless as anyone in the world, could only watch as the flames consumed her lovely face, transforming it into something neither human nor ghost...

"Ah!"

Ning Ye shouted and sat bolt upright. He looked around and realized he was in his little house.

It had only been a dream.

Waking in the middle of the night and recalling every scene from the grove, even Ning Ye couldn't help shuddering.

For a long time, Ning Ye had thought he wasn't a ruthless person. Before the Heavenly Mechanism Sect was destroyed, if someone had told him he would set himself on fire and burn away his flesh and reshape his bones, he would never have believed it.

But when the moment of choice came, Ning Ye finally understood: hatred could be so powerful that it made a person break through their limits and do what they had once thought impossible.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. Feeling the chill of the deep night, Ning Ye threw on a long robe and stepped outside.

Stars filled the sky, their light spilling over him in specks of radiance. It cast his face in black and white, now bright, now dim.