A Dispute Between Two Tang Sects

Gu Mingyuan looked at the projection in midair, his tone flat. "There was no sign of Huo Yuhao at the scene, only traces of extraordinarily powerful ice-attribute soul power. I recovered these two items from the body of the Soul Saint who led the team."

Feng Ling said nothing. Her spiritual power swept over the two items, confirming that the aura of Evil Soul Masters still lingered on them.

"Where is Huo Yuhao?" Feng Ling raised her head, her voice colder than before.

"He's already back at Shrek Academy," Gu Mingyuan replied. "He was a full seven days late, but they didn't expel him. I don't know why the academy kept him."

Feng Ling gave a soft laugh.

"A worthless spiritual-type soul master who originally had only one ring somehow got Shrek's higher-ups to bend the rules for him. And a Soul Saint and two Soul Kings all died in the heart of the Far North..." Feng Ling's gaze turned cold.

"Is that boy Tang San reincarnated or something?"

"I'd like to know that too," Gu Mingyuan said.

Feng Ling stared at him as immense spiritual pressure spread silently through the room. "A Soul Bone and a Soul-Tracking Disk are valuable, but they're worth far less than the secret behind the death of a Soul Saint's entire team. Find out what Huo Yuhao obtained, who else is hiding at his side, and what happened in that battle in the Far North.

"That's what you should be doing now."

"I'm just an Outer Court student." Gu Mingyuan met her gaze innocently.

"I'm not an Inner Court inspector, much less a member of the Far North Branch Altar. Besides, the academy has already placed Huo Yuhao on its core protection list."

A brief silence fell over the secret chamber.

In the end, Feng Ling did not press him further. Forcing an Outer Court student to investigate a closely guarded secret right under Shrek Academy's nose would only backfire.

"Raise Huo Yuhao's priority to upper grade B. Keep an eye on him in your day-to-day life. If you uncover anything valuable, you'll be rewarded." Feng Ling reined in her emotions.

"Carry on with your own work and expand the intelligence network in the city. The next time we meet, I don't want that peripheral organization you keep talking about to consist of just two nameless nobodies."

"As for the Soul Bone and the disk, you brought them back, so you can decide what to do with them. Consider them payment for your trouble over the team's disappearance in the Far North." Feng Ling gave him one last glance.

"But don't think that settles the matter."

The red light faded, and the projection dissolved.

Gu Mingyuan put the items away and turned to leave.

The Holy Spirit Cult had not truly believed his story. It was simply that, compared with the Far North team, which was already dead, the cult had more need of this foothold inside Shrek.

After leaving the medicine shop, Gu Mingyuan went straight back to the courtyard in South City.

The moment he pushed open the gate, he sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere inside.

The usually harmonious courtyard had split cleanly into two camps.

On the left stood Cao Jinxuan, Lin Yan, and Jiang Wenzhou, all three looking tense.

On the right were Tang Ya and Bei Bei, with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong behind them.

Tang Ya stood at the front, her expression frighteningly cold.

She was no longer the Senior Tang Ya who greeted him with a smiling "Junior." She seemed covered in thorns. Bei Bei stood half a step beside her, composed and unwilling to speak rashly. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked embarrassed, as though they had been dragged here against their will.

After Huo Yuhao returned, Bei Bei and Tang Ya had breathed a sigh of relief. They had invited Wang Dong along to celebrate, only to run into Jiang Wenzhou while he was out buying supplies in Shrek City.

Tang Ya had spotted the wooden tag at Jiang Wenzhou's waist and immediately stopped him to question him. She had even stormed into the courtyard, where the tags worn by Lin Yan and Cao Jinxuan finally confirmed her suspicions.

Gu Mingyuan shut the gate behind him and swept a casual glance over everyone.

"What's the occasion? It's lively in here."

Seeing him return, Cao Jinxuan hurried over. "Gu, you're finally back. The moment they came in, they demanded to know who founded the Tang Sect here and said we had no right to use the name."

Tang Ya had already been struggling to contain her anger. Hearing Cao Jinxuan repeat the phrase "no right" set her off.

"What do you mean, I came here looking for trouble?"

Tang Ya stepped forward and fixed her eyes on Gu Mingyuan. "Gu Mingyuan, explain yourself! I'm the rightful leader of the Tang Sect, and I'm the one who taught Huo Yuhao its secret arts. What gives you the right to recruit people and teach them behind my back?

"You hang up a sign bearing the name 'Tang,' and you call this place the Tang Sect too. What exactly are you trying to do?"

She did not scream or make a scene, but her voice trembled faintly.

The Tang Sect was the last thing her parents had left her, as well as the hope she clung to most fiercely and the most fragile part of her heart. What truly troubled her was not just the secret arts being passed on. She was afraid that Gu Mingyuan, who was more talented than she was, would use the same name to achieve with ease what she had poured everything into and still failed to accomplish.

For a moment, the courtyard felt ready to erupt.

Huo Yuhao hesitated at the sight, then could not help speaking up. "Gu, Teacher Tang Ya didn't mean to make things difficult for you. It's just... the Tang Sect means something different to her. You should at least have told us first."

Gu Mingyuan's gaze shifted slightly.

Huo Yuhao's words sounded like an attempt to keep the peace, but they made his position clear. He had naturally sided with Tang Ya and Bei Bei. For the first time, the rift between the two "Tang Sects" in and around Shrek City lay plainly in the open.

Bei Bei stepped forward at just the right moment and put a hand on Tang Ya's shoulder, calming the situation.

"Let's hear him out before we draw conclusions." Bei Bei looked at Gu Mingyuan, doing his best to hide his hostility. "Junior Gu, I'd like to know too. Did you establish another Tang Sect in this courtyard because you want to replace Tang Ya's, or do you have something else in mind?"

Gu Mingyuan did not answer at once.

His gaze passed over Tang Ya and Bei Bei to Lin Yan and Jiang Wenzhou in the corner. One had been cast aside by Shrek; the other was a low-level support soul master whom no one thought much of. Yet throughout the tense minutes before his arrival, neither had taken the wooden tag from his waist.

Gu Mingyuan looked back at Tang Ya. "I told you from the start: I've always been a member of the Tang Sect."

"As for everything you've said, whether it's for the sect's sake or for your own, none of it can stop me."

Bei Bei's pupils contracted. If they handled this badly, not only would the Tang Sect split in two, but they would also push Gu Mingyuan into opposition.

Tang Ya's expression darkened. "Big words. Then let me see whether this Tang Sect you've cobbled together deserves the name!"

Gu Mingyuan activated Martial Soul Possession. Three Soul Rings appeared, a violet-gold gleam flashed in his eyes, and soul power surged around him as he unleashed Internal Energy Condensation!

Willow-leaf knives, Bone-Piercing Nails, Cash Darts, Locust Stones...

All kinds of hidden weapons formed from soul power appeared around him, a hundred in all. It was the most Gu Mingyuan could control perfectly with his current spiritual power.

"Fine. Let's settle this with our fists."