"Senior Apprentice, why are you always speaking up for outsiders?"
Liu Bingxuan spoke aggrievedly.
Fang Yuhe said, "To you and me, Zhou Qing is an outsider, but as members of the Azure Cloud Sect, Zhou Qing is a fellow disciple."
"Fellow disciples may contend, but they must not fight to the death. That is the bottom line. You must remember it."
Seeing his solemn tone and stern expression, Liu Bingxuan did not dare rub him the wrong way. "All right, all right. Contend it is. But the problem now is how we break his monopoly—especially how we figure out exactly what trick he used."
Fang Yuhe frowned slightly. "I'll first look into the matter."
The two returned to Violet Cloud Mountain.
Liu Bingxuan went straight back to his own residence, while Fang Yuhe headed to Lin Hongyu's small courtyard.
Lin Hongyu appeared delighted when she saw Fang Yuhe arrive.
Fang Yuhe smiled. "How have you been lately, Junior Sister? Are you confident you can break through to the third level of Qi Refinement?"
Lin Hongyu said, "Who can guarantee complete certainty? Still, I've finally gathered my courage and plan to enter seclusion soon to attempt a breakthrough. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble Senior Apprentice to stand guard for me."
Fang Yuhe said gently, "How could that be any trouble? Junior Sister need only come find me whenever you wish."
Lin Hongyu nodded shyly. "Did Senior Apprentice come today for this matter?"
Fang Yuhe said, "There is something I would like to ask Junior Sister about. You are close with Yuan Hongying—has she ever mentioned how Zhou Qing managed things over this past month, to the point that he could take every single task?"
Lin Hongyu shook her head. "Junior Sister Yuan is puzzled herself. She has asked