"Elder Wang, you really do think too highly of me. How could I have any say in such momentous sect affairs?"
Fang Qianyuan pondered for a while without committing himself, then said with a wry smile.
At his words, a sharp gleam suddenly flashed in Wang Xuanji's slightly clouded eyes. "There's no need to belittle yourself. With your qualifications, joining the Elders' Council is only a matter of time."
"That would still be years from now," Fang Qianyuan said. "I would need sufficient seniority before I could win people's trust."
"In principle, that is true," Wang Xuanji said. "But with our support, you should be able to accomplish it quite soon."
Fang Qianyuan laughed despite himself. "Would this count as a bargain?"
"It is merely a necessary means to an end," Wang Xuanji said seriously.
Fang Qianyuan's guard eased a little, but he did not fully believe what Wang Xuanji had said.
In truth, Fang Qianyuan did not want to become too deeply entangled with these Spirit Taming Sect members. Although indirect ties existed between them, meeting like this during a war was like standing in a melon patch or beneath a plum tree: even innocent conduct could invite accusations.
He was not as firmly entrenched as Wang Xuanji, who would face no trouble even if people learned that he had contacted members of the Azure Cloud Sect. Fang Qianyuan still had to consider how it would look.
As for using the influence of Spirit Taming Sect members to rise through the ranks...
Fang Qianyuan believed that, with their capabilities and his own standing, their full support might indeed secure him a place on the Elders' Council as one of its Probationary Grand Elders, giving him tremendous influence over the sect's major policies. But he could just as easily accomplish