Fang Qianyuan had risen far too quickly. Even after the Grand Elders of the Elders' Council took notice of him, he continued to transform at a breathtaking pace. Neither courting him, buying him off, suppressing him, nor counterbalancing him seemed appropriate. They could only let him develop.
This was freedom won through strength.
Meanwhile, at the sect headquarters, inside the Ascension Academy.
Sect Master Yu Shixian sat in the hall. Before him stood a man in a loose purple robe, his hair hanging freely, his face concealed behind a ferocious Asura opera mask.
A trace of conflicting emotion showed on Yu Shixian's face as he met the man's gaze.
The man's face was hidden, leaving his expression unreadable, but his eyes remained exposed.
Those eyes were extraordinary, resembling both a wild beast's and a deity's. His gaze was cold and piercing, with faint flashes of lightning-white radiance flickering within. A vast presence, fathomless as an abyss, emanated from them.
Even Yu Shixian, with his lofty position and courage far beyond that of ordinary men, began to break into a cold sweat after meeting that gaze for too long. It felt almost unbearable.
"Things have come to this. I don't wish to say anything more. Eliminating them this time is imperative..."
At last, Yu Shixian could no longer endure it and spoke first.
"I don't know what you experienced there, or why you suddenly softened and decided to take responsibility for them. But what if..."
"There is no what if!"
The man in the Asura mask cut Yu Shixian off firmly.
His voice was low and hoarse, with a strange quality like metal scraping against metal.
"They are living people, not tools or beasts. I hope the Elders' Council will put the greater picture first, execute only the chief culprits, and