Planning

Ming Hao chatted with Lin Zihan and the others until the sun gradually sank in the west, its lingering glow spilling across the earth and gilding everything in gold. Only then did they reluctantly bring their conversation to an end.

"Junior brother, it's getting late. We should head back and stop imposing on you."

Lin Hao rose to his feet and smiled as he bade Ming Hao farewell.

Ming Hao quickly nodded and stood as well, cupping his hands.

"Senior brothers, senior sister, let me walk you back, in case they're lying in ambush along the way."

Lin Zihan and the others thanked Ming Hao for his kindness, then headed outside together.

They laughed and chatted along the way, the mood warm and friendly, and nothing unusual happened.

Since Lin Hao and Lin Yong lived relatively close by, Ming Hao escorted them to their homes first before walking Lin Zihan back alone.

"Junior brother, this is my place. Would you like to come in and sit for a while? Have a cup of tea before you go?"

Standing at her doorway, Lin Zihan warmly invited him inside.

Ming Hao hesitated. He glanced at the sky; it really was getting late,

but when his gaze happened to sweep across the courtyard behind Lin Zihan, something stirred in his heart.

"Uh... I'd better not, senior sister. It's so late, I should be heading back."

Ming Hao still politely declined.

Seeing this, Lin Zihan's eyes darted, and a sly smile curled her lips.

"Junior brother Ming Hao, don't regret it later. My cat can do backflips, you know. Are you sure you don't want to come in and see?"

Ming Hao's interest was instantly piqued. His eyes widened as he asked curiously,

"Really? Then I'd like to take a look."

And just like that, Ming Hao followed Lin Zihan into the courtyard.

In Dormitory Area A for Inner Disciples, flickering lights illuminated a residence more than twice the size of Ming Hao's, shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere.

Inside, heads crowded together, densely packed figures making it difficult to count them in the dim night.

A figure sat upright in the seat of honor. In the gloomy light, his face flickered in and out of view, making his true appearance difficult to discern.

His voice was low and commanding as he slowly said,

"Tell me in detail. What exactly happened?"

Severely injured, Luo Junhang sat to one side, his expression so dark it seemed water might drip from it. He said nothing.

What had happened that day was an utter humiliation to him. He had lost every shred of face.

Just then, a disciple stepped forward and said cautiously,

"Senior brother Luo, according to what we've found out, that kid is one of the newly recruited disciples.

"His name is Ying Ming Hao, and he's around twelve or thirteen years old. We don't know his exact background. For now, he seems to be on his own."

"This all started when Lin Yong and the others posted a mission at the Hall of Missions, inviting him to help resist Xu Shu and the others stealing their monthly stipends.

"That kid is incredibly powerful. Xu Shu's team couldn't fight back at all. They were defeated outright and robbed of all their monthly stipends."

"Not only did he successfully seize Xu Shu and the others' monthly stipends, he also escorted Lin Yong and the others safely back to the dormitory area.

"We originally thought he would behave himself after that and stop coming out to stir up trouble.

"But unexpectedly, just half an hour later, Ying Ming Hao led the three siblings, Lin Hao, Lin Yong, and Lin Zihan,

"out again, specifically targeting teams that had just finished robbing other disciples.

"All four of them are exceptionally strong. Ordinary raiding teams couldn't put up any resistance against them.

"When they carried out their second round of robberies, someone tipped us off that teams under us had been robbed by them.

"They told us to prepare early, so we began planning an ambush well in advance, intending to catch them off guard.

"Sure enough, they walked into our ambush, just as we expected.

"But what none of us anticipated was that the kid would be so powerful.

"He forced his way through our encirclement with the others and successfully escaped.

"That's how we ended up in our current situation."

Senior brother Luo, seated above them, snorted coldly and said with disdain,

"He's a newly admitted disciple. No matter how strong he is, how strong could he possibly be? I'd say you're simply too incompetent!"

At senior brother Luo's words, everyone below fell silent. No one dared to argue.

After all, senior brother Luo held an extremely high position among them, and he was indeed very powerful. Naturally, none of them dared to offend him lightly.

Then senior brother Luo suddenly turned toward Chen Dong, who was sitting quietly to one side, and asked,

"Chen Dong, you're also a newly admitted disciple. Have you ever heard of someone like that?"

Chen Dong thought for a moment, then replied with a measure of respect,

"Senior brother, I'm afraid my knowledge is limited. I truly haven't heard of him. There were so many new disciples recruited this time that it's only natural for some to keep a low profile."

At that moment, another man sitting near the seat of honor, his face indistinct, spoke.

"Brother Luo, why get so angry? He's merely a Nascent Soul Realm disciple. We can't casually attack Nascent Soul Realm disciples anyway, so leave it to them!"

Hearing this, senior brother Luo felt somewhat irritated as well. If he could act, even a hundred Ying Ming Haos would be no match for him.

However, the sect had rules: disciples in different major realms could not bully the weak with their strength and casually attack disciples a major realm below them.

At that thought, he could only sigh softly and ask,

"Since things have come to this, do you have any countermeasures?"

"This time, our hundred or so men weren't unable to defeat them. We simply let them escape.

"If a hundred people can't surround them, then gather all the disciples on friendly terms with us. Invite Xu Shu and the others who were robbed by them as well..."

Everyone nodded in agreement. This was indeed the safest approach for now, and none of them felt that overwhelming a few with many would cost them any face.

That was how the world worked. When venturing out into it, what mattered was power and backing!

Wang Baishun paused, his expression turning vicious as he said,

"Besides, we can pick them off one by one. Send people to lie in wait and monitor their movements.

"As soon as Lin Zihan, Lin Hao, or Lin Yong leaves home, we can severely injure them one at a time..."

"Enough! Do you think we can't defeat them head-on? To resort to such despicable tricks behind their backs-what would the other Inner Disciples think of us?"

Luo Junhang, wrapped from head to toe in white bandages, rebuked him.

"Luo Junhang, have you forgotten how you got those injuries?"

Wang Baishun shot back without mercy.

"That's going a little too far. If you, Wang Baishun, had been there instead, you probably would have been injured even worse."

Hao Wu spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"Enough. Stop saying things that hurt our unity. Let's leave the matter at that.

"I refuse to believe he has three heads and six arms. Tomorrow, go join forces with the other raiding teams, just to be safe!"

Senior brother Luo immediately spoke up to stop them, then took out a Storage Bag.

"I see that all of you have some injuries, and your resources were stolen. There are some resources here. Take them and divide them among yourselves. Recover properly and get yourselves into peak condition..."

"Thank you, senior brother Luo!"

Delight appeared on everyone's faces, and they all voiced their thanks.