Master Duan's Past, the Sects Behind Him, the So-Called "Prefecture Officials"-So My Future Is "Enemies Throughout the Prefecture"?

Jiangyin Prefecture was surrounded by sea on all sides, like a continent hanging in empty space.

Yet scattered islands dotted the four directions beyond it, jointly guarding this "prefecture city."

These islands were often the first choice for those who wished to Found a Sect.

However—

Not everyone could Found a Sect and establish a "school."

Only those who had achieved the status of a Qi Refining Expert, refused to stop there, continued forging ahead at full speed, and possessed a Secret Martial Path—

Were qualified to occupy an island and pass down their true teachings.

Otherwise, figures who had only taken the first step of a Qi Refining Expert—"opening the Qi Sea"—and wanted to Found a Sect—

Would basically begin by establishing a Daoist Temple in the prefecture city. They would expand into the surrounding counties and villages under their own name, broadening their influence one step at a time.

Among these scattered sect islands—

There was one island closest to the prefecture city. From afar, its green bricks and tiles shimmered beneath the moon, arranged in neat ranks like a crouching flood dragon, yet it was nearly devoid of human life.

"Master, there's a letter from Martial Uncle."

Beneath the moon, atop an open-air Saber Forging Platform, Chen He stood with a bleak silhouette, gray-white hair, and a face that rarely smiled. Hearing the commotion, he turned his head and sneered coldly.

"It was good that he left. Why has he sent another letter?"

"Master failed to earn a title at the Disbandment Grave and perished in weapon dissolution, his Dao extinguished."

"If he comes back... the Sky Saber Sect won't be able to protect him."

A trace of weariness flashed through Chen He's brows before vanishing.

He recalled how Duan Chenzhou had cut down Ren Hengjiang of