Chaos is a ladder

Lianshan Xin felt a lingering chill of fear.

Three days earlier, President Qu had dropped to his knees before him at lightning speed. He had thought he had President Qu firmly in hand and had lowered his guard against the Qu family.

But today, when their eyes met, his talent had suddenly activated.

Through President Qu's body, he had actually seen President Qu receiving several gravely wounded people outside White Deer Grotto Academy.

One of them was none other than the deputy head of White Deer Grotto Academy.

The head of White Deer Grotto Academy was a figure whose every move carried weight throughout the world and seldom appeared in person. Most academy affairs were managed by the deputy head, a famous figure across Jiangzhou whom Lianshan Xin had also met.

Now that the deputy head had been confirmed as a Demon Cult elder, anyone receiving him could only be a member of the Demon Cult as well.

President Qu had hidden himself remarkably well. Without his cheat, Lianshan Xin would never have uncovered the man's secret.

The world held so many formidable people. Even with a see-through cheat, he had to guard against arrogance and impatience.

After all, his talent activated very randomly. Lianshan Xin had yet to grasp any definite pattern, so he could not stake all his backup plans on it.

Besides, knowing many things was useless by itself. For instance, he knew that becoming White Deer Grotto Academy's chief disciple would earn him a Qi Condensation Pill, but how to become its chief disciple was the real problem.

Lianshan Xin examined himself thrice over, but let none of it show. Instead, he deliberately pointed at President Qu and said candidly, "Brother Kong, this man has some disagreements with my father. I borrowed your influence to put him in his place. I hope you'll forgive me."

Kong Ningyuan gave an easy smile. "And here I thought it was something serious. Such a trifling matter isn't worth mentioning. Would you like me to give him a warning?"

"That would be even better."

Lianshan Xin was not dancing on his own grave. He had realized that President Qu, that consummate actor, had deliberately dropped to his knees before him to strengthen his disguise. The closer Lianshan Xin's relationship with Kong Ningyuan appeared, the more President Qu would lower his guard.

Then his parents would be safe as well.

Kong Ningyuan did not take President Qu seriously at all and warned him to his face. President Qu meekly agreed, bowing and fawning, without the slightest trace of a Demon Cult fiend's arrogance.

Lianshan Xin's eyes grew ever deeper.

Fortunately, the man had kept himself well hidden all these years, and his parents had not been affected.

Still, having a Demon Cult fiend as a neighbor was a lurking danger.

Reporting Demon Cult fiends was the duty of every subject of Great Yu.

Lianshan Xin was ready to collect his reward of five hundred thousand taels of silver.

"President Qu, I keep my word. Some changes have occurred at the academy recently, so I'll head there first. Once everything is arranged, I'll notify your son. Leave his future to me."

Hearing this, President Qu became even more obsequious. "Then thank you very much, Young Master Lianshan Xin."

"Mm. Brother Kong and I will head to the academy now."

Lianshan Xin and Kong Ningyuan strode away.

Watching their retreating backs, President Qu maintained his fawning expression. Only after he watched Lianshan Xin and Kong Ningyuan climb into their carriage and turned back into his own home did his face become calm.

"Father, why do you have to fawn over those two?" Qu Junjie asked with a frown. "Kong Ningyuan has been dragged into this and can barely protect himself, let alone Lianshan Xin."

President Qu glanced at his son and reminded him, "Caution never leads to a grave mistake. If our identities are exposed, disaster will swallow us whole."

"I know. I just can't stand Lianshan Xin. Who does he think he is, ordering you around like that? If you weren't so good-tempered, Father, I'd have killed him long ago."

Young people were always hot-blooded.

President Qu shook his head and instructed him patiently. "There's no point in indulging a moment's satisfaction. Don't forget our Holy Cult's grand plan."

Qu Junjie nodded, fanaticism gleaming in his eyes. "The Heavenly Sword has already snapped, and the Nine Heavens is showing every sign of decline. The day we strike back against Great Yu won't be far off."

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

On the way to White Deer Grotto Academy, Kong Ningyuan continued explaining the current situation to Lianshan Xin.

"Brother, do you know why the Imperial Court is cracking down on the Demon Cult and the overseas nations?"

Lianshan Xin gathered his words. "Great Yu rules every corner of the Nine Provinces. The only ones who still dare oppose the Imperial Court are the Demon Cult and the remnants of the nations it destroyed. Great Yu holds the mantle of legitimate rule in the Central Plains and has destroyed countless nations. Unable to gain a foothold in the Central Plains, most of those surviving remnants fled overseas. Sheltered by the boundless ocean, they lingered on and formed the Overseas Island Nations Alliance."

Kong Ningyuan nodded. "Some small nations also survive in barbarian lands such as the Western Regions and the Southern Frontier. Overall, even combined, they're no match for the Imperial Court—unless something goes wrong within the Imperial Court itself."

Toward the end, Kong Ningyuan lowered his voice. "Judging by this upheaval at the academy, the Demon Cult and the overseas nations have joined forces. Under normal circumstances, once the Heavenly Sword took action, he should have plowed through their strongholds and swept out their lairs. Yet now, the Heavenly Sword has failed, and the Nine Heavens has lost its former invincible dominance."

As Lianshan Xin quietly digested the information, he offered his own view. "Whatever problems arise within the Imperial Court, its policy of cracking down on the Demon Cult and the overseas nations won't change."

"Exactly. And the more serious its internal problems become, the harder the court will strike at the Demon Cult and the alliance of overseas nations." Kong Ningyuan agreed with him. "Whenever I read history, I find that major internal problems always lead to war abroad. But weapons bring calamity, and war brings peril. Though outstanding men always rise with the tide, far more often, a general's triumph rests upon ten thousand withered bones."

Lianshan Xin said gravely, "Brother Kong, the tides of the world don't follow our lead. Whether we participate or not, these things will happen. If we try to escape, we'll often end up as one of those ten thousand withered bones. When immortals fight, mortals always suffer. Running away won't solve anything."

Kong Ningyuan's gaze sharpened. He gave Lianshan Xin a long look, then clasped his hands. "You've taught your elder brother a lesson. Just now, I really did feel an urge to retreat from the difficulties ahead."

"Brother Kong, you come from an established clan and have plenty of room to maneuver. It's only natural to think that way. I don't. To put it bluntly, a single conscription order from above would send me to the battlefield as cannon fodder. I really can't afford to count on luck," Lianshan Xin reassured him.

"If the world were at peace, I naturally wouldn't need to worry too much. But if wind and rain are gathering, the storm facing the Kong family will only be greater." Kong Ningyuan remained uneasy. "Brother, in your eyes, the Kong family is a colossus. In the eyes of the Nine Heavens and the Demon Cult, it's hardly worth mentioning. I too must think of danger while living in safety. You're right. Running away won't solve anything."

"Brother Kong, as one of the Nine Heavens, the Heavenly Sword is serving as acting head of White Deer Grotto Academy. Would Jiangzhou's established clans and martial world really agree to that?" Lianshan Xin asked a question that concerned him. "White Deer Grotto Academy has always held the reins of the Jiangzhou Martial World, and it's where the children of Jiangzhou's great clans study. The Heavenly Sword's involvement means the academy will answer directly to the Imperial Court. Surely many people will object?"

"Of course. Even within the Imperial Court, many people dislike the Nine Heavens." Kong Ningyuan looked at Lianshan Xin with admiration. "You truly can glimpse the whole from the smallest signs, brother. You've recognized where the complications lie. At court, the Nine Heavens oversees the officials; beyond it, it suppresses the martial world. Many people don't want its power to swell, especially through taking control of one of the World's Four Great Academies, such as White Deer Grotto Academy."

Lianshan Xin was not surprised.

The Nine Heavens was essentially Great Yu's massively enhanced combination of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Western Depot. Having many enemies both within and outside the court was perfectly normal.

But as one of the Imperial Court's greatest military powers, the Nine Heavens naturally also needed to expand its own territory.

As one of the World's Four Great Academies, White Deer Grotto Academy had originally been a largely neutral sanctuary of learning, training talent for both the Imperial Court and the martial world, especially for the Jiangzhou Martial World and its established clans.

But once the Heavenly Sword put down roots in White Deer Grotto Academy, more of the talent it trained would surely flow into the Nine Heavens.

"Originally, the Nine Heavens could never have extended its reach into a place like the academy. But the Heavenly Sword's failure gave it grounds to intervene."

At this point, Kong Ningyuan's voice abruptly sank. "The Nine Heavens intends to sweep away the forces of the Demon Cult and the overseas nations. But whether it will seize the opportunity to sweep through the Jiangzhou Martial World, or even Jiangzhou's officialdom, no one knows. In short, Jiangzhou will know no peace from now on."

Lianshan Xin's expression was equally grave, but inwardly, he felt little.

His family was poor, after all. They did not even qualify to be swept away by the Nine Heavens.

On the contrary, once the Nine Heavens went to war and intensified the current conflicts, it would give a nobody like him a chance to step onto Jiangzhou's grand stage.

Chaos was the grave of aristocratic clans, and the ladder of ambitious men and the Progressive Party.

As for ordinary people, they never had a choice!