Upon ascending to the seat of Master, albeit in an Acting capacity, he finally possessed the right to cultivate the ultimate stages of the Thunderbolt Eagle Claw Skill and the Sky-Soaring Eagle Sword Technique!
The Sect Elders conferred continuously for three full days before concluding that, in this hour of need, it was imperative for someone to master the ultimate arts to safeguard the sect and ensure the inheritance of the martial lineage in accordance with the rules laid down by the late Master.
Lin Feirong, known as "The Peerless Divine Eagle" and the founder of the sect, had originally mandated that only the Sect Master could train in the sect's ultimate techniques. The Elders deliberated and debated this interpretation repeatedly, but at last, they yielded and opened the way for Chen Shuyuan, the Acting Master, granting him the right to cultivate both supreme disciplines.
Once the resolution was passed, the three Elders responsible for the keys acted in unison to unlock the Master's Secret Chamber, where the manuals for both the Claw and the Sword techniques were enshrined for his study.
Chen Shuyuan was gifted with penetrating wisdom and an extraordinary aptitude for rapid learning; he managed to master both the Thunderbolt Eagle Claw and the Sky-Soaring Eagle Sword within the span of a single year!
The Elders and the sect's elite experts lauded him as a genius, for his achievement of mastering both ultimate arts was as swift as a miracle. However... in the naked truth of the matter, this Acting Master surnamed Chen had not merely begun his training in these third-level techniques upon entering the chamber; rather, he had commenced his pursuit many years prior.
His years spent in attendance of the late Master Lin Xiu had afforded him the chance to learn beforehand. Though he had not yet beheld the complete text of the manuals, he was singularly observant. Whenever Master Lin practiced his skills or engaged in mortal combat, Chen would secretly watch and study the nuances of his movements, thereby grasping the fundamental essence of these third-level arts in advance. Having committed these forms to memory and experimented with them in secret, he possessed a formidable foundation. Once the true manuals were in his grasp, he was able to piece together the supreme skills with incredible haste, achieving a success that far exceeded all expectations.
Truth be told, by the time he had achieved full mastery of both supreme martial arts, his prowess could be said to outshine even that of the late Sect Master Lin Xiu himself!
Nevertheless, despite attaining the ultimate arts and occupying the highest seat within the sect, Chen Shuyuan maintained a bearing so humble and modest as Acting Master that he effectively lulled everyone into a false sense of security.He feigned the air of a lowly person, merely a temporary caretaker with no grand ambitions; yet, behind the scenes, he conspired with his two sworn brothers to plot the seizure of absolute power over the fold.
The Divine Eagle Sect was a formidable power, commanding thousands of subordinates. The Elders alone numbered in the hundreds, having been appointed across the reigns of two previous Masters.In the eyes of the man surnamed Chen, their numbers were excessive and redundant; however, he never allowed a trace of these thoughts to manifest in his outward expression.
Chen Shuyuan was well aware that although he served as Acting Master, in the eyes of the Elders, he remained merely the "orphan of the marketplace" rescued by the late Master.Even with his illustrious exploits and high martial prowess, compelling these prestigious figures to submit and obey was no simple task—to expect them to follow his commands without the slightest resistance was an utter impossibility.
To cross the Acting Master and defy his orders was a means for the Elders to flaunt their own authority.Chen Shuyuan understood this well, for even the late Master Lin Xiu—a direct scion of the founder—was not immune to such treatment.Often, Master Lin would return to his private quarters in a fit of pique, smashing wooden tables and stone furnishings to vent his boiling frustration!
Thus, in his capacity as Acting Master, he offered no opportunity for such friction. He neither sought to persuade nor coerce, and he showed no trace of resistance or anything that would vex the sect's power-holders.Instead, he chose a path of total compliance, yielding to their every whim until some Elders began to view this Chen Shuyuan as a weakling, easily manipulated and controlled.
There were even Elders who, at the mere mention of the Acting Master's name, would snort in contempt and spit upon the ground!Yet, all of this was exactly as Chen Shuyuan desired; he intended to lull every soul into a state of total, fatal complacency.
In his outward conduct, Chen Shuyuan feigned an exclusive focus on the instruction of the late Sect Master's two scions.It appeared as if he were in a frantic hurry to hand over the mantle of leadership to the First and Second Young Masters at the earliest destined hour.Furthermore, he treated Master Lin's widow with such profound honor that she was revered as though she were a protective Devi of the sect.
In addition, he manifested a high level of reverence towards all the Sect Elders, acting as a humble junior who was yielding and compliant.He heeded every pointer and instruction with total obedience and offered no resistance, such that every soul within the ranks was lulled into a state of total, fatal complacency.
During the first year of his tenure as Acting Master, all affairs appeared to be in perfect order.Any clashes of words or grievances that arose were solely between the powerful Elders themselves, primarily stemming from conflicting interests.No one harbored a grudge against the Acting Master; on the contrary, it was Chen Shuyuan himself who stepped forward to act as a mediator for reconciliation.At times, his pleas were so earnest that some secretly mocked him in derision; yet he merely offered a soft, helpless laugh... in truth, all of this was a meticulously crafted masquerade to pave his road to absolute power!
As the second year dawned, Chen Shuyuan and the coalition of the younger generation he had nurtured launched the second phase of his grand scheme: the spreading of fabricated rumors and malicious instigation to sow seeds of suspicion among the high-ranking Elders and key figures of the sect.
Assassins were frequently dispatched to strike at members within the sect's own fold.Some missions were executed with a deathly hand to ensure success, while others were deliberately designed to fail, serving only to plant false evidence and frame others.His aim was to deepen the fractures of distrust and incite internal strife among the power-holders of the Divine Eagle Sect.
Within but half a year of the second year, a tumultuous storm of slaughter erupted within the sect.The Elders and the elite of the previous generation engaged in internecine combat, murdering one another until their bodies lay scattered in countless numbers!
Whenever the previous generation met their end, he systematically installed his own followers in their stead.In this matter, no one raised an objection, for none harbored the slightest suspicion towards this Acting Master; thus, as the days turned into months, his dominion over the sect grew ever more steadfast and formidable.
In the year the Eldest Young Master attained the age of nineteen, it could be said that Chen Shuyuan's sworn brothers and the loyalists he had elevated now occupied nearly half of the positions of Hall Masters, Branch Leaders, and other critical stations within the Divine Eagle Sect.With the situation unfolding precisely as he had calculated, Chen Shuyuan commenced the third phase of his grand scheme!
Following the Eldest Young Master's nineteenth birthday, while the youth was on the verge of mastering the second level of the Thunderbolt Eagle Claw, he was suddenly overcome by a dizzying darkness and fell unconscious.Upon examination, the sect physician reported that a deviation in the circulation of his vital breath had caused the internal fire to invade his systems.The Acting Master's illness initially appeared minor, as he regained consciousness within half a double-hour; however, after but two days, his condition took a turn for the worse, becoming alarmingly grave.
Chen Shuyuan manifested an outward show of extreme concern for the young lord, personally treating him by continuously transferring his own internal energy for one full day and night.Eventually, the Young Master's condition abetted, and he was able to walk once more without being besieged by dizziness.In that destined moment, seizing an opportunity when no others were present—leaving only the late Master's widow and his two scions in the chamber—Chen Shuyuan feigned an air of profound secrecy.He covertly informed the three that the sect had seemingly become an unsafe sanctuary, claiming he believed an assassin lurked in the shadows with malicious intent.He implored the Acting Master, along with his mother and younger brother, to temporarily relocate under the pretext of seeking medical recovery, though in truth, it was a ruse to hide them away from the unknown predator.
During this interval, he would proceed to purge the discord within the sect and hunt down the villains with relentless resolve. His aim was to ensure that the succession—the handing over of the mantle of leadership to the Eldest Young Master on his twentieth birthday in eleven months' time—would be achieved with flawless grace and absolute perfection.
Upon hearing these words, the widow and her two sons were gripped by sudden terror. Naturally, all three placed their absolute and unquestioning trust in Chen Shuyuan; when he declared there was 'danger,' they believed in 'danger'; when he stated there were 'malicious plots,' they believed in 'plots'!
He then proceeded to explain the plan for their exile. Their destination would be the widow's ancestral hearth in Baoji (宝鸡), Shaanxi Province (陕西). This city lay some 1,800 li from Taiyuan, a journey that would consume nearly a month. He persuaded the widow and her scions that they must temporarily seclude themselves far from the sect's reach for their own safety, for he feared that assassins with lethal intent remained hidden and lurking within their very walls...
Furthermore, he produced evidence alleging that the Young Master's affliction was, in truth, the work of a hidden poison! It had caused a treacherous deviation in the circulation of the Young Master's vital breath. This particular venom, though mild and non-lethal, was harmful to martial practitioners and alarmingly difficult to detect. Most terrifyingly, such a poison was exceedingly rare; he surmised that whoever procured it must possess a station of no ordinary magnitude—perhaps one who sought to obstruct the Young Master's ascent or aimed to annihilate the Divine Eagle Sect altogether!"
The circumstances were grave in the extreme, and the Eldest Young Master must be escorted to safety for the time being. As for Chen Shuyuan himself, he vowed to exert every fiber of his being to root out the villains and purge the sect, so that the Young Master might eventually sit upon the Eagle Throne with unwavering stability!
The late Sect Master's widow was swayed by the proposal for her sons' safety.Moreover, it was a journey to her ancestral hearth, a place she had long departed from; thus, she harbored a desire to visit her kin and family once more.Baoji City, though situated nearly two thousand li west of Taiyuan, was a prosperous commercial hub, and the journey was deemed manageable without excessive hardship.
The widow was heartened by the prospect of returning home and spiriting her two scions away from peril.Yet, because this was a move within the grand scheme of the ambitious Chen Shuyuan, the company was destined never to reach Baoji! Upon traversing the borders of Shaanxi, the entire host was ruthlessly slaughtered.
Over a hundred souls of the Lin Clan—from the widow and her two sons to the lowly attendants and cooks—were annihilated to the last person, sparing neither the young maidens nor the elderly.A hundred-odd lives met their end in the bewildered silence of the deep forest.Naturally, the first to be put to the blade were the Master's two heirs and their mother.The third phase of Chen Shuyuan's plan had reached its halfway point with bloody success!
The identity of those who orchestrated the massacre remained shrouded in mystery.However, Chen Shuyuan utilized the tragic tidings to instigate false charges and plant deceit against others.Leveraging his authority as Acting Master, he conducted a total purge of the remaining Elders and power-holders within the sect, systematically installing his own followers in their stead.
Eventually, he achieved absolute dominion over the upper echelons of the Divine Eagle Sect.Yet, he continued his masquerade of humility, feigning refusal to accept the seat of Sect Master despite the clamorous demands of the members.This was because he knew full well that to govern a sect with unwavering stability, one must not only hold the peak of authority but also win the hearts of the lower-ranking subordinates.