Li Juntian sat in his office surrounded by stacks of papers and reports. A servant came rushing in with news, breathing heavily from running.
"Tell me it's not more deaths," Juntian said, looking up from his desk.
"Nearly all the clansmen who went on the expedition have returned safely, my lord. The group led by Lord Zhuang Jian is slightly behind, but they should arrive in one or two weeks," the servant replied.
Juntian sighed with relief, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
"Good. Remember to strengthen patrols and increase guard posts. We can't repeat the same mistakes the Bai family made."
"Yes, lord. The patrol timings have been changed from three hours to two-hour intervals, and many frontier gates have been built to protect the smaller villages under our protection."
Zhuang Jixiao, Zhuang Jian's father, stepped forward with a question.
"Where exactly are Jian and the others right now?"
"The master took the lead in the cleanup operations. He's currently hiding in Piao County and will return once the situation becomes less heated. It should be one or two weeks," the servant explained.
One of the ministers added his reassurance.
"Sir Zhuang Jian is with several of our clan elders, so you shouldn't worry about his safety."
Zhuang Jixiao nodded and sat back down.
"Alright then, I'll calm down."
But there was one thing none of them could stop wondering about—why had the cult suddenly shifted their target from the Li clan to the Bai clan? The timing was suspicious, almost too convenient.
*****
Fang Ren was talking with Butler Yong in his chambers when this conversation was happening elsewhere in the estate.
"Guess they won't attack our clan for the time being," Fang Ren said casually.
"Rest assured, young master. Most of the elders and clansmen have returned, and with patrols increased twofold, it's nearly impossible to sneak attack now."
The gains from the successful operation had been substantial too. Millions of lower-grade spirit stones, hundreds of high-grade ones, and numerous potions had been recovered. The cult's foundation had been severely shaken, and several of their members had been captured alive for interrogation.
"Well, I guess I can go with some reassurance now," Fang Ren said, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.
"Yes, young master. Safe travels," Butler Yong said before excusing himself.
After the butler left, Fang Ren continued his cultivation, knowing that only a few days remained before his departure to the Eternal Nights Sect.
Six days passed quickly. Tomorrow was the day of departure, and Fang Ren's schedule was packed. He'd heard that Ling Feng had left to visit her family for a while, but he wasn't sure if it was because of his upcoming departure or something else. Either way, he wanted to see her before he left.
It was morning, and Fang Ren sat on a wooden chair outside, watching his phoenix companion. Xue had grown noticeably since arriving—still small, but large enough now that Fang Ren could understand some of her chirps and communicate with her somewhat.
Xue was practicing a new technique she'd learned, attempting to fire a samadhi fire cannon at Fang Ren. The blast itself wasn't very powerful—about as strong as throwing a stone—but the fact that it was made of samadhi fire gave it a special quality that normal fire didn't have.
"Ahaha, you failed again," Fang Ren laughed as he easily dodged the attack.
Xue chirped indignantly.
"I... no, I let it go on purpose," she seemed to say, her tone defiant.
"Hehe, although I didn't even open my eyes, I can guess you're lying. With my perception at Divine Realm Tier 4, you can't fool me anymore. And speaking of which, it's about time, isn't it?"
[DING - CONTINUOUS SECLUSION REWARD]
[6 CONTINUOUS DAYS IN SAME LOCATION]
[REWARD: DIVINE BLADE SUTRA - PART 1 OF 7]
By now, Fang Ren had become skilled enough to predict system rewards about sixty percent of the time. He was starting to understand the patterns.
"Hmph, with such power, even if I go insomniac someday, I can at least pass time without being bored," he said, looking at the new reward.
He spent his last night before departure lazily learning the Divine Blade Sutra. It was an incredibly complex technique that was nearly impossible to even properly perform at his current cultivation level. According to the descriptions, Spirit Sea Realm was the bare minimum required to actually practice it.
The next morning came quickly. Fang Ren was eating breakfast, preparing to depart in a few hours. But his early morning was once again greeted with terrible news.
One of the elders of the Li clan—Li Huangling—had been killed by cultists in a tavern. They'd done it secretly.
Fang Ren's face went pale.
"What? He was one of the elders even I admired. How did such a disaster happen?" he asked, shock evident in his voice.
"It was the Hao Sect, young master. They sold information as soon as they spotted Elder Li," Butler Yong explained sadly.
"Isn't the Hao Sect from the orthodox factions?"
"No, young master. Even we sometimes rely on them for information. To be honest, they're on neither side," Butler Yong said quietly.
Fang Ren realized what this meant. The Hao Sect was a neutral information broker—they sold secrets to anyone with enough money, regardless of which faction they belonged to. They'd become famous suddenly one day, and ever since, all kinds of people had been buying information from them. Nobody knew their full power or where their headquarters even was, which meant no force would dare attack them directly. It was a clever business model.
"Shouldn't we take countermeasures against them then?"
"We already have, young master. All of our leaders have been called back, and all the families have paid a significant amount to the Hao Sect to ensure they don't reveal any further information about us and to report any hidden cultist activities immediately," Butler Yong replied.
"Well then, I can leave in peace, I guess."
Unknown to anyone, Ling Feng had received a mysterious letter asking for a supreme-grade healing pill from the Li family's treasury. Something was happening in the shadows.
Before his departure, Fang Ren was called by the Sixteenth Ancestor to demonstrate the Celestial Light Bending Technique he'd been learning. He hadn't mastered it, but he was at least capable of performing the first form properly now.
He stood in the ancestral hall and began the technique. The moment he activated it, a rush of qi exploded outward, spreading across the entire estate like a wave.
Li Juntian, in his private chambers, rushed to the window to look outside.
"Is this technique... is the ancestor training right now?" he muttered to himself.
His workers came from behind him.
"No, it's not formidable enough to be from the ancestor," one of them said.
"It's from our Fang Ren," the other added.
One of them couldn't help but comment in awe.
"Only a few weeks have passed and that kid learned it so quickly. What kind of monster is he?"
Inside the ancestral hall, the Sixteenth Ancestor stood completely flabbergasted watching Fang Ren's performance. What should have taken at least three years had been accomplished in just a few weeks.
"Haha, you kid..." the ancestor said, unable to stop laughing at the absurdity of it all.
Fang Ren was breathing heavily after the display.
"Huff... huff... Is my performance decent at least?"
The ancestor put a hand on his face and kept laughing.
"You, my boy... ahahah... I remember it took me at least a year to reach this point. And here you are doing it in weeks," he said with amazement.
He slapped Fang Ren's back hard enough to make him stumble forward slightly.
"Go now. Create your era."
Fang Ren walked out of the hall, stretching his arms.
"I can finally go out and venture the vast lands," he said to himself with excitement.
But then he remembered something important.
"Oh, I need to bid farewell to the old man first."
A voice came from behind him.
"You talking about me?"
Fang Ren jumped, startled. It was Juntian, appearing out of nowhere.
"Woaaah, how come you and Ling Feng are both so elusive?" he exclaimed.
"Idiot, after all this commotion, you expect me to just sit back and wait for you to leave without saying goodbye?" Juntian replied with a slight smile.
He looked at his grandson.
"Have you learned the ancestor's technique now?"
"Haha, just the first move. Barely," Fang Ren said smugly.
Juntian sighed.
"Haah, you're quite the genius. Unfortunately, I couldn't teach you anything substantial. Well, leaving that aside, remember this—you haven't even properly used your body yet. Body cultivation isn't just about leveling up your physique. You possess around three different constitutions, and if you increase one without equally training the others, you'll suffer qi deviation one day. It could be catastrophic."
Fang Ren's expression became serious immediately.
"So... how... should I do it? I don't have any time now. Tell me quickly."
Juntian smiled mysteriously.
"I may just happen to know of one such place."