Sect Master Yun provided files on suspected Eternal Scholar Society activities. Chen Wei absorbed information with the efficiency the Heaven's Calculation Scripture had granted him.
The Society didn't work through direct violence. They were patient, subtle, working across generations to corrupt promising cultivators, steal crucial texts, and arrange disasters that appeared natural.
In the past fifty years alone, they'd contributed to:
• The fall of Crimson Blade Sect (blamed on demonic invasion)
• The death of the Heavenly River's genius disciple (blamed on qi deviation)
• The corruption of three major alchemy lineages (blamed on individual greed)
Each event carefully orchestrated, each outcome disguised as misfortune or human failure.
"Your first target," Yun indicated a file, "is this man: Scholar Xu."
The image showed an elderly man with kind eyes and gentle smile. According to records, he'd joined Azure Peak as a traveling scholar twenty years ago, offering to organize the sect library in exchange for room and board. He'd been here ever since, a fixture so familiar that no one questioned his presence.
"He's one of them?" Chen Wei asked.
"I'm seventy percent certain. But I need proof before I can move against him. He's well-liked, considered harmless. An accusation without evidence would cause political damage I can't afford."
Chen Wei studied Scholar Xu's file. The man had no cultivation—unusual but not unheard of for pure academics. He'd never caused trouble, never requested anything beyond basic necessities. The perfect invisible presence.
Too perfect, Chen Wei thought. A cultivator who'd lived here twenty years would have made enemies, formed stronger relationships, created more impact. Scholar Xu is deliberately maintaining equilibrium. Not participating, just... observing.
"What has he been observing?" Chen Wei asked.
"That's what you'll discover."