Outside of the Skycloud Hall, in a certain courtyard.
Venerable Flameless was drinking with dejection in his heart and indignation on his face.
A youth with handsome features walked over and laughed. âBrother Flameless seems to have encountered some unhappy matters?â
This person was the first-in-line successor of the Dragonseal Family, Long Tianming.
âBrother Long, since youâre here, come have drink with me!â Venerable Flameless looked at Long Tianming and waved his hand.
Long Tianming sat down, raised a glass of wine, and said, âI wonder what trouble Brother Flameless may have encountered?â
Venerable Flameless said dejectedly, âSigh. Donât even talk to me about. Iâve followed that old man and cultivated for thirty long years. In these thirty years, Iâve always been loyal and devoted to him. However, Iâve always sensed that heâs been guarded against me and wonât pass me the most crucial chant for the [Skycloud] cultivation technique. Whenever I mentioned to him that I want to cultivate that last chant, heâd always say that the time is unripe.â
âHierarch Skycloud is impartial. He spares no effort for the Divine Feathers Sect. He sets an example for our generation. Could it be that Brother Flameless is just overthinking the matter?â Long Tianming said while remaining calm and collected.
âImpartial? Haha, Iâve spared no effort for him, so why isnât he impartial to me? Does he fear that heâll get replaced once his disciple learns everything? He didnât consider that if my father didnât save his life, would he even have lived to see this day?â Venerable Flameless sneered.
âIf thatâs all youâre concerned about, then Brother Flameless shouldnât worry over it too much. Amongst his disciples, Brother Venerable in undoubtedly the one he regards the most. If Hierarch Skycloud intends on choosing a successor for the [Skycloud] cultivation technique, then itâll probably be you!â said Long Tianming.
Venerable Flameless snorted and said resentfully, âPreviously, I thought the same. But now, the old man has recruited another disciple called Nie Li. The old man seems to dote on the boy a lot, like heâs looking at a treasure!â
A peculiar light flashed through Long Tianmingâs eyes when he heard Venerable Flamelessâs words. He said, âHierarch Skycloud recruited a new disciple named Nie Li?â
âYeah. You know him too?â
âIâve heard of him before. This Nie Li came from the Tiny World. You could say that heâs the most outstanding amongst the newcomers.â Long Tianmingâs brows slightly twitched. Nie Liâs methods truly werenât simple. He was able to become Hierarch Skycloudâs disciple in such a short amount of time. Furthermore, Long Yuyin had been in close contact with Nie Li recently. She seemed to heed Nie Liâs words and since started gathering her own forces to fight for the Dragonseal Familyâs Patriarch seat.
âHmph, hmph! A brat whoâs only at the Heavenly Fate Realm could only resort to some strange methods to gain favor of the old man! What capabilities does he have?â Venerable Flameless said in disdain.
âIf Venerable Flameless doesnât put him in any regard, then itâs a huge mistake. From my perspective, that person isnât so simple. If heâs not dealt with soon, heâll probably become a calamity for our future. Who knows? He might even deceive Hierarch Skycloud to impart the [Skycloud] cultivation technique to him in the future!â Long Tianming said with his brows frowning.
âSo, what does Brother Long think we should do?â asked Venerable Flameless, as he looked at Long Tianming. He never expected that even Long Tianming would pay so much attention towards Nie Li.
âWhy donât we do thisâŚâ Long Tianming made a long speech in Venerable Flamelessâs ears.
Venerable Flamelessâs brows slowly loosened up.
Nie Li exited the Skycloud Hall in a pretty good mood. Becoming Hierarch Skycloudâs disciple was definitely be a great boost towards his future plans. One of the Divine Feathers Sectâs conditions to become Sect Master was to gain the support of at least one of the five major figures. Otherwise, the candidate wouldnât qualify for the position.
Since heâd just recently become Hierarch Skycloudâs disciple, Nie Li still couldnât gain huge support from Hierarch Skycloud. However, he believed that he could definitely gain it in the future, a bit at a time.
Shortly after Nie Li returned to Xiao Yuâs courtyard, Li Xingyun, Lu Piao, and Gu Bei also returned with excitement plastered over their faces.
Nie Li looked at the three of them and lightly smiled. âHow did it go?â
âWe ambushed two of the Blood Moon Leagueâs gathering points and killed at least a thousand of them. Weâve only suffered about sixty casualties. Unfortunately, those whom we managed to kill werenât very strong, there wasnât much Heavenly Axis Realm experts. However, itâs still a damaging blow to the Blood Moon League!â Lu Piao said with excitement.
âThese results are still pretty good. Weâve gained some intel and now have a clear picture on the Blood Moon Leagueâs situation. Letâs wait until your fate soul has stabilised, then weâll find a chance to take down their Deityâs Lakes and make Gu Heng so poor that he canât even boil water!â Li Xingyun smiled.
âIâve received some other news. One of Gu Hengâs trusted aides has been embezzling spiritual stones from the Blood Moon League through some unknown method. However, Gu Heng trusts him very much and the people of the Blood Moon League donât dare speak about it. Perhaps this might be our breakthrough. This is a person who values money heavily. If we lure him with sufficient benefits and threaten him a little, he might be willing to betray Gu Heng!â Gu Bei lightly smiled and said, âShall we go and have a little chat with this person?â
âOf course, thatâs for certain!â Nie Li lightly smiled in return.
Divine Feathers Sect, Mingshan Stronghold.
This was the Divine Feathers Sectâs center for trade. The majority of disciples chose to make their transactions here, instead of at the Skysoul Instituteâs market; this place was simply bigger. Furthermore, there were many restaurants, brothels, auction houses, and various other businesses gathered in this area.
Many beauties and merchants from various cities and small realms were gathered here.
Dozens of streets bustled with people.
In a brothel, a group of people were drinking and being merry to the pleasure of life. One robust man embraced a girls in each arm and laughed. âIf you serve me well today, Iâll reward everyone with one spiritual stone!â This robust man was a Deacon who held authority among Gu Hengâs underlings. His name was He Gui.
Upon hearing He Guiâs words, the eyes of the two beauties lit up.
A **1 walked towards He Guiâs side and whispered, âDeacon He, there are several lords who want to meet you!â
âWhat lords? Theyâre disturbing my current interests. Iâm not meeting anyone!â He Gui said, appearing a little dull.
âThese lords are saying that they want to make a deal of a hundred thousand spiritual stones with you,â the ** continued.
A deal of a hundred thousand spiritual stones? He Guiâs brows twitched. What a huge tone! Because his heart was moved, he stood up and said, âOkay then, Iâll go meet them!â
Under the **âs lead, He Gui walked along the long corridor and entered a chamber.
âYou guys areâŚâ He Gui raised his head and saw Nie Li, Gu Bei, Lu Piao, and Li Xingyun. His eyes flashed with a trace of fear. He immediately tried to escape, but the door was already shut tight.
âDeacon He, Itâs been a long time!â Gu Bei lightly smiled.
âYoung Master Gu Bei, why are you looking for me?â He Guiâs voice trembled a little as he looked at Gu Bei. He sensed that there were at least five Heavenly Axis Realm experts guarding them behind the scenes. Escape was impossible.
âDeacon He, we just need some help from you!â Gu Bei lightly smiled.
âWhat do you want?â He Gui asked nervously.
Gu Bei sat on the chair, sipped a mouthful of tea, and calmly said, âIn the future, no matter where Gu Heng goes, you must let us know of his location!â
He Gui immediately said, âAsking me to betray Young Master Gu Heng is impossible!â
âHe Gui, a wise man would submit to these circumstances. Thereâs nothing in it for you to follow Gu Heng. Being a Deacon only gets you a few hundred spiritual stones in your pocket. Weâre not forcing you, but if youâre willing to cooperate, then weâll give you two thousand spiritual stones every time you report his location to us. If youâre unwilling to cooperate⌠I, Gu Bei, might not be able to do anything to Gu Heng, but do you really think that I wonât be able to take care of the likes of you? Not to mention that your hands arenât clean. If Gu Heng knew about what youâve done, you should know your outcome!â Gu Bei laughed as he looked at He Gui, âThis all depends on whether you cooperate with us!â
Gu Bei said it easily, but He Gui could sense the obvious threat within his words. Sweat filled his forehead. At the end of the day, Gu Bei was still the first-in-line successor to the Gu Clan. If he decided to dealing with He Gui, then he canât really resist.
Furthermore, Gu Beiâs words were true; He Guiâs hands werenât clean. If he was exposed, then he definitely wouldnât be able to remain as Gu Hengâs subordinate.
Gu Bei signaled the other three with his eyes. âSince youâre not willing, then forget about it! Nie Li, Brother Xingyun, letâs leave!â
âYoung Master Gu Bei, wait!â He Gui immediately shouted to stop Gu Bei.