Half an hour later, Ian Song left the Sea Emperor Sect with four hundred million taels in silver notes.
To the Sea Emperor Sect, four hundred million taels was nothing—but losing an entire province hurt them deeply. Still, with three Martial Saints on Ian's side, they had no choice but to agree, no matter how much it stung.
After leaving the Sea Emperor Sect, Ian made a trip to the Divine Moon Sect’s mountain gate.
When he left the Divine Moon Sect, the silver notes in his arms had increased by another five hundred million taels.
By dusk that day, Ian walked out of Sky-Net Gate, his stash of silver notes reaching a staggering 1.5 billion taels.
At the same time, the Pristine Way Sect gained three more provinces under its name. Of course, the actual handover from the three sects would still take some time.
Upon returning to the Pristine Way Sect, Ian headed straight for the small world where the Supreme Elders lived.
He handed over the three contracts and 1.5 billion taels in silver notes to Darren Fang Easton.
Darren was barely fazed by the enormous sum of silver notes, but the three contracts made his face flush with excitement.
Just then, Cole Chong Duan pushed open the door and walked in.
"Darren, you look so excited—did something good happen?" Cole teased.
"Take a look and you'll see!"
Darren handed the three contracts to Cole.
Cole, who had been a bit skeptical at first, read the contracts and his face also lit up with excitement. He stared at Ian, amazed: "Leon, how did you pull this off?"
Ian grinned, "I went sightseeing at the three sects’ headquarters—and killed a few people while I was at it."
"You rascal."
Hearing Ian’s reply, Cole shot him an annoyed look, but quickly broke into a wide grin. "Whatever, however you did it, our Pristine Way Sect has regained all six provinces. We’re not far from restoring our former glory!"
Cole paused, then said thoughtfully, "A feat this monumental shouldn’t just make you acting sect master—it's more than enough to make you the real sect master!"
Half an hour later.
All the Supreme Elders had gathered in Darren’s courtyard, making it a bit crowded.
After looking over the three contracts, every Supreme Elder wore an expression of excitement and joy—except for Marcus Ma, whose face remained dark and gloomy.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot.
Cole Chong Duan immediately proposed that Ian Song take over as sect master of the Pristine Way Sect.
In less than a month, Ian had retaken all the cities Pristine Way lost over several months, and forced the sect’s enemies to return three whole provinces.
With such a world-shaking achievement, even Marcus Ma didn’t dare object to Ian becoming the new sect master.
After some discussion, everyone agreed: once Pristine Way fully controls those three provinces, Ian will officially ascend as the new sect master.
From then on, Ian left the handover negotiations with the three sects entirely to the Supreme Elders.
The three Sea Emperor-aligned sects didn’t play any tricks either—they obediently withdrew their forces from the three provinces.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to cause trouble—they simply didn’t dare. They feared Ian would catch them in the act and return with his three Martial Saints to storm their headquarters again.
Spring’s warmth filled the air. Ian lounged leisurely in his courtyard, basking in the sun with a book in hand. Beside him, a table was set with tea, pastries, and snacks.
All of this had been prepared for him by Lynn Ning.
Since becoming a Core Disciple, Ian had moved to a larger, more spiritual-energy-rich courtyard.
Just then, a tall, coldly elegant beauty in white pushed open the door and walked in, her gaze sweeping the room as she headed straight for Ian.
"Sister Huayu, you’re here! I’ll go get you some tea," Lynn Ning said warmly.
Lynn Ning greeted her enthusiastically.
"No need to trouble yourself. I’ll only stay for a moment," Harriet Gu replied, a bit awkward. Lynn Ning’s brother, Nate Moore, had died at Harriet’s lover’s hands, so every time Harriet faced Lynn, especially her cheerful smile, she felt a pang of guilt.
Soon, Lynn Ning brewed a cup of flower tea for Harriet Gu, served it, and quietly withdrew after wishing her to enjoy.
Lately, she’d almost become Ian’s personal maid.
Ian accepted it calmly, but Harriet Gu felt very uncomfortable.
"Brother Liang, do you really plan to keep this from her forever?" Harriet Gu asked softly.
"Telling her the truth would only bring pain to everyone. Besides, she’s all alone—if she found out, what would become of her?" Ian sighed.
"Mm."
Harriet Gu nodded in deep agreement. If Lynn Ning ever learned her lover killed her brother, could she really stay by Ian’s side? Without Ian’s protection, she’d have a hard time surviving.
Ian tossed his book into his Storage Ring, sat up, and slipped his arm around Harriet’s waist. He whispered, "Enough worrying. If it comes to it, we’ll just make it up to her as best we can."
"Alright."
After a bit of affectionate banter, Harriet Gu shyly said, "Brother Liang, my parents are here. They want to meet you."
Ian was startled, a hint of panic flashing across his face. "Ah, where are they?"
"They’re at my grandfather’s place, of course," Harriet replied. Seeing Ian’s nervous look, she couldn’t help but smile softly. "Don’t worry, my parents are very nice."
Ian stiffened his neck and said, "Who’s worried? With a guy as outstanding and handsome as me, your parents will be fighting to marry you off to me!"
Harriet’s cheeks flushed. "Pfft, shameless—you wish! My parents would never do that."
"Heh heh!" Ian grinned. "So, what do your parents like? I should prepare some gifts."
Faced with Ian’s thick-skinned antics, Harriet could only sigh in exasperation. "How should I know? Figure it out yourself."
"Maybe I should buy a few beauties for your dad," Ian teased.
"Go ahead—if you’re not afraid of my mom chasing you out with a broom," Harriet scoffed.
As the saying goes, you become like those you spend time with. After being teased by Ian so often, Harriet had learned to fight back.
"Haha, just kidding," Ian said quickly.
Harriet’s expression turned serious. "Alright, I’ll head back first. You come over in a bit."
After seeing Harriet off, Ian began pondering what gifts to bring to his future in-laws.
After some thought, he finally decided, tidied himself up, and set off for Elder Shea’s residence.
Normally, Supreme Elders cultivate inside the Forbidden Small World.
But outside the Forbidden Small World, they also keep residences.
Harriet’s parents weren’t Pristine Way members, so they weren’t qualified to enter the Forbidden Small World.
Arriving at a courtyard, Ian had barely knocked when a beautiful woman in her early thirties opened the door. She looked so much like Harriet that Ian instantly guessed her identity. Still, he feigned confusion and exclaimed, "Oh, you must be Harriet’s sister! Strange, she never mentioned her sister was here too."