In the Starstream School's Grand Assembly Hall, all the peak masters, deacons, and elders had gathered once again, save for the sect master and Grand Elder Leo Willow. The last time the assembly had been so complete was three years ago, when Garrett Lance caused an uproar in Starstream School. That event was now three years in the past.
Although Grand Elder Leo Willow was only a Grand Elder, as the sole Soul Ancestor of Starstream School, his authority sometimes surpassed even that of Sect Master Timothy Xiang.
The atmosphere in the sect hall was heavy, and all the peak masters and elders sat in silence. It was Grand Elder Leo Willow who finally broke the oppressive quiet, saying, "The incident from three years ago has been fully investigated. Joe Di and Garrett Lance, purely for the cultivation resource of spirit stones, murdered sect disciples Ouyang Tao and Qiao Sa, crossing the moral line and disregarding sect rules. Now, on behalf of Starstream School, I pronounce the following decision: Joe Di and Garrett Lance are expelled from the outer sect, and a sect-wide wanted order will be issued for them."
All the peak masters and elders in the hall turned to look at Sect Master Timothy Xiang. It was Timothy Xiang who had previously declared that, even if the sect were destroyed, he would never expel Joe Di and Garrett Lance. In the face of pressure from the Qi Trading House, Starstream School was prepared to die rather than bow.
Now that Grand Elder Leo Willow had made this decision, it was expected that Timothy Xiang would stand up and oppose it. In fact, most of the peak masters and elders in Starstream School supported Timothy Xiang—a sect without backbone truly has no reason to exist.
At the same time, the elders and peak masters understood Grand Elder Leo Willow’s decision. Rumor had it that the Soul Ancestor of the Qi family had returned alone from his secret expedition.
But this wasn’t the real reason for Grand Elder Leo Willow’s decision. The key was that news of the destruction of several Qi Trading House branches was spreading everywhere. Who would dare destroy a branch of the Qi Trading House? Looking across the entire Aurora Continent, it was likely only Joe Di, that audacious fellow.
Even though Joe Di had disguised himself as a white-haired old man and Garrett Lance’s whereabouts were unknown, anyone with a bit of sense would suspect Joe Di. Otherwise, Starstream School wouldn’t have suddenly uncovered the reason behind Ouyang Tao’s death three years later.
Of course, it was also possible that other enemies of the Qi Trading House had acted. But what is the Qi Trading House’s style? If they suspect you, they’ll strike. If Joe Di had only robbed the Swampsea Town branch of the Qi Trading House, there might have been some justification. But after destroying several more branches, Joe Di really had no excuse left.
Some might say that the Qi Trading House’s relentless pursuit of Joe Di forced him to retaliate. But the Qi Trading House would never see it that way.
What puzzled everyone was that Timothy Xiang did not stand up to oppose, nor did he say a word.
Since even Sect Master Timothy Xiang remained silent, none of the other elders or peak masters would dare speak up.
Clearly, Elder Leo wasn’t simply content with expelling Joe Di and Garrett Lance. Once no one opposed, he continued, "As sect master, Timothy Xiang has been too lenient with the disciples. I now announce that Timothy Xiang will step down as sect master, and Elder He Hui will assume the position. This is not a glorious or praiseworthy event; Elder He Hui’s succession will be kept simple, and we only need to notify the major sects of the Aurora Continent. Does anyone have any objections?"
"I disagree." Peak Master Wu Zhenzhen of Helian Peak stood up without hesitation and said, "Timothy Xiang, as our sect master, has contributed greatly to Starstream School. Only Sect Master Xiang can lead the sect to greater heights."
"I disagree as well..."
Following Wu Zhenzhen, several elders and peak masters rose one after another to voice their opposition.
Before Elder Leo could speak, Timothy Xiang stood up himself and said, "During my tenure as sect master, I failed to lead the sect to prosperity, and even caused Starstream School to fall to the ranks of second-tier sects on the Aurora Continent. During this time, several Golden Core elders perished, bringing great harm to the sect. I agree with Elder Leo’s decision and will step down as sect master, leaving the sect to go on a trial."
Now that even Sect Master Timothy Xiang himself had spoken, even though everyone knew the sect’s decline had nothing to do with him, they could only remain silent.
Many people vaguely felt that Starstream School might truly decline from this point on. As Sect Master Timothy Xiang had said earlier, even if Starstream School escaped the wrath of the Qi Trading House, could it really revive?
"Brother Joe, Northridge City is huge! On our journey, I’ve never seen a cultivation city as massive as this. No wonder the Qi Trading House’s Northern Domain headquarters is built here." Disguised as a wandering rogue cultivator, Garrett Lance gazed in awe at the towering, majestic Northridge City.
At this moment, Joe Di was disguised as a young boy, and after the transformation, he looked rather inexperienced.
After a year of wandering across various places, Joe Di had become capable of refining mid-grade magical artifacts. Because he disguised himself almost daily, his skills in disguise had also reached a masterful level.
Starting from Swampsea Town, he and Garrett Lance spent a month destroying four branches of the Qi Trading House. However, after wiping out four branches in a month, Joe Di hadn’t made a move against the Qi Trading House for a whole year. It wasn’t that he’d given up on taking down the Qi Trading House, but rather that he was planning something big—he intended to destroy the Northern Domain headquarters in Northridge City.
He still wasn’t a level-five formation master, but could set up level-four formations with ease. His cultivation had also advanced from the fourth to the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment.
Garrett’s strength had also reached the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment. With his giant axe and mastery of the Thunder Sword, even a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment might not be his match.
"Heh, Northridge City is the Qi Trading House’s base in the Northern Domain, and there’s an old Soul Ancestor of the Qi family here. Aren’t you afraid?" Joe Di chuckled.
Garrett snorted, "We’ve already destroyed four branches of the Qi Trading House along the way. Besides, you said it yourself, the most dangerous place is the safest. Brother Joe, who do you think is the one following us, the guy who’s also destroyed three Qi Trading House branches?"
In the first month, Joe Di and Garrett Lance destroyed four branches of the Qi Trading House, but at the same time, three other branches were wiped out by someone else. Outsiders saw seven Qi Trading House branches taken down and attributed all of them to Joe Di, disguised as the white-haired old man. Only Joe Di and Garrett knew they’d actually destroyed just four.
"Not bad, you've improved. This time, we're not here for safety. I'll be staying at Skycrest Resthaven for a while; you go out and gather information, then report back to me. As for the person who destroyed the other three Qi Trading House branches, whether they're trying to draw trouble our way or not, we don't need to worry about them. As the saying goes, the enemy of our enemy is our ally." Joe Di deliberately wanted Garrett to handle some delicate matters.
Over the past year, under Joe Di’s influence, Garrett was no longer the pure-hearted youth he once was. Though he wasn’t exactly cunning, he was far more adaptable than before.
As Joe Di had taught him, "Repaying grievances with kindness isn’t our way. We repay kindness with kindness and grudges with vengeance. To not repay kindness is inhuman; to not avenge a grudge is to deserve humiliation. If someone respects you by a foot, you should respect them by a yard. If someone wrongs you by a foot, why not return the favor?"
To Garrett, Brother Joe wasn’t just returning a foot of evil—he was returning much more. On their journey, they’d destroyed four Qi Trading House branches, and now, even though Joe hadn’t explained his reason for coming to Northridge City, Garrett guessed he was aiming for the Qi Trading House’s headquarters here.
They’d killed several Golden Core cultivators along the way, but those were from small places. Northridge City, however, had a Soul Ancestor. The thought of going up against a Soul Ancestor made Garrett uneasy.
Before entering Northridge City, Joe Di had already learned that Skycrest Resthaven was one of the three most luxurious inns in the city, and the only one not owned by the Qi family.
Now, he had over a hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, and even more mid- and low-grade stones. Coming to Northridge City, he naturally chose to stay at the best inn.
Unless it was a special occasion, rooms in such luxury inns were plentiful. Joe Di booked a large suite immediately, even reserving it for a whole month.
Once he entered his room, Joe Di began setting up defensive arrays. In an inn like this, guests were allowed to set up their own protective formations.
By the time Joe Di finished setting up the defensive array, Garrett had returned to the inn after gathering information.
"Brother Joe, I just heard some bad news..." Garrett blurted out anxiously as soon as he came in.
Joe Di waved his hand and said calmly, "There’s no need to panic about anything. At worst, we’ll enter the cycle of reincarnation. What is there to fear?"
Garrett recalled how many times Joe Di had told him to stay calm in the face of trouble. Only by remaining calm could one handle things with composure.
Garrett’s greatest strength was his ability to learn quickly. Even if he didn’t remember something the first time, he’d definitely remember it the second. Once he calmed down, he said, "Brother Joe, I just heard that Starstream School has expelled both of us from the sect, stripped Sect Master Xiang of his position, and issued a wanted order for us."
After saying this, Garrett realized Joe Di wasn’t the least bit surprised and couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Joe, aren’t you surprised?"
Joe Di sat down and chuckled, "What’s so surprising? It was expected. If Starstream School hadn’t expelled us, that would have been strange."
He’d disguised himself as a white-haired old man and destroyed four Qi Trading House branches—no, it should be seven branches. Even if the Qi family hadn’t found proof, he would still be their prime suspect.
"Brother Joe, you mean the Qi Trading House suspects us? Then why bother with disguises?" Garrett asked in surprise.
Joe Di explained, "They suspect us, but we mustn’t let them have definite proof. Starstream School suspects us too; if they hadn’t expelled us, that would have been suicidal. Before, the whole sect resisted the Qi Trading House because Starstream School had the moral high ground. Now, with the Qi Trading House pushed to the limit, if Starstream School keeps resisting, it will only lead to destruction.
After Starstream School expelled us, even if the Qi Trading House wants to destroy the sect, they’ll have to catch us first and fabricate evidence. As long as we remain at large, Starstream School stays safe for another day."
"So what do we do now?"
"We scout the area, cultivate, and wait for an opportunity. For now, let’s not worry about the sect."