Ao Residence.
Logan Ao and Hugh Ao sat facing each other, both looking rather sullen.
“Big brother, I just can't accept this!” Hugh Ao gritted his teeth and said bitterly.
“So what if you can't accept it? Our plan against Pristine Way Sect has already failed!” A flash of unwillingness passed through Logan Ao’s eyes.
“Are we just supposed to let them off like this? Even though the sect didn’t punish us this time, we still had to cough up fifty million taels of silver, ten Breakthrough Pills, and a sixth-grade spirit weapon!” As he spoke, Hugh Ao’s face twisted with both resentment and pain.
You have to understand, ten Breakthrough Pills are enough to let a ninth-layer Qi-Refining expert break through to Grandmaster.
That’s why just one Breakthrough Pill is insanely expensive—at least five million taels of silver, and even then, it’s the kind of thing you can’t buy just with money.
“Why don’t we just send someone to assassinate that kid?” Hugh Ao suddenly said, his tone turning venomous.
“Absolutely not!”
The visitor cupped his fists. "Hello, Senior Brother Huang. I’m Damon Meng from Lion King Sect. We’ve reserved a table at Clearwind Pavilion and would like to invite you to join us."
“So what if we go to war? Are we Sea Emperor Sect supposed to be afraid of Pristine Way?” Hugh Ao scoffed.
Logan Ao frowned, sounding a bit annoyed. “You’re oversimplifying things, little brother. Pristine Way Sect may have declined, but they’re not nearly as weak as they look. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
Seeing his reaction, Damon Meng added, "Senior Brother Huang, you might not know—this gathering will also have people from Divine Elephant Sect, Heavenly Fragrance Valley, and Sword and Blade Sect. Please do us the honor of joining! Besides, we’re all about to enter Sanctum Martial Academy together, so it’s good to get acquainted early. That way, we can look out for each other once we’re there."
Besides, I’ve heard from my master that after Pristine Way’s Martial Saint died, his personal weapon—a nine-star spirit sword—was kept by Pristine Way. With that kind of weapon, a top Grandmaster has no rivals except Martial Saints!
Damon Meng smiled. "Of course! I’m guessing you want to bring Senior Brother Yoon and Senior Sister Harriet, right? They’re both on my invite list—I just haven’t had a chance to notify them yet!"
Hearing this, Hugh Ao’s eyes flashed with both greed and fear. “So we’re just supposed to let that kid go?”
Yoon Zhengyang lived in the room to Ian’s left, and Harriet Gu was in the room to his right.
Yoon Zhengyang readily agreed.
Then the three of them went together to invite Harriet Gu.
“Idiot!”
Logan Ao snapped, “There’ll be experts from Sanctum Martial Academy watching along the route—there’s no chance to act. What I mean is, strike before he officially boards under Sanctum’s protection. I heard Poison Emperor Ethan Ye just arrived in Seacoast Province. Go send someone to invite Ethan Ye and have him poison that kid!”
Hugh Ao’s eyes lit up and he clapped his hands. “Brilliant, big brother! If that kid gets killed by the Poison Emperor, it’s got nothing to do with Sea Emperor Sect! Even if Pristine Way wants revenge, they’ll never trace it back to us!”
“Mm.”
Logan Ao nodded, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Once Ethan Ye kills the kid, make sure to kill him too—just in case he leaks the secret!”
…………
Knock, knock!
There was a knock at the door.
Ian Song got up and opened the door, finding a young man in his early twenties standing outside.
“You are...?”
The visitor cupped his fists. “Hello, Senior Brother Huang. I’m Tianyu Meng from Lion King Sect. We’ve reserved a table at Qingfeng Pavilion and would like to invite you to join us.”
Lion King Sect’s overall strength was a notch below Pristine Way, but they controlled two provinces.
Hearing this, Ian Song couldn’t help but hesitate.
Seeing his reaction, Tianyu Meng added, “Senior Brother Huang, you might not know—this gathering will also have people from Divine Elephant Sect, Heavenly Fragrance Valley, and Sword and Blade Sect. Please do us the honor of joining! Besides, we’re all about to enter Sanctum Martial Academy together, so it’s good to get acquainted early. That way, we can look out for each other once we’re there.”
The other party made a reasonable case, and Ian really couldn’t refuse, so he nodded. “Can I bring two people with me?”
Tianyu Meng smiled. “Of course! I’m guessing you want to bring Senior Brother Yin and Sister Gu Xie, right? They’re both on my invite list—I just haven’t had a chance to notify them yet!”
“In that case, let’s go invite them together!”
Yin Zhengyang lived in the room to Ian’s left, and Gu Xie Huayu was in the room to his right.
Yin Zhengyang readily agreed.
Then the three of them went together to invite Gu Xie Huayu.
“Not going!”
When Damon Meng explained the reason for their visit, Harriet Gu rejected him outright, leaving him a bit embarrassed.
"Junior Sister Harriet, Brother Damon’s invitation is sincere. Why not accept?" Yoon Zhengyang tried to persuade her.
"I’m tired. I want to rest." Harriet Gu replied coolly, and started to close the door.
Yoon Zhengyang shot Ian Song a look, urging him to say something too.
Ian hadn’t known Harriet Gu for long, but he could tell her coldness was genuine, not an act.
So he knew that even if he tried, it wouldn’t help.
But out of respect for Yoon Zhengyang, he still tried. "Senior Sister Harriet, why not come with us? It’ll be livelier with more people."
Bang!
Harriet Gu slammed the door shut.
Ian looked a little awkward. He shrugged at Yoon Zhengyang, as if to say, 'Nothing I can do.'
Yoon Zhengyang just smiled helplessly and said to Damon Meng, "Don’t take it personally, Brother Damon. Junior Sister Harriet has always been this way."
"No problem. Let’s head out then!" Damon Meng replied with a smile, clearly not bothered.
Just then, Harriet Gu’s voice came from inside her room: "Wait outside. I’m going to change clothes!"
Uh...
Yoon Zhengyang was stunned—Harriet Gu actually agreed! He shot Ian a teasing look. "Junior Brother Huang, you’re impressive. You actually convinced her."
Ian was surprised too. He hadn’t expected the aloof senior sister to give him this much face.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Harriet Gu’s door opened again.
The three looked up to see Harriet Gu now dressed in a long black skirt, her cool temperament making her seem even more noble.
“Let’s go.”
Facing their gazes, Harriet Gu was calm and composed.
"Alright, let’s go!"
A luxurious carriage was parked at the inn’s entrance.
Damon Meng smiled. "Senior Brother Huang, Senior Brother Yoon, Senior Sister Harriet, please get in!"
The carriage’s interior was spacious—enough for ten people, let alone four—and elegantly decorated without being ostentatious.
Damon Meng was quite sociable, and soon became acquainted with Ian Song and Yoon Zhengyang. As for Harriet Gu, she closed her eyes and rested in silence as soon as she got in.
As the three rode away in the carriage, none of them noticed a woman standing behind an upstairs window, watching them leave with a face full of resentment…
That woman was Zhou Xiaoxian.
While the three inner disciples had been invited, she—an elite disciple—had not. Zhou Xiaoxian felt deeply slighted, especially because of Ian Song. She’d been scolded by two elders multiple times because of him, and now her hatred for Ian Song ran bone-deep.