Tang Dynasty National Capital, Prime One Church Main Altar.
In a quiet little courtyard, Master Mingtan was working in a specially cultivated spirit field. The field was planted with lush, ordinary vegetables, all thriving and vibrant.
Just then, a black-clad figure appeared at the edge of the spirit field without warning.
But Master Mingtan seemed not to notice, continuing to work with his head down in the field. Only after a full quarter-hour did he shoulder his spirit hoe and return, setting it aside and washing the dirt from his hands. He sat down at a stone table, picked up the teapot, and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Sect Master." The black-clad figure stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"What is it?" Master Mingtan asked calmly, his expression serene.
"There's been progress on that matter," the black-clad figure said in a low voice.
At these words, Master Mingtan's calm expression instantly vanished, replaced by a fierce, twisted look. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Have you finally traced the origins of that little bastard?"
Just thinking of Ian Song, Master Mingtan couldn't suppress his killing intent. Not only had more than half of the Prime One Church’s 108 branch altars been destroyed, but over a hundred Fusion realm experts had been lost, and the number of Soul-Split disciples crippled or killed was in the thousands—not to mention all those branch disciples whose cultivation had been ruined.
Even the Fire God Church had taken advantage of the chaos to seize several prefectures, all because of that little bastard. So even though Ian Song had disappeared for two full years, Master Mingtan still couldn't let go of his killing intent and hatred, and had been secretly investigating Ian's origins and background all this time.
"Speak. What exactly is that little bastard's background?"
Master Mingtan poured himself another cup of cold tea, trying to calm his raging killing intent before speaking slowly.
"Ian Song is from the Jade Maiden Sect," the black-clad figure replied.
"Jade Maiden Sect?" Master Mingtan paused, puzzled. "Is that a sect from within the High Zhou Imperium?"
The black-clad figure shook his head. "No, the Jade Maiden Sect is right here in the Tang Dynasty. It's just a small, third-rate sect that only controls a single county."
Hearing the truth about the Jade Maiden Sect, Master Mingtan was genuinely surprised. How could such a weak sect possibly produce a freak like that little thief?
Master Mingtan asked skeptically, "Are you sure your information is accurate?"
The black-clad figure replied with certainty, "Please rest assured, Sect Master. The information is indeed accurate. I was surprised myself when I first found it, so I conducted an even more thorough investigation and confirmation. In the end, it's certain that the little thief is from the Jade Maiden Sect. However, his cultivation is highly suspicious—I suspect he might be some old monster reborn through possession."
Next, the black-clad figure detailed all the information he'd uncovered about Ian Song, including the secret sect he was cultivating—the Dualis Order.
After hearing the report, Master Mingtan lowered his head in thought. After a long pause, he finally asked, "Any news on that little thief?"
The black-clad figure said, "Sorry, Sect Master. I've already sent people to search every corner of the Tang Dynasty, but we couldn't find him. We even infiltrated the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, but there's still no sign of that little thief. So I suspect he may have gone to the High Zhou Imperium!"
Master Mingtan gave a sinister, chilly smile. "That little thief is slippery—it's normal you couldn't find him. Now, I order you to immediately arrest everyone from the Jade Maiden Sect and the Dualis Order!"
"Yes, Sect Master!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the black-clad figure turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished.
Jade Maiden Sect.
After two years of development, Abbess Yvonne, the Jade Maiden Sect’s top expert, finally broke through the Golden Core stage and successfully underwent tribulation, becoming a Nascent Soul expert. The six Cloud-generation elders also made breakthroughs—two reached peak late Golden Core, while the remaining four advanced to mid Golden Core.
Meanwhile, Lana Snow, the sect master, advanced to early Golden Core. Both Xueya and Xuesheng were on the verge of breakthroughs, and the senior Ling-generation disciple Lena Ling, though fond of wine, hadn’t fallen behind in cultivation—in fact, she had reached early Golden Core just last month.
Because of this, Lana Snow was already planning to pass the sect master position to Lena Ling.
Besides that, other Ling-generation disciples like Lacey, Leah, and their peers had also made rapid progress, stepping into the Foundation Establishment stage. The whole Jade Maiden Sect was thriving.
That day, in a wooden cabin halfway up the mountain, Lena Ling woke up slowly. Last night, she’d finished the last jar of fine wine Ian Song had buried in the courtyard.
Thinking about not having any more fine wine to drink, Lena Ling felt inexplicably irritated and muttered, "That guy, seriously—he’s been gone for over two years and hasn’t even sent a letter. Did he get dazzled by the outside world and just not want to come back?"
Yawning, Lena Ling headed up the mountain. Although her master had repeatedly said she wanted to pass the sect master position to Lena, Lena wasn’t interested at all. Being sect master meant worrying about the whole sect’s affairs—nothing as carefree as her life now. So she kept playing dumb, never responding to her master’s hints.
"Senior Sister, the sect master wants to see you!"
Just as Lena reached the mountaintop, Lacey Ling came over to greet her, speaking respectfully.
She’d always been unconvinced by Lena Ling’s rise and had once tried to harm Ian Song. Unfortunately, her scheme failed and Ian taught her a harsh lesson.
After that, she accepted Lena Ling’s strength on the surface, though she still held a grudge inside. But when Lena broke through to Golden Core, Lacey’s confidence was shattered, and she no longer had the heart to compete.
"Oh, got it!"
Lena Ling waved listlessly and headed toward the sect master’s courtyard.
As she entered the courtyard, Lena Ling’s heart skipped a beat. Besides Sect Master Lana Snow, Xueya, and Xuesheng, even Abbess Yvonne and several Cloud-generation elders were present.
A vague sense of foreboding crept over Lena Ling, but she still greeted everyone respectfully: "Lena Ling greets the sect master, greets..."
"You may rise."
Lana Snow looked at her disciple with great satisfaction. To have reached the Golden Core stage at just over thirty years old was impressive even for a second-rate sect.
Her master, on the other hand, was a bit behind—she’d only broken through a month earlier than her disciple.
"Lena, I’m sure you already know why I called you here," Lana Snow said with a smile. She knew Lena didn’t want to take over as sect master, so she’d gathered all the elders to settle the matter first, then called Lena in to make it a done deal.
That way, Lena wouldn’t be able to object. Thinking of this, Lana Snow felt a bit smug.