Before Lynn Ning could ask, Ian Song took the initiative and said, "Ling'er, you're wondering about your elder brother, right?"
"Mm." Lynn Ning nodded, the expectation in her eyes growing stronger. "When will my brother be back?"
"He won't be coming back," Ian said in a low voice.
Hearing Ian's words, Lynn Ning was instantly seized by a sense of dread. Her delicate frame trembled. "Why? Brother Huang, can you tell me why?"
"He's dead." Ian's voice grew even heavier.
"Dead! My brother is dead!"
Lynn Ning's expression went blank. After a long moment, sorrow and pain began to fill her eyes.
"Ling'er, you have to stay strong. Your brother definitely wouldn't want to see you like this." Ian stepped forward, pulling Lynn Ning into his arms and softly comforting her. But inside, his guilt only deepened—he had killed her brother, yet here he was playing the good guy, consoling her. This was textbook villain behavior.
"Wuwu!"
Lynn Ning cried softly in his arms. After a while, she lifted her tear-stained face, her eyes burning with hatred. "Brother Huang, can you tell me who killed my brother? I want revenge!"
Ian sighed softly. "Your brother was sent on a mission to become an undercover agent in the Sea Emperor Sect. I had already ordered him to come back, but he stubbornly refused. Later, when the Sea Emperor Sect attacked Pristine Way, he was exposed while passing us intelligence and couldn't escape..."
"Brother!"
Lynn Ning couldn't hold back her tears, and they began to fall again.
"But I've already destroyed the Sea Emperor Sect, so you could say I've avenged your brother!" As he said this, Ian felt even more awkward and guilty inside.
"Thank you, Brother Huang!" Lynn Ning said gratefully.
"No need, it's just what I ought to do!" Ian blurted out. After saying this, he felt his shamelessness had just leveled up several times.
Damn! Shameless is shameless, but I'm doing this for Lynn Ning's sake. Besides, Nate really did deserve what he got.
After a round of self-hypnosis, Ian felt much better.
Suddenly, he realized Lynn Ning had gone quiet in his arms. Looking down, he saw she had fainted, her beautiful, delicate face still streaked with tears—so pitiful it tugged at his heart.
"Ling'er, don't worry. From now on, Brother Huang will take good care of you and never let you suffer again!"
Ian gently wiped the tears from Lynn Ning's face, bent down, and carried her into her room.
Over the next few days, Lynn Ning remained deeply depressed. Worried she might develop psychological issues, Ian stayed by her side, trying to cheer her up—even telling her stories from the real world.
Thanks to Ian's patient support, after a week Lynn Ning's mood finally improved. But Ian noticed that the way she looked at him seemed different.
Feeling the look in her eyes, a phrase popped into Ian's head: 'kill the brother, seize the sister.'
He quickly made an excuse about sect affairs and left the courtyard, heading to Harriet Gu's residence.
"Is Ling'er alright now?"
Harriet Gu asked softly.
"Mm, her mood has stabilized for now."
While speaking, Ian activated his Clairvoyance to scan the surroundings and prevent anyone from eavesdropping. He'd seen enough movies, TV, and novels to know that in situations like this, the heroine always manages to find out the villain is the one who killed her brother.
That's why he was being so cautious—to avoid turning the story into a tragedy.
"That's good," Harriet Gu said with a sigh.
"Alright, let's not bring this up again. We need to avoid any leaks," Ian reminded her in a serious tone.
"Got it, Brother Liang," Harriet Gu nodded.
"Harriet, do you think what I did was despicable?" Ian asked, taking her hands in his.
Harriet Gu replied softly, "You did it for Ling'er's sake. Besides, I know it's been hard on you, Brother Liang."
"Harriet, you're so thoughtful. I'm lucky to have you!"
After some affectionate time with Harriet Gu, Ian headed to his office—a small palace where he managed sect affairs and Martial Alliance business.
When the Martial Alliance was first founded, other sects worried Ian would use it as an excuse to oppress them.
But soon, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the Alliance Leader wasn't exploiting them—in fact, he offered them quite a few benefits.
The biggest benefit was the pill exchange system.
Five portions of Spirit Medicine could be exchanged for one pill.
The main pills offered were fourth-grade Profound Pills and third-grade Breakthrough Pills.
The name 'South Domain Martial Alliance' sounded impressive, but honestly, even if all these sects joined forces, they still weren't a match for the Rift Heaven Sword Sect. So Ian had to boost everyone's strength.
Of course, Ian also kept strict control over the number of pills being exchanged.
Even the sect with the highest annual quota could only get ten thousand fourth-grade Profound Pills and five thousand third-grade Breakthrough Pills—a full half less than Origin Return Sect, and each pill cost twice as much Spirit Medicine.
As a result, huge amounts of Spirit Medicine flowed into Pristine Way during this period.
Pristine Way grew wealthier and more powerful, and the prices of all kinds of Spirit Medicine rose as well.
There weren't many matters at Pristine Way that required Ian, the sect master, to handle personally.
After the great war, he'd redefined the responsibilities of all the senior elders.
Routine matters were handled by the elders—only major decisions required Ian's personal attention.