Chapter 80
Chapter 80: Careful Calculations
Ying Shao Guang returned to the Limitless Sect that morning.
After the fierce battle the night before—and the miserable cleanup that followed—he came back looking like he’d been hollowed out. His eyes were dull, and bruised shadows hung beneath them.
Yang Xiang Tian took one look at his prized disciple and nearly choked on his tea. “Didn’t you say it was nothing serious? Then why do you look like this?”
Ying Shao Guang stood there for a breath, as if his spirit had only just caught up to his body. Then he bowed with obvious effort. “Greetings, Master. It really wasn’t a big deal. Just… troublesome to wrap up.”
“Troublesome enough to take the whole night?” Yang Xiang Tian’s brows shot up. “Disciples these days can’t even handle the simplest aftermath. With you and Bai Li Xu giving a few orders, they should’ve known what to do.”
“Bai Li…” Ying Shao Guang froze. A beat later, anger flickered in his exhausted eyes. “Right—if the Young Sect Master was taken away, fine, I won’t complain. But why didn’t Bai Li Xu stay behind to help me?”
He scowled so hard it almost looked painful. “Martial Great-Uncle Ku Mu is really something. His grand-disciple’s life is a life, but mine isn’t?”
Yang Xiang Tian stared at him for a long moment, then slammed his teacup down with a sharp clink. “What’s the point of being angry now? You’ve been sold out and you’re still counting the money for them!”
Ying Shao Guang went quiet at once. His shoulders drooped like a wilted leaf.
Yang Xiang Tian’s expression softened a fraction, but he didn’t let him off. The situation was too murky for indulgence. “All right. Tell me exactly what happened. I heard the Young Sect Master ‘sacrificed himself for others’ and his old condition flared up because he protected the disciples. What is that supposed to mean? Wasn’t his cultivation something he couldn’t use?”
“Oh. It was like this…” Ying Shao Guang pulled himself together and gave a rough account—how the Devil Creature appeared, how the formation was set, how panic had spread through Flowing Moon City like fire in dry grass.
The more Yang Xiang Tian listened, the wider his eyes grew. By the time Ying Shao Guang reached the part about the barrier, his master’s jaw nearly dropped. “You’re telling me the Young Sect Master used a Divine Transformation Stage barrier to shield an entire city?”
Ying Shao Guang nodded.
“How is that possible?” Yang Xiang Tian’s voice sharpened. “With his meridians, the moment he circulates spiritual qi, it attacks itself. Even if he forced it and triggered another devil qi relapse, his stability wouldn’t be enough to cast a barrier over a whole city.”
“I thought so too.” Ying Shao Guang hesitated, as if weighing how much he dared to say. Then he muttered, “But I’m guessing it had something to do with Junior Sister Bai.”
“That girl?” Yang Xiang Tian looked even more incredulous. “Is the Jade-Tempered Body really that miraculous? It’s only been a few days and he can already cast a barrier? That would mean he’ll recover soon.”
He shook his head, hard. “Impossible. Last time his devil qi acted up, it was only soothed. Nothing more.”
“Master…” Ying Shao Guang’s voice dropped. “I think Junior Sister Bai is a little… off.”
Yang Xiang Tian’s expression turned sharp. He set his teacup down carefully, as if the porcelain might crack under his temper. “What do you mean by ‘off’? Did she expose herself? What’s suspicious about her?”
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “I knew it. How could something like this be a perfect coincidence? A Jade-Tempered Body appears out of nowhere and matches the Young Sect Master in every way. Don’t tell me it’s some Devil Realm plot against us.”
“No.” Ying Shao Guang rubbed his forehead, searching for the right words. “It’s not like that. It’s just… I don’t think she’s simple. She has schemes—deep ones. The Young Sect Master wasn’t even visibly hurt, but she acted like it was life-and-death serious. She had the disciples crying with gratitude, like he’d crawled out of hell to drag them back.”
His exhaustion thinned into resentment as he went on. “And she’s strong. She doesn’t look like someone from a fallen family at all. I don’t think even the elite disciples could take her.”
As he spoke, the fog in his mind seemed to clear. Another detail rose up, sharp as a needle. “Also, Martial Great-Uncle Ku Mu arrived at an awfully convenient time—not early, not late. Right after the Young Sect Master saved everyone and passed out.”
He exhaled through his teeth. “Master, you should’ve seen the mood. The disciples were celebrating like the Young Sect Master was a hero returned from legend. Everyone was shouting about how he could be saved, how everything would be different now…”
Yang Xiang Tian lifted his teacup and drained it in one long swallow. Then, after a silence that stretched, he spoke as if concluding a calculation. “I understand.”
Ying Shao Guang blinked. “Huh?”
“That girl wasn’t a chance encounter.” Yang Xiang Tian’s tone was calm, but there was steel underneath it. “She was prepared—carefully. By Martial Uncle Hua and Ku Mu.”
Ying Shao Guang’s eyes widened.
“They must have searched for a long time,” Yang Xiang Tian continued, voice low. “Maybe they hid her away somewhere and raised her in secret. Only when everything was ready did they send her to the Young Sect Master.”
Ying Shao Guang sucked in a breath. Suddenly, a dozen puzzling pieces clicked into place.
No wonder someone didn’t just “pick up” Golden Core cultivation for free. No wonder she could set up the Seven-Star Devil-Exterminating Formation so quickly—if it were him, he couldn’t have arranged it cleanly under that kind of pressure.
A flush of admiration rose up despite his fatigue. “Master… you’re incredible. You saw it immediately.”
Yang Xiang Tian let himself enjoy that for half a heartbeat before smoothing his expression. “I’ve lived a few hundred years longer than you, after all.”
Ying Shao Guang frowned, thoughts racing. “So from start to finish, it was Martial Uncle Hua and Martial Great-Uncle Ku Mu planning everything… just to push the Young Sect Master into power?”
His throat bobbed. “Master, what do we do? If they start fighting, whose side do we stand on?”
“Of course we watch first.” Yang Xiang Tian didn’t hesitate. “The Sect Master and the Young Sect Master are both from the Ling Family. It’s hard to say where the Ling Family will land.”
He tapped the rim of his cup, measured. “The Sect Master is in his prime. He’s held real power these past years. But the Young Sect Master still has connections and resources left behind by the former sect master—and most importantly, Hua and Ku Mu aren’t people anyone can bully.”
He paused, eyes dimming. “I don’t think the Young Sect Master’s condition is suitable for taking the seat. But Hua and Ku Mu aren’t reckless, either.”
He looked up, meeting his disciple’s gaze. “We watch. If it harms the foundation of the sect, then we choose.”
Ying Shao Guang nodded, relief and unease tangled together. “The sect is peaceful right now. It’s best not to stir up trouble.”
“That’s the truth.” Yang Xiang Tian’s voice softened into something like weary fairness. “The Sect Master may not be a once-in-a-generation genius, but he’s done well these ten-plus years.”
A sigh slipped out of him, unasked. “Back then, Senior Sister Jiang outshone our whole generation. It’s a pity she ran into that calamity. Not only did she die and her Dao end… she also left the sect with a precious burden you can’t hit or scold.”
His mouth tightened. “Foolish, in the end.”
Ying Shao Guang understood that edge in his master’s voice. He lowered his head. “Then I’ll go report to the Sect Master?”
Yang Xiang Tian nodded. “You know what to say?”
“I’ll tell the truth. I don’t know anything else.”
Yang Xiang Tian’s gaze warmed a fraction. “Good.”
*
When Dao Attendant Song Zi announced that the Sect Master had arrived, Ling Bu Fei shot up like he’d been yanked by a string.
“Uncle came this fast?” He looked around, panic flaring. “What do I do? What am I supposed to say?”
Hua Wu Sheng didn’t even blink. “You don’t need to say anything.”
She turned, calm as still water, and instructed Bai Meng Jin, “Girl, take him back to the room.”
“Yes.” Bai Meng Jin rose at once, then tipped her chin at Ling Bu Fei. “Come on.”
Ling Bu Fei stumbled after her, still half-stunned. Every few steps he turned back, suspicion sharpening through the haze. “What are you doing? Why do I feel like you’re hiding something from me?”
Bai Meng Jin smiled as if she’d heard a child complain about bedtime. “What’s the rush? You’ll find out soon enough.”
When the two young people disappeared inside, Hua Wu Sheng drained her cup, exhaled, and looked across at Venerable Ku Mu. “Junior Brother. It’s been more than ten years. Has the fire in your heart gone out?”
Venerable Ku Mu was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet enough to be swallowed by the wind. “When Senior Sister Jiang left, I thought that was the end.”
His fingers tightened slightly on the armrest. “But now… it seems Heaven truly left us a thin thread of hope.”
Hua Wu Sheng laughed softly. “The Great Expansion number is fifty; it uses forty-nine, yet there is still that one variable. Who says what we hope for can’t be achieved?”
She lifted her whisk and flicked it lightly over her arm, her posture composed, her dignity unshakable.
“Please welcome the Sect Master.”