Li Guanqi tossed the shattered mask to Ji Yuchuan and turned toward the main hall.

Ji Yuchuan raised a hand, drew the woman’s corpse to him, and bowed. “Pavilion Master, rest assured. I will ensure this is fully investigated within three days.”

But the moment he bent down, the edge of his vision caught the character etched inside the three shattered masks—Mei

Ji Yuchuan’s eyes widened, trembling uncontrollably.

Mei! They were actually Mei-tier assassins! And three of them... He killed three of them by himself! Could his disappearance these past days have been tied to these assassins?

Those with sharp eyes had also spotted the characters beneath the masks, and they did not believe Li Guanqi would bring out those masks just to deceive them. Besides, the aura on the masks could not be faked.

Li Guanqi’s name had spread far and wide, yet none of them had witnessed his strength firsthand, so many remained skeptical. In that moment, however, he won over every powerful cultivator within Guanyun Pavilion.

Xi Yunhuai stood frozen, eyes vacant and glazed, staring at the array patterns shimmering with spirit light and murmuring over and over, “Impossible... absolutely impossible... When did such a talented array master appear in the Six Territories?”

Watching Li Guanqi copy and inscribe the array patterns from memory, relying solely on his powerful divine consciousness and comprehension, was shocking. But that shock paled beside the realization of what the formation truly represented. Only someone like Xi Yunhuai, an array master himself, could grasp how terrifying the person who had inscribed the Blood Oath God-Locking Array truly was.

Even without Xi Yunhuai’s reaction, Li Guanqi was not the least bit surprised. This was someone capable of inscribing array patterns on a magical artifact to break the seal of the Dungeon Abyss—someone even Meng Jiangchu found troublesome. How could they possibly be ordinary?

A top-tier array master need not be an artifact blacksmith, but a top-tier artifact blacksmith was always a top-tier array master.

Watching Li Guanqi’s retreating figure, Ji Yuchuan rose and beckoned two elders over, handing off the corpse investigation. He repeatedly stressed that it had to be resolved within three days. Then he dismissed the rest with a smile and followed Su You to the main hall.

Upon arriving at the main hall, Li Guanqi looked up at the Cloud Throne, which was positioned atop the high platform. This sight stirred a surge of emotions within him. He flickered up and settled onto the throne. Ji Yuchuan and Su You arrived a moment later, with Qian Qiusui and Xi Yunhuai behind them.

Despite his Combined Body Realm cultivation, Xi Yunhuai’s gaze had grown considerably more eager.

Qian Qiusui had returned to the bearing she’d shown at their first meeting, composed and confident, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes.

Li Guanqi looked at the figures bowing before him and grinned. “Rise... There’s no one else here, no need to be so for—”

He broke off, coughing harshly.

Ji Yuchuan’s expression shifted. “Pavilion Master, are you injured?”

Li Guanqi’s expression was unreadable. He leaned back in his throne. “Three Mei-tier assassins, combined with the formation Senior Xi saw earlier... They nearly cost me my life.”

Everyone present felt a jolt of alarm. They’d all seen Li Guanqi’s strength firsthand, so they knew how difficult it would be to threaten his life.

Su You frowned. “What exactly happened?”

“At the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s trans-territory transport array, someone tipped off the Sha organization.”

Su You and Ji Yuchuan exchanged shocked glances. The cultivators entrusted with guarding the trans-territory transport array were among the most trusted members of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.

“To think something like this could happen.” Ji Yuchuan was deeply shaken, his voice rising.

Li Guanqi tapped his fingers on the armrest. “Which is why we have to guard against these problems. As for how to prevent this from happening again... we may have to rely on Senior Xi for precautionary measures.” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Hearing Li Guanqi address him so courteously, the old man cupped his fists at once. “Pavilion Master, you’re too polite. This falls entirely within my responsibilities. I’ll see it handled splendidly.”

Li Guanqi smiled and nodded, then listened as Ji Yuchuan briefed him on the current composition of the Guanyun Pavilion’s forces. “Right now, the Guanyun Pavilion is much like the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, divided into four subsidiary organizations: intelligence, lantern keepers, commerce, and the Guanyun Guard. The first three are managed by me, Su You, and Qian Qiusui respectively, while Senior Xi is temporarily in charge of the Guanyun Guard, which will need sustained development.

Li Guanqi gave a quiet nod. “For now, the only allies we can trust are the Daxia Sword Sect and the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. Have no contact whatsoever with the Six Gates Holy Sect. And within the Daxia Sword Sect, I only recognize Sect Master Lu Kangnian. Keep that in mind.”

Ji Yuchuan’s eyes flickered. He understood at once. “Is the Daxia Sword Sect beginning to recall the sect disciples who are out in the world?”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his expression turning somber. “That’s right. Sect Master Lu Kangnian still knows nothing of the Guanyun Pavilion, and that’s part of why I came back this time.”

Ji Yuchuan bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Understood, Pavilion Master.”

Li Guanqi seemed to recall something, and a faint smile touched his lips. “Brother Ji, you might want to speak with Tang Ru. There could be a lot of profit to be made.”

Ji Yuchuan’s mouth curved up slightly. He knew the nature of Li Guanqi’s relationship with Tang Ru. Ji Yuchuan nodded with a smile. Then, with a slightly peculiar expression, he added, “Pavilion Master, there’s something I need to bring to your attention.”

“What is it?”

“Well... haven’t you noticed that the spirit qi within our domain is extraordinarily dense?”

Li Guanqi was briefly taken aback. “Didn’t you all arrange that yourselves?”

Ji Yuchuan and the others exchanged glances, and each smiled slightly. Then they looked at Li Guanqi and laughed. “All of this... was sent over from the Azure Cloud Continent!”

Li Guanqi started, and he blurted out a name. “Zhao Xianglu?”

The others nodded. Li Guanqi furrowed his brow.

Zhao Xianglu... the Azure Cloud Territory Lord. Long Qu was one of his subordinates. Yet after I killed Long Qu, Zhao Xianglu didn’t so much as reproach me. And now he’s extending goodwill.

Still, Li Guanqi did not dwell on it. The man was merely a territory lord, after all. “Make preparations to send a modest gift back.”

He paused, then added, “Oh, and keep an eye on Zhou Shiyu of the Six Gates Holy Sect for me. Find some way to get him over to our side. I really want him with us.”

Ji Yuchuan nodded slightly. Li Guanqi rose with a smile. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading out.”

Ji Yuchuan tucked his hands into his sleeves and grinned. “Pavilion Master, no need to rush off just yet. There’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“We’re out of funds. We’d like more money.”

Li Guanqi was briefly taken aback. His expression grew somewhat strained. “How much do you need?”

Ji Yuchuan smiled and held up one finger.[1] Li Guanqi exhaled and laughed. “Ten thousand spirit stones? Hah, and here I thought it was going to be a big deal.”

Then Ji Yuchuan’s cheerful voice cut in. “Ten thousand works too. Just make it purple crystal spirit stones.”

“What?! One million high-grade spirit stones?!” Li Guanqi shouted.

Su You shrugged and pursed his lips. “This kind of operation burns through money by nature. Even a million will last a year at most.”

1. 1 万 (1 wan) = 10,000 ☜