Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Killing with a Borrowed Knife

"How did you end up in this state? Did the Lion Gang get you?"

A refined-looking middle-aged man frowned as he looked at the wretched appearances of the skinny man and the sturdy man.

"It wasn’t the Lion Gang. President, didn’t you send us to recruit that Jiang Xu..."

The skinny man trailed off, hesitating to continue.

"That kid has that kind of skill? He could beat the two of you into this state? Could my intelligence be wrong?"

The middle-aged man was full of shock and suspicion.

"No, no, no, it was actually Zong Ziqi..."

The skinny man gritted his teeth and recounted the entire incident in detail.

He even vividly embellished the story with his own conjectures.

"President, that’s what happened. That Zong Ziqi is truly despicable! He’s only so arrogant because his master is an Elder!"

The skinny man wailed, insisting that it wasn’t that they were incompetent, but that their enemy was simply too powerful.

The middle-aged man’s brow was tightly furrowed. In truth, a situation like this intimidated him as well.

’He’s an Inner Sect Disciple!’

’The kind who had a chance to become a True Disciple.’

’Even if he has fallen to this state, he’s not someone a mere Qi Cultivation Middle Stage cultivator like me can afford to provoke.’

He had originally intended to just let the matter drop.

But upon further thought, he felt a sense of unease.

’My Tiger and Wolf Association has already offended him. Who’s to say he won’t hold a grudge against us?’

’If he regains his power in the future, he could uproot the Tiger and Wolf Association I worked so hard to build with just the flick of a finger. I might even be in mortal danger.’

His thoughts raced, and he suddenly had an idea.

’Yan Chunyu has a grudge against Zong Ziqi. If Zong Ziqi returns to the Inner Sect, he will definitely be a threat to Yan Chunyu. Why don’t I inform Yan Chunyu about this? When two tigers fight, Zong Ziqi might lose his chance to ever return to the Inner Sect.’

’However, telling Yan Chunyu directly would seem too deliberate. It would be much safer if I made it seem like the information was leaked accidentally.’

’It would be best to leak it to a member of the Jade Heart Association that Yan Chunyu founded, and have them inform him. That way, with the extra layer of separation, it’s less likely to be traced back to me.’

He gave a cold laugh, his gaze shifting to the skinny man.

"You, come here. I have something to tell you."

Seeing his President’s gaze, the skinny man’s heart trembled.

Because whenever he had seen the President plot something sinister in the past, his eyes had looked exactly like this.

...

"Maps are really expensive!"

Jiang Xu spread the topographical map of Great Qi, which he had purchased from the Scripture Pavilion for the exorbitant price of five Spirit Stones, across his desk.

After chasing off those two from the Tiger and Wolf Association, Jiang Xu and Zong Ziqi didn’t talk for much longer and soon parted ways.

Zong Ziqi went to the Scripture Pavilion to buy a Body Cultivation Technique.

Jiang Xu, on the other hand, went to the Talisman Hall to buy some Talisman Paper and Talismanic Ink.

However, while passing the Scripture Pavilion, he suddenly thought of something.

He wanted to accept a mission that would allow him to leave the Sect.

But Jiang Xu wasn’t familiar with the terrain outside the Sect, and it would be a disaster if he couldn’t get his bearings.

So, Jiang Xu walked into the Scripture Pavilion and spent a small fortune on a map.

"But this map is a bit crude..."

Jiang Xu unrolled the map and found that most of the terrain was blurry, showing only a rough outline.

The State Domain boundaries were reasonably clear, and important Sects and cities were all properly marked, so it wasn’t a total loss.

’Luckily, the terrain around the Profound Origin Sect is relatively detailed. Otherwise, I’d go right back and demand a refund!’

Now that he had the map, the next step was to devise a safe escape plan, should he ever need to flee the Profound Origin Sect.

’Escape plans need to cover several scenarios.’

’First, dangers from within the Sect.’

’Second, dangers from outside the Sect.’

’Third, simply wanting to leave the Sect, no longer wanting to stay here.’

Dangers from within the Sect could come from the oppression of fellow disciples or Elders.

It was similar to the construction sites in his previous life. Wherever there are people, there are conflicts.

It could be jealousy from fellow disciples, or going against an Elder’s wishes and having them make things difficult for you.

Or perhaps you chose the wrong master, picked the wrong side, and ended up being framed by rivals.

Although such things weren’t obvious now with his low Cultivation, once his Cultivation increased, so would his influence, and people would naturally try to either win him over or suppress him.

Case in point.

He had only just entered the Outer Sect, and already some small fries had come looking for trouble.

If Jiang Xu hadn’t already cultivated several types of Magic to the Mastery level, he probably would have lost more than half of his twenty Spirit Stones.

If he reported it to the Law Enforcement Hall, the Tiger and Wolf Association would just claim the ten-odd Spirit Stones were their membership fee and argue that it was an internal matter that didn’t require the Hall’s intervention.

Then, the Law Enforcement Hall, seeing he was a newcomer with no background, would most likely just let the matter slide.

This was what Zong Ziqi had told Jiang Xu; most cases followed this pattern.

If you were ruthless enough and strong enough, they might not take your Spirit Stones and would only try to recruit you.

But if you were weak and timid, you wouldn’t be able to hold onto your Spirit Stones.

As for the second type of danger—the ones from outside the Sect.

That would be things like Demon Beast tides, attacks from rival Sects, or chaos caused by Demon Cultivators.

These things had happened frequently throughout the Profound Origin Sect’s history.

They occurred roughly once every hundred years.

The last one happened exactly a century ago.

Jiang Xu figured it was about that time again.

’If the danger is from within the Sect, then the escape route should lead to the territory of a rival Sect.’

’If the danger is from outside the Sect, then it should lead to the territory of an allied Sect.’

’If the whole of Great Qi is in danger...’

Jiang Xu thought for a moment, then drew a circle around the Endless Forest on the map.

’In that case, I’ll run into the forest. With all those Demon Beasts to act as a shield, it shouldn’t be a big problem.’

’I can hide for ten years or so and come back out; most of the danger should have passed by then. If not, I can just stay for a few more decades. I have my panel, so I’m not worried.’

Jiang Xu took out a brush and paper and began to write and draw, planning and simulating various scenarios.

’This time, I need to list out all possible contingencies. It would be best to create a universal template that I can use even after I leave the Profound Origin Sect!’

... 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Jiang Xu wrote from noon until dusk.

Only then did he put everything away, satisfied.

However, although Jiang Xu had laid out his plans, it was all still theoretical.

Without practice, it was just armchair strategizing.

He would have to wait until he received a Sect mission that allowed him to leave, and then conduct some field reconnaissance.

Meaning, he would have to actually walk the escape routes he had laid out a few times.

’Then again, even though I’ve made so many escape plans, they’re just a contingency. If I can get by in the Sect, I should still stay here.’

’As a Loose Cultivator, not to mention the dangers, I wouldn’t have access to any cultivation resources. With my aptitude, how could I ever raise my Cultivation quickly? And let’s not even talk about something like the Foundation Establishment Pill, which is monopolized by the Major Sects.’

’Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, the absolute limit would be the Qi Cultivation Great Perfection stage. My life would be over in a fleeting hundred-odd years. How could that be worthy of the opportunity of this second life?’