The following day, Sect Master Li Xuanzong and Peak Master Jian Wushuang returned to the sect.
An ergency eting was convened imdiately, and the Sect Master personally requested Su Bai’s presence.
The Grand Hall of Radiant Zenith Peak was no longer just a place of solemn governance. It had beco a theater of triumph.
When Su Bai entered, he was t with a scene he hadn’t expected. Sect Master Li Xuanzong and Peak Master Jian Wushuang were not sitting on their usual seats. They were standing near the center jade table, laughing so loudly that the very pillars of the hall seed to vibrate.
"To think," Li Xuanzong wheezed, "that everything would be so easy!"
Jian Wushuang, the usually stoic, sword-obsessed head of Azure Sword Peak, was clutching his sides. His face was flushed with the kind of joy one usually reserves for finding a legendary artifact. "Their faces, Sect Master! Especially when we pulled the ledger from Lockbox 404. They looked like they had just swallowed a mountain of live scorpions!"
Lu Canghai stood nearby, beaming with such unadulterated pride that his beard seed to be standing on end. Every ti the Sect Master ntioned Su Bai’s "invaluable contribution," Lu Canghai would offer a sharp, smug nod to the other Peak Masters, as if to say, ’Yes, keep talking. My disciple is a genius, and you are all just jealous.’
Su Bai bowed deeply. "This disciple greets the Sect Master and the Peak Masters. It is an honor to witness such a glorious victory."
"Stand tall, Martial Nephew!" Li Xuanzong waved a hand. His laughter subsided into a satisfied, sharp grin. "You were the linchpin. Without you, we would have been playing catch-up for years. Today, the Radiant Sky Sect stands at the absolute pinnacle of the region’s political stage."
The hall quieted as Li Xuanzong recounted the raid.
...
When the two powerhouses had arrived at the Golden Toad Exchange in disguise, they found the place crawling with "agents." There were a chaotic mix of demonic filth and traitorous Righteous lackeys. The spies, sensing a threat, had made the grave mistake of attacking.
"They were so eager," Jian Wushuang sneered as his hand rested on his hilt. "Dozens of Foundation Establishnt lackeys and two Golden Core cowards. They thought they could stop us from opening a box. They didn’t realize they were throwing stones at a collapsing mountain."
The hall chuckled. Jian Wushuang’s Peak Nascent Soul aura hadn’t even been fully released. He had rely suggested his intent, and the attackers had frozen mid-strike. Their souls trembled with the instinctive terror of prey before an apex predator.
"And then," Li Xuanzong continued, "I opened the box. There were three storage rings. One filled with spirit stones, one with pills and artifacts, and one with manuals and... the ledger. Oh, the ledger... it was a masterclass in bureaucratic stupidity. They kept records of every collaborator, every bribe, and every shipnt, all to ensure they could blackmail each other if things went sour."
The Peak Masters exchanged grim, satisfied looks.
Li Xuanzong then described the "cleanup." They had purged the Blackwater City bureau first. When they confronted Elder Han, the man had nearly collapsed.
He hadn’t been a collaborator. He was rely incompetent and willfully blind. He had been spared, but Inspector Zhao... the man who had tried to gas Su Bai... had been erased so thoroughly that not even a mory of his Qi remained.
"We didn’t just stop at the Bureau. We took the information and marched directly to the demonic bases listed in the ledgers. We purged... root and branch. We saved the captured mortals, but more importantly, we visited the sects of every official who had traded their soul for demonic scraps."
The true genius of the raid lay in what ca after.
Li Xuanzong didn’t just go to the rival sects to complain. He went to "collaborate." He had walked into the grand halls of the neighboring sects, and laid the ledger on their tables.
"I didn’t threaten them," Li Xuanzong said as his eyes glittered like sharpened steel. "I simply asked, ’Are you aware that your Elder has been selling your sect’s reputation for demonic scraps?’ Their faces turned every shade of purple imaginable."
"They had no choice," Jian Wushuang added, chuckling. "They could either hand over the traitors and pay us ’reparations’ for their incompetence, or we would release the ledgers to the world and let their own rival sects tear them apart. They chose the reparations."
Li Xuanzong took a slow, leisurely sip of tea. His gaze swept over the room. "And I left them with a parting gift. I told them: ’Our sect dislikes being watched. Call back your spies from our city, or I shall be forced to pay you another visit to discuss your... other secrets.’"
The hall erupted in laughter. It was a perfect tactical victory. They hadn’t just removed the demonic threat. They had successfully neutralized the political leverage of the surrounding righteous sects.
Su Bai stood quietly as his mind whirred. ’A hostile takeover of the entire region’s political landscape. And they did it all for the price of a raid and a few tea sessions.’
Shen Youran, who had been silent the entire ti, gave a microscopic nod of approval. She looked at Su Bai, then at the ledger, and finally at the Sect Master. "The demonic factions in the north will not move for a long ti. The price of their ambition has now far outstripped the value of their lives."
Su Bai felt a profound sense of accomplishnt. The sect was safer, their finances were bolstered, and the political board was entirely in their favor.
"This is a massive success," Li Xuanzong concluded. "Martial Nephew, you have earned the Sect’s highest comndation."
His grin widened with genuine appreciation.
"Take this," he said, flicking his wrist. A storage ring tumbled through the air.
Su Bai caught it with effortless grace.
As he sent a sliver of his spiritual sense into the ring, his breath hitched. The space inside was vast, but it wasn’t the capacity that stole his voice, it was the contents.
It was a staggering share of the fortune the Sect Master had just extracted. Stacks of high-grade spirit stones shimred like fallen stars, accompanied by rare artifacts and pills that would make even a Peak Master envious.
His mouth opened, but no words ca out. He was utterly speechless. This wasn’t just a reward... it was a small kingdom’s treasury!
Su Bai quickly snapped his senses back. He straightened his robes, offered a bow, and wore a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
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