"Another load of supply? Wow, you're burning through resources at a speed to match me...almost," Xuhan remarked thoughtfully.

"Which shouldn't be unexpected considering no one's cultivation is going to stay stagnant for a long time at our cultivation levels. Many of my ser-friends have broken through to a higher level since our last transaction. Obviously, we need more resources. The soul transformation realm isn't that far away for some of us. Wait...what do you mean by 'at a speed to match you'?"

Brother BB's excuses were always super clean with no plotholes to be found. He maintained his claim of being the recovered Qian Yun impeccably. But that only served to make Xuhan even more wary around him.

"What are you planning to hand over this time?" He asked, facing the tunnel in his spawn point in the realm of laws, completely ignoring the other party's question.

"Feel free to ask whatever is on the table. Cultivation manuals, valuable guidance on cultivating techniques related to laws, custom-made contracts like the ones I used back during our little adventure; do I have to go over the entire list again?" Brother BB answered impatiently.

"Sure, I'll ask the sect master and contact you tomorrow night. Be sure to remain active at that time, brother. Last time I looked for you in an emergency, you didn't even answer," Xuhan complained.

"What emergency?"

"I was going through our friendly interactions these days and suddenly had an epiphany, realizing that you really must be brother Qian Yun, brother BB. So I obviously wanted to come and visit you!" Xuhan said in a flat tone.

".. .It's fine if you don't want to tell me. As for visiting me, we can arrange that as long as you have a helper on your side who can waddle their way through the language of laws. Mind you, they'd also have to be considerably powerful to pull off the transportation of a living organism through the passage. The difficulty of the spell skyrockets depending on the object of the transportation ."

"How powerful would they have to be?" Xuhan asked curiously. Getting his hands on a last-second escape spell was far too tempting a prospect to let go of.

"They'd have to be in the peak of soul reformation realm, at the very least."

"...." Suppressing his urge to cuss, Han Xuhan took his leave and returned back to his dao base where his consciousness was hovering inside the graffiti-filled dome on the ceiling.

Brother BB had grown even more powerful than he already was. Just a month ago, the other party couldn't contact Xuhan directly without summoning him into the realm of laws. But tonight, it had happened. When he was busy observing the changes made to his dao tower due to Zhanxian's breakthrough, he had felt an alarm bell of sorts go off inside his consciousness, which had guided him to the dome. By using the miniature spell carved on it, his consciousness had been transferred to his spawn point in the realm of laws where he had found the other party waiting for him.

"Regardless of your identity...you're too dangerous for me to let my guard down around you."

Han Xuhan's consciousness floated down toward Zhanxian's room. After the minion's breakthrough, the room had been 'renovated'. The original white walls were now covered by an incredibly thin layer of blue crystalline substance. Had he not investigated it purposefully, he wouldn't have noticed this new addition.

"Master, what else has changed in this dao tower after my breakthrough?" Zhanxian's avatar asked nervously.

"It's sturdier," Xuhan muttered as he floated around inside the room, trying to sense its existence through his mental connection with his dao foundation.

"Aaaand...it also seems to have escaped my absolute control over its existence somehow. My mental connection to this part of my dao tower has been reduced by a small margin. I can sense a foreign authority here other than my own, which I assume is due to your existence, minion."

"So if Zhanxian keeps making breakthroughs, he might be eventually able to take over this entire portion of the dao tower from you?" Tun Shi Tian asked. The bird's question went unanswered as an awkward silence stretched among them.

"I won't do that. Pinky promise..." Zhanxian broke the silence with a half-hearted white lie.

"Of course, I believe in your moral integrity, minion," Xuhan said in an earnest tone and left his dao tower swiftly.

Opening his eyes, Han Xuhan hurried out of his hut and headed toward Xuan Zi's mountain peak under the faint light of dawn. After taking care of the transaction with Brother BB, he would prepare to break through to the fourth layer of the physique transformation realm. It remained to be seen whether having a minion more powerful than him was akin to shooting himself in the foot. But this new threat was enough to fire Xuhan's desperation to the limit.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As he navigated his way through the mountains, he noticed an odd detail despite his preoccupied mind.

The mountains were unnaturally silent. By this time of the morning, the entire sect would usually be abuzz with various daily activities. Disciples would be rushing toward classrooms, the task administration pavilion, or the archives from every direction. But today, other than the diurnal fauna making their own racket, not much sound could be heard throughout the mountain peaks of the sect.

As rays of sunlight fell on the mountaintops, he finally noticed a few of his peers for the first time. However, none of them seemed to be out to attend classes or do any of the regular daily tasks. From where he stood, Xuhan could only see their tiny figures walking around the mountaintop with their back hunched.

By the time he had reached Xuan Zi's mountain peak, the scene repeated itself several times on various mountain peaks, confusing Xuhan even more. Deciding to investigate what was going on on his way back later, Xuhan walked up to the sect master's residence.

Standing in front of the sect master's residence, he knocked on the front door loudly.

"Disciple Xuhan sends his greetings to the sect master."

A moment later, the door was opened by a tall man in unfamiliar attire. Xuhan craned his neck upward and was about to greet the stranger...only to realize that he knew this man.

It was Fang Xie, the man he had investigated two nights ago using the sect's network. Fang Xie....the man suspected of being behind the 'obliteration' of his orphanage.

"Hello there, young man! How goes the supply deal?" The man asked very casually.

A cold chill ran down his spine, freezing his blood. For a second, he stood still, unable to comprehend how to form a response.

Fang Xie smiled like a shark.

"...." Wordlessly, Xuhan started backing away from the door. The man didn't look surprised at his reaction. He stood on the doorstep and observed Xuhan calmly.

"Fang Xie, quit scaring the child!" From inside the residence came Xuan Zi's shout, making Han Xuhan pause in his retreat.

What the hell was going on here?

How the hell did this guy get inside the sect? And how did he know about the resource supply deal with the Holy Land of Laws?

As his brain struggled to make sense of the sudden development, Xuan Zi pushed Fang Xie out of his way and beckoned Xuhan to follow him inside.

"Don't worry, disciple. He won't bite."

"I'm feeling tempted to."

"Ah...excuse my lack of information so critical, let me correct myself in that case. He may bite, but I'll stop him from doing that for now."

"For now?" Xuhan asked Xuan Zi with a great amount of concern.

"I've got some tasks to attend to later today, so yes." Master Zi shrugged.

Despite the impending sense of danger, Xuan Zi's nonchalance somewhat eased Xuhan's worries. He was a valuable chess piece to the sect master for now. There was no reason for the old fox to suddenly discard him so soon.

Torn between wanting to escape and investigating what was going on, Xuhan decided to choose the latter because if the report he had received on Fang Xie was true, Xuan Zi and Kong Ye were the only two cultivators who could keep him safe...temporarily. What would be the point of running away from the sect? He wouldn't even make it past the mountain he was standing on if Fang Xie chased him.

Seeing him slowly walking over toward Xuan Zi's residence, a shadow of a smile crossed the sect master's face; and Xuhan realized that he had made the correct choice right then.

"Impressive trust you've formed with this disciple of yours, Xuan Zi. Is he dumb or is he that good at playing dumb?" Fang Xie eyed Xuhan nastily while Xuan Zi ushered him inside. Han Xuhan had a good comeback to that, but he decided not to stir the pot of enmity anymore...temporarily.

"Well, he can't be any dumber than you. At least he trusts his teacher..." Xuan Zi answered. The response made Fang Xie growl like a dog.

There appears to be a history between these two! Han Xuhan's bewilderment was rocketing its way up.

Lips pressed to suppress his oral cannon, Xuhan took his seat inside the familiar spacious room where Xuan Zi usually entertained his visitors. The sect master and Fang Xie followed suit. The two powerful cultivators faced the weak disciple and entered a meaningless staring contest.

"...."

"...."

"...."

"This is getting awkward. Where do I even start?" Han Xuhan said in the end, breaking the silence.

"Well, I've got a good news and a bad news for you, kid. Which one do you want to listen to first?" Fang Xie replied with an evil glint in his eyes. For some reason, he looked unnecessarily excited to take the lead in the conversation.

"The bad news first," Xuhan said immediately.

"Ah, I see..."

Fang Xie fell silent. Then he looked at Xuan Zi and wriggled his eyebrows. Xuan Zi in turn maintained both his silence and uncannily still posture.

"I really don't like you, kid, if it wasn't clear by now. So I'll obviously do the opposite of what you want me to. GOOD NEWS FIRST!" Clapping his hands together, Fang Xie declared his answer proudly.

Han Xuhan recalled the information about Fang Xie and mentally drew a big, red circle around the word 'crazy'.

But then he realized that a mental action like that would lead to him becoming sympathetic and lessen his suspicion toward the man. There was a good chance that this Fang Xie was the person who had caused the disappearance of the orphanage. Being sympathetic toward him might be a humane point of view, but that could be counter-productive in his quest of unearthing the truth.

Besides, there was another issue that needed some testing. Coughing, Xuhan began to speak in a graceful tone.

"Oh! My bad! I misspoke earlier. I meant the good news. I was just so nervous being in the same room with cultivators so powerful that I spoke without thinking. My sincerest apologies! Please tell me the good news first, just like you wanted to."

Han Xuhan's sudden change of mind came off as petty as he meant it to be. Fang Xie, who had been grinning ear to ear looked like he couldn't believe anyone this childish could possibly exist, while Xuan Zi slowly covered his face with his palm and sighed.

"Disciple Xuhan, you really ought to restrain your incredible conversation skills. Learn to read the room."

"Ah? Sure, sect master. Whichever news the guest wants to reveal first, I absolutely support the decision!" Han Xuhan nodded vigorously. Fang Xie looked almost murderous, his eyes bloodshot and his hands starting to shake visibly.

"Fellow cultivator Zi, how about we just settle our differences in the way I proposed? This disciple of yours doesn't seem to be the type you usually favor. I'm sure you could replace him-"

"No." Xuan Zi cut off Fang Xie mid-sentence and slammed his palm on a small tea table beside his seat.

"Get to the point and stop wasting everyone's time."

Han Xuhan narrowed his eyes as he evaluated the results of his little experiment. It did not seem like Fang Xie was a cultivator equal in terms of power to sect master Xuan Zi. He had at least a grudging sense of respect toward the old man. And that was good news for Xuhan.

Had both of them been equally powerful, Fang Xie would be a much more dangerous foe. But despite pushing the madman's boundaries with his petty antics, Fang Xie had still refrained from acting upon his unfriendly intentions.

"Fine! The good news it is! It's very short and precise, just like what your future will be if I get my hands on you. The good news is..."

Han Xuhan waited with bated breath as the man slipped into a dramatic pause.

"I....will not brutally mutilate you to death in the near future like I had planned to when I entered this sect today."

"That is absolutely balls-to-the-walls awesome! What's the bad news then?" Han Xuhan exclaimed happily and raised both of his thumbs up in order to show his vehement support for this route of action.

"You'll have to accomplish a few tasks for me during the later stages of the upcoming tournament. If you fail to do so, the good news will stop being valid," Fang Xie said with a shark's smile.