At last, Gui Yutong and Hui sat alone in the wedding bed, Gui Delun nowhere in sight. Hui pressed out his mental energy just to be sure, but as far as he could tell, Gui Delun had left entirely. He let out a sigh and collapsed backward onto the bed, exhausted. The weight of the thick qi pressed down on him, pinning him to the bed. He rubbed his face and circulated his qi, fighting back against the weight of the qi. If I could spend a month here, I’d advance by leaps and bounds, but just coming here for a short visit… it’s exhausting.

Gui Yutong leaned over him. She reached for his collar. “Since we’re married, should we—”

Hui shoved her away. “Elder Sister, don’t cause more trouble for me!” Gui Delun already wants my head… okay, well, he’s got several of them, but the point is—I don’t want Bai Jingwen to also be after my head!

She shook her head. “We should at least… enough to get your aura on me…”

“So do whatever you did to Sec… to me earlier today when you stole my aura. Surely you can do that a second time,” Hui said. He turned his head to look at Gui Yutong. “How did you know it was… er, that is, we were all blackout drunk. I’m surprised Elder Sister could recognize my face.”

Gui Yutong nodded. “I didn’t. I sensed your aura and… went along with it.”

That explains it. “So did we actually…?” Hui asked.

She shook her head. “Sorry. I just stole some of your qi while you were distracted.”

Okay, good. Not that I don’t trust Sectgoer, but of all of us, he’s the weirdest. If anyone was going to hide things, it’s him. Hui sighed. “And the child, it’s Bai Jingwen’s?”

Gui Yutong blushed. She nodded.

“I won’t ask how that happened, but I will ask… are you happy? Do you want this?” Hui asked. It’s something that needs to be asked.

She nodded. “I never thought that I’d fall in love with… someone like Bai Jingwen, but I’m very happy as I am. I know Father would never accept my love. Even if Bai Jingwen can give me children, that won’t be enough. He despises the Bai Clan. If that clan wasn’t supported by Zheng Minyan, he would have destroyed it long ago.”

“Zheng Minyan?” Hui asked.

Gui Yutong put a finger on her chin. “She’s another Inner Peak Lord. She’s older than Father, and she’s one of the few Inner Peak Lords who was around during the Patriarch’s era.” She leaned in toward Hui. “Just between you and me, she’s the most powerful Inner Peak Lord after Father. Maybe even more powerful than Father.”

“In martial strength or…?” Hui asked.

“In strength… in strength, she’s a seventh-realm cultivator, equivalent to Father. If they both fought… I’m not sure who would win. So yes… but I really meant in influence. She leads the traditional faction within the sect. They follow the ancient traditions of the sect set forth by our Patriarch and focus on healing and sword arts versus exorcism. The traditional faction used to be the stronger faction, but lately, their power is waning, and Father’s modern faction is taking control.” She bit her lip. “Especially since… Zheng Minyan is on the verge of entering secluded meditation.”

On the verge of entering secluded meditation… old enough to be around since the Patriarch… that’s the kind of secluded meditation one doesn’t exit until they die, Hui realized. So she’s a seventh-realm powerhouse who’s been around for centuries, if not millennia, but her lifespan is running out, and she’s facing some kind of bottleneck or roadblock to entering eighth realm that she isn’t able to overcome. She’ll have to enter secluded meditation in hopes of extending her life force long enough to figure out a way around that bottleneck. And if she doesn’t… well, passing away in secluded meditation is a common enough scenario.

Hmm… I hope the Patriarch is higher than seventh realm, or else… this small cultivator might be investigating a dead man…

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No, no. Senior Chen Wuya is still alive and kicking, and he was childhood friends and rivals with Fen Long. Surely Fen Long is still just as vivacious as Chen Wuya!

Looking up from his thoughts, Hui gestured at Gui Yutong. “Set forth by the Patriarch… that is, Fen Long?”

Gui Yutong nodded.

“If the traditional faction focuses on healing, is Liu Guang a member of the faction, then?” he probed. I certainly don’t agree with a lot of what Liu Guang is doing. If his behavior is emblematic of the traditional faction… well, I certainly would still play the factions against one another.

“Liu Guang is a bit of an exception. He’s a member of father’s faction. That’s why he was a part of the trials. The whole concept of recruiting peak lords is part of Father’s modernization push. He wants to add new peak lords to the sect and bring in fresh techniques and concepts,” Gui Yutong explained.

“So everyone who took part in that trial is a member of the modern faction?” Hui asked.

Gui Yutong frowned. “Not everyone. I know the cultivator who ran the magic trials doesn’t agree with father, but I don’t know that she’s part of any faction. And Tian Qiao… that is, the cultivator who ran the beast trial, she’s our only beast expert. We have other spirit beast cultivators, but she’s the only Peak Lord. She was the only one who qualified to run the trial, regardless of the faction she prefers. Our sect doesn’t focus much on spirit beasts… it’s an area Father is trying hard to expand.”

Hmm. In that case, even if she doesn’t agree with the modern faction, she likely wants more funding and resources, and so she’ll probably agree with the modern faction just to improve her own standing, Hui thought. A second later, he recalled the scruffy and solitary Tian Qiao, standing hunch-shouldered beside her pangolin, and twisted his lips. Then again, maybe not. She seemed like the type who didn’t need much and only wanted to be left alone.

Zheng Meiyun… we have to look into her. Since we oppose Gui Delun’s faction most of all, we might be able to ally with her, Hui thought to the other clones.

Ah! Our goal of inciting the clan to a civil war before we attack… yes, yes. I’ll look into it immediately! Sectgoer said.

Rogue licked his lips. Ah…Sectgoer, huh…

Yeah… Healer replied.

Oh, hey. I’m still us. I’m just a little bit confident, Sectgoer replied, crossing his arms.

Rogue waved his hand. I guess Peak Lord is off marrying Bai Xue and making babies, so someone’s gotta do the hard work around here.

Since when has Peak Lord ever done the hard work? Healer pointed out.

Ha! Damn, Healer. When you pull it out, you hit hard, Rogue laughed.

Guys… I can hear you… Peak Lord muttered.

Rogue raised his eyebrows. So how’s the nuptials going?

I was going to invite you all to be present in me for the ceremonies, but now I won’t, Peak Lord said, crossing his arms.

Like you can stop us, Sectgoer muttered.

Invite us all to be present in you… is this some kind of hippie bullshit? Because if it involves being high, let’s go! Rogue said.

Healer pressed a hand to his temples. Peak Lord, calm down. We’re just teasing you a little bit. Now can everyone please shut up again? I’m in the wedding bed with Gui Yutong and we’re—

Holy shit, Healer! Damn! Talk about burying the lede! Rogue shouted.

Talk about burying his lede, Sectgoer returned, shooting a knowing glance at Rogue.

Heyooooo, Rogue said. The two high-fived mentally.

Gods. I’m shutting down the network, Healer grumbled.

So… what’re you doing with Gui Yutong? Rogue asked.

Talking. About sect things, Hui said. He blinked, intentionally sending what he saw over the node.

Aww, she’s even got her clothes on? C’mon, Rogue said.

If you want to fight Gui Delun and Bai Jingwen at the same time, you come here and do it, Healer replied.

Rogue paused thoughtfully. After a moment, he sighed. Yeah, no. We still need Bai Jingwen to not hate us.

Also, let me tell you something about this peak… there’s so much qi here that it’s repressive, and that’s how Gui Delun and his disciples train all the time. If we want to be a serious threat… we should train on an Inner Peak, if we can. Or… train all our adds and friends who can still grow stronger and gain realms, Healer said.

We can still grow stronger, Rogue said.

But we’re definitely facing a bottleneck. I… don’t think we can hit sixth realm until we recombine, Healer argued.

I agree, Sectgoer said.

Hmm… well, that’s… probably the case, Rogue agreed. But Ying Lin, Bai Xue, and the others can definitely still grow stronger.

Speaking of, Peak Lord… how’s it going? You know, demanding the Bai Clan Matriarch for Bai Xue’s hand in marriage with no gifts or propriety, Sectgoer asked.

An image passed over the network. Hui laid there, dead on the floor of the Bai Clan, frozen into an icy statue. Bai Xue stood over him, her arms spread.

About as well as expected, then, Rogue said, laughing.

Healer sighed. Try not to actually die, okay? If you come back married, let us know.

Peak Lord gave him a mental thumbs up.