Invincible Dad-Chapter 616 Slipped Away_1
"Brother Tan, what did you figure out? Tell us, quickly."
Gao He looked on with anticipation. Tan Chang was not just his close friend, but also his guiding light.
"Brother Tan... Don’t tell me you’re *the* Tan Chang!?"
Daoist Chi Huo’s pupils constricted slightly. Though he had long resided in the Red Fire Pavilion, he had still heard of Tan Chang of the East Sea. This man wasn’t known for his martial prowess, but rather for being a master strategist.
Take the recent events, for example. The Martial Dao Association had captured the leader of the Moon Clan’s Upper Crescent Two and his son. Even the Moon Clan’s hidden intelligence network in the Jiangnan region of Hua Country was completely dismantled. This yielded a great deal of information about the Moon Clan and rooted out more than a dozen traitors to the Human Race.
And behind all these events that shook the Martial Dao World of Hua Country, one could see the shadow of Tan Chang. It reached a point where even the old Pavilion Master of the Tian Ce Pavilion, who remained behind the scenes and was hailed as Hua Country’s number one strategist, couldn’t help but praise Tan Chang as a true genius.
One man is worth ten armies!
Daoist Chi Huo clasped his fist in a salute. "Mr. Tan, please enlighten us."
"I don’t deserve such a title, nor would I dare speak carelessly before my seniors. I have merely understood why the Yunxiao Sect would order the three Sects and eight Pavilions to kill Elder Xu Lai!" Tan Chang said, his hands behind his back and his expression calm.
"How do you know about that?"
Qi Jiuyang gasped. Besides the eleven of them, the sect masters, absolutely no one else should have known about the high-sect order.
"Just as I thought." Tan Chang’s voice was tinged with regret. "It seems my guess was correct. The Yunxiao Sect is likely..."
He stopped abruptly, looking up at the slowly rising sun. He squinted as if the light stung his eyes, then let out a long sigh.
"Mr. Tan, please enlighten us!" Daoist Chi Huo insisted, setting aside the pride of a Holy Land’s sect master and cupping his fists respectfully.
"I am merely speculating. I dare not say for certain," Tan Chang said, shaking his head.
"Brother Tan, what on earth is going on?" Gao He pressed impatiently.
"Mr. Tan, please speak freely," Mo Lian of the Dao Sect also said with a solemn tone.
The other Holy Land sect masters all clasped their fists. Though they said nothing, their respectful posture spoke volumes. They had all clearly heard of Tan Chang’s great name.
"Very well. Since you seniors wish to hear it, this junior will speak." Tan Chang didn’t put on airs, stating gravely, "I suspect that the Yunxiao Sect has long existed in name only!"
HISS.
A collective, sharp intake of breath filled the air.
"Are you trying to say..."
Blade Sect Master Qi Jiuyang’s expression shifted, and Tan Chang continued for him, "That’s right. The Yunxiao Sect Master and the elders from the major Holy Lands all perished before the Sea of the Moon."
"That’s impossible." One of the Holy Land sect masters shook his head, finding it difficult to accept. He couldn’t help but retort, "If it’s as you say, and the Sect Master and all the elders from the three Sects and nine Pavilions are dead, why wouldn’t the Yunxiao Sect have informed us?"
"Only the living can speak; the dead cannot," Tan Chang replied calmly.
An eerie silence descended upon the group.
Ruan Lan, who had come seeking justice and answers about the sword for her niece, finally spoke up. "Then who is the current Sect Master of the Yunxiao Sect? And why did they abandon this sword?"
"I, too, am puzzled as to why the Yunxiao Sword, considered the Sect Master’s token of authority, has been left to wander the world. Could they not find it, or... do they simply not care?"
The corners of Tan Chang’s mouth lifted. His words, seemingly muttered to himself, sent the minds of the eleven Holy Masters into a turbulent spin. This was especially true for Cai Lu, the Pavilion Master of Tian Ce Pavilion. Though now crippled, his mind raced until he finally spoke with a trembling voice, "Does Mr. Tan mean to suggest that the Yunxiao Sect was destroyed three hundred years ago, and that’s why the Sect Master’s token no longer matters?"
This statement sent a shockwave through the crowd. Not just the three Sects and eight Pavilions, but even the four Watchmen and Xu Wandao felt their pupils shrink.
The Yunxiao Sect was the head of the thirteen Holy Lands, the strongest Sect Gate in all of Hua Country. How could it have been annihilated so silently? They couldn’t believe it, nor did they want to.
"The most transient are the charms of this world; beauty bids farewell to the mirror, and the blossoms to the trees." Tan Chang clasped his hands behind his back and sighed with emotion. "In this world, there is no eternal beauty, no flower that never fades. How could power be any different? Before the great river of time, all things are fragile and insignificant."
"Of course, this is merely my own conjecture. You seniors may believe it or not," Tan Chang added.
"Nonsense." The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Snow Pavilion was a white-haired old woman. She snorted coldly, "If the Yunxiao Sect was destroyed, how could the high-sect order have been issued? According to your theory, there shouldn’t be anyone left alive in the Yunxiao Sect."
"Have you ever heard of the phrase ’swapping a leopard cat for the crown prince’?" Tan Chang tilted his head, looking at her. "What if it was only the Sect Master of the Yunxiao Sect who died?"
"The Yunxiao Sect still exists, as does its Sect Master. But the man... is no longer who he once was."
"This would also explain why the Yunxiao Sect, knowing full well that the Penglai Sword Pavilion was annihilated, would still order the three Sects and eight Pavilions to come and kill Elder Xu Lai." Tan Chang’s voice grew colder. "Because they are playing a game of chess—a grand game designed to make us slaughter one another!"
"This... This is impossible." The Pavilion Master of the Red Fire Pavilion was drenched in a cold sweat, a bone-deep chill seeping into him.
"Nothing is impossible. It is tragic that you have all been kept in the dark for so long." Tan Chang’s voice was bitter. "Elder Xu Lai could have crushed the three Sects and eight Pavilions with a single finger. Do you know why he paid you no mind?"
"Yes..." The eleven Holy Masters stared blankly.
They couldn’t help but ask the soul-searching question, "Why?"
"Because Elder Xu Lai has long seen through the filthy schemes of the person pulling the strings!"
"You didn’t really think that Elder Xu Lai opened the window earlier just to tell Ruan Lan to go home, did you?" Tan Chang said, his tone full of disappointment. "You may not have noticed, but I saw the bitterness and cold disappointment hidden beneath his calm gaze."
"He couldn’t bear to strike you down!"
"Because his heart holds Hua Country and the greater good, unlike all of you with your heads full of mush, driven blindly by hatred and used as pawns in someone else’s game!" Tan Chang’s voice was filled with anguish. "If Elder Xu Lai is disheartened by this affair and chooses to retire from the world, then you will all be the sinners of this star!"
Each word struck the hearts of Daoist Chi Huo, Mo Lian, and the others like a heavy hammer. Boundless shame spread across their faces. For the first time, the incredibly arrogant masters of the three Sects and eight Pavilions felt so utterly foolish.
As if waking from a dream, Xu Wandao slapped his thigh. "So that’s how it is! As expected of you, Tan Chang!"
"..."
Ruan Lan had arrived late and missed the beginning of their conversation, but after hearing the last half, she found herself at a loss for words. From my perspective, my brother-in-law isn’t acting out of some grand righteousness. He simply can’t be bothered with this bunch of idiots from the three Sects and eight Pavilions. Of course, the main reason is probably his reluctance to leave the Gentle Homeland he shares with my sister. Heh. Men.
Ruan Lan muttered, "Time to slip away. Can’t let their foolishness be contagious."
"..."
Dragon Spirit Xiao Hai’s expression was complicated. You’re not that much better, are you?
Following Tan Chang’s "analysis," the tens of thousands of disciples from the three Sects and eight Pavilions began an orderly retreat. Daoist Chi Huo, Mo Lian, Qi Jiuyang, and the others all turned towards Mount Haitang and bowed deeply in unison. In a single voice, they called out:
"We thank Elder Xu Lai for his mercy in sparing our lives!"
「...」
「...」
「Haitang Court.」
Inside the bedroom.
"Xu Lai," Ruan Tang mumbled groggily, "I think I hear someone calling your name outside."
