The hall was silent.

The remaining high-level members all looked sullen, but no one made a move.

Anyone who could sit among the top ranks wasn’t a fool,

and they could all see that Gu Zhan’s strength was formidable—none of them were his match.

Of course, the main reason was that they understood this apparent martial clash was, in fact, the vortex of Canglan City’s power struggle reaching the Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

Not long ago, the original Squad Leader had suddenly been transferred, and Liu Ziyuan parachuted in; they had already realized the fire of the succession battle was bound to burn its way to the Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

And after Liu Ziyuan’s arrival, he quickly eliminated dissent and planted his own people, which meant the Sub-Branch’s days of remaining neutral were over. Most, though, kept watching and waiting,

but what they didn’t expect was,

that a Sixth Young Master would suddenly emerge at this critical moment.

This wasn’t a crisis for Beidou Bang, but rather a storm over inheritance rights.

Because they understood this,

even as Gu Zhan unleashed a massacre here, they didn’t intervene.

If they made a move, they’d be dragged into the conflict for sure,

and now it was obvious that Sixth Young Master wasn’t with the Eldest Young Master—maybe he belonged to the Fourth Young Master’s faction, maybe he acted independently,

but one thing was clear: they weren’t qualified to get involved,

and if they interfered, it meant picking a side. But they were neither Eldest Young Master’s people nor the Fourth’s—they couldn’t pick a side even if they wanted to.

Everyone here was a wily old Martial World hand,

and knew Sixth Young Master would demand a conclusion tonight: either they handed over authority, or they’d have to pick Eldest Young Master’s side and fight Sixth Young Master head-on.

By comparison, surrendering power was safer—consciously avoiding the storm.

If it came to fighting, they’d gain nothing; they weren’t Eldest Young Master’s men, so even if they won, it did them no good. Instead, with Sixth Young Master’s status present, should things go wrong, none of them could bear the fallout. Plus, Gu Zhan was right there—even outnumbering him might not guarantee a win,

and although, in this branch, everyone together might be able to kill Gu Zhan, it was utterly meaningless!

After a long silence,

a Hall Master finally clasped his fists and said, "Since there are traitors in Beidou Sub-Branch now, we can’t have no one in charge. Sixth Young Master is of noble status and perfectly suited for the role. I support this!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"I support it as well!"

"Agreed!"

"..."

In an instant, all the senior members stated their positions one after another.

No matter what their reasons were—maybe not wanting to get involved in the succession battle, maybe intimidated by Gu Zhan’s murderous repute, maybe for other reasons—everyone took a stance.

Yuan Yi, who stood in the center of the hall with his arm severed, immediately fell to his knees and said, "I am willing to obey Sixth Young Master’s arrangements!"

Gu Zhan slowly walked to Yuan Yi’s side and spoke in a low voice: "I killed all of Liu Ziyuan’s men. Why do you think I spared you? You should understand, right?"

Yuan Yi trembled all over, hastily replied in a low voice: "I understand, I understand. Rest assured, Lord Gu, I will testify that Liu Ziyuan did indeed collude with the Mang Mountain Thieves, and I’ll also explain it all to the brothers in the Branch."

Gu Zhan smiled, tossed the Horizontal Saber back into its scabbard, leisurely sat down again, and shot Mo Beiyan a knowing glance before slowly sipping his tea.

Seeing Gu Zhan’s look, Mo Beiyan got the message. He rose, faced the high-level members, and said, "Gentlemen, Liu Ziyuan has been working with the Mang Mountain Thieves. We don’t know to what extent they’ve infiltrated. I’ll arrange for a thorough investigation and hope that you all support and cooperate."

The top brass all clasped fists and agreed.

Mo Beiyan glanced at the corpses on the floor and said, "There were quite a few infiltrators among the leadership. Now that these people are dealt with, to keep the branch running smoothly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will temporarily take over their duties."

After speaking,

Mo Beiyan began organizing tasks,

assigning a few of the Gu Family’s Great Cultivators—all except the Patriarch Gu Fengwei—to the Kaiyang Sub-Branch, picking several others as well.

The Kaiyang Sub-Branch leaders didn’t object,

since it was pointless to oppose now. Besides, Mo Beiyan’s handling focused mainly on the departments once held by Liu Ziyuan’s people. As for other senior members, he merely clarified the re-staffing; he didn’t seize power directly.

After a long while,

once everything was arranged, Mo Beiyan ordered, "No time to lose, gentlemen. We can’t let the traitors catch wind. Go deal with this at once—I’ll be waiting here for your good news."

The senior members all fell silent,

knowing well what Mo Beiyan meant: he wanted Liu Ziyuan’s people completely purged, right now. In other words, all dissent cleared away. As for these neutrals, he wasn’t forcing their hand, but for what power needed giving up, they let go willingly.

Soon, the bodies were carried out of the hall,

and the high-level members departed in succession.

Watching the crowd leave, Mo Beiyan sighed quietly. "Tonight, I fear the docks will be stained red and the blood will flow into the river."

Gu Fengwei cupped his fists and said, "Sixth Young Master, there’s no helping it. That’s how the Martial World is—every man who rises means another group must fall."

Mo Beiyan nodded, walked over to Gu Zhan, and said, "Brother Gu, I was genuinely nervous just now. I was afraid those higher-ups in the Sub-Branch would come at us all at once—if that had happened, we’d have been in real trouble!"

Gu Zhan gently set down his teacup, chuckling, "If I’d been alone tonight, and from the moment I killed the first man everyone here had come to kill me, it would have been straight-out war with Beidou Bang,

but with you present, it’s different. Now it’s an internal dispute—an inheritance battle. Would they really mobilize thousands in the Sub-Branch to throw down with you, the Sixth Young Master? That’d be outright rebellion.

Besides, this Kaiyang Sub-Branch is special—directly under the Dragon King. In succession struggles, they’re always neutral, except for Liu Ziyuan’s faction. With me only targeting Liu Ziyuan’s people, there was no reason for the others to fight us to the death."

Mo Beiyan came to a realization: "I see now—it’s you who see things thoroughly, Brother Gu!"

Gu Zhan smiled and said, "Make preparations. This must be reported back to Canglan City. No matter if Yuan Yi’s feelings are true or false, he must produce evidence—Liu Ziyuan’s collusion with the Mang Mountain Thieves must be nailed down."

Mo Beiyan nodded. "I understand—after tonight, the true inheritance battle will really begin!"

Gu Zhan patted Mo Beiyan on the shoulder. "Alright. I’m going to get some rest."

Mo Beiyan asked, "Brother Gu, not going to watch?"

"It’s just some people getting killed. The real show’s still to come. Mobilize all the right people, and make sure Kaiyang Sub-Branch falls fully under our control. Win over all the neutrals that can be won."

With that, Gu Zhan turned and left the room. As he walked, he summoned his system,

his Experience Points already over five million,

time to advance to the Celestial Destiny Realm!