In a moment of self-reflection, Wang Qianjun felt that in the entire Yan Country, there were very few people with deeper scheming than him, and no one had ever been able to see through his innermost thoughts.

Yet now, facing Ye Xuan, he felt an absolute sense of transparency, as if, in front of this young man, whether he wore clothes or masks made no difference.

What kind of insight is this?

What kind of wisdom?

It should be known that even Liu Qiankun, who stripped Wang Qianjun of everything, couldn’t fully read Wang Qianjun. Otherwise, he would not have spared Wang Qianjun a path to survival.

How worry-free would it be to silence someone forever?

After a long while, Wang Qianjun gently closed his eyes, seeming to digest the shock in his heart at that moment.

Then he opened his eyes and started to laugh: "Impressive, truly impressive. At first, I viewed you as an arrogant brat, but in the end, I discovered that I am the self-righteous toad in the well, underestimating the enormity of this world, and the terrifying talent out here far exceeds my imagination."

"Are you complimenting me?" Ye Xuan asked with a smile, indifferent.

"Of course."

Wang Qianjun nodded, gazing deeply at Ye Xuan: "I can confidently say that you are the most terrifying and genius young man I have ever seen, heard of, or even thought of. Both literary and martial skills are hard to achieve, to be as wise and courageous as you is a rarity through the ages!"

Ye Xuan smiled, noncommittal: "Seems like everything I said was correct."

"Not only correct, but absolutely truthful!" Wang Qianjun sighed deeply: "Defeated at your hands, I am utterly convinced."

Ye Xuan squinted: "So... you should know what kind of information I want, right?"

"Although the Wang Family has collapsed, the Martial Arts Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion still exist. After devouring the Wang Family, these two giants naturally became supporters of the Liu Family."

Wang Qianjun mused: "As long as the Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion endure, your crises won’t disappear. And with Qingcheng Mountain behind the Liu Family, when three forces act together, your trouble will only be more fierce than before. The information you seek is undoubtedly about these three forces."

Ye Xuan nodded with a slight smile: "Continue."

Wang Qianjun paused, then chuckled bitterly: "I don’t possess your level of intellect. If you don’t clarify, I won’t know what specific information you want."

Ye Xuan took a drag of his cigarette and smiled helplessly: "For instance, how large is the Holy Mansion’s influence, where is its headquarters, where does its origin lie."

"To tell the truth, I don’t know much about the Holy Mansion."

Wang Qianjun said: "I only know that this force has existed for hundreds of years, with claws spread over every corner of the world, mysterious and low-key, with numerous experts and elite members. There’s no precise location, but if a headquarters had to be pinpointed, it should be in Northern Europe."

"Northern Europe?"

Ye Xuan raised his brows in thought for a moment, then said: "For such forces, the greatest taboo is having a foot in each camp. You, on the one hand, rely on the Zhao Family, while on the other are doing business with the Holy Mansion, it shouldn’t be as simple as it appears?"

Wang Qianjun was stunned, then laughed and shook his head: "You saw through it again. Indeed, for mighty forces like these, the greatest taboo is someone having a foot in both camps. The reason my Wang Family can do it is because of the Zhao Family’s intentions."

"The Zhao Family’s intentions?" Ye Xuan laughed.

"Yes, the Zhao Family’s intentions."

Wang Qianjun said: "It’s widely known that the Wang Family has always been a tribute to the Zhao Family. The reason we were embroiled with the Holy Mansion over the years was entirely due to getting the Zhao Family’s approval; we minions simply executed these intentions."

"So..." Ye Xuan smiled broadly: "The Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion are like snakes and mice in the same pit, colluding together?"

"More or less."

Wang Qianjun laughed: "Zhao Xunjian of the Zhao Family harbors vast ambitions; even the position of Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch doesn’t satisfy him. Coincidentally, the Holy Mansion having been dormant for so many years, living in the shadows, desires a prominent existence; the two sides reached a consensus.

However, there has long been a rule in Martial Arts that prevents alliances with foreign powers. Even though the Zhao Family may shine brightly, it dares not openly break this rule, so we the Wang Family served as intermediaries between the two forces."

"Hmm..."

Ye Xuan exhaled lightly; even though he had foreseen it, hearing the truth was still shocking.

Zhao Xunjian truly acts with reckless abandon.

The long-standing rules of Martial Arts are, in his eyes, merely a piece of paper; to despise ancestors this way, he employs utterly unscrupulous methods!

After pondering for a while, Ye Xuan spoke again: "Zhao Xunjian knows the rule cannot be broken; if exposed, even as Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, he’d pay a terrible price. But still, he persists, must have an enormous temptation awaiting him?"

"Source Stone."

Wang Qianjun said solemnly: "It’s the Lin Family’s ancestral Source Stone!"

"Source Stone?" Ye Xuan raised a brow.

"That’s right."

Wang Qianjun said: "Whether it’s the Holy Mansion or the Martial Arts Zhao Family, they are keen on obtaining the Source Stone. But the Holy Mansion’s influence within Yan Country is weak, and the Zhao Family, being the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, cannot break rules to meddle in secular matters.

Hence, they’ve reached a consensus: the Holy Mansion acts as Zhao’s henchmen, and the Zhao Family engages in underhand operations to facilitate the Holy Mansion’s convenience within Yan Country; they perfectly complement one another."

Ye Xuan was momentarily stunned; it turns out, from the beginning, it was destined that the Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion couldn’t be his allies; the grievances with the Wang Family were naturally inevitable.

Ye Xuan thought carefully and asked: "What do they want the Source Stone for?"

Wang Qianjun replied: "The Holy Mansion needs the Source Stone for money. You should know the unimaginable wealth the Source Stone can generate. But why the Zhao Family wants the Source Stone, I’m not quite clear. But it is certain that if the Zhao Family gets the Source Stone, Zhao Xunjian will be much more than a simple Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch!"

Ye Xuan stayed silent.

Indeed.

The Source Stone possesses incredibly frightening development potential, inexhaustible, renewable energy. Once successfully developed, monetary benefits are self-evident.

But to a person like Zhao Xunjian, monetary benefits are no longer needed.

Thus, it is clear there may be unknown uses for the Source Stone which even Ye Xuan hasn’t seen yet.

But what kind of purpose could provoke Zhao Xunjian to such perilous actions?

Ye Xuan pondered for a long time, unable to arrive at an answer.

What Zhao Xunjian yearns for concerning the Source Stone remains known only to the Zhao Family; this also doesn’t matter much; what matters is, as long as the Lin Family holds the Source Stone, the Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion won’t cease their flames of war.

Turning his gaze, Ye Xuan asked gravely: "The Lin Family’s protection of the Source Stone has always been well done. In the eyes of the Zhao Family and the Holy Mansion, the former Lin Family was rather inconspicuous, why do they know of the Source Stone’s existence?"