"...Brother Yuan, all is well. Do not worry. From Qiaoniang."

Bai Yuan gazed at the letter from Sister Qiao, a smile lingering on his lips.

In the blink of an eye, he had been at the Divine Mansion Sect for nearly a year.

The two had indeed been separated for a long time.

As the saying goes, a letter from home is worth ten thousand gold pieces. There was a great deal of truth in that.

Sister Qiao had written a great deal, mentioning how Old Xue’s health was improving by the day—he had even taken on another maidservant—how Chu Yuan had recovered to the Bone Forging Pass and had his sights set on the Yijin Pass, and how she herself was showing signs of breaking through the Yijin Pass...

In short, just as the letter said, all was well.

As long as Bai Yuan was alive in the Divine Mansion Sect, no one in Qinghe would dare to touch Sister Qiao—not even Flying Eagle Castle or the Iron Saber Gang.

The troubles with the Wang Family had long since passed.

His own routine, however, remained unchanged. Every day, he either stayed in his room researching firearms or went to the Holy Fire Pit.

Indeed, after all his recent efforts, he had finally crafted a hand cannon.

A hand cannon crafted with his master-level skills was no ordinary object; even a Blood Refining Martial Master would be gravely injured by a single shot.

However, its drawback was also obvious: reloading was a hassle, making a second shot in the middle of a fight nearly impossible.

It was best suited for ambushes, where it was guaranteed to have a miraculous effect.

Bai Yuan slipped the foot-long hand cannon into his robes.

He had to go out.

Not down the mountain, however. He was going up.

Yes, Old Dong had finally returned.

Before long, he arrived at the great hall on the summit of Wan Jun Peak where Old Dong resided.

Unlike the halls on the other peaks, Wan Jun Hall seemed desolate and empty.

Old Dong sat alone on the throne at the head of the hall, while You Shengnan and Xiongshan stood in the center.

"Greetings, Master."

Bai Yuan bowed respectfully.

Old Dong waved his hand. "Well done."

He was, of course, praising Bai Yuan for annihilating a family—an act that had greatly pleased him.

Bai Yuan understood, of course. ’Speaking of which,’ he thought, ’Old Dong is the Divine Mansion Sect’s resident expert on annihilation.’

Old Dong spoke abruptly, "You’ve met Zhou Siming?"

Bai Yuan’s expression remained neutral. "I made a deal with him to purchase some demon beast meat, so you could say we’re acquainted."

You Shengnan had already informed Old Dong by letter that Zhou Siming had killed Wang Changsheng.

Thus, it was no surprise that Old Dong was asking about it.

The fact that Bai Yuan had gone with Li Kang to the small cabin outside the city was impossible to hide, so he decided to be forthright.

At this, You Shengnan and Xiongshan both shot Bai Yuan an astonished look.

’What high-grade demon beast meat would require dealing with an expert like Zhou Siming? It must have been at least sixth-rank or higher,’ they wondered.

Old Dong took a sip of his tea.

He took a Tiger-shaped Token from his robes and tossed it to Bai Yuan.

"Figure out what to do with it yourself."

Bai Yuan caught the Token. It felt warm and smooth in his hand, more exquisite than jade—clearly no ordinary object. This had to be the Demon Hunter’s credential that Zhou Siming coveted.

’But judging by Old Dong’s tone, he has no intention of returning it.’

’He’s clearly telling me to use this credential to control Zhou Siming!’

’Of course, Zhou Siming is not someone to be trifled with. One wrong move could get me killed, which is why Old Dong told me to figure it out myself.’

Whether to give it back or keep it was entirely Bai Yuan’s decision.

’It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this Token a hot potato. But if used correctly, it would be like gaining an incredibly powerful ally.’

’This was clearly Old Dong’s way of testing him.’

Bai Yuan bowed respectfully. "I understand."

Old Dong waved his hand. "Go and focus on your training."

The three of them bowed once more before slowly exiting Wan Jun Hall.

Not long after the trio had departed, Dong Wanjun also rose slowly and descended Wan Jun Peak.

...

"Junior Brother Dong, that disciple of yours certainly has a bit of your flair from back in the day."

Atop the main peak, Murong Tian watched Dong Wanjun with a gentle smile.

Dong Wanjun’s face was devoid of expression.

"If they dare to collude with the Demon Sect, then they should be prepared to have their family wiped out."

Murong Tian shook his head helplessly.

’This junior brother of mine is already in his sixties, yet his thirst for blood is as strong as ever.’

’Once a Martial Artist reaches the stage of Entering the Realm, it’s no longer about simple aggression and brute force. On the contrary, an overly strong murderous aura can actually hinder one’s progress in breaking through to the next level.’

’It’s just like those old Confucian scholars in the imperial court; some haven’t fought in a hundred years, but that doesn’t stop them from being terrifyingly powerful.’

’It was precisely because Dong Wanjun had accumulated too much sin through killing, becoming entangled in too much karma, that he had been stuck at the stage of Entering the Realm, unable to progress.’

’Of course, this was also inextricably linked to Dong Wanjun’s stubborn insistence on cultivating a myriad of different techniques simultaneously.’

’At the higher echelons of martial arts, one had to explore the abstruse and profound; it was no longer a matter of simple strength.’

Murong Tian himself hadn’t killed anyone in decades.

On one hand, he was unwilling to incur more karma; on the other, anyone who might have required him to act had already been "cleaned up" by Dong Wanjun, leaving him with no opportunity to do so.

For years, Dong Wanjun had been the one to crush all of the Divine Mansion Sect’s enemies.

"There are still Demon Sect moles within the sect," Dong Wanjun stated coolly.

Murong Tian gave his junior brother a deep, long look.

He had no idea what kind of bloody storm that single sentence would unleash upon the Divine Mansion Sect.

’Of course, he knew there must be Demon Sect agents hidden within the Divine Mansion Sect, likely in high-ranking positions. For instance, it was hard to believe that Luo Chunyang, the Peak Master of San Yang Peak who had backed the Wang Family, was not involved.’

’But such a purge would undoubtedly offend too many people.’

’After all, if a Peak Master like Luo Chunyang was to be investigated, how could anyone else expect to be exempt?’

’But Dong Wanjun didn’t care in the slightest. Enough people already hated him, so what was a few more? He was determined to make himself a completely isolated official.’

’Just like his Wan Jun Peak—a solitary summit.’

Of course, Murong Tian knew what was on Dong Wanjun’s mind.

’One mountain cannot hold two tigers, and the Divine Mansion Sect could not have two rulers.’

’He and Dong Wanjun shared the same master—the previous Sect Leader. Both of them had been the most outstanding disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect in their generation. In fact, with his heaven-defying combat prowess, Dong Wanjun had even held an edge over him, winning the deep affection of the Old Sect Leader.’

’Many people had supported Dong Wanjun to become the next Sect Leader, but before the Old Sect Leader passed away, he had passed the position to him instead.’

’Dong Wanjun had shown not a hint of resentment.’

’For decades, he had honed himself into the Divine Mansion Sect’s sharpest blade.’

’No one likes to get too close to something so sharp, and the same was true of people.’

’And so, the number of people in the Divine Mansion Sect who were at odds with Dong Wanjun was countless. But this, in turn, gave Murong Tian great peace of mind.’

’A Dong Wanjun who was both terrifyingly lethal and immensely popular... even after so long as Sect Leader, he would still fear such a man.’

’Only as an isolated official could Dong Wanjun allow Murong Tian to sleep soundly at night. Only then could this pair of martial brothers avoid the eventual fate of turning on each other.’

’That was why, no matter how arrogant or domineering Dong Wanjun became, Murong Tian would tolerate it time and again.’

’Perhaps this was exactly what Dong Wanjun intended all along.’

’He even suspected his junior brother quite enjoyed it.’

"Investigate without restraint."

A flash of killing intent glinted in Murong Tian’s eyes.

’The waters of the Divine Mansion Sect have been calm for too long. The sludge at the bottom has grown too thick. It’s time for a cleaning.’