"Those three old undying things are hosting a banquet, inviting almost every notable figure in the Qingyang Region. They're clearly making a stand against us."
Within an estate of the Nine-Hua Alliance.
Shui De stood there, bowing respectfully as he delivered his report. Across from him, seated properly in a pavilion, was an elegant, transcendentally handsome man with a calm expression, gazing at a board of incomplete black and white Go pieces before him. He did not respond to Shui De. Instead, he picked up a cup of tea beside him, brought it to his lips, and took a small, appreciative sip. Perhaps finding it unsatisfactory, he set the cup down again.
Shui De stole a glance and, after a moment's consideration, continued, "Young Master, when the time comes for the heir selection, Mo Long is bound to clash with Wen Jingshan. While Mo Long possesses a three-color Great Nature Guardian, boasts exceptional swordsmanship, and wields the Frost-Green Sword you bestowed, making his strength quite formidable... Wen Jingshan's power is also exceedingly impressive. Though only a Purple Mansion True Person, he has a four-color Great Nature Guardian, and his true body uniquely possesses a dual-color guardian. Moreover, his martial arts attainments are extraordinary, no less than Mo Long's. If Mo Long were to lose..."
"Wen Jingshan..."
The man addressed as Young Master repeated the name softly, shook his head, and gave a faint smile. "For an ordinary person, obtaining a single-color guardian per realm is already remarkable. Yet he actually manifested a true body with a dual-color guardian during his True Body establishment... That is indeed rare..."
Shui De cautiously asked, "Young Master, do you think Mo Long can be a match for Wen Jingshan?"
"Whether Mo Long is Wen Jingshan's match is not important."
The elegant man picked up the white jade teacup again, took another light sip, shook his head once more, and set it down. His tone was indifferent. "What matters is my attitude."
"Attitude?" Shui De was puzzled. "What attitude?"
"Your Yunxia Three Elders are using this heir selection day to invite numerous Qingyang notables for no other reason than to gauge my attitude. To test whether I dare to annex the Yunxia Sect in front of all the distinguished guests of the Qingyang Region..." A shallow smile hung on the elegant man's lips. "In their view, it's merely a probe. But in my eyes... it is a threat. A naked, blatant threat."
He lifted the teacup and took another sip. This time, he seemed satisfied, nodding slightly as he spoke unhurriedly, "Since your Yunxia Three Elders wish to know my attitude, I shall let them see it with their own eyes."
As his words fell, the elegant man pinched a black Go piece and placed it on the board, replacing a white piece. He picked up the displaced white piece, held it in his palm, and looked at it with a smile. "A chess piece is, after all, just a chess piece. On the board, it may hold some slight value. Off the board, it is merely a stone."
Without any visible motion, he waved his hand, and the white piece in his palm vanished into smoke.
"What about Huode's side—more precisely, that Gu fellow? Any movements?"
"That Gu fellow?" Shui De shook his head and chuckled. "Huode went to plead with the Three Elders, even dragging Sect Head Tu De along. The Three Elders didn't agree."
"Blind! Foolish! Hopeless!"
The elegant man sipped his fragrant tea leisurely, a smile playing on his lips as he spoke in a relaxed tone, "If it were me, if I wished to contend against the Nine-Hua Alliance, I would undoubtedly choose that Gu fellow."
Hearing this, Shui De couldn't help but be taken aback. "Why? Does Young Master believe that Gu brat has the qualifications to oppose our Nine-Hua Alliance?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" This confused Shui De even more.
"Precisely because I don't know, that is why I would choose him."
The elegant man set down the white jade teacup and stood up, speaking leisurely, "Although Jin De has many supporters behind him, that is all there is to it. Relying on numbers to contend against the Alliance is futile. Unfortunately, your Yunxia Three Elders do not understand this principle. Their hearts still cling to a sliver of fantasy, indulging in fantasies the Alliance will fear and consider the opposition of all forces in the Qingyang Region and dare not move against the Yunxia Sect..."
"Heh..." The elegant man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes still fixed on the incomplete Go board. "That is merely what they believe. The Alliance has long since marked the Yunxia Sect as an example. Either submit or be eradicated. There is absolutely no third possibility. It is that... Gu fellow..."
Seeing the elegant man frown in contemplation, Shui De was perplexed. In his mind, given the Young Master's capabilities, there was no way he should be concerned about that Gu fellow. He couldn't help but remind him, "Young Master, that Gu brat carries no tainted aura of reincarnation. He is not a reincarnated individual. Moreover... even if he were a reincarnated individual, so what?"
Yes.
So what.
The Nine-Hua Alliance had not refrained from killing reincarnated individuals before. Shui De couldn't fathom what the Young Master was actually worried about.
"If he were a reincarnated individual, I wouldn't be worried in the slightest. I do not place reincarnated individuals in my eyes, nor does the Alliance. However..." His tone shifted. The elegant man pinched a black Go piece and replaced another white one. "However, precisely because he is not a reincarnated individual, that is why I am somewhat concerned."
"Why?"
Shui De couldn't wrap his head around it. If the Young Master didn't even regard reincarnated individuals highly, then what was there to worry about?
"I had someone investigate thoroughly. Nothing could be found. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air, a complete blank. There are no clues about him anywhere in the entire Great Northwest Territory."
The smile on the elegant man's lips had vanished at some point. He closed his eyes slightly, as if pondering something. "I dislike mystery. I dislike the unknown even more. In my life, what I detest most are people who are both mysterious and full of unknowns."
Shui De did not respond. He felt the Young Master was overthinking it, but of course, he would never dare voice such a thought aloud.
A moment later, the elegant man's voice came again.
"Go back. Three days from now, I will personally lead people to the Yunxia Sect."
After Shui De left.
The elegant man said, "What did you find out?"
A gray-robed Elder materialized out of thin air. The Elder kept his head bowed, seeming unsure how to respond.
"Hmm?" The elegant man opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing within them. "Were you discovered?"
"Young Master, please rest assured. This old servant was not discovered. It's just..." The Elder's voice was hoarse. "It's just... This old servant lurked in the Spirit Seclusion Garden at the back mountain for over ten days, observing covertly all the while. That Gu Qingfeng showed nothing out of the ordinary. He is neither a reincarnated individual nor someone who seized a body for rebirth. He carries no special spiritual aura. He is very ordinary, very common... no different from any other cultivator who failed Foundation Establishment."
"Oh?" The elegant man let out a soft exclamation of surprise and sank into thought.
"As for why his physical body is so formidable... this old servant... feared being detected by him, so I dared not approach too closely."
"What does he do every day?"
"What does he do?" A bitter smile involuntarily appeared on the Elder's weather-beaten face. "He does nothing. Every day, apart from sleeping, he drinks. Or sunbathes. Occasionally, he tends to some spirit fields, waters flowers, and even flirts with a few female disciples..."
"Oh?" Hearing the Elder's words, the elegant man's frown deepened. "What about his speech and demeanor?"
"Very..." The Elder seemed to be searching for a way to describe that peculiar fellow. After thinking for a moment, he struggled to utter two words: "Casual."
"Casual?"
"Casual." The Elder explained, "He possesses neither the solemnity of someone in authority, nor the calm indifference of one weathered by the world. He lacks the imposing aura of a dominant figure, the overbearing arrogance of the proud, or the haughtiness of the insolent. From his speech and demeanor, this old servant truly cannot discern what kind of person he is. Moreover..." He paused, then added, "Moreover, based on this old servant's observations these past days, if he can lie down, he absolutely will not sit. If he can sit, he absolutely will not stand. If he can stand, he absolutely will not walk. If he can say one word, he absolutely will not say two..." Sighing, the Elder said, "This old servant has observed countless people, but I have never seen someone so idle and lazy to the bone. He is truly idle to the core, lazy to the marrow..."
"Heh..." The elegant man let out a soft, inexplicable chuckle, then asked further, "Regarding the Yunxia Sect's heir selection matter, did he say anything?"
"He did say some things. What left the deepest impression on this old servant was... Huode asked him if he needed to make any preparations."
"How did he respond?"
"He said... he said... something very odd. He said, 'What's there to prepare for farting? If you want to fart, just fart. Prepare your ass.'"