Inside the Jiang family domain, Ge Er hid within the void, his eyes narrowing. “His aura disappeared...”

Outside the hundred-li domain, countless threads of vital force spread across the surroundings, a sign that Jiang Yi was still inside, even if his presence had vanished. Ge Er sent the information to Li Guanqi at once.

Li Guanqi sat at his desk, one corner of his mouth lifting. “Interesting...”

He looked at the four black chess pieces in his hand as thoughts raced through his mind. The auras of all four tower masters disappeared within three breaths. Also, there are seven members of the Dark Pavilion Guard, but I haven’t seen Ge Yi yet.

He placed a chess piece onto the board, his gaze deep and unreadable. I’ll have to probe a little more...

A faint smile tugged at his lips. Since they are secretly plotting something, I might as well add a little chaos of my own.

He picked up the Pavilion Master’s jade token and spoke softly, sending a message to the tower masters. “Don’t forget the reports I requested today. Deliver them before nightfall.”

Replies trickled in. Li Guanqi wanted to use the chance to get a rough picture of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, though he knew that trying to uncover anything meaningful from documents alone was wishful thinking. The reports they sent would be flawless, so he never expected to discover anything from them, but the thought that the four tower masters might be scheming behind his back made the whole affair more entertaining.

He stood and stretched, straightening his Floating Cloud Robe, a crooked grin spreading across his face.

“What are you planning to do?” Song Yunshu asked.

Li Guanqi chuckled. “Nothing much. Just going to find a random unlucky fellow.”

Vital force surged around him as he took out a blank purple jade pendant. Terrifying power poured into it, and the pendant shone brighter and brighter as Li Guanqi carved a strand of sword qi into it at full strength. It wasn’t as powerful as a full-force strike, but it still carried about eighty percent of his power. He handed it to Song Yunshu. “Wear this on your wrist from now on. Don’t take it off, not even for a moment.”

Song Yunshu nodded and put it on.

“Alright,” Li Guanqi said with a smile. “Time to find my unlucky target.”

The words had barely left his mouth before his aura vanished completely. Song Yunshu’s eyes went wide.

His voice drifted past her ear. “Leave Star Pivot Valley. I’ll have someone escort you back to the Constellation Tower. What comes next is no longer something you should be involved in.”

A sharp glint flashed through Song Yunshu’s eyes. She understood.

Li Guanqi stepped out of the courtyard and spoke quietly. “Ge Er, from now on, guard Song Yunshu without leaving her side. You take orders from me alone. Not even Tu Yongsi may approach her. Nothing must go wrong.”

Beside him, a faint voice replied, “Ge Er obeys.”

Buzz!

A subtle spatial fluctuation rippled through the courtyard. Li Guanqi paused but let it pass. He didn’t want anyone to know that Song Yunshu was being protected.

He murmured, “Be careful. The road back won’t be peaceful.”

Ge Er didn’t respond.

Li Guanqi’s lips curved slightly. Ge Er was extremely powerful—the killing force he could unleash was no weaker than Ye Feng’s. Li Guanqi was curious to see who would be the first to make a move on Song Yunshu.

He flashed upward onto the White Tower and surveyed his surroundings. The four tower masters were all within the Heaven Intelligence Realm. Hands clasped behind his back, he tapped his fingers against his wrist, eyes narrowing.

Who should I visit first? Hmm... the fact that Ji Yuchuan alone guards the Blue Tower says everything about how much trust the elders placed in him. But that doesn't mean he can be fully trusted. That man is very enigmatic.

Of the four, Ji Yuchuan was actually the one Li Guanqi paid the most attention to. He was someone who could control the entire Blue Tower and had more than ten clones. How could he not be calculating? If it had been someone else, merely drinking with Li Guanqi might have unsettled them, even made them fear getting too close. But Ji Yuchuan had neither rejected him nor grown overly friendly.

After thinking for a moment, Li Guanqi’s lips curled slightly. He turned toward the Yellow Tower.

The instant his figure disappeared, several disciples who had been walking with their heads lowered paused almost imperceptibly. Li Guanqi noticed, but he wasn’t in a hurry.

Hiding inside a room, Yuan Hongyi’s expression suddenly changed. He frowned and spoke toward the light screen before him. “He’s coming to see me! But why me? Shouldn’t he go to you first?” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The light of the screen dimmed, and Jiang Yi’s voice came through one last time. “How should I know? Whatever he says, tell me afterward. I can’t figure out what he’s trying to do either.”

The screen vanished. Yuan Hongyi’s aura reappeared in the outside world.

Meanwhile, the jade pendant at Li Guanqi’s waist glowed faintly as he bypassed the Yellow Tower’s barrier and appeared directly inside. Every cultivator in sight froze, then scrambled to bow.

His arrival immediately drew terrified gazes from the surrounding cultivators. Everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed.

“Greetings, Pavilion Master!”

“Greetings, Pavilion Master!”

Li Guanqi smiled and raised a hand. “No need to be so stiff. Keep working. Do well, and some of you might find yourselves with more responsibility.”

The crowd laughed politely and nodded. However, Li Guanqi noticed several people whose eyes flickered with odd expressions. They resumed working a moment later, faces blank, but he had already marked each one, memorizing their auras and appearances. A rough plan was taking shape in his mind.

Hurried footsteps echoed from the staircase. Yuan Hongyi rushed down, clutching several jade slips, sweat beading on his forehead as he forced a wide smile. “Oh my, Pavilion Master! Why come all this way yourself? I was just organizing the Yellow Tower’s recent records and was about to deliver them to you.”

Li Guanqi looked at Yuan Hongyi with a faint smile. “Oh? Is that so? I thought that when your aura disappeared earlier, you might have been secretly plotting something with someone.”

Yuan Hongyi kept smiling, though his mind was racing. He knows my aura disappeared inside the Yellow Tower! No... someone must have been watching me the whole time! But who? Was it him personally? Or... are there still spies left behind by the old pavilion master within the Yellow Tower? Is it Ji Yuchuan? Or Tu Yongsi? Or...

Despite Yuan Hongyi’s strenuous efforts to compose himself, Li Guanqi perceived the turmoil within him.

Li Guanqi’s lips curled slightly. This was exactly the result he wanted.

Go on. Suspect each other to your hearts’ content!