A sharp glint crossed Su You’s eyes before he sent all the account categories to Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi studied the account books, his divine consciousness sifting through them at rapid speed, flagging every spot where he could create a loophole. Soon, he found dozens of exploitable points.

As he modified the records, he sent a voice transmission to Yuan Hongyi. “Brother Yuan, tonight, send me a detailed breakdown of this year’s commercial income across the Six Territories.”

Yuan Hongyi’s expression was dark. “Alright. We’ve been compiling the accounts these past few days anyway. I’ll urge them to hurry.”

Su You received a notice shortly after: all accounts had to be finalized before nightfall. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He murmured to himself, “Planning to make Huang Bin take the fall? How clever.”

Before long, Su You received the revised account books from Li Guanqi. The moment he looked at them, he froze. Every category had precise timestamps, details, purposes—everything meticulously documented. The accounts were too perfect.

Li Guanqi’s voice came through Su You’s jade slip.

—Now take these accounts and go find Yuan Hongyi. Tell him you’ve finished reconciling them. Remember, don’t mention anything about Huang Bin. Act as if nothing is wrong, but also hint to Yuan Hongyi that something feels off, so you came to him early. Make him feel like you’re on his side.

“Understood,” Su You replied.

He pushed open the door and headed straight for Yuan Hongyi’s study. He couldn’t go up yet, so he waited at the stairway entrance.

Evening fell.

Meanwhile, Huang Bin, the Black Hall Master of the Yellow Tower, was still indulging in pleasure, unaware that the entire Yellow Tower was on the verge of chaos.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Yuan Hongyi walked downstairs with a calm expression and saw Su You waiting with a jade slip. His face darkened as he grabbed it. “Huang Bin isn’t here again?”

Su You remained silent.

Yuan Hongyi snorted and kept walking. As he probed the jade slip with his divine consciousness, his expression changed. He knew Huang Bin too well. The ledger was too clean. Something was wrong.

He turned to Su You. “Did you compile this based on the materials Huang Bin gave you?”

Su You nodded calmly. “Yes. That’s why I came to you early.”

Exactly as Li Guanqi had instructed, Su You appeared utterly loyal.

A trace of satisfaction crossed Yuan Hongyi’s face, but his anger flared all the same.

Boom!

His aura erupted violently as he vanished from the spot.

Li Guanqi slipped out of the void and returned to his courtyard, smacking his lips. “A million mid-grade spirit stones... That should be enough for Yuan Hongyi to kill him, right?”

Just as he sat down to take a sip of tea, Li Guanqi shot to his feet, his expression twisting. “Who is it?! Ge Er! Are you there?! Answer me, Ge Er!”

Silence. No response came from the Pavilion Master jade token, even after a long time. Li Guanqi’s face went grim. Something had happened to Song Yunshu.

***

Outside the Heavenly Intelligence Realm, in the Huang family estate.

After dragging Huang Bin out from a pile of women, Yuan Hongyi found a hidden storage ring in Huang Bin’s room. The wealth inside was staggering. In a fit of rage, he killed Huang Bin on the spot.

He thought of Su You briefly but didn’t move to nurture him as a subordinate. He still needed time to consider.

When Li Guanqi heard the news, a faint smile touched his lips. Yuan Hongyi’s eyes gleamed as he left the Huang residence.

***

Outside the domain, a black-robed saber cultivator appeared in a remote valley. He crushed a silver scroll, and a small transport array formed before him. Xiao Mintang’s face was a mess of blood and mangled flesh, one eye gone, his left arm missing entirely. His aura was weak and unstable. He placed a pale, trembling hand on the array. As the light faded, he let out a breath of relief and took out a jade slip. “We... are even now!”

***

Inside the domain, Li Guanqi suddenly heard Ge Qi’s voice. “There is an Illusory Refinement Realm expert a hundred li outside the domain!”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and vanished from his courtyard.

Buzz!

He crossed the distance in successive teleportations, closing on the valley at terrifying speed.

Xiao Mingtang’s pupils trembled violently. He could feel a terrifying presence rapidly closing in on him. “Damn it!”

Whoosh!

He tore open space and stepped into it.

Li Guanqi raised his hand, a sword of lightning condensing in his grip. He pointed at the mountains and slashed down. “Where do you think you’re going? Stay here!”

Boom!

The strike split several mountains apart. Lightning filled the sky, tearing through the void. Moments later, several cultivators in red robes and red masks rushed in.

Tu Yongsi shouted coldly, “Capture him!”

Li Guanqi’s strike had disrupted the surrounding space. Xiao Mingtang couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. With no choice, he turned back and drew his blade.

But how could Li Guanqi’s strike be so easily blocked? His strike contained his sword spirit void’s three major abilities. Its speed was absolute.

Boom!

The knife rays shattered. The sword strike crushed through and slashed into Xiao Mingtang’s shoulder. Silver light flared from his inner armor, followed by the crack of metal breaking apart. His right shoulder was nearly severed in a single blow.

Li Guanqi appeared in front of Xiao Mingtang. His fist filled Xiao Mingtang’s vision.

“Shattered Skies, Thousand-Layer Waves!”

Boom!

One punch flattened the mountain behind him. Every bone in Xiao Mingtang’s body shattered. He hung limp in Li Guanqi’s grip like a sack of mud.

Slash!

Li Guanqi cut off his head. Tu Yongsi watched, stunned, as Li Guanqi murmured, “Gather Soul.”

Buzz!

The man’s soul was wrenched free and condensed into a faint blue phantom.

Tu Yongsi narrowed his cloudy eyes, staring from afar. Li Guanqi’s face was icy. “Soul Search.”

He scanned through the man’s memories, but before he could finish, countless silver needles shot from the surrounding void. Li Guanqi’s gaze sharpened. His divine consciousness surged into thousands of spirit swords, but the needles were too fast and too numerous. A single needle grazing the soul was enough to make it dissolve.

Li Guanqi held the severed head and watched as the soul dissipated, his expression darkening.

The Heavenly Intelligence Realm opened wide, and a crowd poured out, drawn by the disturbance. Such a massive commotion, especially within Star Pivot Valley, was impossible to ignore.

Li Guanqi tossed the head at his feet. His cold gaze swept across everyone present, including the four tower masters. Someone had deliberately prevented him from completing the soul search.