During the sacrificial rite, Sun Bole, already appearing frail, wept until he fainted. Li Yueqiang, standing beside him, instinctively moved to support him. Chong Yuwu, the four chief advisors, and the assembled crowd also moved closer to check on him. Li Yueqiang smiled and said, "Let me escort Third Brother back to his room to rest for a while." The three chief advisors, Ge, He, and Feng, hoping they could reconcile and resolve internal strife, all nodded in agreement.
Li Yueqiang escorted Sun Bole into the room and said, in a tone of plea, "Third Brother, may I let go now?" When he had stepped forward to support Sun Bole, the latter, feigning unconsciousness, had used his family's secret art, the "Seemingly Present, Truly Absent Hand," to clamp onto his Taiyuan acupoint on his palm. Now, Sun Bole turned to smile and said, "Yueqiang, please don't be offended. If not for this, how could I have commanded your presence today?"
At that moment, the room door closed automatically. Li Yueqiang turned abruptly, only to see Lin Chaoying, wearing a mask, emerge from behind the door. She said, "So you colluded with the demoness to harm..."
"Heh, the deaths of Second Brother and the others, you, that Chong fellow, and those from Magic Peaks know it clearly!" Sun Bole stared intently at him and continued, "For Chong to be able to name this woman and her condition is a confession in itself." Sun Bole pressed him, with Lin Chaoying like a sharp thorn at his back. Li Yueqiang was momentarily speechless. Sun Bole's tone softened as he continued, "Actually, you always knew I aspired to serve in Nanyang, and I know you've been deceived. If you were to now correct your course and join me in eradicating the treacherous demons, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Li Yueqiang listened as Sun Bole whispered counsel in his ear, saying, "Since you can discern the greater righteousness, I can also consider the overall situation." He suddenly felt a prick on his shoulder blade. He looked up and saw Lin Chaoying hadn't moved, but he knew something was amiss. He angrily exclaimed, "Demoness, you actually poisoned me?"
Lin Chaoying stated, "Those struck by the 'Three Errors of Soul Departure Needles' experience hallucinations and loss of control three times before becoming permanently senile. You've just received the first needle, and the first symptoms will appear in three days. Tomorrow morning is the appointed assembly date, so there shouldn't be any major issues."
Li Yueqiang, knowing further words were useless, glared at the two of them and left the room in a huff.
Sun Bole unexpectedly looked at Lin Chaoying. He felt her actions were very much to his liking. Having her as a companion would be beneficial. Although he didn't know her appearance, her fragrant long hair, tall and graceful figure, and captivating voice suggested her looks were also not bad. Even if her appearance was plain or unattractive, her talents were useful.
Lin Chaoying looked at Sun Bole's pensive expression, her thoughts drifting to someone else, and she couldn't help but sigh, then gracefully retreated out the window.
Sun Bole heard her sigh and his heart tightened. He knew who she was missing and a wave of jealousy arose.
Chong Yuwu waited for Li Yueqiang in a secluded corner of the wall. Upon meeting, he immediately asked, "How are things?" Li Yueqiang felt increasingly annoyed by Chong's growing control over him, his attitude becoming like a superior's command. Heh, he had finally managed to shift those two rocks from above his head! He replied with a smile, "He woke up and then fell asleep again. He must be ill." Anyway, that position was secured! Chong Yuwu cautioned, "Don't let your guard down until the overall situation is settled!" Li Yueqiang respectfully replied, "Yes! Yes!" Then they parted ways.
In the Respectful Peaks Hall, Sun Bole and his maternal uncle, Chief Advisor Zhong Tiancong, occupied the right side. The other two chief advisors, He Wenzhi and Feng Naian, along with Li Yueqiang, occupied the left side. The most senior chief advisor, Ge Suizhang, temporarily acting as the steward, presided in the center. Chong Yuwu and the remaining individuals, some seated and some standing, were near the south-facing main entrance.
Zhong Tiancong spoke first, stating, "Anything that needed to be debated or argued was brought up in the meeting two days ago. More words are useless now. Let's simply declare our stances! I resolutely support Third Brother Sun's succession. As everyone knows, he was groomed by Elder Brother Sun and Second Brother! To deviate from this intent would be to fail them! I ask, which of the brothers present has not received their grace? Their kindness?"
He and Feng exchanged a look and said, "If the chosen candidate is incompetent and ruins the foundation laid by the two elders, wouldn't that be an even greater disservice? Yueqiang is adept at action, manages things orderly, and treats people kindly. Chief Advisor Feng and I support him as the steward. What is Chief Advisor Ge's opinion?"
Ge Suizhang pondered for a moment and said, "I also believe Yueqiang is capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility."
Zhong Tiancong's face turned ashen. He gritted his teeth and said, "Good! You have all rebelled! From this moment on, there is no place for anyone surnamed Zhong here." With that, he led his followers out of the hall, ignoring Sun Bole's repeated calls of, "Uncle, please stay."
Ge Suizhang stepped down from the stairs and said to Sun Bole, "Third Brother, you must remember how I and Boyu went through thick and thin together to defend this foundation. I care about it more than anyone! You must consider the greater picture and prioritize unity and defense."
Sun Bole glanced from Ge Suizhang to He and Feng, then to Chong Yuwu, and said in a deep voice, "I already said, for the sake of unity, I will not fight for it. I will go to Nanyang alone to help resist the Jin dogs." He then looked back at Ge Suizhang. Indeed, you were the mastermind behind this incident!
Ge Suizhang announced, "Li Yueqiang will succeed as steward. I invite him to deliver his inaugural address." Sun Bole sneered at Li Yueqiang's avoidance of his gaze, thinking that perhaps he had asked other demons to resolve the poison needle, but fortunately, he still had a backup plan...
Suddenly, a black mass was thrown in from the main entrance. Sun Bole focused his gaze and realized it was his uncle. He had planned for his uncle to feign anger and leave, and if Li Yueqiang didn't reveal the mastermind as agreed, he would rally his loyal followers to surround the venue. Now, his back faced forward, and like a large leather ball, he was thrown into the air and into the hall, collapsing on the ground. At the same time, Sun Bole felt a surge of heat washing over him, catching him off guard... Fortunately, a cold front swept across and shielded him.
The attacker who struck with a palm retreated to the south of the hall, and the one who guarded with a sword was also repelled to the north of the hall by the protective energy.
Ge Suizhang recognized the sword wielder and exclaimed in shock, "Third Brother, you've colluded with the demoness..." Sun Bole quickly used his "Unimaginable Hand" to strike from an impossible angle behind him, hitting several vital acupoints on his lower abdomen, Qi Sea, and Divine Chamber with great force. He added, "It was Ge Suizhang and Li Yueqiang, colluding with Chong Yuwu and the demons, who murdered Second Brother and the others..." A tall, handsome young man leaped out from the crowd, shouting, "How dare you call anyone a demon! Do you have proof..." The stout, short-moustached man who had attacked earlier suddenly struck him on the back of the head, cursing, "You idiot, they're just playing along!" He arrogantly faced Sun Bole and said, "It was I, Lu Yunshu, the cave lord of Xuanyang Cave, who did it! So what?" He pointed at Chong Yuwu and continued, "I told you earlier we should kill them all while we had the chance, but you and these two insisted on playing such mysterious games. Heh, I knew cooperating with the Song pigs would be troublesome!"
At this moment, someone flashed out from Li Yueqiang's left side, cursing, "Li Yueqiang, you ungrateful beast!" as he plunged his saber directly into his heart. Li died on the spot. Sun Bole shouted, "Chief Advisors He and Feng, it's time to correct the wrongs and eliminate the external enemies!" He Wenzhi was still hesitant due to Lin Chaoying's appearance, but Feng Naian had already jumped out to rally the troops and aid Sun.
Chong Yuwu regretted listening to the instigation. He had intended to establish himself by seizing the Sun family's territory, but he encountered a brute and a fool who ruined his plans. Cai Hongfei, whom he had met during the "Imperial Edict Seizure" operation and had followed since, whispered to Chong Yuwu, "Let's finish this quickly and get out of this mess."
"This stray dog is already a traitor to the Lu'an Alliance anyway. Let's take this opportunity to destroy this, Li Wanxue's cherished possession, to vent our anger. Let's see how sad she is and how she can't do anything to me. That would be quite satisfying!" Lu Yunshu muttered to himself triumphantly while staring at Lin Chaoying. Then he slowly said, "Allow me to clean up the Li family's affairs." Heh, let's see how much of Li Jincuo's legacy remains! Back then, Li Jincuo and the subjects of the Southern Tang, fleeing the annihilation by the Song dynasty, escaped to Longzhou. They were received and hosted by the local people in a river valley and lived in harmony for some time. Later, they renamed the place Xuexue Valley, meaning to avenge their blood feud. They gathered martial artists and recruited soldiers, gradually causing dissatisfaction and unease among the local populace. Coupled with the continuous arrival and proliferation of refugees, conflicts frequently arose. When mediation repeatedly failed, Li Jincuo and a group of warriors suppressed the various cave lords with both soft and hard tactics, forming the Unchanging Lu'an Alliance, and establishing Youxu Cave, which they had instigated, as the alliance leader. Ever since, the various caves dared not speak out, but their inner hatred never diminished. They particularly viewed Li Jincuo as the main culprit. Regarding this lineage, most outwardly maintained a distance, but secretly they would draw or sculpt statues of Li and place them in hidden, dirty places to curse and insult him.
Lu Yunshu gathered his palm strength and unleashed his ultimate skill, "Yang Flame Saber." Sun Bole assisted Lin Chaoying with his "All-Encompassing Hand." After three exchanges, Lin Chaoying felt that her coordination with Sun Bole lacked the tacit understanding she had with "him." Instead, it hindered her. She yelled for him to step aside. Sun Bole misinterpreted her intentions, thinking she wanted to restrain Lu Yunshu, and leaped into the air to control the situation, happily believing she was truly a kindred spirit. Lin Chaoying continued to counter with sword techniques. After twenty exchanges, her mask was knocked off. Sun Bole was stunned to see Lin Chaoying's peach-blossom face, as beautiful as he could have imagined, a hundred times over. He was mesmerized.
"You've improved quite a bit. You truly have some talent. No wonder Li Wanxue dotes on you so much." Lu Yunshu nodded slightly, then increased his inner energy and said, "You are qualified to die under my 'Nine Revolutions Pure Yang Slash.'" He unleashed the first slash, "Primal Yang Radiance," a swirling vortex of energy that pulled the opponent in for another attack. Seeing Lin Chaoying use the common sword style of a dark warrior, "A Cluster of Unclaimed," he assumed she was being contemptuous. Little did he know that over the past three years, she had comprehended many ways to improve her sword style. Lu Yunshu was startled to see the energy flow broken and counter-attacked. He mused, "How much of Li Jincuo's legacy remains?" Perceiving that the situation was slipping away, and his assistant Pei Ji and disciples were crying out in pain, he pushed with both palms in a circular arc. Lin Chaoying understood his intention, and she also did not wish to linger. She took advantage of the situation to retreat and evade, allowing him to disengage. Grabbing Pei Ji by the collar, she cursed him and retreated into the distance.
Chong Yuwu and the others also fled accordingly.
Ge and Li's faction members were either captured or surrendered.
Sun Bole turned back again, and Lin Chaoying and her mask had quietly vanished.
Sun Bole ascended to the position of steward. He allowed He and Feng to continue as chief advisors, promoted Ge and Zhong's deputies to fill the vacancies, and hastily arranged for the aftermath before claiming to return to his room to rest. Having just changed his attire, he anticipated the arrival of a tantalizing fragrance. Looking up, he saw her standing close by. He desperately wanted to pull her into his embrace but restrained himself, realizing it would be most beneficial to establish a long-term relationship with her. Recalling her desperate protection this morning, he understood that his appearance, intelligence, and bravery had always easily captivated others. Thinking of the face beneath the mask, he believed it was a perfect match for him.
Lin Chaoying, seeing him standing there blankly, impatiently asked, "Where is Wang Shixiong?"
He still needed to use her well to stabilize the situation, so why reveal it so easily? He said, "The overall situation is not yet settled, and my mind is still quite troubled." Lin Chaoying sneered and said, "Don't give me that! Didn't Lu Yunshu see through your plan? You've consolidated the forces of He and Feng, eliminated the founding elders who were looming over you, and your uncle. The arrangements just now seemed hasty, but in fact, they were meticulously planned. I suspect the person who will take over has already been placed within." Every time she exposed him, a sweet feeling bloomed in his heart. Sun Bole said, "Second Brother did have secret communications with Brother Shixiong, but his whereabouts require me to research it with the Patrol Sea Admiral before I can determine it."