When these words were spoken, instead of being pleasantly surprised or moved, the members of the Demon Sect became even more wary of Bai Qinglian. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Although the Xuanyun Sect wasn’t the leading righteous sect, and it was located far away in the snowy mountains, rarely involving itself in martial arts affairs, it was still a righteous sect. Given the current tense relationship between the Demon Sect and the righteous path, even if it wasn’t to the point of drawing swords, the hostility and vigilance between the two sides were evident.

As the leader of a sect, Bai Qinglian’s sudden visit to the Demon Sect was already puzzling, and his gesture of goodwill made it even more suspicious. The members of the Demon Sect were on high alert, their hostile gazes almost tangible. However, Bai Qinglian, the target of their scrutiny, remained indifferent and unaffected by these threats.

Apart from a slight change in expression when he first saw Ling Yao, Bai Qinglian’s demeanor remained unchanged throughout. He was as unyielding as the snow-covered mountains where the Xuanyun Sect resided.

He stood alone, confronting the members of the Demon Sect for a long time. Finally, after much contemplation, the Sect Leader spoke first. Contrary to what others expected—an angry expulsion or questioning—the Sect Leader merely said three words: “Follow me.”

Although no one questioned the Sect Leader’s authority, even the Right Protector couldn’t help but glance at him. Such matters were indeed not suitable for public discussion, but no one understood why the Sect Leader so easily trusted Bai Qinglian, who should have been an enemy.

Shi Jingxian watched from the side, sensing that these two had a history. The task’s storyline was usually viewed from the perspective of the task’s target, but the young master was still young and hadn’t deeply engaged with the core of the Demon Sect. Moreover, he was kept in the dark by Xuanyuan Nan, so Shi Jingxian didn’t have much information.

Today was his second day in control of the body. Last night, after adapting to the body, it was already late, and the young master’s body was different from Ji Xuanran’s, who had the good physical condition of an Esper. He was always worried about not growing tall. Shi Jingxian followed his routine and went to sleep, not having time to check the storyline supplement.

So now, he could only rely on his imagination to speculate on the details. Shi Jingxian’s gaze shifted between Bai Qinglian and the Sect Leader. The two were both stunning beauties with distinct temperaments, standing together was a sight to behold.

But after just a couple of glances, he found himself being stared at by one of them, those nearly mechanical silver eyes sending a chill down his spine. The other person noticed this and directly shielded him.

“Ya’er,” the Sect Leader patted Ling Yao’s back, “go back and rest your eyes.”

The Sect Leader dismissed everyone for his discussion with Bai Qinglian, and the young master, urged to rest, couldn’t accompany them. He was safely escorted back to the Cloud Peak Palace by the Right Protector.

Shi Jingxian knew the Right Protector didn’t want him to see Xuanyuan Nan again. After meeting Bai Qinglian, he had a new plan and wasn’t in a hurry to act in front of Xuanyuan Nan.

The Right Protector’s medicine boy stayed to help Shi Jingxian apply a warm compress to his eyes. Leaning back in a soft recliner, Shi Jingxian entered the system to check the storyline supplement for this task.

In an S-level world, the price of items would rise accordingly, but fortunately, Shi Jingxian’s reserves were sufficient, so exchanging for the storyline supplement wasn’t too costly. He quickly opened the supplement and skimmed through it from an observer’s perspective.

After the Demon Sect’s destruction, Xuanyuan Nan verbally agreed to let the righteous path divide the Demon Sect’s forces, quickly taking over all the shops and lands under the Demon Sect’s control. Due to Xuanyuan Nan’s outstanding contribution in the extermination battle and his status as Qi Wang, the righteous sects didn’t suspect anything and even joined Qi Wang’s people in clearing out the Demon Sect’s branches.

The only dissent came from the Xuanyun Sect, where the new Martial Alliance Leader was from. However, they didn’t openly oppose it, only stating that they wanted the Demon Sect’s young master back, saying that martial affairs should be settled within the martial world.

But Xuanyuan Nan, from the start, was determined to extract information about the Demon Sect’s cold pool and would never agree to this request. He didn’t refuse openly but secretly used various methods to pry open the young master’s mouth.

As a prince, Xuanyuan Nan had to participate in the Crown Prince Trial, a tradition of the current dynasty. Once three princes reached the age of twelve, the trial would begin, and younger princes could join after turning twelve. The winner would be decided based on the completion of objectives.

The Crown Prince Trial was the only way for princes to gain inheritance rights. Any prince with ambition would participate. However, the trial was not as simple as imagined. Once inside, life and death were at their own risk, and it would not stop unless all princes died.

All participating princes would assume perfect false identities to plan and gather forces. This identity was guaranteed by the court, with all records and traces handled flawlessly. Thus, when Xuanyuan Nan entered the Demon Sect as an innocent blacksmith, the Demon Sect never discovered his flaw.

When Xuanyuan Nan was picked up by the young master, he was indeed on the brink of death. At that time, he was being plotted against by several brothers, his forces completely wiped out. If not for the unexpected intervention of the young master, he might have died that night.

Because of his dire situation, Xuanyuan Nan temporarily stayed in the Demon Sect as an unknown guard. Grateful for his life being saved, he initially harbored genuine gratitude towards the young master.

However, old habits die hard. As time passed, Xuanyuan Nan’s ambitions resurfaced, and he began plotting his return to the trial. His previously accumulated forces were long gone, and now restricted by the Demon Sect, he schemed to use the young master’s power to achieve his goals.

The main objective of this Crown Prince Trial was to address the national treasury’s emptiness. Xuanyuan Nan’s original plan, like many princes, was to target wealthy merchants. But after joining the Demon Sect, he turned his attention to the shops and lands of major martial sects.

Xuanyuan Nan had a knack for business, and with the young master’s favoritism, he had already figured out the Demon Sect’s economic lifeline before the righteous path attacked. After the Demon Sect’s destruction, he directly seized all the land deeds. After the young master’s death, Xuanyuan Nan used the palm prints of the Left and Right Protectors to open the Demon Sect’s treasure trove, completely swallowing all its assets.

All these arrangements were made in secret, and the righteous path was kept in the dark from start to finish. It wasn’t until the execution ground, when the Left Protector’s left hand was chopped off, that they began to sense something was amiss.

Executing the young master could be justified as eliminating an evil, but collecting the Left Protector’s palm print was inexplicable. Moreover, the shops and lands Xuanyuan Nan promised were never distributed to the righteous sects but were quietly taken over by the government. Realizing they had been deceived, the righteous path began to plan to attack Xuanyuan Nan, but it was already too late.

Xuanyuan Nan had long prepared a comprehensive plan. The destruction of the Demon Sect was just his first step. His real goal was to reclaim all lands occupied by sects and organizations for the government. The so-called elimination of evil and upholding justice was merely a guise for his divide-and-conquer strategy.

Before the righteous sects realized it, Xuanyuan Nan had already used power and wealth to turn some martial artists against their own. He used the same internal disintegration method against the righteous path, catching them off guard.

As the Martial Alliance Leader, Bai Qinglian faced pressure from both the righteous sects and Xuanyuan Nan. The righteous sects recalled Xuanyuan Nan’s attitude towards Bai Qinglian during the siege of the Demon Sect and questioned his relationship with Xuanyuan Nan, accusing him of failing to protect the martial world. Xuanyuan Nan, on the other hand, pressured Bai Qinglian to become a puppet, to obediently submit and lead the martial world to bow down.

The ultimate winner of this game was still Xuanyuan Nan, who had the advantage of the court and internal support. His land reclamation plan was a complete success, and the lands and shops seized from the Demon Sect and righteous sects provided him with a solid economic foundation, allowing all his subsequent plans to be realized, making him the final winner of the Crown Prince Trial.

In this land reclamation plan, the only martial sects not affected were those far outside the pass, including the Xuanyun Sect in the snowy mountains. However, the sect’s survival only further tarnished Bai Qinglian’s reputation, with many openly and secretly accusing him of seeking wealth, colluding with the prince, and sacrificing the martial world to protect his own sect.

After the Crown Prince Trial, Xuanyuan Nan ordered the martial artists he had turned to assassinate his most threatening brothers. He also secretly poisoned the former emperor, forcing the once-healthy emperor to abdicate in his favor, allowing him to ascend the throne early.

From then on, the court and the land were under his control. The martial world became an empty shell, and Bai Qinglian, as the Martial Alliance Leader, was imprisoned by Xuanyuan Nan, his tendons severed, and locked in the deep palace filled with concubines.

A once-great hero became Xuanyuan Nan’s trophy.

[Ding—!]

After reading the storyline, Shi Jingxian couldn’t shake the sound of chains clinking in the deep palace from his mind. He found it strange.

Xuanyuan Nan’s twisted nature was expected, and his blatant coveting of Bai Qinglian made such actions reasonable… but what about Bai Qinglian?

As a sect leader, renowned from a young age and inherently proud, how could Bai Qinglian endure such humiliation? Even if he was truly poisoned and bound in the deep palace, he should have had opportunities to escape or take his own life.

Why didn’t Bai Qinglian act?

Shi Jingxian pondered, feeling that the sect leader’s character seemed off. The main perspective of the storyline supplement was Xuanyuan Nan, with related plots introduced around him. Apart from the scenes after being captured in the palace, Shi Jingxian didn’t see much of Bai Qinglian.

Was Bai Qinglian enduring humiliation to protect his sect, or was there another unspeakable reason?

Intuition told Shi Jingxian that Bai Qinglian seemed to hold a key plot point. He reviewed the storyline again and discovered a new detail.

After the Demon Sect’s destruction, Bai Qinglian not only asked Xuanyuan Nan for the young master but also requested something else.

—It was a life-extending medicine, only available to the royal family, that required long-term consumption.