Lin’an knew Emperor Yongxing’s character like the back of her hand, having grown up together. Seeing his eager demeanor, especially at this particular moment, she knew he had an urgent request.

In the past, when he was still the Crown Prince and needed something from the Emperor but couldn’t approach him directly, he would ask her to intercede. After all, she, the Second Princess, was the most favored among all the princes and princesses.

“Imperial Brother, speak plainly,” she said.

Lin’an glanced around the Imperial Study, noting there were no chairs—everyone had to stand unless the Emperor permitted them to sit.

Emperor Yongxing approached his sister and deliberately held back, asking mysteriously, “Do you know how to resolve the donation campaign strategy?”

Lin’an was surprised, not expecting her Imperial Brother to summon her for strategic advice. She felt a surge of joy at being “bestowed” this opportunity, grateful that she had visited Huaiqing earlier that afternoon. She immediately replied, “We need someone with sufficient prestige to lead the campaign. Crown Prince has just ascended to the throne, and his authority isn’t enough to command the court officials.”

Emperor Yongxing was taken aback, surprised by how his sister’s wisdom had grown without his notice. He continued along this line of thought, “Then who does Lin’an think has enough prestige?”

Lin’an repeated what that annoying Huaiqing had said: “At court, only the Supervisor and Xu Qi’an have enough prestige to make the officials willingly donate. The Supervisor has true prestige, while Xu Qi’an’s influence comes more from his fearsome reputation—no one dares to provoke him.”

Indeed, when faced with a peak martial artist who had executed a Duke and killed an Emperor, even the most stubborn scholars wouldn’t be foolish enough to oppose him directly.

“Since when did Lin’an become so insightful?” Emperor Yongxing praised unexpectedly, then continued, “I want to ask you to be my intermediary, to convince Xu Qi’an to help. *Sigh*, as you know, I’ve only recently ascended the throne and haven’t consolidated my power. The court faces both internal and external troubles, and now we’re struck by natural disasters, urgently needing money for relief.”

So that was it… Lin’an showed a rare bitter smile, her round oval face revealing disappointment: “He’s not in the capital, and… and he’s never contacted me.”

Saying these words pained her as if being forced to admit her insignificance in that servant’s heart.

Emperor Yongxing ignored her dejection—he had been waiting for this moment—and quickly said, “No, Lin’an, you don’t know, he’s back, he must be back. In all of Great Fan, besides him, no martial artist of the Transcendent Realm would appear at the Bureau of Astronomy.”

Lin’an’s eyes suddenly widened, her breathing notably quickening, followed by overwhelming joy and excitement. She grabbed Emperor Yongxing’s arm: “Really? He’s back?”

Emperor Yongxing nodded: “There were Transcendent Realm energy fluctuations at the Bureau of Astronomy at dusk. It must be him. I’ve already sent people to inquire.”

The Supervisor waved his hand, and transmission array patterns lit up beneath the Emotion-Perceiving Arhat, engulfing him in clear light from below before he vanished instantly from the Eight Trigrams Platform.

After imprisoning the Emotion-Perceiving Arhat underground, the Supervisor’s wrinkled old face showed a slight smile: “Your cultivation has progressed well.”

There’s a hidden meaning in those words, Supervisor… Xu Qi’an grumbled internally, glancing at Luo Yuheng, whose eyes were full of affection—appearing naive and sweet but quite possessive.

He coughed once, averting his gaze, and asked: “You had the National Preceptor tell me that all variables lie in this winter—what did you mean by that?”

Hearing this, the Supervisor lifted his wine cup and took a sip, saying slowly: “Whether Great Fan’s dynasty changes hands, whether these old bones of mine can live another five hundred years, and whether you—the fortunate one bearing half the nation’s fate—will die for your country. It all depends on this winter.”

Xu Qi’an’s expression grew heavy: “Is this the conclusion you reached by using your ‘Heaven’s Will’ ability to glimpse fate?”

The Supervisor replied irritably: “I used my brain.”

Xu Qi’an pondered silently for several seconds before guessing: “You mean the rebels in Cloud Province will rise this winter.”

After Luo Yuheng had relayed that message, he had made similar speculations.

The Supervisor nodded, satisfied with his response, and continued slowly: “Don’t you think collecting Dragon Qi has been somewhat too easy? Although Xu Pingfeng suffered karmic backlash and fears my schemes to kill him, preventing him from confronting you directly, with his methods, he doesn’t necessarily need to act personally to deal with you. He certainly wouldn’t let things go this smoothly.”

Xu Qi’an asked: “Then what has he been doing all this time?”

He already had an answer in mind.

“Preparing for rebellion; gathering allies.”

The Supervisor gazed westward: “Just as Emperor Wuzong allied with the Buddhist sect to help him rebel years ago.”

Xu Qi’an’s heart sank: “The Buddhist sect agreed?”

The Supervisor smiled sardonically: “Why else do you think I fought with the Garuda Tree? The conflict between Greater and Lesser Vehicles in Arantha grows increasingly fierce, with deep-seated contradictions. The Buddha remains in slumber, leaving the Bodhisattvas and Arhats in a deadlock. But this also removes their inhibitions—they’re just waiting for tensions to reach the breaking point before Arantha erupts in civil strife. Against this backdrop, redirecting the conflict is the best option.”

When internal contradictions become uncontrollable, foreign warfare becomes the best solution… Xu Qi’an sighed inwardly, reflecting on how human nature has common threads.

Luo Yuheng raised an eyebrow: “The Buddhist sect has already been burned once in this regard—aren’t they afraid Xu Pingfeng will betray them just as you did? After all, the Great Fan court is known for being the least trustworthy.”

The Witch God Cult would agree with that, Xu Qi’an thought wryly.

“This time is different!”

The Supervisor took another sip of wine and continued steadily: “After the Shanhai Pass battle, the Buddhist sect has flourished like oil over fire. The northern barbarians and southern demon remnants have fallen into decline. Great Fan’s national power has gradually weakened due to the loss of dynastic fate. This year, the Witch God nearly broke free from imprisonment and expanded territory, dealing heavy damage to the barbarians. Wei Yuan’s army pushed to Jingshan City, and all three sides suffered severe losses. Now, except for the lurking Million Demon Kingdom remnants and the sparsely populated Poison Tribes, all factions are in a weakened state. This is the opportunity the Buddhist sect has been waiting for—these circumstances didn’t exist during Emperor Wuzong’s rebellion.”

Luo Yuheng narrowed her beautiful eyes, “So the Buddhist sect doesn’t care whether Xu Pingfeng keeps his promises.”

She paused, then asked in confusion: “Does the Buddhist sect want to unify the Nine Provinces?”

If they only wanted to spread their teachings in the Central Plains, they would inevitably repeat the outcome of Emperor Wuzong’s time.

The Supervisor didn’t answer her.

Xu Qi’an inexplicably thought of the letter Wei Yuan had left him, recalling what the Great Azure Robed One had written: “This world is far crueler than you imagine!”

Combining this with the Confucian Saint sealing away the Poison God and Witch God, and Wei Yuan’s determination to reseal the Witch God even at the cost of his life, he suddenly realized that in the mists beyond his vision lay higher-level secrets.

These secrets were unknown even to someone like Luo Yuheng, the Human Path Sect Leader and peak expert!

“Then who told Lord Wei?” Xu Qi’an’s mind flashed to a figure, and he found his answer.

Zhao Shou!

“The Confucian school has been passed down for over two thousand years without interruption. As today’s leader of the Confucian school, Zhao Shou must know many secrets, perhaps no fewer than the Supervisor. But he’s usually too low-key—no, the entire Confucian school is too low-key…”

Xu Qi’an took a breath, suppressing his scattered thoughts, and said: “There’s something I’ve never understood… Supervisor, did you know early on that Xu Pingfeng and that branch from Hidden Dragon City were hiding in Cloud Province?”

If he had known earlier, why hadn’t he killed Xu Pingfeng and eliminated that branch from five hundred years ago?

The Supervisor seemed to see through his thoughts and said flatly: “I am not omniscient, and even Transcendent Realm experts cannot be all-knowing. As for now… Cloud Province no longer belongs to Great Fan.”

As he spoke, he gazed southward and chuckled: “Since you’ve reached the Transcendent Realm, I’ll tell you some secrets. Back then, when I supported Emperor Wuzong in purging the court, we started from his southern fief, declaring independence. Using that fief as a foundation, we expanded step by step, consuming surrounding provinces until we reached the capital. Why didn’t my teacher kill me beforehand?”

Xu Qi’an listened intently, and his spirit lifted. The secrets from five hundred years ago were taboo in Great Fan—the First Generation had blocked the current generation from accessing heaven’s secrets, and Emperor Wuzong had destroyed the historical books and related records from that time.

Today, it would be impossible to find any clues through any physical ancient texts.

If he could understand how Emperor Wuzong had successfully rebelled under the pressure of the First Generation Supervisor, perhaps he could deduce Xu Pingfeng’s detailed plans.

“For a Second-Grade Qi Practitioner, supporting an emperor and becoming a meritorious official who assists in founding a dynasty serves mainly to refine fate. Occupying one province’s territory means refining one province’s fate. Through this process, one grows increasingly powerful—that’s the origin of the term ‘Qi Practitioner.’ Until one consumes the entire Central Plains and establishes a dynasty, becoming a First-Grade Heaven’s Will Master. Within their territory, Qi Practitioners are practically invincible.”

No wonder the Supervisor is considered invincible within Great Fan’s borders… Xu Qi’an understood: “You mean Xu Pingfeng is practically invincible in Cloud Province? By the time you realized he was hiding there, he had already quietly refined Cloud Province’s fate. But how did you not notice?”

The Supervisor said flatly: “I also didn’t notice when they stole fate.”

Xu Pingfeng’s ability to steal fate relied on the Heaven Poison “Moving Stars and Changing Constellations” ability, which meant Xu Pingfeng must have either a high-level Heaven Poison Master by his side or a top-tier magical tool with equivalent capabilities.

Xu Qi’an suddenly understood.

The Supervisor continued:

“But Qi Practitioners have one fatal flaw—once they lose their territory, their power declines. And their so-called invincibility is relative. Even within Great Fan’s borders, I couldn’t defeat and kill multiple First-Grade experts simultaneously, nor could the First Generation.

“That’s why we needed the Buddhist sect’s Bodhisattvas’ help back then, to keep the First Generation occupied while we fought our way to the capital.”

The current situation in Great Fan is almost identical to back then… Xu Qi’an realized: “So Xu Pingfeng wants to recreate what Emperor Wuzong and you did.”

And he had already succeeded, with the Buddhist sect once again playing the role of a tool.

Qi Practitioners truly are a system cursed by fate… Xu Qi’an lamented internally. During his previous confrontation with his father, he had learned from “Unfilial Son” that Qi Practitioners took disciples to prevent their system from dying out.

But pursuing higher levels was like living beings, which inevitably led to disciples betraying masters, generation after generation, repeating endlessly.

Though martial artists were crude, thinking carefully about it, they lived the most carefree lives.

The Dao School and Qi Practitioners aside, the Buddhist system required three years of rigid precepts just to begin. Too many rules and restrictions.

The Poison Tribe drew power from the Poison God, not truly a traditional system.

The Witch system, so far, showed no major flaws.

“So Xu Pingfeng is invincible while in Cloud Province?” Xu Qi’an brought the topic back.

The Supervisor smiled: “We need only dispatch two or more Second-Grade experts to engage him and keep him occupied while sending troops to attack and reclaim Cloud Province. That would break his ‘realm of invincibility.'”

That’s why he allied with the Buddhist sect… Xu Qi’an nodded. The Supervisor’s words were teaching him how to defeat a Qi Practitioner.

After discussing the important matters, Xu Qi’an said: “I think the task of unsealing Shen Shu is too difficult to complete in just two or three months.”

He was indirectly asking if there were ways to quickly unlock the remaining demon-sealing nails.

The Supervisor answered irrelevantly: “Collecting Dragon Qi is your core task now. Don’t worry about other matters.”

Xu Qi’an nodded slightly and said softly: “There’s one more thing—that ancient corpse in the underground palace outside Yong Province has recently been destroyed.”

The Supervisor gave a slight “mm” and gazed into the distance without speaking.

Xu Qi’an was already used to dealing with Qi Practitioners and didn’t pursue the matter further. Mentioning it was enough.

“I heard Caiwei is making disciples?”

He asked, making conversation.

The Supervisor didn’t answer.

“Has Senior Brother Sun returned? He vanished after the battle outside Yong Province.”

The Supervisor replied irritably: “If you have nothing else, you can leave.”

Always bringing up unpleasant topics.

“Supervisor, if I use Dragon Qi to nurture the Great Peace Blade, how long until it reaches the level of the Nation-Stabilizing Sword?” Xu Qi’an had more questions and refused to leave.

“It’s impossible in the short term, but enough for its initial transformation into a semi-finished magical treasure,” the Supervisor answered.

Xu Qi’an asked several more questions, receiving detailed answers from the Supervisor.

Luo Yuheng looked at the sky and smiled enchantingly: “Dear Xu, come back to Spirit Treasure Temple to practice dual cultivation with me.”

…Xu Qi’an responded with an “Oh.”

At this moment, Chu Caiwei emerged from the stairway, bouncing in her yellow dress, the big-eyed cute girl as lively and adorable as ever.

“You’re back!”

She smiled at Xu Qi’an, then said: “Lin’an and Huaiqing have come to the Bureau of Astronomy to see you.”

Luo Yuheng narrowed her beautiful eyes.

Xu Qi’an looked at the National Preceptor, dumbfounded.

“Tch!”

The Supervisor gave a light laugh—that’s what you get for not leaving when told.

At the bottom of the tower.

Li Lingsu said in disbelief: “I never imagined Brother Yang had such a tragic past. That Xu Qi’an repeatedly steals your opportunities is truly unfilial. The Supervisor abandoned his direct disciple like an old shoe just to support him—despicable!”

There’s no point staying at this Bureau of Astronomy… Yang Qianhuan sighed: “Brother Li’s experiences are equally heartbreaking. I’ll never be able to hold my head high in front of him again.”

“No, don’t say that…” Li Lingsu scraped his feet forcefully on the ground.

The two fell silent for a moment, feeling a surge of kindred spirit.

Yang Qianhuan humphed: “He’ll get his comeuppance.”

Li Lingsu nodded vigorously: “Look up to the heavens—they spare no one.”

After a few seconds, he said resentfully: “Having the Northern King’s consort as a sweetheart was already enough, yet now even the National Preceptor wants to dual cultivate with him.”

A big question mark floated through Yang Qianhuan’s mind.

“Luo Yuheng and Xu Qi’an are dual cultivating?”

“Isn’t it infuriating?” Li Lingsu nodded: “The consort is truly beautiful, I’ve never seen anyone who could match her beauty. The National Preceptor is likewise a rare beauty in this world.”

Yang Qianhuan was confused—he didn’t know the secret of Xu Qi’an carrying Great Fan’s national fate. However, this matter couldn’t make Yang Qianhuan feel jealous.

Whether it was the National Preceptor or the consort, in Senior Brother Yang’s view, they weren’t even as enviable as a few capital citizens shouting “Silver Gong Xu is a hero!”

“By the way, I heard Xu Qi’an has several other sweethearts in the capital. Brother Yang, do you know the details?” Li Lingsu asked curiously. He believed women like the National Preceptor and the consort were rare in the world.

But surely not all of Xu Qi’an’s sweethearts could be such exceptional beauties.

Among Li Lingsu’s romantic interests, each was a stunning beauty.

Excluding Luo Yuheng and the consort, his sweethearts couldn’t be inferior to Xu Qi’an’s.

Yang Qianhuan thought for a moment and said: “I’m not too clear about that—I never pay attention to such trivial matters. Though Xu Qi’an does seem quite popular with women.”

Li Lingsu pressed: “How do those women look?”

Yang Qianhuan sneered: “Just ordinary women—I’ve never really looked at them properly.”

Because he was always facing away from them.

Such a disdainful attitude… Li Lingsu understood.

At this moment, Li Miaozhen and the others returned, bringing a woman with loose hair wearing a hemp robe.

Li Lingsu guessed this unkempt woman must be the “Zhong Li” his junior sister mentioned.

Such a slovenly woman naturally wouldn’t catch the Holy Son’s eye. He calmly looked away and observed the expressions of the Heaven and Earth Society members.

Seeing no mockery or ridicule from them, the Holy Son secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Miaozhen introduced: “This is Zhong Li, the Supervisor’s fifth disciple, a Fifth-Grade Qi Practitioner.”

Considering that being plagued by misfortune was a private matter, she didn’t tell her scumbag senior brother.

Li Lingsu gave an “mm” and left the underground with the group.

While climbing the stairs, Li Miaozhen warned: “You two better walk close to the wall.”

“Why?”

“The path is slippery!”

Li Lingsu looked at her like she was an idiot, not taking it seriously.

How could he, a mighty Fourth-Grade Core Formation expert, fear slippery stairs?

But after just a few steps, the Holy Son suddenly felt his feet slip, and he tumbled down the stone steps.

Grimacing in pain, he stammered: “It… it is quite slippery.”

This time, he paid careful attention to his footing, frequently looking down at the path.

After safely climbing thirty steps, the mysterious slipperiness appeared again, and the Holy Son rolled down, getting so battered his mother wouldn’t recognize him.

“I told you to walk close to the wall!” Li Miaozhen laughed.

Heng Yuan opened his mouth, looking back at Li Miaozhen—she was usually very serious.

But since reuniting with her senior brother Li Lingsu, she had become quite devious.

Li Lingsu looked up at Miao Youfang, who also wasn’t walking close to the wall: “Do you find it slippery?”

Miao Youfang somersaulted the stairs: “Not at all.”

This guy’s quite the actor… Chu Yuanzhen gave Miao Youfang a look.

Li Lingsu thought for a moment and said: “I’m not going up. You all go ahead.”

He warily looked around, suspecting Li Miaozhen was playing tricks on him, but he had no proof.

“My senior brother is such a philanderer, flirting everywhere. Sometimes he needs to learn about the dangers of the jianghu,” Li Miaozhen transmitted her reasoning.

Heng Yuan considered this and agreed with her logic.

Chu Yuanzhen felt something was off and transmitted: “Don’t you think Xu Qi’an is also a philanderer?”

Li Miaozhen asked in surprise: “Is he?”

Chu Yuanzhen: “…”

Watching the four left, Li Lingsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Zhong Li is a Fifth-Grade Qi Practitioner, called a Prophet. At this level, Qi Practitioners are plagued by misfortune that affects those around them.”

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded behind him.

Li Lingsu turned to look and saw only a back.

“I see!”

Li Lingsu found the behavior of showing only the back of one’s head somewhat familiar, while suddenly understanding.

Then, somewhat indignantly, he said: “But why was I the only one who fell…”

He suddenly stopped speaking, wearing an expression like he’d eaten a dead rat.

This time, Li Lingsu returned to the surface without any crisis. The moment he pushed open the door to the ground level, Yang Qianhuan simultaneously teleported, appearing behind him, still facing away.

“Where did they go?”

Li Lingsu saw Miao Youfang waiting at the entrance and asked.

Miao Youfang said: “I just heard the Qi Practitioners in the hall talking to Daoist Li—it seems two princesses have arrived.”

He shrugged and smiled bitterly: “I’m just a commoner, I dare not meet such important people.”