Seeing how readily Yang Kai went along with everything, Hua Qingsi felt a wave of relief. She had been willing to risk offending Yang Kai by laying the matter bare, precisely because she feared that gaining power might trigger unexpected changes in him. An increase in strength and a swelling of authority often awakened dark impulses — but now it seemed Yang Kai hadn't changed at all.
So Hua Qingsi spoke directly: "If Lingxiao Palace wants to unify the Northern Territory, we absolutely cannot rely solely on overwhelming power. That's a tool for the early stages. If we truly want the support of the people, we must win their hearts. Iron-fisted suppression may produce results, but it inevitably breeds resentment. The destruction of two Sects is no small matter. Lately, many Sects across the Northern Territory have been living in fear, terrified that we'll turn the butcher's blade on them next. Even though we have no such intention, they don't know that."
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. "Mi Qi acted recklessly and overstepped all bounds. He deserves punishment!"
Hua Qingsi cupped her fists. "The Palace Master sees clearly. What decision does the Palace Master intend to make?"
Yang Kai asked in return, "What do you think, Sister Hua?"
Hua Qingsi pondered for a moment. "Although Mi Qi twisted the Palace Master's intentions, he did act with good, if misguided, intentions. If the punishment is too severe, the world will think Lingxiao Palace is timid and petty. If it's too light, it accomplishes nothing. In my humble opinion, we can order him to step down and hand his position to someone more capable, letting him spend the rest of his days in retirement at the Mitian Sect."
Yang Kai's lips curled upward. "Sister Hua has considered everything thoroughly..."
Hua Qingsi pouted. "If you want to say I'm killing the donkey after it's finished the grinding, just come out and say it. It's written all over your face."
"Not at all!" Yang Kai cried injustice, though in his heart that was exactly what he'd been thinking. Lingxiao Palace's ability to sweep through the Northern Territory had rested on two pillars — their formidable strength, and the pressure applied jointly with the other three top-tier Sects. Throughout the entire campaign, Mi Qi had contributed significantly. Once he witnessed Yang Kai and Lingxiao Palace's power, Mi Qi had thrown himself into the effort wholeheartedly, personally leading the Mitian Sect's Emperor Realm cultivators to suppress and subjugate one force after another.
Now that the grand situation was settled, ordering him to step down for a successor — wasn't that exactly the kind of ingratitude he was thinking of?
Hua Qingsi continued, "Mi Qi isn't exactly a petty man, but he's far too ambitious to be controlled. We can use this incident to put him in his place. At the same time, we can cultivate a puppet within the Mitian Sect and bring it firmly under our control." This was Hua Qingsi's true objective.
Of the Northern Territory's four great Sects, the Ice Heart Valley had deep ties with Yang Kai, and the Li Long Palace followed Yang Kai's lead without question. The only variable was the Mitian Sect. By ousting Mi Qi and installing a controllable Sect Master behind the scenes, they could truly bring the entire Northern Territory under one hand. When Lingxiao Palace issued a decree and the three great Sects responded as one, would any other force in the Northern Territory dare to dissent?
Yang Kai could naturally perceive Hua Qingsi's intentions and felt once again that appointing Sister Hua as the Grand Steward had been a wise decision. Her cultivation might not be especially high, but having grown up in the Star God Palace, she had been steeped since childhood in all manner of affairs. Handling something like this — turning clouds into rain and back again — was well within her grasp.
He had no objections and let Hua Qingsi proceed as she saw fit.
With the matter settled, Mi Qi's fate was effectively sealed. When the time came, Hua Qingsi would travel to the Mitian Sect accompanied by the three great Monster Kings — at which point Mi Qi would likely not even dare harbor thoughts of resistance.
Hua Qingsi then said, "There's still the matter of Wuhua Hall. The Palace Master will need to make a trip there personally."
Yang Kai said, "You mean the Extrastellar Winds?"
Every top-tier Sect had its own foundation. In the Southern Territory, the Star God Palace had the Five-Colored Pagoda, the Qingyang Divine Temple had the Spirit Wandering Mirror, Wuhua Hall had the Extrastellar Winds, and the Tianwu Holy Land had the Martial Intent Hall. Each of these was a treasure trove found nowhere else in the world.
Though Wuhua Hall had been destroyed and its disciples killed to the last, the foundation it possessed had not been destroyed. Setting aside the sacred mountains and blessed lands it once occupied and the wealth accumulated over many years, the Extrastellar Winds alone were enough to make countless cultivators covet them.
However, Wuhua Hall's wealth had already been extracted under the supervision of several Star God Palace Elders and distributed among the Southern Territory's Sects as compensation for their devastating losses this time around.
As for the vast territory Wuhua Hall had possessed, Yang Kai had claimed it for himself.
In the Wuhua Hall affair, Yang Kai had single-handedly turned the tide, saving tens of thousands of Southern Territory elites from certain doom. That alone was a monumental contribution. When he made his demands afterward, the Southern Territory had no choice but to consider them carefully.
Yang Kai had asked for nothing else — only the Wuhua Hall's territory.
Though the Star God Palace was somewhat reluctant, they had no choice but to agree. The Qingyang Divine Temple naturally wouldn't stand in Yang Kai's way — with Yang Kai in possession of Wuhua Hall's lands, they stood to benefit as well. With those two in agreement, even Ma Qing, the Holy Lord of the Tianwu Holy Land, could raise no useful objection.
So now, Wuhua Hall's former territory counted as Yang Kai's private property.
He had considered before relocating the Rakshasa Sect to the Wuhua Hall grounds. After all, the spiritual mountains and blessed lands Wuhua Hall had occupied were extraordinary — not a whit inferior to Lingxiao Palace's own. If the Rakshasa Sect could truly relocate there, it would be enormously beneficial to their future development.
But after thinking it over, he had let the idea go. He didn't actually have deep ties with the Rakshasa Sect. His sole reason for shielding them so vigorously had been to put his own mind at ease. Now that Sheng Yuzhu had entered the picture, that thought had been laid to rest entirely.