In the great hall, Li Yuanwang sat with both hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. He blew on it, took a sip, and let out a satisfied hiss—pure bliss.
One of the three Vice Sect Masters, Gao Ting, shot him a sidelong glance. "Sect Master, isn't this… a bit much?"
The message Li Yuanwang had sent out to all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven masters had reached Gao Ting too. It read, plain as day: "The Lord of Void Earth, Yang Kai, is an arrogant and insolent troublemaker who has come to our Langya Sect to stir up trouble, gravely damaging the dignity of our Sect. All Sixth-Order Open Heaven masters of Langya are hereby ordered to capture him by any means necessary, with no limit on numbers. Any who successfully capture Yang Kai will be rewarded with an opportunity to train in the Five Lights World!"
Upon receiving this message, Gao Ting had been somewhat dazed. This whole affair had originally been nothing more than a minor misunderstanding between disciples. Over the past few days, Yang Kai had somehow hidden himself away, avoiding the heat of the moment. The many Open Heaven masters who had been chasing him were already returning to their posts, resuming their duties. The whole debacle was about to fizzle out.
Who could have guessed that right at this critical juncture, Li Yuanwang would pull a stunt like this?
With this order from the Sect Master, how could the Sixth-Order Langya cultivators not take it seriously? And to top it off, the final reward was an opportunity to train in the Five Lights World!
Chances were every Sixth-Order master in Langya would mobilize. It might even draw in Seventh-Order and Fifth-Order cultivators.
"What do you mean 'a bit much'? It's perfectly fine!" Li Yuanwang didn't even look up, continuing to sip his tea.
Gao Ting sighed. "Sect Master, this is getting out of hand. I'm afraid it'll be hard to put back in the box."
"No worries, no worries, no worries!" Li Yuanwang waved his hand with a laugh. "The whole point is to stir things up. You can only catch fish in murky waters…"
Gao Ting heard this and fell into thought. A moment later he nodded. "I understand what the Sect Master means." He paused, then added, "But Sect Master, you're sure this isn't about settling a personal score? You do know those rumors were just a misunderstanding, right?"
Li Yuanwang chuckled. "Of course I know. What kind of person is my little Pan-er? Don't I know her well enough?"
Gao Ting stared at him speechlessly, thinking: If you weren't gritting your teeth and looking like you wanted to eat someone alive while saying that, I might actually believe you!
This was clearly an opportunity for retaliation. The Sect Master did know it was a misunderstanding, but those rumors had tarnished Gu Pan's reputation, and naturally the brat needed to be taught a lesson.
Li Yuanwang suddenly became serious and spoke. "I'm doing this for two reasons. First, to muddy the waters and give that boy room to maneuver. Second, I want the Langya disciples to know that there are always people above you and worlds beyond this one."
Gao Ting insincerely replied, "The Sect Master is wise. Then let us wait for good news."
Beneath that vast lake, Yang Kai lay hidden, his breathing calm and his mind focused. After the past few days, he had stopped sensing the auras of Open Heaven masters passing overhead. It seemed the commotion had finally died down.
But to be safe, he didn't immediately reveal himself, planning to stay hidden for a few more days.
However, at that very moment, a massive wave of powerful energy fluctuations swept past above, divine senses spreading out to search every inch of the surroundings.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed. This was clearly someone searching for him. Who was still at this? Were they not tired of it?
He quietly congratulated himself on not having rashly shown himself, or he would have walked straight into another headache.
He continued to hide.
Before long, Yang Kai noticed something was off. Logically, after he had been hiding for this long, Langya should have called off the search. After all, there was no deep-seated grudge between them. Sure, he had beaten up a few people, but hadn't they hit him back? That pretty much evened things out.
Anyone who had cultivated to the Sixth-Order of Open Heaven was no petty person. After an intense fight, they might not end up as enemies—they might even develop a grudging respect for one another.
Yet Langya just wouldn't let it go.
Not only that, but the situation, which had been gradually dying down, had suddenly reversed. More and more people were searching for his trail.
Above the lake, powerful auras continued to pass by at frequent intervals. They were traveling in groups of two or three, sometimes four or five, and every single one of them was Sixth-Order!
What was going on? Yang Kai was completely bewildered.
After thinking it over, Yang Kai produced a transmission bead, intending to ask Gu Pan.
He had a way to contact her—they had interacted several times, after all.
He channeled his divine sense, sending the message out.
In the bamboo pavilion, Gu Pan looked at the brother and sister Gongsun Rihua and Gongsun Yuehua, pleading. "Senior Brother Rihua, Senior Sister Yuehua, please just let me go out."
Gongsun Rihua and Gongsun Yuehua both shook their heads. Gongsun Yuehua said, "We can't do that, Junior Sister. Our current mission is to keep an eye on you and prevent you from having any contact with that brat, so you don't get taken advantage of again."
Ever since Gu Pan had been spirited away by the two siblings that day, they had stayed by her side, inseparable. Now Gu Pan couldn't even step outside the bamboo pavilion, let alone go searching for news about Yang Kai.
She had no idea what Yang Kai had been through these past few days. All she knew was that there had been powerful energy fluctuations some time ago, which quickly dissipated. After that, large groups of senior brothers and sisters had begun searching in earnest. In particular, her own Spirit Continent had received heavy visits from numerous seniors, who kept coming to inspect things.
Hearing Gongsun Yuehua's words, Gu Pan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Senior Sister Yuehua, there is truly nothing between me and Senior Brother Yang. Won't you trust me just this once?"
Gongsun Yuehua replied, "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that that brat has stirred up the anger of everyone here. The senior brothers and sisters all feel their dignity has been damaged, and they're determined to find him and settle the score. And then there's the Sect Master…"
Gongsun Rihua suddenly gave a light cough.
Gongsun Yuehua immediately fell silent.
Gu Pan looked from one to the other, and a sense of unease suddenly washed over her. "What about Master?"
"Nothing, nothing at all! Don't worry, Junior Sister." Gongsun Rihua quickly waved his hands.
Just then, Gu Pan's expression shifted, and she said, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, I'd like to take a bath. Would you mind stepping outside for a moment?"
The brother and sister exchanged a glance. Gongsun Yuehua said, "We'll be right outside. Behave yourself, and I'll make you something good to eat when we come back."