Qu Huashang was placed in solitary confinement.
Infighting within the White Lotus Sect was the gravest of offenses, let alone the senseless public killing of another Holy Maiden! Everyone knew that if anyone else had committed such an act, they would have been dead long ago.
The White Lotus Matriarch would never tolerate anyone challenging her authority. The Holy Maidens were rare talents of the White Lotus Sect, and only the Sect Master had the right to decide their fates.
Qu Huashang had undoubtedly overstepped her bounds!
With such an incident having occurred, no one was more pleased than the other Holy Maidens. Everyone believed that no matter how favored Qu Huashang had been before, she would never regain the Sect Master's esteem after this.
Qu Huashang, now confined in solitude, languished in a dark dungeon—a place originally used by the Noble Spirit Hall to imprison enemies. Damp, gloomy, cold, and frigid, it was no place for a human being to live.
The White Lotus Matriarch had also decreed that no one was permitted to visit, and only a small amount of clean water and meager rations would be provided each day. Under such conditions, no matter how strong Qu Huashang might be, prolonged imprisonment would surely endanger her life.
The dungeon was heavily guarded, and Yang Kai could do nothing about it. He could certainly force his way in—he believed no one could stop him—but doing so would only bring even greater trouble upon Qu Huashang.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
It came sooner than expected.
The Noble Spirit Hall's headquarters had fallen, replaced by the White Lotus Sect. In that battle, the Seven Great Sects suffered countless casualties, and those who survived had retreated to their respective sects to recuperate.
How could the White Lotus Matriarch let slip the chance to kick a drowning dog? Her lifelong dream had been to unite both the righteous and demonic paths under one banner. Now, heaven had granted her a golden opportunity—if she could sweep away the Seven Great Sects, she would accomplish what no Sect Master of the White Lotus Sect had managed in centuries.
With every major sect having suffered devastating losses to their elite forces, now was the perfect time to launch a full-scale assault and destroy them one by one.
However, the White Lotus Sect had always operated in the shadows, and direct assaults were hardly their strong suit. Their previous conquest of the Noble Spirit Hall's headquarters had been possible only because they held overwhelming advantages in timing and manpower.
Moreover, the White Lotus Sect had suffered considerable losses in that very battle.
Now, in order to breach the Seven Great Sects, the White Lotus Matriarch found herself in an awkward predicament—she had no one suitable to command!
It wasn't that all her subordinates were incompetent. In terms of individual combat and covert assassinations, she still had plenty of elite talent. But when it came to commanding an army and coordinating large-scale operations, those people simply weren't up to the task.
Such an opportunity was rare, and if she let it slip, there was no telling when the next one would come.
In the great council hall, Yang Kai and Xiao He burst in abruptly.
The White Lotus Matriarch's face darkened with displeasure as she turned to look. "The Left Protector has something to report?"
Because of Qu Huashang, the White Lotus Matriarch had been giving Yang Kai nothing but cold looks lately. Rumors were swirling among the ranks that the reason Qu Huashang acted so boldly was that she had Yang Kai backing her up—like a fox borrowing the tiger's ferocity.
Regardless of whether the rumors held any truth, the White Lotus Matriarch had to put on the appropriate front.
Yang Kai didn't beat around the bush. He cut straight to the point: "Grant me five hundred men, Sect Master, and I will take Lion Tower within one month!"
The assembled Hall Masters erupted in uproar.
They had been deliberating on the assault on Lion Tower. Among the Seven Great Sects, Lion Tower was the weakest and the easiest to attack. Of course, they would go for the softest target—this battle was too critical for the White Lotus Sect to afford any failure.
If this battle succeeded, the White Lotus Sect's future endeavors would gain unstoppable momentum. If it failed, the advantages they had accumulated could very well be wiped out entirely.
But no matter how they ran the numbers, they concluded that breaching Lion Tower would require a significant numerical advantage—at least fifteen hundred men to stand any chance, and even then, they had to be prepared for devastating casualties.
For Yang Kai to make such a claim outright—despite being the former Hall Master of the Noble Spirit Hall—everyone felt he was talking far too big.
The White Lotus Matriarch narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Yang Kai. "And if you fail?"
Yang Kai replied, "My life is in the Sect Master's hands. If I fail, I'll pay with my life!"
The White Lotus Matriarch's lips curved into a faint smirk. "You say your life is in my hands—but that's already mine. How can you offer what belongs to me? If that were the case, you'd be getting off far too easy."
Yang Kai frowned slightly. "What conditions does the Sect Master have?"
The White Lotus Matriarch was clearly well prepared—she had likely been plotting ever since she used Qu Huashang's killing of Tian Jie as a pretext to confine her. Hearing his question, she declared: "If you fail, Qu Huashang dies!"
For Qu Huashang's sake, Yang Kai had been willing to swallow the Blood-Congealing Soul-Cleansing Pill and throw in his lot with the White Lotus Sect. The White Lotus Matriarch was certain that as long as she held Qu Huashang as leverage, Yang Kai would hold nothing back!
This was precisely why she hadn't punished Qu Huashang according to the sect's rules, but had merely confined her for the time being.
She needed a commander, and Yang Kai was qualified for the role—but she had no intention of asking him of her own accord.
Everything was now firmly within her grasp.