Jiang Chen and Venerable Chongxiao's discussion proceeded extremely smoothly.
Seeing how impatient Venerable Chongxiao looked, Jiang Chen decided not to keep him in suspense. He smiled and said, "Venerable, this force ranks among the very top in the Upper Eight Regions. After all these years of development, I'm sure they've made tremendous progress. Using them as the foundation to rebuild the Danxiao Ancient Sect should be a win-win for both sides. Oh, by the way — last time when we restarted the Myriad Heavens Ten Thousand Spirits Lock Spirit Grand Formation, how are those formation masters you recruited and trained? What's their current skill level? How many are still around?"
"I've swept most of them out the door. The ones I kept — their talent and character are both flawless. They're absolutely my trusted confidants now."
"Good. Better to go without than fill the ranks with deadweight — that's the right call. That recruitment was too hasty; it was inevitable that some undesirables would slip in. After your pruning, this batch can receive focused training. However, when you mix these people with that force together, you'll need to put extra effort into maintaining the balance between them."
This time, Venerable Chongxiao didn't argue. Instead, he considered the matter seriously. After a long while, he nodded and said, "Indeed. The principle of balance must be mastered well."
"There's a formation master named Wang Xuetong. I used to have a good relationship with him. I'd appreciate it if Venerable Chongxiao could look after him. He's a talent worth nurturing."
Wang Xuetong was a formation master Jiang Chen had first met in Dan Fire City. Later, for various reasons, he came to serve under Jiang Chen.
He was quite accomplished in the Dao of Alchemy, and what was even more valuable, he had a good relationship with Su Huanzhen, the sect master of the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy. If they put him in an important position, he might serve as a lubricant to mediate relations between both sides.
……
The restoration of the Human Territory's spirit veins brought earth-shaking changes to the entire region. Every sect was a beneficiary.
This also led to a dramatic reshuffling of the power structure within the Human Territory. Forces that had once been comparable in strength now found their balance shifting.
Some factions grew rapidly through aggressive expansion, gaining tremendous resources and equally tremendous ambition.
Other factions remained relatively restrained. Over the past dozen years or so, they kept a low profile — no expansion, no power struggles — and thus reaped few of the rewards that expansion brought.
The Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy was one of the latter.
For the past decade, the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy had steadfastly held its own territory, never expanding outward. Neither military conquest nor forceful suppression — the Academy had engaged in none of it.
In fact, Su Huanzhen, the sect master of the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy, had personally decreed that none of the Academy's members were to leave without authorization or engage in any form of plundering. Should anyone violate this prohibition, she would personally expel them from the Academy.
One had to admit, Su Huanzhen was a leader of remarkable resolve. She always followed through on her word. Two elders of the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy had paid lip service to her decree while secretly using force outside to conquer two small factions, taking them under their own control. When Su Huanzhen learned of this, she expelled both elders on the spot.
This incident caused a massive uproar within the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy. Some supported her decision, others quietly grumbled, but at the very least, no one dared openly challenge Su Huanzhen.
This demonstrated just how strong Su Huanzhen's control over the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy truly was.
Not only did Su Huanzhen forbid expansion, but during this period, aside from her own cultivation, she had devoted herself to constructing formations, seeking out ancient formation relics, and restoring primordial arrays.
These tasks might have seemed tedious, but Su Huanzhen found endless enjoyment in them.
Over the course of ten years, while the gains had not been enormous, no one could deny that when it came to formation-based defense, the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy was unquestionably the most secure among all first-rate forces.
One day, while deep in cultivation, Su Huanzhen faintly sensed something. She opened her eyes and seemed to hear the cries of magpies outside her cave dwelling.
Su Huanzhen murmured to herself, "Magpies singing on the branches this early in the morning — could it be that something good is about to happen to our Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy?"
Just as she spoke, a trusted subordinate reported from outside the cave dwelling, "Academy Master, Head Xia and several elders are requesting an audience outside. It appears to be an urgent matter."