"Mm, I understand." Wei Zhao nodded. To have learned so much from Xin Yijie was already an unexpected delight; he had merely wanted to get a rough measure of the Antiquity Alliance's strength. As for the deeper secrets hidden beneath, there was no need to dig into them for the time being, since for now they were of no use to him at all.

"That is all this disciple knows of the power structure within the Antiquity Alliance's little martial world. Is there anything else the Martial Granduncle wishes to know?" Xin Yijie asked respectfully.

"Not for the moment. If something comes to mind later, I will seek you out again." Wei Zhao waved a hand and returned to the matter at hand. "Today let us speak of the mundane world. There is nothing wrong with the Antiquity Alliance wanting to recruit new disciples of sufficient aptitude, but you should not go about it by hunting blindly on your own. If you stated the matter openly and clearly, I believe many cultivators of the mundane world would wish to join. There is no need at all to make relations as tense as they are now—that will only prove counterproductive."

Low-level cultivators always yearn for higher things; such is the natural order of things. Back when Cloud Terrace Isle had sent only Nantian Jiguang as a token envoy of reception, people had still battered down the gates to get in. The same principle applied to the Antiquity Alliance today. It was only that men like Xue Jianfeng and Yu Zhengliang acted with such overbearing high-handedness, carrying themselves as though the cultivators of the mundane world were not even worth regarding as human, that naturally no one was willing to follow them.

"The Martial Granduncle speaks truly. This disciple never imagined the various sects would act so rashly and carelessly. We issued repeated strict orders that the order of the mundane world was not to be disturbed, yet in the end it still came to this. This disciple will go back and mediate—reassemble all the training disciples of every sect and forbid them from running wild in the mundane world." Xin Yijie spoke with sincerity.

"Good. Then I will leave it to you." Wei Zhao nodded, thinking to himself that the identity of Martial Granduncle really did make all the difference. Xin Yijie had been reasonably easy to deal with before, true, but on a matter like this he would never have agreed outright; he would surely have hemmed and hawed and found excuses. A single copy of the Azure Cloud Calming Heart Formula had proved useful beyond all expectation. Reciting it had truly been worth it.

"This disciple takes his leave. I shall come another day to pay my respects to the Martial Granduncle." Xin Yijie rose to his feet.

"Take care. No need to see me out." Wei Zhao smiled and personally escorted Xin Yijie out of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau. Watching the other man's receding figure, he exhaled a long breath of stale air. This day's hurdle had finally been cleared.

"Well? Did you fool him?" Qiu Lingshan followed behind him, all smiles. From the expressions on Wei Zhao's and Xin Yijie's faces, it was plain that today's negotiation had ended to everyone's satisfaction.

"How is it fooling? I laid out the facts and reasoned with him, all right?" Wei Zhao said, curling his lip.

"Really?" Qiu Lingshan did not believe a word of it. Xin Yijie did seem easier to talk to than arrogant creatures like Xue Jianfeng, but that sense of Antiquity Alliance superiority was in their very bones. She refused to believe the man could be won over so easily.

"Of course it is true. If anyone else had said such things to him, perhaps it would have been useless—but I am his Martial Granduncle. If he did not listen to me, would that not be gross insubordination?" Wei Zhao countered with a smile.

"You are his Martial Granduncle?!" Qiu Lingshan's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"Hard to believe? Honestly, I hardly believe it myself, but if the man is willing to believe such a thing, what can I do about it? Since he is so sincere about it, I suppose I must grudgingly suffer the loss. It is all for the sake of the mundane world." Wei Zhao wore the look of one who, if he did not descend into hell, who would.

"Hahahaha..." Qiu Lingshan nearly choked with laughter at his comical expression. He had swindled and conned his way into becoming the man's Martial Granduncle, and he still thought he had come out the loser. Then what did that make the man's disciple-grandson—the one who had gotten the better of the deal?

"You are a girl, after all. Must you laugh so uninhibitedly in a public place? I can see your breakfast," Wei Zhao said with a mild smile, watching her rock back and forth.

"Ah!" Startled, Qiu Lingshan clapped a hand over her mouth. Only when she saw Wei Zhao's wicked grin did she realize, and she gave him a playful punch, lowering her head with a red face. "If you do not like it, then I will not laugh like that anymore..."

"No, no—if a little fool like you laughed without showing her teeth, I would not know what to do. A bit uninhibited is good. That guileless, happy-go-lucky air is what people like." Wei Zhao said hurriedly.

"Who is guileless and happy-go-lucky!" Qiu Lingshan muttered. Yet her face was full of delight—plainly those last four words had sent her heart blooming.

"All right, let us talk business. Send a summons to every cultivation faction in our mundane world. We must gather all the sects and clans. Xin Yijie's side has been settled, true, but how far he can actually restrain the disciples of the various Antiquity Alliance sects remains unknown. We in the mundane world must still be prepared." Wei Zhao's expression turned serious.

"Understood. Should the ancient sects be notified as well?" Qiu Lingshan asked hesitantly. The Mysterious Investigation Bureau's true jurisdiction extended only to the mundane and hidden levels; it had little hold over the ancient level. At most it could exchange information with them when something came up—and they might not necessarily give the Mysterious Investigation Bureau any face.

"Of course. Notify them in my name. This is a good opportunity to reestablish the Mysterious Investigation Bureau's standing among the cultivation factions of the mundane world." Wei Zhao nodded.

Without this incident, those ancient sects might not have been willing to pay the Mysterious Investigation Bureau any heed at all; even Wei Zhao might not have been able to summon them. But now that they had each suffered losses at the hands of the Antiquity Alliance and only Wei Zhao could stand up for them, they had no choice but to come.

Sure enough, when faced with the summons issued by the Mysterious Investigation Bureau on Wei Zhao's behalf, every cultivation faction of the ancient level, the hidden level, and the mundane level turned out without a single one missing. What was more, all of them were wholly won over by Wei Zhao, and on the spot declared that they would follow none but the Cultivators' Association.

Such was the way of strength. Even before he went to Cloud Terrace Isle, Wei Zhao's power had already been outstanding; now he had grown so formidable that they strained even to look up at him. With the Antiquity Alliance glaring at them like a tiger watching its prey, and not a fool among those who could helm a faction, they naturally knew how to choose. If they dared not cling to Wei Zhao's leg now, they could look forward to being struck from the rolls.

"You always have a way. In the past I would never have dared imagine they would obediently report to the Mysterious Investigation Bureau. This time they were so docile, following your every word..." Qiu Lingshan said, covering a smile as she watched the representatives of the various factions inside exchange pleasantries and curry favor.

"Times change. The wise man adapts to circumstances," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.