The way people's hearts turn is a subtle thing. By any reasonable measure, an out-and-out outsider like Wei Zhao had no business being lumped in with the native faction—and yet here he was, on the verge of becoming its standard-bearer. Where was the logic in that?

Naturally, Xin Yi'an deserved enormous credit for this turn of events. Not only had he dragged Lu Ping'an back and forth through endless rounds of haggling, he had also been vigorously promoting Wei Zhao's position and courting the native faction's senior figures and disciples. Had he not, they might never have gathered so quickly; someone, after all, had to be stirring the pot from behind the scenes.

Wei Zhao himself, by contrast, paid no attention whatsoever to the messy affairs of the outside world. Apart from instructing Qiu Lingshan and the others in their cultivation, his only daily task was his own training—using the spirit-herb roots to elevate his primordial spirit and strengthening his Soul-Hooking Hand. Those two were his overriding priorities for the moment.

Meanwhile, on Middle Island, Leng Leng of the Snow Sword Sect had run into trouble.

Leng Leng had been placed under house arrest.

That was right. As one of the most dazzling disciples in both this mortal-realm trial and the Primordial Trials, Leng Leng was confined to her quarters the very day after she returned to the Snow Sword Sect—on the grounds that she had disobeyed the sect's orders during the trial.

By the lights of Xue Liping and his son Xue Jianming, they had schemed every which way to brand Leng Leng's earlier conduct as betrayal of the sect. Had they succeeded, house arrest would have been the least of it; she would have been carved to pieces and publicly executed.

But the senior leadership of the elders' council, Sect Master Hong Qingyuan included, were plainly no fools. Leng Leng's immense potential was obvious to anyone with half a brain, and they were not about to destroy their own pillar of support.

Of course, beyond Leng Leng's own great potential, the strenuous advocacy of two others played no small part—her master, Xu Xiaoshuang, and Bing Wushuang.

If Xu Xiaoshuang was merely the lowest-ranked candidate elder with little say in matters, Bing Wushuang, who stood up alongside him, was someone no one could afford to ignore. After all, having made the rounds of the mortal realm and the Primordial Trials, this young candidate elder of the up-and-coming generation was now a peak Golden Core expert!

Looking across the entire Snow Sword Sect, apart from the Grand Elder—the lone Nascent Soul old monster—the strongest by rank was peak Golden Core. And before this, there had been exactly one peak Golden Core expert in the sect: Sect Master Hong Qingyuan.

Now, all at once, the Snow Sword Sect had two more peak Golden Core experts—Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming. On top of that, they had brought back a peak Foundation Establishment Leng Leng. The first time Hong Qingyuan and the others laid eyes on them, they felt as though a pie had fallen from the sky and knocked them senseless. A mere mortal-realm trial had yielded a whole crop of pillars of the sect—this was more than smoke rising from ancestral graves; it was a blazing inferno burning the graves to ash!

Yet for top-tier leaders like Hong Qingyuan who held the sect's reins of power, the sudden emergence of two peak Golden Core experts was also an unmitigated headache.

Here was a very practical problem: when newcomers rise forcefully, what becomes of the old guard?

The Primordial little jianghu had always been a thoroughly pragmatic world, where strength determined status. A peak Golden Core in the Snow Sword Sect stood second only to one and above ten thousand—their position could hardly be vague. Even if Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming could not be made the Sect Master's equals outright, they would have to rank above everyone else, or else their status would not match their strength!

But even if Vice Sect Master Xue Liping agreed, would the other five grand elders—Chi Qianqiu among them—go along with it?

And besides, Xue Liping, that Vice Sect Master, had never been a settled presence. It was only because he and Grand Elder Chi Qianqiu were forever at each other's throats that Hong Qingyuan, as Sect Master, had been able to keep the situation under control all this time. Now, with a son like Xue Jianming—second only to one and above ten thousand—suddenly added to the board, if father and son joined forces, playing off one another, how was he supposed to maintain his grip on the overall situation?

Fortunately, there was still Bing Wushuang.

Hong Qingyuan had initially worried that Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming were in cahoots. To his surprise, the two had started snapping at each other the moment they returned, and the flashpoint was none other than Leng Leng.

Xue Jianming schemed relentlessly to put Leng Leng to death, while Bing Wushuang, who had never had any particular ties to her, stepped forward for the first time—and with an attitude of iron. Whoever dared to touch Leng Leng had best be ready to face his wrath!

Strange as it seemed, Hong Qingyuan and the others were plainly glad to see it. Not only could they preserve Leng Leng, a seedling of enormous potential, but more importantly, here was a perfect counterweight to Xue Jianming. Formerly, Grand Elder Chi Qianqiu had checked Vice Sect Master Xue Liping; now, though two more peak Golden Core experts had appeared, they happened to check one another in perfect balance—just the thing to let Hong Qingyuan keep control of the overall situation.

By contrast, when Xue Jianming heard Bing Wushuang's declaration, he was struck dumb on the spot.

Back during the Primordial Trials, Bing Wushuang's coming to Leng Leng's rescue had already baffled him utterly. Now the man was escalating, willing to tear off all pretense and fall out with him openly for Leng Leng's sake. This was completely beyond his expectations—it was practically a public declaration of siding with Wei Zhao. Just what the hell was Bing Wushuang playing at?

In the end, faced with Bing Wushuang's utterly unreasonable, iron-willed stance, and with Hong Qingyuan, Chi Qianqiu, and the rest presenting a united front, Xue Jianming and his father Xue Liping could only choose to retreat. After endless haggling, the result was something so mild as to be barely a scratch: house arrest.

Leng Leng had intended to go into seclusion upon returning anyway, to consolidate her cultivation before setting about breaking through to Golden Core. House arrest was no hardship at all—essentially no punishment whatsoever.

After the meeting dispersed, Xue Jianming deliberately blocked Bing Wushuang's path. There was a question he had to get to the bottom of.

"Move," Bing Wushuang said, face blank, striding onward.

"Hold on!" Xue Jianming planted himself in the way. Only after the other senior sect figures had all departed did he lower his voice and say, "What the hell are you playing at?!"

"Do I owe you an explanation?" Bing Wushuang glanced at him.

"Of course you do! Don't forget we're in the same trench. Fine, you won't help me—but to shelter Leng Leng again and again, have you thought about the consequences?!" Xue Jianming said furiously.

"What consequences could there be?" Bing Wushuang looked utterly indifferent.

"..." Xue Jianming was nearly exploding with rage. "Sheltering Leng Leng is sheltering Wei Zhao—you're betraying the Center!"

"Oh? But I hear the word from above is that Wei Zhao is not to be provoked under any circumstances. By comparison, that 'betraying the Center' hat fits your head rather better, doesn't it? At least I haven't been pulling little tricks like setting Wei Zhao up to be killed, have I?" Bing Wushuang countered. (To be continued.)