To a man as ruthlessly pragmatic as he was, there was no such thing as sentiment or personal loyalty—he saw only costs and benefits. The moment his calculations showed the benefits outweighed the costs, he would act without hesitation. The only reason he was holding still for now was simply that he hadn't yet gotten a clear picture of the situation and didn't care to make a rash move.

After much coaxing and soothing, Bing Wushuang was finally persuaded to leave—or rather, not truly to leave, but to be temporarily settled. To that end, Chen Jiu had specifically instructed Lu Ping'an to arrange for him an utterly secluded residence, terrified that once this creature came into contact with ordinary disciples, he might do something beyond their control. After all, the destructive power of a Nascent Soul expert was nothing to be taken lightly.

"Watch him closely. No matter what he does, no matter how slight the stir, report it to me at once," Chen Jiu instructed. Wei Zhao had been his foremost headache, but now it was Bing Wushuang—after all, the latter was a genuine Nascent Soul expert, a being who could truly threaten him in his own person.

"How am I supposed to watch him?" Lu Ping'an's face soured. A Golden Core expert would have been one thing, but this man was a Nascent Soul monster—with one casual hand he could squash him flat. How could anyone possibly keep watch?

"You don't need to track his every move. You only need to make sure the other disciples of this sect keep away from him—and especially, do not let him approach the Dengtian Cliff." Chen Jiu knew the demand was a bit much to ask, but it had to be done. He had no idea what connection there might be between Bing Wushuang and Wei Zhao, and neither of them was easy to deal with; if the two of them were truly to join hands, even Chen Jiu would be left clutching his head in dismay.

"Yes." Lu Ping'an could only agree reluctantly. With his strength, truly keeping watch on Bing Wushuang was unrealistic—but there was another line of thinking: watch those suspicious persons who might approach Bing Wushuang. Xin Yi'an, for instance.

Little did he know that while he had been stalling Bing Wushuang for Chen Jiu, Xin Yi'an, having caught wind of the matter, had already gone to the Dengtian Cliff at the first opportunity and relayed the whole account of Bing Wushuang's visit, point by point, face to face to Wei Zhao.

"Heh. Not bad." Wei Zhao smiled faintly when he had heard it all.

Though Bing Wushuang's advancement to Nascent Soul so swiftly was somewhat unexpected, it hardly surprised him. After all, the supreme Nascent-Converging Golden Core had been his gift to the man. The "not bad" he spoke of referred in truth to the attitude Bing Wushuang had displayed on this visit—it was an oath of loyalty.

"Condensing a Nascent Soul so fast is only 'not bad'?" Xin Yi'an was dumbstruck. Across the whole Northern Island Cangwu Sect, apart from Wei Zhao, he was probably the one most familiar with Bing Wushuang. A year ago the man had been merely early Golden Core, the same as himself—and in the blink of an eye the fellow had become a Nascent Soul monster. How was a man supposed to bear that?

"I mean his attitude was not bad," Wei Zhao clarified. He had long known Bing Wushuang to be a man supremely attuned to the times, but this creature, having condensed his Nascent Soul, had not grown swollen-headed in the least and was still so obedient—that was truly rare. Clearly all those pills had not been wasted.

"He is... one of us?" Xin Yi'an's eyes went round at those words. He had wondered why Bing Wushuang had insisted on coming to call on Wei Zhao in person, and now it suddenly dawned on him. The look he turned on Wei Zhao grew all the more reverent—to have subdued even a genius of Bing Wushuang's caliber, the Martial-Uncle Grandmaster was indeed unfathomable.

"Indeed." Wei Zhao nodded. Now that Bing Wushuang had come to the Northern Island, there was naturally no need to keep such a thing hidden; declaring it openly was all the more meaningful. Gaining such a powerful junior brother would not only overawe the petty malcontents on the enemy side, but also raise their own confidence and cohesion—two gains in one stroke.

"The Martial-Uncle Grandmaster is magnificent!" Xin Yi'an was indeed greatly heartened, filled with heartfelt admiration, and inwardly he rejoiced that he had not, after all, wagered on the wrong side. Since Wei Zhao could subdue even a Nascent Soul expert like Bing Wushuang, then dealing with Chen Jiu, a Nascent Soul monster himself, would surely be no trouble at all, and he could finally stop living in such constant dread.

Wei Zhao looked utterly unconcerned. At his level, to get excited over such a trifle would have been beneath him.

"Martial-Uncle Grandmaster, so what do we do next? Shall I go make contact with Bing Wushuang?" Xin Yi'an asked briskly, full of vigor.

"You think you can reach him?" Wei Zhao glanced at him.

"Seems a bit difficult..." Xin Yi'an was doused with a bucket of cold water on the spot. Even a fool could guess that Lu Ping'an would move heaven and earth to deny him any chance of contact with Bing Wushuang, and his own strength was inadequate—there was no question of forcing his way through. Contacting Bing Wushuang was easy to say, but actually pulling it off was no small feat.

"No rush. Keep calm." Wei Zhao smiled. Though the standoff had dragged on all this time, strictly speaking the initiative had rested with their side throughout, and now that Bing Wushuang had come, all the more so. The one who ought to be anxious now was Chen Jiu, not himself, so there was no need at all to lose their heads—just wait and see how things unfolded.

"All right." Xin Yi'an was rather disgruntled instead.

It was rare for a formidable fighting force like Bing Wushuang to arrive, and he had thought they could now go toe to toe with Chen Jiu head-on. For a native born and bred of this little archaic jianghu as he was, the dread of a Nascent Soul monster was deeply rooted; even though their side had held the upper hand in the situation all along, he had always felt a secret terror, forever thinking their own strength insufficient. Now at last there was a Nascent Soul expert of equal standing, and his spirits were utterly different from before.

Wei Zhao could not help laughing at the sight. He had not expected that Xin Yi'an, that old good fellow who had always known only how to keep his head down and stay safe, should have a combative side to him as well—that was truly unexpected.

Then again, though circumstances had forced him into opposition with Chen Jiu, Wei Zhao in truth had no wish for a great upheaval. After all, his ties with the Northern Island Cangwu Sect were no mere pretense; if it could be settled peaceably, nothing could be better.

Several days passed in a flash. Bing Wushuang had stayed at the Northern Island Cangwu Sect for some days now. Thanks to Lu Ping'an's deliberate arrangements, he had very little contact with the sect's ordinary disciples, still less any chance to reach Xin Yi'an directly—but with his strength, if he truly wished to do something, the likes of Lu Ping'an could not have stopped him at all.

Had he not, for the time being, been unwilling to tear all pretense with Chen Jiu, Bing Wushuang would long since have forced his way onto the Dengtian Cliff. Even having chosen to hold still for now, gathering bits of news was no difficulty for him, and over these few days he had come to a general understanding of Wei Zhao's predicament.

From the present situation, though Wei Zhao was trapped at the Dengtian Cliff, he still held the initiative in this standoff with the Grand Elder Chen Jiu—at least Chen Jiu dared not do anything to him. But by the same token, Wei Zhao could not take a single step out of the One Step to Heaven Formation, and that was, presumably, Chen Jiu's sole path to victory.