Hong Zijun had been missing for a full six months. Before that, no one had wanted the former sect master to return and take charge more than Xin Yi'an did—but now everything was different.

Hong Zijun was back. So what was to become of the sect-master seat Xin Yi'an had only just taken? Was he to keep it, or step aside and yield to the rightful owner?

Handle this badly, and the situation Xin Yi'an had worked so hard to steady could easily tip back toward chaos. If the local faction split over it and the Chen clan faction fanned the flames again, there was no telling where it would end.

Who ought to hold the sect-master's seat was not a decision for the disciples of North Island Cangwu Sect—it would be made at Heaven-Ascending Cliff.

"So this is Hong Zijun?" Wei Zhao looked him over—the middle-aged man Xin Yi'an had brought along. Fair-skinned, beardless, with a sturdy, scholarly look about him; now and then something of the air of a man accustomed to command showed through, though not plainly—mostly he just looked haggard and bedraggled.

"This disciple pays his respects to Martial-Uncle Grandmaster!" Hong Zijun dropped to his knees at once, without a shred of sect-masterly dignity before Wei Zhao. He was no fool. This man had disposed of even the Supreme Elder Chen Jiu as though it were nothing—to say nothing of a weak sect master like himself.

Above all, times had changed. In name, Xin Yi'an was already the new sect master of North Island Cangwu Sect, and Wei Zhao had named him so before everyone. Returning now was a considerable risk; if Wei Zhao and Xin Yi'an found him a nuisance, his end would not be pleasant.

For all that Xin Yi'an was a kind old soul, and for all that he had promoted Hong Zijun in the past, where the sect-master's seat was concerned, even blood brothers would fight to the death over it. Of course, the final say did not rest with him and Xin Yi'an—it rested with Wei Zhao.

"Missing all this time—what were you doing?" Wei Zhao asked, watching him.

"To my shame, I have been hiding out beyond the sect all six months, not daring to come back. Because if I came back, I would be a dead man," Hong Zijun said with a bitter smile.

"Why?" Wei Zhao and Xin Yi'an exchanged a glance. As a sect master, Hong Zijun was naturally no weakling—a genuine master at the great consummation of the Golden Core—and he had been within North Island Cangwu Sect's own territory. How could his life have been in danger?

"Because the man who wanted to kill me was none other than the Supreme Elder Chen Jiu. If my mount had not fought to the death to shield me and buy a single instant, I would long since be a dead man." Even now, Hong Zijun still felt a chill when he spoke of it. No one could have imagined that the sect's own Supreme Elder would strike directly at its sect master—for one purpose only: to clear the way for Chen Dongcheng.

"No wonder there was not a word from you for six whole months." Wei Zhao nodded.

It made sense. Once Chen Jiu had made his move, Hong Zijun naturally would not dare return to North Island Cangwu Sect so long as Chen Jiu lived—that would have been seeking death.

And that was precisely why he had suddenly appeared now. Chen Jiu had been disposed of by Wei Zhao; the greatest threat to him was gone. A sect master in his own right could hardly wander the world forever—sooner or later he had to return to North Island Cangwu Sect.

"As sect master I thought only of my own safety. I have failed in my duty grievously, and I beg Martial-Uncle Grandmaster to pass judgment himself." Hong Zijun took the initiative to confess his fault, perfectly respectful in his manner.

"No need for that. Extenuating circumstances." Wei Zhao waved it off carelessly, but the look he bent on Hong Zijun held a touch of amusement. The man knew perfectly well that he had let Xin Yi'an take his place—yet judging by his attitude now, there was not the least resentment or indignation in him. If anything, he seemed to have made his peace with it.

Hong Zijun, of course, had not the nerve to demand an accounting—that was easy enough to understand. But to strike so precisely the right posture, and to volunteer so readily to bear the rod and beg punishment—now that was interesting.

"I thank Martial-Uncle Grandmaster for his understanding. But my failure to act these six months is a fact. As sect master I went silent for so long—I have been utterly unworthy of the post, and I have no face to hold it any longer. So this heavy charge can fall only on Sect Master Xin's shoulders hereafter! Rest assured, Martial-Uncle Grandmaster, this disciple will give full support, and go through fire and water for you and for our North Island Cangwu Sect, to guard and protect it." Hong Zijun lost no time in declaring his loyalty.

This fellow actually knows how to play the game! Wei Zhao understood at once why he had come. He knew the outcome was settled and had no wish to invite death over a sect-master's seat that had become a castle in the air; so he had come of his own accord to clear himself. Setting all else aside, the man did know how to read the times.

"In that case, let it be so: from now on you will serve as vice sect master. You have the experience and the strength, and Xin Yi'an here will need your support in the days to come. I hope North Island Cangwu Sect will see no more factional strife from this day on, and I do not wish to hear of anyone stirring up trouble again. I place great hopes in you both—do not disappoint me." Wei Zhao looked at the two of them.

"Yes!" Both were overjoyed.

Xin Yi'an was overjoyed because his hold on the sect-master's seat was now truly secure. As for Hong Zijun, winning Wei Zhao's approval at all was itself a tremendous boon; and though he had lost the sect-master's seat, he could at least serve as vice sect master—an unexpected delight, and nothing to complain of.

That Chen Jiu had been able to grind him down so wretchedly proved plainly enough that Hong Zijun was not a man of stiff temper. Had Chen Jiu not wanted his life, he would most likely have swallowed his anger and endured to the end. Now the far more terrifying Wei Zhao had taken Chen Jiu's place; his choice to bow his head seemed unexpected, but was in truth entirely reasonable.

"Very good." Wei Zhao smiled. Installing Xin Yi'an as sect master had been a choice of necessity—Xin Yi'an was the only man in all of North Island Cangwu Sect he knew—and he would not have been easy in his mind with anyone else in the seat. Yet for Xin Yi'an alone to truly master the situation would, in the short term, have been somewhat unrealistic. Hong Zijun had appeared at just the right moment.

"By the way, Martial-Uncle Grandmaster, there is one more thing I must report." Xin Yi'an paused, a look of shame on his face. "Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an have both fled—and they took Chen Jiu's corpse with them."

Chen Jiu's primordial spirit was now confined by Wei Zhao within the jade-pendant space; what remained of his flesh was, to anyone else, no different from a corpse.

"I know." Wei Zhao was noncommittal. In his view this was not necessarily a bad thing at all. After all, with Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an remaining in the sect, they would only ever have been hidden dangers; so long as the two of them were there, the Chen clan faction would never fully dissolve, and the factional strife would drag on. With the two of them gone, the Chen clan faction was from this moment headless—and would collapse of itself.

As for Chen Jiu, Wei Zhao was not the least concerned. The man's primordial spirit was held fast in his own keeping; apart from Wei Zhao himself, no one on earth could bring him back to life. What did it matter if Chen Dongcheng and Lu Ping'an carried him off?