5 days ago...
--------------------------
System, can I edit the fifth virus?
----------------
Editing is possible but it will require additional points.
----------------
I have quite an amount, proceed. Remove every Tier 3 and 4 symptom. For properties, Add Qi Camouflage, Airborne, and Qi-Borne.
----------------
The edition is successful.
100,000 points consumed.
----------------
I stop a passing carriage in Xu Ging.
"Sir! Where are you going?" I ask.
"Jin Long! Does esteemed one need a ride there?" He extends his hand, smiling.
"No need. It's okay, we have different destinations." I say.
The driver sulks. "Alright, have a nice journey, esteemed one!"
Being a practitioner garner an easy amount of respect.
I glance at the boxes of products, herbs fill them. Good, system infect the contents of the boxes with the fifth virus.
Once successful, I continue on my journey. Matchless Dragon sect will soon find out about my appearance and declare war against the Heavenly Divine Dragon sect.
Although it only delays the inevitable, I can deal a significant amount of damage to the Matchless Dragon sect by creating a crisis originating from their country. Their economy will suffer the most.
The crisis must not require the attention of the entire Kunlai but is problematic enough for actions to be taken in Xu Ging.
====================
Present...
-----------------
I take a deep breath as I wait outside the big tower, where 'Wang Ji' room and office reside. They renamed it the main pavilion.
"Come in." A beautiful servant says, opening the door.
Hm? I've never seen her before. Did they hire workers?
I follow the servant wearing a white pure robe with short black hair into the main pavilion, walking up the stairs to Li Ye's office.
*knock knock*
"Come in." Says Li Ye. He glares at me once inside.
"Fu Cai... Tell me what happened." He excretes a "very" domineering pressure and I pretend to be affected. Haha, it's a first seeing him so mad.
"It was just a simple patrol! A patrol! Why did you poke your nose into unnecessary dangers?"
"I'm sorry Elder Li Ye, I just couldn't leave them behind. If I reported back, I would have missed the perpetrator." I say.
Veins erected on Li Ye's face when I try to talk back. "So you are saying you caught the perpetrator?"
"No, they died. Someone killed them. But I managed to find out that they were from the Matchless Dragon sect."
Li Ye furrows his brows. "Matchless Dragon? Are they not part of the white faction?" He mumbles.
Organisations from the white faction advocate justice and good. The black faction advocates the opposite.
Li Ye sighs. "So what caused you to be missing for a month?"
"I sort of tried to dig deeper and I was caught by one of their disciples. I was tortured in their hideout before I was lucky enough to make a swift escape. I am sorry, elder." I say with my head down.
...
Li Ye sighs. "Your courage is admirable but never do such a dangerous thing ever again. I hope you take this as a lesson as to how dangerous the Martial world is."
"Yes! Thank you very much."
"You may leave." He says.
?
Is Li Ye not asking me for what I found?
"Wait elder, I did find some interesting things during my invasion," I say.
I place the documents on his desk.
!!
...
Li Ye glanced through the paper and his expression became grim. "Those bastards...so the events of kidnapping throughout Tiansu is related to them..." He mumbles.
"Can you remember where their hideout was?" He asks.
"Yes, but it was destroyed. Some expert lady eliminated the entire property."
!
Li Ye stares at the document and ponders. "It must be the saintess Meirong."
Saintess who? Meirong... I will remember her name.
"Alright, thank you for your effort. Although you did this on your own accord, we will be awarding you your respective reward for such a feat." Says Li Ye.
I bow to Li Ye and left the room.
Going back to my room, I have the urge to check the jade. It clouded my curiosity.
(Master... How do you have that?)
!
Azrim! Where the hell did you go?
(Sorry. I was doing a bit of investigation on my own. Chunhua has snitched about you to Jie Guang, the Emperor of Justice, at Wenhua. You need to be ready.)
Chunhua? Who is that?
(One of the girls beside Xie Mo. Anyways, why do you have that jade?)
I did a little bit of invasion and stole it. Why?
(A very powerful soul is sealed in it. I don't know why but the soul is probably the blood goddess.)
What?
(The blood goddess is the wife of the founder of the Blood sect. She was about to ascend with the Blood God, who is better known as the ancestor or founder of the Blood sect, but disappeared the day before.)
What the...why is this stored at a mere side branch? Did the elder steal it discreetly?
Argh...there are so many things going on.
As I walk out of the main Pavillion, I walk past a group of strangers: a large bulky bearded man, an old woman who used her cultivation to preserve her young looks, and three young men.
...
The large man at the front glares at my sight and I ignore him.
Who are they?
My question was answered when I see one of the men carrying a golden plate with a "Zheng" carved into it.
!
It's Zheng Cang's family? Those bastards finally came when they caught wind of Zheng Cang's situation.
...
-----------------
"Greetings elder Li Ye." Says the large man. All of them bow with their fist against their palm.
Li Ye stares at them. "Welcome, head of the Zheng family, Zheng Ji Mo. I assume the lady behind you is Zheng Mei Li?" Says Li Ye.
"Greetings." The lady says.
Li Ye points at the chair. The family refused to sit.
...
"Have you heard about what happened? Zheng Cang severely injured one disciple and highly encouraged bullying within the sect."
"Of course. However, let's make a deal." Says Ji Mo. "From a rational view, pride is the practitioner's virtue. If one is weak and cannot resist, they do not deserve to be treated nicely. This is the Murim, sects are meant to guide about the martial path, not babysit disciples."
Li Ye glared at Ji Mo. "Your point?"
"Let's kick this incident under the rug in exchange for our support. Our family will be your backer."
!!!
...
"You will be killing two birds with one stone. Disciples will learn about the harsh reality while you obtain support. Have you been thinking about expanding your influence? We can help you. Don't get me wrong, you can punish Zheng Cang but don't expel him." Says Ji Mo.
Li Ye rubs his chin. Despite Ji Mo being at the peak of Nascent Soul, Li Ye is not backing off.
Backing from the Zheng family is extremely beneficial. They can send materials and donate money to the sect since they are a very big martial family in Wenhua.
What Li Ye and the rest didn't know is that the Heavenly Divine Dragon already have the backing of almost the entire Tiansu because of Wang Ji.
Is the trade-off worth it? Li Ye ponders.
"You do not need to give us an immediate answer. We can come back to this later-"
"No, I will accept your proposal. But we won't be lenient when dealing with Zheng Cang." Says Li Ye.
Ji Mo smiles. "As long as the punishment is justified."
They wrote a contract of the pact on paper and both parties kept a copy.
"I'm glad that we can come into an agreement, we might send some of our future children to this sect. Accept this as a gift." Ji Mo places a container on Li Ye's desk. A thick sweet scent flows out of the box.
!
Li Ye opens it and finds a pink pill with hints of a red powder sprinkled throughout.
"T-The Plum supreme pill!" Li Ye exclaims.
The family bowed and left the room shortly. Li Ye is left staring at the pill.
"Servant Yu, take this to elder Inyoung."
The servant from earlier that guided Wang Ji enters the room and takes the container.
The next day, Zheng Cang was released from prison. His body is full of cuts but he seems to be more invigorated.
"Ah...freedom. Did father come here? That son of a bitch..." Zheng Cang stares at the sky with his soulless eyes. "It's lunch now isn't it?"
...
"No way, they didn't expel him?!" A few exclaims when Zheng Cang enters the dining area.
A servant trembles and hands a plate of food to Zheng Cang who sat at an empty table. His lackeys join him at the table. "Boss! I knew you wouldn't abandon us." Says a lackey. "We have more members now."
"Shut up. How obvious can you be?" Says Zheng Cang.
...
Zheng Cang smirks at the remaining disciples in the awkward atmosphere. "I memorized the face of those who voiced discontent at me. Prepare yourself."
I stare at Zheng Cang...