This time, they had returned to the office. Gao Ke had told everyone to continue their work while he talked with Hao Yu in his room alone. Even Zhang Xin couldn't enter.
"So, you're planning to eliminate that cultivator?" Gao Ke squinted his eyes.
"I believe you have heard my plan," Hao Yu didn't deny it. On the one hand, it looked like Hao Yu was not following the lesson that his teacher taught him. On the other hand, Hao Yu's plan was not that simple.
Gao Ke frowned before asking, "Still, your plan requires a bit of time."
"I understand." Hao Yu raised three fingers. "There are three things I know about the cultivator. First of all, the cultivator needs at least one week to complete his cultivation."
"A week?" Gao Ke looked at Hao Yu in disbelief.
"Yes. According to the record, a Dark Cultivator from the Blood Madness Cult requires around one week or two weeks to absorb the blood of their victims. The higher their cultivation is, the longer they will require, considering the blood quality will be higher as well."
"Understandable." Gao Ke nodded in agreement. Even without the record, he had some knowledge of cultivation.
"Then, the second thing is the culprit. Considering their strength judged to be around 6-Star to 9-Star Qi Gathering stage, his cultivation is quite low compared to those in the sects."
Gao Ke looked down, muttering the information about the cultivation. "The cultivators have five stages: Qi Gathering, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Void Stages. There are also three sects in this dynasty: Azure Lotus Sect, Iron Mountain Sect, Mystic Void Sect. Their outer disciples alone should be enough to take care of that guy."
Hao Yu confirmed the knowledge. "Indeed. The three sects divide their disciples into three categories: Outer, Inner, and Core Disciples. Those who have reached the Qi Gathering Stage can become an Outer Disciple. Once they reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, they can become an Inner Disciple. And finally, only those who are in the Golden Core Stage can become the Core Disciples. Hence, if we want to eliminate that person, we can request the help of the three sects."
"We can submit a request to those sects, but I think the best one is the Azure Lotus Sect because they are the closest one to this city." Gao Ke thought for a moment. "If we use the bird, we can send the message to the city closest to the sect and submit the request within two days. And their disciples should be able to reach this place within four days. It's less than a week. But…"
Gao Ke fell silent, identifying another problem. "Even if we submit the request, there is a chance that no one is going to accept it… at least for a few more days. After all, those cultivators are most likely going to stay in the mountain just to cultivate."
"That's the third thing, reward." Hao Yu's expression turned cold. "Without a good reward, the cultivators won't accept the mission. Even if we offer some gold, they will refuse since cultivation resources are more valuable to them. That's why we will manipulate them with the reward."
"Are you saying we will offer them a cultivation resource as the reward?" Gao Ke frowned. "There are three types of cultivation resources that can be used as a reward: Spirit Stones, Spiritual Herbs, and Artifacts."
Hao Yu nodded. "Spirit Stones are the basic things cultivators require as they can absorb the energy from within the stones to enhance their cultivation. The Spiritual Herbs are plants that have grown for a long time and absorbed Spiritual Energy. Last but not least, Artifacts. Unfortunately, this one is not viable because they are hard to come by."
"So, which one are you planning to use?" Gao Ke asked.
"None." Hao Yu smirked.
Gao Ke opened his mouth in surprise. Even an Administrator like him would have a hard time offering Spirit Stones as a reward. Hao Yu understood this fully and suggested another plan.
"What do you mean?" Gao Ke looked confused as Hao Yu started making nonsense.
"Do you forget which cult he belongs to?" Hao Yu smirked.
Gao Ke fell silent for a moment, contemplating his words. He asked, "Are you not going to offer them a reward? But they won't accept the subjugation request without any reward. Hao Yu, I think you are a bit too naive. Even if he is a Dark Cultivator, it doesn't mean that those sects are going to do it just for moral and obligation."
Hao Yu obviously knew that fact. He had experienced it himself after all.
He raised one finger and said, "Please hear me out first. There is one thing that can force them to accept it. But it depends on how far Administrator Gao dares to go…"
Gao Ke turned serious, realizing that Hao Yu's plan might not be as simple as it seemed. He said, "If I can deal with the cultivator without spending a lot of money, then that's for the best."
Hao Yu smiled. His teacher had told him that people held official positions because they desired achievement and other things, unlike Hao Yu. It was easy to manipulate their greed.
"If Administrator Gao is willing to go that far, then I propose to create a rumor."
"A rumor?" Gao Ke pondered for a moment before gasping as though he had realized Hao Yu's real plan. "Don't tell me…"
Hao Yu began his explanation. "That's right. The Blood Madness Cult has been suppressed by the righteous sects for almost a decade. While on the surface it looks like they can't do anything, no one knows what they're planning to do. Hence, we shall create a rumor.
"We will create a rumor of their resurgence, with a single disciple of theirs making their appearance in this place."
Gao Ke's expression became pale as he said, "Do you think they will fall for it?"
"They will. Do you forget that we are in charge of the South District?"
"!!!" Gao Ke widened his eyes in shock. The residential area meant that they had a lot of people to influence. It was easy to spread the rumors through gossip. After that, the females would go to the market to buy necessities, the males would go to the brothel, and the children would learn from schools. Without anyone realizing it, the rumors would spread to the entire city.
Of course, lying to those sects about their resurgence would harm them, but what could they do if that rumor had spread so widely and they had a hard time confirming the truth?
The city couldn't be held accountable. The sects had no choice but to send their experts to investigate the matter.
And Hao Yu seemed to be planning to make the information spread even further by utilizing the merchants. Merchants entering or leaving the city were a normal occurrence. And by using them, they could spread even more rumors, making it more believable and harder to make the city accountable.
The sect would definitely believe this information and eliminate that cultivator in the process. Without giving a single reward, they could eradicate the threat.
Gao Ke never thought of this possibility. Besides, the Blood Madness Cult had a bad reputation. If they tried to figure out who caused this mayhem, they would only prove the rumors to be true, forcing the righteous sects to send more experts to hunt them down.
This plan would really eliminate the threat without giving up anything.
After contemplating the pros and cons, Gao Ke stood up and said, "I'll take care of this matter."
"I understand. I wish fortune blesses you with its presence." Hao Yu politely cupped his hands and bowed his head until Gao Ke left the room.
Obviously, Hao Yu hated the cultivators to the bones. On the surface, Hao Yu might look like a hypocrite since he was using cultivators to kill cultivators. However, Hao Yu didn't care about his methods as long as there was one less cultivator than before.
In addition, he still managed to follow his teacher's lesson. By giving this opportunity to Gao Ke, it would mean that Gao Ke would handle all the matters. He didn't care much about the achievement.
As long as Gao Ke's name was in the front of this matter, it was enough. Gao Ke wouldn't tell other people that he was the mastermind because his popularity and dignity would plummet as people thought he was a bad superior who took his subordinate's achievement for himself.
And if those people wanted this city to be accountable, Gao Ke would be the first to die. Because he had to remain silent, if Gao Ke told everyone that he was the culprit, he could still feign his innocence by playing dumb.
Because no one in the room, they couldn't see the evil smile that Hao Yu had.
There was only one thought in his mind.
"Let's kill my first cultivator."
…
A few days later.
In a certain cultivation sect, specifically in the utility hall where individuals were searching for missions in exchange for contribution points and cultivation resources, another mission was added.
Mission: Blood Madness Cult Resurgence.
Description: There is a significant rumor regarding the revival of the cult. A cultivator (8-Star to 9-Star Qi Gathering Stage) from the cult has been sighted near Fengyun City.
Reward: 250 Contribution Points.