The next morning, Han Xuhan's hut saw an uninvited guest. Senior Disciple Chen Yan looked extremely angry, as if he had just gotten the news of Jiang Chen's beating.

"Junior Brother Xuhan, you have some nerve! How dare you violate the agreement between us and resort to violence? What did poor Jiang Chen ever do to you, for you to injure him so horribly? I'm of half a mind to report everything to my superiors in the Disciplinary Committee-"

"What are you talking about, Senior Brother Yan? When did I violate the agreement between us?" Han Xuhan broke the fake outrage-fueled tirade with a relaxed grin.

"I accepted the penalty you gave me without protests. I followed your instructions without a fault, handing over 500 spirit stones worth in resources."

"Then why is Jiang Chen lying in the infirmary with broken ribs and a cracked spine?" Chen Yan roared.

"That's just the result of the duel between him and I. We were comparing our martial arts and he became careless during the fight. He has only himself to blame."

Chen Yan's eyelids shivered, witnessing the ease with which Han Xuhan lied. But before he could retort, Han Xuhan hammered in the final nail in the coffin.

"Besides, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Jiang Chen and I have dueled before. You didn't know about it because it was me who got beaten up!"

Chen Yan's anger receded visibly. He indeed had no idea that a feud between these junior brothers was ongoing outside their agreement. The sect did not strictly prohibit duels. There were some basic rules for fair play and holding back during the execution of killing moves, none of which Han Xuhan had violated.

Even if Chen Yan abused the authority of the disciplinary committee, he wouldn't be able to punish Han Xuhan in any way. Not to mention, he had no actual intention to do so either.

He came here with the goal of fleecing Han Xuhan, the fat sheep, a bit more by using Jiang Chen's injuries as an excuse. But the blackmail material turned out to be ineffective.

Inwardly, Chen Yan cursed Jiang Chen for getting involved in a messy affair without informing him. On the outside, he smiled thinly at Han Xuhan and shifted his tactics.

"Nevertheless, you better not hold my resources hostage to force those guys into doing anything they don't want to. You wouldn't like the consequences!"

Seeing Han Xuhan nod along obediently, Chen Yan knew that his threats weren't being taken seriously. So he decided to poke somewhere that would make Han Xuhan listen.

"If you think you can ride roughshod over everyone just because you have a ticket to the voidboat, you're sorely mistaken, Junior Brother Xuhan. I have a ticket as well. And once we're on that boat, you'll have to depend on the goodwill of your seniors!"

Chen Yan thought that his words would shake the disobedient streak out of Han Xuhan. But contrary to his expectations, Han Xuhan looked like he had no idea what those words meant.

"Voidboat? What's that? And why would I have a ticket to it?"

With a suspicious gaze, Chen Yan scanned Han Xuhan's face for a hint of deceit. But he genuinely appeared lost in confusion.

If you don't know about the voidboats, why would you give Jiang Chen the hint that I need thousands of spirit stones?

Unsure of how to proceed, Chen Yan prodded him a few more times indirectly, scrutinizing even the smallest changes in his expression.

"Do you have a plan for going out of the sect next month? Are you going alone?"

"No, I do not. Why would you think that I would have such a plan? And even if I did, why would I be going alone? My cultivation isn't that high yet. Also, you haven't explained what you meant by your previous question. What's a voidboat?"

"How much more resources will the sect give away to the other party? Will you be in charge of the exchanges till the end?"

"...I don't know how much longer it will continue. But I will definitely be the middleman till the final exchange of resources. Now, about the voidboat-"

"Do you know any of our inner court disciples?"

"How the hell would I know those guys? It's not like the inner court is situated anywhere in these mountains. I haven't even met an inner court disciple since I arrived in the sect! Void-"

"Do you have a connection with any of the sect Elders? Anyone who could back you up financially?"

"Senior Brother Chen Yan, you're taking advantage of my easygoing character to get the answers you need, but you're not answering the only question I asked. That's it. I'm not saying anything anymore!"

Chen Yan sighed in disappointment, seeing an equally faked outrage covering Han Xuhan's face. It was difficult to say how much of those replies were true...

Almost none of his questions elicited a response that would answer his suspicions. Han Xuhan looked as clueless as ever.

It was only during the question about inner court disciples that Han Xuhan's countenance had a quick fluctuation. Had Chen Yan not been looking for it, he would've missed the detail completely.

It seemed that Han Xuhan did know about the secret of the inner court. As to what extent... That remained to be seen.

Unable to extricate more information, Chen Yan left with a couple of veiled threats, even though he was certain that none of them were going to be effective.

Regardless of whether or not Han Xuhan knew about the voidboats leaving the planet, he at least knew that Chen Yan needed the spirit stones desperately. So there was little possibility of Chen Yan's threats ever coming true.

With both sides holding a sword at each other's neck, a delicate balance had been established between them now. An outsider like Jiang Chen, who was merely being used, wouldn't be able to upset the balance.