Teng Wuying was on his way to a meeting with the leader of the Swift Blizzard branch sect in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, Mao Biya, when he saw that Poison Claw Sect brat who was discipled to Chao Su fly overhead. The device she rode was actually quite fascinating. Not the construction or function but rather what it represented.

    Chao Su actually cared for his whelps. Why else would he go through the effort of creating such a thing?

    Teng Wuying couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized that fact before. The entire debacle with the destruction of his branch sect had been said to be caused due to the death of a trash Qi Gathering cultivator. At the time, he''d thought Chao Su had used the death as a ridiculous excuse.

    But it wasn’t. The man truly cared about his trash members!

    Teng Wuying waved happily at the brat flying overhead as his mind whirled. What a weakness. Surely, there was a way to use that. He’d definitely figure out how to exploit the fool’s caring nature.

    If such exploitation was even needed in the first place. Sure, Chao Su beat two Nascent Souls at his sect when he had formations prepared, but the next encounter, an ambush, would be here in the city. And if Teng Wuying had his way, a lot more than two Nascent Souls would be attacking.

    He grinned. All he had to do was convince Mao Biya to commit all four of her sect’s highest realmed cultivators to the fight. That task, unfortunately, would not be easy due mainly to the fact that one of them was in secluded cultivation.

    Whereas the Jade Chameleon Sect had almost no choice but to spend the lives of their oldest cultivators, the Swift Blizzard Sect had no such compulsion. They would be difficult to convince to make such an all-in stand.

    The Big Three sects were conservative by nature, eschewing large, risky moves. Which made sense. An organization that didn’t take chances in the beginning of their existence likely never rose, but an organization that took chances once they were finally established would likely fail as soon as one of those gambles blew up in their faces.

    Teng Wuying sighed. It would have been so much better if he could have convinced the Emperor’s faction to commit two Nascent Souls to the cause. Then, he could have advocated for equal representation for all three members of the conspiracy. The cowardly nobles wouldn’t budge from their neutrality, though.

    They made the conservative elders of the sects seem like radicals in comparison.

    He mulled the issue over as he made his way to the Swift Blizzard branch, where he was promptly escorted to Mao Biya’s study for his appointment.

    Teng Wuying bowed lower than was strictly necessary to her. It was never a bad idea to get things started on the right foot by flattering your opponent. “Greetings, Elder Mao.”

    After returning his greetings, she said, “I’ve been thinking about it. Waiting until the tournament is too long. That man’s disciples visited the auction house while they were in the city. It’s likely that he will attend the one being held in less than three weeks. It’s the perfect time and place for an ambush.”

    Her suggestion threw him for a loop. She was known to be a bit of a hothead, but that idea burned with too much heat even for her. The level of ardor was good, though. He needed to carefully dissuade her on the timetable without lowering her zeal too much.

    “What prompted the change, Elder?” he said.

    “That man! That arrogant asshole threatened my sect. Every day that he lives is an affront to the Swift Blizzard Sect’s face.”

    Ah. He should have predicted the issue. Left to stew at the indignity proffered by Chao Su, she grew more and more impatient.

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    “Hmm,” Teng Wuying said. “I should be able to get my two Nascent Souls ready by the auction. You can get all four of yours queued up in time?”

    That statement was a straight up lie on his part. He hadn’t even convinced the council of elders to overrule the sect leader yet, much less began making arrangements to get the Nascent Souls mobilized. But it would have been a huge mistake to refuse her or try to talk her down. It was important for her to come to the realization on her own.

    Mao Biya winced. “Three weeks, huh? The logistics…”

    He schooled his face, so it didn’t break out into a grin. Just as he’d planned, she’d figured out the problem.

    “Wait,” she said, “Four? I never agreed to four.”

    “Apologies, Elder. I thought it was as important to you that Chao Su be killed as it was to me.”

    “It is! I refuse to let him get away with threatening my sect. He will be, must be, destroyed and his entire so-called sect with him.”

    “So… You agree that all four of your Nascent Souls are needed, Elder?”

    “No. Why would we need six against one?”

    “This man killed half our Golden Cores and half our Nascent Souls, Elder. It would be a mistake to underestimate him again, and he has allies, now. The Poison Claw Sect stands at five. Those plus him are six.”

    She scoffed. “If your ambush can’t catch him alone, you’re a fool, and I might as well go it alone.”

    Oops. He’d overplayed his hand a bit. Time to walk it back.

    “Obviously, we wouldn’t be so stupid to attack him when he had that much backup, Elder. What happens, though, if a perfect opportunity presents itself, and Yuan Yaozu is accompanying him?”

    Mao Biya frowned. “Five is more than enough to take on Chao Su and one who has barely advanced to Nascent Soul.”

    “Is it, Elder? Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia were absolutely positive the two of them would have no problem killing him, either.”

    “They didn’t know he was a Formations Master. No one did.”

    “The thing that bothers me, that keeps me up at night, that makes me want to do everything in my power to convince you to bring all four of your Nascent Souls to the ambush, Elder, is a single question—what else don’t we know about Chao Su?”

    Her expression fell, and he knew he had her. She was too riled up to agree that day in that conversation, but if he dropped the matter, he’d be able to convince her the next time they met.

    “I’ve given my counsel, Elder. In the end, it’s your call. Do what you will. Regarding the topic I came here today to discuss with you, what’s our best move for getting the Rising Tide Sect invited to the tournament?”

    “Do not refer to that man’s collection of trash peasants as a sect in my presence!”

    With that, the topic of conversation was officially changed. They went back and forth a little while. He would have greatly preferred to have her make the suggestion of sending the so-called sect an invitation when they met with the tournament’s steering committee, but her animosity was simply too high. There was no way she could convincingly swallow her anger long enough to make the others buy it as a legitimate request.

    Coming from him, the Poison Claw Sect, at the very least, was sure to suspect an ulterior motive, but he felt up to the task.

    The next day, Teng Wuying, Mao Biya, Kang Ya-Ting, and Qiu ZhenKang, a representative from the City Lord, met to discuss plans for the tournament. The meeting went on and on and on, as such things tended to do. They discussed everything from prizes to the tournament format to the location of the event.

    It was the Jade Chameleon’s turn in the rotation to host the tournament, but someone had completely laid waste to their entire branch sect, nullifying their ability to put on the event. Even if Teng Wuying hadn’t wanted to destroy the Rising Tide Sect in order to get the Trial Pagoda, he would have desired that outcome purely for payback.

    That thought was something of a revelation to him as he thought himself above such unprofitable motivations as revenge. Huh.

    After hours of discussing such matters, the meeting finally wound down, and Qiu ZhenKang, chosen to chair the steering committee due to his faction’s neutrality, asked if there was any new business.

    “Yes,” Teng Wuying said, “I think that an invitation should be extended to the Rising Tide Sect.”

    Kang Ya-Ting reacted immediately. “No.” sea??h thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Really?” Teng Wuying said. “You don’t want your allies to participate?”

    “I’m positive that you have only the worst of intentions for my friends so, as I stated, no.”

    “Of course, I have bad intentions. Their sect leader is the reason my sect isn’t hosting the tournament and half our Golden Cores and Nascent Souls are dead. I want to see their sect members beaten into a bloody pulp by my sect members.”

    “Exactly,” Kang Ya-Ting said. “No.”

    “Perfect. I’ll put out a notice that the Poison Claw Sect has no confidence in the combat ability of the Rising Tide Sect members. The loss of face both you and your allies suffer will be even better than watching some whelps be beat up.”

    The Poison Claw elder frowned, obviously trying to figure a way out of the situation. He tried unsuccessfully to come up with something but, in the end, had to agree to the invitation.

    And that was how one lured prey into a trap.