CHAPTER 438: TAKING A LIKING

Chapter 438: Taking a Liking

...

"Your Excellency, Senior Brother Li Buyi is dead."

Wang Shouyi knelt before the folding screen with a grave expression.

Though he was secretly delighted about Li Buyi's demise,

this joy obviously couldn't be shown before His Excellency.

"This one knows." A cold voice came from behind the screen: "This one witnessed Li Buyi being killed by two sword cultivators - one named Su Qinian, the other unknown. They are pure sword cultivators, not merely Ascenders who use swords as weapons, but elite practitioners whose internal cultivation methods, spiritual roots, and sword techniques all revolve around the Dao of the Sword!"

Wang Shouyi's heart tightened upon hearing this.

Such cultivators shouldn't be unknown.

Yet inquiries across other sects revealed no information about these sword cultivators.

"Your Excellency, what do you plan to do? How may this disciple share your burden?"

Silence lingered behind the screen.

Recently, Hua Jin had been pondering how to uncover these mysterious sword cultivators. Divination couldn't locate them, nor could fate-reading reveal their destinies. Having exhausted all methods, she was at her wit's end.

"How fares the Demon Sealing Tower?"

Unable to find a solution, Hua Jin changed the subject.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Qinling Demon Sealing Tower has been breached. The Well of Heaven within is fully opened, now covering all of Sichuan Province with spiritual energy. Within a week, it will envelop all of Great Xia, forming the most basic cultivation environment suitable for Ascenders."

After dutifully reporting, Wang Shouyi steered the conversation back.

"Your Excellency, this is a critical moment for our sect's development. These mysterious sword cultivators must be found. If they remain hidden and sabotage us from the shadows..."

Hua Jin frowned.

What was wrong with Wang Shouyi?

Why bring up sore topics!

If she knew how to handle it, wouldn't she have done so already?

"With the Well of Heaven opened and the cultivation environment fully formed, the prohibition against inter-sect conflicts will soon be lifted." Hua Jin paused, shifting topics again:

"Spirit Jade veins nourished by the Well will emerge from ancient strata, inevitably sparking chaotic battles for resources. Though Kunlun Immortal Palace appears resource-rich, we're actually stretched thin. We must secure the lion's share in this first wave of resource wars!"

"Through celestial observation, this one has located the first Spirit Jade veins - in the Tianfu District!"

Hua Jin's stern face showed unwavering determination.

Every cycle reaches this stage of sect reshuffling.

Sects accumulating preliminary Ascenders before the Well's opening compete in these resource wars now. Victorious sects gain future advantages, perhaps even becoming behemoths like Kunlun Immortal Palace or Great Thunder Temple.

Recognizing Hua Jin's gravity, Wang Shouyi quickly nodded: "Your Excellency speaks wisely! Foreknowledge of the veins allows thorough preparation, but...what if those mysterious sword cultivators come to steal?"

Hua Jin saw black.

How did the conversation return to those sword cultivators?

Was this boy doing it on purpose?

Yet his words inspired her.

Spirit Jade veins were crucial for sect development.

Early acquisition granted advantages, enabling underdogs to overtake frontrunners.

Thus...

These Sword Pavilion sword cultivators would surely join the fray!

Hua Jin narrowed her eyes, forming a plan.

"If they come to steal, all the better! This one will prepare killing and trapping arrays to capture them all!"

"Brilliant!" Wang Shouyi's eyes lit up as he kowtowed repeatedly: "Only Your Excellency could conceive such strategies beyond this disciple's imagination! But...how do we know which vein they'll target?"

Hua Jin fell silent.

True - baiting required knowing where fish would bite.

Ordinary bait wouldn't tempt those sword cultivators.

They'd likely detect traps.

Only a substantial vein could make them take risks.

"Prepare for war with Great Thunder Temple!"

Hua Jin inhaled deeply, gripping her sword hilt sharply: "This time we seize more Spirit Jade veins!"

Last cycle, Kunlun Immortal Palace and Great Thunder Temple took the two largest primary veins. To bait sword cultivators now required claiming both major veins.

To flush them out, she was going all-in!

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Fanaticism flashed in Wang Shouyi's eyes.

War suited him!

Those hypocritical bald monks had long annoyed him.

Unlike other sects recruiting Ascenders voluntarily with standards, those monks converted anyone - talented or not, young or old - into believers.

Wasn't this forced brainwashing?

Hence monks now vastly outnumbered Ascenders.

Their usual absence simply meant these reclusive monks stayed immersed in Buddhist studies. But for the Tianfu District vein battles, even these hermits would mobilize.

...

Standing at Kunlun's base, Wang Shouyi gazed back at the cloud-suspended Kunlun Immortal Palace, swelling with ambition.

Such magnificence! Such a powerful, wise, and understanding Excellency! This was all he fought for!

Including Senior and C Province's Exorcist Division.

"I must bring Senior and the Exorcist Division aboard Kunlun's ship to ride this wave of opportunity!"

Clenching his fists, his resolve strengthened.

"The resource wars approach. I must inform Senior to prepare."

Wang Shouyi departed Kunlun Immortal Palace by sword flight.

He likely couldn't attend His Excellency's birthday banquet, but had prepared a gift in advance.

...

Inside Kunlun Immortal Palace.

"Superior Great Recovery Pill? Interesting..."

Hua Jin examined the pill Wang Shouyi presented, eyes gleaming with interest.

At her level, she could assess a pill's properties without consuming it.

This Superior Great Recovery Pill's efficacy surpassed Kunlun's ordinary Revival Pills by dozens, perhaps hundreds of times!

Moreover, its creator wasn't Wang Shouyi - but that C Province Exorcist Division Governor, the Awakened named Chen Huaian.

She understood Wang Shouyi's message:

Demonstrating Chen Huaian's value to Kunlun Immortal Palace.

He was recommending Chen Huaian.

Admittedly...

Chen Huaian's value had caught her eye!

...