“Venerable Shi, this is horrible…”

Venerable Shi enjoyed some fine wine under a pavilion, a smile tracing his lips as his plans came to a head. 

That was until the shout ruined his mood. Grand Elder scrambled over in a panic.

Venerable Shi dissed him, “Grand Elder, you’ve been through a lot at your age, yet a trifle riles you up?”

“Trifle?” Taken aback, Grand Elder asked, “You know, Venerable Shi?”

Venerable Shi grinned in pride, “I planned for it.”

Ugh!

Grand Elder stammered, [You had those two… go to their deaths?]

“Grand Elder, how can you still not understand?”

Venerable Shi raised an eyebrow at his dumbstruck face, “Think about it, the second and seventh elders went to make a mess of things in the Labor Office. I bet the place must be in turmoil right about now. But it’s all fine, with how loose they are, giving them some incentive will have most of them back with us. We’ll then use the excuse of disturbing the sect to crush the Elite Labor Office for good. Since they held the apology banquet, the chaos ensuing will be on them!”

Grand Elder nodded, “Oh, that’s what sir means.”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” Venerable Shi sipped his wine.

Grand Elder scratched his nose, “These matters are different, yet surprisingly the same…”

“How come?”

The two elders did make a scene at the banquet per your orders…” Grand Elder began.

Venerable Shi nodded all naturally.

And Grand Elder softly continued, “Though… they ended up killed.”

Bang!

The wine cup slipped and scattered to pieces on the floor. Venerable Shi turned an incredulous eye to Grand Elder.

“G-Grand Elder, c-can you repeat that?”

“I said the two elders ended up getting killed at the banquet.”

Grand Elder’s repeated disillusioned Venerable Shi, “How? W-who had the gall… to do such a thing? No venerable has such a right!”

“A venerable would’ve been much better, at least would give us an excuse. But…” Grand Elder shook his head in sorrow, “The one to do the deed was a disciple, in plain sight too. He used the rules to challenge and kill them so that we can’t touch him.”

Venerable Shi trembled like a leaf, “A disciple? Who was it? Who can kill Ethereal Stage elders? Since when did our sect have such a disciple?”

“Who else but Zhuo Fan.” Grand Elder shrugged as he explained everything.

Venerable Shi slumped in his chair, “A bloody feast, it was premeditated, a trap all along. There’s no such thing as apologizing in advance. This was done with full intent of the crime!”

“In regards to this, Zhuo Fan planned on killing the two from the start. But he did it flawlessly.”

Grand Elder sighed, “He first went to challenge the elite area using the same rule that states in a duel between different statuses there are no repercussions. No matter how much damage he caused, it’ll be those three venerables dealing with it, not us. But Zhuo Fan soothed them as well. Then the kid challenged the elders and under the eyes of everyone, they died, all for nothing too. We can’t use this to get to him.”

Venerable Shi’s face sank in rage, “That devious punk played us. But that pales when he has the power to threaten us. He even killed two Ethereal Stage elders to prove it. This never happened in the history of the sect. It will make him the single most important figure in the sect. And with the Double Dragon Gathering on our doorstep, he’ll have the sect at his whim.”

“He is a great genius that might even get us in the middle three sects at the Double Dragon Gathering.” Grand Elder sighed.

Venerable Shi’s eyes glinted, “What’s the point if it’s not on our side? We’ll only suffer for it.”

“Then…” Grand Elder probed.

Dang~

The meeting bell answered for him and Grand Elder’s words were drawn out, “It’s the inner sect meeting. The Sect Leader must’ve called for it!”

“Who the hell else is there that would have the gall to mess with me and strike the bell?”

Venerable Shi felt more and more suffocated, “Xie Wuyue saw his dog got some awe under him and wants to promote the punk for it. He wants to send him to the elite area! “

“What do we do?” Grand Elder asked.

Venerable Shi sighed, “Nothing. By killing our two elders, he established his worth and might. Now even some elders and venerables from the inner sect see hope for the sect in him. The brat has earned great merit and advancement is imminent. All we can do is bide our time.”

Grand Elder’s brow shook.

Venerable Shi spat, “I know Xie Wuyue like the back of my hand. He’s uplifting Zhuo Fan for the Double Dragon Gathering. But once it passes, Zhuo Fan’s talent will threaten his status. We just have to wait for when they’ll be at odds and each other’s throat. While we will be laying low until they do…”

Grand Elder pondered and nodded with glinting eyes…

An hour later, in the grand hall, Xie Wuyue was on his throne bearing a majestic vibe, with the elders and venerables on either side of him.

Even Three Fiends of Hell were among them.

The sour Venerable Shi looked at Xie Wuyue’s wide grin, laughing in the end, “Something amazing happened today; the new replacing the old. A disciple challenged two inner sect elders, a testament to the promising new generations, to the Demon Scheming Sect’s great new future and glory.”

The oldies’ faces twitched on cue. [We just had two of our elders killed in cold blood, and you call that an achievement? It’s brazen humiliation, is what this is!]

While the Labor Office’s oldies were smugger than ever, joining in Sect Leader’s joy.

Xie Wuyue saw Venerable Shi was still brooding and continued, “Now all of you know of Zhuo Fan’s might, and I can assume there’ll be no objections in having him participate in Double Dragon Gathering, will there?”

“No!” The Labor Office’s side echoed and the inner sect remained silent, their eyes converging on Venerable Shi.

Yet Venerable Shi was like a stone.

“Zhuo Fan doesn’t want to be elite while requesting for the Double Dragon Gathering’s participants to be from the Labor Office. That is the only condition for joining the gathering.” Xie Wuyue eyed Venerable Shi in doubt.

The entire hall exploded with noise. The Labor Office’s side supported Zhuo Fan of course, while the inner sect was totally against it.

“Sect Leader, it’s against every rule!”

“Sect Leader, the brat is conceited and should rein him in instead of indulging him!”

“Sect Leader, the rules are clear and must be upheld!”

…

They all voiced their strong objections to this outrageous proposal.

“Enough!”

Venerable Shi sneered and the hall was silent.

Venerable Shi’s eyes flashed, “The rules have always been made to pave the way for the strong. Since it was Zhuo Fan’s request, I agree!”

[No way!]

Everyone was slack-jawed, Xie Wuyue included. [What is the old weasel up to this time…]