Chapter 1026: Senior Brother And Junior Brother (I)
Si Yuanli hurried down from the main seat. The painting, ignited by the mana he had left behind, burst into crimson flames upon the jade table and curled into a ball of blackened ash. Tantai Jin dared not look at it, keeping close behind him and whispering urgently.
"Xiao Chuting? He must have had a hand in this!" Si Yuanli replied in a low voice.
Though his expression remained calm, the exaggerated length of his stride betrayed the unease and disbelief roiling in his heart, At first, I thought it was Xiao Yuansi acting on his own, seizing the opportunity while that old man was in the Northern Sea, with others fanning the flames and forcing a pill refinement... But now it seems Xiao Chuting even schemed against his own juniors! Pit Water's Man On Creek... truly lives up to his name.
For nearly a century, Xiao Chuting's strategies have been flawless. He maneuvered deftly between the Azure Pond Sect and the Golden Feather Sect, and now he is regarded as one of the most formidable experts within the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators... It should never have been thought that he had miscalculated!
Tantai Jin whispered, "Could it be... that Li Ximing is actually the most cunning among the Li family's Four Xis? Playing the fool and feigning weakness all along, just to reach this point?"
Si Yuanli pondered for a moment, then lifted his robe hem and rose upon the wind, shaking his head as he said, "Unlikely. No secrets can be hidden before the Life Divine Ability. Moreover, Heaven's favor is not endless. Li Xizhi and Li Xijun are both extraordinary talents, and I've heard Li Xicheng is a man who gives his very life to his cause. How could there still be another such figure in Li Ximing?
"Xiao Chuting must surely have been involved in the planning of this matter. As for Li Ximing, there is something strange. Either his manifestation was flawed, or the man himself is. Once the Daoist Master returns, I will seek clarification."
He sped toward the Jiutian Pavilion with Tantai Jin in tow. As the celestial pavilion slowly came into view, Si Yuanli swiftly composed himself, a radiant smile spreading across his face as he thought, Fortunately, I have never handled matters clumsily. With the groundwork laid, my demeanor will not seem suspicious. Had there been no preparation beforehand, such eagerness now would have appeared far too fawning and opportunistic.
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"On this day, Zhaojing, Li Ximing of the Moongaze Li Family, has attained the Bright Yang Divine Ability..."
The mighty voice rang out from the great void, brushing against the Heavenly Essence Dao Spirit Formation of the Azure Pond Sect. The formation probed the disturbance, finding only sound and no divine ability, and merely flickered faintly.
The voice then passed through the grand formation, reverberating through the entire Mount Azure Pond range, lingering ethereally until it reached the lofty pavilion standing amidst the clouds.