Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

Iron Blood Hall, the council hall.

The hall was spacious, yet it exuded a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. The tiger reliefs on the stone pillars on both sides flickered in the candlelight, as if they might pounce and devour someone at any moment.

Iron Knife King sat in the main seat, one hand pressing firmly on the table, his knuckles turning white from the slight pressure. His face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm, his tiger-like eyes, though not angry, were now filled with scrutiny and apprehension.

Opposite him sat two people—Ling Yunzi and Ling Xiaozi.

Ling Yunzi sat upright like a pine tree, a sword hanging at his waist, his demeanor calm and composed. A cup of tea sat before him, already cold, but untouched.

Ling Xiaozi leaned back in his chair, one hand on the armrest, his posture seemingly casual, but his slightly narrowed eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

"Join forces to deal with the Azure Dragon Society?"

Iron Knife King sneered, his laughter echoing through the hall, carrying a clear sense of mockery.

"Brother Ling, your Antarctic Sword Sect is a large and powerful family, and our Iron Blood Hall cannot afford to suffer any losses."

He tapped his fingers heavily on the table, making a dull thud. "The Azure Dragon Society is unfathomable; no one knows their true nature. To walk into the line of fire at this time—do you think I, Iron Knife King, am a fool?"

Ling Yunzi did not answer immediately.

He reached out, picked up the cup of cold tea, and gently blew on it—as if the tea were still warm. Then he took a sip and slowly put it down.

"It is precisely because we are unclear that we need to join forces."

His voice wasn't loud, but it steadily drowned out all the noise in the hall.

"The Azure Dragon Society now has six branches, and its influence covers nearly half of the thirteen prefectures."

He raised his eyelids, his gaze as calm as a deep pool, and looked directly at Iron Knife King. "Iron Knife King, do you think they'll let the Iron Blood Hall go once they've unified the entire west?"

Iron Knife King's fingers paused.

He didn't speak. But his already gloomy face darkened even more.

The Azure Dragon Society's expansion was unstoppable. The Iron Blood Hall would either submit or be destroyed. Submission—for decades, Iron Knife King had been a local tyrant, never kneeling before anyone.

"What did they say from Chaotian Palace?"

He changed the subject, his voice hoarse.

"Master Chaotian is still considering it."

Ling Yunzi's voice remained calm and unhurried, like a slowly flowing river, "But as long as our two families join forces, along with Chaotian Palace, the combined strength of the three parties—no matter how strong the Azure Dragon Society is, they cannot stop us."

Iron Knife King pondered for a moment.

His gaze swept back and forth across Ling Yunzi and Ling Xiaozi's faces, as if trying to see through them.

Only two people from the Antarctic Sword Sect came. It wasn't that the Antarctic Sword Sect wasn't strong, but rather that the western region was the territory of the Azure Dragon Temple. If they launched a large-scale invasion, the Azure Dragon Temple wouldn't stand idly by. After the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple closed its gates, the Azure Dragon Temple became the leader of the Buddhist sects in the west, and no matter how strong the Antarctic Sword Sect was, they didn't want to easily offend those monks.

"Li Chenzhou alone can kill a Grandmaster at the fifth level." Iron Blade King's voice lowered, as if talking to himself, yet also questioning, "Can the two of you handle him?"

"Leave Li Chenzhou to me."

Ling Xiaozi spoke.

He sat up straight, his squinting eyes suddenly snapping open, gleaming like two drawn swords.

"I don't seek to defeat him, I only seek to stall him." He said each word with the sharpness of a sword. "Senior brother is enough to deal with Gongzi Yu and the other hall masters."

Iron Knife King fell silent again.

He looked at the undisguised sharpness in Ling Xiaozhi's eyes and at the unwavering composure on Ling Yunzhi's face.

The plan looks feasible.

but--

"I have one more condition."

Iron Knife King took a deep breath, slammed his large, fan-like hand on the table, making the teacups clink.

"After this is done, my Iron Blood Hall will take one-third of the Azure Dragon Society's territory."

"Can."

Ling Yunzi uttered the two words almost without hesitation.

too fast.

Iron Knife King's heart sank suddenly, like a stone falling into icy water.

Ling Yunzi picked up his teacup again, a slight smile playing on his lips—a smile as faint as autumn frost, as thin as a blade.

Anyway, after we destroy the Azure Dragon Society, whether or not we divide up the territory will be decided by force.

Iron Knife King was certainly aware of this as well.

He knew Ling Yunzi was just giving him the runaround. He knew that once the deed was done, the Antarctic Sword Sect might very well turn its back on him.

But he had no choice.

Without joining forces, the Iron Blood Hall will be swallowed up by the Azure Dragon Society sooner or later. Joining forces, at least there's a glimmer of hope. Even if that glimmer of hope is as thin as a spider's thread, he has to grasp it.

"Then it's settled."

Iron Knife King suddenly stood up, his burly figure rising from the ground like an iron tower, casting a shadow that covered half the table.

"When will you make your move?"

"Wait for news from Chaotian Palace." Ling Yunzi also stood up, reached out and dusted off non-existent dust from his robes, his movements as leisurely as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard. "With the three parties joining forces, the chances of victory are much greater."

Eyes facing each other.

One is as calm and steady as an abyss, the other as hard and unyielding as iron.

The candlelight in the hall flickered.

"Alright." Iron Knife King stretched out his palm, as large as a palm leaf fan. "Then let's wait."

Their hands clasped together.

A fair-skinned, slender, steady, and powerful figure.

One was rough as stone, with bulging blue veins.

They held it very tightly.

Each had their own ulterior motives.

Linjiang Prefecture, Chaotian Palace.

late at night.

The observatory stands at the highest point of Chaotian Palace, with no obstructions on any side and the night wind howling like a knife.

Master Chaotian stood on the platform, looking up at the sky.

The sky was filled with twinkling stars, and the Milky Way stretched across the heavens. But in his eyes, the vast starry sky was a chaotic mess—the starlight flickered erratically, its trajectories disordered, as if an invisible hand was stirring everything up.

"I can't figure it out..."

He muttered to himself, his voice carried away by the wind.

He gently swayed the whisk in his hand, each wisp of dust shimmering with a faint light. He had deduced countless times, exhausting most of his true energy, yet each time he could not foresee the fate of the Azure Dragon Society.

It was as if a thick, impenetrable fog shrouded the newly rising power. The secrets of heaven vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

This made him very uneasy.

Those who can obscure the secrets of heaven are either beings who surpass grandmasters or some kind of extremely powerful fortune.

Neither of them are things that Chaotian Palace can afford to provoke.

"Master—"

A young disciple's voice was carried up by the wind from the bottom of the steps.

"The people from the Antarctic Sword Sect and the Iron Blood Hall are here again." The disciple looked up at the figure on the stage, his voice tinged with helplessness. "They've been waiting for half an hour, asking when you'd like to see them."

Master Chaotian did not turn around.

"Let them wait."

The voice was soft, like the wind blowing through pine trees.

The disciple acknowledged and withdrew.

The Taoist priest continued to look at the sky.

The whisk swayed gently, once, then again.

The ancient ruins of the Endless Mountains are indeed a great temptation. Legend has it that the ruins hold the secret to breaking through to the level of Grandmaster—something that all Grandmasters dream of. Daoist Chaotian has been stuck at the fifth level of Grandmaster for twenty years, with little lifespan left. That threshold is right in front of him, yet he can't seem to cross it.

If we could obtain the opportunity within the ruins...

But he can't rush things.

The Green Dragon Society's waters are too deep; venturing in rashly could lead to drowning.

Tell them—

Master Chaotian finally spoke; his voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to the audience.

"Chaotian Palace can join forces, but they won't take the lead. Let them be the ones to spearhead the attack."

There was a moment of silence in the audience.

"Yes," came the disciple's voice, and he hurried away.

The Taoist priest looked at the sky for a while longer.

The stars remained in a state of chaos, and the night wind continued to howl.

He shook his head, turned, and walked down from the observatory. His Taoist robe fluttered in the wind, and his shadow stretched long in the moonlight.

The alliance is a sham.

The real reason is to wait and see.

He wanted to see just how capable the Azure Dragon Society really was.