Chapter 85 - 84: Li Hao Repays a Favor

Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Li Hao Repays a Favor

Cyan Sun Sect.

An Elder at the Divinity Transformation Realm returned to report, "Sect Leader, people are investigating the Wenda Alliance. Many of our organization’s members have been taken away."

Meng Mingzhe’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked toward Li Ye.

On the surface, he was the one who had taken over the Wenda Alliance, but in reality, Li Ye had been managing its affairs all along.

When it came to this new, sprawling organization, he was like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—he had no idea where to even begin managing it.

...

’I’ve waited so long for you, I’ve yearned so long for you...’

Upon hearing that someone was finally investigating the Wenda Alliance, Li Ye couldn’t help but hum a tune in his head. ’It’s finally happening!’

Heaven knew how long he’d been waiting for the Wenda Alliance to run into trouble.

An organization as leaky as a sieve was causing chaos all over the world, yet it took this long for outsiders to catch on. Their efficiency was pathetic.

After all, he hadn’t implemented any risk management for the Wenda Alliance whatsoever.

Of course, he couldn’t have even if he’d wanted to. He simply didn’t have the manpower.

Besides, how could an organization vast enough to influence the world possibly be established in just two short months?

Two months wasn’t even enough time to draw up a proper plan!

From its founding until now, every member of the Wenda Alliance had been running around, drumming up business and recruiting new employees with a pitch deck he had completely fabricated.

How could a shell company staffed entirely by salesmen, with no core business or management structure, possibly not collapse?

It was only his identity as a transmigrator, combined with the story of a mature Wenda Alliance from another world, that had fooled the Cyan Sun Sect. Its members just hadn’t caught on yet.

Once they figured it out, they would naturally realize that this sort of thing could never work in the world of cultivation.

But now, even if they did catch on, it would be too late.

Spreading a rumor is easy; dispelling it is exhausting.

Once a conspiracy theory takes root, it’s nearly impossible to stamp it out.

There would always be people who believed the Wenda Alliance truly existed!

But no matter how chaotic the Wenda Alliance became, it had nothing to do with him. His original intention for creating it was simply to promote his watches. Making it implode was all for the sake of activating his Derived Skills...

That was his ultimate goal; he couldn’t put the cart before the horse.

After reminding himself once more not to forget his original goal, Li Ye glanced at the Wenda Alliance’s roster and said nonchalantly, "Elder Sun, pull all of our people back. Let them investigate. As long as the core members are safe, it doesn’t matter if they arrest everyone on the outside. I built the Wenda Alliance up this big precisely so it would implode. Everything is going according to my plan."

"Implode?" Elder Sun instinctively felt that wasn’t a good word.

"’Implode’ means our initial efforts in the Wenda Alliance were never meant to succeed. We wanted it to be discovered. Everything we’ve done has been aimed at its collapse. Otherwise, why would such a secretive organization have a token as obvious as a wristwatch?" Li Ye smiled, tossing the Wenda Alliance roster aside.

Many people from the Cyan Sun Sect hadn’t returned, so the list was long outdated. In truth, Li Ye had never taken it seriously from the very beginning.

"Everything you’ve done... was aimed at its collapse?" Meng Mingzhe didn’t understand the term ’collapse’ either, but he could guess its general meaning. His expression turned incredibly foul in an instant.

He had staked nearly all of the Cyan Sun Sect’s resources on this, and had even prepared himself to become the region’s Underground Emperor.

And now, he was being told that the Wenda Alliance was designed to collapse from the very beginning?

Meng Mingzhe’s limbs went cold, and his heart filled with despair. In that moment, it felt like his world was collapsing.

If he hadn’t invested so much, he would have ground this Li Hao to dust and scattered his ashes.

’How could we be so stupid? The entire Sect, played like a fiddle by a kid in his early twenties?’

"Sect Leader, please, calm down. In my plan, the Cyan Sun Sect has always been positioned as a victim. Nothing will happen to it." Li Ye smiled apologetically at Meng Mingzhe. "A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.

When I first arrived in this strange world, I was completely lost. The Cyan Sun Sect took me in, and I would never betray that kindness. The only reason I made things sound so serious before was that I was afraid you wouldn’t commit fully, which would have prevented the plan from proceeding smoothly."

"The Cyan Sun Sect is the victim?" Meng Mingzhe’s mind struggled to catch up as he asked.

"Yes, the victim." Li Ye nodded firmly. "The Wenda Alliance is a serious matter. The Upper Three Sects and the Demon Sect have immense power and influence. If they investigate seriously, they will eventually trace the Wenda Alliance’s origins back to the Cyan Sun Sect. Sect Leader, can our Sect withstand the wrath of both the righteous and demonic factions?"

"Of course not." Meng Mingzhe’s face went white as a sheet.

"But it’s different if we appear as a victim. The Cyan Sun Sect, just like other Sects, will be a victim. Then, everyone’s focus will shift to the non-existent Wenda Alliance, and the Cyan Sun Sect will naturally be safe." Li Ye said, "Sect Leader, this is a strategy of great deception, using instability to achieve stability. The goal is to completely remove the Cyan Sun Sect from the list of suspects."

"A great deception?" Meng Mingzhe took a deep breath, barely suppressing the fury simmering within him. "Li Hao, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Create an opportunity for the Cyan Sun Sect to defy the odds and rise to prominence," Li Ye said.

"..." Meng Mingzhe glanced at Elder Sun beside him. Seeing the man’s equally bewildered expression made him feel slightly better. "Explain. In detail."

"Everything up to this point has been about building our name," Li Ye said. "We use this first implosion to let the world know the Wenda Alliance exists. The next step is... chaos."

"Chaos?" Meng Mingzhe and Elder Sun asked in unison.

"Yes, chaos." Li Ye nodded. "Only by throwing the world of cultivation into chaos can the Wenda Alliance truly go underground, and only then can the Cyan Sun Sect have a chance to genuinely rise.

Surely the Sect Leader doesn’t believe that a few wealthy merchants from the Mortal World, or a handful of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, are qualified to join the true Wenda Alliance!

True geniuses are always forged in times of chaos. Without this fake Wenda Alliance, how could we lure out the real geniuses from the Upper Three Sects?"

Meng Mingzhe drew in a sharp breath.

A chill shot through his heart, and he asked, his voice trembling, "So, Shen Weifeng... no, the entire Cyan Sun Sect... we’re all just bait you’ve thrown out?"

"Sect Leader, you can’t put it that way. To be precise, the Cyan Sun Sect has willingly entered the fray," Li Ye said with a smile. "Sect Leader, I know what you’re worried about. I have deeply studied the art of strategy within the Wenda Alliance; I won’t make a mistake. You just need to follow my arrangements.

Although it’s been a roundabout journey, my goal has never changed: for the Cyan Sun Sect to control the real Wenda Alliance, surpass the Upper Three Sects, and become a hidden, top-tier power. Only then can I repay your kindness for taking me in."

’This isn’t repaying the Cyan Sun Sect, this is revenge!’

Meng Mingzhe stared at the confident Li Ye, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Li Hao, the Cyan Sun Sect doesn’t need to be a first-rate Sect. Can’t we just stop this?"

"Sect Leader, it’s too late," Li Ye said, shaking his head. "When I first told you about the Wenda Alliance, there was still time to stop it. But now, other Sects are already involved. It’s far too late."

"You... you..." Meng Mingzhe pointed at Li Ye, so agitated he was at a loss for words. "You’ve been in this world less than two months... how could you dare? And how could I have been so foolish as to believe you..."

"Sect Leader, please rest assured," Li Ye said. "In my world, the Wenda Alliance secretly controlled things for many years. I’m very familiar with these kinds of plots. Nothing will go wrong."

"..." Meng Mingzhe looked at Li Ye and finally let out a long sigh. "Oh, Li Hao, Li Hao... you’ve been the ruin of me."

Li Ye stood up, bowed earnestly to Meng Mingzhe, and said with a solemn expression, "Sect Leader, I transmigrated from a Lower Realm in pursuit of becoming an Immortal. But the path of cultivation in this world is severed. How could I possibly be content with being trapped here?

If the Wenda Alliance was able to send me to this world, then I can take the next step and break into the true Immortal Realm. It would be one thing if a path to Ascension had never existed, but ten thousand years ago, it was clearly possible.

All we need to do is reopen the path that was severed ten thousand years ago. That’s far easier than creating a path from nothing."

He paused, then continued, "Sect Leader, I realized something just a few days after arriving here. From top to bottom, no one in the Cyan Sun Sect has a heart for the Dao that is as fervent as mine.

Everyone here is focused only on breaking through to the next realm, but no one ever gives a thought to the far more important goal of Ascension. I was forced into this, which is why I came up with this plan to burn our boats and leave no path for retreat."

After coming full circle, Li Ye brought out the same reason he had used to deceive Shen Weifeng in the beginning.

Back then, that reason might have been nothing more than a lie.

But to bring it up again now, after stirring up so much trouble, could only prove one thing: Li Ye’s desire for Ascension was unshakable.

...

Transmigrated to seek immortality—joined the Cyan Sun Sect—discovered the path of cultivation was severed—decided to reopen the path to Ascension.

The entire sequence of Li Ye’s experiences since arriving at the Cyan Sun Sect replayed in Meng Mingzhe’s mind. He looked at Li Ye again, and the agitation in his heart suddenly subsided.

’Is this the pure, sincere heart of a youth?’

’Yes! Since when did we start taking our inability to achieve Ascension for granted, focusing only on breaking through one realm after another in pursuit of a few thousand years of life?’

’The entire point of cultivation is Ascension!’

Sigh.

Meng Mingzhe sighed to himself. "Li Hao, do as you see fit. The Cyan Sun Sect will support you."

"Sect Leader, don’t sell yourself short." Li Ye looked up, his eyes glittering. "Where there’s a will, there’s a way. If the Wenda Alliance in my world could send me here in under a thousand years, then it’s not impossible for us to rediscover the path to Ascension in this world within a thousand years.

Don’t you want to become a true Immortal, live forever, and see what lies beyond the highest heavens?"

"Of course I do." Meng Mingzhe’s state of mind had completely stabilized, and he replied with a calm smile.

"Good. I will help you realize that dream." Having received this affirmation, Li Ye’s eyes grew brighter. He bowed to Meng Mingzhe once more and said with conviction, "And of course, I will also protect the Cyan Sun Sect. A single thread can’t be spun into a cord, and a single tree doesn’t make a forest. Only if the Cyan Sun Sect is safe can my ambitions truly be realized."