Extreme Almightiest Young Master

Chapter 1981 - 1963: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes?

Unlike Qian Li, everyone in the Divine Sword Sect had the opposite reaction. Apart from the Great Elder and a few worried ones around Fang Yan, everyone else began to celebrate. Fang Yan had become the glory of the Fang Family. Everything about Fang Yan would be relayed back, and solely because of him, the Fang Family’s ranking among the many prominent families in the Divine Sword Mountain Range soared rapidly.

This phenomenon also caused panic among other families in the Divine Sword Mountain Range. Families like the Qin Family and the Wu Family, who foresaw this situation and had good relations with Fang Yan and the Fang Family, were somewhat relieved. However, those families that wanted to wipe out Fang Yan and hinder the Fang Family’s development were now extremely anxious. They all feared the day Fang Yan would return. If he did, he might stand up for the Fang Family, and by then, no family would be able to withstand Fang Yan alone.

In the Wu Family, many other family heads were already gathered around.

"Master Wu, what are we going to do about Fang Yan?"

"Master Wu, Fang Yan hasn’t returned yet, but if he does, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Yes, Master Wu, we must come up with a plan."

...

The numerous family heads were truly panicking at this moment. None of them had anticipated that Fang Yan would reveal such strength. At the early stage of the Human Immortal Realm, he could challenge Earth Immortal Realm powerhouses. They thought to themselves that Fang Yan was practically an ancient demon beast. No human should have such a gap in cultivation prowess.

And what made them even more terrified was Fang Yan’s power today. If Fang Yan returned, the many families in the Divine Sword Mountain Range who had grudges with the Fang Family would likely suffer. With Fang Yan’s terrifying strength now, no family in the Divine Sword Mountain Range could match him...

"Everyone, don’t panic. I’m working on a solution."

The head of the Wu Family, Wu Lengping, spoke with a seemingly calm tone. Although Fang Yan’s strength was indeed formidable, he hadn’t reached an unmatched level. In such a scenario, if they seriously consider it, there might still be a way to deal with Fang Yan.

"Master Wu, what solutions are there now?"

"Yes, Master Wu, the ancestor of our family is only at the late stage of the Human Immortal Realm. If Fang Yan acts, our family will be completely destroyed!"

"Master Wu, please think of a way. We must kill Fang Yan!"

...

At this moment, the heads of many other prominent families were speaking one after another. They were extremely stressed and didn’t want any harm to come to their families. Now, they were even beginning to regret not going against Fang Yan from the start and targeting the Fang Family, as it had placed their families in such a dangerous position.

"There is a way, but the cost is rather high..." Wu Lengping said calmly at this moment.

"What way? Whatever the cost, as long as it kills Fang Yan!"

"Yes, please enlighten us, Master Wu!"

"Master Wu, please tell us quickly. Don’t make us guess."

...

The minor family heads immediately spoke up, eager to know what method Wu Lengping had in mind. As long as they could kill Fang Yan, they were willing to pay any price. Once they found it feasible, they were determined to work together to achieve it.

"Hidden Kill!" Wu Lengping said, uttering the two words calmly.

"Great idea!"

"Our Li Family agrees!"

"Our Zhang Family agrees!"

...

The crowd immediately understood Wu Lengping’s meaning at the mention of "Hidden Kill." Others couldn’t kill Fang Yan, but Hidden Kill might be able to. However, the cost of hiring Hidden Kill to assassinate someone was extremely high, something ordinary mid-sized and smaller families couldn’t bear. But if everyone pooled resources to share the cost, they felt it was manageable. As long as they could eliminate Fang Yan and protect themselves, they agreed to shoulder this expense. It was a much better option than waiting for Fang Yan to come and eradicate them.

"Then it’s settled. I will take the lead in contacting Hidden Kill, and we will share the cost." Wu Lengping said with a smile, seeing that everyone agreed.

"Let’s do as Master Wu suggests."

"Although Hidden Kill’s price is high, with so many of us, sharing the cost is feasible."

"Wu Family Head, you should take the lead."

...

The numerous Family Heads immediately responded. They had no other choice now but to rely on Hidden Kill to eliminate Fang Yan. Who doesn’t know the fame of Hidden Kill? If they were to act, then no matter how strong Fang Yan is, he would undoubtedly die!

After agreeing on this matter, Wu Lengping immediately began to make the corresponding arrangements, but he could never have foreseen the events that would follow...

While everyone was discussing enlisting Hidden Kill to assassinate Fang Yan, on the other side, the Fang Family Head, Fang Tianhan, looked coldly at the intelligence in front of him, almost fainting. Who could have imagined that Fang Yan’s combat prowess had become so terrifying, even capable of defeating an Earth Immortal Realm powerhouse? How could he avenge his son now!

He finally understood why Hidden Kill stopped targeting Fang Yan and even extorted a large sum of money from him. He couldn’t fathom how Fang Yan could grow to such a level in just over two years. Both of his sons had died at Fang Yan’s hands. He was determined to avenge them no matter what!

But now, everything was laid out before him. Even if he wanted revenge, he neither had the strength nor the opportunity. If even Hidden Kill couldn’t eliminate Fang Yan, what could he do? Before Fang Yan’s absolute strength, any plots or schemes were utterly useless.

Yet even so, he did not wish to give up...

......

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed. The Holy Soul Sect’s Great Elder led his group to successfully conquer three cultivation dimensions of average strength. However, what frustrated the Great Elder was that after conquering these three dimensions, the other three major sects only had a few seriously injured, while the Holy Soul Sect’s disciples suffered a casualty rate of over half. Such a result left him speechless.

He now realized something was amiss. Under normal circumstances, if they encountered danger, it shouldn’t be only the Holy Soul Sect suffering casualties, while the other three sects faced no such situations. This clearly defied logic.

Moreover, what puzzled the Great Elder even more was that the disciples of the Holy Soul Sect were killed instantaneously, with no one able to transmit information back. Such circumstances were even more bizarre, leaving him at a loss as to what was happening.

With no options left, he had to seek out Sect Master Xiao Tianrong to explain the situation. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a hidden hand targeting the Holy Soul Sect. But for someone to instantly kill Human Immortal Realm’s late-stage disciples, especially those from the Holy Soul Sect, was not something an ordinary person could achieve. The whole situation was truly eerie.

"Something like this happened..."

Xiao Tianrong hadn’t expected such a situation either. Overall, the war loss rate of the Holy Soul Sect was too high. It’s important to know that the later stages of the Human Immortal Realm are essentially the main force of the sect. The Holy Soul Sect might have many, but they can’t withstand such attrition. Yet, the Great Elder hadn’t identified the problem, and he wasn’t on-site to determine what exactly was happening.

After pondering for a moment, he instructed, "The current conquest has been going on for a long time. Let’s pause the campaign for some time, say seven days. I’ll consult with the ancestor and see how to handle this matter."

With that said, Xiao Tianrong went to find the ancestor, Xiao Ke, while the Great Elder returned to announce a temporary halt. He instructed the members of the three major sects to return to the Holy Soul Sect in seven days to begin a new campaign.

Xiao Tianrong arrived at the location of the ancestor, Xiao Ke. After pondering outside for a moment, he pushed open the door.

Ancestor Xiao Ke was floating in the room, cultivating. Hearing the door, he opened his eyes and saw it was Xiao Tianrong, then asked, "What’s happened?"

"Ancestor, indeed there’s something. Please look into it. Here’s what happened..." Xiao Tianrong greeted and promptly recounted the situation described by the Great Elder. He wanted to know what was truly happening and who could be manipulating things from behind the scenes.

Xiao Ke hadn’t anticipated such events either and was momentarily stunned. From Xiao Tianrong’s words, he understood that this situation was highly irregular, suggesting there must be a highly skilled individual manipulating from behind the scenes. Yet, no one had discovered the problem, nor could they identify who the mastermind was.

This indicated a fundamental issue: whoever was behind this was using unconventional methods. Otherwise, such a situation wouldn’t arise. But what kind of method could remain undetected while killing two late-stage Human Immortal Realm individuals? Even he couldn’t achieve such a feat.

He began stroking his forehead, but no matter what he thought, he couldn’t figure out what was going on. In desperation, he made a decision: "During the next campaign, ensure that members of the Holy Soul Sect don’t disperse. We must figure out if a mysterious person is targeting us. If necessary, the Holy Soul Sect members can gather together."

Such a strategy was a decision made from helplessness. Confronted with such bizarre events, Xiao Ke had no better solution, but this was the best he could devise. Once they grasped even the slightest clue, everything could be resolved. The disciples dying without understanding how was incomprehensible, but with the Great Elder present, he didn’t believe anyone could act without the Great Elder reacting.

"Yes, Ancestor!" Xiao Tianrong replied immediately upon hearing the ancestor’s words. This strategy was currently the only viable option. Now, he had to focus on selecting disciples to participate in the campaign, accelerating the conquest on the Holy Soul Continent, and then reassigning forces to support other cultivation dimensions.

Afterward, Xiao Tianrong left Xiao Ke’s room to tend to other matters...

On the other side, the members of the three major sects took the opportunity for respite, each traveling back to their respective sects by boat.

Elder Wang led his group back to the Divine Sword Sect unharmed and was immediately welcomed by the Sect Master and the other elders. Discussing the campaign that had lasted several months and conquered many cultivation dimensions, no one had sustained severe injuries. This outcome delighted Sect Master Jue Tiannan immensely. It was the only time they participated in a Holy Soul Sect mission without incident, notably since he knew Holy Soul Sect’s losses were nearly half. Under such circumstances, how could he not be overjoyed?