章 22: Chapter 22
Wen Ningzhi laughed, shaking his head, "Although Yan Zhaoge does indeed possess a shocking level of potential, the him now is still far from significant."
"What's important, actually, is his father, Elder Yan."
As he said this, Wen Ningzhi's voice lowered slightly, his expression turning grave, "The competition between Elder Yan and Elder Fang has already reached a crucial stage. Any small thing that happens now also has the possibility of influencing the Clan Head, that old man's, final decision."
"Yan Zhaoge, is Elder Yan's weak spot," he continued.
Wen Ningzhi laughed coldly, "Everyone says that the situation in the Yan household follows the old saying 'a tiger father will not birth a worthless dog of a son', but in my opinion, it just happens to be the contrary which holds true. Elder Yan's defeat this time will be attributed to his troublemaking son; an embankment spanning a thousand li falling to a single anthole."
He stood up to leave, "You will come to understand this in the future: Some things, don't actually require evidence; suspicion, is already enough to influence how one views another."
"As for the Internal Crystal Furnace, ah, how could it be something that a little brat still reeking of his mother's milk could somehow obtain?"
The person before him said was startled, "Elder Wen, are you saying…"
Wen Ningzhi said coolly, "It's obviously the work of Elder Yan."
"It's either that for the sake of his own face, Yan Zhaoge stole the credit from his own father, or that in order to pave the path for his own son, Elder Yan deliberately gave it to him on his own accord."
"That's why I said; Elder Yan will sooner or later be destroyed at that brat's hand."
Wen Ningzhi's expression suddenly turned ugly, "But at the expense of my own Master."
The martial practitioner beside him lowered his head, not daring to speak a word.
As Wen Ningzhi's most trusted subordinate, whom he shared his innermost thoughts with, he knew that back in the clan not long ago, the Elder Cui of the Assignment Hall who had been removed from his duties and even placed under a series of interrogations, was exactly Wen Ningzhi's Master.
Although Wen Ningzhi's cultivation had long since surpassed Elder Cui, he still held him in high esteem.
He had visited many a place, even entreating the Eastern Tang Kingdom's Principal Elder Yan Xu, yet only managed to improve Elder Cui's situation slightly.
Having surely lost his position, even whether he could extricate himself from the current situation and live out the rest of his life peacefully and without punishment, was still unknown.
On one hand was Elder Yan's trueborn son, and on the other was an average person whose latent talent had almost run dry; the pressure that could be exerted by both parties, were evidently not on the same level.
Before he had made his move on Yan Zhaoge, Elder Cui had already been mentally prepared for the negative consequences that would inevitably follow, but he had never expected that he would gain nothing out of it at all, not achieving any merit whatsoever.
The crux of this matter lay in the fact that not only had he not succeeded, his intentions may also have been seen through by Yan Zhaoge, revealing even more of his side's plans. It was equivalent to having achieved nothing and bringing detriment instead.
With that, why would the higher ups be willing to make a move to protect him?
"Sigh, Master is old in body but not old at heart. He was completely unwilling to heed my advice, being bent on taking that gamble, as he strove to improve our situation. Yet, he was outwitted by that Yan Zhaoge instead."
Feeling somewhat dispirited within his heart, Wen Ningzhi thought out loud rather resentfully, "Still, Master, the premise of your attack was right indeed. A dog cannot change its ****, that Yan Zhaoge, having been unrestrained for so long, still stepped into it eventually.
The martial practitioner beside him said in a low voice, "At the end of the day, Yan Zhaoge is still Elder Yan's son; even if you succeed this time, you will still have to withstand Elder Yan's flames of fury after the incident is over."
Wen Ningzhi laughed, "When we succeed, I will naturally have people up there who'll take care of Elder Yan for me."
"I myself do not have any weak points that the other side can grab ahold of; for the higher-ups to protect me, is very easy."
"Alright, let Elder Yan know of this intelligence report, and send this piece of news back to the clan as well.
"Let's see how that brat of the Yan Family can escape from this unscathed; I'll definitely strip off a layer of his skin this time!"
After Yan Zhaoge had talked with Xu Chuan for a time, he took out an object as if nothing was out of the ordinary, placing it in front of the latter, "This Cloud-Veined Crystal; is it produced in the Spirit Wind Canyon?"
It was a pale yellow crystalline object, with patterns on its exterior which resembled floating white clouds.
This was one of the speciality products produced in the immediate vicinity that Xu Chuan had provided him with after he had arrived at Overlooking Abyss City. When martial practitioners cultivated, they would place it by their side, as it had the effect of calming one's spirits, and could slightly increase the speed of their cultivation.
Xu Chuan nodded his head, "That's right, it is indeed produced there."
Yan Zhaoge stroked the Cloud-Veined Crystal with his fingers, as he nodded, "Its effects are pretty good."
Xu Chuan's expression did not change, but his heart still twitched slightly.
With Overlooking Abyss City bordering the Sealing Dragon Abyss just outside of it, the internal division of the Spirit Wind Canyon did not have to compete with anyone from the other powers. Thus, as the resources it produced were also abundant, although the Elder in charge of the place was but at the level of an acting Elder, it was still one of the best-paying positions within the Eastern Tang Kingdom.
This was unlike Overlooking Abyss City. Although the position of acting Elder there was an important one, the responsibilities it entailed were great, and one would most likely be held responsible when things went wrong.
The Acting Elder of the Spirit Wind Canyon, Wen Ningzhi, was a trusted subordinate of the Eastern Tang Kingdom's Principal Elder Yan Xu, as well as a member of Yan Zhaoge's second senior apprentice-uncle's faction.
Xu Chuan pondered as he gaze fell on the Cloud-Veined Crystal in Yan Zhaoge's hand, which he had seen a lot of before. But however he looked, he was still unable to see anything special or different about it.
"Could this little object hold some abstruse secrets within?" Xu Chuan was totally confused, "Or maybe I'm just being too sensitive, and he was just simply expressing praise for it?"
Bidding Xu Chuan goodbye, Yan Zhaoge's fingers gently tapped on the Cloud-Veined Crystal, the expression on his face looking somewhat as though he wanted to laugh, but also somewhat not.
The next day, Ah Hu reported a piece of bad news, "Young Master, yesterday, we received news from our clan in the Central Heaven Region that the Punishment Hall has dispatched the acting Elder of the East Heaven Region over to this Eastern Tang."
The person Broad Creed Mountain had sent over to take charge of its affairs in the East Heaven Region was known as the East Elder. Under the East Elder, other than the Principal Elders and the Acting Elders, there were also the Disciplinary Elders, who, other than being managed by the East Elder, also reported directly to the clan's Punishment Hall. These Elders were in charge of supervising an entire Region and making sure that the clan's laws were followed, meting out the appropriate punishment to those who failed to keep by them.
Yan Zhaoge asked, "Do you know the reason?"
Ah Hu answered, "The Sacred Sun Clan came over to make a scene; other than that, there is also that thing with Ye Jing."
He pursed his lips, "Never would I have thought that that Ye Jing would really be so unlucky, actually dying in the Dragon Sealing Abyss. Someone must have grabbed this opportunity and blown up the issue to bring trouble to you, Young Master."
Yan Zhaoge asked unconcernedly, "To the capital of the Eastern Tang?"
"No, right here in Overlooking Abyss City. The Eastern Tang's Principal Elder Yan Xu failed to successfully eliminate the threat posed by the Ghost Hatchet Elder, and with the whereabouts of the Crimson Spirit Flag Elder still unknown, as well as the volatile situation in the Dragon Sealing Abyss, he decided to first return to Overlooking Abyss City. The Disciplinary Elder, as well as a representative from the Eastern Tang Kingdom, will also be coming."
Xu Wen stroked his lower chin, "Let's just wait here then."
Ah Hu also stroked his lower chin in imitation, "Young Master ah, with your background, the Punishment Hall would not be roused easily; now that the Disciplinary Elder is on the move, things aren't looking good for you."
Yan Zhaoge spread his hands out wide, "Senior apprentice-uncle has always snubbed me for being too unrestrained. The previous incident with the Internal Crystal Furnace had originally caused him to change his views towards me, but now that this has happened, I fear that he has grown even more disappointed instead. After all, the higher the expectations one possesses, the greater the disappointment one feels when things go awry.
"Perhaps senior apprentice-uncle will not lean towards second apprentice-uncle's faction, but I fear that this time, he is seriously thinking of handling and regulating me strictly, lest I 'commit a mistake while on a mission'.
Ah Hu bit down on one side of his lips, "It's hard."
Yan Zhaoge propped up his leg relaxedly, "Indeed, someone is going to have it hard."
Very quickly, the rest of them, including Sikong Qing and the others, also received the news.
Having been travelling companions with Yan Zhaoge, they were also subject to interrogation as eyewitnesses.
Having heard the news, they stared at one another, their minds going into overdrive.
As Ah Hu had said, Yan Zhaoge's situation was special, and should not get into trouble with the Punishment Hall easily. Once he did, it meant that the situation was grave, and would not be so easy to resolve.
Of the clan's younger generation, the Broad Creed Sect's Young Master Yan Zhaoge who could call the wind and summon the rain; could it be that he was really going to get it this time?
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