Chapter 2284 - 2287: Victory in Strategy, but Perhaps Defeat in Love

Just as Shen Qiang and the stunning Qian Ning were exiting from the Treasure Vault, accompanied by her, observing the surroundings within the Dragon Palace, several thousand kilometers away from Heshenghe, in a luxurious extended business car outside a film base.

The injured Gong Ziyi, his face ashen, was listening to the elder beside him reporting.

"The list of disciples who perished at Heshenghe has been released; there's no way to hide those who were our people."

Hearing this, Gong Ziyi said coldly, "Why hide it? I sent them. Even if we deny it, everyone can see through it."

"The Dragon Group has already come for an investigation. Even if everyone sees through it, we can only deny it because the target was the pharmaceutical factory, which involves medicines and Alchemists."

Gong Ziyi's face was icy: "So we lost. What's the big deal? It's not like I can't afford to lose."

After a moment of silence, the elder spoke, "The timing of Song Weiyin's bounty is very suspicious. I believe it's a bait deliberately thrown by Shen Qiang to distract you and buy time for himself."

Hearing this, Gong Ziyi smiled and said, "This is Shen Qiang's blunder. I know. He thinks that by dragging things out, he can get a chance to save Heshenghe. But he hasn't considered that with our power, it's very easy to strike his Heshenghe."

Turning to the elder, Gong Ziyi said, "I only need to send a few powerful people to eliminate those important figures in Heshenghe, like their CEO Shen Bian, Chu Qing who manages those demons, Kang Luoying of Qingyun Sword Pavilion, the flawless in Alchemists' eyes Qin Yurou, and Geng Jingyi, who manages Sheng He's security from the outside. Any of them being taken out would cause chaos in Heshenghe."

After another moment of silence, the elder said, "That is indeed a solid means of revenge. Once implemented, Heshenghe would quickly collapse."

"Since we've already torn the facade, there's no need to hide anything anymore," Gong Ziyi said coldly. "Otherwise, not only will the sect look down on me, but so will the Cultivation World and even I will look down on myself."

"As for the candidates…" the elder hesitated, probing.

Gong Ziyi snorted, "Surprise attack, focusing on quality rather than quantity. I have already made some arrangements in this regard, and considering previous events, I do not want to discuss this matter with anyone until they are ready to act."

The elder was taken aback and said, "Gongzi, we've done a review and simulated each stage repeatedly. The most reasonable explanation is that Baihua Palace discovered our people and notified Shen Qiang. This can be confirmed from the fact that the Baihua Palace Master chose to go to the ends of the earth in the hottest season."

"It's all speculation," Gong Ziyi said. "This may very well be the real reason, but it might not be. Shen Qiang is surrounded by many Great Demons, with a complicated background, and as the Medicine King, many in the Cultivation World are pondering how to please him, how to foster a good relationship."

"So, it's very possible that Shen Qiang finds out as soon as there's any commotion, so there's no need to discuss this anymore. Who to send, when to strike, if necessary, I'll tell you. If not, don't ask, and I won't say."

Upon hearing this, the elder immediately replied solemnly, "I understand."

"You don't understand." Gong Ziyi smiled calmly and said, "I admit, I lost to Shen Qiang before because I fundamentally underestimated that rootless fellow. Therefore, I didn't think things through carefully, and this carelessness gave him a lot of opportunities."

"But now, it's different. I already regard him as a formidable opponent, so I won't give him any more chances, especially when he's making blunders."

The elder was puzzled and said, "Gongzi, I don't understand what you mean."

"The bounty on Song Weiyin was orchestrated by Shen Qiang. He knows I would go all out to save her. He's betting that I would consequently give up on immediate retaliation, thus buying time for his next move."

Gong Ziyi smiled, "I thought of this abruptly after being impulsive due to my injury, calling them back from Heshenghe."

Upon hearing this, the elder frowned and said, "Gongzi, this Shen Qiang is indeed formidable. He often manages to foresee several subsequent developments through one event. The flaws exposed by such a person may not necessarily be trustworthy."

Gong Ziyi laughed and turned to the elder with a smile, "I pursued Song Weiyin for many years. She rarely smiled at me. I never understood before why she wasn't moved at all when I was so good to her, so caring, and even hated me."

"But now I understand. It's because I always considered Song Weiyin to be mine from start to finish. So, many times, I assumed everything was taken for granted, approaching her with the mentality that she was mine, and she didn't need to have thoughts, which made her very repelled, so she desperately wanted to escape from me."

Looking at the shocked elder, Gong Ziyi smiled and said, "I have money if I want money, status if I want status, ability if I want ability. In terms of cultivation, I'm enough to be called an elite. Other than being a bit overweight, not tall enough, and not particularly handsome, I can't think of any other reasons why Song Weiyin wouldn't fancy me."

The elder hesitated and said, "Women naturally love beauty, possibly she is truly bewitched by Shen Qiang's handsome face."

Gong Ziyi laughed, "Impossible. Shen Qiang is handsome, but there are many more handsome than him. So, a handsome face to women is probably like those pretty floral clothes; when they encounter something beautiful, something they like, they always imagine what it would be like to wear that beautiful clothing."

The elder was stunned and said, "So, Song Weiyin only likes handsome guys."

Gong Ziyi laughed and calmly said, "Quite the opposite, Song Weiyin doesn't like fancy clothes. If it's not for a performance, she only wears those basic styles, simple and comfortable. Do you understand what I mean? Shen Qiang is a flashy floral shirt while I am like those high-quality, detail-oriented basic styles."

The elder hesitated and said, "Then Song Weiyin…"

"The real reason she chose Shen Qiang was simply because she wanted to escape from me, so she deliberately ignored me. Thus, she immediately saw Shen Qiang's floral shirt, filling her head with fantasies of how lovely and happy she'd be wearing that floral shirt."

Gong Ziyi laughed and said, "But this humble floral shirt mistakenly believes its beauty can conquer everything, pushing her back to my side. So long as she realizes most floral shirts are decorative and useless, and that my high-quality, detail-oriented basic style is the most comfortable to wear, everything will change. So, Shen Qiang might win the strategy, but he's more likely to lose in love!"