Chapter 348: The thousand dao city 18.

Ye Qinglan was quiet.

Su Yubing smiled.

"She is not good at comforting people, but she is usually right."

Ye Qinglan laughed softly.

"I think I understand."

Mu Qingru said nothing, but some of the suspicion in her eyes toward Mo Yuxin softened.

After lunch, the assembly resumed.

The next discussion concerned secret realm access.

This topic became even more complicated.

Every few decades, several ancient secret realms opened across the Southern Continent. Most were unstable, and many could only safely hold cultivators below certain realms. The great sects wanted to control who entered because valuable inheritances could be found inside.

The Nine Heavens Academy argued for open registration.

The Heavenly Sword Sect wanted sect priority.

Golden Mountain Sect wanted compensation for supplying equipment.

Cangming Palace wanted access to underwater regions.

Battle Maiden Sect requested equal numbers rather than priority.

Again, they were challenged.

A Heavenly Sword elder said, "Given their current strength, it would be irresponsible to allocate so many places to Battle Maiden disciples."

Ji Ruyan stood.

"We have always sent our own disciples."

The elder replied, "And how many returned from the last two secret realms?"

Ruyan’s face hardened.

"Enough."

"That is not an answer."

"It is the answer you deserve."

Su Lian quietly tugged her sleeve.

Ruyan sat down.

Mo Yuxin looked at her.

There was fire in that young woman’s eyes.

Not arrogance.

Pride.

She would rather be called weak than accept pity.

Mo Yuxin respected that.

The meeting continued for hours.

By late afternoon, the debates had grown more heated.

Arguments about city security turned into arguments about political influence.

The Battle Maiden Sect’s reduced resource allocation became part of several later proposals.

A new security committee was suggested.

The committee would include representatives from each major sect.

The Battle Maiden Sect was offered one seat.

The Heavenly Sword Sect proposed two.

Azure Cloud Sect proposed two.

Golden Mountain Sect proposed two.

Cangming Palace proposed one.

Purple Heaven Valley proposed one.

Nine Heavens Academy proposed one.

Ye Qinglan objected to the imbalance.

"If this is a council of equal major powers, why are we being given half the representation?"

The Heavenly Sword elder answered, "Because your sect currently contributes less to the city’s security network."

Ye Qinglan’s expression remained calm.

"And the decision is based on the same records you used this morning?"

The elder nodded.

"Yes."

Mo Yuxin looked at Su Yubing.

Again.

The same records.

The same accusation.

The same convenient conclusion.

Someone was building a chain.

One false record created another.

Then another.

Soon the Battle Maiden Sect would be described as weak because the city itself had paperwork proving that it was weak.

Mo Yuxin finally understood the shape of the attack.

It was not designed to defeat the Battle Maiden Sect in one battle.

It was designed to remove them piece by piece.

Their resources.

Their allies.

Their reputation.

Their political influence.

Then, when everyone believed they were weak, someone would eventually claim that they were no longer capable of protecting themselves.

That would justify taking even more.

Su Yubing listened as Mo Yuxin explained it quietly.

"Then someone is really trying to destroy them."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"Yes."

Su Yubing looked toward the Battle Maiden delegation.

"Are you thinking about helping?"

Mo Yuxin looked at the food being served at the edge of the hall.

"I am thinking about dinner."

Su Yubing laughed.

"Of course you are."

But after the session ended, they did not go directly to dinner.

Ye Qinglan invited them to the Battle Maiden Sect’s city branch.

Mu Qingru did not like the idea.

She did not trust strangers, especially strangers who seemed far too powerful to be ordinary wandering cultivators.

But Ye Qinglan overruled her.

"We have nothing to lose by asking them to look."

Mu Qingru frowned.

"If they discover what we could not, it will be embarrassing."

Ye Qinglan replied, "I would rather be embarrassed than blind."

They traveled together through the northern district.

The Battle Maiden Sect branch looked quieter in the evening.

Dozens of disciples were training in the courtyard.

Some practiced sword forms.

Some trained with spears.

Others worked on formations.

Nobody stopped merely because the sect master arrived.

That was a good sign.

The disciples were disciplined.

Their equipment, however, was poor.

Several weapons had visible repairs.

Training talismans were being reused.

Some of the spirit stone lamps were dim.

The great sect branch had fallen into a state where every resource mattered.

Mo Yuxin said nothing until they reached the main formation tower.

Ye Qinglan asked, "Can you see it?"

Mo Yuxin nodded.

She walked around the base of the formation tower.

Her fingers never touched the stone.

She simply observed.

The formation had several layers.

At first glance, everything was normal.

The outer defense worked correctly.

The spiritual circulation was stable.

The energy reserves were adequate.

But deep inside the formation core was a tiny knot.

Mo Yuxin pointed at it.

"This."

Mu Qingru stepped forward.

"What about it?"

"Someone inserted a false circulation node."

The elders exchanged looks.

Su Lian rushed over.

"I checked this formation twice this month."

Mo Yuxin looked at her.

"You did not miss it."

"Then why did I not see it?"

"Because it is designed to hide from formation senses."

Mo Yuxin crouched and drew three lines in the air.

Spiritual energy formed a simple diagram.

"The node does not interfere with the formation immediately. It redirects a very small amount of energy every time the outer defense activates. You lose perhaps one percent each cycle."

Su Lian’s eyes widened.

"One percent?"

"At first."

Mo Yuxin added another line.

"Then the redirected energy accumulates here."

A small blue point appeared.

"Eventually it causes an imbalance. The formation begins repairing itself by consuming reserve energy. The sect loses more spirit stones. You think the problem is age. So you repair the visible parts."

Ye Qinglan’s face became colder.

"While the real problem grows underneath."

"Yes."

Mu Qingru stared at the diagram.

"How long?"

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TO BE CONTINUED.