Chapter 485 - 328: A Battle Without Ling Xiao

Chapter 485: Chapter 328: A Battle Without Ling Xiao

High Priest Su Xue could easily see that Shangguan Yutong’s feelings for Ling Xiao went beyond those of a mere teacher and student, but she chose not to expose them. After all, she was Ling Xiao’s mother-in-law; what kind of mother would help an outsider usurp her own daughter’s position? Even though the custom of powerful men taking many wives and concubines had been passed down since ancient times, what mother didn’t want her daughter to be the most favored?

However, the two women got along quite well. After failing to recruit Shangguan Yutong on several occasions, Qiu Jianhua, the Dean of the Imperial Academy, finally wore her down. He got her to agree that the most outstanding graduates from the Imperial Academy could enter the Shushan Sword Sect to study for one year!

Shangguan Yutong had no choice but to agree. In reality, this was quite beneficial for the Shushan Sword Sect as well. After all, the Imperial Academy’s reputation was far greater. Now that even graduates from the Imperial Academy were fighting tooth and nail to study at the Shushan Sword Sect, others would naturally pay even more attention to it. At the very least, its fame was now firmly established.

Following Ling Xiao’s instructions, the Shushan Sword Sect set no entrance requirements; even the children of commoners could be recruited. The Inner City covered an enormous area, and the entire sect could accommodate more than a hundred thousand people!

Furthermore, the Ling Family was incredibly wealthy. Although building the city had exhausted all their previous savings, the Beauty Pills Ling Xiao had left behind were enough for several years’ worth of sales. And Huangpu Yue, who controlled the sole distribution channel for this elixir, had now become the number one socialite in the Imperial Capital!

After all, not even the Emperor dared to provoke this woman, let alone anyone else. Rumor had it that because of this "number one socialite" title, the Empire’s Princess, Li Tianqi, had cried several times in the Imperial Palace. She even went to His Majesty the Emperor and demanded that Huangpu Yue be arrested, only to receive a harsh scolding from Emperor Li Wu Zhi, who had always doted on her.

Of course, this matter was merely fodder for gossip on the streets of the Imperial Capital; no one knew whether it was true or false.

But the rise of the Ling Family was undeniably real!

By now, everyone knew that if they could send their child to the Shushan Sword Sect in Penzes New City, and if that child managed to remain there after a month, their family would gain an enormous backer. From that day forward, no noble or member of the gentry would dare to give them trouble! This held true even for the poorest of commoners.

Thus, "To Shushan to master the arts" had essentially become a catchphrase for countless people.

After Su Xue and Shangguan Yutong finished dinner, Shangguan Yutong prepared to go chat with Ling Su. Just then, someone outside made an announcement, using the secret code of the Ling Family’s intelligence department.

The two women exchanged a look and then summoned the person inside.

Neither of them had expected the visitor to be Meng Li himself. Ever since Ling Xiao had left, Meng Li had also entered a state of closed-door cultivation. He rarely appeared before others unless it was for something important.

"Meng Li, what happened to bring you here personally?" Shangguan Yutong asked. They had known each other for years and were on familiar terms.

Meng Li let out a soft sigh, a flicker of anger in his eyes. "Another child has gone missing!" he said.

"What?" Su Xue shot to her feet, her expression instantly turning grim. She gritted her teeth and said, "Who could be so shameless? This is the third child to go missing this month! If they have an issue, why don’t they dare to face us directly? How could they resort to such despicable tactics!"

Shangguan Yutong sighed. "Who else could it be but the Zhe Family and Xie Xiaoyan." A sense of profound regret washed over her as she spoke. No matter what, Xie Xiaoyan had once been a student at the Imperial Academy and should have had a much brighter future. But now, she had been blinded by hatred.

Moreover, her intelligence was almost demonic. She had somehow seen through Lie Que’s deliberate inaction, then incited Lie Yang to find some flimsy pretext to punish Lie Que with solitary confinement—for three years, it was said!

It took a great deal of effort for Lie Que to get that message out. Fortunately, the Lie Family was vast, and Lie Que had amassed a group of trusted confidants over the years; otherwise, even relaying a message would have been incredibly difficult.

Lie Que had warned Ling Xiao to be on guard against that woman, Xie Xiaoyan. Lie Yang was now completely bewitched by her, and whatever Xie Xiaoyan said was law. Furthermore, the Lie Family’s strategy against Ling Xiao had changed. Learning from the Zhe Family’s previous failure, Xie Xiaoyan had shifted their tactics to covert operations.

Harassment, surveillance, assassination... It could be said that they were resorting to every dark and despicable method in the book.

If an expert at the Sword Emperor Realm wanted to conceal themselves, it would be extremely difficult for even someone of the same level to find them!

Things had been fine before, as the news of Ling Xiao’s departure from Penzes City was kept secret. Thus, the enemy had remained restrained, mostly limiting themselves to covert surveillance and spying.

Last month, they finally confirmed that Ling Xiao was no longer here, so they began to escalate their efforts. They started targeting the children, because the only thing that could ruin the reputation of both the Ling Family and the Shushan Sword Sect was those very children!

If you can’t even protect your own disciples, what right do you have to found a sect?

Meng Li said with shame, "It’s all my fault for failing to protect them. But the enemy is impossibly stealthy. Sigh... I can’t detect them at all!"