Mount Shushan.

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak was calculating heavenly secrets.

This was his daily routine.

To ensure Mount Shushan remained safe, to ensure Zhongzhou remained safe.

After a long while, the Peak Master of Greenstone Peak withdrew his focus.

"All is well."

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak looked across at Lingxu.

Lingxu fiddled with a chess piece in his hand and said, "I win."

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak lowered his head to look, then took a deep breath.

(⊙_⊙)??

We weren't playing Gomoku!!!

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak suppressed the urge to flip the chessboard, thinking to himself:

I can't beat him, I really can't beat him!

Out loud, he said, "The Sect Leader's chess skills are truly unmatched."

Lingxu smiled faintly, leaning back slightly.

"Even with unmatched chess skills, sometimes the board remains unclear."

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak's mouth twitched slightly.

You're playing Gomoku, what goddamn "unclear board" are you talking about?

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak stood up, unwilling to stay any longer.

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"Junior Brother, there are matters that still require your attention. Don't be careless. Recently I've been sleeping poorly, only managing eleven and a half shichen per day."

Lingxu's voice came from behind him.

The Peak Master of Greenstone Peak paused mid-step.

There are only twelve shichen in a day, and you sleep eleven and a half.

And you call that poor sleep?

He turned his head, giving Lingxu a meaningful look.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother. There's nothing in this world I cannot calculate. Didn't you visit Goushengzi recently?"

Lingxu immediately looked guilty, like a husband caught by his wife visiting brothels.

"How did it go? Did Zhongzhou's top astrologer provide any useful information?"

Lingxu quickly shook his head, "We were just fooling around. What useful things could he say?"

Only then did the Peak Master of Greenstone Peak leave with meaningful steps.

Both he and Goushengzi had entered the Dao through heavenly secrets, and both were Great Ascension stage powerhouses.

It was inevitable they'd compete in secret.

Lingxu picked up a sweet potato and took a bite.

"............"

Outside Zhongzhou.

The wind raged like mountains being uprooted, the rain poured like bursting riverbanks.

A tall building stood amidst the storm, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

The Happy Old Man leaned against the railing, gazing out.

Bai Li approached with graceful steps, draping a robe over his shoulders.

"Isn't acting so quickly a bit too rash?" Bai Li asked.

The Happy Old Man smiled, "If we don't act rashly, our enemy will act even faster."

"Who? Mount Shushan?" Bai Li inquired.

The Happy Old Man said, "I don't know. There's always been an enemy lurking in the shadows.

The one who killed Daxia's emperor, eliminated Mount Shushan's Liu Yi...

Even my disciple died in Zhongzhou. Over the years, every hidden piece I've planted has been uprooted by them.

If we don't act fast, we'll become fish on the chopping block. Who knows what else that person might do."

"But is such urgency really necessary?" Bai Li still seemed uneasy.

The Happy Old Man shook his head, "We must be fast. So fast they can't react, leaving them no opportunity!!

Whoever they are, whether they've fully grown or not - one decisive strike!

Hesitation leads to failure. I quite like the story Daxia's emperor once told me.

About how the hero grows stronger step by step to defeat the demon king, while said king just sits on his throne waiting to be defeated.

What a foolish demon king, wasting perfect opportunities.

So if I were the demon king, I'd make sure that hero died at home before even leaving town."

The Happy Old Man narrowed his eyes slightly.

What concerned him wasn't Mount Shushan, but that mysterious figure hiding in the shadows.

"They're here," Bai Li reminded him.

"Mmm, let's go see these profit-seekers' ugly faces."

The Happy Old Man turned and walked away with hands clasped behind his back.

.........

Outside Zhongzhou

Western Paradise Heaven, Immeasurable Church.

A Buddhist holy land.

Star Palace, Literary Star Pavilion.

Cangzhou, Armament Ancestral Land, where they cultivate through weapon spirits.

The Blood Rust Pass faction, Armament Tomb.

Once a fortress from ancient battlefields, the fortress later transformed into a realm, becoming Cangzhou.

Profound Yellow Continent, the Ink Pool Sect's leader from the Summit faction.

Primordial Chaos Continent, called the Celestial Ladder, its cultivators claiming descent from ascendants.

Said to be descendants of ascended immortals who established rule here.

Primordial Chaos Continent factions, Profound Yellow Continent factions, Cangzhou's Armament Tomb, Star Palace's Literary Star Pavilion, Western Paradise Heaven's Immeasurable Church.

As the Happy Old Man entered the hall, the crowd remained noisy.

"My Primordial Chaos Continent contributes most, we should get the largest share!"

The Ascendant Emperor roared.

"After all this blabbering, I ask - who will deal with Lingxu?!"

The voice of Cangzhou's Armament Tomb's Wen Yuan echoed through the hall.

Instant silence fell, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The previously noisy crowd unanimously shut their mouths.

Wen Yuan scanned the room, gaze settling on the self-proclaimed Ascendant Emperor from Primordial Chaos Continent who'd argued most fiercely with him.

Only those Primordial Chaos Continent ascendant descendants would dare call themselves emperors.

No sane person at the Tribulation Transcension stage would claim such a title.

The Ascendant Emperor glared at Armament Tomb's Wen Yuan, too angry to speak, just staring.

"Great Emperor, why don't you handle Lingxu? Don't need to defeat him, just delay him for three days," Wen Yuan said.

Though they were communicating through a space created by the Happy Old Man, not physically present,

the rage on the Ascendant Emperor's face was still visible.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!"

Wen Yuan snorted coldly, "Aren't you the so-called ascendant descendant, self-proclaimed Ascendant Emperor? Half-step into Great Ascension? Surely handling Lingxu would be easy!"

The Ascendant Emperor's projection flickered unsteadily.

Then the Ink Pool Sect's leader from Profound Yellow Continent said calmly:

"I wonder who was the one sent running by Lingxu during his Consolidation Stage."

Wen Yuan exploded, "You!!"

The Happy Old Man waved his hand, stopping their argument.

"Gentlemen, since none wish to face Lingxu, I have a proposal?"

Wen Yuan raised an eyebrow, "You'd face Lingxu?"

"Of course I wouldn't commit suicide. But I know someone perfect to die in our stead."

The Happy Old Man deliberately paused, and all eyes turned to him.

"The Eastern Desolate Demon Territory, Ten Thousand Tribes Alliance."

The announcement shocked everyone.

Armament Tomb's Wen Yuan stood up furiously, glaring.

"Madness! Even if we oppose Mount Shushan, this is human affairs! Allying with demons? My Armament Tomb won't participate!"

"Making pacts with tigers!" The previously silent Star Palace ancestor interjected.

The Happy Old Man waited for their outrage to subside before continuing.

"Drive tigers to devour wolves - destroy Mount Shushan while crippling the Ten Thousand Tribes Alliance. What's not to like?"

Wen Yuan stood frozen, expression shifting unpredictably.

The hall fell silent again.

Then the Star Palace ancestor spoke gravely:

"Happy Old Man, this wasn't spur-of-the-moment, was it? You planned to ally with the Demon Territory long ago?"

The Happy Old Man smiled, "All for our grand scheme!"