Within Hei San’s eyes was uncertainty. It was beyond his wildest imagination that Fang Xing had managed to return alive while the third-tiered Hou Qing, Lyu San, and Qian Tong did not. Could the kid’s words be true and they were all dead? But if they had all died, how did this kid live? He couldn’t have killed them all, could he?

　　However, Hei San still kept his cool and decided to save Liu first. The conflict between the kid and him had been set in stone, after all, and Liu was bound to be an ally.

　　After hearing Hei San’s voice, Fang Xing turned to look at him with a slight smile. “You’ll be next!”

　　With a loud bang, Hei San slapped his hand on the table while holding his waist with his left hand. “Really? How funny of you to say that!” He did not plan on fighting Fang Xing fair and square, and instead he was preparing to summon his Flying Sword first; after seeing the power and ruthlessness in the skirmish between Fang Xing and Liu just a moment ago, Hei San had decided to keep his distance.

　　Seeing this, Fang Xing squinted his eyes while stealthily activating his Qi.

　　At this exact moment some distance away within the Yunyin Summit, a skinny silhouette could be seen dashing towards the terrace. It was one of Hei San’s men with large drops of sweat running down his neck and anxiety in his voice. “Shixiong Hei San…. Shixiong! Something horrible has happened!”

　　As the man ran up the staircase to speak to Hei San, he was soon taken aback by what was in front him: Liu on the floor desperately trying to breathe and the remaining pair about to get into a fight. Choking, the man could not let out a single word.

　　“What happened? What are you waiting for? Speak!” Hei San commanded sharply with his gaze still locked on Fang Xing.

　　Fang Xing had seen this man before. His name was Lin Jian of tier one, and he was one of the new recruits from half a year ago. As the head of their living quarters, Hei San was entitled to two disciples who would run his errands, and Lin Jian was one of them. On the night before he had been taken by Hou Qing, Lin was one of the men who had been outside of his cottage throughout the night.

　　As soon as Lin saw Fang Xing, his heart dropped. It wasn’t until Hei San had yelled at him twice that he came back to his senses. Lin started to speak, his tone bitter, “Shixiong Hei San, I was helping out at the Miscellaneous Department earlier, and suddenly the head shixiong of the department came and asked me to tell you that Shixiong Xuanzhao had spoken to him about… about how that Shidi— Shixiong Fang is now Shixiong Xuanzhao’s brother. If anyone offends him, it is the same as offending Shixiong Xuanzhao….”

　　Lin’s expression was on the verge of tears as he continued, “The head shixiong knew that Shixiong Fang lived at Yunyin Summit and so he asked me to tell you… to not be on the bad side of Shixiong Fang, and if it’s already too late, to apologize immediately. Otherwise… otherwise, he said he’ll easily find someone else to replace you….”

　　‘What?’ Hei San felt a surge of dizziness. It was a bit hard to digest the enormous amount of information. ‘Someone else to replace me?’

　　In order to be able to sit where he was today, he had spent a small fortune to court the head shixiong of the Miscellaneous Department, yet today with only a few words… he could be replaced?

　　Hei San had heard of the name Xuanzhao before. Xuanzhao had joined the outer court two years ago, and since his uncle was an elder within the sect, he hadn’t had to join through the Recruitment Ceremony like most of them did. He was one of the few people who could not be offended within the outer court, and even the head shixiong of each department would have to greet Xuanzhao with a smile at all times.

　　The question was… how did such a kid—with neither background nor money—become so close with Shixiong Xuanzhao?

　　Astonishment. Remorse. Suspicion. Fear….

　　All of Hei San’s expressions and thoughts made his face grow extremely complicated. With great bitterness, he unconsciously looked towards Fang Xing.

　　Fang Xing, on the other hand, was still stepping atop Liu while looking at Hei San’s expressions before—as though nothing was out of the ordinary—he spoke, “It’s not a big deal. After I completed the mission, I received some Ore Essence Powder. Seeing that Shixiong Xuanzhao needed it, I gave it to him as a gift, so he said he’d help me teach a few lessons to some people…. He was originally going to do it himself, but after some thought, I felt it was better if I did it myself!”

　　“Ore Essence Powder?” Hei San unintentionally let out a shriek, his heart wrenching into knots.

　　The kid was sure willing to part with something precious if he used Ore Essence Powder as a form of bribery. It was something that all outer court disciples would be willing to lay their lives on the line for. If they were to buy from the sect directly without consideration for the quota, it would still cost a good three hundred Spirit Stones.

　　With this, Hei San finally and completely believed everything that Fang Xing had said.

　　It was Ore Essence Powder, after all! If it was he himself, let alone giving up a small position of power at the living quarters, he would even be willing to kill someone for it!

　　“Uhm… uhh…. Shidi Fang— no, Shixiong Fang, take… please, take a seat here.”