"Lei, you really have the manner of Master Yuan, calm on the surface like still water, yet thunder roars within. No matter how fierce the storms outside, our sect will always have pillars like you to rely on—it truly is a blessing."

Fang Jian said slowly, "Though I may be lacking, I am willing to follow your example, at least in part."

The words Lei Jun spoke managed to convince those around him.

But when Fang Jian said this, some among them were surprised.

After all, there were times when Fang Jian did not represent only himself.

Li Kong listened quietly at the side, then spoke, "Chong Jian and Chongyun, your concerns are sound. I must trouble you to handle the matters outside the mountain. However, take care for your safety as well; the mountain gate is left a bit empty at present, so I will return and await Master Yuan's orders."

The current situation was plenty complicated. With Yuan Mobai, Lei Jun, and Fang Jian able to stay out of it, that was enough for the Li Clan to breathe a little easier.

Li Kong looked deep into Lei Jun and Fang Jian's eyes, "I hope... after calm is restored, we will be able to gather together as we do now."

For these recent years, Li Kong personally had dealt quite peacefully with Lei Jun.

*...Though, Li Kong felt the one who was easy to get along with, someone worth befriending, was actually just Lei's persona for the outside world.*

The Li Clan disciples present mostly left following Li Kong, heading toward the Dragon Tiger Mountain's gate.

The disciples of other surnames had some who returned to the mountain as well.

They took care to avoid Li Kong and his group, planning to return by another route.

The time being what it was, Lei Jun and Fang Jian did not force the matter.

They simply reorganized those willing to stay behind with a quick reassigning, and then began to direct them.

No elders remained at this place, so Lei Jun and Fang Jian were able to take charge directly.

"Shangguan, you're not returning to the mountain?" Lei Jun looked toward another familiar face.

Shangguan Hong, who joined the sect the same year as Lei Jun, undergoing the Transcension Ritual.

Shangguan Hong bowed in the Taoist manner before Lei Jun, "What you said was exactly what I thought, brother. As disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion, our priority ought to be the mansion itself—never should we let outsiders exploit our weaknesses."

Meeting the even gaze of Lei Jun, Shangguan Hong spoke softly,

"My teacher has come out of isolation, though his health has not yet recovered. For now, he has called upon Master Three, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, and sister Tang to stand down temporarily. Issues can be discussed in council—let's not become a laughingstock for outsiders."

Lei Jun heard these words and nodded in silence.

Shangguan Ning—or rather, the attitude of the Tang Imperial Court—had grown more ambiguous this time.

Naturally, a big part of this was that they were unable to intervene right now.

Including Her Majesty the Empress, the Tang Imperial Court's urgent priority was to quell the unrest sparked by Prince Wu, especially with the Demon Race from the East Sea landing now!

So they could not spare time to deal with matters in the south for the moment.

Shangguan Ning herself was still injured, and her wounds were more serious than Li Song's.

But being unavailable for the time did not mean she could not state her position as a warning—or perhaps settle scores later, when autumn came.

But to make no statement at all right now, that did, in fact, invite a lot of speculation.

To help neither side and maintain staunch neutrality was certainly possible.

But before, the Li Clan, especially Li Ziyang's line, had been working hard to draw closer to the Tang Imperial Court.

Looking at matters now, it seemed—at least for this incident—Her Majesty the Empress and the late Emperor Zhang Qilong did not entirely share the same view...

The incident erupted so suddenly, and the Empress had gone to the eastern coast to quell the demonic chaos, making communication difficult.

For Shangguan Ning to make this decision right away—if she was not acting on her own initiative, then she must have gotten tacit approval from the Empress already.

Of course, there was still hope for the Li Clan, and no true signs of defeat had been revealed yet.

Li Hongyu and Li Zhengxuan, both High Merit Masters, were not currently at Dragon Tiger Mountain.

If they returned to the mountain, everything could change dramatically.

Perhaps only then could one see the true intentions of Shangguan Ning and the Tang Imperial Court...

*"Master Five's words were the voice of restraint and prudence, far more thorough than our own deliberations,"* Lei Jun mused inwardly, keeping his face expressionless as he replied with empty polite talk.

Lei Jun let his gaze drift away from Shangguan Hong's face to another figure in the distance.

A young Taoist, appearing no older than in his twenties, silent and withdrawn, kept to Fang Jian's side.

At first glance, quite unremarkable.

Yet in reality, not only Lei Jun but many others would cast furtive looks his way, watching him in secret.

The young Taoist was not surnamed Li, but Xu; his given name was Xu Rui.

Yet his lineage was something of a curiosity.

His master was none other than Li Zhengxuan, son of the former Celestial Master Li Qingfeng.

Back in the day, when the Yong Celestial Master opened the doors to accept disciples, he had planned to make his own nephew, Li Fenghe, his chief pupil—but for various reasons, he ultimately chose an outsider Tao Boy.

This was Xu Rui.

At the time, Xu Rui was the envy of all his peers.

As the first disciple of the Yong Celestial Master—and strictly speaking, since Xu Yuanzhen, Zhang Jingzhen, and Fang Jian had not themselves taken on students—Xu Rui was then the sole member of the third generation directly passed down in the Li Qingfeng lineage.

Xu Rui personally had always acted with restraint, but was indeed enjoying great prestige.

It didn't last—former Celestial Master Li Qingfeng fell, Yong Celestial Master Li Zhengxuan lost the Celestial Master's Sword, and in the end was sent to the Ancestral Tomb for reflection.

Even Li Fenghe could no longer pay formal respects to his uncle as his teacher.

Xu Rui didn't exactly plummet from heights to ruin, but his luster had surely faded along with Li Zhengxuan.

Fortunately, his own mentality stayed even, and he remained as low-key as before.

Yet as the inner conflict between Li and outsiders within the mansion grew ever more intense, Xu Rui's identity and situation became increasingly delicate.

The last veil had now been torn away.

Though all those present here were outsiders, some among them began to observe Xu Rui with increasingly probing eyes.

"Enough, everyone; be careful in your own tasks, gather regularly, and share what you've learned," Fang Jian ordered calmly.

Lei Jun added from the side, "Should you discover anything unusual, don't act alone on impulse; courage must go hand in hand with cunning—just as we must excel in outwitting our foes, so must we learn to protect ourselves."

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