Chapter 2249  Towards the Ninth Heaven!

"To make this fair, we'll verify every single member, regardless of their status or when they joined," Qiang Qing Yun continued. "After all, there's a chance this individual is in disguise or has assumed the identity of an existing member."

"Sounds good. We'll start from those at the highest position and work our way down," Old Man Bi said.

"Do I need to prove my identity?" Xu Jiaqi suddenly asked.

"Uh… no, I think you're fine—"

"Of course, you do." Liu Yucang interrupted Qiang Qing Yun. "It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the members if we, the leaders, don't do it first. Lead by example, right?"

Xu Jiaqi didn't argue with him and said, "Then let's do it right now. I'll even go first."

"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" Liu Yucang stared at her with narrowed eyes and a provocative smile.

"Isn't it obvious? I need to find that Outsider to question him," she said.

"Are you sure you're not trying to hide him? Think how bad it'd look for you if you left now," Old Man Bi said.

"Moreover, we're not even prepared to begin the investigation," added Qiang Qing Yun.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Xu Jiaqi said, "Very well. I will remain here until every member has been verified."

She walked back to her seat with her usual calmness, though the faint irritation on her face was impossible to miss.

Some time later, Old Man Bi spoke. "Let's begin by recalling our members. Since Lady Xu insists on going first, we'll start with the ones recruited under her banner."

Every Celestial Overlord possessed a unique symbol they could pass down to their recruits. Anyone recruited by those recruits would also fall under that same banner, belonging to the Celestial Overlord who initiated the chain.

And as their leader, the Celestial Overlord could give them direct commands.

"I'll recall my members first, then," Xu Jiaqi nodded.

"Make sure you do it right there where we can see everything," Liu Yucang said.

Without hesitation, Xu Jiaqi ordered all members under her banner to return to the Celestial Overlords' headquarters.

Once such a command was issued, her subordinates were obligated to comply. Anyone who failed to return within a certain time would be flagged.

If someone was occupied and unable to return immediately, they only needed to acknowledge the order. Doing so would grant them additional time to comply.

While the members under Xu Jiaqi's command started making their way to the headquarters, the others prepared for the verification, which required many pills and treasures.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiaqi spoke to Senior Bai using voice transmission.

"What do you think? Could Yuan really be responsible?"

Senior Bai sighed, "I don't want to believe it, but it's very likely that he's involved."

He proceeded to reveal that he'd met with Yuan right before the meeting started, as well as their conversation.

He told her about Yuan's odd response to the news and that he'd randomly apologized afterward.

"However, he was only at the True Immortal realm when I saw him. I cannot fathom how he managed to defeat the Second Squad of Heaven's Mandate with his level of cultivation."

"Commander Wong mentioned Void Manipulation. If Yuan had really achieved Advanced Void Understanding, then it might be possible," Xu Jiaqi said.

"I know he's good at defying logic, but there should be a limit… I also don't understand why he'd even fight with Heaven's Mandate," Senior Bai shook his head.

The others in the room were aware of Xu Jiaqi and Senior Bai speaking to each other via voice transmission, but nobody tried to stop them, allowing them to talk in private.

"I'm sure he has a good reason." Despite the situation, Xu Jiaqi held faith in him. Of course, this was heavily due to Yuan being Tian Yingzhe's reincarnation.

"Where is Yuan right now?" she then asked.

"I don't know, but he did say that he would be ascending to the Ninth Heaven soon."

"I see…"

"What should we do about Yuan? Knowing him, he probably hid the truth so we wouldn't be dragged into this or be directly involved, but… I don't know what we should do now," Senior Bai said in a perplexed tone.

On one hand, he wanted to trust Yuan, yet on the other, the uncertainty left him unsettled. And while he didn't feel betrayed, he was definitely disappointed.

"I will send someone to find him," Xu Jiaqi said. "I'll decide what to do once I hear the story from his point of view."

"Alright…"

Time continued to pass, and one by one, the faction members under Xu Jiaqi's banner gathered at the headquarters in response to her command. None of them truly understood the situation, but they were certain it was connected to their sudden loss of karma.

Once enough members had gathered, Xu Jiaqi explained the situation to them in full, leaving many of them dumbfounded.

"I understand that this is highly irregular," she said, her tone calm yet firm. "But the circumstances are unprecedented, so I ask for your understanding and cooperation."

Although the members were irritated by the situation, none of them blamed Xu Jiaqi. Instead, their anger was directed at Heaven's Mandate and its brazen behavior.

"Don't worry, Celestial Overlord Xu! We believe in you!"

"How dare those bastards ask for Leader Xu's memories?!"

Seeing their reactions, Xu Jiaqi couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for lying to them, even offering a silent apology in her heart.

However, this was how much she valued and trusted Yuan, whom she firmly believed to be Tian Yingzhe's reincarnation. Were it not for that, she would never dare to take such a risk.

Meanwhile, after meeting with Senior Bai and leaving the Myriad of Techniques, Yuan headed straight for the Stairway to Heaven, ready to begin his ascent toward the Ninth Heaven.

"It hasn't even been a hundred years since you began your journey in the Lower Heavens, and you're already heading to the Ninth Heaven…" Xiao Hua murmured as they approached the Stairway to Heaven, recalling their journey with a warm smile. 

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