At this moment, the grey-robed elder nodded and said, “Moreover, with Zi Huang in seclusion, the Zi family is primarily managed by Zi Gong. Given Zi Gong’s cunning nature, he likely wouldn’t want the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein to mature and be used by other Zi family geniuses, threatening his grandson Zi Yuan’s position in the future.”
“So, Elder Jiang, are you saying Zi Gong might take action as well?” the young man in gold asked.
The grey-robed elder nodded. “Zi Yuan is currently the Zi family’s top genius, but he’s not a direct descendant of Zi Huang. When the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein matures, Zi Huang will surely have Zi Ling pass it to one of his direct descendants.”
“At that point, any of Zi Huang’s direct great-grandchildren, particularly the second-ranked Zi Long, could surpass Zi Yuan.”
“If you were Zi Gong, Elder Jiang, what would you do?” the young man in gold asked, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
“If I were Zi Gong, I’d ensure the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein is used to its fullest potential, but not for the Zi family’s geniuses,” the grey-robed elder replied.
“How so?” the young man in gold asked.
“Zi Gong might very well use the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein to ally with a powerful force, one strong enough to pressure even Zi Huang,” the elder explained.
The young man in gold frowned slightly. “You mean Zi Gong might leak the information to the Eight Great Sects, arranging a marriage alliance between their geniuses and the Zi family?”
The grey-robed elder nodded. “It would prevent anyone from surpassing Zi Yuan in the future while bringing immense benefits to the Zi family. If I’m not mistaken, the moment Zi Ling activated the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein, Zi Gong likely sent someone to inform the Eight Great Sects.”
The young man in gold frowned again. “Among the Eight Great Sects, Ling Jian Sect has been the most dominant in recent years. Their core disciple, Jian Tian Jiao, is hailed as the top prodigy of the Southeast Region, with limitless potential. Zi Gong’s most likely target for an alliance would be Ling Jian Sect, wouldn’t it?”
The grey-robed elder nodded.
“Zi Gong is indeed a shrewd old fox!” The young man’s eyes narrowed. “If Ling Jian Sect gets involved, obtaining the Substitute Saint Spirit Vein will be even harder. Moreover, closer ties between the Zi family and Ling Jian Sect would be bad news for our Jin family.”
“I hope Uncle Mu and the others don’t fail. If they capture Zi Ling, even if Ling Jian Sect intervenes, they won’t have evidence to act against our Jin family.”
“You’re absolutely right, Young Master!” the grey-robed elder nodded in agreement.
“When I gradually take control of the Jin family, Elder Jiang, I’ll ensure the Jiang family’s status and strength rise, becoming the foremost vassal clan of the Jin family,” the young man in gold added.
“Thank you, Young Master!” The grey-robed elder cupped his hands in gratitude.
…
Hundreds of miles from the Zi family’s City Forty-Eight, Cao Tian Chao and his group of five hurriedly arrived.
Seeing their figures, three high-ranking Martial Lords flew over from nearby. One Eighth-Rank Martial Lord, an elder, asked Cao Tian Chao with confusion, “Patriarch, why are you all here?”
The other two high-ranking Martial Lords were equally puzzled. Lin Xiao and his group hadn’t shown up, yet all three patriarchs had arrived. Had something unexpected happened?
Logically, the chances of Lin Xiao appearing here weren’t that high.
Moreover, if Lin Xiao’s group did show up, it would likely just be the three of them.
They all knew Lin Xiao possessed a corpse puppet capable of fighting high-ranking Martial Lords, but even so, they were confident they could take him down.
“Lin Xiao and his group haven’t arrived here?” Cao Tian Chao’s brow furrowed, a surge of anger rising within him.
The three shook their heads.
“Have we been deceived?” Lu Yuan’s expression darkened, his fists clenching as fury welled up inside him.
Xu Zi Lan shook his head. “The Jin family is a rival of the Zi family. They have no reason to deceive us.”
“Could it be that Lin Xiao’s group discovered the Jin family expert tracking them and changed course?” one of the accompanying Eighth-Rank Martial Lord elders suggested.
“With that Jin family expert’s aura-concealing skills, it’s unlikely they were detected, but it’s not impossible,” Cao Tian Chao mused after a moment’s thought. “If that’s the case, Lin Xiao’s group is highly likely to have headed to the Zi family’s City Forty-Two. They wouldn’t be certain whether we’d leave City Forty-Five, so their best choice would be City Forty-Two.”
“Could it be that Lin Xiao’s group was delayed en route and hasn’t arrived yet? After all, this is just our estimated timeframe,” another Eighth-Rank Martial Lord elder said.
“That’s also possible,” Xu Zi Lan nodded.
“So, do we wait here or head to City Forty-Two?” Lu Yuan asked.
The group fell into a thoughtful silence, finding it hard to decide.
After all, they weren’t certain which direction Lin Xiao’s group had taken.
After a brief moment of consideration, Cao Tian Chao spoke, “We’ll wait two hours, then head to City Forty-Two.”
“City Forty-Two is in the opposite direction. If we go now, we might not even catch up. If Lin Xiao’s group really went to City Forty-Two, waiting two hours would mean missing them entirely,” Xu Zi Lan objected.
Cao Tian Chao shook his head. “You all seem to have forgotten that I’ve obtained Lin Xiao’s Void Sky Phoenix Wings. If we don’t see them after two hours, I can use the wings to take us all to City Forty-Two.”
At this, Lu Yuan, Xu Zi Lan, and the others were stunned. They only now recalled that Cao Tian Chao had indeed seized Lin Xiao’s Void Sky Phoenix Wings.
With the wings, it wouldn’t take long to reach City Forty-Two.
Cao Tian Chao hadn’t used the wings during their pursuit, likely because he feared they might try to snatch them.
After all, such a flight treasure was immensely valuable to them.
“But let me make this clear: if any of you try to take my Void Sky Phoenix Wings, I’ll abandon killing Lin Xiao just to take them back!” Cao Tian Chao said solemnly.
“Patriarch Cao, you’re overthinking it!” Xu Zi Lan stated. Though he coveted the wings, their priority was capturing Lin Xiao.
Infighting now would ruin their chance to take him down.
With Lin Xiao’s talent, if he grew stronger, he’d become a threat to them all.
“There’s no need for disputes at a time like this!” Lu Yuan added.
In the shadows, the masked black-robed elder was even more anxious than them. He thought to himself, “I don’t know how they found out, but they must have discovered me. They’ve definitely gone to City Forty-Two!”
With that, he turned, stepping onto an array disc and speeding toward City Forty-Two alone, faster than an average Ninth-Rank Martial Lord.
His disc was certainly not as fast as the Void Sky Phoenix Wings, and he wasn’t comfortable joining Cao Tian Chao’s group or tagging along, so he set out ahead of them.
