Chapter 274: Youth Behind the Mask

The main city of Seven Blood Eyes was finally completed.

Though its population didn't rival that of Southern Phoenix Continent, the main city was now fully operational. With constant teleportation, the many disciples from the alliance's 138 sects showed great interest in the new city. Whether for business, shopping, or making connections, this new main city appeared bustling and lively.

At the same time, personnel adjustments were made across the main city's various departments. Huang Yan continued his work on water diversion. His beloved Second Senior Sister became the Deputy Chief of the Grand Patrol Department, a role suited to her character, as her presence could, to some extent, deter petty criminals. Additionally, some departments were established to align with other sects in the alliance, such as the Grand Department of Business Affairs.

Aside from high-level figures and forbidden artifacts, wealth was another crucial factor determining a force's strength. This principle held true in any collective society. The establishment of the Grand Department of Business Affairs was thus logical, responsible for all internal and external commercial matters of Seven Blood Eyes. The Seventh Master personally appointed his third disciple as the Deputy Chief of this department.

As for Xu Qing and the Captain, the Seventh Master, knowing their good relationship, arranged for them to work together in one of the most important departments established after Seven Blood Eyes joined the alliance: the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office.

This name differed slightly from Southern Phoenix Continent customs, carrying the distinct flavor of the alliance itself. Its full name was the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office. This office wasn't unique to Seven Blood Eyes; all seven other sects also had one, forming a unified entity. While subject to headquarters' assignments, it was responsible for a wide range of internal and external affairs. The Sixth Master served as its Chief Director. The Captain and Xu Qing were appointed as Deputy Directors.

The Sixth Master typically didn't intervene, delegating full authority to Xu Qing and the Captain to oversee all affairs. The office's location was built near the eight grand bridges in Seven Blood Eyes' main city. Its overall triangular shape contained hundreds of pavilions, each with a sizable, independent courtyard, yet forming a cohesive whole. It was further divided into several smaller sections, with over three thousand disciples from various Seven Blood Eyes peaks assigned to serve there. Half of them were former members of the Beast-Hunting Division, including Little Mute.

On his way to assume his new post after receiving the appointment, Xu Qing, thinking he'd be in the same department as the Captain again, bought some apples from a fruit stall. As he continued, passing a newly opened immortal pool, he spotted an old acquaintance: Xu Xiaohui. Upon noticing Xu Qing, Xu Xiaohui happily greeted him and gave him a jade slip.

"Senior Brother Xu," she said, "this immortal pool is a side business my good friend and I opened. You're welcome to come anytime; with this jade slip, there's no charge."

Xu Qing nodded, his gaze falling on another woman behind Xu Xiaohui—her informant. The money for Xu Xiaohui's shop was provided by the informant, at Xu Qing's instruction. In this world, Xu Qing felt that genuinely grateful people were rare. Although Xu Xiaohui lacked sufficient cultivation talent, her character had bright spots, and he believed he should help her whenever he could.

So, after taking the jade slip, Xu Qing departed, heading directly to the gates of the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office.

"Greetings, Director!" the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office members at the gate respectfully saluted, their eyes filled with fervor, as they were all former members of the Beast-Hunting Division.

Xu Qing nodded and entered the office. Along the way, he mostly saw familiar faces, and even spotted Ding Xiaohai. Ding Xiaohai, who had once yearned to become a core disciple and successfully achieved it after the Mermaid Island incident, even advancing to Foundation Establishment, showed an indescribably complex expression upon seeing Xu Qing. He looked at Xu Qing, lowered his head, and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Director."

Xu Qing glanced at Ding Xiaohai. The latter indeed possessed impressive talent, now having one Life Fire and around forty activated Dharma Apertures. Achieving this in just a few years was no easy feat. But Xu Qing didn't like him. Seeing this person reminded him of Zhou Qingpeng. However, everyone had their own way of living, so he retracted his gaze and walked away.

Ding Xiaohai remained silent, watching Xu Qing depart. He sighed inwardly, knowing about Zhou Qingpeng's matter but not feeling that he had done anything wrong. In chaotic times, self-preservation was naturally everyone's first consideration.

Xu Qing arrived at the center of the Security and Protection Special Affairs Office, where he found the Captain. The Captain was busily reviewing dossiers, occasionally issuing directives to various sub-sections of the office, handling a multitude of tasks. Seeing this, Xu Qing felt that the Captain was actually quite suited for such work. So, he took an apple he'd bought earlier and placed it on the Captain's desk, then sat down nearby, calmly closing his eyes to cultivate.

After a while, the Captain looked up, took a bite of the apple, and, glancing at Xu Qing who was cultivating, felt a pang of annoyance. He decided to assign Xu Qing some of the most difficult tasks, so he cleared his throat.

"Deputy Director Xu!"

Xu Qing opened his eyes. "Senior Brother, would you like more apples?" Xu Qing said, taking out two more and placing them on the desk.

The Captain looked at the apples, then at Xu Qing, his expression turning serious. "Cut it out, little A-Qing, you're learning bad habits!"

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then took out another jade slip and placed it on the desk.

"What's this?" the Captain asked, surprised.

"On the way here, I saw an immortal pool open next door," Xu Qing said, looking into the Captain's eyes. "I remembered Senior Brother likes those places, so I got you this jade slip for a twenty percent discount."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on the Captain's face, and his earlier annoyance vanished instantly. He felt very pleased. He felt that although Xu Qing was learning "bad habits," it also meant he was becoming more understanding and knew how to please his senior brother. So, he mused that he shouldn't be stingy and decided not to give his junior brother the most difficult tasks after all.

"Fine," the Captain sighed. "This Security and Protection Special Affairs Office that the old man assigned us has too many tasks. I originally planned for you to handle the conflicts with other sects in the alliance. Given your personality, you'd probably be too lazy to talk and just suppress them all, so I'll handle that instead."

"As for you," he continued, "you can oversee the transfer of interests and rights between our sect and the alliance. That's a relaxed job." Saying this, the Captain flipped through some dossiers and handed one to Xu Qing. "This involves pushing for and maintaining the transfer of alliance array permissions, as well as integrating them into our Seven Blood Eyes' arrays. The people from Third Peak have communicated many times, but the Alliance Array Department has been deliberately dragging their feet."

Xu Qing took the dossier. He indeed preferred not to spend time on such matters, intending to free up time to research poisons and cultivate. Holding the jade slip, Xu Qing turned to leave, when the Captain spoke from behind him. "Oh, and the alliance headquarters also sent a notice," the Captain added. "It'll be our turn for river patrol duty soon. This patrol task rotates among the eight sects. If there's nothing pressing, we can go for a stroll then."

Xu Qing nodded and left the office. He wasn't alone; he brought a hundred members and disciples from Third Peak responsible for arrays, heading directly to the Alliance Array Headquarters located in the Grand Derivation Dao Palace. On the way, he inquired with the Third Peak disciples about the reason for the delay.

"Senior Brother Xu, this matter was actually settled by the higher-ups," the Third Peak disciple responsible for the issue sighed. "However, the people below are inefficient, especially those from Lingyun Sword Sect; they haven't shown up multiple times, so the transfer couldn't be completed."

"Lingyun Sword Sect?" Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, saying nothing more. Soon, they arrived at the Array Headquarters. There, Xu Qing submitted the dossier and waited for a long time before the array representatives from other sects slowly arrived. However, upon seeing Xu Qing's figure, their expressions changed, and their pace noticeably quickened.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xu Qing!"

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, we apologize for keeping you waiting! We didn't know you would be coming, or we would have rushed here immediately."

Xu Qing's reputation was immense within the Eight Sect Alliance, brimming with deterrent power. Yet, he didn't intentionally appear severe. His gaze swept over the disciples from the various sects, noting the absence of Lingyun Sword Sect. The transfer of array permissions required all seven other sects to be present. Without any one of them, the handover couldn't be completed.

"Senior Brother Xu, if Lingyun Sword Sect doesn't arrive, I'm afraid the transfer won't happen again today..." Because the ancestors of Spirit Radiance Valley and Heaven's Mirror Treasure Sect were on good terms with Blood-Refinement Ancestor, the three sects had a harmonious relationship. At this moment, the female disciple from Spirit Radiance Valley responsible for the matter spoke softly, her beautiful eyes resting on Xu Qing's face, filled with admiration.

Xu Qing nodded, summoned a team member beside him, and handed him a jade slip. "Take this to Lingyun Sword Sect and give it to Chu Yunfeng," Xu Qing instructed. "Tell him to handle this matter as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if it's not done by today, I'll go collect my debt from him."

Chu Yunfeng was the one who had claimed to be Sage Yunzi's junior brother, whom Xu Qing had suppressed in Seven Blood Eyes.

After giving instructions, Xu Qing sat cross-legged to the side, waiting silently. Seeing this, the others exchanged glances and also waited. Soon, the jade slip was delivered to Lingyun Sword Sect, reaching Chu Yunfeng, who was in meditation. The moment he saw the jade slip, Chu Yunfeng's eyes reddened.

"Poisonous Demon Xu Qing, this is too much!"

"You think a mere promissory note jade slip is enough to make me do your bidding? Dream on!"

Chu Yunfeng snorted coldly, tossing the jade slip aside, ignoring it. But after half an hour, he still opened his eyes, looked at the sky outside, and realized the day was almost over. So, swallowing his resentment, he sent a furious telepathic message, full of reprimands, to the Lingyun Sword Sect's Array Department. As one of Lingyun Sword Sect's prodigies, his words carried weight. Soon, the disciples from Lingyun Sword Sect's Array Department arrived at the headquarters, looking disheveled.

The transfer of array permissions proceeded extremely smoothly. By the time this was completed, it was already dusk. The dusk that day was different from usual; crimson clouds filled the sky, looking like a blazing fire. While beautiful, they also revealed a bloody hue, as if someone were painting the firmament with blood, performing for the gods. Xu Qing walked on the path illuminated by the crimson clouds, on his way back to Seven Blood Eyes' main city. He looked up at the crimson sky, and for some reason, he recalled the dream he had the night before coming to the Ancient Sovereign Continent.

Meanwhile, far away from the Eight Sect Alliance, within Yinghuang State, in the direction of the Grand Primeval Obscure Pillar, lay a swamp. Although the surroundings weren't forbidden zones, they were permeated with dense heteromorphic matter, making it a place of death. In the center of the swamp was a depression with much accumulated water. A stone forest existed there, with long, black rock formations rising unevenly from the swamp waters. In the distance, the crimson sky reflected on the water's surface, blending water and sky into one hue, rendering the entire area blood-red.

Also bathed in the same crimson hue were two figures. Of these two figures, one knelt, while the other sat on the edge of the highest rock, one leg dangling, the other bent at an angle, resting on the stone. Leaning back, supported by one hand, this figure gazed at the crimson clouds in the sky. Both wore masks. The pattern on these masks was startling: half a divine face of the firmament! However, the eyes weren't closed; they were open. Through the open eyes, their gazes peered out.

"My Lord, I have already disbanded the Night Raven organization in Southern Phoenix Continent as you commanded," the kneeling figure said softly. "I sent them all to Seven Blood Eyes, and nearly all of them died by Seven Blood Eyes' hand."

"Furthermore, Bai Li is dead, also related to Seven Blood Eyes, having died at the hands of Seven Blood Eyes' Sixth Peak Master," the kneeling figure added in a low voice. "There were also two minor figures involved, whom your subordinate has recorded."

"Additionally, after Seven Blood Eyes merged into the alliance, transforming the Seven Sects into the Eight Sect Alliance, someone within the alliance contacted your subordinate. They wish to join the Candlelight organization and invited us to watch their 'bloody performance' later, claiming it will surely make us applaud."

After the Night Raven spoke, silence fell over the area. After a long while, the figure gazing at the firmament slowly turned its head towards the direction of the forbidden sea, where the alliance was located, and let out an enigmatic laugh.

"Then let's go see," the figure said. "And while we're at it, let's give Seven Blood Eyes a welcoming gift."

The speaker sounded like a youth; their voice was very young, without any trace of age. The Night Raven acknowledged, its figure blurring as if transforming into a secret hidden within the void, vanishing from the spot. Long after the Night Raven departed, as the crimson clouds in the sky faded and the bright moon appeared in the firmament, the youth gazing at the sky softly murmured, looking at the increasingly clear moon.

"My younger brother's sect... it's been eleven years, hasn't it? Such a bond in this lifetime," the youth chuckled, his words profound.