Chapter 159: Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers

159. Chapter 159 Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers

Within Character: Liyang Zhenren City, cave dwellings whose spirit vein level has reached the third tier are never publicly rented out; to rent a third‑tier cave dwelling inside the city, one must report to the City Lord's Office, have the background and identity verified, and only then may one move in.

Character: Liyang Zhenren City's main peak.

A cave dwelling just below the summit, its concentration of spiritual energy is hardly inferior to the peak and also reaches the third‑tier superior grade.

Even if outsiders who are Fake Core or Core Formation True Persons have their identities verified, they cannot rent here.

Only disciples such as the Character: Liyang Seven Heroes, who are valued by Character: Liyang Zhenren, may reside here.

Guang Qin True Person's cave dwelling is, of course, also located here.

"Senior Brother Guang Qin!"

A flash of vanishing light approached, landing before Guang Qin True Person's cave dwelling; it was Gu Zongyuan returning from outside the city.

Although among senior and junior brothers there are occasional disputes, varying closeness, and small cliques, Gu Zongyuan and Guang Qin True Person belong to the type whose relationship is not very close.

But when today's incident occurred, Gu Zongyuan was the first to seek Guang Qin True Person for discussion.

After all, Guang Qin True Person is the only true Core Formation Real Person among their senior and junior brothers; the other senior brothers whose cultivation surpasses his are merely at the Fake Core stage.

With master absent, the one truly able to oversee the situation is still Guang Qin True Person.

"Junior brother Gu, why have you come to me?"

Guang Qin True Person dispelled the cave dwelling's array and welcomed him inside.

"A major incident occurred today; Character: Liyang Zhenren City may be in serious trouble..."

Gu Zongyuan's expression turned solemn as he briefly recounted today's plan: leading a team out of the city to encircle and eliminate the marauding puppet evil lord.

After listening for a while, the smile on Guang Qin True Person's face faded bit by bit, and his eyes burned with anger.

Bang! The table beside them shattered, and the massive Golden Core energy within Guang Qin True Person rippled. "Xue Ya Real Person, how dare he strike at you, junior brother? Who gave him such nerve—has he become completely reckless? Even if his cultivation has broken through to mid Core Formation, he still dares such audacity; does he not realize the true strength of our master after all these years?"

Gu Zongyuan shook his head and offered his speculation: "I believe Xue Ya Real Person himself lacks such nerve. He has followed master for many years and knows the master's strength as well as we do. There must be other instigators behind him, someone who supplied him with the master's whereabouts and bolstered his courage."

Guang Qin True Person's expression flickered as he asked, "Junior brother, who do you think this person is?"

Gu Zongyuan shook his head, sighing, "It's probably not a single individual. Throughout the Da Yu Cultivation World, no lone person could grant Xue Ya Real Person such audacity. I suspect only the two major Nascent Soul forces could embolden him to take such reckless risks… Moreover, when master went out this time, only a few of us senior and junior brothers and the two major Nascent Soul forces were aware of it."

Upon hearing this, Guang Qin True Person's flickering gaze steadied, and he nodded in agreement, "Junior brother, you make a good point. Apart from the Seven Star Sword Sect or Xingyue Palace, I can't think of any other force that would give Xue Ya Real Person the nerve to act against you."

Gu Zongyuan's face showed deep worry: "So I'm now concerned—since the two major Nascent Soul sects have dispatched Xue Ya Real Person to strike at me, even if he fails, will they simply retreat? If they continue to act, what should we do? Moreover, could our master's current outing also be in some danger?"

Guang Qin True Person shook his head and said, "Master has roamed the Da Yu Cultivation World for centuries; he's seen every storm, so there should be no problem. We needn't worry too much about master. Now we should consider how to stabilize the Immortal City, should the two major Nascent Soul sects have any follow‑up moves."

"The Immortal City has a protective city array, and with Senior Brother Guang Qin and several other Fake Core senior brothers handling it, unless the Nascent Soul Old Ancestors of the two major sects arrive personally, there won't be any major issue," Gu Zongyuan said confidently.

Character: Liyang Zhenren City's mountain‑guard array was forged over many years by several third‑tier array masters together with numerous second‑tier array cultivators; although the city‑guard array does not reach the fourth tier, it is considered a third‑tier elite.

As long as a few cultivators above the Fake Core Real Person level preside over the array, even a senior cultivator at late Core Formation cannot break through.

When the array was first perfected, their master Character: Liyang Zhenren personally tested its defensive strength and gave his approval.

"Indeed…" Guang Qin True Person suddenly smiled and said, "Moreover, Junior brother Gu, your strength has truly impressed me. It seems that in recent years your cultivation has surged, no longer inferior to the top Foundation Establishment talents of the two major Nascent Soul forces, even surpassing them! Xue Ya Real Person broke through to mid Core Formation yet still fell by your hand. I ask myself, I could not have achieved that."

Gu Zongyuan gestured, "I didn't just bring eighteen Character: Liyang Guards to form a battle formation, and also…"

"And what?" Guang Qin True Person's eyes showed keen curiosity as he asked, "I'm not unaware of the power of a battle formation of eighteen Character: Liyang Guards. At most it can surpass an ordinary Fake Core Real Person or the weakest early Core Formation cultivators. To slay a mid Core Formation cultivator, even a formation of thirty‑eight, let alone more, offers no hope. It still depends on your own strength, junior brother."

"How could my own strength possibly slay a mid Core Formation Xue Ya Real Person… In fact, although Xue Ya Real Person died by my hand, a large part of the credit goes to Bai Wuji. His Soul Transformation was stronger than imagined, already surpassing most early Core Formation cultivators, and even at mid Core Formation could exert considerable influence. I seized the moment when Xue Ya Real Person was affected by Bai Wuji's secret mind‑technique, then launched a sudden attack and beheaded him."

Gu Zongyuan thought for a moment, then chose not to reveal the true details of today's duel.

He kept half and told half.

It wasn't that he deliberately tried to deceive Senior Brother Guang Qin True Person or distrust him; rather, he believed Xiao Zhangqing's true strength must be concealed! Now that the two major Nascent Soul sects have unclear intentions and may not be friendly to Character: Liyang Zhenren City, it's natural to hide more of his cards.

If danger truly arises, Xiao Zhangqing's terrifying Soul Transformation secret technique can deliver a crushing blow to the enemy.

Moreover, nowadays even master Character: Liyang Zhenren's whereabouts can be exposed, investigated by Xue Ya Real Person; regarding Xiao Zhangqing's strength, he will tell no one.

Only he knows, and it will never be exposed again.

In any case, even if someone investigates, they will find that Xue Ya Real Person indeed died at his hand, not directly slain by Xiao Zhangqing.

As for the details—how severe Xue Ya Real Person's Soul Transformation injuries were, how much strength he retained before being killed—let outsiders keep guessing.

"So that's how it is," Guang Qin True Person nodded in sudden realization, thoughtfully saying, "It seems this Captain Bai's Soul Transformation is truly unfathomable; when he killed the young master of the Song family, he still had reserves left."

"Indeed. Without the support of the Character: Liyang Guard battle formation, I'm far from being a match for Brother Bai," Gu Zongyuan said, his face unflushed and breath steady. The statement held no flaw.

Without the Character: Liyang Guard's support, he is not Xiao Zhangqing's opponent.

Even with the Character: Liyang Guard's support, he still isn't a match…

"Junior brother, you need not be modest. Among all our senior and junior brothers, master favors you most, believing your future is boundless, that forming a Golden Core is inevitable, and you'll go even farther," Guang Qin True Person praised, then asked, "Junior brother, when do you plan to attempt the breakthrough to Golden Core?"

"We'll discuss it when master returns," Gu Zongyuan contemplated, originally intending to keep accumulating until the breakthrough, to seize a higher grasp.

But now, with Nascent Soul sects targeting Character: Liyang Zhenren City, he can no longer delay.

Forming the Golden Core early would allow him to contribute more to Character: Liyang Zhenren City.

"Senior Brother Guang Qin, before master returns, the most important thing still rests on you and the other Fake Core senior brothers to operate the mountain‑guard array properly, so it can respond instantly. Therefore, shall we now summon the other senior brothers over for a briefing?" Gu Zongyuan asked.

Guang Qin True Person thought for a moment and found no reason to refuse.

"Junior brother Gu, go inform the other senior and junior brothers to come here for a discussion," Guang Qin True Person said.

"Very well," Gu Zongyuan hurriedly went to visit the other senior and junior brothers' cave dwellings.

Seeing Gu Zongyuan's departing back, Guang Qin True Person's expression gradually grew cold.

He did not expect the outcome that arrived.

Xue Ya Real Person… truly deserved his death!

He waved his hand, and a bird‑type spirit messenger landed on his arm.

Then he used a soul thought to inscribe some information on the Jade Tablet, handed it to the messenger spirit beast, and let it fly away.

The plan has changed!

…

In the days that followed, Character: Liyang Zhenren City remained overall stable.

The matter Gu Zongyuan feared did not occur.

However, in secret, many major events were spreading among Scattered Cultivators, making numerous onlookers gossip eagerly.

The most striking case was the Song family, which ranked near the top among the Ten Great Families, and they were completely expelled!

A few months ago, the young master of the Song family—one of the family's future hopes and one of Character: Liyang Zhenren City's most promising foundation cultivators likely to achieve a Golden Core—was killed, and at that time the Song family's momentum greatly waned, jeopardizing its high ranking among the Ten Great Families.

Nevertheless, an emaciated camel is still larger than a horse.

The head of the Song family, Song Wentian, remained a false‑core cultivator, and the Song family also maintained close ties with the veteran Jie Dan Immortal Blood Crow Immortal, engaging in numerous collaborations.

Who could have imagined that in less than half a year, the Song family would be outright expelled! Moreover, the perpetrator was the City Lord's Office! As a result, even with its deep foundations, the Song family was almost entirely devoured by other families in all aspects within five days.

Song Wentian, the head of the Song family and a false‑core cultivator, also perished and vanished.

This is indeed big news!

Although the Ten Great Families of Character: Liyang Zhenren City have changed hands many times over the past century, this is the first time the City Lord's Office has taken direct action.

This shocked the majority of cultivators in the immortal city who were unaware of the truth; some even fretted unnecessarily, feeling like a fox mourning a dead rabbit, wondering whether the City Lord's Office would no longer follow rules in the future. Rumors also began circulating, claiming that the Song family's downfall was due to offending the Character: Liyang Guard and Gu Zongyuan.

At that moment, the City Lord's Office and the Character: Liyang Guard jointly issued a notice: the Song family colluded with the notorious Da Yu Cultivation World evil cultivator "Puppet Evil Lord" to commit murder and robbery around Character: Liyang Zhenren City! Two months ago, after an auction ended, many buyers were robbed upon leaving the city, many of those attacks being joint operations by the Song family and the Puppet Evil Lord.

The news immediately caused a massive uproar.

Originally, many cultivators who felt the Song family had been wronged began clapping and praising, saying the City Lord's Office had done well.

The Song family, so vast and prosperous with daily rolling wealth, could still act so heartlessly, committing murder and robbery, utterly depraved!

With the Song family fallen, naturally some schemers would turn their attention to Blood Crow Immortal.

After all, Blood Crow Immortal had a cooperative relationship with the Song family, even serving as their backing.

Now that the Song family colluded with the Puppet Evil Lord and was eliminated by the City Lord's Office and the Character: Liyang Guard, wouldn't Blood Crow Immortal step forward to explain, to say a few words? It took a full half month before news finally emerged that Blood Crow Immortal had already died before the Song family was wiped out.

He was slain in the wilderness by Bai Wuji, who originally killed Song family's young master Song Changning, together with Character: Liyang Guard commander Gu Zongyuan leading a squad of the Character: Liyang Guard! Therefore, within Character: Liyang Zhenren City, no one sensed any disturbance. (End of chapter)