Chapter 213: The Seven Great Sects

Ye Liuyun finished all the matters he had in hand, then ate a big meal with the crowd, packed a lot of food that everyone liked, and only then left the Water Moon Hall.

When it came time to settle the bill, naturally the one handling the money, Wu Qingcheng, took Ye Liuyun's Zi Card to pay.

At that moment, her veil had been completely removed.

Shen Bing and the host, seeing Wu Qingcheng checking out without a veil, instantly exchanged knowing smiles.

"Congratulations, you're already the head handling the accounts!" Shen Bing said enviously.

Wu Qingcheng's face flushed pink as she explained, "No way! These petty sums are things he's too lazy to manage; I can't possibly be his master!"

Ye Liuyun and his group's half‑month expenses, even with the Zi Card discount, still total over a hundred million medium‑grade Crystal Stones. On top of that, since they intend to take Ru Yue away, they naturally have to pay extra to the Water Moon Hall.

Thus, in the end Wu Qingcheng paid a total of 120 million medium‑grade Crystal Stones. Those were the Crystal Stones collected from the various Storage Rings that Ye Liuyun had paid for.

For many people, that is an unimaginable fortune.

And Wu Qingcheng actually claimed those petty sums were things Ye Liuyun was too lazy to manage. Shen Bing was left speechless, choked by it.

After the host and Shen Bing saw them off, they called the maids to ask how Ru Yue had been abducted.

The maid recounted the situation accurately, then added, "After Young Master Ye took her on as steward, Miss Wu immediately gave Ru Yue fifty million medium‑grade Crystal Stones, a long sword of a False Holy Artifact, a Heaven Tier supreme long sword, over two hundred Heaven Tier and Earth Tier cultivation manuals to choose from at will, and unlimited pills—eat as much as you like. Even we received quite a lot…"

The host, upon hearing this, was also shocked by Ye Liuyun's power.

Shen Bing at this point almost wanted to chase after him, clinging to Ye Liuyun and refusing to let go. She silently resolved that the next time Ye Liuyun came, she would proactively offer herself!

Money is secondary; a steward gets a False Holy Artifact, unlimited pills—does any sense of justice remain!

"Since you've benefited, don't leak Young Master Ye's information, lest it bring him trouble, understand?" the host, after regaining composure, immediately instructed the maids.

"Yes." the maids replied, then someone whispered, "But Young Master Ye's attendants reward the Administrator with Spirit Stones, and they're handed out in huge bundles! What if they leak the news?"

"What?" the host and Shen Bing shouted in unison.

The two exchanged a glance, hurriedly summoned all the stewards and maids serving Ye Liuyun, and issued a strict gag order.

"From now on, no one may discuss this matter again; if anyone dares to bring it up, they will be killed without mercy…"

Ye Liuyun was unaware that Bai Hu and Shi Yuan rewarded people with Spirit Stones. It was only after Wu Qingcheng heard Ru Yue mention it that she told Ye Liuyun.

Immediately, Ye Liuyun had Wu Qingcheng give them a good amount of low‑ and medium‑grade Crystal Stones to spend elsewhere, to avoid using Spirit Stones for payment and attracting unnecessary trouble.

They had never dealt with money before and knew little about it; Ye Liuyun naturally didn't blame them and simply told them to be more careful in the future.

But he worried that the Water Moon Hall might leak the news, causing unnecessary trouble for them.

"How about we go back and destroy the Water Moon Hall?" Bai Hu, who caused the trouble, naturally wanted to eliminate the source.

"No!" Ru Yue, Wu Qingcheng, and Lin Xueying all spoke up at once to stop him.

Lin Xueying told Ye Liuyun, "The Water Moon Hall is not only a subsidiary of Wanbaoge, it's also a branch of the Water Moon Sect. One of the sects in the upcoming Seven Sects Grand Competition is the Water Moon Sect."

"Right! The Water Moon Sect and the Ancient Demon Sect are both little known to the world, yet they are two powerful and extremely mysterious great sects. The Ancient Demon Sect is also one of the Seven Great Sects." Wu Qingcheng, seeing that Ye Liuyun didn't know, gave him a brief overview of sect knowledge.

Ru Yue added, "I may not be a sect disciple, but the Water Moon Hall has its rules: if anyone leaks a guest's information, the Hall will hunt her down to death. So the steward and maids will never speak of it."

She was worried that, in a fit of impulse, Bai Hu would go back and kill all her sisters!

Ye Liuyun saw that the three of them disagreed, so he had to drop the idea. Yet his curiosity about the Water Moon Hall grew.

The Water Moon Sect and the Ancient Demon Sect were new to him, so he asked them to explain those two sects further.

Lin Xueying said, "I only know that the Water Moon Sect's strength ranks among the top two or three in the Seven Great Sects, and its cultivation methods are more suited to women, so there are more female disciples than male."

Wu Qingcheng added, "The Water Moon Sect's influence is spread everywhere, with no fixed territory. Wherever they have shops, that's their area of activity. Even more mysterious is the Ancient Demon Sect. It doesn't engage in commerce, yet its reach is equally vast. Moreover, under these two sects are several minor schools."

"In the annual Seven Sects Grand Competition, the Water Moon Sect and the Ancient Demon Sect have comparable strength. Both often field Holy Realm disciples. The first is usually Qingfeng Academy, while our Holy Martial Academy is usually at the bottom. There are also three other sects: Divine Sword Palace, Lingyang Academy, and the Blood Demon Cult." Lin Xueying added.

Ru Yue also said, "Every Water Moon Hall is run by a female host, and only the host is an official disciple of the sect; the others are not! It is said that the sect master of the Water Moon Sect and several senior elders are also women!"

The three women chattered away, each sharing what they knew, which gave Ye Liuyun a great deal of insight.

"The Blood Demon Cult has produced so many Corpse Demons? Will they let them join this year's Seven Sects Grand Competition?" Ye Liuyun asked curiously.

Lin Xueying was also unsure. "Such matters aren't decided by our academy alone; all seven sects must agree."

"Aside from the Blood Demon Cult and the Water Moon Sect, I've only dealt with those; I've never heard of the other sects," Ye Liuyun said, a bit puzzled.

Lin Xueying continued, "The strength zones of Qingfeng Academy, Divine Sword Palace, and Lingyang Academy are all south of our academy; you've never been there, so you wouldn't have seen anyone. As for the Water Moon Sect and the Ancient Demon Sect, if you don't know their identities, you can't tell them apart even when you see them. The Blood Demon Cult causes many conflicts because the territories of those two sects overlap heavily with ours."

Only then did Ye Liuyun get a preliminary understanding of the Seven Great Sects, but he still knew little about each sect's specifics and the strength of their disciples.

He was about to continue questioning when Qiong Qi suddenly halted the Flying Boat. "I sense a strong flame aura nearby; there's an anomalous fire that could help me regain strength soon."

Ye Liuyun didn't ask further and immediately stopped the Flying Boat. Qiong Qi had once been the Fire Emperor, so his keen sense of flame should be reliable.

Thus the group disembarked from the Flying Boat and followed Qiong Qi toward the direction he sensed.

Only Lei Ming shirked, lazily transforming into a beast form and perching on Ye Liuyun's shoulder.

Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense also far away detected that many people were converging toward a valley.

When Ye Liuyun and his party reached the valley, the entrance already gathered more than ten groups of people. Each group consisted of a dozen or so individuals, seemingly waiting for something.

The group closest to the valley mouth was the largest, with over twenty people, all clad in uniform black robes—clearly disciples of a major sect.