The battles in Deston Prefecture raged endlessly.
Having just returned today, Li Tianqi muttered, "These past six months have actually been peaceful every day. Is this the calm before the storm?"
The most important thing right now was nothing more than returning to Highsun City so he could use the pills sent by his Second Great-Aunt from the clan.
But upon arriving at the Clan's Chamber of Commerce, he saw that the normally bustling establishment had its doors shut tight, with only a number of customers waiting outside to make purchases.
Feeling puzzled, he went inside.
He saw his Eldest Uncle, Li Yunlin, along with Changsheng and Changyao, sitting in the hall.
The three wore peculiar expressions as they looked at the old scholar sitting in the seat of honor.
This person was none other than Ba Siyu's subordinate, Mr. Zhou Chengli.
This Mr. Zhou cultivated the Scholarly Dao.
As a master of the Scholarly Dao at the Void Refinement realm, he could summon the wind and rain with just a few words, and his words becoming law was but a minor trick.
He was one of the rare experts of the Scholarly Dao in the dynasty, which was why Ba Siyu valued him so highly.
Li Tianqi and the clan members exchanged glances. He merely gave Zhou Chengli a slight bow before taking a seat.
The group had likely been chatting idly for a long time. As soon as Li Tianqi arrived, he heard Zhou Chengli cut straight to the chase:
"Having cultivated to my current realm, I can divine the affairs of the world and see into the hearts of its people.
The Azure Cloud Li Clan has served our dynasty for many years, even resisting enemies here in Deston Prefecture for the righteous cause of our home and country.
Hearing people speak of you today, I decided to do a divination for your Li Clan."
"You... a great tribulation is approaching."
As his words fell, one could hear a pin drop in the hall. Every member of the Li Clan frowned.
Li Tianqi didn't say a word, rubbing the spatial ring on his finger.
When the clan came to investigate Deston Prefecture, they had already calculated every aspect.
The only great tribulation they could possibly draw was Min Tiange.
But with the protection of the Body Integration realm experts in the three major cities of Deston Prefecture, if that bastard Min Tiange dared to show his head, the Body Integration realm cultivators would have to take it.
Scrutinizing Zhou Chengli's expression, Li Tianqi suddenly recalled the days when the three brothers acted as charlatans in Duskwild Prefecture.
Mimicking the expressions of those fools, Li Tianqi asked solemnly,
"Mr. Zhou, I also know a bit about the calculation methods of the Array Dao.
I have been feeling uneasy these past few days. Your words happen to coincide perfectly with my own calculations.
It is just that my learning is shallow, and I ultimately failed to calculate where the tribulation lies and how to break it."
Wasn't it a tribulation?
A Half-step Body Integration expert from the Yun Clan and Bi Shihu's three armies were planning to find an opportunity to catch the Li Clan all in one net!
Zhou Chengli stroked his beard and smiled faintly.
"The Li Clan has truly driven the Yun Clan and Bi Shihu into a corner over these years in Deston Prefecture. But even a cornered rabbit will bite. To tell you the truth, the tribulation comes from them."
Li Tianqi was speechless.
He had been planning to make a fool out of this old scholar, but who would have thought the old scholar had no intention of deceiving him at all?
It made him feel stifled, as if he were the real fool.
The members of the Li Clan fell silent.
Zhou Chengli's heart skipped a beat, secretly thinking that these Li Clan members must have anticipated this.
He immediately sighed,
"Earlier, Yun Manlou and Bi Shihu already invited this old man over. The scheme they are plotting is to make a move against you.
They only need a good opportunity to catch you all in one net!"
"I know your Li Clan has brought quite a few experts this time, but... the Old Ancestor of the Yun Clan possesses forty-eight thousand years of cultivation.
The world doesn't know that he is already at the Half-step Body Integration realm and can wield the Dao of heaven and earth."
Hearing this, the expressions of the Li Clan members changed.
Seeing their reactions, Zhou Chengli continued,
"Furthermore, Bi Shihu and the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor have lived for many years.
This long span of time has not only made them powerful but also allowed them to befriend many reclusive experts in the outside world.
They are making a desperate last stand; if they want to destroy your Li Clan, they must pull you up by the roots."
"At the same time, the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor is looking for a Body Integration opportunity from your Li Clan.
A Body Integration expert... in the eyes of others, your great tribulation has become a matter of weighing pros and cons. When the time comes, you will be unable to cope."
"This..." Li Yunlin hastily stood up and cupped his hands gratefully toward Zhou Chengli.
No matter what, Zhou Chengli had informed their Li Clan of the matters happening behind the scenes at such a time.
"Thank you, Sir, for informing us. We will engrave this kindness in our hearts."
Li Changsheng and Li Changyao exchanged a glance. As siblings in charge of the Heavenly Principle Hall, they naturally had to be more vigilant.
Everyone in Deston Prefecture said that Zhou Chengli had a massive appetite and was an insatiably greedy person.
Since he was invited to the Yun Clan, he definitely received benefits. Yet, coming to the Li Clan this time, after acting mysteriously for a while, who would have thought he wouldn't mention a single benefit, but instead revealed all those secrets?
Li Changsheng said grimly,
"Sir informed us of such secrets, but you also mentioned earlier that the two factions' plot to destroy our Li Clan has become a bargaining chip for others to weigh the pros and cons.
After thinking carefully, the juniors realized there are very few people who would treat our Li Clan as a bargaining chip, so we already have an idea. But that person is not stupid. If the bet he placed falls through, Sir..."
"What can he do to me?"
Zhou Chengli waved his hand.
"Flee for your lives. Return to the Azure Cloud Prefecture; that is where you should stay.
Once that old thing from the Yun Clan reaches Body Integration, he will be one of the pillars of Deston Prefecture.
If you want revenge... whether it's Bi Shihu or the Yun Clan, where else can they go from a place like this? Where would they dare to go? It will ultimately be a dead end."
"Or wait until your Li Clan produces a Body Integration expert before returning to Deston Prefecture. For a gentleman seeking revenge, a thousand years is not too late."
"This old man has said too much today. Ultimately, your Li Clan must weigh the situation yourselves.
Do not lose your lives in a place like Deston Prefecture just out of a momentary impulse; it is not worth it."
The old gentleman walked away step by step, his robes fluttering in the wind.
In the end, what exactly Zhou Chengli discussed with Ba Siyu, the Yun Clan, and Bi Shihu, the Li Clan members had no idea.
They only knew that Zhou Chengli didn't seem like the insatiably greedy "glutton" the rumors made him out to be.
When it came to a matter of major right and wrong, he simply brushed off his clothes and left after completing his deed.
Li Yunlin frowned and cupped his hands. "I have one more thing to ask. Why did Senior help our Li Clan?"
The old gentleman walked out the door, his figure drifting and gradually disappearing, leaving behind only an open and melodious voice.
"In such a vast dynasty, and such a vast Deston Prefecture, someone should thank the people of your Li Clan on behalf of the world—for guarding the southern border and eliminating internal threats."
At this moment.
The members of the Li Clan stared blankly in the direction Zhou Chengli had left.
For the first time, they felt that the things they had done over so many years were not entirely without weight.
At the very least, someone remembered, rather than treating them entirely as weights on a steelyard.
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