Kai smiled the moment he was far enough from the building, then turned and made his way back toward the room where Emily, Abigail, and Vivienne were waiting. He did not rush, and by the time he entered, his expression had already returned to its usual lazy calm, as though he had simply gone outside for fresh air instead of getting himself kidnapped, threatened, robbed, and thrown out within less than thirty minutes.Vivienne looked up immediately. “What did you find?”Kai walked farther inside and laughed lightly. “Something interesting.”Emily and Abigail frowned at the same time.Then both shook their heads.Vivienne noticed and looked between them. “What?”Neither woman answered immediately.She frowned harder. “Why are you both shaking your heads?”Emily leaned back in her seat and gave Kai a long look before answering, “Because whenever he comes back and says something is interesting, it usually means one of two things.”Vivienne glanced toward Kai.Kai looked innocent.Emily con

Vivienne stared at Kai for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh. Somehow, everyone else in the room already looked prepared for whatever was coming next. Emily had the antidote in her hand and seemed almost too comfortable with the idea of pretending to lose her cultivation, Abigail was calm as though allowing enemies to carry out part of their plan was perfectly normal, while Kai looked like a man who had just found a new way to entertain himself. Vivienne, on the other hand, still felt like she had joined the conversation halfway through and was expected to understand rules nobody had bothered explaining.Kai noticed her expression and smiled.“Vivienne.”She immediately became cautious. “What?”“Do you want to experience something exciting?”Vivienne frowned.Coming from anybody else, that question might have sounded harmless.Coming from Kai, it sounded like the beginning of an unnecessary disaster.“What exactly do you mean by exciting?”Kai’s grin widened.“That depends

Kai agreed without hesitation, allowing Allen and the other two elders to escort him out of the compound as though he had no choice in the matter. None of them relaxed around him on the way. Allen stayed close enough to stop him if he suddenly tried to escape, while Elder Sophia occasionally glanced at him with the kind of look that made it obvious she was still trying to decide whether he was a useful witness or part of the problem itself. The Grand Elder said very little, but Kai could tell the old man was thinking through every possibility, which was exactly what he wanted. The more suspicious they became, the more seriously they would take the warning, and the more convincing everything would look when the real trouble finally began.They soon reached Emily’s residence and requested to see her immediately. The guards did not delay them for long, considering who they were, and within moments the group was led inside. Emily was already there with Vivienne and Abigail, although Abiga

Once he left the room, Kai did not wander blindly through the settlement. The disguise Abigail had given him concealed his face and aura well enough, but this time he had no intention of pretending to search for the conspirators. He already knew exactly where the first group was. His real senses spread silently through the nearby camps, passing through ordinary barriers without disturbing them until he found the same cluster of men who had first taken interest in his previous identity. Kai did not approach their building directly. That would defeat the entire purpose. Instead, he stopped several streets away, watched the disciples moving through the area, and picked out the sort of person he needed.It did not take long.A young disciple was walking alone with a packet of food in one hand, slowing every few steps whenever he heard people arguing nearby. Twice, Kai watched him pretend not to listen before turning his head the moment someone mentioned another sect. Kai almost laughed.

Once Kai stepped outside again, he did not bother searching for new people to manipulate. The settlement was already primed for rumours now. All he needed was something believable enough to feed into it. He changed his route, moved through two outer camps, then casually dropped a different piece of information into the ears of the sort of disciples who had already proven incapable of keeping their mouths shut.This time, the story was far more dangerous.According to Kai’s little whisper, Emily was not entering seclusion to cultivate before the upcoming battle.She had suffered a cultivation deviation.He did not make the story too dramatic either. That would have ruined it. He simply told one disciple that he had heard Emily’s condition had become unstable after years of forcing her cultivation and constantly fighting at the portal. To another, he claimed someone close to the command structure had quietly mentioned that Emily might not even be able to participate in the next battle i