Tell Me, Whose Tianji Pavilion Is This?

Inside a portable treasure palace tucked away within the void, four phantom figures gathered. Ji Yuchuan's voice was the first to ring out. "Old Yuan, you acted a bit too hastily this time. He's already begun to suspect you." Yuan Hongyi's phantom sneered, sweeping an icy gaze over everyone present. "If I hadn't done that, could I have dispelled the doubts in your minds?" With that, three storage rings flew toward the others. "Inside is this year's share of the profits." The three stowed the storage rings. Tu Yongsi tucked his hands into his sleeves and fixed Yuan Hongyi with a profound look. "You killed Huang Bin?" A chilling glint flashed through Yuan Hongyi's eyes. In a voice cold as winter, he said, "Eat too much, and you're bound to burst your belly." As he spoke, Yuan Hongyi casually swept a glance toward Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi's brow furrowed at once—Huang Bin was actually his man! Yuan Hongyi's move was a blatant warning for him not to get too greedy. As for who stood behind the hall masters of the six divisions within the Yellow Tower... every one of them knew all too well. The corner of Ji Yuchuan's mouth curled slightly. "Have you picked a new Xuan Hall Master?" "Mm. I found a fellow named Su You who seems decent enough. I've been testing him lately." Beside them, Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes, speaking in an inscrutable tone. "Isn't that a bit too coincidental? Su You... I think we should observe him a while longer." The moment those words were spoken, silence fell over the dim hall. Yuan Hongyi's cheek twitched slightly, feeling an intense distaste for Jiang Yi's remark. In his eyes, the only reason Jiang Yi was speaking up was that his own operative in the Yellow Tower had just been eliminated! Each of them maintained a hall to skim profits for themselves, so Jiang Yi's anxiety was only natural. "Heh. I'll handle the selection myself. No need for you to worry." The corners of Jiang Yi's eyes twitched. He gave a cold snort and held his tongue, turning instead toward Tu Yongsi. "Still no news?" he asked in a heavy voice. The old man shook his head and said softly, "How could it be that simple... I advise you all not to push things too far, either. If the Old Pavilion Master survives the heavenly tribulation, every last one of us will die." As Tu Yongsi's words landed, their expressions shifted slightly. It was precisely because of this that none of them dared cross the line too far. After a long silence, Ji Yuchuan spoke up: "What do we do now? The Four Towers are gone, and Li Guanqi intends to take complete control of Tianji Pavilion." Jiang Yi was the first to sneer. "A wet-behind-the-ears kid like him actually thinks he can manage the assignments of the Four Towers? Since he wants to run things, let him. Once he suffers a few setbacks, he'll learn just how miserable it is." At this, varied expressions crossed their faces. Then, the treasure palace vanished, concealing itself once more within the void. Yet the instant the palace disappeared, a figure clad in white slowly stepped out from a fold in the void. With frigid eyes, Li Guanqi murmured, "All four Tower Masters were here... Excellent... How truly unexpected..." Li Guanqi let out a cold laugh before his figure dissolved back into the void. Seated in his study, Yuan Hongyi poured himself some spiritual tea and examined the intelligence in his hand, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Although the report showed that Su You had never left his quarters yesterday from start to finish, Yuan Hongyi already had his own conclusions. *Propping up Su You to take the position?* *It seems this Pavilion Master Li isn't quite as foolish as he appeared...* Even Jiang Yi could tell something was off—how could Yuan Hongyi fail to sense it? Yet even if it were Li Guanqi's scheme to raise Su You up, so what? Even if he made Su You hall master, the man would still be entirely under his thumb. And... even if Huang Bin wasn't Li Guanqi's pawn, Huang Bin was undeniably Jiang Yi's man! Killing Huang Bin allowed him to reclaim control over Xuan Hall—why wouldn't he do it? Even if it was a trap, it didn't matter. This game... he was more than willing to step into it. After returning to the White Tower, Li Guanqi used the Pavilion Master jade pendant to make his way upward. At the very summit of the White Tower lay a replica of the Tianji Chart! He wanted to see for himself why Tianji Pavilion had prized the Tianji Chart so highly in the first place. Passing through layer upon layer of barriers and guards, Li Guanqi finally arrived before a stone door. An elderly man with a profound aura stood before the entrance—an early Void Refining Realm cultivator. His presence was deep as an abyss, yet tinged with a faint trace of declining vitality. The dozing elder opened his eyes and looked at Li Guanqi, unable to detect even a wisp of aura from him. A jolt went through the old man's heart. His gaze swept over the jade pendant at Li Guanqi's waist, and he slowly stood up, bowing in greeting. Li Guanqi's brow furrowed, however, because he discovered that his Pavilion Master jade pendant could not open the stone door before him! The grey-robed, silver-haired elder held a jade walking staff as he bowed. "Ding Xuan pays respects to the Pavilion Master." Li Guanqi swept an indifferent gaze over the old man and said softly, "Open it." The elder kept his head lowered in silence. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning icy as he spoke once more, word by word: "I. Said. Open. It." The elder replied in a heavy voice, "Without the medallion of the Master of the Red Tower, this old man has no authority to open this door." Hearing this, Li Guanqi was almost moved to furious laughter. BOOM! A terrifying pressure erupted in an instant! With a muffled groan, the old man collapsed, his knees buckling as he was slammed violently to the ground! The immense pressure bore down so heavily that the elder could not even lift his head. Ding Xuan's cloudy eyes were filled with sheer shock. He had never imagined that facing Li Guanqi's pressure directly would be this terrifying! The commotion naturally drew the attention of many. Tu Yongsi snapped his head up toward the summit of the White Tower. His face drained of color, and he shot to his feet, muttering, "Damn it... He went to the top floor!" By the time Tu Yongsi arrived, everyone in the White Tower had stopped what they were doing. The kneeling elder's legs had been snapped clean in two under the sheer force. He lay sprawled on the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices, his face flushed a dark, purplish liver color from suffocation and strain. Curiously, the other three Tower Masters had not come this time. When Tu Yongsi arrived, his complexion had turned thoroughly ghastly. He hadn't expected Li Guanqi to head to the top floor right now, and he had forgotten to instruct Ding Xuan beforehand. Li Guanqi simply stood there, steadily ramping up his crushing pressure. When he sensed Tu Yongsi's arrival, he did not turn around; he didn't even bother lifting an eyelid. Cold sweat beaded Tu Yongsi's forehead as he bowed in trepidation. With his back to Tu Yongsi, Li Guanqi spoke in a calm, entirely unrippled voice. "Tu Yongsi." "Your subordinate is here..." "Tell me... is Tianji Pavilion the Pavilion Master's Tianji Pavilion, or is it Tu Yongsi's Tianji Pavilion?" Tu Yongsi swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly as he replied, "Naturally... naturally it is the Pavilion Master's Tianji Pavilion..." A scoff escaped Li Guanqi's lips. The sword coffin manifested behind him, and a streak of red light flashed through the air! In an instant, the stone door sealing the Tianji Chart shattered into pieces!