Li Fan's eyes narrowed to slits.
Faced with the staggering discrepancy between the two inventory lists that the rotund Zhou Kebao had delivered, he suppressed his impulse to feign outrage and forced himself to be still.
A minor adjustment, and the quantities differed by fifty percent.
That could only mean the true amount of materials was far greater than what he now held in his hand.
Corruption, embezzlement, and quiet skimming were common enough within the Myriad Immortals Alliance these days, but most who indulged in it at least knew to maintain appearances, to keep up a superficial front.
No one was supposed to be this brazen. This utterly deranged!
Rebuilding an entire province's immortal city was a monumental undertaking. For Zhou Kebao to so openly take kickbacks right in front of him, the Acting Island Master, and to embezzle such an astronomical quantity of materials, there was only one explanation: whoever was secretly stirring up trouble was targeting him, Li Fan, directly.
True, the process by which he had become Acting Island Master was perfectly legal and above reproach. But that hadn't stopped certain interested parties, upon learning the news, from seizing the opportunity to weave their schemes.
Perhaps they wanted Li Fan himself. Perhaps they were after the staggering sum of contribution points he carried.
He had never been particularly secretive about his activities during this lifetime, whether speculating on Samantabhadra True Leaf prices, pooling other cultivators' contribution points for investment, and the like. Outside of his transactions with the Empire, every deal was on the record and traceable. One didn't need precise figures; a rough estimate was enough to grasp just how much he was sitting on.
Wealth stirred the hearts of men. It was only natural that he would draw unwanted attention.
But greed wasn't the only motive. There was also hatred.
Tantai Can, who had taken heavy losses during the Samantabhadra True Leaf speculation, might very well be pouring oil onto this particular fire.
Li Fan had always been one to plan before acting. His thoughts moved quickly as his eyes swept over the inventory list one final time. Then he gave a slight nod and tucked it carefully away.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou," he asked, his tone unhurried, "is there anything else you need to hand over, besides this inventory?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." Zhou Kebao shook his head with an eager smile plastered across his face.
Li Fan gave a cold snort inwardly. But for now, he let it go. He simply cupped his hands. "Rebuilding an immortal city is a matter of grave importance. It involves countless aspects and no small number of complexities. I need to think carefully about how to proceed."
He paused, feigning contemplation.
"Here's what I'll do," he said at last. "I'll go make some preparations. When the time comes to formally break ground, I'll reach out to you again, Fellow Daoist Zhou."
Zhou Kebao thumped his chest and agreed without hesitation. "Of course! Island Master Li, you need only state your requirements. I will cooperate fully. We must properly complete the task Lord Jinglun has entrusted to us."
Li Fan did not echo the sentiment. He fixed Zhou Kebao with a long, cold look, then flicked his sleeve and turned to leave, lifting off from the Dust-Crossing Boat and flying away.
Zhou Kebao watched Li Fan's retreating figure dwindle and vanish into the distance. The smile slowly drained from his face, replaced by open disdain.
"Let's see how you handle the fallout in six months." He gave a cold snort, produced a spirit talisman, and contacted someone to relay everything that had just transpired.
He was utterly convinced that Li Fan was already in his grasp, and that success was assured.
What he didn't know was that Li Fan had been watching his every move from the perspective of heaven and earth, and that nothing had escaped Li Fan's surveillance.
There really is something shady going on. It seems I can't count on any support from Diyi Jinglun's side. If I want this immortal city rebuilt, I'll have to use personnel under my own control as the main force.
Back on Embodiment Island, Li Fan felt a measure of reassurance when he spotted Tian Yang standing blankly to one side, watching the children from the Li World. With someone at the Spirit Transformation level holding the fort, keeping a handful of petty troublemakers in line shouldn't be a problem.
But it's still not enough.
He drew out a shimmering jade token engraved with the character "Myriad" and focused his senses.
This was the Island Master Token that had come with his Acting Island Master appointment. Beyond serving as a symbol of the Island Master's authority, its greatest use lay in allowing him to view and directly contact every system-affiliated cultivator under his jurisdiction.
A vast network of names and organizational roles unfolded in his mind at once. At the very top sat Li Fan himself. Below him, cultivators were grouped by department: the Strategy Array Hall, the Martial Hall, the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, along with the guardians of various islands, external personnel from the various departments, and so on.
Each node represented a single cultivator, and by focusing on any one of them, he could pull up that person's basic information and establish direct contact.
So there are actually this many system-affiliated cultivators in the Congyun Sea branch.
He felt a faint sense of awe.
Among the usual positions were also a number of strange, unfamiliar roles: Myriad Immortals Alliance Congyun Sea Cultivator Opinion Feedback Collection Specialist, Shilin Province Liaison Officer Stationed in the Congyun Sea, Earth Vein Supervisor, and more.
Faces surfaced one after another, and more than a few were people Li Fan had encountered before. He had taken them for ordinary rogue practitioners, never suspecting they also held system-affiliated status.
Most of the nodes had already gone dark, their owners either dead or beyond reach. But the number of those still alive and contactable was significant.
It seems the main force for rebuilding the immortal city will have to come from among them. But they vary so widely in ability, and I barely know most of them. How do I select the right candidates?
Li Fan frowned, first filtering out those who had already been captured by the Five Elders Council. Among those who remained, he began to look through the list with care.
His gaze stopped.
Hmm? Him...
An idea took shape at once.
***
Somewhere in the Congyun Sea, deep within a hidden cave dwelling whose location was known to no one...
Gao Yuan, who had been in seclusion, jolted awake from a nightmare.
He kept dreaming of that day—the day the Five Elders Council launched a surprise attack on the Congyun Sea and forcibly seized Myriad Immortals Island.
Thousands of cultivators had died. Gao Yuan himself had been away on official business at the time, and that stroke of luck had spared him from the slaughter. But the scene he had witnessed from afar had never left him, coiling in his mind and festering into an inner demon.
I never thought the Myriad Immortals Alliance would be so useless. An entire provincial immortal city taken, and not a single word of response. Instead, they sealed off the Congyun Sea and took their frustrations out on their own people. And here I spent decades faithfully standing guard at the Administration Hall. I might as well defect to the Five Elders Council.
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, unable to stop the thought from forming.
Then the official spirit talisman he had long assumed would never glow again suddenly lit up.
His heart lurched into his throat. Had his treacherous thoughts been discovered that quickly? With trembling hands, he picked up the talisman and looked it over. His face then shifted, an unreadable expression blooming across his features.
Acting Island Master... Li Fan?