Chapter 227 - 222: The Battle Between Righteousness and Demons
"How do we kill him?"
Liu Qingming said, "Gu Zhan was able to kill your Third Uncle, and did so while surrounded by a group of Great Cultivators. With such strength, under the Grandmaster level, how many can claim they can certainly kill him?
If you fail to kill him in one strike, and he counter-kills or leaves evidence, wouldn’t that essentially be handing leverage over to the Fourth Young Master? Yan’an, don’t act impulsively. This is a critical moment. The Dragon King supports you, but if you make a mistake now, all previous efforts will be in vain!"
Mo Yan’an took a deep breath and said angrily, "I can’t touch the Sixth Young Master, yet I can’t even kill someone like Gu Zhan?"
Liu Qingming replied, "It’s not that he can’t be killed, but he cannot be killed with traces left behind. No matter what, Gu Zhan is visibly aligned with the Sixth Young Master, and being on the Celestial Pride List makes blindly assassinating him too consequential. The main reason is that no one in my Liu Family is confident in killing him in one strike!"
"Then send more experts," Mo Yan’an suggested.
Liu Qingming shook his head and said, "He is now in Pingyang Prefecture. You could say he controls the entire prefecture. To surround and kill him on his turf, I’m afraid our people will be detected by his informants as soon as they enter Pingyang Territory."
"This won’t work, and that won’t either," Mo Yan’an said irritably, "so what will work? Moreover, Uncle, it’s not just about revenge anymore; you need to realize we can’t lose Pingyang Prefecture.
We barely secured my father’s support to cut off the Tian Family’s trade routes completely, but if Pingyang Prefecture reopens their routes, while it might not fully revive the Tian Family, it will at least give them a chance to recover. Delay spells danger!"
Liu Qingming squinted his eyes and said, "Pingyang Prefecture must naturally be seized. Actually, the Sixth Young Master is not a threat, but as long as Gu Zhan is in Pingyang Prefecture, it’s hard to make a move. His individual combat prowess is too strong, and he has the home-field advantage. Dealing with him would only cause trouble. Now we have to think of a way to lure the tiger out of the mountain."
At this moment, Mo Yan’an suppressed his inner rage and calmed his mood, saying slowly, "I understand the Sixth Young Master’s abilities very well; he alone couldn’t have stirred up such a commotion in Pingyang Prefecture. He is not qualified to recruit someone like Gu Zhan.
Therefore, the situation in Pingyang Prefecture is likely that the Sixth Young Master is relying on Gu Zhan. So, as long as Gu Zhan is not in Pingyang Prefecture, I won’t need to spend too much effort to take control of it from the Sixth Young Master. So, the issue now is how to make Gu Zhan leave."
Liu Qingming furrowed his brows.
Mo Yan’an lightly tapped the table and spoke in a deep voice, "By the way, Uncle, these days I’ve been busy bickering with the Fourth Young Master and haven’t recommended a candidate for the new Squad Leader of Kaiyang Sub-Branch to the Elder Council, right?"
Liu Qingming nodded and said, "It’s not easy finding the right person. With Pingyang Prefecture under the Sixth Young Master’s control, sending someone strong might lead to conflict, while sending someone weak would definitely be marginalized. It’s not a good choice, and since your Third Uncle was branded as colluding with the Demon Dao, we can’t send people from our Liu Family there."
"We don’t need to," Mo Yan’an replied sternly, "Uncle, let’s collectively recommend Gu Zhan for the position of new Squad Leader. Furthermore, ensure he gets the role!"
Liu Qingming was stunned and asked in surprise, "Yan’an, if Gu Zhan actually becomes Squad Leader, then he would be legitimate. It will be troublesome to deal with him afterward."
Mo Yan’an smiled slightly and said, "Uncle, if he becomes Squad Leader, his days will be numbered."
Liu Qingming asked puzzledly, "Yan’an, do you know something?"
Mo Yan’an nodded and replied, "Uncle, you know about Yang Yuzhi’s thirty-year open plan. It’s the current headache for my father."
Liu Qingming nodded,
Yang Yuzhi’s thirty-year open plan isn’t a secret among the upper echelons of the Yunxi Martial World. It’s specifically aimed at stirring internal strife.
The Beidou Bang is a prime example of this,
If the Dragon King dares to appoint a successor, the Court will immediately designate another person as the successor for the title. Then the successor for the gang and the title successor will inevitably engage in a fierce battle, directly consuming and dissolving the strength of the Yunxi Martial World internally.
Mo Yan’an chuckled lightly, saying, "Father wants to appoint me as the successor, but he’s worried the Fourth Young Master won’t accept it, so he’s been favoring me while suppressing the Fourth Young Master. However, this is not a long-term solution, so some time ago, Father visited Sword King City.
The headache caused by Yang Yuzhi’s open plan is not experienced by our Beidou Bang alone; even prestigious sects like Sword King City are severely troubled. They’ve come up with a countermeasure and decided to provoke a righteous and evil war."
"A righteous and evil war?" Liu Qingming was surprised.
Mo Yan’an replied with a calm expression and nodded, "Sword King City plans to gather the Yunxi Martial World and make a journey to the Ten Thousand Mountains, not to eliminate the Demon Dao entirely, but to carve out a path connecting to the Northern Territory."
Liu Qingming raised his eyebrows and said, "The Northern Territory is currently occupied by the White Lotus Sect, in a stalemate with the Court’s army. If the barrier between Yunxi and the Northern Territory is removed, it would mean Yunxi could attack the White Lotus Sect or ally with them at any time."
"Correct," Mo Yan’an said, "this method could pressure the Court into fearing the consequences. At this point, major sects can demand the right to independently appoint title successors, thus breaking Yang Yuzhi’s open plan, and he would end up losing more than he gains."
Liu Qingming realized suddenly but still asked in confusion, "But what does this have to do with Gu Zhan being Squad Leader?"
Mo Yan’an replied, "In the righteous and evil war, our Beidou Bang, as a major player on the Yunxi side, can’t possibly avoid participating. With a bit of maneuvering, we can certainly make Gu Zhan join the battle. When it starts, his life or death will be in our hands!"
Liu Qingming nodded and said, "A righteous and evil war, then we should arrange for our people."
...
Today, Fourth Young Master Mo Zhening just had a heated quarrel with Eldest Young Master Mo Yan’an in the City Lord’s Mansion, marking the first instance in over a year that Mo Yan’an was left with nothing to retaliate.
Mo Zhening, in high spirits, returned to his residence and immediately summoned his staff officers and some senior figures from his mother’s clan to discuss the plan of action.
The moment everyone gathered, a guard came in to report, "Reporting, Young Master, Miss Bai Jiu’Er is here, requesting to see you outside the mansion."
Mo Zhening was slightly taken aback,
He was quite familiar with his cousin Bai Jiu’Er, who was renowned as the most beautiful lady of Canglan Dao, though they weren’t very close. Outside of public events, they rarely interacted.
Mo Zhening hesitated for a moment and said, "Take her to the main hall, I’ll be there soon."
After instructing his staff officers for a while, Mo Zhening went to the main hall. Upon entering, he saw the exquisitely beautiful Bai Jiu’Er and smiled slightly, greeting, "Ninth Sister, it’s been a while since we last met. What brings you to my residence today?"
Bai Jiu’Er held a large fat cat in her arms, slowly rising to perform a courteous gesture, and said, "Fourth Brother, I’ve come today to discuss a collaboration with you."