A Chaotic World

Young Master Xuan Hao immediately frowned upon hearing what Xuan Wen said.

In fact, it was not just him. The elders of the Blue Ember faction all furrowed their brows in response.

Now that it had come to this, how could they still not understand what Xuan Wen was trying to do?

But before anyone of them could retort, Elder Nanbu nodded in agreement. "That is a feasible suggestion. No matter what, members of the Jade Shadow Gate have perished in this incident, so we have to give Gate Master Shileng a proper answer. By isolating Xuan Junwei and Xuan Hao, we can at least show that we are holding someone accountable. Of course, if it turns out that Gate Master Shileng was the one who had planned this out, then I will personally make sure that the Jade Shadow Gate shall be no more!"

Elder Nanbu's declaration resounded across the chamber, silencing any thoughts of pleading for the two juniors.

Xuan Junwei closed his eyes in resignation.

He had initially wanted to carry out the plan and then frame Xuan Wen for plotting the incident.

Unfortunately, Xuan Wen acted much earlier than he had expected. Before he could even gather the evidence against Xuan Wen, Xuan Wen had already made the first move.

If he just let his grandfather proceed with the investigation, his grandfather would likely be able to find a way to get him out of this, or have him suffer a light punishment at most.

But if he were to say here that Xuan Wen was the one who had instigated him to target Xuan Hao's companions, it would be equivalent to admitting to the crime.

In that case, not only would his punishment be much more severe, he might not even be able to drag Xuan Wen down with him if he failed the convince the elders!

Considering all that, Xuan Junwei could only silently accept his loss this time.

On the other hand, Young Master Xuan Hao felt that this situation was ridiculous to say the least.

He had not done anything wrong at all, and yet he was about to be punished as well?

Even though he was only going to be under house arrest, this was a very important period that he could not afford to squander!

He had already started off late as compared to the other heir candidates, so he needed all the time he had in order to build up his influence.

Who knew how long this investigation was going to take?

If it took a year to conclude, was he going to be under house arrest for a year as well?

Should that really happen, then he might as well not have returned to try for the position of heir!

Not just that, but Xuan Wen even wanted to house Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue while he was gone. That was obviously him trying to create more opportunities to win them over, and at the expense of their freedom too.

No matter what, he had to at least prevent that from happening!

"Elder Nanbu, please hear this junior out!" Young Master Xuan Hao pleaded.

"Speak," Elder Nanbu nodded.

"This junior does not know what has happened last night, but I am sure that my companions are merely innocent victims. Since we are going to investigate the matter, this means that we are unsure of who is truly targeting my companions. In light of that, this junior believes that it is safest for them to remain at the Blue Ember faction under my care," Young Master Xuan Hao said. "As for the investigation itself, this junior is willing to send my men to aid in the matter so as to expedite matters."

"Pardon me for speaking up, but things are not as simple as that," Xuan Wen interjected. "No matter who started the fight and why, the fact remains that members of the Jade Shadow Gate have been killed by your companions Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue. Not just that, but they even teamed up with someone who just entered the city not long ago. The coincidental appearance of this man is nothing short of suspicious, and he even left right after the fight as if trying to hide his presence. I hate to say this, but others will surely find this matter suspicious if we do not handle it carefully! Moreover, for the three of them to defeat the group from the Jade Shadow Gate, the Soft Stream Command of the Soft Stream Clan is far from sufficient. If we do nothing and outsiders begin to suspect that we of the Timeless Flame Sect are trying to deal a blow to the Jade Shadow Gate through this incident, we would be hard pressed to curb these rumours!"

"And what are you suggesting that my companions should have done? Do you expect them to apologise for winning a fight to the death after being targeted?" Young Master Xuan Hao asked coldly.

"Don't misunderstand my words, Hao. I know very well that they are merely acting out of self-defence, but I am afraid that others might not see it that way," Xuan Wen answered calmly. "As I said earlier, I believe that it is best if they are removed from the Blue Ember faction temporarily and housed at a neutral place like my Yellow Spark faction. Don't worry, this is not imprisonment but protection, so they will not be mistreated."

"If we want to look for a neutral place, then why didn't you consider my Red Cinder faction?" a soft voice suddenly spoke up.

Everyone's attention quickly turned away from the arguing Xuan Wen and Xuan Hao, eventually landing upon a plain looking young lady.

Her appearance might not be anything extraordinary, but her status certainly was.

Xuan Tianxin – heir candidate of the Red Cinder faction.

Among the younger generation of the Xuan Family that controlled the Timeless Flame Sect, Xuan Tianxin could be said to have the highest level of martial talent. This allowed her to be ranked eleventh on the Heaven's Warrior List, even higher than the famed Xuan Wen.

Unfortunately, she was destined to be eclipsed by the halo of the existence known as Linye Caixia.

Both of them being outstanding females of the younger generation of the Timeless Flame Sect, it was inevitable that people would compare the two. But because Linye Caixia was simply too dazzling, not many people outside of the sect knew that Xuan Tianxin was also a monster in her own right.

Much to the relief of the elders, Xuan Tianxin cared not about fame and honour, so she was not affected by that. In fact, she even had a very good relationship with Linye Caixia.

The elders were glad that there was no conflict between the two, but still found it a pity that such a talented young lady had a reputation far below what she deserved.

But even though outsiders might not think much of her, the elders of the sect certainly did not feel that way. In the Timeless Flame Sect, her words were always treated with great importance, much like the case with Xuan Wen.

"It is true that the conflict between members of the Blue Ember faction could worsen with the presence of the victims of this incident, but it is also true that your Yellow Spark faction is the one that had reported the incident, so who knows if there is any animosity going on between you and them?" Xuan Tianxin said matter-of-factly. "That being the case, only our Red Cinder faction can be considered a truly neutral party right now."

Xuan Wen narrowed his eyes. "Is Senior Apprentice Sister Tianxin saying that you wish to house Hao's companions for the time being?"

"As you said, they are Hao's companions, so they naturally belong with him," Xuan Tianxin shrugged. "I am just saying that my Red Cinder faction is willing to support the Blue Ember faction in this matter, helping them keep an eye on things to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Xuan Wen smirked.

He had already expected that the Red Cinder faction would not want the Blue Ember faction to be knocked out of the competition too early. After all, even though the Red Cinder faction was barely capable of contesting him in this fight for the position of heir, it was unlikely that they would emerge the victors in the end.

Without the Blue Ember faction to balance things out, the fight was pretty much tilted in his favour.

That being the case, the Red Cinder faction would certainly wish for the Blue Ember faction to remain in the fight, at least until they amass enough cards to go against him.

But since he had already seen this coming and still went ahead with his plan, it naturally meant that the situation was still under his control.

"That is a feasible plan," Xuan Wen nodded with a smile. "However, is the Blue Ember faction going to allow the Red Cinder faction full access to their information flow during this period? Without at least doing that, it would be difficult for the Red Cinder faction to keep an eye on things."

Xuan Qinshang frowned as all eyes fell upon him.

As the leader of the Blue Ember faction, he was already frustrated enough that his heir candidate was going to be isolated and investigated.

As if that was not enough, now they even wanted him to relinquish all information about their faction?

Even if they were of the same sect, the different factions had always been secretly competing with each other.

This would give the Red Cinder faction a complete understanding of their Blue Ember faction's overall capabilities, so he could not easily agree to it!

After a few moments of silence, it became obvious to everyone that Xuan Qinshang was hesitant about it, and understandably so.

Xuan Tianxin could only sigh inwardly. The older generation was more inflexible than she thought!

"All right, that's enough," Sect Master Xuan Yongheng finally spoke in his deep voice. "Both Wen and Tianxin's words make sense. Qinshang, I will give you three days to consider. By the end of the upcoming Inscription Meet, I want an answer from you. If you are willing to allow the Yellow Spark faction access to Blue Ember faction's information flow, then Hao's companions can continue staying at the Blue Ember faction. Otherwise, they will either leave the Timeless Flame Sect, or the Heavenly Flame Hall shall be where they stay. As for the investigation itself, there is no need to wait. Begin right this instant. If everyone is clear, you are all dismissed."

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Since the sect master had already spoken, there was no need for further words. Be it the elders of the sect or members of the younger generation, all of them could only obey.

***

While Young Master Xuan Hao was still at Heavenly Flame Hall, Lu Tianzi had escorted Nanlan Qianxue, Ruan Ling, and Bo'er back to the Timeless Flame Sect.

Even though all of them were worried about Young Master Xuan Hao, they still decided to tend to their own matters for now while patiently waiting for news from the servants. After all, Ruan Ling and Nanlan Qianxue were injured so they needed rest, and Bo'er still had to return to the servants' quarters.

Who knows how long the meeting at Heavenly Flame Hall would take?

Rather than waste their time waiting at the front hall in vain, it would not be too late to gather only when Young Master Xuan Hao returned.

After Lu Tianzi returned to his room, he had not even had the time to close his eyes and meditate when a servant knocked on his door.

"Is Brother Xuan Hao already back?" Lu Tianzi asked in surprise while answering the door.

"That's not it, Manor Lord Lu," the servant shook his head while passing over a thin scroll. "The Inscription Meet is in just two days' time, so the detailed rules of the Inscription Meet has just been announced. Young Master Xuan Hao had instructed us to let you know the moment we know of it."

The Inscription Meet had become a huge affair that drew in inscription masters and audiences alike from all over the continent.

In order to ensure fairness, the Timeless Flame Sect had released the detailed set of rules prior to the Inscription Meet itself.

This way, they could not only eliminate any doubts about the integrity of the Inscription Meet, the participating inscription masters would also have more time to prepare, thereby putting on a better display of their skills on the actual day. This would serve to elevate the standard of the Inscription Meet as well.