The members of the Gracious Sword Sect, including Ye Tian Yun, didn't turn to look if there were any survivors from the explosion.
Even if there were someone who survived, he would be taken out by the vines.
The array was somehow still intact even after getting hit by such a massive force of the Sleeper Cell explosions.
This array reassured everyone not to worry about the Sleeper Cells anymore.
Soon, they had left the sight and reached the Resource Hall.
Grand Elder Li was the first one to break the silence, "Sect Leader, now that we have removed the immediate danger, we should start sending the disciples back to their Cultivation abodes."
Sect Leader Su nodded his head and said, "Yes, there's no need to hold these kids anymore. From tomorrow, we will focus on removing the hidden tumor of our sect."
Hearing his words, Ye Tian Yun pursed his lips as he thought of possible trouble coming his way.
Beside him was surprisingly Elder Tu. Walking side by side, Elder Tu was moving ahead with a frown and his hands behind his back.
Suddenly, Elder Tu raised his head and asked, "Sect Leader Su, what should we tell the disciples to explain tonight's event? We can't tell them about the Sleeper Cells and all."
"Don't worry about that," It was Grand Elder Li who had replied to him, "I have already taken care of this."
"While we saw reality, I had made the disciples who were under the illusion see a different reality."
"To them, there was a simple assassination attempt; we called them to the resource Hall or let them be in the Heavenly League's building, then after some time, we announced that the assassins were caught and executed."
"After some time, the illusion will end with an order for them to leave the building."
He then paused for a moment and said, "All this is secondary; we shouldn't divert our attention from what had happened tonight."
"And I am sure everyone here agrees with the fact that without disciple Fang Chen's help and information, we would have most probably failed to find out those Sleeper Cells. His information turned out to be true, and we were able to avoid what could have been the worst tragedy in the history of our sect."
"Our enemy may still be hidden. However, this time, we were able to counter their attack due to Fang Chen's help."
Ye Tian Yun was surprised by his words as everyone else nodded their head in agreement.
Even Yuan Shuchun and Grand Elder Xuan were no different.
In fact, Yuan Shuchun was actually feeling quite proud and delighted since Fang Chen was a part of her league.
Now that Fang Chen had gained some merit, it would also affect her league. She had decided to make Fang Chen a core member of the league to solidify his tier with the Heavenly League.
If Fang Chen knew about Sleeper Cells, he definitely knows about some other discrete information, which may come in handy in the future. This alone proved Fang Chen's worth to be far more than just a random disciple whom she had made a promise to give Core member privileges.
Besides Yuan Shuchun, there was someone else who was also currently feeling very proud and happy.
It was Sect Leader Su.
To him, his son had saved the sect. What could make him more proud than this?
Since Fang Chen was raised in the Fang Clan since birth, Sect Leader Su was skeptical that the nature of the Fang Clan members had affected him.
Fortunately, tonight's evidence showed things to be otherwise. His son had given vital information which saved the sect from a significant setback.
If only Sect Leader Su knew that this son he wanted to dote on so much was actually someone else in disguise and the only reason he had chosen to reveal such information was that he was yet to achieve his goal, and he didn't wish to get injured.
If Ye Tian Yun had not revealed anything about the Sleeper Cells, not only would he have lost the Token of Fate, since Xiao Ming would have died, he would have had to release his cultivation and sword intent to save himself. Even then, the chances of his survival would have been minimal.
But Sect Leader Su didn't know of anything and didn't even consider such a possibility. To him, it was his son who wanted to use everything at his disposal to save the sect from becoming a victim of the enemy's scheme.
After thinking about something, Sect Leader Su rubbed his chin as he said, "You're right, Grand Elder Li. And I think we shouldn't mistreat Fang Chen by not giving him any rewards."
"Fang Chen," Sect Leader Su then called out his son and said, "Come to the Grand Meeting Hall tomorrow morning. I will have a surprise ready for you." He had an expression of a proud father as he finished his sentence.
Ye Tian Yun felt weird sensing the fatherly vibes from Sect Leader Su. This made him alarmed since, as far as he knew, Sect Leader Su spent his life in debauchery and had many sons.
He knew that Fang Chen was one of those bastard children whom Sect Leader Su had fathered, but he also knew that the Sect would kill any of the bastard children if they were ever found out.
That meant that all the goodwill that the sect currently had towards him would vanish instantly, and they would treat him like a sword enemy.
Thus, Ye Tian Yun decided to act as normal as possible. "Thank you, Sect Leader Su."
Sect Leader Su pursed his lips as he saw through the hidden wariness in Ye Tian Yun's eyes. But he didn't think much because this much wariness was natural since right now, Fang Chen was talking to the Sect Leader, not his father.
Though he did feel a little down seeing his own son being wary of him.
'One day, those eyes will have pride and respect, rather than fear and wariness. One day, he will call me father.'
Sect Leader Su vowed himself to give the best to his son and get closer to him.
…
The flaming sun had brought a new day, and the colorful glow of the morning glow contained new hopes. The trees and mountains were filled with new vitality as the cultivators of the Lower Heavens began to prepare themselves to take one more towards reaching the peak.
The vast Lower Heavens were home to countless cultivators and an unknown number of sects, organizations, and clans.
However, the cultivators of Lower Heavens could easily distinguish themselves by their kingdoms.
There were two Kingdoms in the Lower Heavens - the Xin Kingdom and the Wu Kingdom.
However, these two behemoths had been sworn enemies of each since time immemorial.
The Xin Kingdom was the place where YeTian Yun had decided to make his first move.
This Kingdom was divided into four regions, based on the directions, with the Capital City as the Kingdom's center.
As its name suggests, Capital City is the most important city and is the residing place of the most powerful cultivators under the Xu Kingdom.
The powerful Xu Royal Clan had always ruled the Xin Kingdom with the help of four other clans.
These four clans are together called the Big Four.
Namely, they were the Ling Clan, Fang Clan, Kang Clan, Gao Clan.
These four clans had power almost equal to that of the Xin Royal Clan. However, these clans had always shown utmost loyalties to the Xin Royal Clan and were even connected to them through blood ties due to inter-clan marriages.
The patriarch of the Xin clan was also the ruler of the Xin Kingdom, the King.
And this lofty personality was currently circling in the hall from one side to another, his face carried a tinge of annoyance as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.
Suddenly he came to a halt and asked, "How did it go?"
A voice replied, "Your majesty, last night's mission failed."
One can't point out from which direction the voice was coming. However, King Xin was able to see through this trick and stared straight in a certain direction and asked, "How did it fail? What happened last night in the Gracious Sword Sect?"
"Your majesty, everything was moving according to the plan. Han Zemin had tagged along with Jiang Yun and other members to a banquet, and while returning, we had ambushed them in the sect. We left only Han Zemin and Jiang Yun alive. Both of them were badly injured, with no chance of recovering before the Grand Spirit Hunt."
"And then the assassins jumped to their death, not before activating out Sleeper Cells by praying to the Divinity."
"You mean that shouting for the Demon God?"
"Yes, your majesty. Everything was going according to plan till then, and we were expecting to see huge blasts after three hours, which would have destroyed the Gracious Sword Sect's future."
"However, the Sleeper Cells never exploded. We waited for a long time, but there was no explosion."
"What?" King Xin was confused after hearing this, "How could the Sleeper Cells not explode? Did those assassins not shout loud enough?"
"Your majesty, they did shout aloud; however, for some reason, the Sleeper Cells didn't activate."
Just then, another voice came. This one was more overbearing and arrogant.
"They did explode; it was just that your pathetic cultivation couldn't see it."
King Xun turned towards the man who had just entered the hall, and with a slight smile, he asked, "Brother Fang, you got the news?"
The man who had just entered was the patriarch of the Fang Clan and the 'father' of Fang Chen, Fang Yuan.