"Fang Chen is my Son!"
"What?" Peak Master Duan was so shocked that his jaws dropped to the ground when he heard those words.
"What do you mean he is your son? How is that even possible? Everyone knows he is the son of an old friend of Fang Clan's patriarch and was later adopted by him in the Fang Clan."
Sect Leader Su just sat there, as if tired of everything, "All that is a ruse, so as not to let his real identity get out to the public. Your Sister-in-law gave birth to him soon after she was taken away. And to not stain their reputation, those bastards came up with this story. And they even sent my dear son, Fang Chen, here, and they plan to make him go against me."
"Then how did you come to know about all this if this a secret?"
"Remember the letter? It was all written in the letter. Your sister-in-law couldn't reveal much, except about the fact that Fang Chen was indeed my son and a pawn in Fang Clan's eyes."
These words were enough to anger Peak Master Duan, "Those bastards! How dare they treat my nephew like a pawn! Damn it! And I was talking about killing my own nephew!"
"Calm down; it's not like we can do anything yet."
"Why can't we do anything? Senior brother, you have already crossed through the Sword Domain. You alone can decimate the Fang Clan. I still don't understand why can't you? What's the point of all this power if we can't even protect our loved ones."
"It's not the right time yet."
Peak Master Duan felt a bit frustrated over this, "It's not the right time? When will it be? And tell me one thing, since you know Fang Chen is your son, why haven't you met him yet? Why isn't he cultivating here?"
"Junior Brother, use your brain. We can't let the people at the capital or the Grand Elder know that I know about Fang Chen's real identity. And I certainly can't protect him or meet him secretly. He doesn't know the truth. And as for helping him, I am already doing what I can."
"Except for giving Fang Chen a backdoor entry to the sect, I don't see you do anything."
"Well, I have put Elder Lei Mu to protect him from trouble. Just a few months ago, Fang Chen crippled a kid in a fight over cultivation abode; Lei Mu covered up that incident."
"Lei Mu? Isn't he in the Grand Elder's faction? I have heard of some incidents where he was openly recruiting disciples to the Heaven's League."
Sect Leader Su shook his head and said, "No, it's not that. The thing is, Elder Lei Mu has always been at my side. He only went to Heavenly League after the incident at the Xin-W Battlefront which led to the death of disciples of the World League."
"Ah yes, that incident was quite unfortunate. We even lost Elder Kai in that ambush. I can't believe the Heavenly League would have done this. Senior Brother, were you able to find any clues or witnesses?"
"Sigh, that's the problem. All proofs and witnesses indicated that Heavenly League was the mastermind behind that ambush. But I know there are many things still uncovered from this incident. But one thing I am sure about is that the Heavenly League didn't carry out the ambush."
"What? You mean you're sure they didn't, but you still chose to oppose them? You still supported the World League?"
"I had no other choice. Our sect needs Jiang Yun. And the only way we can use him is by giving him a taste of power and authority, which is what I did. I gave him the power in the Sect, and now his authority is almost equaling the Grand Elder."
Peak Master shook his head at this, "Senior Brother, to me, this Jiang Yun is like a coiled snake, waiting patiently for the right time to strangle its prey."
"Haha, you don't need to worry about that. We already have a replacement for Jiang Yun. As soon as we find the disciple who broke through the Sword Domain, we can decrease Jiang Yun's influence."
"Well, we will need to find that disciple first. And we have already discussed it. Finding him will be like finding a needle in a haystack."
Sect Leader Su nodded his head as he took a deep breath and said, "The Grand Spirit hunt will be the time when our sect rises, stronger than ever. If we can find this disciple before the event, that will be great, but if we can't, it will still be alright because all my plans are without any disciple who has unlocked the Sword domain."
Peak Master Duan also agreed on this and said, "Senior Brother, just tell me what I need to do."
"Just keep an eye on that bastard Xuan's faction. Whatever happens, don't let that disciple enter his faction."
"Alright, I will have my informants on alert." Peak Master Duan got up from his seat and then continued, "I should get going then."
Sect Leader Su nodded his head while staring at his half-empty wine glass. However, just as Peak Master Duan turned around to leave, Sect Leader Su said, "Um… look after my son."
Peak Master Duan stopped in his tracks, turned back, and made eye contact with his senior brother. With a slight smile, he replied, "Don't worry, Senior Brother, nothing will touch my nephew Fang Chen. Now even death." With that said, he went back to the Seventh Peak.
…
Meanwhile, on the Seventh Peak, Ye Tian Yun, disguised as Fang Chen, was now heading towards the Chain Bridge. However, he noticed that the atmosphere around him was weird; instead of a calm and normal environment when he entered the Inner Court, it was now buzzing with chattering. The disciples were chatting as if something big had just happened, and now they were discussing it nonstop.
Ye Tian Yun had no idea about the commotion he had caused when he unknowingly released his Sword Domain.
Soon he noticed Zheng Xiang, who was also heading towards the chain bridge.
He moved a bit faster and soon caught up with him, and as soon as Zheng Xiang saw him, he asked, "Brother Fang, did you also feel that suppression?"
"Huh? What?"
"Weren't we attacked by that aura just now? I almost died; it was so suffocating." Zheng Xiang suddenly paused and then asked, "Don't tell me you didn't even notice?"
...
A/n: If you find any typos or errors, please comment and let me know so I can correct them.