Chapter 566: Confidence Born of Strength, Driving Tigers to Devour Wolves

The message had come from the Flame Alliance! Even someone as composed and seasoned as Sima Huiniang paled slightly upon hearing that. They all knew what this meant. It meant that a major sect was deliberately targeting them, aiming to destroy the Luo Tian Society through the hands of others!

But why would such a prestigious sect bother to go out of its way just to target a mere society? Instinctively, Sima Huiniang turned her gaze toward Luo Chen. The answer was right there.

Luo Chen sighed. "It seems that even with the Ice Fortress and the Falling Cloud Sect taking the heat publicly, the Flame Alliance still hasn't let go of what I did to Di Wanyun."

Sima Huiniang bit her lip, worry written all over her face. Su Xiaolin stood with his head bowed. Ever since receiving that particular piece of intelligence, waves of shock had been crashing through his heart without pause. Now that Luo Chen confirmed it himself, the weight of the truth hit him even harder.

Of course they wouldn't let it go. On the battlefield, everyone fought for their force. There was no right or wrong, only loyalty. Even deep grudges were typically kept in check until war between the two major sects had fully settled.

But Luo Chen's killing of Di Wanyun had gone beyond the bounds of normal wartime killing. A mere Initiate had slain a Golden Core Adept. Worse still, Luo Chen had only been at the sixth stage at the time, while Di Wanyun was a third-stage Adept, far from an inexperienced beginner. He was strong enough to go unchallenged by anyone beneath the Golden Core Realm, yet... he had died easily at Luo Chen's hands. It was a blatant humiliation to the Flame Alliance. It challenged their authority, damaged their prestige, and made the world question the strength of their people. There was no way they would just take this insult lying down.

Sima Huiniang asked anxiously, "They won't send a Golden Core cultivator after us, will they?"

It was the thing that worried her most. Luo Chen gave a faint smirk in response. "No, they won't. These sects must still preserve their dignity, at least on the surface."

Seeing her confusion, he offered two names with a meaningful look. "Think of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect and the Lianyun Trade Alliance."

Sima Huiniang blinked and fell into thought. Soon after, realization drew. Indeed, major sects had their sense of pride. If someone provoked them openly, they would strike back with overwhelming force. At the same time, if it was not a direct provocation, taking action themselves would only diminish their status. Making a move to squash an inferior organization would only invite ridicule from the sects of equal status.

Back when the Sword Sect suspected that the Lianyun Trade Alliance was secretly colluding with the Falling Cloud Sect, they didn't lift a finger themselves. Yet that didn't mean they let it slide. All the Sword Sect had to do was hint at disapproval, and others were instantly eager to strike the Lianyun Trade Alliance on their behalf. That was exactly how it had unfolded back then.

Under the onslaught of wave after wave of second-rate forces, the Lianyun Trade Alliance suffered devastating losses. They had once boasted a Golden Core elder, three peak Initiates, and over a dozen Initiates of various levels. Their influence extended across more than ten markets, both in the open and behind the scenes; they were a true-blue first-rate force! However, in the end, their grand elder died and most of their Initiates were wiped out. By the very end, they were left with only six or seven Initiates, among whom only one at the ninth stage. They even rushed to recruit rogue cultivators like Nangong Jin and Li Yixian, just to rebuild some strength.

And the Sword Sect? They had never even lifted a hand. All they did was express some dissatisfaction. That alone was enough to reduce a once-first-rate force to second-rate. Worse still, their standing among the second-rate forces was not even on the stronger side; they were far inferior to the Luo Tian Society.

Now, the Flame Alliance's methods were strikingly similar to the Sword Sect's tactics back then. In fact, it could be argued that the Flame Alliance's approach was even more insidious. They hadn't openly expressed discontent with the Luo Tian Society. They had simply leaked the news that the Luo Tian Society had redeemed four Core Formation secret arts. One single sentence spoken "carelessly" was enough to stir up trouble, not only from the Flame Alliance's vassal forces but also from those late-stage Initiates stuck at bottlenecks. Whether they were enemies anyway or simply greedy for profit, they were all quick to seek conflict with the Luo Tian Society.

This wasn't baseless speculation. Luo Chen had been clashing with an increasing number of high-tier Initiates from outside the domain lately. Of course, to him personally, it was not necessarily a bad thing; he could use them as test dummies to figure out his new techniques. But most of these people were no small fries—they were eighth- or even ninth-stage Initiates! For a second-rate force whose known strength barely reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, such enemies were nothing short of devastating.

Fortunately, the Luo Tian Society had a solid organizational structure. Luo Chen and Sima Huiniang had long established the Luo Network, an intelligence division capable of gathering vital information before danger struck. If not for that, they would have already suffered grievous losses before they even saw the danger coming.

Of course, it wasn't just the intelligence network that kept them safe. They had the combat power to match! They have Chu Kui, Wang Yuan, and even Min Longyu. The three of them had become increasingly coordinated; one or two late-stage Initiates were no match for their joint effort. It was precisely this that had preserved Luo Tian Society's peace and stability over the past year.

Once Sima Huiniang considered all this, she exhaled faintly, some of the tension leaving her chest. As long as the major sect didn't make a move themselves, the ordinary vassals or rogue cultivators from outside the region wouldn't pose a significant threat. However, given the things Luo Chen had done...

She couldn't help but ask, "If the Luo Tian Society continues to thrive, do you really think the Flame Alliance will be able to swallow that insult?"

"They'll have to, whether they can or not," Luo Chen replied coldly. "First of all, I haven't revealed my whereabouts. If they move openly against the Luo Tian Society, it'll look like nothing but petty revenge, and that'll only weaken their reputation. Second, even if I do show up, I still officially serve as a guest elder of the Ice Fortress. On the surface, this is a matter between sect elders. They can spin the narrative however they like without losing too much face. Finally, even if the Flame Alliance doesn't care about the Ice Fortress, they still have to consider the Falling Cloud Sect's stance. The war is only on hold; it hasn't truly ended. The Flame Alliance won't risk tearing things open by sending Adepts into Danxia Peak."

By the time he finished speaking, a glint of killing intent flickered across Luo Chen's eyes. All those words were merely calculations and strategy. What gave him true confidence was strength. If the Flame Alliance truly did send an Adept, then they'd better be ready to pay the price.

Min Longyu had long entrenched himself within the terrain of Danxia Peak and spent years working on the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Formation. Now, it was more than capable of threatening an average Adept. If Chu Kui and Wang Yuan fought together, they were no easy foes to contend with. On top of that, Luo Chen had become increasingly adept at wielding the true form of the Sky Roc. Unless the Flame Alliance sent a mid-stage or late-stage Adept, he truly wasn't worried.

Of course, all of that was a contingency for the worst-case scenario. As things stood now, they were still far from that point. From the intelligence suggesting that the Flame Alliance had begun targeting the Luo Tian Society, Sima Huiniang quickly drew connections to other recent issues they'd encountered in business.

The sudden influx of Initiates in the Zheng family must've been prompted by the Flame Alliance. They must be using the Zheng family as a proxy to deal with Luo Tian Society. And then there's Iron Sword Hall... I thought we'd wiped them out, but they've rallied again under the leadership of a "surviving elder." The Flame Alliance's hand is surely behind that resurgence as well.

Luo Chen and Chu Kui had reaped a great haul at the Jilei Nine Mountains battlefield, including a trove of enchanted artifacts and treasures. The two of them couldn't possibly use it all. So naturally, the Luo Tian Society had turned to the markets around them to help them liquidate the loot. Yet that effort was riddled with setbacks—as it turned out, Iron Sword Hall had been covertly sabotaging their resale operations. The interference wasn't limited to pills and enchanted artifacts; it was far more extensive.

At that moment, Sima Huiniang thought of many more sources of trouble and connected them all. She couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Without even realizing it, the Luo Tian Society had already been surrounded. Their enemies now included not only the Flame Alliance's direct vassals, but even a handful of Sword Sect affiliates, and most concerning of all, a growing number of powerful rogue cultivators from across the domain. Each one of those parties was formidable in its own right.

Without hesitation, she turned to Su Xiaolin and instructed him to mobilize the entire Luo Network. Every operative was to begin full surveillance across a thousand li radius surrounding Danxia and collect all pertinent intelligence without delay. She had to ensure that no matter what happened, they would know in advance.

***

On the way back, Sima Huiniang still looked troubled. By contrast, Luo Chen appeared entirely calm and unshaken, as if nothing in the world could disturb him.

"You're not even the slightest bit worried, are you, my President?" Sima Huiniang asked.

Luo Chen chuckled and said, "Relax. With me around, nothing will get out of hand."

Sima Huiniang rolled her eyes, but her grip on Luo Chen's hand relaxed just a little. She had to admit that Luo Chen's overwhelming confidence was quite reassuring. It really seemed that, with him around, everything would be alright.

All along the journey, Luo Chen had always been her strongest pillar of support. Even in the deadly and grinding environment of the Jilei Nine Mountains, Luo Chen had led the Luo Tian Society's cultivators out unscathed. So what were these vague threats and hidden enemies in comparison?

"The expansion... should be halted for now," Luo Chen said calmly. "We need to make use of the spoils from the battlefield and bolster our internal strength. That's the top priority now."

The gains from Jilei Nine Mountains had been enormous. Even ignoring the wealth looted from fallen cultivators, Luo Chen had exchanged enough resources with the Four-Sect Alliance to obtain twenty Foundation Establishment Pills. Even accounting for the high failure rate, that was more than enough to produce a new batch of Initiates. Su Xiaolin’s breakthrough, for instance, was a successful result of this initiative.

Abandon expansion, focus on internal consolidation, and wait for the storm to come. This was the strategic directive Luo Chen issued for the Luo Tian Society in just a few words. As for the specifics, he entrusted them fully to Sima Huiniang.

At the end of the conversation, Luo Chen gently squeezed Sima Huiniang's hand. "Don't fall too far behind in your cultivation. You have a second-tier top-grade cave residence, and I've even given you supreme-grade Jade Dew Pills. Yet after all these years, you're still stuck at the third stage of Foundation Establishment. That's a bit of a disgrace for the Director of Luo Tian Society. Why not leave some of the less important matters to your disciple, Yao Mingyue? You don't have to handle everything personally."

Sima Huiniang replied casually, "I know, you don't have to worry so much."

Seeing that she still didn't take it seriously, even though he knew her heart was fully committed to the Luo Tian Society, Luo Chen couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Yet he didn't know how to forcefully persuade her either. Suddenly, his eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief, and he said offhandedly, "Caiyi's been working really hard at her cultivation. Even though she reached Foundation Establishment a few years after you, she's already at the second stage. At this rate, she might catch up soon."

The woman froze for a moment. Her previously lazy and indifferent demeanor vanished. She asked uncertainly, "Is her progress really that fast?"

Luo Chen shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be? She has plenty of pills and a good cave residence. Xiaoyue helps her with business matters. It would be weird if she wasn't progressing."

Hearing that, Sima Huiniang fell into silence.

Unseen by her, the corners of Luo Chen's lips curled upward in a faint and satisfied smile.