NOVEL NEXT Ch. 21
Chapter 21: Li Aotian’s Insidious and Open Scheme!
He did not want to capsize in a gutter. Even if it was just a small scratch, to him, it was a humiliation.
“You’re right.”
A trace of viciousness flashed through Li Aotian’s eyes. “We can’t let them prepare for battle in comfort. Although I can’t touch them directly, there are plenty of ways to make them suffer.”
He pondered for a moment, then the corner of his lips curved into a cruel smile.
“Go, find Steward Wang from the Disciplinary Hall.”
Li Aotian ordered his underling, “Tell him that I’ve been cultivating recently and need an absolutely quiet environment. The group of chores disciples at the West Mountain Pill Institute are noisy all day long, disturbing the Inner Sect disciples’ meditation. Ask him to ‘advise’ them according to the Sect’s regulations.”
The underling’s eyes lit up instantly. He immediately understood what Li Aotian meant.
“Senior Brother Li, brilliant! Steward Wang is your man—if he steps in, it’s perfectly reasonable! By then, not to mention training in the square, even chatting a bit too loudly in their courtyard will get them accused of ‘disrupting the Sect’s cultivation!’”
“That’s not enough.”
Li Aotian continued, “Go to the Mission Hall and put in a word. Say that the Sect Grand Competition is approaching, and all logistical work is heavy, requiring a lot of manpower.”
“Submit the names of all those ‘Ascension Group’ members, and assign them the hardest, most exhausting, and most time-consuming Sect Missions. I want to see if they’ll still have time for that ridiculous ‘drill’ of theirs!”
This move was truly a blow to the very foundation!
Sect Missions were mandatory—who would dare to refuse?
Once tied up by those tasks, they’d be so exhausted every day that they’d be like dead dogs. How could they still talk about training?
“With both measures in place, I’d like to see how that Chu Feng can still hop around!”
Li Aotian laughed proudly. “I’ll let him understand that in Qingyun Sect, strength and connections are everything! His little tricks to deceive people are nothing but clownish acts that will never make it to the stage!”
……
That afternoon, when Chu Feng was about to reorganize his group members and begin the “tactical drills” he had envisioned, Wu Hao came running over in a panic, his face pale.
“President, bad news! Something’s happened!”
“Don’t panic. Speak slowly,” Chu Feng said calmly.
“Steward Wang from the Disciplinary Hall just sent a message,” Wu Hao panted as he spoke. “He said that our training is too loud, disturbing the Inner Sect disciples’ meditation. He demands that we immediately stop all group activities and maintain silence—or we’ll be punished according to Sect rules!”
Before the words even settled, another member responsible for mission registration stumbled in, gasping.
“President! The Mission Hall… they just issued an emergency mission! They specifically named one hundred and eighty of our members to head to the Back Mountain tomorrow morning to clear the toxic mist in the Black Miasma Forest! The mission duration… is one month!”
“What?!”
The two pieces of news landed like thunder.
The square that had been brimming with passion instantly felt like it had been doused in a bucket of icy water.
Everyone stood frozen.
No training allowed? And sent to do hard labor for a month?
Then what was the point of even participating in the Sect Grand Competition?!
Everyone could feel the naked malice and suppression from the higher-ups.
A sense of helplessness and anger began spreading among the crowd.
“This… this is obviously someone targeting us!”
“It must be that Li Aotian! No one else could’ve done it!”
“It’s over… we’re done for this time…”
As Chu Feng looked down from the platform at the crowd, who had instantly sunk into despair and panic, his eyes, instead of dimming, grew brighter.
He wasn’t angry at all.
In fact, he smiled.
Just as he was worrying about how to implement “military-style management,” someone delivered the perfect excuse to him on a silver platter.
Li Aotian, Li Aotian… you really are the “Best Assist” award winner for this round.
“It’s over…”
“This time, there’s no hope left…”
“Ah, let’s just disband. We were destined to be cannon fodder anyway.”
Li Aotian’s open scheme struck precisely at the weakest point of the “Ascension Group.”
This ragtag team had only been held together by Chu Feng’s grand promises and a few tangible benefits.
When a powerful external pressure came crashing down, that fragile cohesion crumbled in an instant.
Panic, frustration, and despair spread among the hundreds of members like a plague.
The flame of hope that had barely been kindled seemed ready to be snuffed out completely by this bucket of cold water.
However, on the platform, not a trace of panic could be seen on Chu Feng’s face.
He quietly watched the crowd’s reactions, waiting until that wave of negative emotion reached its peak.
Then, he suddenly slammed the table—
“Raise your heads!”
Chu Feng’s voice thundered like lightning, striking deep into everyone’s hearts.
Everyone flinched from the sheer force of it and instinctively lifted their heads, staring at him blankly.
“Look at yourselves! Hanging your heads, sighing, blaming the heavens—what do you look like?!”
Chu Feng’s gaze was sharp as a blade as it swept across every face.
“The enemy used just a few petty tricks, and you’re already this terrified? Where’s your fighting spirit? Where’s that fiery resolve you had when you bought the ‘War Bonds’? Did dogs eat it?!”
His words made everyone blush with shame, lowering their heads in embarrassment.
“President… it’s not that we’re afraid, it’s just…”
One disciple mumbled weakly, “They won’t let us train here, and now they’re sending us to do labor. We really don’t have time to prepare for the Grand Competition…”
“Who said we don’t have time?”
Chu Feng sneered. “Who said this is an attempt to suppress us?”
Everyone froze in confusion.
Then Chu Feng’s tone suddenly shifted, full of disdain and mockery:
“You think an opponent like Li Aotian would use such low-level methods to deal with us? You underestimate him—and more importantly, you underestimate our ‘Ascension Group!’”
“I’m telling you now—everything that’s happening… was arranged by me!”
“Boom!”
That sentence hit harder than the earlier “one thousand spirit stones” shocker!
Everyone was dumbfounded, their minds blank, staring at Chu Feng in disbelief.
Zhang Daniu’s jaw dropped so wide a chicken egg could fit inside.
“P-President… y-you arranged this?”
“That’s right!” Chu Feng’s face carried an expression of complete control as he began his performance.
“What do you think the Sect Grand Competition is? A child’s game where you just practice a few moves in the square and win? Wrong!”
“The real battlefield is full of uncertainties! The real fight won’t happen in the safe confines of the Sect’s square!”
Chu Feng spread his arms wide, his voice soaring with conviction. “And Li Aotian—he’s gifted us a precious opportunity! A priceless gift money can’t buy!”
“He banned us from training in the square because he feared comfort would dull our fighting spirit! He sent us to the Back Mountain’s Black Miasma Forest because he wanted us to adapt early to a complex and dangerous real battlefield environment!”