"You have no idea.." said Yang Qing when he remembered the thirteen perilous zones, the shady undercurrent within the Deer Mountain Kingdom, or the mysterious man he and Meifeng stumbled onto. The range was anything but simple.

Yang Qing's response drew a curious glance from Hao Da.

"It seems you had quite the tenure as the branch chief.." Hao Da meaningfully said.

Yang Qing sighed as he stared ahead with a forlorn look.

"It wasn't deliberate, it just sort of happened. Hao Da..."

"What?"

"Do you feel like a storm is coming?"

Hao Da's pupils flickered with a strange light as he asked,

"I don't know...Why do you ask?"

"Something Gu...I mean something the sacred flame swan said made me question a lot of things. There have been a lot of strange things happening all at once, that some part of me feels it's not a coincidence.."

"Like the attack on Lai Lei.." said Hao Da, before he added,

"and us.."

"In part, yes. Before I chalked up it all to the organizations being discontent with our presence. I assumed it was those organizations trying to reduce our so-called authority so that things could go back to the way they were.

But I don't know.." Yang Qing said as he scrunched up his brows.

"That strange figure in the Deer Mountain Kingdom, appearances of blood fiend cultivators in Purple City, the happenings of the Ice Emerald Sect, and the owner of that abyssal thorn tree, the alliance between the Golden Bamboo Pavillion and the Maple Leaf Manor... I don't know, it almost seems like.."

"Like what?"

"Like they're all gearing up for something. It's like they are all trying to prepare themselves so that whatever it is they're expecting comes, they'll be ready.."

"Don't you think, you're being too paranoid?" asked Hao Da with a dubious expression.

Ever since they were small, Yang Qing had always been conspiratorial about a lot of things which always landed him in no small trouble with the Instructors as they were usually the core of his conspiracy theories back then.

There was even one that managed to gain a lot of traction in which Yang Qing kept saying that the Institute was built atop a massive graveyard and the Instructors were malevolent spirits who inhabited that graveyard and had been unable to move on because of their deep-seated grudge and obsession that still anchored them to the land of the living. The reason they were so vivid and lifelike was because they belonged to some pretty powerful cultivators who were able to retain a bit of their sanity even after so much time had passed by.

Yang Qing had managed to convince a lot of the students back then, with himself being one of them. At some point the more he thought about it, the more it felt plausible that the Instructors were vengeful spirits, and the students were in some sort of test.

He and a couple of others ended up devoting themselves to learning all sorts of techniques on how to purge vengeful spirits. It was one of the few times, Yang Qing ever devoted himself to something so deeply. It was only after he failed severely a couple of times did Yang Qing finally realize his guess was way off the mark, but by then it was too late. He was tortured by the Instructors for a couple of months and was even sent to a cursed battlefield filled with vengeful ghosts and spirits, so he could properly hone the purging techniques he had studied and deepen his understanding of what vengeful spirits look like.

Hao Da couldn't help but think that this was another one of his crazy speculations. Yang Qing knew the thoughts that were running through Hao Da's head. He didn't explain further. He hoped it was just him overthinking things, and it was his life-honed paranoia getting the best of him, but if it wasn't, he couldn't help but wonder what it was they were preparing for.

Was it the destruction of the Order? Or was that a phase of the plan?

Yang Qing's brain buzzed as he remembered something. It wasn't too long ago that a strange fern was found in the body of an unassuming cultivator which ended up triggering Yang Qing's physique for some reason which landed him in a coma for a few days and unable to use his physique for a month.From what the Valley Master told him, that fern was specially engineered by combining two saint-grade materials which were both geared to ensure the fern remained undetectable with parasitic abilities. But undetectable until when? The when didn't even matter, as the fact that they appeared in the Medical Valley, it was certain their target was the Medical Valley.

"Hao Da, if you were to attack the Order, how would you do it?"

"What are you talking about now?" Hao Da said with exasperation.

"I am serious...If you were to attack the Order how would you do it?"

Seeing Yang Qing's serious look, Hao Da sighed as his look turned pensive.

"If I was to do it, well first, I wouldn't do it alone. Not even the two holy lands would dare attack the Order alone.."

Yang Qing nodded at the statement before he remembered the Hua Clan and the other three organizations in their coalition.

"What if we had something so valuable that it would make one of them willing to take the risk? Something that they wouldn't want to share with others?"

"It would have to be a pretty precious something, but even then, they'd need to confirm that something is indeed with the Order, for them to be willing to make the sacrifice, and the best way to confirm it, is if they had someone on the inside.."

Yang Qing frowned as he said,

" A traitor?"

"Even the Order isn't infallible, Yang Qing. There are bound to be those whose hearts are elsewhere. Besides you've heard the same rumors as I have about the dragon pillar at the Requiem and those who are housed there..." Hao Da somberly said.

"I know but still..." Yang Qing said as he shook his head. He didn't want to believe that the Order would have traitors in as much as it was pragmatic for him to expect, after all, even though it was purely hearsay, in Requiem, one of the pillars, the dragon pillar was rumored to house former members of the Order who had betrayed it. Though the rumor was unproven, most who heard it believed there must be some truth to it, including Yang Qing himself.

"But a traitor isn't the only way.." said Yang Qing, drawing a curious glance from Hao Da.

"Someone with personal connection or history with that something could very well discern its existence. We know certain connections or karma transcend lifetimes, and with the various means cultivators have, while it might be a bit difficult, it's not entirely impossible for them to discern its existence or true location even if it's hidden within the Order. .." added Yang Qing.

Hao Da stared meaningfully at Yang Qing for a few seconds before he said,

"That may be true.."

"So after you get like-minded individuals, what next?"

"I would not attack directly, I would create a network and study the movements of the employees of the Order, from those in the branches to those at the headquarters. Their routine, the missions I could deduce like the evaluations, create cases that prompt their immediate action.

I would do all manner of things to lure more employees outside, and once outside, I would kidnap some and secretly investigate the others, some with the hopes of turning them into traitors, while others just to understand the abilities of the Order.

I would probably spend at least a hundred years on this to learn as much as I can about the Order from the random administrator to the up-and-coming students, to the judges across the different courtrooms, to the inquisitors the normal, roaming, and special inquisitors.

Everything and anything I can find, I will dig into, so when the time finally comes to strike, while you can't prepare nearly enough, having enough information will reduce the likelihood of hesitation..."

Yang Qing stared pensively at a sunflower seed that was cushioned between his thumb and index finger. He put a little pressure on it, grounding it to dust.

"How would you attack?" he asked.

"Probably attack all the branches simultaneously, along with any other known facilities the Order has outside the headquarters, and for good measure I'd destroy a few organizations outwardly known to have a good relationship with them to deter others from acting.."

"That's pretty ruthless..""We live in a ruthless world Qing.."

"That is true .." said Yang Qing with a sigh.

"Attacking the branches, huh..." added Yang Qing as he stared at the reflections showing on the lake.

Silence ensued in the area, with Hao Da seemingly in silent meditation and Yang Qing still munching on his sunflower seeds with his thoughts seemingly elsewhere.

Such was the norm of the interaction between the two, one minute they'd be talking, and the next it would be silence, with each lost in their own worlds. They had grown to enjoy it that way.

After close to an hour had passed by, Yang Qing broke the silence as he asked,

"When are you leaving?"

"In 13 days.."

"Isn't that too soon?"

"Most of my injuries are completely healed ....

Well more or less ..." added Hao Da when he saw the look Yang Qing was giving him.

"You really don't like being at the headquarters do you?" asked Yang Qing.

" Not that I don't like it, it's just that I enjoy the branches more.." said Hao Da with a carefree smile.

"Can't say I don't see the appeal..."

"Oh, are you thinking of taking the jump? I could get you a job as the librarian at the Three fires branch. I heard they have a good library there. What do you think? Good pay, no responsibilities. It's the perfect job for you.."

"Have you been talking with the seniors from the Judicial Review Committee?" Yang Qing suspiciously asked.

"Nothing like that...I just think Branch life would suit you just fine.." Hao Da said with a laugh.

" Who knows, when I finally get my revenge on the Order and Old Lei, I may take you up on the offer. I'm just not sure you'd be able to afford my services at the time?"

" Well luckily it's not me footing the bill.."

"That is true."

Hao Da and Yang Qing burst into laughter.

"Find me for a drink before you leave, will you?"

"I will.."

"Glad to see you're okay, Hao Da.." said Yang Qing as he got up to leave.

"You too, Yang Qing.."

..

After leaving Hao Da, Yang Qing passed by the Serenity Lotus Pavilion to check on Ma Yuan's daughter briefly before he made his way to the lair of the Auspicious wood grove tree.

The meeting was buried as he didn't want his library time to be cut into. He had already spent two of those hours conversing with Hao Da, and almost twenty minutes checking in on Ma Ling.

Not to seem impolite but still within reason, Yang Qing spent close to half an hour with the Auspicious wood grove tree. While his ability to travel distances with his clone had more to do with his innate abilities that could control void energy, he had learnt a few techniques over the years that could help Meifeng increase the travelling distance of her clone. One of those techniques was the cerulean small dipper star gate technique, an art created to mirror the space traversing abilities of the subspecies of the tree folk called the stargaze tree folk.

With it, Meifeng could warp through established fixed points that mirrored specific stars in the sky. The points were fixed not allowing much flexibility but with it she could expand the distance she could cover. The art was extremely demanding of the cultivator's comprehension as it touched on major laws of the world, celestial and spatial laws being one of them. Luckily, Auspicious wood grove tree offered to send one of his clones to guide her through it. Yang Qing had inadvertently revealed about his interaction with the mysterious figure which drew the curiosity of the wood grove tree.

With all pending matters handled, Yang Qing excitedly took out black shell filled with countless runes. He triggered one of them which warped him to his next destination, the Grand library of the Order.