In the pavilion master building on Wind Island, Yi Qiushui slammed the Divine Dwelling List onto the table and angrily said, “The Xuanji Region is too much. I can’t believe they moved you to fourteenth place!”

By the side, Ye Bingling was also frowning. She nodded to indicate that she also felt the Xuanji Region had gone overboard this time.

In contrast, there was no trace of anger on Zhou Yuan’s face. He took a look at the Divine Dwelling List, then chuckled and said, “Fourteenth, then fourteenth. Didn’t you guys tell me that Lu Xiao’s ranking wasn’t accurate? Since I beat him, being placed at fourteenth isn’t unexplainable.”

His gaze shifted downwards, finding Lu Xiao’s name on the twenty-third position. It seemed being defeated had been a substantial blow to Lu Xiao’s ranking.

To be honest, Zhou Yuan did not really care about the rankings. After all, only true power could be relied on, and rankings would not bring any real material benefit.

Yi Qiushui rolled her eyes at him. “You’re so magnanimous. However, this matter concerns not only yourself but the reputation of the Tianyuan Region. What will others say when they see that our strongest Divine Dwelling stage expert is only ranked fourteenth?

“They will certainly feel that our Tianyuan Region is continuously declining, which is bad for our reputation.”

Zhou Yuan shrugged. These were honestly facts after all, and there was no need to hide them, nor was it possible.

However, he did not argue, allowing Yi Qiushui to vent for a while. When it was over, he lazily stretched his body and said with a smile, “The four pavilions conference should be held later, right?”

He had been resting for the past few days after the chief pavilion master selection, and it was finally the day he would officially take his post. 

Yi Qiushui nodded. “I’ve already notified the other three pavilions.”

She then retrieved a scroll and placed it in front of Zhou Yuan. “As the current chief pavilion master, the Wind Pavilion and Forest Pavilion will definitely support you, but the Fire Pavilion will be a little more difficult to win over. The Mountain Pavilion on the other hand is slightly better; they usually go wherever the wind blows.

“If you intend to gain full control over the four pavilions and make them obey your commands, you’ll have to use some tactics.”

Zhou Yuan humbly asked, “What should I do?”

“Divide them from the inside,” Yi Qiushui answered without the slightest shred of hesitation.

“Divide?”

Yi Qiushui explained, “In the current Fire Pavilion, there are eight deputy pavilion masters. Among these eight, seven are from the Heavenly Spirit Sect. However, you should know that the majority of the Fire Pavilion members do not belong to the Heavenly Spirit Sect. They joined the Fire Pavilion because it would give them more cultivation resources.

“But almost all of the upper echelon of the Fire Pavilion are from the Heavenly Spirit Sect, something that the members will certainly be unhappy with. They merely did not dare to reveal their true thoughts due to Lu Xiao’s overwhelming power and influence.

“You only need to use your power as chief pavilion master to promote some of the more outstanding non–Heavenly Spirit Sect Fire Pavilion members to commanders and deputy pavilion masters. This will not only win them over but also divide them internally. When that happens, even Lu Xiao and his gang will no longer be able to put up any opposition or unify the Fire Pavilion against you.

“As for the Mountain Pavilion, you should do the same. Once this is done, the four pavilions will soon fall under your control.”

Zhou Yuan could not help but wet his lips and give the confident looking Yi Qiushui a huge thumbs up. Even though they had yet to engage these tactics, he already knew how huge of a headache it would cause Lu Xiao and Han Yuan.

Yi Qiushui pursed her lips into a slight smile as she pointed towards the scroll and said, “I’ve already investigated the Fire Pavilion and Mountain Pavilion over the past few days. The individuals I’ve listed are not disciples of the Heavenly Spirit Sect, and they are pretty talented and strong. Lu Xiao has been suppressing them for many years, so they likely hold some resentment against him. You should choose who to promote from among them.”

Zhou Yuan nodded as he inwardly sighed. With a secretary-manager like Yi Qiushui, he had things easy as the chief pavilion master.

Zhou Yuan unfurled the scroll and closely inspected the contents for a while. He suddenly said, “These methods are enough to show them who's the boss, but doing something so bold and decisive so quickly after being promoted to the chief pavilion master will likely make people talk. As such, I feel that we lack some appeasement.”

“Appeasement?” Yi Qiushui was taken aback. “What do you plan on doing?”

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment before he slowly said, “I intend to reduce the price of the four mother runes by 30%.”

The four mother runes were originally intended to counter the Fire Pavilion. Since Zhou Yuan was now the chief pavilion master, he could no longer place all of his concern on the Wind Pavilion alone. Otherwise, it would give rise to negative feelings from the other three pavilions in the future, and they would feel that he was too biased towards the Wind Pavilion.

If he reduced the sales price of the four mother runes, all four pavilions would benefit.

However, doing so would also reduce his profits, but this was something Zhou Yuan was not concerned about. He would still have more than enough after a 30% cut.

Yi Qiushui’s eyes brightened at his plan. “That’s a good idea. With such benefits, the majority of both the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion will support you no matter what you do to them.”

Together with the earlier tactic she suggested, these two methods would complement each other, creating a perfect plan.

By the side, Ye Bingling also nodded in support. “I will notify the Wind Pavilion. I’m sure everyone will understand.”

After Zhou Yuan was promoted to chief pavilion master, the wind pavilion master position had become vacant and Zhou Yuan had handed it over to Ye Bingling. After all, although Yi Qiushui was full of plans and ideas, she was still somewhat lacking in strength and could not fully subdue everyone. Ye Bingling, on the other hand, had more than sufficient strength and qualifications to take on the role.

Zhou Yuan nodded with a grin.

He stood up and said, “Since that is the case, let’s go and meet the three pavilions.”

Zhou Yuan exited the room. He knew that he could not relax although he had been promoted to chief pavilion master. Numerous people were still watching him, and if he failed to swiftly unify the four pavilions and resolve all their internal problems, the Heavenly Spirit Sect might find an excuse to accuse him of not doing his duty.

Hence, regardless of whether it was maintaining his position or consolidating power for the upcoming nine regions tournament, Zhou Yuan needed to gain complete control of the four pavilions as quickly as possible.

If anyone refused to comply, Zhou Yuan would find a way to kick out even the likes of Lu Xiao or Han Yuan from the four pavilions to prevent them from creating problems at an important juncture.

As Zhou Yuan walked out of the room, a ruthless light flashed across his eyes.

I hope that Lu Xiao and Han Yuan will be tactful.