The youth arrived at their rendezvous point, but there was no sign of the other two there.

“Huh, I’m the first one to arrive then,” the youth thought to himself and sat down on the base of a nearby tree. He leaned back on the trunk and waited for the other two to get here.

As he waited, he decided to make small talk with Jian Gong to pass the time. “Say, back to joining a sect, if I could find a way to hide my spirit root and constitution, wouldn’t I be able to join a sect then?”

Jian Gong spoke in his mind, “Obviously, yeah. Since we’re on this topic, let me just say, with your situation, you can easily join the third and second-rate sects and some first-rate sects.”

“Why is that? I thought I couldn’t join any sect?”

“It’s like this – not all sects have items to detect spirit roots and constitutions, especially the third and second-rate ones. And in the fifth realm, only some first-rate sects don’t have them. But the super sects have them in every realm. As for the lineage sects, they’re a wild card, so try not to understand them.”

“Explain the lineage sects to me.”

Instead, Jian Gong asked, “Do you understand the concept of a Venn Diagram?”

The youth answered hesitantly, “No…?”

“Alright,” Jian Gong exhaled, “Lineage sects have branches in more than one realm. So, they are a wild card because even second-rate sects can be lineage sects, and not all super sects can be considered lineage sects.”

“Uh…what?”

“The criterion to be considered a lineage sect is fairly linear – having a branch in another realm. The criteria for third to first-rate are – having a certain number of disciples, a certain number of elders over a specific cultivation realm, and the sect leader’s own cultivation realm. However, the criterion to be rated as a super sect is a bit vague – to achieve hegemony.”

“I kind of get it…? Like, you can achieve ‘hegemony’ in your founding realm but still have no branches in any other realms.”

“Yes, exactly! One of the examples of a super “sect” but not a lineage sect is the Theocracy of Hu in the Sixth Realm.”

The youth stopped him, “Oi, it’s called the ‘Theocracy’ of Hu, not the ‘Sect’ of Hu. Why’re you calling it a sect?”

“According to De Jing, the Seventh Monarch’s memories, the Theocracy of Hu started as a sect during his time. And later, during Cang Xue, the next monarch’s time, it had already transformed into a second-tier kingdom. And with this trend, it won’t be an exaggeration to think it’s an Empire now. So, I’m not wrong in saying it’s a sect, just that it isn’t one anymore.”

“Alright, I got it, so is there a way I can hi-” Before he could finish, he saw Fang Mingkong arrive at the spot and approach him.

She looked down at him with her hands on her hip and asked, “You’re the first one here?”

The youth nodded.

“And did you get the job done?”

The youth tossed a sack over at her. She sidestepped, and the sack fell on the grass beside her. On closer inspection, the sack had numerous blood spots on it.

“Don’t throw that disgusting thing at me!”

The youth chuckled, “Sorry, don’t have a space ring, so I can only carry it like that.”

“I…don’t know what that has to do with not throwing the damn thing at me, but alright.” Fang Mingkong sighed and took a seat beside him, “So, what did you do with the monkey corpse?”

“Used it as bait. Made my job a bit easier.”

“Really? Maybe I should’ve done that as well.”

The youth shrugged, “We live, and we learn.”

“You’re really good at proverbs.”

“Thank you. Any idea about where your young master is?”

“Young master should be-” Fang Mingkong froze and glared at him. She instantly stepped back and took her chains in her hands. Glaring at him with hostility, she asked, “H-How’d you know?”

“Oh~ so he really was from one of the big clans!” The youth grinned at her.

The color from Fang Mingkong’s face drained as she realized that the youth was just playing with her. In a sudden bout of anger, she hurled one of her chains at him. The youth didn’t even get up to dodge but instead took out the red dagger and parried it. The chain created sparks and changed directions. It hit the tree trunk just above the youth’s head, putting a deep gash on it.

“Tsk tsk!” The youth wagged his finger at her, “Try to care for nature more.”

“Bastard! You think we’re playing a game!?”

“He really picked a pig-headed maid to follow him,” the youth shook his head.

“P-Pig-headed!?”

“Girl, I’m sure your young master has already guessed that I know.”

“Wha-?” Fang Mingkong, who was about to throw her chains again, stopped.

“Look-­,” he pointed towards a cluster of bushes a bit farther away, “-he isn’t even bothering to hide.” Fang Mingkong followed his finger and looked at the bushes. Suddenly, the bushes rustled, and Yu Nanhao hopped out of them. He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, “Ah, I was caught!” He smiled wryly at the youth, “And brother, isn’t it a bit hurtful to say I wasn’t even hiding? I’ll have you know I was trying my best!”

“Isn’t that more insulting? You were trying your best to hide and still got found by me.”

“Ah…you’re right about that.”

Fang Mingkong looked at their exchange speechlessly before asking, “Young Master, is he telling the truth?”

“What?” Yu Nanhao took a seat next to the youth and leaned back on the trunk. “Oh, yeah. I know that he knows.” He laughed, “Mingkong, with the clues we’ve revealed, it’d be weirder if he didn’t notice. Your average Yellow-grade mercenary doesn’t have a space ring, you know?”

“Then why would you reveal it?” Fang Mingkong spat it out through gritted teeth.

“Honestly, it would’ve been revealed sooner or later,” Yu Nanhao shrugged. “And I don’t think this brother over here really cares about whether or not I’m from a big clan. So, I’d like to ask, brother, what’s the motive behind disclosing that you know this?”

“Same reason as yours, why keep a secret that would’ve been revealed sooner or later? And having to keep a secret for no reason is really just unneeded pressure. I much rather prefer to be open about such matters.”

“So, brother, here is an honest man. I admire that. Since you know that I’m from a big clan, do you want to hear my story?” Yu Nanhao asked.

“Let me guess, you’re the youngest son of the patriarch, and you came to the mercenary guild to find yourself trusted and capable subordinates to help you win the succession war?”

Yu Nanhao stared at the youth in silence for a bit and then at Fang Mingkong, who spread her hands and frantically shook her head. He looked back at the youth and asked, “How did you guess?”

“Just pieced the clues I was shown,” the youth yawned. “And it’s not that hard to guess.” Of course, the youth won’t tell him that such a setting was overused and was clichéd.

“So, you even guessed this?” Yu Nanhao put his arm behind his head and rested on the trunk of the tree. “Then, will you work for me?”

The youth stared at him for ten seconds and laughed, “That’s the most skewed request I’ve ever heard!” Amidst laughter, he explained, “Don’t worry, I’m not saying the request is ridiculous, just that events leading up to it are. Before I consider joining, at least tell me more details.”

“Can’t you guess that from the clues we revealed?” Fang Mingkong said sarcastically.

The youth stared at her and then back at Yu Nanhao, “Is she on your team as well?”

“…yes?”

“Damn, I can see your chances for succession slipping by the second.”

“Oi, what does that mean, asshole?” Fang Mingkong glared at the youth.

As she raged in the background, Yu Nanhao explained his situation. The youth held his head after listening to him. “So, let me get this straight - you’re the third son of the Hao clan, Hao Yunan. You have two elder brothers above you, and each with their own formidable force. You slacked off on everything else other than martial arts, so while your cultivation is higher than your second brother, your forces are nowhere near his. And you planned to continue slacking off, but suddenly your father fell sick, and assassination attempts on your life started. You got a tip-off that your brothers were behind it, and so, since leaving the clan isn’t an option for you, you’re trying to raise forces and become the clan head.”

“That’s the gist of it, yes.” Yu Nanhao, or rather, Hao Yunan, nodded.

Jian Gong spoke in his mind, “Has anyone told him that his alias sucks?”

The youth agreed, “Someone really should.”

“What was that?” Hao Yunan asked.

“Nothing!”