Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

The night air, moonlight like molten snow, sprinkled over the earth.

Yi Chen, beneath the endless stars, emerged from the Scripture Pavilion, pushed open the door of his residence in Azure Sky courtyard, brewed himself a cup of clear tea, and sat quietly by the window, reviewing the day's events.

His deal with Zhang Hu had already reached the halfway mark.

Today, he spent the whole day boosting Zhang Hu's reputation with "This man's strength is no less than mine," which seemed a fair trade for the wealth he was given.

The reason Yi Chen worked so diligently to spread Zhang Hu's fame was partly because Zhang Hu had paid handsomely, and secondly, he wanted to throw a smokescreen to the public to obscure his own abilities somewhat.

It was like hitting a jujube tree, hoping to strike fruit whether it bore dates or not.

Today's information revealed by Yue Qingzhu when she tried to recruit him attracted his attention; she was secretive and, as a princess of Da Yue, certainly had access to information channels far beyond his own.

If she hinted that someone in the capital intended to act against him, then naturally, he had to be extremely cautious.

Caution is the parent of safety.

So Yi Chen decided to go with the flow and become a stalwart supporter of Zhang Hu.

Zhang Hu's cultivation wasn't weak; he came from a good background and was bound to become famous throughout the land. Dragon Tiger Mountain needed more than just Zhang Daoyi; it seemed Zhang Hu's deal with Yi Chen was to strive for the position of the second Daoist heir.

By equating his strength with that of Zhang Hu, Yi Chen would gain many advantages, the key being an information disparity.

As long as the notion that one Hu equals one Yi Chengzi took root in people's minds, even being a benchmark, his room to maneuver would become much larger.

Imagine, if someone wanted to target him, to find a benchmark.

One Hu equals one Yi Chengzi?

So if I send five times the strength of Zhang Hu to surround and kill Yi Chengzi, isn't that a secure bet?

Yet the result being one Yi Chengzi equals ten times Zhang Hu would cause a strategic misjudgment that would be enough to trouble others significantly.

In short, the more vigorously Yi Chen hyped Zhang Hu, the larger the perceived gap between them; thus, the greater the surprise he would provide to others.

"It seems one Zhang Hu still isn't enough; I feel there are many whose strength is not below mine," Yi Chen murmured to himself.

When you're part of the underworld, it's not enough to have strength; you need a background as well.

Without a background, only a silhouette, the Hidden Dragon Temple had no choice but to resort to these little schemes, taking it one day at a time…

"Damn them all, would I have to resort to such cunning if I were stronger?"

"Damn it!"

"I need to focus on increasing my Deep Red Points; as long as I enhance my strength quickly enough, those behind the scenes won't be able to catch up with me."

Mulling over these thoughts, Yi Chen settled on a plan of action.

He refused to believe that his master's enemy would go all-in to target him.

It was like Jack Ma holding a group meeting when an executive mentioned, "Boss, there's this Huang Zheng with Pinduoduo making waves; they've taken over a small county." Ma would immediately order, using the power of Alibaba to put all other business on hold and target the king of that small county…

In the real world, Alibaba did take notice but didn't focus excessively, not diverting vast resources to target the nascent Pinduoduo. By the time they realized its scale, Pinduoduo had grown into a colossal entity, not something they could shake by merely saying so.

"I've lived a life of virtue; surely, I won't be that unlucky."

"Each major force faces countless challengers every year; as long as I'm like a Husky hidden in a pack of wolves, merely blending in, they won't target me specifically."

"My strategy going forward is simple: keep a low profile, and don't stand out unnecessarily."

"Walk before you run; put on socks before shoes."

Having determined his course for the near future, Yi Chen still felt a twinge of discomfort. He looked up at the moon through the window, clenching his fists until his nails dug into his flesh, a surge of violence swirling in his heart.

Not enough force! It's still not strong enough!

He craved power, power even greater than what he had, the kind that would allow him to control his own destiny!

Otherwise, how could he, with his explosive temperament, tolerate such vexation?

When he became strong enough, he would surely make a personal visit to lay out his grievances with the person behind the scenes, ready to make their world shake.

For now, he still had to act cautiously.

Little Miao noticed the shifts in Yi Chen's expression and suddenly leapt onto his shoulder, cuddling up to him as if to offer comfort, as if to say she would always stand by his side.

A cup of clear tea helped douse some of the fire in Yi Chen's mind. He stroked Little Miao's fluffy head in acknowledgment.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

His ambitions were grand, but his abilities were still lacking...

After closing the window, Yi Chen sat cross-legged on the bed and began to cultivate.

Turning his attention inward.

All the bones and muscles of his body had turned a pale gold from the tempering of Inner Qi, exuding strength and a touch of the divine.

Compared to before his breakthrough, his Inner Qi and physical body started to integrate on a deeper level.

At the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill, in his Pure Yang dominant state, he would generate a layer of azure glaze armor for defense; this indicated that the union between his Inner Qi and physical body was still distinct and not perfectly integrated.

Hence the external manifestation of armor.

But after absorbing the True Intent of Dragon and Tiger and achieving a breakthrough, the external armor of Inner Qi had disappeared. When Yi Chen willed it, the surging Inner Qi within him would combine perfectly with his body in any region, causing his stature to expand and his entire being turned a faint gold.

"Stronger, purer, higher efficiency of Inner Qi utilization."