Zhang Guan Yu listened quietly, his expression grave. He knew that things in the border region weren’t going that well. The fact that they had lost disciples there even before now was proof of that enough. He had hoped that their latest moves of at least providing the disciples with more materials could somewhat turn things around but … it seemed that it hadn’t helped much. Well, at least by now, the groups sent by each of the four great righteous sects were working together. Knowing that was a relief.

When Yan Hong Min finished his report, the Sect Master could only sigh deeply. “I suppose this is about as good as we could expect.” Although, frankly, the most worrisome part was likely that something had happened to Yan Hong Min’s junior.

Others in the sect might not be aware but he knew very well how attached Mei Chao Bing was to that little disciple of Baili Chao’s. He had spent years observing that boy after he entered the sect and while Mei Chao Bing had always been popular up until the moment his Master betrayed the sect, Yun Bei Fen had certainly had a special role in his heart. Add onto that that he was the only one who didn’t turn his back on him after Elder Feng’s betrayal and it was easy enough to guess what weight he had in Mei Chao Bing’s heart.

Of course, this wasn’t news but knowing that something had happened to Yun Bei Fen now made it clear that the other side knew about this just as much as them and had made use of that. Now, how would Mei Chao Bing decide? That was tough to say.

To be perfectly honest, Zhang Guan Yu didn’t dare to have too much hope that it would be in favor of the sect instead of his lover. Even though he had tried to be there and show him that there were still people who trusted him, he alone couldn’t make up for what the Elders and disciples had done. So really, if it was the sect or Yun Bei Fen, it seemed obvious which way he’d choose.

Yan Hong Min watched the Sect Master’s expression and raised his brows. “So … what should we do now? I gave them some prototypes to protect my little junior better and also a few materials so their plan could work but it sounded like that wouldn’t be all they needed. It’s just dealing with another group of people but after that, it’s likely they might have to deal with everyone else.”

Zhang Guan Yu nodded slowly. He also understood this but it wasn’t as easy to make a decision. Everyone’s lives depended on this, after all. Right now, if the four groups came together, their chances to win a fight were higher but that was only true as long as they didn’t have to contend against the majority of forces the demonic faction had in the border region. And, well, it didn’t seem like the big battle was far off.

Now, what were their options? Right now, it seemed like the only possibility was sending more people to the border region. It didn’t seem like the idea was to attack the sects themselves for the time being so this shouldn’t be too risky a move. Of course, it could also be that all of this was just a feint and Feng Bai Xiao did intend to get rid of the sects, after all. To be honest, he wouldn’t be surprised if all of what had happened so far and all of the information they had gathered had been calculated by him. That guy … he wasn’t simple. He had never been.

Zhang Guan Yu’s fingers drummed on the top of his desk as he thought. There was a high risk no matter what they did: Leave everyone where they currently were and risk having everyone die in the border region or send more people and risk the sect itself being attacked and the remainder of people here meeting their demise. Which risk was real and which one was fake? He genuinely couldn’t tell.

He thought of what the Black Warrior had said and pursed his lips. Mei Chao Bing was the key to all of this. Currently, he was in the border region. Or, well, he was somewhere. In fact, it seemed that nobody really knew where he was. They could only say for certain that Yan Hong Min’s third junior martial brother hadn’t seen him and he had obviously been with everyone else before so Mei Chao Bing had to be separated from the others and might have been for a while. Under those circumstances, it was even harder to make a decision.

He hesitated again and again and finally sighed. “Well, give me some time.” He really didn’t know and with what was at stake here, he didn’t dare to rashly decide on anything. In this case, he ought to find some help to make this decision. So even though he was also doubtful whether it would help at all, he waved for Yan Hong Min to wait, and then left his palace, making his way deeper into the sect grounds to ask the Black Warrior for advice again. Anyway, it couldn’t hurt to do this. Those few minutes surely wouldn’t make a difference.

At this time, Tong Chen was seated on the platform as usual, his expression serene. Inwardly, he didn’t quite feel as much at peace as it seemed though. He had left the sect a few times without being noticed and, frankly, if it was possible at all, he wanted to do so again. It had been much too long since he left here and he missed the days when he was still traveling the world with the other three. He had also seen that they were the same, feeling a bit restless after all this time. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem as if they would get the chance to leave anytime soon. Or maybe … maybe they just had to take their chances and forge a way ahead by themselves.