Long Shu Fen walked ahead, entering the palace without bothering to send a message. Anyway, while a lot of Elders and Sect Masters like having disciples guard the gates, quite frankly, it wasn’t necessary. With their levels, they were naturally able to cover a large area with their spiritual sense, much less their own residence which they were used to and had likely infused with some of their spiritual energy due to long-term practice in this place and the array they had used. In short, you couldn’t really enter this kind of place without them knowing. Not that she’d care much if she scared this person shitless.

She walked through the hall and straight to the study of the Sect Master further in the back of the palace. Back when she entered the sect, their current Sect Master hadn’t been in this position yet. The one she knew and had met more than once during those years had, unfortunately, fallen during the war. She hadn’t named a successor before then either and many of her disciples hadn’t made it back to the sect either so, in the end, one of the Elders grasped the opportunity to take up the position. Maybe subconsciously, this was one of the many reasons they didn’t see eye to eye.

Either way, the palace had never changed since that time and while it had been several centuries since then, she still remembered it as clear as day. It couldn’t be said that she had come here often. She wasn’t the late Sect Master’s disciple, after all, and she hadn’t been an Elder either. Why would she come here regularly?

And yet, she had been one of the older disciples and while she was hardly ever in charge of any missions either and couldn’t be called prominent in the sect, she was at least part of many important outings of her generation or accompanied the younger disciples with some of the others. As a result, she would naturally come here to report when something important occurred or at least accompany the one who was tasked to do so.

As odd as it may sound, those moments made up a very important part of her past. During those times, she had been more involved with the rest of the sect than usual and hadn’t felt like she was … different in some way. She could even see a glittering path ahead of her, one where she’d turn not just into a favored disciple who was entrusted with big responsibilities going forward but might even become an Elder of the sect who was able to help the Sect Master make decisions.

She had clung to that idea and worked toward it. Even though she found the greatest support outside of the sect when she met Tong Chen, Shang Qiang, and Yan Jian Hong, it had never disappeared. At most, she figured that gaining experience outside and also hearing more about what the other sects were like would benefit her in the long run and make her even more of a valued member of the Jian Chu Sect.

It was a pity that plans couldn’t keep up with the changes time brought. That Sect Master was gone as were many of the Elders she had once admired. Others had taken their places and the disciples who were given the big responsibilities had never included her but were instead from the younger generations. And while she got an important-sounding title … that had never been the important part for her. No, she had wanted to work with the rest of the sect to make this home a better place. Now, it didn’t even feel like home any longer.

Long Shu Fen closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stepping into the Sect Master’s study. When he looked up, his expression immediately turned cautious with a hint of displeasure in it. Clearly, he didn’t want her here because he deemed her dangerous but also hated that she simply left her small island, even walking all the way up here without anyone stopping her or coming to warn him. Well, that was to be expected.

She didn’t bother commenting on that expression or even thinking about it further and simply went to plop down in the chair opposite him. She didn’t forget to wave for Zhi Guan to come over as well but didn’t wait for him to get seated and instead cut right to the chase. “The people stationed in the border region have sent someone to ask for assistance as the final battle is imminent.”

Sect Master Du furrowed his brows as he looked from Blue Butterfly to Zhi Guan. “From the Teng Yong Sect.”

Long Shu Fen’s eye twitched. Why was this such an expected response? “From the border region. All four camps have gathered. The other sects have already sent out groups to support them. Only our Jian Chu Sect is left.”

Du Jiang once again looked from one person to the other. He didn’t feel like this was very trustworthy information but Blue Butterfly looked as if she would make an issue out of it if he dared to outright question her words again. Instead, he turned to the disciple she had brought along. At the very least, he seemed like a somewhat upright person so he shouldn’t cause any issues. “Well, is there a letter from your Elders and those of the other sects?”

Zhi Guan’s gaze brushed over the figure of Sect Master Du and he suddenly understood why Blue Butterfly had behaved the way she did. With such a Sect Master, it was indeed not easy to go and ask for help. It looked even worse after Sect Master Zhang had moved out to support them before they had time to even ask for it and how Sect Master Mou and Sect Master Che didn’t hesitate for a second. This person though … he actually doubted all of it, despite the fact that the information came straight from his sect’s guardian. It seemed that harmony was not high in the Jian Chu Sect.