The Orc Clan Produces a True Sage

While our Young Master Ye was indulging in the pleasures of a beauty's embrace, the outside world had already been thrown into chaos on his account. All the great hidden clans and sacred grounds were scouring every corner for his trail, yet not a single shred of news could they find. It was as if he had appeared for a fleeting moment and vanished into thin air.

"Any news of him yet?"

At this time, in the Central Continent—renowned throughout the world, the true controller behind every major merchant guild, the Qian Family's side courtyard of the Qianbao Pavilion, which claimed to hold one-third of the entire continent's wealth.

A quiet little courtyard.

Pond with swimming fish, willows swaying gently.

Qian Jiang sat at the edge of the water, a bamboo pole in his hand, at the end of which was a net fashioned from a sheet of paper. Behind him stood a man with a wooden expression.

The man carried a wooden sword on his back and exuded an air that kept others at a distance. He spoke in a flat tone.

Qian Jiang did not reply right away.

Instead, he sat upright on the stool, using his paper net to gently stir the pond water, trying to scoop up the carp within with that flimsy little net.

The bamboo pole swayed through the water, scattering the carp in every direction.

But Qian Jiang seemed to take endless delight in the game.

Lu Shouzhuo pressed his lips together and watched in silence. Regarding this man who claimed to be a brother of his junior brother, he had many questions.

For instance, his cultivation—early Nascent Soul stage.

Yes, you read that correctly.

This man before him—one of the candidates for the position of Pavilion Master of the Qianbao Pavilion, who had risen from nothing and built himself up from scratch to become the head of the Wordless Pavilion, the largest intelligence organization in the Xuantian Continent—had a cultivation level of only early Nascent Soul.

No secret suppression of his power whatsoever.

Even that early Nascent Soul stage had been achieved only through the piling on of countless heavenly treasures and spiritual herbs.

Perhaps in the Eastern Wasteland, a Nascent Soul cultivator would already be an elder of some sect.

But this was the Central Continent.

If you dropped a stone from the second floor of any Qianbao Pavilion auction house, you'd hit at least a dozen Spirit Transformation cultivators on the way down.

With such a weak cultivation base—

To put it bluntly, if Lu Shouzhuo struck down with his sword, Qian Jiang would likely die three thousand times over and still not be finished.

As if sensing his confusion, Qian Jiang smiled faintly.

"You seem to have doubts. If you want to ask, just ask."

Lu Shouzhuo was silent for a while, then finally voiced the question that weighed deepest on his mind: "Your cultivation is clearly so low, yet how is it that you can become the Master of the Wordless Pavilion, commanding those Return-to-Void and Tribulation Transcendence great experts under you, making them willingly serve you—even willing to lay down their lives for you without hesitation?"

Qian Jiang gave a light chuckle and countered, "And why shouldn't the Master of the Wordless Pavilion be merely a minor Nascent Soul cultivator?"

"..."

Lu Shouzhuo was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, why not?

Perhaps in his subconscious, the master of any organization should be the most powerful fighter among them.

Otherwise, why would anyone be willing to accept your authority?

Why would they obey your commands?

The strong devour the weak—that was the unchanging law of the cultivation world.

Seeing that Lu Shouzhuo had nothing to say, Qian Jiang smiled.

He posed the question in a different way.

"Right now, you're standing behind me. You're stronger than me—one sword strike and you could pierce me through. Why haven't you killed me, taken my position, and are still here listening to me talk nonsense?"

Lu Shouzhuo thought for a moment, then replied:

"Because you are a brother of my junior brother, and you extended aid to the Qingyun Sect in its time of crisis. I am in your debt. Besides, I have no interest in the position of Master of the Wordless Pavilion. Even if I killed you, no one else would accept me."

"You see? Isn't it clear now?"

Qian Jiang turned his head, a warm and gentle smile spreading across his face.

"So many people in this world believe that as long as you have a big fist, you should sit at the very top."

"They think that by becoming the highest authority, they can exploit others, have others support them, and have all the best things offered up to them. In some people's shallow minds, that is what they call a king."

"But reality isn't like that."

Qian Jiang shook his head.

"Becoming the highest leader of a faction, what you enjoy first and foremost is not tribute and power, but endless responsibility and trouble."

"Some people are simply not suited to be leaders."

"They possess immense martial power and desire beautiful women, wealth, fame, and authority—but... but..."

Qian Jiang said "but" twice in a row.

"If you want to obtain these things, you don't actually need to become a leader. You can be any link in the structure—such as a patron, an elder, a guest elder—and still get what you want, without having to bear the responsibility that comes with leadership."

Lu Shouzhuo listened quietly and was silent for a long time.

After a moment, he finally spoke: "I have learned."

Qian Jiang waved his hand dismissively, turned around, and continued fiddling with his little net, chuckling: "It's nothing."

"Actually, this is a good thing too."

"Even someone like you thinks this way—so how could anyone else ever imagine that the renowned Master of the Wordless Pavilion is actually a branch member of the Qian family, a Nascent Soul cultivator who came from the Eastern Wasteland?"

"Heh... got one!"

Just as he finished speaking, Qian Jiang's eyes suddenly lit up. He swished the net through the pond and pulled up a large red carp.

"This is—"

Lu Shouzhuo noticed something strange about the fish.

Qian Jiang grabbed the fish, pried open its mouth, and inside lay a piece of stone with engraved words—

"The beast race has produced a true sage!"