Now, the positions are reversed

[This time, Liao Duci is on a mission to procure a rare ingredient for a new poison, while also fulfilling a task: assassinating a prominent figure in Xiaoyue City.]

[Everything went smoothly. He successfully developed the new poison and administered it to the city's wealthy lord.]

[Now, all that’s left is to wait for the lord's death, watching him suffer in torment before succumbing to the poison. Liao Duci finds great pleasure in this process.]

[However, things took a turn when Lin Xuan arrived.]

[Lin Xuan effortlessly neutralized the poison, which left Liao Duci seething with indignation. He continued to secretly administer poison, and the poor lord became a pawn in their battle of wits.]

[After several failed attempts, Liao Duci finally used his newly developed poison, one he had spent years perfecting—a poison so complex even he didn’t know how to counter.]

[This time, Lin Xuan was indeed challenged, unable to find a solution for days.]

[Seeing this, Liao Duci couldn’t help but gloat with satisfaction.]

[…]

[Ultimately, Lin Xuan and Elder Yan joined forces to finally break the poison. Elder Yan provided crucial assistance, but Lin Xuan also played a decisive role, proving that he had surpassed his mentor and no longer relied solely on Elder Yan.]

With that, Su Luo closed his notebook.

This was just a small side plot, offering no special rewards, only attribute points.

…

In the distant Heavenly Demon Palace, Jiang Ningshu saw the update in Su Luo’s diary and nearly teared up—finally, she had been waiting for this.

She quickly read through it.

As expected, there was no mention of how to restore her cultivation.

However, there were some references to her own situation.

Intervention? Threat?

Jiang Ningshu pondered whether to give it a try.

After several encounters, she had found that Su Luo was truly resistant to any persuasion.

She had hinted multiple times that she was willing to offer any reward for a favor done, but Su Luo, while agreeing enthusiastically—promising everything from dedicating his life to going above and beyond—never followed through.

Perhaps it's time to test the waters with a threat.

Jiang Ningshu decided she needed to summon the Seven Disciples immediately.

Upon hearing the summons, Su Luo was exasperated. He had just finished writing in his diary, boldly stating that if the Sect Master summoned him again, he would threaten her.

But deep down, he didn’t truly want tothreaten her—it was more of a spur-of-the-moment remark.

Should he give the Sect Master another chance?

After some thought, he decided against it. A little threat wouldn’t hurt, just to keep the current Sect Master in check and ensure she didn’t interfere with the storylines until her proper arc began.

Why couldn’t she just stay in the Heavenly Demon Palace and focus on restoring her strength?

At this rate, even the Left Envoy might start targeting him, as he was the least influential among the Seven Disciples.

Time to issue a little threat.

Su Luo concluded that the threat would be simple: directly exposing the Sect Master’s loss of power. It was her greatest weakness at the moment.

"Sect Master, wouldn’t you hate for everyone in the Heavenly Demon Sect to know you’re powerless right now?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ningshu would undoubtedly be shocked, believing she had kept her weakness hidden even from the Left and Right Envoys and the Four Heavenly Demons. How could someone as insignificant as Su Luo know?

She would most likely consider silencing him by force. That's when he would leverage his superior strength to subdue her, unopposed.

Then, he would mentally manipulate her, making her acknowledge her current predicament.

After letting her panic for a moment, he would offer her a way out—a promise to help her restore her power.

The mere suggestion would leave her astounded. How could someone like him, a mere Seven Disciple, know anything about restoring power on such a level?

Of course, Su Luo wouldn’t just make empty promises. He would genuinely help her, albeit in a controlled manner.

He would break down the first step of restoring her power into an endless series of small tasks and explain it to her.

He referred to this method as "Pinduoduo’s One-Click Bargain."

Su Luo estimated that by the time she completed these tasks, her power would align with the storyline’s progression.

This was just the first step, with two more to follow, ensuring Jiang Ningshu’s restoration would never exceed the storyline’s expectations.

It was a perfect plan: keeping the Sect Master in check without disrupting the story’s timeline.

With the decision made, Su Luo headed to the Heavenly Demon Palace.

This time, the scene remained the same: the Heavenly Demon Palace, the Seven Disciples, the Left Envoy, but this time, the Right Envoy was also present.

It seemed that Jiang Ningshu’s frequent summons of the Seven Disciples had begun to attract attention.

But no worries—Su Luo was determined to keep the Sect Master subdued this time.

The first to enter was always Qing Bukuang.

While waiting, Xu Wuliang approached.

"Su Luo."

"What is it?"

"What do you think of Lin Xuan?"

"I wish I could kill him. Don’t even mention his name around me."

"I feel the same. Perhaps we could join forces."

"Absolutely. The more, the better when it comes to taking down Lin Xuan." Su Luo said with intense hatred.

Xu Wuliang nodded, still stewing over the humiliation he had suffered at Lin Xuan’s hands—the most shameful moment since his ascension to Seven Disciple.

Su Luo agreed readily, as the future did indeed involve joint efforts among the Seven Disciples to take on Lin Xuan.

After watching Liao Duci’s humiliation, it was Su Luo’s turn. In the original storyline, Su Luo was strengthening his powers under Yin Youming.

However, Su Luo was now strong enough on his own to meet the storyline’s requirements, so that step could be omitted.

Lin Xuan hadn’t even arrived at the Heavenly Demon Sect yet, and the sect’s internal events were just a brief mention in the original story, so Su Luo knew they wouldn’t disrupt the overall plot.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, it was finally Su Luo’s turn. This time, the waiting period felt unusually long, and he wondered what the Sect Master was up to.

As soon as he entered, Su Luo skillfully reinforced the privacy ward and approached Jiang Ningshu.

Unlike previous meetings, Su Luo neither showed respect nor attempted any formalities.

"What is this look for?" Jiang Ningshu feigned surprise, releasing a subtle aura of intimidation to test Su Luo.

Su Luo remained unfazed, climbing the steps toward her. He ignored her aura, effortlessly reaching her side.

Before Jiang Ningshu could react, Su Luo reached out and grabbed her.

"Don’t touch me!" Jiang Ningshu resisted.

But Su Luo countered her resistance, flinging her aside with a swift motion.

With an icy glare and a calm demeanor, Su Luo adjusted his clothing and seated himself in the throne, looking down at the Sect Master with a newfound authority.

The roles had reversed.