When Zhuan Ming arrived, the gathering was already in full swing.
Many elders and members of influential families were present. There were also cultivators around his age, most of them descendants of the sect's strongest clans.
He paid little attention to them and instead moved toward a secluded corner.
Zhuan Ming preferred observing from the sidelines.
From there, he watched the interactions around him. He could tell who liked whom, who secretly hated another, who held power, and who was forced to lower their head before someone else.
Information like this was valuable.
Soon, one person caught his attention.
It was a man with long blond hair wearing robes that radiated righteousness. The insignia on his clothing identified him as a member of the Investigator Clan, a family renowned for solving cases and hunting down criminals.
"Let's hope he isn't here for me," Zhuan Ming thought with amusement.
Standing beside the man was a little girl who appeared to be around thirteen years old.
Naturally, many people wished to pay their respects to the investigator. After all, he was a peak Rank 4 cultivator and a member of a highly respected clan.
The crowd soon became overwhelming for the young girl, and she quietly slipped away from the gathering.
She looked around the room.
Then her eyes met Zhuan Ming's.
For a brief moment, fear flashed across her face.
Zhuan Ming narrowed his eyes.
"This could be bad."
"Are they really here for me?"
"No. If they were, I would already be dead."
"Then what is it? Why fear?"
He couldn't find an answer.
He was certain he had never met the girl before, yet the terror in her expression had been genuine.
Deciding it was better to confront the situation directly, he walked over.
"Hello, miss. I couldn't help but notice the look you gave me. Have I offended you somehow?"
The girl stumbled over her words before calming herself.
"No, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
Her voice was quiet and trembled slightly.
"It doesn't seem like she knows me."
Zhuan Ming felt slightly relieved.
Seeing the interaction, Li Qingyue walked over.
"Are you bullying little girls now?" she teased.
At that moment, the investigator noticed the small crowd gathering around them and excused himself before walking over.
"Are you alright?"
He gently placed a hand on the girl's head.
Almost immediately, she calmed down.
"Yes, everything is alright," she replied softly.
"I just made a mistake."
The investigator nodded before turning toward Zhuan Ming.
"I hope she didn't trouble you too much."
He smiled warmly.
However, his eyes seemed capable of piercing through Zhuan Ming's very soul.
For the first time in a long while, Zhuan Ming felt a chill run down his spine.
The little girl leaned toward the investigator and whispered something into his ear.
The man's expression immediately became serious.
Without warning, he activated a rule path artifact and placed his hand upon Zhuan Ming's head.
Zhuan Ming's pupils shrank.
A soul search.
Internally, he roared.
"Hide, old man."
Immediately, he began recalling mundane and unimportant memories while attempting to empty his mind of everything significant.
It was an old trick.
Effective, but only if one possessed sufficient willpower and experience.
The technique was mentally exhausting and could only be maintained for a limited time.
The investigator's spiritual sense entered his soul.
Outwardly, Zhuan Ming remained expressionless.
Inside, however, he was fighting the most important battle of his life.
Not only did he need to present harmless memories that still formed a believable life story—because a person who appeared too perfect was always suspicious—but he had also discovered something far more terrifying.
A parasite.
The moment the old ancestor disappeared to avoid detection, Zhuan Ming felt it clearly for the first time.
Ever since his rebirth, his soul had been under subtle influence.
Day after day, the control had grown stronger.
Each increase was so small that it was almost impossible to notice, altering only tiny decisions and insignificant actions.
Yet now that he had become aware of it, every instinct within him screamed that something was wrong.
It was like discovering a knife lodged in your shoulder only after the battle had ended and the adrenaline had faded.
Once you noticed it, you could think of nothing else.
He quickly divided his mind into three separate parts.
The first would contain the harmless memories shown to the investigator.
The second would isolate the Qi Pill Ancestor while presenting him with a false reality in which Zhuan Ming remained unaware of his existence.
The third would be devoted entirely to devising a plan to destroy him.
There were several ways to eliminate a soul.
Soul path artifacts.
Overwhelming willpower.
Or soul energy itself.
Unfortunately, Zhuan Ming possessed no soul path artifacts.
His only option was to create wills and fight directly.
If he had been free to move, he could have used the soul cleansing pills he had recently obtained from the inheritance.
But at the moment, he was trapped.
The process of forming wills was slow because his soul had yet to fully materialize.
Even so, he managed to create three large wills and over one thousand smaller ones.
Each contained fragments of soul energy.
Knowing he could not delay any longer, Zhuan Ming launched his attack.
The Qi Pill Ancestor laughed.
"So the day has finally come."
"I always knew this arrangement would eventually fail."
"The heavens truly do hate me."
"But don't you think you're rushing things a little?"
"What makes you believe you possess the power to defeat me?"
"We'll find out soon enough."
Zhuan Ming launched ten small wills from different directions.
The old ancestor dodged every attack effortlessly before retaliating against Zhuan Ming's soul.
The familiar headaches returned immediately.
Ignoring the pain, Zhuan Ming continued following his plan.
Thirty wills attacked from below.
Fifty more attacked from the left.
As expected, the ancestor dodged toward the right.
Exactly where Zhuan Ming wanted him.
A large will shot forward and struck directly.
The ancestor staggered but survived.
"Did you truly think I was that weak?"
"I'm not falling for the same trick twice."
The old monster retaliated with devastating force.
Pain exploded throughout Zhuan Ming's mind.
His head felt as though it were splitting apart.
Still, he endured.
At the critical moment, Zhuan Ming launched another attack.
The wills closed in from every direction, leaving only one route of escape.
Downward.
However, the ancestor chose to charge through the side with the fewest wills, intending to tank the damage.
"As I said, I'm not falling for it again."
"Oh?"
Zhuan Ming smiled coldly.
Two giant wills descended upon him from above.
The attack struck directly.
When the dust settled, only a small fragment of the ancestor's soul remained.
But the battle was not over.
Outside, the entire gathering had fallen silent.
Everyone's attention had shifted toward Zhuan Ming.
Li Qingyue watched him anxiously, unsure what to do.
Then a powerful aura entered the room.
A peak Rank 4 cultivator had arrived.
The room immediately quieted.
His gaze swept across the scene before settling on the investigator.
"Brother Chen, may I ask why you are bullying one of my disciples?"
His voice was calm, but the pressure behind it was unmistakable.
"I ask that you release him immediately."
Brother Chen withdrew his hand.
He had found nothing suspicious during the soul search, though he still intended to keep Zhuan Ming on his list of suspects.
After all, he had come here searching for the two sons of an old friend who had recently disappeared.
That friend had once saved his life.
This investigation was his way of repaying that debt.
"My apologies for the disturbance."
He glanced toward Zhuan Ming, who remained motionless.
"Did I really cause this much damage?"
"At most, he should have a slight headache."
A trace of worry appeared on his face.
If he had injured one of the sect's greatest talents, compensation and punishment would surely follow.
Quickly, he retrieved three soul path pills.
One for cleansing.
One for healing.
One for strengthening.
Crushing them into powder, he carefully fed them to Zhuan Ming.
Inside his mind, however, the battle continued.
The ancestor's remaining soul fragment gathered every last bit of power it possessed.
"I may not be able to win today, but I can still cripple your future."
The soul compressed itself into a single point.
It intended to detonate itself against Zhuan Ming's soul barrier.
If successful, the damage could leave him mentally crippled or rob him of his memories.
Zhuan Ming had no way to stop it.
He could only prepare for impact.
The soul escaped his encirclement and rushed toward the outer layer of his mind.
Then suddenly—
An enormous amount of soul energy appeared.
Without hesitation, Zhuan Ming seized it.
Using the power of the soul pills, he reinforced his soul barrier and wrapped it tightly around the ancestor.
The soul exploded.
Most of the impact was absorbed.
Only minor injuries remained.
The wounds quickly began to heal under the effects of the pills.
Zhuan Ming finally relaxed.
Moments later, he opened his eyes.
To everyone else, it appeared as though he had simply awakened from a trance.
His expression remained as emotionless as ever.
"I'd like to step outside for some fresh air."
No one stopped him.
After he left, the sect leader turned toward Brother Chen.
"I hope that in the future, you seek the sect's permission before making such rash decisions."
His voice hardened.
"And do not forget whose guest you are."
The sect leader understood perfectly why the investigator had come.
But even if Zhuan Ming had truly been responsible for the deaths of those disciples, he could not have cared less.
Talent was talent.
And Zhuan Ming possessed talent that appeared perhaps once every several generations.
The last disciple to win all three competitions had appeared sixty years ago.
He had belonged to the Blazing Steel Sect.
Today, he served as the general of their armies.
Losing Zhuan Ming was not an option.