Mei Chao Bing’s expression turned grave. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known that his Master had kidnapped Yun Bei Fen to threaten him but knowing and being told were still two very different concepts. He gritted his teeth, his hatred for his Master only rising. “You don’t need to remind me.” He furled the scrolls again and handed them back to Lei Chen. Anyway, he couldn’t use them for anything other than trying to understand the situation better and he was sure that he had already extracted all the relevant knowledge from it.
Looking from that mysterious Elder to his Master, he finally put away his anger and focused on business again. “Since you want me to practice, then tell me how. Believe me, I don’t take this lightly.”
Feng Bai Xiao had no doubt about this. Even though he had felt exasperated when Elder Baili’s youngest disciple entangled Yun Bei Fen back then and had wished to just drive the brat off so Mei Chao Bing would focus on his cultivation and reach a suitable level sooner, he had also realized his worth early on.
He had raised all of his disciples strictly. With Qu Yijun and the other disciples of his generation, things had worked perfectly and each of them obeyed every one of his words. It was a pity that he had inherited too little of the Lin family’s constitution to be able to play the vital role in his plan he needed him for.
As for the others, well, it wasn’t like all of his disciples were descendants of the Lin family. There were few of them in this world and he had, in fact, only managed to find three of them despite his long search. His other disciples were not much more than a foil so nobody would have doubts about his goal. Well, of course, they were also useful in their own right. After all, apart from the transformation of the energy, it was very much possible to support them in other ways.
It was a pity that their especially strict upbringing had also caused some concern among the other Elders. Obviously, these disciples didn’t have that firm of a grasp on the sect’s values. They were ruthless and loners unless it came to the other disciples of Feng Bai Xiao that they had been raised with. Everyone felt that there was a risk they might turn even against the disciples of the same sect if conflict arose so he was advised endlessly not to be too strict with them.
In the next generation, he had to go slightly easier on the new additions so this wouldn’t repeat itself and become the detail that finally tripped him up. This way, he could just pretend that he had wanted too much as a newly-minted Elder who was now in the position to teach disciples. Apart from Qu Yijun, he had the others lay low, only occasionally having them go out on missions with others or show their faces around the sect. The rest of the time was dedicated to cultivation or the missions he gave them himself to further his plan.
Seeing as he was indeed treating the next generation of disciples more humanely, the other Elders shut up even though they still seemed to think that he was too strict. To be honest, while Feng Bai Xiao knew that this had been the best decision at the time, he had also felt annoyed. Because of the interference from others, he also hadn’t dared to expose anything about the Wu Yun Sect or his plan to this new generation of disciples. That left him with fewer people to use for the preparation of his plan. He could only slowly observe and then choose a few that were malleable later on. But the trust between him and those disciples couldn’t reach the same height as that of the ones from the first generation.
Later, he had the pleasant surprise of finding Mu Qing, another descendant of the Lin family. He painstakingly taught him but didn’t dare to make his affiliation with the demonic faction obvious. Still, his requirements for this person’s allegiance to him were naturally higher compared to other disciples.
Unfortunately, Mu Qing fell in love with Xi Ju Hai. Even though he as his Master tried to forbid him, this was the one time Mu Qing was stubborn and rebelled. He simply couldn’t see how this relationship could impact everything since he wasn’t aware of the plan that was being carried out behind the scenes.
At that time, Feng Bai Xiao truly regretted not being more open with him. He couldn’t change it any longer but he also wouldn’t give up on making use of Mu Qing. He finally allowed the relationship but kept a close eye on it. Finally, he forced Mu Qing to leave the sect, letting him know the full truth.
Watching as this disciple of his broke down, torn between the woman he loved and the loyalty to the man who had saved his life and taught him everything he knew, he suddenly had an epiphany: In fact, this wasn’t that bad either. While he had made that first generation of disciples obey him without a second thought, they really drew too much attention. Mu Qing was different. He was a beloved senior for many who was dearly missed after his untimely ‘departure’ from this world. He was also incredibly easy to control by relying on his feelings for Xi Ju Hai.
Naturally, when he took in Mei Chao Bing who seemed to have inherited the most of the Lin family’s constitution, Feng Bai Xiao was even more concerned. His requirements were just as strict as they had been with Qu Yijun and he tried to expose a little here and there. It was a pity that this child adhered to the rules of the righteous side and didn’t follow what he wanted. Still, Heaven had eyes and sent that brat to Elder Baili’s valley who somehow managed to catch Mei Chao Bing’s eyes. With this … was there still a need to worry that this disciple wouldn’t do as he wanted him to? Well, as time had proven, there truly wasn’t. Looking at these two now, he felt gratified that everything had worked out this way.