"As for anyone who fits the bill—the more the better, naturally," Dr. Glasses said with a smile.

"And after that?" Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming exchanged a glance. Though they had swallowed the Center's pills and become members of the Center, the two of them still knew next to nothing about it—let alone what the Center intended to do.

"What comes after can wait till after. Rest easy—you'll get your chance at revenge," Dr. Glasses said soothingly.

"Understood." Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming shared no particular bond, and their temperaments were polar opposites. Yet in that moment the same thought rose unbidden in both their minds: since revenge was out of the question for now, they would wait for the Primordial Trials. Surely that would not tip anyone off.

Dr. Glasses added a few more warnings, then let the two go about their business, secretly delighted.

Step two of the Primordial Plan had so far gone unexpectedly smoothly. Not only had they secured Brother Dafeng as an "inside man," but they had also gained two fine Gold Core hands in Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming—Bing Wushuang especially, who suited him perfectly. With talent like this beneath him, great things were within reach!

Little did they know, every move they made was crystal clear to Wei Zhao up in the heavens—no secret was secret at all.

"This approach seems to be in the same rut as Si Haitao's back then," Wei Zhao could not help but muse. Though he did not know the exact details, he could more or less piece it together: Si Haitao on Cloud Terrace Island had likely pledged himself to the Center in just this way. He had never expected that the Center's people in the mortal world would go about things in the same rut as Cloud Terrace Island.

What truly astonished Wei Zhao, however, were those two pills. To think they could have such terrifying effects—it was simply inconceivable. Even if, as Bing Wushuang said, taking them was in fact burning through one's potential, even so, this was a remarkable thing indeed!

Not even by Wei Zhao's standards was this an exception—he could not help but marvel that the Center was truly no trifling matter.

Back then, Xu Lingchong and his lot had shot up in strength at a frightening pace. Wei Zhao had racked his brains over it and never understood—but now, after seeing the living examples of Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming, everything became clear at once.

These people had most likely taken this very kind of pill. On the surface they were still disciples of the Threefold Pavilion of North Island, but behind the scenes they had long since become the Center's lackeys.

The more he thought about it, the more even Wei Zhao could not help drawing a sharp breath. The Center's power had not only reached Cloud Terrace Island through the Central Merchants' Guild; in secret it had extended into every sect. There were people in the Threefold Pavilion of North Island, so there were certainly people in other sects too—perhaps they even secretly controlled a few sects outright. It was impossible to guard against!

Once he returned to Cloud Terrace Island, it seemed he ought to have a serious talk with the bigwigs like Shangguan Tianxia. They had to take precautions, or once the Center's hidden forces grew too entrenched to uproot, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But all that would have to wait. Having confirmed the Center's people's plans, Wei Zhao knew there was no need to keep watching in secret. For the time being the Center was only making small moves that could not stand the light of day; it would be enough to warn Xin Yi'an to be a little on guard.

As for launching a counterattack against the Center, that notion flashed through Wei Zhao's mind only briefly before he dismissed it.

It was not that it could not be done. If Xin Yi'an gathered all the disciples of the Primordial sects, and with Lin Dongfang lending his strength besides, Wei Zhao was confident enough of dealing with Dr. Glasses and his crew—even with the two Gold Core hands Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming among them.

But that was a poor strategy, pure and simple. It would not only tip their hand, but more importantly, the Center had so far made no open show of hostility toward the Primordial Alliance. Whether it was Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming or Jing Taiyang and the others, they had only pledged themselves to the Center in secret. Until there was substantive action, no one would believe they had completely betrayed the Primordial Alliance—not even Xin Yi'an, their nominal leading uncle-master. Under such circumstances there was no grounds to move against them directly.

So Wei Zhao decided to hold his hand for the time being. The archipelago was not large, after all; any stir at all could easily be detected. As long as Xin Yi'an's side kept a careful watch, there should be no problem.

His decision made, Wei Zhao promptly returned to the small island reserved for the Cangwu Sect of North Island. Finding a deserted spot, he recondensed his primordial-spirit body, and only then reappeared before everyone.

"Uncle-Master, you're back!" The first to see him was none other than Xin Yi'an. These days, since practically all the trial disciples of the Primordial sects had come of their own accord to the archipelago for secluded cultivation, he, the nominal leading uncle-master, had almost nothing to do—at most he spent each day giving pointers to those few prospective disciples.

"Mm. Nothing much has happened lately, I trust?" Wei Zhao asked casually. In fact, he had already heard about that earlier commotion while his primordial-spirit avatar was out searching; asking now was merely a formality.

"Uh, well, something did happen, actually—but it turned out all right in the end, and we weren't the ones who came off worse." Xin Yi'an's expression was somewhat odd as he recounted the earlier commotion to Wei Zhao, then could not resist asking, "Uncle-Master, just what realm is that Senior Lin Dongfang in?"

The question had been nagging at him for a long time. Ever since the day he saw Lin Dongfang make his move, he had been wondering: just how strong was this homegrown expert of the mortal world? Mid-stage Gold Core? Or stronger still—perhaps even an old monster of the Nascent Soul?

Either way, to be able to bully Bing Wushuang into such a state, Lin Dongfang's strength was surely unfathomable—certainly not something a mere early-stage Gold Core expert like himself would dare treat lightly.

"That, I don't know either. He's quite strong, anyway." Wei Zhao's answer was noncommittal. Quite apart from the fact that he genuinely did not know, even if he had, he could never lightly divulge the secret of Lin Dongfang's cultivation realm to outsiders. He promptly changed the subject. "By the way, I discovered something on this trip out. As the leading uncle-master of the mortal-world trials, you had best pay attention."

"What is it?" Xin Yi'an was taken aback.

"There's an organization in the mortal world called the Center, and it's already set its sights on your Primordial Alliance. They want to secretly turn those Primordial Alliance disciples who harbor resentment. Some have already been brought under control. I think you had best be on your guard, lest the matter blow up beyond salvage." Wei Zhao's expression turned grave as he gave the warning.

"That can't be, surely? A mortal-world organization daring to set its sights on our Primordial Alliance?" Xin Yi'an found it hard to believe. As he understood it, even if the mortal world occasionally produced top-tier figures like Wei Zhao and Lin Dongfang, that ultimately could not change the fact that its spiritual qi was so thin as to be outrageous! (To be continued.)