Chapter 654 - 385: The Middle-Ground Strategy for Settling and Stabilizing Relationships

The Celestial Net Umbrella is in hand, He Kao asked, "Now that the magical treasure is with me, what if the Xiao Alliance comes to you for it?"Hu Weidong laughed, "As long as I’m alive, you can use it for as long as you want. If I die, the Xiao Alliance might try to retrieve my belongings, but that would be of no concern to me.

I’ve also studied it a bit. This Celestial Net Umbrella, though it appears tangible, is actually an Invisible Artifact. Judging by its mysterious use, it should belong to the Hidden Moth Sect from ancient times..."

His words carried Divine Thought, coincidentally explaining the artifact management system of the Xiao Alliance.

This system was initially similar to that of the Magic Sect. The Ancestral Hall stipulated that the Sect Magical Artifacts of major magic sects could be granted to high-tier sorcerers in the sect for use, but this only granted usage rights, not ownership rights.

Sect artifacts cannot be sold or gifted to others, and even if granted to disciples, formal processes must be followed within the sect, with registration, and private transfers are not allowed.

If any artifact is damaged or lost, the situation must be clarified and appropriate penalties imposed.

After a disciple’s death, their successors are responsible for returning the sect artifacts they held to the Artifact Pavilion. If there are no successors, designated fellow disciples take charge.

This is for long-term possession, there is also a situation for short-term use.

If a disciple needs a certain magical treasure for a sect mission, they can apply, and upon approval, it can be registered and checked out. After use, it must be returned to the Artifact Pavilion for storage.

The artifact management system of the Xiao Alliance was initially similar to the above, but later on, some subtle changes occurred as there were continuous efforts to reform.

The reasons sounded plausible; having so many artifacts collecting dust in storage is a huge waste. It’s better to distribute them to contributing disciples and allow free circulation within the organization.

They will naturally circulate to places where they are most needed, thus maximizing their value!

What does circulation mean? It means they can be gifted or sold. The only reason it’s limited to within the organization is that artifacts are so special that only high-tier sorcerers can use them, others wouldn’t be able to.

This suggestion received support from many, but also faced opposition.

The opposition mainly believed that an organization must have sufficient reserves to handle any emergencies, providing stronger control power.

During the era when Water and later Arthur were in power, this system underwent significant changes.

The Xiao Alliance still maintains specially reserved storage, but the artifacts already distributed are essentially private possessions.

The holder can personally bestow them upon their disciples, or gift or pass them to other members within the Xiao Alliance, just needing to register with the organization.

In other words, the holder effectively has the right of disposal and can designate successors, but the inheritance and transfer can only occur within the organization.

Typically, only when the holder dies without a qualified designated successor, the alliance will retrieve the artifact.

Hence, when Hu Weidong requested the Celestial Net Umbrella, it seemed a bit troublesome. The Supreme Council ultimately decided to let the original holder, Hailari, choose another magical treasure from the storage, essentially trading the Celestial Net Umbrella from Hailari’s hands in an exchange.

He Kao looked at the Celestial Net Umbrella and said, "Now that this item is in hand, is everything as expected?"

Hu Weidong replied without change of expression, "I volunteered to represent the Xiao Alliance in the duel with Kang Rulin. Also, regarding the information on the Magic Mirror you asked me to find out, I’ve tried my best to clarify..."

He relayed the information about the Magic Mirror, and He Kao smiled contentedly. It appears that this time there were great gains. It can now be confirmed that the Magic Mirror in Mei Lin’s hands is indeed the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror, the lost Sect’s Sacred Artifact of the Observing Body Sect.

Although it was suspected earlier, there is a difference between suspicion and confirmation.

He Kao: "Well done! Let’s proceed according to the original plan, if any unexpected changes arise, I will notify you immediately, Senior Brother."

...

The next afternoon, Mei Guyu was working at her desk when she suddenly received Divine Thought from across the office from He Kao: "Junior Sister, how about taking a day off to visit the United States the day after tomorrow?"

Without looking up, Mei Guyu continued her work, responding with Divine Thought as well, "Don’t think I don’t know; the day after tomorrow is the day of the duel between the Xiao Alliance and the Stone Gang. What are you up to?"

He Kao: "It’s rare to have such high-level individuals publicly dueling, why not go and see the spectacle?"

Mei Guyu: "I don’t enjoy being part of the crowd."

He Kao, reluctantly, confessed the truth: "Elder Gu Chun, on behalf of the Ancestral Hall, entrusted me with secretly supporting Kang Rulin in Luoshan City, and I’m worried that I might not be able to handle any unforeseen problems."

Mei Guyu pursed her lips and smiled: "If you put it that way, I can accompany you, but since Elder Kang is participating in the duel as a private individual, we too should be going as private individuals just to have fun; it has nothing to do with the Ancestral Hall or the Magic Sect."

He Kao: "Understood, of course, it’s unrelated!"

...

On the day of the duel, He Kao and Mei Guyu first arrived at the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, avoiding the eyes of the Hidden Moth Sect disciples. Of course, they would not take a transcontinental international flight; the most convenient way was to use the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven as a "transfer."

He Kao: "Before we head out, let’s disguise ourselves so that those guys won’t recognize us."

Saying that he wiped his face with his hand, instantly transforming into another person, with a somewhat slender figure, and even appeared a few centimeters shorter, looking like a delicate youth not quite twenty years old.

This was the marvelous use of the Hidden Moth Gauze, Mei Guyu frowned and looked at him in surprise for a long time, hesitantly asking, "Who have you transformed into? He seems familiar to me."

He Kao smiled and said, "You probably haven’t seen a True Man, but it’s possible you might have seen someone similar."

A flash of insight seemed to strike Mei Guyu’s mind, and she spoke up, "Ancestor Master Huailin Zhao Sanjin! The former Sect Leader of the Observing Body Sect, I’ve seen his portrait, and this is exactly how you look... Why did you transform into his likeness?"

He Kao: "Just for convenience, and if possible, to frighten people a bit."

Mei Guyu had seen a portrait at least from when Zhao Sanjin was seventy years old. But the demeanor of a Great Success Cultivator reflects their mindset, indicating Zhao Sanjin must have been very young when he achieved Great Success Cultivation, maintaining a youthful mindset for many years thereafter.

What’s intriguing is that Zhao Sanjin’s appearance from years ago bears a vague resemblance to that of a high school student in his current transformation.

Mei Guyu: "You’ve disguised yourself well, what about me?"

He Kao: "Don’t worry, I’ve prepared ahead, no one will recognize you!"

Saying this, he pulled out a bundle of silk-like material from his backpack and threw it over Mei Guyu... why the sudden sneak attack?

This moment shows the trust and understanding between the two; Mei Guyu didn’t dodge or evade, only looked on with three parts surprise and seven parts interest.

The material transformed into a mist-like state, enveloped Mei Guyu’s figure, and condensed into a peculiar long robe, reaching the ground, complete with a hood and veil.

Mei Guyu exclaimed, "What’s this Magical Artifact?"

He Kao: "This item is called the Celestial Net Umbrella..."

Mei Guyu: "Why didn’t you just give it to me outright? Why make it look so strange?"

He Kao: "This is an Invisible Artifact. I felt inspired and had an itch to refine it anew, thinking how to tailor it for my junior sister’s use... I think it fits quite well, doesn’t look weird, does it?"

Mei Guyu: "Not weird? I feel like a Dementor from the movies!"

The primary function of the Celestial Net Umbrella is protection; it can also be used to conceal one’s figure and aura, reminiscent of the invisibility cloak from a magic novel. Inspired by this, He Kao refined it from a handkerchief shape into the form of a robe.

This robe tightly wraps Mei Guyu completely, indeed resembling a movie Dementor, but instead of being grey-black, it is a deep cyan, between sapphire blue and pure black.

Its material is extremely light and form-fitting, the hem flows like smoke and mist on the ground, with sleeves also long and wide.

The most unique part is its hood, with a veil draped in front, obscuring the face and collecting the aura...

He Kao wanted to laugh but held back due to his superb cultivation, maintaining a serious expression as he said, "Nonsense, where can you find such beautiful Dementors?"

You really can’t say otherwise, this robe enveloping Mei Guyu reveals her graceful figure faintly, exuding a mysterious appeal, and through the veil, her face is hidden, yet seems to inspire endless imagination.

At this moment, Mei Guyu’s expression is not visible; she merely uttered a soft hum, "You’re quite the talker, let’s go!"

She didn’t mention if the "clothes" were unappealing nor planned to change style or take them off, perhaps due to lack of time, after opening the portal, they appeared in an unfamiliar place.

Mei Guyu: "Is this a classroom?"

He Kao: "Shi Family Academy, the students are just on summer vacation, no one’s around."

In contrast to the tall buildings in the city center, this area hardly has any high-rise structures, even four-story buildings are rare. They’re located on the third floor, overlooking most of the Stone District from the window.

On the surveillance set up by He Kao beforehand, they can see the situation on the duel grounds. Of course, with their cultivation level, they can manage even without surveillance equipment.

The duel ground is not within the Stone District but near its northeastern edge on the outskirts. There’s an open space there, without any roads passing through, surrounded by scattered trees growing on small hills, which have been simply cleared.

The inside of the Stone District seems unaffected as people go about their jobs or rest, but the upper tiers of the Stone Gang have mostly gone to watch the duel.

They did not approach the duel site firsthand but chose a high ground on the Stone District side to watch from afar. The Xiao Alliance, of course, also sent people, taking up a position in another direction to observe.

It’s a one-on-one duel, the spectators are quite distant.

The duel was scheduled for noon, yet Kang Rulin arrived an hour early. He stood on the open ground, arms crossed behind his back, eyes slightly closed as if nourishing energy and gathering strength, indifferent to the gazes of onlookers.

He wore a gray long trench coat, appeared to be carrying no weapons, looking about fifty or sixty years old, with the breeze occasionally moving his graying hair, his demeanor as still as ancient wells.

Before this duel, Kang Rulin had received word from the Ancestral Hall that a master would guard the duel from the shadows today, to prevent external factors from affecting the duel outcome, all under a private capacity, unrelated to the Magic Sect.

Kang Rulin didn’t know who the guard was, but he sincerely hoped there’d be no need for the individual’s intervention.

Regarding the duel’s outcome, Kang Rulin was somewhat confident due to Elder Gu Chun privately informing him that the coordinator of this guard had arranged a plan to strive for the most favorable result for both sides.

Kang Rulin was quite puzzled, who could orchestrate such arrangements when Elder Jiang was in seclusion?

Now it depends on the upcoming instance; if it matches what Elder Gu Chun described, it would indicate proper arrangements, suggesting the coordinator behind this is quite extraordinary, with both duelists indebted to this individual’s favor.

**