Li Yingling propped her chin on one hand, lightly toying with the information jade slip in her fingers.
After a moment, this senior sister who had already built quite a reputation in the East Victory Divine Continent could not help but let out a soft sigh.
Sure enough, compared to herself, this fifth junior brother was far better at stirring things up.
It seemed that Cui Hao had genuinely earned the trust of the other side. They had even begun assigning him actual tasks — such as managing the trial product's experiment schedule.
Infiltrating the evil cultivator organization, absorbing its members, sowing chaos among local powers so Donggua could exploit every crack — and relaying intelligence outward.
Basically, everything that could be dumped on Cui Hao had been dumped on Cui Hao.
And naturally, all of these tasks had fallen without question onto Li Yingling — the senior sister currently in charge of providing backup support.
Back then, they had agreed that Cui Hao could turn to the senior sister only if he encountered something he truly could not handle.
She never imagined that "something he truly could not handle" would turn out to be so frequent.
After all, as capable as Cui Hao was, he was still only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Many of the missions he was being sent on seemed, in Li Yingling's eyes, like they were designed to get him killed halfway through.
Most of these tasks were not particularly difficult for Li Yingling herself.
The real challenge lay in executing them in a way that was reasonable and left no exploitable holes.
But rather than actually completing the missions as given, she had a better idea — she would become the one assigning them.
If they needed to control an evil cultivator organization, then Li Yingling would simply use Taidao Sect's resources to create one for Cui Hao to infiltrate.
Since the entire organization would be their own people anyway, he could operate however he pleased.
The guiding principle was simple: whatever you need, your senior sister will provide.
The trial product program that Donggua was currently running even had actual cultivators from Taidao Sect and Tianyan Sect studying it in earnest.
And these people were nominally under Donggua's command.
The latest progress reports went first to their master, second-hand to Li Yingling, and third-hand to Cui Hao.
Donggua herself only received the most outdated intelligence.
But even the stale scraps Donggua was getting seemed to her like breathtaking progress.
The organization Donggua now nominally commanded was, for all practical purposes, entirely their own people.
It was less that Donggua had absorbed the organization and more that the organization was about to absorb Donggua.
The trusted aides around Donggua were all their people as well.
Unless Donggua saw something with her own eyes, everything else was essentially whatever story Cui Hao wanted to spin.
The only problem was that some of those spun stories occasionally had to be made real — and that was pure torture for the senior sister.
Li Yingling made up her mind. Once this operation was over, she would let her increasingly smug fifth junior brother experience the full force of the senior sister's accumulated frustration and rage.
"Leader! Leader!" Zhang Miaoyu's voice came from outside the door.
Since the door was closed, her voice stopped there, followed by a gentle knock and her reminder.
"It is me — your Zhang Miaoyu."
Li Yingling's eyes brightened. She raised a hand and used a pulse of spiritual energy to open the door, looking out at Zhang Miaoyu.
"It has been a while. You look more put-together than before."
Zhang Miaoyu's expression drooped slightly as she stepped closer.
"Leader, are you mocking me for living in comfort? That is only because you never brought me along."
Li Yingling gently rolled the jade slip between her fingers and raised an eyebrow.
"Is that not because I wanted you to focus on your cultivation and make up the gaps in your foundation? You do not want to spend your whole life peaking at Nascent Soul, do you?"
"What you need right now is not more field experience — it is dedicated cultivation. With Master in the sect, many things will be arranged for you."
Zhang Miaoyu could only look slightly aggrieved at these words.
She walked over to her leader's side and, with practiced familiarity, picked up the nearby teapot to refill a cup that was only half full.
Li Yingling could only chuckle and shake her head.
"Alright — I did bring you here this time. You will have plenty to keep you busy."
Zhang Miaoyu's expression grew slightly uncertain. She spoke in a small, uneasy voice.
"Leader, before coming here, I visited Fuyao Immortal Pavilion. Daozi Yuyang was there, and even a core disciple from Xuanqing Heavenly Sect was working on the same matters."
"The way they talked... it all seemed so far above me. With my third-rate Golden Core cultivation... can I really handle something this important?"
Li Yingling said nothing. She simply handed Zhang Miaoyu the jade slip she had just finished reading.
This type of jade slip was a Tianyan Sect specialty. The spiritual energy circuits inside could only reveal their content when traced in the correct pattern.
They sold for quite a lot on the open market, but for Tianyan Sect, they were essentially mass-produced — every novice artifact refiner made dozens of them during training.
Zhang Miaoyu carefully took it and read the contents.
A moment later, her expression shifted from self-doubt to utter bewilderment.
The jade slip's contents read: "Sabotage Second Junior Brother's plan. Let him show his face, take a few hits. The request must be reasonable, leave credible traces, and withstand scrutiny. Donggua's desire for revenge is extreme — truly terrifying. This woman is dangerous and cannot be allowed to linger!"
What on earth was this?
Li Yingling spoke with calm resignation.
"No matter how grand the undertaking, it is always built from one small task after another. It is through one small task after another that great progress is made. Have some confidence."
"But do not be fooled by how simple the letter sounds. If you only care about the outcome, then yes, it is simple. Leaving behind traces that are both reasonable and withstand scrutiny — that is the hard part."
"Your timing is actually quite fortunate. You will be the one responsible for picking a fight with Second Junior Brother."
"You have been cultivating for years, and the rumors outside the East Victory Divine Continent all say that you offended so many people with your loose tongue that you were beaten half to death."
"This time, let us build you some actual reputation."
Zhang Miaoyu fell silent at these words. Then she gave a heavy, firm nod.
She never imagined that she — the one who used to spread rumors — would now have rumors spread about her.
Inside a modest farming courtyard.
Cui Hao shoved the door open without ceremony, paying no attention to Donggua, who sat at the desk with a jade slip in hand and brows deeply furrowed.
He spoke as though he owned the place.
"I am absolutely exhausted. Everything falls on me, day in and day out."
Donggua's voice was cold.
"Did it not occur to you to knock before coming in?"
Cui Hao scoffed and plopped himself down on a nearby table, his tone languid.
"Knock for what? The only thing you haven't had me do is warm your bed. Everything else is already my job. What could you possibly need to hide from me?"
Donggua was momentarily at a loss for words. For a moment, she did not know how to respond.
In truth, the early tasks she had assigned Cui Hao had been mostly time-consuming but relatively safe.
After all, keeping Lin Luoyu in check depended entirely on Cui Hao staying alive and well.
She just never expected that Cui Hao — for all his punchable face — would turn out to be so remarkably competent at getting things done.
No matter the task, he could immediately identify the best angle of approach and execute it with breathtaking efficiency.
From skimming spirit stones and delivering messages, all the way to recruiting people, assigning work, and pulling strings in the shadows.
He was flawless. Not a single misstep.
She had assumed Cui Hao would be dead weight dragging them down.
She never imagined he would turn out to be a first-rate operator.
Sometimes Donggua found herself genuinely dazed by it.
Could Cui Hao be some kind of Child of Heaven — someone whose every wish simply came true?
She had assumed Lin Luoyu would be the top-tier assistant.
But not even in her wildest dreams did Donggua expect this.
Cui Hao was a genuine top-tier talent.
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