After finalizing his plans with Fenyi, he finally dropped by his grandfather's office. He nodded his head at the guards, who easily let him pass, before he knocked on the door three times.
Before long, a voice streamed out of the room, deep and imposing.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Grandpa Huang Li. I've come to tell you about some things."
After a few seconds, another voice sounded from inside the room, but this time it was much softer in tone.
"Come inside, child. I've been waiting for you for quite a while."
After getting confirmation from his grandfather, he instantly opened the door to the room and looked across the office, seeing the familiar bookshelves filled with all sorts of scrolls and miscellaneous books, the table for catering to guests, and the soft sparkle of the sunlight as it seeped into the room.
The last time I was here was when I learned about Mother…
He forced himself not to think about those things as he bowed his head in respect.
"This child, Huang Shi, pays his respect to Grandpa Huang."
Huang Li had a kind and elderly smile on his face as he nodded his head gently, before walking out from behind his desk and rubbing his grandson's head.
"Sit. We have lots to talk about."
After sitting across from each other and preparing some tea and snacks for both of them, Huang Li sat back and looked at this grandson of his, who had changed dramatically just a couple of weeks ago, as tears once again seemed to drop from his eyelids.
Qian'er, I hope you will be happy up there if you see this...
After subtly wiping away any traces of his tears using his spiritual energy, Huang Li opened his mouth to speak.
"So, how was your training in the Greenwood Forest? Was it effective?"
Huang Shi instantly perked up as he nodded his head. He then started to reveal the true extent of his cultivation, absent the hiding function that was used by his system at all times.
BOOM!
A powerful spiritual energy aura erupted forth from his body, causing the entire room to tremble. Not only that, but it seemed as if the spiritual energy isolation formation that Huang Li had used on the room even showed signs of breaking.
"Y-you're already at the 4th level of the Nascent Profound Realm? How is that possible?"
Huang Li had his jaw wide open as he extended his hand to touch his grandson's head once more, feeling for himself the current strength of his cultivation base. What he found caused even more shock to seep into his heart.
"How is the density of your spiritual energy this high? This kind of spiritual energy density does not seem like a 4th-level Nascent Profound Realm cultivator at all!"
Huang Shi's golden eyes flashed as he gave a proud smile, before replying to his grandfather's question with confidence.
"My battle prowess is a lot higher than the 4th level of the Nascent Profound Realm, Grandfather! In fact, at this rate, I probably have a high chance of winning the Azure Dragon Sect Martial Arts Competition!"
Huang Li's expression changed as he started to shake. He lowered his hand and asked with a trembling voice:
"Is that true? Can you really do that, Shi'er?"
Huang Shi nodded his head, giving a swift reply.
"That's right. This means that our plan has a chance of succeeding if we are able to get at least two of the other halls of the Azure Dragon Sect to support our cause! My suggestion is that we start trying to talk to the Grand Elders of the Alchemy and Medicine Halls."
Huang Li thought about it for a few seconds before nodding his head decisively, agreeing with the decision as he opened his mouth to speak.
"The leaders of the Medicine Hall and the Alchemy Hall are Grand Elders Qiao Qinghe and Huang Yuhan. Both of them are True Profound Realm elders and hold significant power within the sect..."
Huang Shi paused when he heard this information, as he now had ahold of two more of the names that held true power within the sect.
Grand Elder Huang Mo of the Disciplinary Hall, Grand Elder Qiao Qinghe of the Medicine Hall, Grand Elder Huang Yuhan of the Alchemy Hall, Yan Fei's grandmother, Grand Elder Yan Meiling of the Missions Hall, and my grandfather, Huang Li, of the Information Hall.
Not only does our Huang Family control the Sect Leader position, making it a hereditary title, but two of the five factions within the Azure Dragon Sect are controlled by our Huang Family—the Disciplinary and Information Halls—not to mention the Spirit Profound ancestor of our sect is of the Huang Family.
No wonder the previous me was so spoiled despite being such a piece of shit... our Huang Family can basically cover the sky with a single hand in the Azure Dragon Sect.
After thinking through the information he had for a few more moments, he then looked back up at his grandfather as he asked a question.
"Grandpa, is Grand Elder Qiao Qinghe of the Medicine Hall related to Qiao Fenyi here in the Information Hall?"
Huang Li nodded his head, his expression shifting into a grimace.
"That's right. Qiao Qinghe is the biological grandfather of Qiao Fenyi. In fact, most of Qiao Fenyi's love for alchemy and pill-making came from her grandfather. However, something changed between them when Qiao Fenyi's mother died during the purge of the Disciplinary Hall that year."
Huang Shi paused, his expression full of shock. Clearly, he hadn't expected that Qiao Fenyi's mother was also one of the women who died in the bloodbath caused by the Azure Dragon Sect's Disciplinary Hall under the orders of the True Dragon Ancestral Sect.
No wonder Qiao Fenyi left the protection of her grandfather back in the Medicine Hall and opted to join the Information Hall instead. She must be holding some form of resentment against her grandfather for not being able to protect her mother.