163: surrender?

Qin Manyang's eyes flickered, Xu Sanyan…

Was it the Xu Sanyan she knew?

Or purely a coincidence?

No, no, no,

Qin Manyang secretly shook her head, it wasn't like his name was Zhang Wei, how could there be so many people with the same name?

This Xu Sanyan must be the person she knew!

But wasn't he trapped in Da Gu Mountain? Has he come out?

No one had ever come out of Da Gu Mountain alive, yet he actually came out?

How did he get out?

And even joined the Saint Sect, becoming a Saint?

Qin Manyang pondered for a moment, wondering which lineage's Saint he was, and concluded he should be the Saint of the Blood Refinement Lineage, because she remembered that the Cultivation Technique Xu Sanyan Cultivated was The Supreme Truth and Serenity Scripture of Eliminating Illusion and Attaining Reality of the Blood Refinement Lineage.

Qin Manyang grew increasingly curious; she urgently wanted to know how Xu Sanyan escaped from Da Gu Mountain, and how he joined the Saint Sect and became a Saint.

With too many questions in her heart that she hoped to have answered, Qin Manyang could not wait another moment, so she shouted, “Shopkeeper, come out, no need to mail the letter.”

She wanted to go back herself.

…

Three days later, on the peak of Red Dragon Mountain, inside an Immortal Cave.

Xu Sanyan was flipping through the account books in his hand; all the transaction records of the various halls were written on them, but account books were the easiest things to fake.

For example, this sea flower tea, many people in the Sect enjoyed drinking it, but the Sect itself did not produce it, relying entirely on external purchases. If the person handling it made a slight adjustment to the figures, the amount would be off.

The accounts recorded a purchase of one thousand catties, but in reality, there were only nine hundred catties, yet the Spirit Stones spent were not a single cent less. Whose pocket did the missing one hundred catties go into?

Such instances were countless; merely looking at the accounts was useless.

Xu Sanyan was truly not skilled at these meticulous business dealings, and looking at them gave him a headache, so he casually tossed the ledger aside.

As a Saint, the Hall Master personally told him to manage all matters, big and small, on Red Dragon Mountain, so he naturally had the right to examine the accounts. He looked at them, but couldn't discern anything.

Xu Sanyan rubbed his temples, picked up the teacup, and took a sip. As expected of sea flower tea, it was truly fragrant.

He also loved to drink it.

Liu Tang diligently reviewed the accounts of the Affairs Hall, gaining a general understanding of the Affairs Hall's authority.

Xu Sanyan turned to look at Xiang Tan beside him, and after a brief ponder, said, “Announce that a Disciple competition will be held in three days. All those below Foundation Establishment can participate. The top five will be taken under my wing, with the first place receiving a reward of one thousand Spirit Stones and a top-grade Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique, the second place nine hundred, and so on.”

“At that time, I will go to observe the battles.”

This was Xu Sanyan's advantage; as a Saint, he had the authority to mobilize many resources on Red Dragon Mountain. Such competitions helped in selecting excellent talents, and it was reasonable and compliant. Even if it reached the Hall Master, he wasn't afraid.

He intended to use his authority to gradually increase his prestige.

The Outer Sect Disciple competition was just the first step; the next step would be the Foundation Establishment Disciple competition.

“Yes.” Xiang Tan nodded in agreement, then stood up and left.

Xu Sanyan casually tossed the saint child token to Chu Yuan, “Take this token and go to the Internal Affairs Hall to withdraw ten thousand Spirit Stones.”

Chu Yuan froze, holding the token, not moving. Xu Sanyan looked at her sideways, “What's wrong?”

Chu Yuan hesitated, “Senior Brother Xu, the Elder of the Internal Affairs Hall is from Elder Wu's faction. Will he agree?”

Xu Sanyan secretly shook his head. This Chu Yuan's execution ability was a bit lacking, and her work capacity was also insufficient. He would replace her with someone else later.

“Just go.”

“Yes.” Chu Yuan left.

As a Saint, he naturally had the right to withdraw Spirit Stones from Red Dragon Mountain. Of the one million Spirit Stones flowing annually, the Sect and the Hall Master took sixty percent, Elder Wu and his group shared thirty percent, and the remaining ten percent stayed in the Internal Affairs Hall for contingencies.

Xu Sanyan couldn't, and dared not, scheme for the Spirit Stones belonging to the Sect and the Hall Master. He was currently vying for the portion belonging to the various Elders, but he could freely withdraw the portion in the Internal Affairs Hall.

Xu Sanyan speculated that after so many years of accumulation, the Internal Affairs Hall should have quite a surplus.

However, reality was quite the opposite; Chu Yuan returned empty-handed.

Xu Sanyan raised his eyebrows, “Didn't get it?”

Chu Yuan moved her lips, her head bowed, saying, “Elder Qian said that all the Spirit Stones in the Internal Affairs Hall were used to repair Red Dragon Mountain's facilities and maintain various Formations, so there are no Spirit Stones left in the accounts…”

Just as Xu Sanyan was about to speak, he heard Liu Tang exclaim in delight from the side, “This old man congratulates the Saint!”

Xu Sanyan was puzzled, “What joy is there?”

“Hehe…” Liu Tang stroked his beard and smiled, saying with a hint of deeper meaning, “Isn't it a joyous occasion that the Internal Affairs Hall has no money?”

Xu Sanyan rested his arm against his head, and after a careful thought, he understood, and couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Liu Tang, “Indeed, Elder Liu is right.”

Every year, ten percent of Red Dragon Mountain's surplus was left on the mountain, managed by the Internal Affairs Hall. Even if calculated conservatively, it would be one hundred thousand Spirit Stones. No matter how large the expenses, it was impossible to use it all up. After several centuries, there was actually no surplus at all, which was simply abnormal.

Therefore, there was only one possibility: someone had reached out where they shouldn't have!

Chu Yuan returned the token with both hands, standing expectantly beside them. She hadn't understood the riddle they were speaking.

Xu Sanyan looked at Chu Yuan, “Go and invite Elder Xuan of the Discipline Hall. He will accompany me to the Internal Affairs Hall. I want to see what's going on.”

Just then, a voice came from outside the door, “This old man, Song Wuqiu, requests an audience with the Saint.”

Song Wuqiu?

What is he here for?

Xu Sanyan looked at Liu Tang in confusion. Liu Tang smiled, “If this old man's prediction is correct, Elder Song should be here to pledge his allegiance.”

“Previously, the Saint displayed great Divine Might, breaking through two realms in one day, which was astonishing. His prestige within the Sect is no less than that of Qi Liang or Tu Wanshan. All the Elders and Disciples praise the Saint as a rare talent seen only once in a century, so it is quite normal for someone to abandon darkness and come to the light.”

Liu Tang was very glad at this moment that he had the Wisdom Eye to recognize talent and was the first to pledge allegiance.

Among those currently under Xu Sanyan, he held the highest position. Although some Elders who came later had higher Cultivation, they could not freely enter and exit the Saint's Immortal Cave, but he could.

Xu Sanyan slowly nodded. He hadn't realized his prestige was already so high. He hadn't left his Immortal Cave since his Breakthrough.

Xu Sanyan said to Meng Zhuer, “Let him in.”

“Yes, Master.”

Song Wuqiu stepped into the hall and bowed, “Greetings, Saint.”

Xu Sanyan did not step forward to help him up. Instead, he picked up his teacup and took a sip, then picked up the ledger on the table, “The Corpse Blood Hall captured a total of one thousand three hundred and twenty-one Demonic Beasts last year, including seven fifth-tier and one hundred and thirty-six fourth-tier ones, selling for one hundred and twenty thousand Spirit Stones. Is there any falsehood in this?”

Song Wuqiu's thoughts raced. He didn't know whether to answer or not. If he told the truth, would Xu Sanyan let him go?

Or would he take this evidence and submit it to the Discipline Hall?

Song Wuqiu's heart was uneasy. He had completely unexpected this move and didn't know how to respond.

For a moment, the scene was exceptionally quiet. Xu Sanyan did not urge him, merely leisurely sipping his tea.