134: I'm just an undercover agent, how did I become the acting leader?

This fear actually suppressed his anger and gave rise to a very strange “inspiration.” He suddenly felt that he had comprehended some ultimate mystery of survival!

Thus, in everyone’s eyes, Lie Tianxiong’s face first flushed instantly, then turned ashen white.

Finally, a peculiar expression, a mixture of lingering fear, relief, and the smugness of “I’m so brilliant,” slowly appeared on his face.

He gently raised his hand and pressed it down, trying to imitate the demeanor of a certain reclusive master he remembered (he felt he was one at the moment). His movements carried a deliberately cultivated, self-important air of nonchalance as he slowly spoke.

“Cangyun…”

He even deliberately slowed and softened his voice, carrying a sense of superiority, “You mortals wouldn’t understand.” “Your feelings, this Sect Master… understands very well.”

He leaned slightly forward, his gaze sweeping over the Elders below, some angry, some bewildered, with a pitying look that said, “Everyone else is drunk, but I alone am sober.”

“But,”

He changed the subject, his tone suddenly profound, as if revealing some universal truth.

“Tiger’s might? Mere empty fame! What’s wrong with being criticized a few times? Will I lose a piece of flesh? No, I won’t!”

He raised his hand, his fingertips precisely pointing to the slightly purplish-blue bumps still visible on his forehead, his tone even carrying a hint of imperceptible showing off.

“Look! What is this? This is a lesson! It’s invaluable wisdom! It’s the supreme truth that this Sect Master exchanged with blood and tears, and even… uh… clothes!”

He suddenly stood up, his voice rising even higher, with a fervor akin to imparting Dao:

“This world! It’s very deep! There are always stronger individuals, and behind capable people, there are even more capable ones! We used to be too high-profile! Too arrogant! That’s why we repeatedly suffered losses! Repeatedly got… uh… setbacks!”

He slapped his thigh in anguish: “After much painful reflection! From now on, my Burning Heaven Palace will live a different way! What is true prestige? Living long, living for a long time, that is true prestige! Let others be arrogant, let them be! We, well, we need to be smarter!”

His gaze fixed intently on Grand Elder Yan Cangyun, as if to engrave this peerless Secret Manual into his mind: “Without eighty percent… no! Without ninety-nine percent certainty, absolutely do not act!

When we act, it must be an overwhelming victory! A single decisive blow! If we can’t beat them, we absolutely won’t provoke them! If we can’t afford to provoke them, we can afford to hide! This is called… strategic concealment! Yes, strategic concealment!”

Grand Elder Yan Cangyun listened to the Palace Master’s grand discourse, his old face flushed crimson, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally squeezed out a sentence: “Palace… Palace Master, this… this is perhaps too…”

“Too smart? Too profound?”

Lie Tianxiong immediately interrupted him, his “wise” smile practically overflowing. He even proudly raised his hand and stroked a non-existent beard in the Void Realm.

“Exactly! This is great wisdom! It is the Great Dao of Longevity that this Sect Master comprehended after enduring hardships! You will understand later! Cangyun, transmit my order!”

He puffed out his chest, his voice carrying an unquestionable decisiveness: “From this day forward, all Disciples of Burning Heaven Palace, stay low! Keep your tails between your legs! Without this Sect Master’s personal decree, no one is allowed to step out of the Sect gate by half a step!

Anyone who dares to go out and stir up trouble, bringing disaster to the Sect, don’t blame this Sect Master’s merciless Sect rules, I’ll strip him naked and hang him on the Sect gate to dry like a salted fish!”

He looked with satisfaction at the “shocked” expressions of the Grand Elder and the others, feeling that his enlightenment was absolutely brilliant, enough to be recorded in the Sect’s historical annals.

His gaze swept across the hall, finally landing on the Second Elder, who had a lean face and a calm demeanor, his eyes filled with unprecedented trust and… gratitude.

He cleared his throat, his tone becoming exceptionally solemn: “Cough cough… Everyone, although my Burning Heaven Palace has suffered a minor setback recently, this Sect Master has also gained some insights. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined!”

He paused, specifically looking at the Second Elder, his tone growing even more earnest, “Especially the Second Elder, who is usually low-key and doesn’t contend for anything, yet at a critical moment, he was able to step forward in the Secret Realm and save this Sect Master from… from peril! Such loyalty and composure are truly the pillars of my Burning Heaven Palace!”

The Second Elder, who had been looking down, still pondering the absurdity of Lie Tianxiong’s “cowering theory,” was suddenly called out, and with such high praise and the definition of a life-saving grace, he was momentarily stunned.

He subconsciously looked up, a crack appearing in his usual calm expression, his eyes filled with bewilderment. I was just putting on a show at the time… this brute actually took it seriously?

Before he could recover from the surprise of this brute’s change of heart, Lie Tianxiong’s next words were like a thunderclap, directly scorching him to the core.

“Therefore!”

Lie Tianxiong’s voice rose, carrying the decisiveness of “My will is set”: “From this day forward, the Second Elder shall serve as the acting Sect Master!

During this Sect Master’s closed-door cultivation, all affairs, big and small, of the Sect shall be decided by the Second Elder alone! He shall preside over the overall situation! Grand Elder, Third Elder, you two must assist him wholeheartedly, without any error!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall was shocked!

Grand Elder Yan Cangyun suddenly looked up, his red hair almost standing on end, his face filled with disbelief and unwillingness, but looking at Lie Tianxiong’s resolute expression and that crooked theory of strategic concealment.

His lips trembled a few times, and in the end, he could only lower his head with immense vexation, squeezing out two words through gritted teeth: “…As you command!”

At the back of the queue, the corpulent Third Elder’s eyelids twitched wildly as he tried to maintain a serious expression.

Has this idiot completely lost his mind?! He actually completely changed his personality, and even bypassed the Grand Elder, entrusting the Sect to the Second Elder to manage, and as acting Sect Master?!

But he reacted extremely quickly, immediately following the Grand Elder, squeezing out an incredibly respectful expression and bowing: “I humbly obey the Palace Master’s decree! This subordinate will certainly do his utmost to assist the Second Elder!”

In his heart, however, he secretly rejoiced, the Second Elder is easier to manipulate than the Grand Elder, which just makes things easier for me!

And the Second Elder, currently at the center of the storm, had a buzzing in his head.

No… no? Wait! I’m just an undercover agent! My biggest task before coming here was just to transmit information, occasionally create a little chaos… how did I suddenly… suddenly become the acting Sect Master?

And the kind who presides over the overall situation and makes all decisions? This… this script isn’t right! Sect Master Xuan Yangzi didn’t teach me this!

He felt that his decades of undercover life had never been so exciting as today. This Lie Tianxiong doesn’t play by the rules! Was his brain beaten into new pathways after a few beatings?

But years of undercover training made him instantly suppress all the shock and bewilderment.

He knew that he absolutely could not show any flaws at this moment, otherwise, it would definitely arouse suspicion.

He immediately stepped forward, trying to show a perfectly appropriate expression of being flattered, overwhelmed with trepidation, and the excitement of being entrusted with such immense trust.

His voice even carried an almost imperceptible tremor due to excitement, half acted, half genuinely scared.

“Palace… Palace Master! Such a heavy responsibility, this subordinate… this subordinate fears he is unworthy! What virtue or ability does this subordinate possess? I only fear… I only fear I will fail the Palace Master’s great trust!”

He spoke these words with genuine sincerity, completely from the heart; he truly felt this burden was too outrageous!

Lie Tianxiong, however, waved his hand, even more satisfied with his “trepidation”: “Hey! If this Sect Master says you can do it, you can do it! Your composure, your loyalty, your low profile, are precisely what my Burning Heaven Palace needs for the Great Dao of Longevity right now! This matter is settled, no need to discuss it further!”

In the Second Elder’s heart, Great Dao of Longevity my foot! I just want to be a quiet undercover agent!

On his face, however, he could only show an expression of tearful gratitude, ready to die for his confidant, bowing deeply: “Since… since that is the case, this subordinate… this subordinate will certainly exert himself to the utmost until death! I will definitely adhere to the Palace Master’s guidelines, stabilize the Sect, and never make a single mistake!”

This has gotten big, I need to find a way to contact the Sect Master immediately!

“Hmm! Good! Very good!”

Lie Tianxiong looked at the loyal Second Elder and the respectfully obedient Grand Elder and Third Elder, feeling greatly comforted, thinking that his arrangements before going into closed-door cultivation were truly well-organized and excellent.

He turned around, full of smug satisfaction, walking towards the closed-door cultivation chamber in the back mountain with a gait that he thought was steady but was actually sluggish. His back was filled with a sense of reassurance, “I have made all arrangements, you all proceed as planned.”

In the main hall, only the Grand Elder, who was vexed to death, the Third Elder, who was secretly delighted and felt the opportunity was better, and the Second Elder, who appeared calm but whose mind was a chaotic mess, frantically calculating “how an undercover agent who suddenly became the enemy’s acting leader should operate,” remained.