221: Chapter 221 Xu Ruyu: To pacify external enemies, one must first secure internal stability.

Fear? Confusion? The urge to escape?

These emotions still existed, but at this moment, they were ruthlessly suppressed by a flame called "defiance" and "the need to prove oneself"!

I refuse to let you all make a joke out of me!

I’m going to see if I can sail this broken ship out of here!

Even if the ship eventually sinks, I’ll kick those vermin who want to harm me off the deck before it goes down!

A surge of ruthlessness, accompanied by clear reasoning, began to break through the fog of confusion and take shape in Xu Ruyu's mind.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if purging all the hesitation and cowardice from his chest.

When he looked up again, the confusion and panic in his eyes had mostly faded, replaced by a sink-or-swim resolve and the calm, sharp precision of a tech geek pushed into a corner, calculating extreme solutions.

He stopped looking at Xiao Nianyin and instead turned his gaze toward Lady Qingli, who had been waiting quietly.

“Sister Qingli.” Xu Ruyu's voice was still a bit dry, but much steadier. “If... I mean if, I decide to take over this mess, become the Sect Master, and find a way to keep the Hehuan Sect alive, or even... try to make it better...”

He paused, his gaze sincere and pleading. “Can you... help me? Not for long, just for a while to help me stabilize the initial situation until I'm familiar with everything and have things arranged.”

He knew he was currently a commander without an army, possessing only the title of “Ancestral Master's Appointee” without any real power or Foundation.

Without help, he wouldn't be able to take a single step.

And Lady Qingli was, from what he could see, the only person likely to help him sincerely and who also had the ability to do so.

Her cultivation was profound, and she seemed to have a certain level of influence within the Sect. Moreover, her attitude toward him had always been friendly, even... somewhat flirtatiously intimate.

Hearing Xu Ruyu's words, Lady Qingli was momentarily stunned. Then, a bright light suddenly erupted in her charming, amorous peach-blossom eyes.

A radiant, moving smile—one even tinged with a hint of smugness and provocation—appeared on her face. She shot a quick glance at Xiao Nianyin in the corner, her eyes seemingly saying:

See? He chose me. He trusts me.

You, the former Sect Master and his former “Revered Master,” are now nothing more than a prisoner who has to live at the mercy of others.

Only then did she turn her full attention back to Xu Ruyu, her voice regaining its usual playful and intimate tone, even adding a touch of deliberate coquettishness:

“Xiao Yuer~ You're being far too formal.”

She stood up and walked gracefully to Xu Ruyu's side. Leaning down, her fragrant hair almost brushed his cheek as her red lips drew close to his ear. In a voice that was bone-meltingly sweet yet loud enough for Xiao Nianyin to hear clearly, she whispered:

“I... have been yours for a long time now.

If I don't help you, who else would I help?”

The implication and intimacy in her words were incredibly thick.

This was both a declaration of her stance and a silent boast and blow to Xiao Nianyin—showing her that the person she had discarded like trash, and even wanted to kill, was a treasure worth investing everything in and protecting.

Having said that, she straightened up. Her flirtatious demeanor softened slightly, but her smile remained gentle and firm. “Tell me, Xiao Yuer, what's on your mind? What do you plan to do?”

Feeling Lady Qingli's unreserved support, Xu Ruyu's heart settled, as if he now had a solid backing.

No longer hesitating, he spoke the thoughts that had just begun to take shape in his mind.

“My thinking is,” Xu Ruyu's voice became clear and calm, carrying a steadiness that differed from his usual flighty nature, “to resist foreign aggression, one must first stabilize the interior.”

He glanced at Lady Qingli and continued, “The biggest problem for the Hehuan Sect right now isn't how strong the external enemies are, but how scattered the internal hearts are. There are so many people with their own hidden agendas, looking to profit from the chaos or even replace me.”

“If we don't clear out these unstable internal factors first and unite as one, even if external enemies don't come, we will collapse from within.”

“A Sect can never truly be strong or prosperous if there are always people harboring sinister designs, obstructing things, being outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, or even constantly thinking of rebellion to seize power.”

As Xu Ruyu said this, his gaze subconsciously swept over Xiao Nianyin again.

Because he knew that when Xiao Nianyin was the Sect Master, the Hehuan Sect was not a monolith either.

It was only because her personal cultivation was formidable and her methods were cold and overbearing that she had managed to suppress those dissenting voices and restless ambitions.

But suppression is not the same as a solution; the hidden dangers always remained. Taking the stage himself, he absolutely could not repeat the same mistakes. He couldn't rely solely on personal martial strength or the threat of authority to maintain rule—that was unstable. Once he showed a weakness, it would immediately backfire.

“So, my idea is,” Xu Ruyu withdrew his gaze and looked at Lady Qingli, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, “to take this opportunity to lure out everyone in the Hehuan Sect who wants to cause trouble or harbors ulterior motives, and then...”

“Wipe them all out in one fell swoop!”