9: I need to learn to be bad too.

Three days had passed since the incident with Gu Chuyan.

Gu Yun slammed his fist onto the table, making the teacups rattle: "Dammit! I, the Young Lord, clearly did nothing, so why does no one believe me?"

He had just returned from outside.

The contemptuous gazes of the clansmen were still fresh in his mind.

If not for his status as Young Lord, he had no doubt those people would have rushed up to slap him.

Beside him, Li Xinxue frowned inwardly. These past few days, she had been trying to piece together the sequence of events, but she had made no headway.

"There must be someone behind this causing trouble. Gu Yun, I suspect someone impersonated you to bully Gu Chuyan."

"Furthermore, this person is proficient in the art of disguise, and their cultivation is at least one major Realm higher than Gu Chuyan's. Otherwise, with her Dharma Body Realm cultivation, it would be impossible for her to not notice anything."

"It might even be a Realm Sovereign expert."

Gu Yun frowned tightly: "Impersonating me is possible, but how can you be sure it's a Realm Sovereign expert?"

One must know that the Gu Clan only has nine Realm Sovereigns, who are precisely the Nine Great Elders.

Li Xinxue analyzed: "I sensed from the Maidservant's memories that the person exuded an aura of Realm King Third Layer, just like you. To perfectly imitate this Realm, their strength must be higher."

"So... it really isn't Cao Bu?"

Gu Yun was somewhat disappointed.

He wished this matter was done by Cao Bu, so he could rightfully eliminate this hidden danger.

Li Xinxue sneered: "That trash Cao Bu? You're giving him too much credit."

"If not for his status as an Adopted Son, with his Heavenly Bridge Realm cultivation, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to join our Gu Clan."

Among the one hundred thousand people of other surnames in the Gu Clan, the lowest cultivation is the Dharma Body Realm.

Because of Gu Yun, Li Xinxue also disliked Cao Bu.

In fact, just like Gu Yun, she had an inexplicable sense of disgust toward Cao Bu.

Gu Yun nodded thoughtfully.

But for some reason, he always felt that this matter was inseparable from Cao Bu.

This groundless intuition left him confused as well.

"Then what do we do now? If this matter isn't resolved, even if I succeed as Clan Chief, it will be hard to convince the masses in the future."

This was what he worried about most.

With his Realm King Third Layer cultivation, he still couldn't suppress some of the deacons and the Nine Great Elders.

If he were powerful, he naturally wouldn't need to pay attention to these rumors.

But now is the critical moment of the Succession Ceremony; any disturbance could ruin things.

What gave him the biggest headache was his second brother, Gu Feng.

That guy took his Younger Brother's Wife and returned directly to the Sect a few days ago, not even attending his Succession Ceremony, clearly showing he didn't hold him, his older brother, in any regard.

If he lost the hearts of the people because of this, and let that brat Gu Feng seize the opportunity to take his place...

Thinking of this, cold sweat seeped from Gu Yun's forehead.

Worse still, his mother was in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Emperor Realm. If he had to wait for her to come out of seclusion to preside over justice, the opportunity would have long since passed!

"Don't worry. The opponent's goal is clearly to prevent you from succeeding. Although your reputation is damaged now, it is not enough to shake your position as Clan Chief."

Li Xinxue's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "I suspect that before the Succession Ceremony, this person will definitely strike again. Why don't we take turns monitoring to see who is causing trouble."

Gu Yun nodded helplessly: "That's all we can do."

Deep in the night.

In the Scholarly Fragrance Courtyard.

Su Li remembered something and raised her small face to ask: "Right, why didn't you let Li Xinxue search Gu Chuyan's soul? If Gu Chuyan became a fool or died, wouldn't that have achieved your goal?"

Regarding a woman like Gu Chuyan who had been touched by Cao Bu, Su Li wished she would disappear sooner.

Cao Bu put away his smile, his expression becoming serious: "Goal?! My goal was never to have Gu Chuyan die."

"As long as it is someone Gu Qingtian cares about, I will not let them die easily. Gu Chuyan is one of the links; her living is far more important than her dying."

"Tell me, isn't this very interesting?"

Su Li traced circles on his chest with her finger: "You really are thoroughly evil. To take revenge, you use every possible means. Whoever provokes you will never have peace in this lifetime."

Cao Bu looked down at her: "What, regretting following me?"

Su Li shook her head quickly: "I won't regret following you! I was just thinking about how to become as bad as you, so that I can be worthy of you."

Cao Bu stroked her head: "Let me be the bad guy; you just need to stay by my side obediently."

Su Li hugged him tighter: "No! You are so bad, I also need to learn to be bad!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Bu kissed her forehead gently.

"Rest assured, I won't let you lose."

Su Li blinked her beautiful eyes, dark glints surging in their depths: "I won't let you suffer a loss either; whatever should be given to you, I will definitely give you."

The Gu Clan is built against the mountain, mainly divided into:

One Main Peak: The Clan Chief's residence, the location of the various Halls, and the Council Hall; it is equivalent to the administrative center.

Three Subsidiary Peaks: Each managed by one of the three Main Matriarchs.

Nine Middle Peaks: The territory of the Nine Great Elders.

Thirty-six Low Peaks: Where two hundred thousand core clansmen live.

On the periphery, there are also four major cities, which are: Azure Dragon City, White Tiger City, Vermilion Bird City, and Black Tortoise City.

Each city has two hundred thousand Gu clansmen.

Through these years of development and the influx of external forces, the number of living beings in each city has reached one million, all managed by the Gu Clan.

The peak where Su Li resides is called Shuxiang Peak, and the Scholarly Fragrance Courtyard is located in the middle of the peak; the area above is Su Li's private territory.

Only two men have ever been here.

One is the ascended Gu Qingtian.

The other is Cao Bu.

With Su Li covering for him, Cao Bu was not afraid of anyone discovering their illicit affair.

For their trysts, Su Li even specifically dug a secret tunnel between the Scholarly Fragrance Courtyard and Cao Bu's Cangfeng Residence.

After Gu Qingtian ascended, Cao Bu came every night to dote on Su Li, then slipped back before dawn.

"System, draw!"

Looking at the last remaining chance, Cao Bu used it without hesitation.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained the Origin of the Nine-Turn Exquisite Body!]

Cao Bu looked out the window, already having a plan in mind.

Outside the window, a faint, barely audible sound of stamping feet drifted by.

Su Li subconsciously curled her lips, appearing triumphant.

Half an hour later.

The sky was just brightening.

"Are you still coming tonight?" Su Li asked, somewhat reluctant.

Cao Bu replied indifferently: "We'll see."

After speaking, he ignored Su Li's resentful little gaze, opened the door, and walked out.

The secret tunnel leading to the Cangfeng Residence was inside the room of Su Li's daughter, Gu Yingying.

This girl was never home all day, and whenever she had time, she went out to fool around.

She didn't even know there was a secret tunnel in her own room.

Su Li did this naturally to prevent their affair from being exposed.

If that day really came and Cao Bu hadn't fully developed, she could use her daughter as a shield to win more development time for Cao Bu.

After returning to the Cangfeng Residence.

Cao Bu waited for half an hour, then went out and walked toward the Dark Night Hall.

The Dark Night Hall is the Gu Clan's agency specifically for handling shady affairs, mainly responsible for intelligence gathering, assassination missions, and other underground work.

As the dark blade in Gu Qingtian's hands, the Disciples are all composed of people with other surnames.

The reason he was able to obtain 5% of the inheritance rights largely stemmed from his control over this dark force.

Very few people know about the Dark Night Hall; basically, no more than one hundred people.

Cao Bu arrived at the foot of the Main Peak and proceeded along a narrow mountain path.

After many twists and turns, his figure soon disappeared into the mountain forest.

One hundred miles beneath the Main Peak.

With a heavy rumble, the thick stone door slowly opened.

Cao Bu's figure stepped out from the darkness.

The Dark Night Hall Disciples guarding on both sides saw this, immediately straightened their backs, and saluted in unison: "Greetings, Hall Master!"

Cao Bu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Have the three Vice Hall Masters returned?"

A guard cupped his fists and reported: "Reporting to the Hall Master, not yet."

Upon hearing this, Cao Bu frowned slightly.

Before Ascension, Gu Qingtian had arranged a mission for the three of them. He had been right beside them; logically, they should have reported back long ago. Why hadn't they returned yet?

He immediately walked toward the Shadow Blade Hall; this was his office.

Just as he opened the hall door, Cao Bu paused.

Having already cultivated the Thousand Illusions Formless Art to Perfection, he was exceptionally sensitive to auras.

There were three people hiding inside.

That aura... it was clearly identical to the three Vice Hall Masters.

Dark glints surged in the depths of Cao Bu's eyes, and he instantly thought of something.

He entered the hall calmly, sat down in the main seat, and tapped his slender fingers lightly on the dark iron desk.

Time passed minute by minute.

The three people in the dark didn't seem to be in a hurry either.

Both sides remained in a stalemate.

The hall was silent, with only the sound of Cao Bu's fingertips tapping the table.

At this moment, the three people in the dark exchanged glances.

"Strike." A sound transmission entered the ears of the other two.

The two nodded imperceptibly.

Just in this split second, the sound of Cao Bu tapping the table stopped abruptly.

The three people who were about to strike paused.

"Behind the pillar on the left, behind the screen on the right, and also..." Cao Bu's voice sounded unhurriedly.

He raised his eyes to look at the crossbeam on the ceiling of the hall: "Vice Hall Master Yu, won't you come down for a cup of tea?"

The three looked at each other, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.

If the first two sentences might have been probing, then this precise gaze and the naming of names undoubtedly announced that their tracks had been exposed.

Three figures appeared from the Void Realm, appearing before Cao Bu.

The leading Vice Hall Master Yu said in a deep voice: "Hall Master is impressive; with Heavenly Bridge Realm cultivation, you were actually able to see through our concealment arts."