Not to mention the danger to life—even just the time needed to recover from injuries would delay cultivation.

Jason Reed put away his treasures, changed clothes, and went to sleep.

When he woke up the next day, after washing up he went to have breakfast, preparing to attend morning class again.

The first person he ran into was William Thompson.

Jason Reed: “Senior Brother Thompson?”

William Thompson: “Last night, you were originally acting together with Junior Brother Carter?”

Jason Reed: “We split up halfway through the chase. The Daoist Novice Courtyard caught fire, Master Carter took a few people back to catch the accomplices of the thief who set the fire, and the rest of us continued to pursue the thief.”

William Thompson fell silent for a moment.

He glanced around, his gaze drifting elsewhere, but he lowered his voice:

“Junior Brother Carter and the others... something happened to them.”

Jason Reed: “……”

“To be precise, it wasn’t just Junior Brother Carter and the few novices he brought.” William Thompson nodded slightly. “There were also some other fellow disciples.”

He walked ahead, with Jason Reed silently following behind.

After a long while, Jason Reed asked, “Did it happen right here on Mount Longhu?”

William Thompson nodded gently.

Jason Reed: “Senior brother, last night on the mountain, did anything happen on our side of the main hall?”

William Thompson didn’t answer Jason Reed’s question immediately, but first spoke earnestly:

“Junior Brother Reed, what I’m about to say may sound a bit presumptuous, but personally, I think as cultivators, we should try to avoid acting rashly out of hot-bloodedness. Most of the time, safety comes first, and caution is best!”

Jason Reed: “I appreciate your concern, senior brother, and I truly agree with your words. It’s just that in life, many things are impossible to predict before they happen.”

Chapter 8: The Best Fortune

After hearing Jason Reed’s words, William Thompson sighed:

“Yes, we can’t foresee everything, so we must be careful at all times and make fewer mistakes by doing less. If Junior Brother Carter and the others hadn’t acted rashly, they wouldn’t have met such a disaster.”

He glanced at Jason Reed: “But you and the others were lucky and avoided this calamity.”

Jason Reed: “It really was luck.”

William Thompson strolled along, giving Jason Reed a rough account of what happened last night:

“There weren’t two traitors yesterday, but three…”

Upon hearing this, Jason Reed immediately understood.

The first was the young novice who stole the pill furnace.

The second set the fire at the Daoist Novice Courtyard’s branch.

But these first two were probably just pawns to create chaos and draw attention.

Last night, after that young Daoist surnamed Gao led people back down the mountain to the Novice Courtyard, an even bigger commotion broke out on the mountain—the third person made their move there.

“A senior uncle of our sect stole a treasure from the mountain. While escaping down the mountain, he ran right into Junior Brother Carter and several others.”

William Thompson said, “Although that elder was eventually captured, Junior Brother Carter and the others were killed. The two cases at the Novice Courtyard were also secretly orchestrated by this elder.”

Jason Reed: “I really never expected something like this to happen right here on Mount Longhu.”

William Thompson seemed to suddenly change the subject: “Some time ago, Uncle Foster brought back a magical artifact from outside, which ultimately caused the altar to explode and resulted in casualties among the novices.

That incident was truly an accident, but it wasn’t some demonic object—it was actually a magical artifact that originally belonged to our sect.”

He stopped and looked back at Jason Reed: “Do you still remember Lingzhi Platform?”

Jason Reed nodded.

William Thompson: “Back then, our sect had an internal conflict that led to the destruction of Lingzhi Platform. The person responsible fled, taking their magical artifact with them. Only recently did Uncle Foster recover the artifact.

So when Uncle Foster’s altar accident happened earlier and caused the spiritual energy at Lingzhi Platform to revive, it was probably because of this artifact. The one who tied the bell must untie it, after all.”

Jason Reed: “This time, was the artifact that elder stole from the mountain the same one?”

William Thompson: “Yes.”

Jason Reed understood.

After the internal conflict at the Celestial Master’s Mansion was quelled back then, the losers were driven or fled down the mountain.

But they left behind insiders on the mountain, or developed new supporters.

Thus came this theft and murder incident.

Compared to the earth-shattering internal strife of those years, this was just a minor disturbance.

But for Master Carter and the others, running into it meant certain death according to fate.

As for the cause of that internal conflict, William Thompson didn’t state it outright, but judging from last night’s events, it wasn’t hard to guess it stemmed from the Li family’s hold on the position of Celestial Master.

It could be expected that the conflict between the Li clan and outsiders would only intensify.

Mutual suspicion and hostility would only deepen.

I count as an outsider too… Jason Reed shook his head.

But, just as he’d told that thief, a novice at the first level of Qi Refining could only serve as cannon fodder in such matters.

Whether or not to get involved, the first priority was to improve his own cultivation.

As Jason Reed expected, the official announcement from the sect was rather vague in the end.

But the news of the deaths of that young Daoist and the others still caused a stir throughout the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

After all, it was different from the previous accidental explosion at Elder Foster’s altar.

This time, right here at the sacred ancestral court of the Daoist Talisman Sect on Mount Longhu, their own true disciples had been killed.

It would take much longer for the turmoil to subside.

Jason Reed calmed himself faster than the other young novices.

During the day, he attended classes as usual; at night, he focused on his own cultivation.