Samuel Turner nodded approvingly after listening, then continued, “In fact, the responsibility this time does not lie with all of you, but with me. Ever since fifteen years ago, after the battle to seal Chiyou, our Tianque Sect’s strength has been greatly diminished. At that time, I adopted a strategy of offense as defense, fully strengthening the power of the Outer Seven Halls to expand our influence, even shifting the focus of the Inner Three Halls’ work toward this goal, so that the surrounding major sects, unable to gauge our true strength, would not dare act rashly. Unexpectedly, today our reality has finally been seen through, resulting in this disaster. If things were as they were back then, with four thousand disciples guarding the sect year-round, who would dare to spy on us?”

“After last night’s incident, news of Tianque Sect’s depleted strength will surely spread throughout the land. The Dinghai, Taixu, and Yuexu sects will definitely be eager to make a move. The most urgent task is to notify the Outer Seven Halls to contract their defenses, abandon all outlying mines and herb gardens, and gather manpower to reinforce the main gate. In addition, we must send people to track down the origins of those attackers. Even if it means risking the lives of all twenty thousand disciples of Tianque Sect, we must avenge this deep hatred! By the way, are there any leads on this matter?”

Everyone in the hall immediately turned their heads, all looking toward the head of the Intelligence Hall, Andrew Turner, while David Turner’s eyes even showed a hint of schadenfreude. Andrew Turner felt awkward inside, but knew he had to answer, so he braced himself and said, “All the enemies were masked, and all their weapons and clothing were purchased in nearby towns. The corpses of those who died in battle were destroyed on the spot, and the techniques and martial arts they used had no obvious characteristics. So, so apart from knowing that among these attackers there were ten Realman-level experts and the rest were all Golden Core experts, there are no other clues. According to our Intelligence Hall’s analysis, this incident should be the work of some mysterious force that gathered a group of Golden Core-level rogue cultivators.”

Samuel was not angry at these words, but instead smiled coldly and said calmly, “So you’re telling me that several thousand of our people were killed, yet we don’t even know what the enemy looks like or where they’re from?”

Although Samuel’s tone was calm, everyone knew this was a sign of his extreme anger. Andrew Turner hurriedly said, “Master, please be at ease. The leader of Group A in the Intelligence Hall, Grace Reed, is currently investigating. With his abilities, he will surely find some clues.”

Samuel still sneered in silence. Just as the five of them were sweating nervously, a human head suddenly rolled into the council hall from the doorway. Everyone turned to look, only to see a handsome man who always wore a lazy smile, leaning against the door with a grin—it was none other than Charles Reed, whom Andrew Turner had just mentioned.

Andrew Turner let out a sigh of relief, and the other four also showed joy on their faces, knowing that the head on the ground must belong to one of last night’s attackers, so they all stepped forward to examine it carefully. They saw that the head had a pale, beardless face, with a long, narrow scar on the left forehead, and a very unfamiliar appearance. Despite their broad experience, none of them could recognize him, and they all secretly wondered: Where did this Golden Core expert come from? Could it be that the people in the Intelligence Hall really are all useless?

Grace Reed smiled slightly at this, walked casually to the head, and then wiped forcefully across the face. Instantly, the scar on the left forehead disappeared, the white skin turned black, and the appearance changed greatly from before.

Benjamin Turner looked closely and exclaimed in shock, “It’s Peter Scott, one of the Ten Fiends of the South Sea!”

Eric Turner said in a deep voice, “That’s right! It’s him. I didn’t expect those attackers to be so cautious, not only masking themselves but also using disguises. If we had been even a little careless, they would have fooled us. But I wonder, with someone like Peter Scott, who has always been a coward only active in the south, why would he take part in this attack?”

David Turner snorted coldly and said, “No matter what, at least we have a lead this time. As long as we investigate who Peter Scott has been in contact with recently, we can follow the trail and find out where those attackers came from. As for who to send to investigate, I ask Master to give instructions.”

Seeing that a clue had been found, Samuel finally looked a bit relieved, and nodded, saying, “After the funeral, let Lucas Harris take ten Golden Core-level experts to investigate. With such a deep blood feud, given his temperament, I doubt he could sit still. Grace, you did well this time.”

Matthew Harris, who had remained silent all along, also said, “Peter Scott is best at hiding and escaping, and the Qingming Flash he practices is one of the top ten high-level movement techniques. For Reed nephew to be able to kill him this time, honestly, even I’m surprised!”

But Grace Reed shook his head with a smile and said, “Mr. Harris, you guessed wrong this time. The one who killed Peter Scott was someone else, and it was just a boy not yet twelve years old, whose cultivation had only just reached the final stage of the Qi Refining period.”

“Oh?” Everyone’s mouths dropped in astonishment, even Samuel Turner’s expression changed.

Grace Reed said no more, but took out a black crystal from his spatial ring, formed a hand seal, and a beam of light shot from the crystal, projecting onto the nearby wall. The white wall immediately displayed a series of images, just like a 21st-century projector on Earth. If Yvonne Foster were here at this moment, he would surely be greatly surprised, because the images on the wall showed the scene of his battle with the black-robed Daoist.

After the ten-minute-long footage finished playing, the entire council hall fell into a silence so deep that a pin drop could be heard. After a long while, Benjamin Turner finally sighed and said, “Peter Scott was a top expert who dominated his region, but to think he died at the hands of a mere child today—what a pity.”