Investment Returns: Starting with funding the enemy, that's my master's wife.

Chapter 6 Inner Disciple Promotion Ceremony, Grand Elder Questions...

Upon arriving at the central square, Li Chang'an did not spot Zhang He and Feng Yun, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Next up are Niu Le and Wang Chengye..."

Upon reaching the top of the building, Li Chang'an saw Ning Hanruo sitting there, and walked forward to greet her with a fist and palm salute.

"Greetings, Grand Elder."

If it weren't for this Grand Elder, whose cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage and whose strength was approaching the peak of the Golden Core stage, the entire Cangyun Sect would have been divided up by the surrounding third-rate sects long ago.

Fortunately, Ning Hanruo was different from the other four elders. She was a native of the Cangyun Sect, and in her heart, the Cangyun Sect was her home.

Ning Hanruo nodded slightly, her eyes deep.

"Sect Leader Li, today was the day inner disciples were promoted. Did you see Feng Yun and Zhang He?"

"The two elders went to hunt down third-tier demonic beasts yesterday to replenish the treasury."

Hearing Li Chang'an's answer, Ning Hanruo was fairly satisfied. Having all the power in the sect, she had naturally heard about what happened yesterday, but she was still somewhat surprised.

However, Ning Han didn't ask any more questions, and she exhaled a breath of cold air.

"Never mind, the sect urgently needs a group of pillars of strength, and these outer disciples also need to grow up as soon as possible."

"The promotion ceremony should begin now!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ning Hanruo gave Li Chang'an a wink.

Li Chang'an immediately gestured, standing on the high-rise terrace, looking down at the disciples, and then nodding to the stewards below.

The steward understood, and the entire inner disciple promotion ceremony began.

However, Li Chang'an's heart was not there, but far away on the border of the Cangyun Sect.

"At this time, Niu Le and Wang Chengye had also arrived at the border."

Seemingly sensing that Li Chang'an was preoccupied, Elder Ning Hanru chuckled softly.

"Sect Leader Li, don't keep things to yourself. It's better to talk about them."

Disturbed by Ning Hanruo's voice, Li Chang'an shook his head repeatedly. He absolutely could not let Ning Hanruo know the evil thoughts in his heart.

Seeing that Li Chang'an was unwilling to speak, Ning Hanruo also sighed.

Suddenly, Ning Hanruo felt a slight tremor in her ear as she received a message from a disciple of the border region.

Her brows furrowed, her long hair flew wildly, a top-grade third-tier spirit sword appeared in her hand, and a chilling aura suddenly rose from her body.

"Enemy attack!"

Upon hearing Ning Hanruo's words, Li Chang'an's heart tightened, and he thought to himself.

"Could it be that another sect is really attacking at a time like this?"

Immediately, the chill emanating from Ning Hanruo vanished, and she looked solemnly at Li Chang'an.

"The Hehuan Sect Master, Su Moxue, appeared at the border of our sect, and Elder Feng and Elder Zhang were brutally killed."

Hearing Ning Hanruo's words, Li Chang'an was overjoyed, but he couldn't show it. At this moment, he had to recall the tragic state of the Cangyun Sect after his master was killed, and he told himself that he had to make himself look sad.

"What! The two elders were assassinated?"

Seeing Li Chang'an's expression, Ning Hanruo narrowed her eyes, instantly stood up, and pointed her long sword at Li Chang'an's throat.

"Sect Leader Li, I heard that you arranged Elder Zhang and Elder Feng's whereabouts. Could it be that you tipped off the Hehuan Sect?"

A glint of cold light pressed against the blade, making Ning Hanruo's voice seem to freeze everything.

"Elder Ning, think it over carefully. If I had joined forces with the Hehuan Sect, we would have already stormed into the Cangyun Sect with their strength."

Upon hearing this, Ning Hanru put away her longsword, her doubts dissipating considerably. She let out a long breath, and the temperature in the entire high-rise seemed to drop significantly.

"That makes sense, given the deep-seated blood feud between the Cangyun Sect and the Hehuan Sect."

"Our former sect leader, your master Ren Haotian, also suffered the same fate as that female demon Su Jiexu!"

"Under such circumstances, if you betray the sect, wouldn't you be condemned to eternal damnation in an instant?"

As they were talking, Ning Hanruo's eyes gleamed with a desire for continued revenge, as if she were ready to go to the border right now and fight Su Muxue to the death.

Li Chang'an then tried to take the opportunity to calm Ning Hanruo down.

"Elder Ning, please calm down."

"Now is not the best time to start a war with the Hehuan Sect. Let's wait a bit longer."

Upon hearing this, Ning Hanruo frowned and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Still waiting? Sect Leader Li, you are truly too young."

"Do you know the current situation? There is only one fate for our Cangyun Sect: to be completely divided up."

With that, Ning Hanruo swayed her black skirt, sat back in her previous seat, crossed her legs, picked up the wine pot, and started chugging.

Glug glug—

Wiping the wine that had seeped from the corner of her mouth, Ning Hanruo continued.

"Now we must unite with other sects to attack the Hehuan Sect and shift the conflict, only then will our Cangyun Sect have a chance to survive."

Hearing Ning Hanruo's words, Li Chang'an naturally agreed, but that was because he didn't have a system. Now that he had a system, he might be able to fight Su Moxue in a short time.

He then displayed his cultivation level, circulating the rising spiritual power within his body, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ning Hanruo.

"Elder Ning, given my current talent, wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer?"

Ning Hanruo's eyesight was far superior to that of the four elders; she could tell at a glance that Li Chang'an possessed a fifth-grade Golden Core.

"Such pure spiritual energy, and such a vast amount of spiritual energy stored within you—you're actually a fifth-grade Golden Core cultivator!"

Li Chang'an nodded.

"Li Chang'an, you've been hiding this well all along?"

"No, all of this must be a contingency plan left by Sect Master Ren, using the weak to deceive the enemy..."

Ning Hanruo couldn't believe it; she had never noticed Li Chang'an's talent before. But after a moment's thought, she burst into laughter.

The laughter caused the disciples in the square to erupt in cheers.

"Could there be a talent among this group of inner disciples that has caught the Grand Elder's eye?"

One of the deacons murmured to himself.

Zhang Xing, the most talented disciple among this group, smiled. He felt that everything was in place and that he would soon become the Grand Elder's personal disciple.

The other talented disciples also harbored a sense of pride, believing that the disciple the Grand Elder had taken a liking to might very well be one of them.

Ning Hanruo, of course, had no idea what was happening outside, and her gaze toward Li Chang'an grew even more intense.

Li Chang'an smiled calmly and replied.

"My master once instructed me to conceal my talents to avoid trouble. Now I feel that I am just one step away from achieving the Golden Core stage."

"So please wait a moment, Elder."

Upon hearing this, Ning Hanruo's pupils revealed shock. She knew that it had taken her two or three hundred years to cultivate to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, while Li Chang'an in front of her had only cultivated for a few decades and was already about to break through to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, and even the fifth-grade Golden Core stage.

"If a fifth-grade Golden Core cultivator breaks through to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, perhaps then the Cangyun Sect can once again squeeze into the ranks of third-rate sects."

Ning Hanruo had high expectations for Li Chang'an, and she felt that she should invest in and win him over.

If the sect doesn't help such a talented young sect leader now, Ning Hanruoke will never have the chance again.

She took out a long sword with a hilt engraved with a blue dragon and a silver-white blade from her storage ring and handed it to Li Chang'an.

"This is a high-grade third-tier spirit sword. Sect Master Li should need a spirit weapon for self-defense these days!"

His eyes lit up when he saw Li Chang'an, a third-tier superior-grade cultivator.

"If gifting this longsword to Liu Xin could trigger a hundredfold return, wouldn't my strength become terrifyingly powerful?"

Thinking it over, Li Chang'an took the longsword, and suddenly the system's mechanical voice sounded.