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**
Looking at the words Xiao Lin had left in the Blood Sect's medicinal herb warehouse, Zi Yan blinked her small eyes, looking completely dazed.
Does someone actually choose to expose themselves? Forgive her, but she really couldn't understand Xiao Lin's operating logic.
"Alright, finished. We can go now—on to the next one!"
Looking at his masterpiece, Xiao Lin wore a satisfied expression as he signaled Zi Yan to clear out.
Thus, carrying a heart full of doubt, Zi Yan once again opened a spatial tunnel and led Xiao Lin out of the Blood Sect's warehouse. Along the way, Zi Yan several times showed an expression of wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Little girl, I know what you want to ask. But you have to understand that the human heart is the hardest thing to grasp. Don't be fooled by the fact that I wrote those words; the more I do that, the less the Blood Sect will suspect our Jia Nan Academy!"
Xiao Lin explained with absolute certainty.
He was afraid that if he didn't explain, Zi Yan would explode from holding it in!
"Ah? Is... is that how it works?"
It was clear that Zi Yan was still somewhat confused.
This was normal; despite the unknown number of years she had actually lived, her mental age was effectively the same as her outward appearance!
Could you really expect an eight or nine-year-old child to understand such things?
"Don't worry, I gave my word to the Grand Elder. In a few days, you'll see the results. For now, let's pick our next unlucky victim."
As he spoke, Xiao Lin once again handed the stack of files to Zi Yan to choose from. Of course, this time Xiao Lin had already pulled out the Black Prison Alliance's data in advance. Hearing him say this, Zi Yan's attention was quickly diverted.
After all, to her, those high-quality medicinal herbs were the most important thing!
Everything else could be left for the adults to worry about.
Very quickly, Zi Yan pulled out the next lucky winner—the Ghost Emperor Hall!
This was likewise a Dou Huang-level faction.
In truth, the stack of documents Su Qian had given Xiao Lin consisted entirely of factions in the Black-Corner Region that were overseen by powerhouses at or above the Dou Huang level.
One had to realize that for a giant like Jia Nan Academy, factions below the Dou Huang level essentially had zero impact on them. In fact, even a single Dou Huang-level faction had limited influence on the Academy.
However, because Jia Nan Academy had never really bothered with the Black-Corner Region, it had led to a situation where there were now over a dozen Dou Huang-level factions!
Under these circumstances, an ambitious Dou Zong-level faction had appeared.
If this Dou Zong-level force were allowed to unify all the Dou Huang factions, it would become a severe challenge for Jia Nan Academy.
If a Dou Zong-level force hadn't appeared, perhaps Jia Nan Academy would have continued to ignore the region's development.
But that was no longer an option.
Once this Dou Zong-level force unified a dozen or so Dou Huang forces, it would become far too dangerous for the Academy's students heading out for tempering!
This was exactly why Su Qian had been instantly moved the moment Xiao Lin mentioned the idea of weakening these factions. Jia Nan Academy allowed the existence of Dou Huang or even Dou Zong factions in the Black-Corner Region.
But they could not allow a Dou Zong faction to have such wild ambitions, harbor designs against the Academy, or attempt to consolidate the entire region into a single block!
Of course, it wouldn't do for Jia Nan Academy to simply go out and annihilate these forces without reason. That would result in no more powerhouses above the Dou Huang level ever coming to the Black-Corner Region again.
Consequently, the Academy's students would lose their source of tempering. Otherwise, when Mang Tian Chi first established Jia Nan Academy, he would have just flattened the entire region; why would he have let it exist for so many years?
The reason Jia Nan Academy was famous throughout the Northwestern Region and even attracted the younger generation from the Central Plains was its sterling reputation.
Therefore, there were many things the Academy found inconvenient to do directly.
Even in the original story, when the Academy cleared the Black-Corner Region, it was because Han Feng had first gathered a bunch of desperadoes to plot against the Academy.
Thus, it was essential for Xiao Lin's current mission to remain stealthy.
Simultaneously, he had to make the various factions within the region fall into internal strife without ever linking it back to Jia Nan Academy!
This was precisely why he had left that line of text before leaving the Blood Sect's warehouse. As for his true intent, it would likely be revealed very soon.
Not long after Xiao Lin and Zi Yan left the Blood Sect's warehouse, a Blood Sect Elder intended to enter to retrieve some medicinal ingredients.
The result was that he stood there agape, finding the entire warehouse so empty that a mouse could run across it without tripping over a single thing...
After a moment of stunned silence, he didn't hesitate for a second and immediately ran to report the matter to the Blood Sect Master, Fan Lao.
Fan Lao arrived at the warehouse instantly.
When he saw the medicinal herbs he had painstakingly collected for so many years vanish into thin air overnight, his vision blurred and turned black.
As for his face, saying it turned so dark it looked like it could drip ink would be an understatement!
"Who did it? Who was it?! I'm going to skin him alive and scatter his ashes to the winds!"
Struggling to suppress the urge to vomit blood, Fan Lao let out a hysterical, roaring scream.
Never in his life had he been as angry as he was now.
These were the treasures his Blood Sect had spent so much effort gathering!
Now? Not even a scrap of dross was left—how could he not be enraged?
After his roar, Fan Lao spun around, his predatory gaze fixed tightly on the Elder who had first discovered the warehouse was empty.
This Blood Sect Elder, who only possessed a Dou Ling cultivation, felt his body tremble like a sieve under his leader's bloodthirsty gaze.
"Sec... Sect Master, I... I don't know either. The mo... moment I arrived at the warehouse, this... this was the scene I found."
Suppressing his inner terror, the Elder finally managed to squeeze out a complete sentence. As he spoke, Fan Lao stared at him deathly still. Looking at Fan Lao's expression, he was clearly trying to determine if this Elder was lying to him.
Just as the Elder was about to buckle and kneel under the pressure, he suddenly noticed a line of text on the warehouse wall.
"Sec... Sect Master, look! There's writing on the wall!"
Upon discovering this anomaly, the Elder immediately spoke up.
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Fan Lao flashed instantly to the front of that wall. The Elder followed closely behind him.
Done by Jia Nan Academy.
These six short words fell into the eyes of Fan Lao and the Elder.
"That's right, Sect Master! The theft of our warehouse must have been done by Jia Nan Academy! In the entire Black-Corner Region, only a few factions could pull this off, and Jia Nan Academy is one of them!"
Upon seeing the words, the Elder suddenly became excited.
Slap!
Thud!
Unexpectedly, the moment his words left his mouth, Fan Lao backhanded him. The Elder was sent flying, crashing hard into the opposite wall.
"Idiot! If it were really Jia Nan Academy, would they be stupid enough to leave a line of text like this? What kind of brain do you have?!"
At this moment, Fan Lao was practically fuming!
How did he end up with such a stupid subordinate? If he wasn't certain this Elder lacked the ability to steal the entire warehouse, he would have just slapped this embarrassing thing to death right then and there.
However, Fan Lao could never have guessed that he was a victim of his own cleverness. Xiao Lin's move was nothing more than an application of the "No silver buried here" proverb.
He had left those words specifically to mislead Fan Lao.
Look—if he was previously guessing which faction had robbed them, at this moment, he immediately ruled out Jia Nan Academy!
After all, in Fan Lao's logic, what kind of faction would be so stupid as to steal someone's property and then leave their name at the scene to incriminate themselves?
Therefore, the theft of the Blood Sect's warehouse absolutely could not have been done by Jia Nan Academy!
"Sect... Sect Master is wise."
The Elder, who had just scrambled up from the ground, hurriedly began to suck up. After hearing Fan Lao's reasoning, he also realized he had been foolish. He deserved that slap!
"Hmph, what a truly sinister fellow. Not content with robbing my Blood Sect, he even tried to frame Jia Nan Academy to force a life-and-death struggle between us. What a poisonous heart!"
"Don't let me find out who you are, or even if the Heavenly King himself comes down, I won't let you off!"
Fan Lao's low, guttural voice echoed through the empty warehouse.
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