Dong Guoqian was stunned. It seemed that unless he produced the Xiao Yao Sect's secret manual, he wouldn't stand a chance of becoming the Alliance's leader. The Eighty Electronic Books had spent enormous sums to secure the allegiance of several major sects, precisely so that once he became leader, he could use exchanges as a pretext to compel the others to hand over their training manuals—thus enabling the Xiao Yao Sect to absorb the strengths of various sects and reap substantial benefits. He never expected his modest ambitions to be so clearly revealed so swiftly, and even more surprising, the other side had countered with a strategy of turning his own tactics against him. After all, how could he possibly agree to share his own sect's secret manuals? Not only had he not yet become the leader, even if he did, he would absolutely never agree. And presenting the manuals now would only signal his selflessness—what if Qin Feng or someone else then devised further schemes? In that case, he might end up with nothing at all. Thus, he felt uncertain and certainly wouldn't commit. The situation remained frozen, yet Qin Feng kept stirring the flames: "Master Dong, everyone has seen your character. So I'm sure my proposal will satisfy everyone, aren't you?" To be honest, unless I'm a two, would I ever bring out my secret manual? After all, becoming the leading sect in the realm of cultivation hinges crucially on the cultivation techniques—each sect treats its own manual as a closely guarded secret, especially the major ones. Once these manuals leak out, all sects will stand on equal footing, and how long will the Xiaoyao Sect maintain its leading position? Dong Quan's face turned even paler. He sighed and said, "This concerns our sect's confidential matters, and I must respectfully decline. It's not that I'm stingy. Though I am the abbot, such an important matter requires the agreement of all the senior monks. We'll need to discuss it further." "Hehe, I thought Master Dong was stingy and wouldn't part with it," Qin Feng added with a dig. By now, unless Dong was a complete fool, no one would believe Qin Feng was truly on their side—Dong had been playing the part of a well-behaved, gentle giant all along, only to strike from behind with surprising force. "But I think this doesn't matter…" Master Tongling nodded in agreement: "Young Qin Feng is right. When we have already come together and are deliberating on matters, we can follow the principle of 'minority obeying majority.' But right now, we haven't reached that stage. How can we expect those who oppose to follow those who agree? Of course, if someone is determined to become the head of the alliance, they may first absorb the agreeing sects, setting an example for us. As long as they do it well, everyone will eagerly join. Isn't that so?" "Yes!" The group shouted in unison. Dong Qiankun was nearly ready to give up. Most of the sects that had expressed agreement were actually bought over by him. How could he possibly lead a group of ambitious and ever-ambitious leaders? Moreover, to attract even more sects to join, he would not only have to continue securing new ones, but also keep offering incentives to these established ones to prevent them from turning against him. Could the Xiaoyao Sect possibly afford that? He sat down heavily in his chair, a situation that had seemed certain from the start—how had it come to this reversal? He simply couldn't make sense of it. Subjectively, he still couldn't believe that a mere young upstart's few words could sway those people against him. That didn't make sense. The Spiritual Conduit's Master, in an effort to demonstrate he wouldn't be swept along with certain others, was the first to step down from the platform, and he uttered a remark heard by many: "I'll just quietly remain the headmaster of a secondary sect. Honestly, I never felt confident about participating in such major affairs. Oh, how I simply can't grasp the intricacies of political maneuvering—what a failure, what a failure!" On the surface, the old man appeared to be reflecting on himself, but in truth, he was subtly criticizing the monks, implying that the people on stage were full of scheming. Ling, standing proudly behind her master, would have made anyone unfamiliar with the situation believe that she was the one responsible for undermining this alliance. As she stepped down from the platform, she spoke first before her master had even opened his mouth: "Big bad guy Feng, you truly are a big bad guy! I almost thought you'd end up standing with Dong, but fortunately, you didn't let me down. I always said—how could two such clever girls possibly make a wrong choice?" Faced with this subtle praise, Qin Shao's face showed several faint lines of irritation. This girl would definitely need some serious coaching. Her words were so sharp—they sounded so off-putting, even though they were clearly compliments. When coming from her, they just didn't taste quite right. He Muqing and Lin Caiwei didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Over the past few months, the three had grown into close, inseparable friends, and they were used to this kind of warmth. The Gate Master smiled warmly and said: "My disciple often lacks in judgment. Don't take his words too seriously. Thanks to you, this matter has turned out well—otherwise, Dong Qiankun's appointment as Grand Marshal would have been a done deal. I truly owe you a debt of gratitude!" "Qin Dashi thought, if it's gratitude, it shouldn't just be words. Why don't you simply send your young disciple to me? I'll take care of him. After waiting several seconds without any tangible gesture from the old man, he grew deeply disappointed, yet had to remain humble, saying, 'Nothing at all—this is what we, as members of the immortal realm, are supposed to do. After all, we're all part of this cultivation world, aren't we? Hehe!' The old man seemed to have been waiting for exactly these words. Immediately, he added, 'You truly are a generous and open-minded person. I deeply admire you. With a leader like you at the LingMiao Sect, its future will surely flourish!' Wow—just a moment ago, he was thanking me! Now, he turns around and completely forgets it. How ungenerous of you! You claim to be unthoughtful, yet you're clearly full of thoughtfulness yourself. On stage, Dong Qiankun's face remained green. After all this effort, he ended up with a complete failure—of course, he wasn't willing to accept it. Several abbots took the opportunity to rise and quietly slipped away. Of course, not everyone is quite so unkind. The缥缈True Man stayed put, rubbing his hands and saying, "Master Dong, I believe the Lingming Abbot has a point. Why don't we several sects join forces first and set an example for them?" Master Dong Kuangqin raised his head, a touch of gratitude in his eyes—after all, there are still good people in this world. Yet, the缥缈True Man added, "Once we've joined forces, don't forget my four-tenth share. We've signed a contract, after all!"