Third Young Master Jiang Zhuyun should be in his early twenties now.
Jiang Li had never met him, but he believed many branch family disciples probably had, and the Jiang family's political enemies likely knew his appearance as well.
'So, not only did he change his name, he also changed his appearance. I just don't know if he changed his name and appearance before joining the Dinghu Sect, or if he directly replaced the identity of some disciple,' Jiang Li speculated internally.
If it was the former, there had been no rumors of any disciple rapidly advancing to a Dao Fruit and becoming an inner disciple in the past two years. This so-called Third Young Master should still be in the outer sect.
If it was the latter, then what he needed was status and position. An outer disciple wouldn't be necessary; only an inner disciple held value. In that case, Jiang Zhuyun likely took the God-category path, not the Human-category one.
The Daoist Dao Fruit required three years of 'Entering the Dao,' whereas the Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit had no such time restriction.
The Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit required reaching the stage of washing the body with Qi and refining impurities, corresponding to the opportunity for metamorphosis, to bear the Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit. Normal cultivation would take at least two or three years, but with secret medicinal training and resource investment, this time could be significantly shortened.
With help from Jiang family members, Jiang Zhuyun's Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit integration progress was likely not slow either, allowing him to advance quickly, matching his realm to his false identity and preventing others from noticing anything amiss.
However, no matter how fast, only three years had passed since the dramatic upheaval in the Jiang family. At most, Jiang Zhuyun was currently Rank 7; he couldn't possibly be higher.
Having deduced the opponent's strength range, Jiang Li felt more settled.
He looked at Yang Chong again, his gaze burning as he asked, "Last question: why do you want me dead?"
But to Jiang Li's disappointment, Yang Chong, being such a minor figure, had no idea about Jiang Zhuyun's motives. He didn't even know the identities of the other Jiang family members within the Dinghu Sect. Even regarding Luo Yi, who gave him the order, Yang Chong didn't know if this person's surname was actually Jiang.
An insignificant pawn, easily discarded if things went wrong—that was Yang Chong's role.
"Spare me, please, I beg you, spare me," Yang Chong pleaded after revealing everything he knew. He was terrified of the waterboarding; his only thought now was escaping the threat.
Seeing his demeanor, Jiang Li was basically certain about the truthfulness of his words. However, just to be safe, Jiang Li repeated his questions several times. Finding no contradictions, he finally truly spared him.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother. As I said, I won't kill you."
Jiang Li straightened Yang Chong's collar, making him look slightly less disheveled. "But that Third Young Master might not be so forgiving. Senior Brother, you wouldn't want the Third Young Master to know what you've said, would you?"
With that, Jiang Li took out a talisman from his sleeve.
"Sound Recording Talisman?! Urgh—"
Before he could finish, Jiang Li withdrew his sword and knocked Yang Chong unconscious with the pommel.
This was a contingency move, perhaps it would become useful someday. At the very least, it could make Yang Chong conceal the fact that Jiang Li already knew the inside story.
Furthermore...
[Record: Jiang Zhuyun likely hasn't received assistance from Inner Sect Elders. Or perhaps, his actions cannot be known by the sect. The sect took him in, but they do not stand on his side.]
Information automatically recorded itself in the Causality Collection. Jiang Li put away the Water Spirit Talismans in his hand.
That naturally wasn't a Sound Recording Talisman, just a Water Spirit Talisman held with its back facing Yang Chong.
Sound Recording Talismans were Rank 9 talismans, far beyond what Jiang Li's current assets could afford.
Only the Dao Arts Pavilion's guardian elder and Inner Sect Elders had the authority to view exchange records. The fact that Yang Chong didn't know whether Jiang Li had exchanged for a Sound Recording Talisman indicated that Jiang Li's enemy's power wasn't overwhelmingly desperate.
They were ultimately limited to the disciple level, not having reached the level of Inner Sect Elders.
Makes sense. If they truly held sway within the sect, they wouldn't need to scheme to kill an outer disciple like Jiang Li.
Wanting Jiang Li to die during a mission implied the enemy didn't want the sect to investigate.
However, all this was just speculation. Jiang Li felt he needed a bit more insurance.
He walked a few steps away and, using the moonlight filtering into the bamboo forest, performed a divination.
The Wendi coins fell six times without any obstruction.
'Looks like my assessment of his strength range was correct,' Jiang Li thought upon seeing this.
Men and women in the world are like stars. A person's fate, like a star, possesses varying degrees of "gravity" based on its mass.
Those with greater potential, intelligence, and strength have stronger fates and greater "gravity," with strength accounting for the largest proportion. If a weaker person attempts to divine the fortune of a stronger one, they will be disrupted by this "gravity," facing numerous obstacles, and might even be caught by the "gravity," crashing into the "star," resulting in death or injury.
Those in high positions with many followers are like stars surrounded by celestial bodies. Numerous "gravitational" forces form a complex field around them, like an ocean with turbulent undercurrents, interfering with divination and Qi observation results, even launching counterattacks.
Strength is the key.
No matter how skilled a wandering diviner is, prying into even minor fortunes can severely drain their vitality. If it involves the strong or revered, they might even end up vomiting blood. Yet, powerful figures can casually pinch their fingers, grasp heavenly secrets, and even if the divination isn't accurate, they can withstand the backlash.
Jiang Li's own divination skill wasn't top-tier, but it wasn't bad either. Plus, being a Jiang family member himself and a Dinghu Sect disciple, he was already close to the target, less affected by family or sect interference. The only thing that could truly limit him was the difference in strength.
The lack of significant interference in his divination indicated that the strength gap between him and the target could be offset by his divination skill.
Rank 7 at most.
'However, my divination method isn't ultimately sophisticated enough to directly determine his current identity,' Jiang Li thought.
The Six Yao Calculation Scripture he learned was considered basic; any outer disciple could study it. Reaching his current level was entirely due to Jiang Li's hard work, not the profundity of the scripture itself.
If he had the sect's top Dunjia divination manual, the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter, then forget the opponent's identity—he could probably figure out even his kinks with perfect clarity.
Unfortunately, even inner disciples couldn't learn the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter. Jiang Li, a small fry outer disciple, didn't even qualify to covet it.
After mentally praising the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter a few times, Jiang Li looked at the hexagram again.
"Kun above, Kan below. Water within the Earth; Earth-Water, Shi (The Army)."
One who obtains this hexagram faces numerous difficulties and worries, causing distress to the masses. However, it is not without solution. If one encounters a benefactor, misfortune can turn into fortune.
And "Shi" represents troops, the army. Only by choosing a virtuous and respected elder to lead the army can one achieve auspiciousness without fault.
"Benefactor, elder..."
Jiang Li softly repeated these two words, and two figures emerged in his mind.
There weren't many people who fit both these conditions. At least, not among those Jiang Li knew. In fact, perhaps only two.
Those were Elders Wan and Yun.
If reliability was also factored in, the choice could be directly narrowed down to Elder Wan alone.