Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 237: Hidden Dragons And Hidden Cards

In a certain deserted area of the Infirmary Pavilion, Han Xuhan and Chen Yan were seated inside a cabin, facing each other, radiating a calm and casual air.

All four of Han Xuhan’s limbs were bandaged. Cuts and bruises were visible wherever his skin was visible. In contrast, Chen Yan looked completely unharmed, albeit appearing a little disheveled and deprived of sleep.

An outsider wouldn’t be able to tell that for the last six weeks, these two have been locked in a ferocious duel of wits, influence, and power, trying to bleed each other in every manner possible.

Even now, while they talked to each other, half of the conversation carried a half-hidden depth that none else would be privy to.

"Our Farewell Ceremony is probably less than a week away. Do you think you can attend it?"

Listening to Chen Yan’s gentle tone, one might assume that he was just a senior concerned with his junior brother’s injuries.

In truth, he was asking whether Han Xuhan planned to wrap up their little game before the Farewell Ceremony. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Han Xuhan gingerly rubbed his bruised arms and said, "I hear almost all senior disciples are going to return to the sect to attend the event. How can I miss it? I’ll definitely be there. But I’m not so sure about you, Senior Brother."

Chen Yan snorted. The threat implied didn’t faze him at all.

"No need to worry about me, junior brother. I’ll hold onto your promise of attendance. Even if you remain bedridden in the Infirmary, I’ll ask someone to carry you over to the event venue."

An amused glint showed up in Han Xuhan’s gaze. "You weren’t this confident even a week ago. I went to play at your mountain peak so many times, but you were always hiding in your hut."

Chen Yan shrugged. "I was busy. And it’s hardly appropriate for a senior disciple to interfere in any legitimate duels between juniors."

Han Xuhan couldn’t be bothered to expose his hypocrisy. He rolled his eyes and said, "How about I guess what you were busy with? Could it be that you were looking for a spy among your juniors? Hahahah!"

The mask of patience on Chen Yan’s face cracked a little. Chewing on his tongue, he spat out, "What spy?"

"What spy, indeed! Hahahaha!"

Han Xuhan laughed for a long time, while Chen Yan tried to hold back his temper.

About a month ago, under the pretext of dueling Xiao Mei, he had sent Chen Yan on that little side quest of unearthing a spy to keep him occupied.

Back then, Chen Yan didn’t know that even if he turned the entire mountain peak upside down, he wouldn’t be able to find the culprit!

The truth was far more complicated than simply bribing somebody into leaking secrets.

At first, Han Xuhan had paid a couple of senior disciples, close friends of Senior Sister Qing Hua, to handle the task of collecting secret information on Chen Yan’s juniors.

Those two senior disciples had a common specialty: a decent foundation in the art of illusions and breaching mental defense. They had even taught him some complicated aspects of casting illusions that he wouldn’t easily discover on his own.

Relying on their advice, he had made a leap of progress in the False Remembrance Illusion Art!

The disciples of Chen Yan’s mountain peak had no idea that every day, they were being approached by blackhearted seniors in disguise, whether during a class lecture, or when they were busy training outside, or even during meals in the dining halls.

Even the relatively weak senior disciples of that mountain peak weren’t spared!

Another source of leaked secrets was the group of senior disciples who had been harmed or exploited by Chen Yan in the past. Sister Qing Hua, Senior Brother Lin from the Archives Pavilion, Xiao Po from the Treasury, all three reached out through their networks under Han Xuhan’s request, digging up past grievances.

Some of them not only knew the depth of Chen Yan’s strength and influence, but they could also answer some critical questions, like ’which senior disciple in Chen Yan’s mountain peak hates him the most’!

The third source of secrets was Senior Brother Lin himself. He had allowed Han Xuhan to sneak a few peeks at the ledger that recorded the cultivation manuals purchased by Chen Yan and his juniors from the Archives.

Analyzing their combat methods from those records wasn’t exactly difficult.

And the final source of leaked information was a specific category of disciples from all over the sect: those who were in debt.

Such disciples worked desperately for the smallest amount of spirit stones and cultivation resources. A few of them had even taken great risks to spy on the private training sessions of Chen Yan’s juniors, all because Han Xuhan promised to loan them a few spirit stones in the future.

All this gathered in one place, the volume of information Han Xuhan had on the disciples of that mountain, information that no one was supposed to know, could be compiled into a small book.

But he had shown Xiao Mei only a page of that book, laying out her secrets only, to lay the trap. The incident had made Chen Yan assume that perhaps one or two junior disciples close to Xiao Mei had betrayed her.

The truth was that more than half the disciples of that mountain peak had betrayed each other, knowingly or unknowingly.

So, while Chen Yan set out to search for the tracks of a spy, what he would eventually find at best was the trail of an army that had left too many traces to count!

He’d find numerous threads on his mountain, connected to numerous threads beyond his mountain, all eventually merging into one string, tied around the fingers of one person; the person sitting in front of him this very moment.

Thinking back to the setup, Han Xuhan couldn’t help but feel admiration towards Chen Yan.

It was impressive how he had managed to regain his footing from that frustrating trap. It was even more impressive that he could stay calm after being led by the nose for a whole month!

After all, during the time Chen Yan was busy unearthing those trails of backstabbers, Han Xuhan was hammering his juniors one by one diligently. Not a single disciple of his own generation was spared!

It was only when he recklessly challenged a senior disciple, hoping to truly test his broadened limits, that he was dragged back to reality.

That senior disciple was only at the peak of the fourth phase of martial cultivation. Han Xuhan had assumed that he wasn’t talented in that path, or had little interest in martial arts.

But it turned out that the senior disciple had merely encountered a bottleneck at the peak of the fourth phase. The breakthrough required some expensive resources, which had forced him to give up.

But he hadn’t apparently given up practicing what he had learned. Below the fifth phase, he was probably the best martial artist in the entire Crimson Snow Sect, a proper hidden dragon...

Han Xuhan, having just gained a foothold at the third phase, was far from his match. The result of their duel was predictable.

From the combat arena, he had been transported directly to the infirmary.

The reputation of Chen Yan’s mountain peak managed to survive a fatal blow. To go back to harassing the junior disciples now would be pointless.

Having understood this, Chen Yan was here to pay him a visit and leave a message.

The hidden game between Han Xuhan and Chen Yan was about to move into its final stage. The time to keep their claws hidden and their hunger restrained had passed.

From this point forth, the hidden cards on both sides, carrying their greatest strengths, must reveal their edge!