Chapter 37: The Plan

Ulquiorra and Nian Zhen were now heading towards the meeting hall. Nian Zhen mentioned an important matter, and now, they were being summoned. As for the disappearance of the elder that was supposed to wait for Ulquiorra and the rest as Nian Zhen's replacement, then she would ask the sect leader about it in case he knows. Suddenly, they met Nian Zhifeng along the halls of the sect.

"Oh, Zhifeng? What brings you here?" Nian Zhen asked.

Zhifeng's eye twitched for a moment before he resumed his usual expression.

"Greetings, master! I was merely taking a stroll along the sect. I was not expecting to see you and junior brother Ulquiorra all of a sudden." Zhifeng said as he bowed to Nian Zhen.

"Hmmm, I see. Well then, we'll be off. Ulquiorra and I have been summoned by the sect." Nian Zhen as she waved her hand as she walked with Ulquiorra following.

Zhifeng bowed as he said his goodbye. Zhifeng walked away with his back towards them. Ulquiorra eyed hid from behind.

'He's hiding something.' Ulquiorra thought.

Ulquiorra noticed the Zhifeng's eye twitching. Plus, the tone and excuse he used spelled a secret as he seemed to want to brush things off and move on. He'll question Zhifeng later on what he's hiding. For now, he'll go to the meeting hall. His pesquisa picked up something unusual within.

Nian Zhen and Ulquiorra entered the hall, and was greeted with sight of the sect leader along with all the other elders aside from the one missing. Nian Zhen furrowed her eyebrows. The atmosphere was not pleasant.

"Elder Zhen." Long Zhan said with a somber tone.

"Greetings, Patriarch!" Nian Zhen said with a bow.

Long Zhan nodded.

"I have called you all here for a grave announcement." Long Zhan said with a deep tone.

The faces of all the people in the hall turned serious. When the sect leader says that there is a grave announcement, then it meant thay it was something that could potentially affect the sect's fate. It was not something to be taken lightly.

"I have gotten word that the Azure Peacock has called for support from third party sects outside the city. They plan to use this support in order to overthrow all the other sects." Long Zhan said.

"What low-life scums! Has the Azure Peacock sect fallen so far that they're so desperate for power?" Elder Ming fumed.

"I concur with Elder Ming. If they do such a thing, then wouldn't this only make them a puppet in the hands of a bigger force? I thought the Azure Peacock sect had its pride." Elder Hua added.

The other elders also voiced their opinions. Nian Zhen furrowed her brows. She didn't have a good feeling about this. Long Zhan raised his hand to silence the elders. Once the hall turned quiet, he spoke once more.

"It is for this reason I have called back Elder Zhen. As you know, Elder Zhen has capable fighting power, and is a very reliable elder. It is due to this that I am sending Nian Zhen to scout the Azure Peacock sect for information. Of course, we won't be sending her to go to the shadows and sneak in. Rather, I have prepared a method so that she can go there formally." Long Zhan said.

"May I ask what that method may be, Patriarch?" One of the elders asked.

Long Zhan paused before speaking out.

"We shall hold a sparring match between disciples for the two sects. I have already sent out an envoy, and am awaiting a response from their sect. The matches will be used as a diversion, and Nian Zhen will be the head of that diversion. I'll be sending in spies that will lurk in the shadows, and if things will end up for the worse, then Nian Zhen would be able to fend off enemies in the case she would be blamed and attacked." Long Zhan said.

Nian Zhen furrowed her eyebrows. This was a plan that she was not comfortable with. She understood that such news was dire, but a plan like this? Please, she didn't even consider it as a plan. Instead, she viewed it as a stupid way to get themselves killed. It was an absolutely ludicrous plan. She spoke out to the sect leader.

"Patriarch! I must voice out tha-" Nian Zhen spoke out, but was interrupted by Long Zhan.

"Silence! This decision is final. I shall call for you once more when the preparations have been made. Also for the sparring match, send in Ulquiorra too. It seems he has made massive gains from the trip to the hidden realm. He is more than powerful for such a role." Long Zhan said before dismissing everybody.

Nian Zhen and Ulquiorra walked out of the hall in order to return to their living quarters. Nian Zhen had an ugly expression on his face. Once they got far enough, Nian Zhen spoke out.

"Something is wrong. Why is the sect leader like this? Why is he being so foolish and hasty" She muttered before looking at Ulquiorra.

"What do you think of the plan right now, Ulquiorra?" Nian Zhen said.

Ulquiorra eyed Nian Zhen from the side, and spoke out.

"It's a foolish plan. I do not see any sort of success in this plan."

Nian Zhen sighed. It seems that something is happening within the sect that she didn't know of. It's as if they were deliberately being targeted by the sect leader. The question is why?

'I'll have to figure this out' Nian Zhen thought.

On the other hand, Ulquiorra will follow the unusual thing he picked up with his pesquisa. It was somebody not from this sect. It was a person with strength equal to the elder that he met back then when he just got to this world. Ulquiorra separated from Nian Zhen.

'We'll see what's exactly happening once I get more information.'