In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Chapter 1013 The Decision of the Arena

Mo Shan's words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in the closed conference room.

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood his meaning—Lin Qiye had fused with the bloodline of the ancient demon god "Candle" deep within the Canggu Mountains, gaining power far exceeding that of conventional cultivation systems. This power was beyond the control of the arena. And this uncontrollable being's family—three women and several children—was currently in the arena, right under the noses of the Oversight Council.

How to deal with them is an extremely sensitive issue.

There was a moment of silence in the meeting room.

Chairman Luo Song spoke first, his voice still steady, but with a hint of gravity: "Does Commander-in-Chief Moshan mean to take Lin Qiye's family hostage?"

"I didn't say hostages." Mo Shan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his voice unhurried. "I said 'deal with.' Lin Qiye's current condition is unknown. Mo Yuan's report clearly states—the last time he saw Lin Qiye, his pupils were dark gold, and the aura emanating from him instilled an instinctive fear even in Mo Yuan, a seasoned veteran. Moreover, Lin Qiye didn't retreat with Mo Yuan and the others; instead, he chose to remain alone deep within the Canggu Mountains. What do you think he's doing there?"

"Perhaps he's digesting the power he just gained," Su Yi, Shangguan Lin's deputy and one of the vice directors of the Overwatch Council, spoke up. He was a middle-aged scholar in his early forties with a handsome face and spoke slowly and deliberately. "After all, Mo Yuan also said that Lin Qiye suppressed the replica at the last moment and closed the core altar of the All-Heavens Soul-Guiding Array. In the end, he saved Mo Yuan and A Jiu's lives and prevented the ancient beast from fully awakening. Regardless of what changes have occurred within him, judging from his behavior, he hasn't shown any hostility towards the arena so far."

"Currently." Mo Shan repeated the two words, his tone tinged with coldness. "Vice Dean Su, you used 'currently.' That means you're not sure if he'll become hostile in the future."

Su Yi smiled slightly and did not refute.

"The key question is, what are Lin Qiye's family to the arena?" Mo Shan continued, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Are they bargaining chips, a burden, or a ticking time bomb? If Lin Qiye truly has awakened the bloodline of the ancient demon god 'Candle' within him, as Mo Yuan's report states, then whether his mind is still human is an unknown. How much restraint do his family have over a being with demon god blood, power far exceeding that of ordinary cultivators, and whose mind may have already been corrupted?"

"Commander-in-Chief Mo Shan's concerns are not without merit," President Luo Song nodded slowly. "But on the other hand, the fact that Lin Qiye chose to save Mo Yuan and A Jiu in the Cang Gu Mountains instead of letting them die at the altar shows that he still retains some humanity. And his family members are precisely the key bond that holds him back. If we were to attack his family at this time, we might end up pushing him to the opposite side completely."

"I agree with Chairman Luo's view." The deputy commander of the combat department, a middle-aged woman with a resolute face, spoke up. Her name was Tie Lan, and she had been Mo Shan's partner for many years. She was known for her decisiveness and ruthlessness in battle, but her strategic judgment was always calm. "We currently know very little about Lin Qiye's true condition. Mo Yuan's intelligence is only in written descriptions, without any video recordings, data on the fluctuations of Origin Qi, or even a determination of Lin Qiye's current cultivation level. Under these circumstances, taking hostile action rashly is too risky."

"The risk is too high, but that doesn't mean we should do nothing," Mo Shan said in a deep voice. "At the very least, we should gather his family together and put them under surveillance—"

"Surveillance?" A cold voice came from the corner of the conference room, interrupting him.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound.

The speaker was a young woman standing next to Guild Master Luo Song—she wore a plain white array master's robe, had a beautiful face, and a composure beyond her years. She was Luo Song's personal disciple and Bai Su, the youngest Grandmaster-level array master in the Array Master Guild in recent years.

Bai Su's voice wasn't loud, but every word was as clear as if etched on ice: "Commander-in-Chief Moshan, what exactly do you mean by 'surveillance'? Restricting their freedom? Sending people to follow them 24 hours a day? Or confining them to a specific area?"

Bai Su's words were like a tiny icicle, precisely nailing to the seemingly calm surface of the conference room. After she finished speaking, the entire conference room fell into an even deeper silence than before—not because no one wanted to speak, but because everyone was weighing how their next words would be interpreted.

Mo Shan didn't answer directly. His gaze lingered on Bai Su's young face for a few moments before slowly shifting, sweeping over everyone around the round table. He tapped his fingers lightly three times on the table, then withdrew his hand, leaned back in his chair, and spoke in a voice thick with calluses, honed by decades of battlefield experience: "What I just said was merely a direction. How to proceed specifically is up to you all. After all, this isn't just a matter for the Combat Department, nor just for the Supervisory Board; it's a matter for the entire arena."

His words were extremely tactful—neither directly addressing Bai Su's questioning, nor admitting to advocating for a hardline approach, nor denying it, but rather lightly pushing the issue back to the center of the round table, forcing everyone to take a stand. Each of the seven people in the meeting room represented the interests and positions of different factions in the arena; Mo Shan's "rhetorical question" was tantamount to forcing everyone to lay their cards on the table.

Vice Dean Su Yi chuckled softly, picked up the now-cold teacup in front of her, took a sip, and then slowly spoke after putting the cup down: "Commander-in-Chief Mo Shan is right, this is indeed a matter concerning the entire arena. Since we've come this far, let me offer my opinion first—in my personal opinion, the prerequisite for dealing with Lin Qiye's family is that we must first understand what Lin Qiye's current situation is."

He held up three fingers: "Three key questions. First, to what extent has his power level increased after merging with the bloodline of 'Candle'? Second, is his mind still intact? Third, what is his attitude towards the arena—is it goodwill, malice, or pure indifference? Before these three questions are answered, any action against his family is like the blind men describing an elephant."

"Vice Dean Su is right, but clarifying these three issues won't be a matter of a day or two," Tie Lan interjected. Her voice, unlike Mo Shan's, wasn't rough; it carried a calmness and sharpness unique to those who had experienced countless battles. "Mo Yuan won't be able to bring A Jiu back to the arena until tomorrow evening, and a complete mission report won't be ready for at least another day. As for Lin Qiye himself, according to Mo Yuan's observation, he's still deep within the Canggu Mountains and shows no signs of leaving. In other words, we're discussing someone we know almost nothing about."

"Precisely because we know nothing, we must not act rashly," President Luo Song finally spoke. He spoke slowly, each word as if carefully considered, carrying a weight that compelled attentive listening. "In all my years, I've seen too many examples of people making wrong decisions out of fear. The anomalies in the Canggu Mountains have indeed made us all feel threatened, but a threat is not the same as an enemy. Lin Qiye saved Mo Yuan and A Jiu at a crucial moment, closed the Heavenly Soul-Guiding Array, and suppressed the awakening of the ancient beast—in the end, he is a hero of the arena. If we were to lay a hand on his family under these circumstances, and word got out, who would dare to risk their lives for the arena in the future?"

Mo Shan's brow twitched slightly, but he did not refute her.

"President Luo is right. Morally, we can't do that," Bai Su chimed in. Her voice remained cool, but now carried a hint of argument. "Moreover, from a practical standpoint, Lin Qiye's family is his biggest weakness. If we treat his family well, no matter where he goes, there will always be a thread pulling him back. But if we harm his family, that thread will be severed—not only will he not return to the arena, but he might become the arena's most dangerous enemy."

"I partially agree with what Junior Sister Bai Su said," Mo Shan said. "But have you considered another possibility—if Lin Qiye has been completely assimilated by the bloodline of 'Candle' and his mind has been completely alienated, then his family might be like a piece of meat in the eyes of a ruthless carnivore to him. In that case, treating his family well will not only fail to restrain him, but will instead provide him with the possibility of regaining his humanity. Once he regains his humanity and remembers his wife and children, he will only hate the arena even more—because he will realize that we have exploited his weakness."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of everyone present.

Bai Su's expression changed slightly. She opened her mouth to refute, but realized that Mo Shan's hypothesis was not without merit. If Lin Qiye had truly been completely corrupted by his bloodline, becoming an existence driven only by the instinct for killing and the desire for power, then his family might indeed have lost all meaning for him. Their kindness towards his family would not only fail to restrain him, but might even become a weapon aimed at the arena once he regains his memories.

Silence fell again around the round table.

Shangguan Lin listened quietly to everyone's remarks without interrupting or expressing his opinion. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, his gaze lingering on the faces of each speaker for a moment, as if gathering information or waiting for the right moment.

Only after everyone had finished speaking, leaving only silence and the soft hum of the source energy lamp in the conference room, did he slowly begin to speak.

Shangguan Lin's voice was not loud, and his tone was as calm as a routine speech in a daily meeting, but every word carried an undeniable weight: "After Mo Yuan and A Jiu return, I will speak with them personally. At the same time, I will send a reconnaissance team to the outskirts of the Canggu Mountains to confirm Lin Qiye's current location and condition—but not to enter the depths of the mountains, and not to take any provocative actions. If Lin Qiye voluntarily comes out of the mountains and returns to the arena, we will receive him according to normal procedures, allow him to go home, and not obstruct him in any way. If he stays in the mountains temporarily and does not come out, then we will wait, without forcing or urging him."

He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across every face at the round table: "As for his family—maintain the status quo. No surveillance, no restrictions, no additional protection, and no reduction in their existing living rations. Treat Lin Qiye as if he were still on a regular long-term mission, and everything at his home will continue as normal. This order will be carried out directly by the Oversight Council, without going through any intermediaries."

Mo Shan's brow twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.

President Luo Song nodded slowly, and Bai Su's expression visibly relaxed.

Tie Lan and Su Yi exchanged a glance, then quietly looked away.

Shangguan Lin's words, in effect, set the tone for the entire matter in his capacity as the highest-ranking official—no hostile actions, no overreactions, and a focus on observation and waiting. At the same time, he subtly protected Lin Qiye's family, bringing their interests under the direct control of the Oversight Council to prevent any faction from making any underhanded moves.

The meeting lasted for about half an hour, during which specific matters such as the follow-up handling of the Canggu Mountain Range anomaly, the reinforcement of the northern defense line of the arena, and the information sharing mechanism between the Array Master Guild and the Supervisory Council were discussed. After confirming that there were no other agenda items, Shangguan Lin adjourned the meeting.

……

Meanwhile, deep within the Canggu Mountains.

Lin Qiye was unaware that the arena's higher-ups were holding a two-hour meeting for him, nor that his family had become the center of the arena's power struggle. But he could guess. From the glance Mo Yuan gave him as he carried Ajiu away, he read many things—warning, unease, and a complex, indescribable emotion. He had seen that look before; in Zhu's fragmented memories, the Supreme Beings had initially looked at Zhu with the same gaze.

He didn't rush to leave the Canggu Mountains. Digesting the inheritance within his body needed time, stabilizing his realm needed time, and more importantly—he needed to confirm one thing.

He stood on a low ridge, his feet resting on clusters of shattering, fluorescent blue crystals, sunlight filtering through thinning gray clouds above. He gazed at the distant, slowly sinking bone tower, his eyes calm and profound. In his perception, deep within that bone tower lingered an extremely faint fluctuation—not from an ancient beast, not from an altar, but from a humanoid, highly subtle aura.

There are people inside.

Or rather, someone was once inside. After the altar self-destructed, the inheritance space collapsed, and the candle's remaining will completely dissipated, that wisp of aura lingered like the last spark of fire left behind in the depths of the ruins, barely clinging to life in the darkness.

His gaze sharpened slightly, then he leaped down from the ridge and walked unhurriedly toward the bone tower.