Volume 8, Chapter 543 – Just How Many Fake Identities Do You Have? (Part 8)

“Uh… well… it was Zhao Ling before, but somehow it’s changed to Qian Ling this time.”

The informant answered with an awkward expression.

“So you’re just playing me for a fool, huh?”

Elder Zhou quickly realized what was happening and cursed angrily, “You little bitch! You really think you can make a fool out of me? With so many hostile factions watching you outside, don’t you fear being captured and turned into a breeding tool someday?”

“Elder Zhou, should we still keep investigating?”

The informant asked cautiously.

“Of course! And we’ll double our efforts! From now on, keep a close eye on the Immortal Stele. The moment any name changes, report to me immediately.”

After a brief moment of thought, Elder Zhou made her decision. She knew all she needed to do was please Hua Yu, whether the names were real or fake didn’t matter.

Soon after, Elder Zhou relayed the new name she had uncovered to Hua Yu.

“It’s changed to Qian Ling now?”

Hua Yu was also caught off guard.

“Yes, at least that’s what the informant said.”

Elder Zhou explained carefully.

“First it was Jiang Ling, then Huang Ling, then Zhao Ling, and now Qian Ling. Are you sure any of these are her real name?”

Hua Yu questioned in a displeased tone.

“I—”

Elder Zhou was momentarily at a loss.

“Forget it. Keep watching and let me know if there are any more changes.”

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Hua Yu took a deep breath. She knew that, for now, Elder Zhou was her only hope.

Hua Yu then passed the newly discovered name to her husband. Even though she couldn’t confirm its authenticity, she had no choice but to try everything.

“Qian Ling? What a tacky name. It doesn’t sound reliable at all!”

Cao Yang hesitated after hearing it.

“We have no choice. We’ll just have to try them one by one.”

Hua Yu reminded him helplessly.

Cao Yang opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately let out a bitter laugh.

Just then, Cao Hui stormed in with a dark expression, muttering, “This is absolutely outrageous!”

“What’s wrong, Father?”

Cao Yang asked in confusion.

“What’s wrong? It’s all because of your wife and concubine situation! We’ve been made fools of twice in a row. Outsiders are mocking us, but now even your uncles are taking the chance to stir up trouble!”

Cao Hui panted in anger.

“What kind of trouble are they causing?”

Cao Yang grew even more puzzled.

“It’s about those names you carved onto the Immortal Stele! You’ve already engraved three names without even consulting them, and now that we’ve been humiliated, they’re questioning your decisions openly.”

Suppressing his fury, Cao Hui explained the situation before adding, “You know how many members the Cao family has. The Immortal Stele is practically out of space, every spot is precious. They won’t tolerate you wasting positions like this.”

“Hmph! As the top genius of the Cao family’s younger generation, don’t I even have the right to engrave a few names? Who are they to interfere?”

Cao Yang’s temper flared instantly.

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“Don’t forget, our branch isn’t the only powerful one in the Cao family. Your Second Grandfather is also a Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert and the vice leader of the Immortal Alliance. He has to secure spots for his own descendants.”

Cao Hui warned.

“Then what do they want?”

Cao Yang demanded.

“They said that since the Immortal Stele didn’t activate yesterday, it proves the three names are fake. They want you to erase them immediately.”

Cao Hui replied.

“Hmph, that only proves ‘Zhao Ling’ is fake. Who can say for sure about ‘Jiang Ling’ and ‘Huang Ling’? They’re clearly using this as an excuse to pressure me.”

Cao Yang sneered before declaring firmly, “If I erase them all, it’ll be like admitting defeat. I refuse to give them that satisfaction! Lü Yi’s talent is far inferior to mine, yet he has hundreds of concubines. Why can’t I, a young master of the Cao family, engrave a few names?”

“That’s my grandson! Such ambition!”

At that moment, Cao Meng reappeared in the room.

After exchanging greetings, Cao Hui quickly said, “Father, I was just about to inform you about this matter.”

“Can’t you even handle such a trivial issue?”

Cao Meng scolded impatiently. “My grandson is the Cao family’s top genius, and I am the clan leader. Who gives his Second Uncle’s family the right to meddle in how many concubine names he engraves? Where’s your backbone?”

“This…”

Cao Hui was left speechless.

“Don’t worry, grandson. As long as your grandfather is here, you can engrave as many names as you want. Anyone who dares to interfere will be silenced, permanently.”

Cao Meng reassured him.

“Thank you, Grandfather!”

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Cao Yang was overjoyed and immediately expressed his gratitude before sharing the latest intelligence.

“Qian Ling it is, then. Who cares if it’s real or fake? Just engrave it.”

Cao Meng gave the order directly before turning to Hua Yu. “Granddaughter-in-law, have your informants keep a close watch on the Huarong Sect’s Immortal Stele. Spread the word that that girl is engraving fake names to stir up more trouble from her enemies. Only by increasing the pressure on her will she have no choice but to act! A mere Incarnation Realm cultivator can’t hide in her sect forever. The moment she’s forced to step outside, she’ll have to engrave her real name on the Immortal Stele for protection.”

“Understood!”

Hua Yu was thrilled, thinking that the older generation truly was wiser.

“Father is brilliant!”

“Father-in-law is brilliant!”

“Grandfather is brilliant!”

The other three also bowed in admiration.

“Father, once we know her real name, what then?”

Soon after, everyone set to their tasks. Ignoring the objections of his clansmen, Cao Yang added the name “Qian Ling” to the concubine list, completely unaware that he was falling right into Qi Huang’s trap.

Meanwhile, in the Huarong Sect, Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling remained completely unaffected. They continued their cultivation and outings as usual.

Of course, since their fake-name scheme had been exposed, they were now accompanied by Divine Realm experts for protection whenever they ventured out.

However, not all Divine Ability Realm experts were equal in strength, so they still encountered dangers from time to time. Yet, Qi Huang quietly resolved every threat behind the scenes.

After returning, Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling would retaliate by changing the names on the Immortal Stele again, just to spite their enemies.

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Over the next month, the names on the Cao family’s Immortal Stele continued to multiply, from “Qian Ling” to “Sun Ling”, then “Zhou Ling”, “Wu Ling”, “Zheng Ling”, “Wang Ling,” and so on. At one point, they attempted to verify the names’ authenticity, but the result was predictable. After that, they no longer dared to test them carelessly and could only grit their teeth and keep adding names.

Seeing that Cao Yang was spiraling out of control, the Cao family’s Second Elder finally lost his patience and personally came to confront him.

The Cao Meng faction naturally refused to back down, leading to a tense standoff. What was once a united family began to fracture, and news of their infighting even spread beyond their walls.

It was only then that Cao Meng realized he might have fallen for that girl’s scheme. He hurriedly tried to mend relations with the Second Elder’s faction.

In the Cao family’s main hall, Cao Meng and his household wore grim expressions, as if facing doomsday.

“Another report just came in, that little bitch changed her name again!”

Hua Yu suddenly announced.

“Damn it! Just how many fake identities does this woman have?!”

Cao Yang couldn’t help but curse before turning to Cao Meng. “Grandfather, what should we do now?”

“What can we do? You can’t keep engraving names! If this continues, the Cao family will tear itself apart before we even uncover that girl’s real identity.”

Cao Meng shook his head helplessly.

“Sigh! To think our mighty Cao family, with the strongest Immortal Stele in the cultivation world and two Heavenly Tribulation Realm powerhouses, can’t even deal with a mere Incarnation Realm girl. How ironic.”

Cao Hui lamented to the heavens.

“It’s not that we can’t deal with her, it’s that we’ve been too restrained!”

Cao Yang’s expression turned cold. “Grandfather, even if we don’t know that girl’s real name, we know the real names of others in the Huarong Sect. If we engrave one of their names instead, once the deadline passes and she doesn’t come to the Cao family as my concubine, she’ll still suffer the backlash. After all, the Immortal Stele’s retribution covers a wide range.”

“Brilliant idea! If we can’t engrave her name, we’ll engrave someone else’s. This is what you call ‘hitting the cow by beating the mountain’!”

Cao Yang’s mother exclaimed excitedly.