"So that's how it is." Li Fan gave a slight nod, his face as calm as still water, though a faint trace of regret colored his tone. "A single oversight in a hundred precautions—not a failure of strategy itself."

"Hmph! To have deceived us for so long, you truly have some skill!" The face on the smooth stone fragment flickered in and out of visibility, betraying the speaker's profound inner turmoil.

"I should have sensed something was wrong long ago. With Zhou Qing'ang's mediocre abilities, how could he have accomplished several extraordinary feats within just a few years...

"Previously, I was blinded by the bountiful results, merely thinking his fortune had miraculously turned.

"Now, upon reflection, a single instance could perhaps be explained by good...