Chapter 1182: Fair (2)
Before long, Silverwing was done telling Su Yu all he knew. It wasn't like this was a big secret. He only felt like it would be unwise to report something unconfirmed like this. Since so many sect masters were present during the meeting yesterday, this matter wouldn't remain a secret for long.
Su Yu was stunned.
Holy shit!
What was going on?
Was this...an attempt to distract everyone?
In that case, was it possible that Lan Tian was on their side as well?
But it was hard to say. Perhaps the First Divine Sect master was really being smeared. Su Yu only knew that it was becoming more and more likely for Lan Tian to be working with Wan Tiansheng. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to make such a speculation at a time like this.
Even now, the traitor might still be trying to test Wan Tiansheng's strength. After all, Wan Tiansheng had simply been too talented back then. It was normal to be suspicious of him. But in light of this new rumor, the First Divine Sect master would also receive the traitor's attention. It didn't matter if he was actually Nan Wujiang or not. Meanwhile, Wan Tiansheng would appear much less suspicious.
Su Yu snorted. Just look at those two talking through voice transmissions to hide this from him. What even was the point?
He looked at Silverwing and spoke out loud, "Well done, Silverwing. The next time you hear something like this, reportit to me immediately. I'll verify the information myself."
Then, he tossed a drop of sunmoon profound yellow liquid over. Silverwing was completely dumbfounded.
Holy...
This guy was way too generous.
Was a random gossip like that even worth this much? Meanwhile, the eighth elder was stunned as well. He cursed inwardly. Was Profound Nine being so wasteful because he thought he wouldn't live for long? Yes, he had earned a lot recently. But sunmoon profound yellow liquid was still not something one could give out casually like that.
Titanic Strength was stunned as well.
What?
Su Yu laughed, "Interesting. First Divine Sect master...Nan Wujiang...how interesting. You might not know this, but I love solving mysteries. If we can verify this information, I believe we'll be able to easily sell this information for several hundred drops of Sunmoon blood essence."
Finally, Titanic Strength realized what was happening.
Holy shit! Silverwing had actually earned a drop of sunmoon profound yellow liquid just by passing on something so many of them knew. Official source ıs N0veI.Fiɾe.net
Su Yu said, "Eighth Elder, if the headquarters can't verify this information, I wish to take some people with me and investigate it. If this is true, Nan Wujiang must be planning something big. That's the only reason someone will hide himself so deeply. Looks like things are going to get more and more interesting in the Human Realm."
The eighth elder rolled his eyes. There was no point in trying to hide this anymore. He said, "I'll check with the Yellow Department first. If they can't verify this information, you can try to investigate. This might be very important."
Su Yu laughed, "Will do. Eighth Elder, that guy is also a very dangerous person. Perhaps he's even trying to scheme against Invincibles. He's too strong. If I need to investigate him, I'll need to borrow Titanic Strength and the others for a bit. With them, the five Sunmoons already under me, and First Profound Elder, I'll have twelve early Sunmoons, five middle Sunmoons, and three late Sunmoons in the group. Including me, we'll have twenty-one Sunmoons. I suppose this is enough to deal with even the First Divine Sect master."
The eighth elder had never thought about this before. But after hearing Su Yu listing them out, he couldn't help but hesitate.
Twenty-one Sunmoons!
That was too much power to concentrate in the hands of a single white mask. Then again, Profound Nine would only be the temporary leader. He wouldn't gain full control over these experts. That was the only reason this arrangement was still acceptable.
"What about Nanyuan?"
Su Yu said, "There's no rush. We can focus on clearing the surroundings first before focusing our strength on those within Nanyuan. That place will erupt in chaos sooner or later. But the current peace will likely remain until the ruin emerges."
He laughed and continued, "We'll allow chaos to keep festering in the Human Realm. From what I know, the humans aren't really united. A lot of human experts are forcing the Xia Family to open Su Yu's house to everyone. We'll wait and see how things develop."
The eighth elder nodded and looked at Titanic Strength, "Titanic Strength Sect master, you know the Myriad Race Cult better. You also know more about the First Divine Sect master than us. If you don't have any objections, may I suggest you assist Profound Nine with this task for now? The First Divine Sect master will remain an uncontrollable variable regardless of whether he's Nan Wujuang. Lan Tian is also a variable. I much prefer to have both variables dealt with before we start making our move on the ruin."
The sect master looked at Su Yu in silence before nodding, "Fine. If I only need to provide him some support instead of taking orders from him, I can accept this arrangement."
This was his final attempt to save some face. This way, he could claim that he was assisting instead of taking orders from Profound Nine.
"In that case, please inform the other sect masters about this. During your time in the Human Realm, you will be receiving your tasks from Profound Nine."
"Sure."
Titanic Strength said nothing else. His agreement was as good as the agreement of the other sect masters. He was only here as a puppet. They had been maintaining contact with each other even while he was negotiating with the pavilion.
The eighth elder smiled. What an encouraging development. Profound Nine had performed admirably this time. He had picked the perfect timing to make their move on the Myriad Race Cult. This was their best opportunity to do so since everyone else was too focused on Nanyuan to interfere with what they were doing.
The pavilion wouldn't have been able to subdue all these people so easily at any other time. Everything had been going smoothly, as though fate itself was smiling at the pavilion.
Just look at how the two strongest leaders of the cult had ended up as suspected spies at such a crucial moment. Without this convenient scandal, neither of them would be able to easily ruin the pavilion's attempt at subduing the cult experts.
One could even say that the pavilion had gained enough experts to offset what they lost recently. While entering the Human Realm, they had lost an elder. Another elder had betrayed them while a few enforcers and white masks had been killed. But they had gained almost the same number of experts just by subduing these cult experts.
The eighth elder was very satisfied with the role Profound Nine had played in this. In addition to these cult experts, they had also gained the intelligence network the cult had established all over the Human Realm. Furthermore, they had also gained a large number of Mountainseas and Cloudbreaches from the cult without losing much.
This was such a massive gain. Just by subduing all these cultists, the pavilion's position in the Human Realm had stabilized considerably. Very few powers could match their current strength in the Human Realm anymore.
He sent Su Yu a voice transmission, "Profound Nine, no matter what, you still need to be more polite toward the two late-stage Sunmoons. After all, they will be your colleagues in the future. However, don't fully trust them. Remind First Profound Nine to keep an eye on them."
"Yes, Elder. Don't worry. I know what to do."
"Good. Also, if you have no way of verifying First Divine Sect master's identity, don't force it. Even if he's really Nan Wujiang, we won't be his target. But you still need to be careful. If he's Nan Wujiang, that unknown Invincible will be his true target. Be careful and try to avoid getting involved with that Invincible."
Su Yu answered, "I understand. I'll also try to investigate more about that Invincible while I'm at it. I suspect that Invincible will probably test First Divine himself after hearing about this. Eighth Elder, I'll have to trouble both you and the third elder to be on standby as I might require assistance at any time."
"Sure."
The eighth elder agreed readily. All these people were potential competitors for the ruin anyway. It was only a matter of time before the pavilion clashed against them. Gathering more information about any potential competitor would thus be a wise action to take.
After all, the third elder was also leading a force of about ten late Sunmoons. If they were to lose all their forces in the Human Realm both he and the third elder would not be spared by the pavilion. This would be a disastrous loss for even the pavilion.
***
After the negotiation, Titanic Strength and the other sect masters stopped hesitating and convened with Su Yu's group. They were all given white masks.
This was different from Silverwing and company, who were only given black masks when they joined. But they didn't mind this much either since they all understood the difference in strength between them and these newly joined sect masters. All five white masks were temporarily assigned under First Profound's command.
Feeling talkative, Su Yu sent First Profound a voice transmission, "Look at you, Elder! You're now the most powerful elder in the four departments. Including me, you have about twenty Sunmoons under you, with two late-stage Sunmoons among them! If you include yourself, you can even muster a force with three late-stage Sunmoons!"
"Are you a Sunmoon?" First Profound snapped, "Stop talking like you're a Sunmoon as well."
Had this little shit forgotten his real cultivation level? Was the little shit not ashamed of saying that? Then again, the little shit was right. He had indeed become the most powerful elder in the four departments.
Apart from Lan Tian and the First Divine Sect master, almost all of them had submitted to the pavilion, and the bulk of these former cultists were now under his command. Naturally, his calculation did not include the smaller sects who were too weak to be considered.
In the eyes of Su Yu and his elder, a sect without at least one Sunmoon was not a sect. They were only good for serving as cannon fodder. For example, some sects were led by mere Skysoars. It was likely that these Skysoars didn't even have a way of contacting the races they were supposed to represent.
In short, excluding the First Divine Sect and Original Devil Sect, all the other sects of note had submitted to the pavilion.
Chapter 1183: Fair (3)
As time passed, rumors of Nan Wujiang's survival started spreading.
After checking with the pavilion, Su Yu received notice that they were unable to verify Nan Wujiang's death.
It was only known that back then, Nan Wujiang had battled a Pseudo Invincible divine near the Sea of Stars. Eventually, both perished together. When Great Xia King arrived, only Nan Wujiang's battle character was left.
Yet again, it was Great Xia King!
Was he a professional corpse collector?
He was there to collect Ye Batian's remains. He was also there to collect Nan Wujiang's remains. Su Yu even started suspecting that perhaps Great Xia King had also been the one to collect the remains of all the other dead principals. How would there be so many grottos in the academy otherwise?
Clearly, Great Xia King was very bad at arriving when he was needed.
Then again, according to the records, Great Xia King himself had also been in a battle with an Invincible divine during Nan Wujiang's battle. They only stopped their battle to perform their task as corpse collectors after the two Pseudo Invincibles were dead.
According to the two Invincibles, a moon was seen falling from the sky that day.
However, the two Invincibles had only caught a glimpse from afar and they had assumed that the two moons had merely overlapped as both combatants had died at the same time. But was that really the case? Nobody doubted this story.
After all, nobody was near enough to bear a proper account of what happened. It was only known that the battle had been very intense as the clashes could be felt from far away.
Unlike the others who could only remain doubtful after hearing about this, Su Yu was losing control over his curiosity. Then again, he could simply ask about it. Why should he remain doubtful like the others? And thus, he took the most straightforward option available to him.
"Principal, is the third principal really not dead?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know about this? Lan Tian is with you, right?"
"I don't know."
"Fine. I'll take my people and get to killing Lan Tian, then."
"Go ahead."
"..."
That was Wan Tiansheng's reply. He knew nothing. He didn't care about Lan Tian. Su Yu felt exceptionally gloomy. Why was Old Wan still keeping secrets from him? As for Old Wan's indifference to Lan Tian's fate, Old Wan probably thought that he would fail to kill Lan Tian. Or perhaps Old Wan believed that Lan Tian's death did not matter.
"Do you know the identity of First Profound Elder?"
"I don't know."
"What do you know?"
"I only know that your martial uncle seems to have arrived near Nanyuan. But it's unlikely that he will be able to enter the city smoothly."
Su Yu was speechless. Was that all Old Wan had to say? Fine, fine, that was also important to him. But his martial uncle was definitely aware that the ruin was fake. After all, he had received the Culture Tomb from none other than his martial uncle. With the Culture Tomb appearing inside the supposed ruin, it would be obvious to his martial uncle that the ruin was fake.
Whatever. It was about time he returned to Nanyuan again. He could also took the chance to take note of those who were targetting the Xia Family. As far as he was concerned, anyone still targetting the Xia Family right now would not be a good guy. He could then find a good excuse and opportunity to wipe all those people out with the over twenty Sunmoons he had at his disposal.
Yeap. He was just that brazen.
***
7th of November.
Nanyuan.
More and more experts were arriving in Nanyuan while all the local residents had been relocated from the city. Even the Martial Dragon Guard had withdrawn all soldiers below the Skysoar Realm. The remaining Martial Dragon Guard soldiers and five thousand Strength Guard soldiers were in charge of surrounding the entire city.
As for the Xia Family, two more of their late-stage Sunmoons had arrived. These were also the Sunmoons previously in charge of watching over their minor realms. As of this moment, the entire Nanyuan was akin to a bomb waiting to explode.
An incredibly large number of late-stage Sunmoons had gathered in the city. The attention of the myriad races was also focused on this place. This was the largest gathering of Sunmoons in over three hundred years. The experts of the various human prefectures had also arrived.
In short, the entire place was in a mess. Nobody knew how many Sunmoons would perish the moment a battle broke out.
***
Su Yu had arrived as well.
But this time, he did not actually enter the city proper. It was way too chaotic in there, with Great Xia trying to expel all those experts. In fact, things were looking very tense, with those from Great Xia putting forth an unyielding stance.
The likes of Marquis Xia, General Zhao, and Administrator Hu were all releasing their auras as an act of warning against all the uninvited visitors. Things weren't any less calm outside the city.
As Su Yu approached with a few late-stage Sunmoons, he heard someone shouting, "Marquis Xia, the Xia Family is a part of humanity, right? These young multiple character geniuses are also the hope of humanity. We're not even asking for much. We only hope to experience the leaked aura of the Culture Tomb and benefit slightly from it. Would you rather let the aura dissipate away than let your fellow humans benefit from it?"
Marquis Xia replied coldly, "Don't bother using that bullshit excuse on me. Geniuses? Hope of humanity? How ridiculous. Great Xia has plenty of geniuses. You don't deserve something just because you are a genius. Is Su Yu big enough of a genius? You all agree that he's a super genius, right? But what did he receive from us? When he was surrounded by the myriad races in the ancient city, how many human experts went to his rescue? Why weren't you there spouting your nonsense about hope of humanity?"
Marquis Xia sneered, "If you're really such a genius, fight for what you want. Great Xia's multiple character faction has fought in the battlefield for many years, sustaining disastrous losses. Where were you when they were bleeding and dying? Why hadn't any of you offered to help Hong Tan and the others advance because they were the hope of humanity? Where were you when Liu Wenyan was forced into exile?"
"Marquis, this is different." Someone argued, "Humanity has also sacrificed a lot to protect this line. Take Ye Batian's dao affirmation as an example. So many human Invincibles rendered help. You can't remember only your sufferings. You have to remember the kindness shown to you as well. The sufferings of Hong Tan and the others aren't even caused by us. It was Ye Batian. You can't push the blame on us."
Marquis Xia said, "True. Therefore, go and work hard for what you want. You won't be getting anything for free from us."
"Marquis, must you do this?" A Sunmoon protested, "These young geniuses..."
"Shut up!" Marquis Xia rolled his eyes, "I don't even know why you're calling these people geniuses repeatedly. Sure, go and kill a genius from the Heavenly Hunt Index. I will acknowledge their genius right after. Kill one index genius and I'll allow you entry. You must work for what you want. This is only fair, right?"
The moment those words were said, the surrounding myriad race geniuses sneered.
One of them said, "Marquis Xia is right. Come on. Let's have some fun. Step forth and challenge any of us you want. As long as you can kill someone in the same cultivation level, you will get what you want. Don't worry, we won't charge you for this. We'll become your sparring partners for free. Don't forget that it's not often we waste our time on pieces of trash."
The myriad race geniuses were finding this entire matter amusing. No proper genius was a coward. Those with their names on the Heavenly Hunt Index were all who had fought their way there with actual abilities.
Those on the index would only acknowledge the people on the index. All these people were there because of what they were capable of, not because of their luck. No index genius would fear battle as battle was how they got on the index.
Then again, they were still unsure about the strength of these so-called human geniuses. That was why they had limited the challenge to those in the same cultivation level. Most of the time, an index genius wouldn't even fear fighting those with a higher cultivation level.
***
Beyond the crowd, Su Yu smiled.
Marquis Xia was still as shrewd as ever.
He only required them to kill a myriad race genius to be permitted entry. As for whether they would gain something after entering, that had nothing to do with the marquis. If those from Great Xia's multiple character faction could benefit from the ruin while these geniuses couldn't, they could only blame themselves for their lack of talent. The source of thɪs content is n0velfire.net
After all, everyone could see how all the members of Great Xia's multiple character faction had advanced into the Sunmoon Realm, excluding the pitiful and weak Bai Feng.
***
The expressions of the human geniuses changed slightly upon hearing Marquis Xia's words.
At this moment, someone laughed and said, "Marquis, you can't allow only the multiple character faction to benefit from this, right? Us warriors can give this a try as well."
Marquis Xia glanced at the Qin Fang, who was mounted on his flying sky tiger and clad in his black armor before saying, "Qin Fang, I'll naturally allow you entry so long as you can return to the Heaven Index."
"..."
How hurtful.
Qin Fang laughed awkwardly and said, "Marquis, this isn't too fair. Dao Cheng has recently entered the Heaven Index. What can I do about that? Brother Dao Cheng is very strong. Yes, yes, he got his ass whopped by Su Yu and nearly died, but he is still a Mountainsea thanks to the valiant sacrifice of his teacher he killed with his own hands. How am I his match?"
Among the crowd, the immortals glared at him coldly. Dao Cheng was present as well, but he acted like he had heard nothing. He kept fiddling with a character in his hand. After glancing at Dao Cheng, Qin Fang smiled and said nothing else. Inwardly, he grew even more wary. Dao Cheng was way too patient and calm.
***
While the crowd was arguing with those from Great Xia, Su Yu did a quick headcount of his people before sending them a voice transmission, "Take note of those humans who had argued against the marquis and assassinate them. The Xia Family will take the blame for this. Be very careful lest you expose our presence here. This will create more internal chaos among the humans."
"You're wise, Lord."
They all agreed readily. They were very good at sowing chaos. It would seem like their lord was ready to do something big. That was the only possibility if they were already starting to assassinate human experts.
As for Su Yu, he remained completely indifferent. This was not something he should hesitate about. So what if he was ordering his fellow humans killed? He found them an eyesore. That was a good enough reason for them to die.
Even the myriad races had yet to do anything. Meanwhile, these fellow humans were the ones eager to create more trouble for Great Xia.
Very well, then. This gave him a good excuse to deal with them. He didn't even need to do anything himself. He only needed to order it done. To soothe the poor souls of his fellow humans who would die soon, he decided to kill all these index geniuses as well before the end of this incident.
After all, he was a very fair man.
Chapter 1184: Ji Hong Under Attack (1)
Outside the city, some of the young human geniuses from the minor realms appeared hesitant, but some were also eager.
Su Yu didn't really feel any hatred toward these people. But he didn't have a good opinion of them either. For him, they were mere strangers. Rather, most of his displeasure had landed on the people who had been instigating these young geniuses against the Xia Family. In fact, he was greatly displeased with this.
This was not a regular internal conflict between fellow humans. Here, various races had congregated. Yet these humans were the ones busy going after their fellow humans in front of the other races before the other races even had the chance to do anything. The entire human race had been rendered into a joke in front of the myriad races. Furthermore, Su Yu was still someone who had grown up in Great Xia. He would naturally be somewhat biased toward Great Xia.
As Su Yu was giving out his orders, a human genius made a move.
That was a youth in his twenties with long hair cascading down his shoulders. After receiving a voice transmission from a Sunmoon, he sighed and stepped forth. After giving the surrounding myriad race geniuses a gaze, he spoke softly, "Hou Pingshao of Great Shang, a seventh-stage Cloudbreach..."
He paused and looked around again. When his gaze landed on one of the myriad race geniuses in the crowd, he continued, "Botai, are you interested in a spar?"
Botai was a seventh-stage Cloudbreach, 137th on the Yellow Index and a member of the mooneater wolf race. This was not a top 100 race, and it was quite rare to see a young genius from outside the top 100 race in the index.
The mooneater wolf race was ranked in the top 300 with a Pseudo Invincible in the race. It wasn't exactly that weak of a race. It was also a vassal race of the devil race. In fact, this young genius was here under the orders of the devil race.
Hearing Hou Pingshao's challenge, Botai smiled and stepped forth without saying anything. With the same smile on his face, a tiny red glint flickered in his eyes. He did not waste his time with words. He saw no need in that.
His feat of entering the index as someone from a minor race was enough to speak about his abilities. The major races had more resources, stronger talent, cultivation methods, and weapons. But so what? He had entered the index through sheer talent.
"Die!"
There wasn't even a need for a referee. With a shout, the fight began. In the blink of an eye, Botai transformed back into his original form, a demonic wolf with sharp claws. Shooting forward like a bolt of lightning, he swiped his claws at Hou Pingshao. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel-fire.net
Hou Pingshao was also an experienced combatant due to the many battles he had participated in during his time in the minor realm. He instantly manifested his characters while stepping back.
One character after another appeared.
Suppression.
Overwhelming force.
Seas of flame.
All sorts of abilities erupted from his many characters.
Quite a lot of people stepped forth to get a better look at the battle. Since both combatants were Cloudbreaches, the human genius must be a rather talented one to have the courage to challenge an index genius.
Even Bai Feng and Hong Tan stepped out of Su Yu's house to watch the battle. From the look in their eyes, their feelings toward the other multiple character cultivators were quite complicated.
Just how good were the multiple character cultivators trained in secret by the other prefectures? They wanted to see this for themselves.
The various prefectures had pushed the fifth principal's line to the forefront to distract the myriad races while they trained their own multiple character cultivators in secret. After so many years, they were finally ready to show these secret geniuses. Thus, those from the Xia Family weren't the only ones interested in taking a look at them. A lot of people were interested in these secret geniuses.
Su Yu was paying attention as well. Just how good were these people? A majority of humanity had given up on Great Xia's multiple character faction because they believed that they had other options to produce an Invincible cultural researcher. Instead of relying on the Xia Family, they could also train their own people for the task.
After a while, Su Yu concluded that these people were probably not that bad. Hou Pingshao had formed his character technique and a decent number of characters. A majority of his characters were also at the third tier. It might even be possible that all his characters were at that level.
His character technique assumed the form of a sword. It was safe to assume that he specialized in offense.
He wasn't astonishingly strong, but he was by no means weak either. He was even quite experienced in combat. Evidently, he hadn't been wasting his time in the minor realm. He was quite different from the cultural researchers who had only grown through meditation in seclusion, which was what Su Yu had expected him to be in the beginning.
One man and one wolf battled in the sky. The shockwaves generated from their clashes were stronger than even what some late-stage Cloudbreaches could produce. Clearly, Hou Pingshao had a reason to be confident in himself.
***
"Teacher, what do you think?"
Bai Feng looked at Hong Tan and inquired.
After a short silence, Hong Tan nodded, "The various prefectures are no fools. He's not trash. He's actually good. But he's not outstanding."
This was a favorable review, but it was not exactly a glowing review. After all, a genius needed to be more than good. A genius needed to be outstanding.
From what Hong Tan could see, Hou Pingshao had only been demonstrating the regular combat strength of a multiple character cultivator. He had been relying on the sheer number of characters he had and the many abilities of these characters to give him a slight edge over Botai.
Hong Tan added, "But this won't work if it goes on for much longer. A cultural researcher utilizes a lot of willpower during combat, especially a multiple character cultivator. Most multiple character cultivators will have a strong momentum at the start of battle before losing momentum during the course of battle. Meanwhile, Botai is a warrior. He might seem suppressed at the moment, but the injuries you see on him are not that serious. He has plenty of source qi to spare. If Hou Pingshao can't end this in thirty moves, he will suffer a defeat."
Bai Feng nodded. This was applicable for most cultural researchers and was especially pronounced for multiple character cultivators. Endurance was most certainly an area they were weak at.
Not everyone was Su Yu. With Zhao Li's Soul Expanding Art, he was able to forge a sea of willpower that was as durable as a Mountainsea's.
Even Bai Feng himself would always try to avoid prolonged fights if he could help it. Most of the time, he would use all his strength right as the battle started. After a few moves, he would decide whether he should press on or flee.
As a fresh Cloudbreach, Bai Feng shared his own analysis, "He seems to be quite experienced with combat. In fact, it feels like he has more experience in combat than me. But...he does not have a firm grasp on the essence of multiple character cultivation."
Hong Tan laughed and asked, "Essence? What are you referring to?"
Bai Feng thought about it and said, "Ferocity. He is too proper. He fights as if he is ticking a checklist of everything he has learned from a textbook. It almost feels like he's eagerly trying to show everything he knows to prove that he's really a multiple character cultivator with his many characters and abilities..." "But some abilities are only effective in specific scenarios. He should have pulled his character technique out and fought ferociously before deciding if he should push on or flee."
Hong Tan said nothing to that. He continued observing the battle for a while before saying, "The teacher of this young man is probably Shang Yunshao of Shang Family. He must be the main person in charge of training the secret geniuses of Great Shang. He used to be a researcher in Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Forty-two years ago, he left and returned to Great Shang. He came from the same generation as your grandteacher. When he left, he was a peak Mountainsea. That was also the time when the suppression of the multiple character faction was at its highest. I had always believed that he had left because he couldn't withstand the suppression. Seems like he had simply received a new task to train some secret geniuses for Great Shang instead."
Bai Feng nodded. He still knew a bit about these seniors of the multiple character faction. After the fifth principal's death, Liu Wenyan was exiled while Hong Tan was too young. Because of that, the multiple character faction lost a core personage everyone could rally around. Before long, the remaining experts who were not locals of Great Xia started leaving one after another.
Strictly speaking, these people weren't from the direct line of the fifth principal. Nevertheless, they had still enjoyed his teachings and guidance when he was around. Back then, the multiple character faction was quite big.
Thus, many of these secret geniuses were actually taught by former members of Great Xia's multiple character faction.
Suddenly, a Sunmoon from Great Shang ordered, "Concede and withdraw yourself."
As a Sunmoon, he was still good enough to see how the battle was going. Prior to this, the wolf had been the one to endure a beating from the human. But right as those words were spoken, the wolf howled, sending massive shockwaves all over the area.
"Awooo!"
The shockwaves washed over Hou Pingshao's body. For a split second, the look in his eyes slackened. And right at that moment, the bloodied wolf swiped his claws forward at a speed that was slightly faster than before.
Alarmed, the Sunmoon from Great Shang reached out in an attempt to rescue the young genius. Alas, a devil appeared before him and punched his palm.
"We're not here for games." The devil sneered and said, "Since the challenge has been issued, adults should refrain from interfering in the fight of children."
Boom!
The Sunmoon from Great Shang was sent flying. At the same time, Hou Pingshao recovered from his short daze. With a furious roar, he formed his character technique with fourteen characters and attacked with all his strength.
Whoosh!
The sword managed to stab through the incoming paw, but not before the claws on the paw turned Hou Pingshao's head into mincemeat.
Botai pushed his victory and clawed at the floating sea of willpower in front of him. Even as that happened, he had an amused look in his eyes. He had merely been treating this challenge as a game and his opponent as a toy.
This human was decently strong...but he fought more like a performer than a fighter. Sure, multiple character cultivators were known for their flashy and abundant abilities. But most of the time, these flashy abilities would only serve to waste more energy than necessary. Such a fighting style would only work against weaker opponents, not someone equal or stronger.
While Botai's claws were shooting toward the floating sea of willpower, a youth shot out of the crowd. Moving at a rapid speed, multiple characters manifested around him before linking together into a net around the sea of willpower. With a slight pull, the sea of willpower vanished. Meanwhile, the devil merely smiled and did nothing to interfere.
After putting the sea of willpower away, the youth landed on the ground and looked at the wolf. The wolf also looked at the youth. With a murderous gleam in his eyes, he asked, "Are you here to throw your life away as well?"
Hou Pingshao had yet to die. He had merely lost his physical body, the same fate Shan Xiong had suffered previously. Even so, this was still an absolute defeat for him. If it wasn't for this youth, he would have been dead by now.
The youth frowned solemnly as he muttered, "Yellow Index..."
He looked incomparably solemn.
Chapter 1185: Ji Hong Under Attack (2)
Hou Pingshao had not arrogantly challenged someone in the Heaven Index or even the Profound Index. Instead, he had merely challenged someone ranked at the bottom of the Yellow Index. And he had even picked someone from a minor race to challenge. Even so, he had still suffered such a disastrous defeat.
One ought to remember that this was an opponent at the same cultivation level. Those from the multiple character faction had always been known to be undefeatable in the same cultivation level. That had clearly been proven wrong today.
The look in the eyes of the surrounding human geniuses also changed. Hou Pingshao was one the strongest among them. Yet even someone like him had been defeated so badly.
The youth finally spoke, "I'm a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. Are you going to fight me?"
The wolf transformed back to his human form before flashing a blood-thirsty grin, "Ninth-stage Cloudbreach of the multiple character faction. Someone like this is too strong for me. But I can find you a suitable opponent if you're interested."
The youth's expression changed slightly as he asked, "Are you not willing to accept my challenge?"
Botai merely sneered, "I've just finished a battle. Since I'm quite tired, I shall spare you once. Brother Huokong, are you interested in having some fun with this guy?"
A devil with a clump of flame on his forehead stepped out of the crowd with a sneer on his face.
"Huokong of the earthfire devil race, ninth-stage Cloudbreach and fourteenth on Yellow Index. Human, why don't we have some fun?"
The youth's expression turned even more solemn than before.
Huokong spoke again, "Come on. We're not even getting the likes of Mo Duona to fight. I'm only someone from the Yellow Index. Am I not good enough for you? Where is the enthusiasm you showed when you were interfering with the fight previously?"
Huokong grinned, "Multiple character faction? Undefeatable in the same cultivation level? Come on. Kill me and you'll enter the Yellow Index. As a genius from the multiple character faction, are you incapable of entering even the Yellow Index? Do you only have the courage to fight someone in the seventh stage as a ninth-stage Cloudbreach? That won't be good enough to get you on the Yellow Index, you know?"
"A genius should have the ability to punch above his level. Or at the very least, he needs to be able to contend against those on the same level. Am I right?"
After saying that, Huokong roared with laughter. The youth remained silent. Behind him, the expressions of the young geniuses became incomparably solemn. Yellow Index...Botai was only someone over a hundred in rank. Meanwhile, this devil was ranked in the top twenty of the Yellow Index.
And the Yellow Index was merely the weakest of the four indexes. Thanks to Mo Duona's demonstration not long ago, all these secret geniuses were made aware of how strong those on the Heaven Index were. But surprisingly, even those from the Yellow Index were so terrifyingly strong.
The other myriad race geniuses started heckling as well, "Go on! Fight already! Beat Huokong to death and enter Su Yu's house! You can benefit a lot from this!"
"Do it! Do it! Kill Huokong! Don't worry, if the devils try to stop you, all of us will stand against them!"
"Hahaha, we're not like those cowards from Great Shang where we will get our Sunmoons to act when we lose a fight. Don't worry. We will be more than happy to see Huokong dead. Things are getting boring with all the familiar faces on the index. It will be a lot more interesting to have some new faces around."
The myriad race geniuses continued roaring with laughter as they mocked the humans.
Huokong did not seem offended at all. Instead, he grinned and said, "So? You are free to kill me if you can. Don't worry. I won't get the experts from my race to interfere. And we're not as crazzy as those blood fire fellows. If I can't even prevail over a nobody from the same cultivation level, dying is the least I can do."
Ultimately, the youth decided to withdraw instead of accepting the challenge.
***
"Trash."
A white mask beside Su Yu sneered.
Su Yu said nothing. He disagreed. What was the point of blindly throwing one's life away? He could see that the human youth's cultivation base was slightly unstable. This shouldn't be that much of an issue against regular ninth-stage Cloudbreaches, but facing a devil at the top of the Yellow Index with unstable cultivation was tantamount to suicide.
Were those in the Yellow Index weak? Well, Su Yu would say that they were absolute weaklings.
But one should never forget that of the countless geniuses the myriad races had to offer, only 630 of them could enter the Heavenly Hunt Index. If any random human could defeat an index genius, humanity could have conquered the Myriad Realms long ago.
As for Su Yu...he was an anomaly. His strength far surpassed the level of what his cultivation level should have granted.
With a smile, Su Yu said, "I disagree. I call that a strategic retreat. That's the smart thing to do. Why die when you can live?"
A different white mask said, "Lord, looks like these so-called secret geniuses of humanity are nothing special, after all."
Su Yu said, "Be fair. Who knows? Maybe some of them are hiding their strength. It's not like they are stupid. Do you think the truly strong ones among them wish to be the second Su Yu? Is it fun to attract the fear of the myriad races and receive the same treatment as Su Yu? I'm confident some of them are still hiding their strength even now."
In fact, Su Yu could see that there were some who were far stronger among the secret geniuses. But all these people had refrained from doing anything. He was right. As multiple character cultivators, they certainly didn't want to demonstrate their talent too much lest they receive the same treatment as those from the fifth principal's line.
First Profound said, "If they're going to keep hiding their strength, why are they even here? They might as well remain in their minor realms."
Su Yu laughed, "Be understanding. The prefectures intend to have them broaden their horizons. Through this, they will finally understand how big the world is and how strong some people are. With this experience, they will know what to expect the next time they leave their minor realms."
First Profound nodded and switched to voice transmission, "Why are you being so generous toward them? Shouldn't you hate them instead?"
Su Yu looked at the elder with astonishment and replied, "An orphan lives in an orphanage with many other orphans. For some reason, that orphan is disliked by the adults running the orphanage. Because of that, he suffers from neglect. The fault lies in the adults. What's the point of blaming the other orphans? When the orphan boy finally grows into a powerful man, will he deign to take reprisals against the other orphans from his childhood? Rather than the clueless orphans, the adults are naturally the ones who should suffer his wrath."
"..."
First Profound was left quite speechless. After a while, he asked, "But normally, a powerful individual won't even deign to lift a hand against those adults either. Something like petty revenge is beneath the truly powerful ones."
Su Yu smiled and said, "Yes, that's how it would go normally. But there's more to the story. Once, a bunch of thugs picked a fight with the orphanage. But only the neglected orphan boy was beaten. Meanwhile, the adults merely watched indifferently. They consoled themselves saying that the father of the orphan boy used to be a bad man. These thugs were only there because of the bad father. The orphan boy deserved it. What then? Isn't it only fair for the orphan boy to hold a grudge against the adults?"
This seemed to be a difficult question for First Profound. After thinking about it for a while, he said, "But...those adults were never obligated to protect the orphan boy, right?"
"Yes, that's a valid argument. But there's more to the story. At the time, an adult stepped forth to protect the boy. As a result, all the other adults started boycotting and suppressing that one adult. Some even thought of killing that adult. Do they not deserve the wrath of the boy?"
"Are you talking about the Xia Family?"
Only the Xia Family had stepped forth to make a stand for the multiple character faction.
Su Yu laughed and said, "Inaction is acceptable. As an orphan, it is only fair that the boy relies only on himself. Oh, the adults don't want to feed him? So be it. The adults don't want to protect him? So be it. But why are they targeting the one adult who has decided to help the boy? Should the boy not release his retribution toward these adults?"
Once again, First Profound was rendered speechless. This time, he said nothing else.
Su Yu did not continue the conversation either. As he said, it was understandable that they would suffer due to what the fifth principal had done. What could they do but blame their bad luck for having such a person in their line?
But when the Xia Family stepped forth to help the multiple character faction, the other factions started targeting them as well. The many years of so-called conflict between the single and multiple character factions was one way of targeting the Xia Family.
The act of taking Xia Longwu's dao affirmation hostage was another way of targeting the Xia Family.
And that...was not acceptable.
After a long silence, First Profound suddenly spoke again, "Those thugs are too powerful for the other adults to handle. When the thugs threaten to kill all the other orphans unless that one orphan boy is surrendered to them, what should they do? What would you do in their position?"
Su Yu gave it some thought and answered, "Those thugs are also slightly fearful of those adults. In the same position, I would notify that boy secretly even if I lacked the will to fight for the boy. That would give the boy a chance to flee. Sending the boy to his death would never be the right thing to do regardless of the circumstances. That alone is enough to perhaps earn a tiny bit of gratitude from the boy."
At that, First Profound inhaled deeply and sank into silence again. Perhaps Su Yu was right. His feelings about this topic were mixed. The boy returning with vengeance to bring retribution toward all those adults was not the sight he wanted to see. Perhaps...he simply couldn't understand this because he had not experienced what the boy had experienced.
He also realized that perhaps Hong Tan and the others also shared Su Yu's opinion. This time, the conversation did not resume.
The battle between the young geniuses did not resume.
Bored with the lack of action, Su Yu sent a voice transmission to everyone in the group, "Everyone, think of a way to lure these people away from the others. We'll kill them all and frame the Xia Family for it."
"Yes, Lord." Follow current novᴇls on novel✶fire.net
The others grew excited at the thought of sowing more chaos.
It felt amazing to work with Profound Nine. Their group was decently strong and they could kill without worrying about reprisals. This was a good feeling to have, especially for the former cultists. They had never been able to act so brazenly before.
Now, they could finally let loose.
Chapter 1186: Ji Hong Under Attack (3)
The clash between the geniuses had ended before ever reaching a climax.
Bored, Su Yu decided to throw the matter to the back of his mind. These geniuses wouldn't even be the main players of what was to come. Perhaps they believed so. But as far as Su Yu was concerned, they wouldn't even qualify as side characters for the coming event.
And that included someone like Mo Duona, a genius with the strength to combat Sunmoons.
Su Yu also acknowledged that without consuming blood essence, even he himself might not be strong enough to participate as a major player. And even the boost of strength he could gain after consuming blood essence might not be enough.
Luring these people away from the others was not an impossible task.
Su Yu started thinking of a plan. He intended to lure these people in batches. Every batch removed would lighten the pressure on the Xia Family more.
***
While Su Yu was busy scheming.
And while everyone was focused on Nanyuan.
One First Divine Sect hideout after another was destroyed. A large number of its members were killed as well. And that was not all.
Great Xia City.
A large number of experts had been deployed out of the city recently, resulting in a lack of experts in the capital. Because of that, the number of murders in Great Xia had been rising as of late.
Great Xia was naturally forced to react. As the director of the Talent Fostering Bureau and a Sunmoon, Ji Hong was tasked to patrol and ensure peace within Great Xia.
At the moment, he was carrying out his patrol duties near Beifeng City. This was the same place where he had nearly been killed by Rainbow One and the others previously. As the experts previously stationed in the various cities of Great Xia had also been deployed elsewhere, his task involved ensuring the security of these cities as well.
Suddenly, the air warped while a powerful burst of sword qi surged into the sky.
Ji Hong stepped back immediately, as though he was ready for this. In the blink of an eye, his massive seal dropped down from the sky. After a loud explosion, the seal was sent flying. With a frosty voice, Ji Hong questioned, "Who sent you?"
He received no reply. Yet another sword strike was launched at him from the darkness. Ji Hong tried to evade the attack again, but the attack was too powerful. In the blink of an eye, it opened a bloody wound on his back.
Ji Hong continued fleeing while coughing blood. He spoke again, "Looks like my secret has really been leaked. I have yet to discover the actual culprit yet you people are already attacking me. This is as good as a confession. Even if you kill me here, what I know will still be released to the entire humanity."
From the darkness, a cold voice rang out, "Ji Hong, you might not care about yourself, but don't you care about your family?"
"You are free to try taking them down." Ji Hong continued fleeing even as he spoke, "I know you. You're Zhao Tianfeng, the Whistling Wind Sword. Do you think I won't know it's you just because you're hiding in the darkness? Sure enough, you're one of the traitors. You are one of the experts active in the Allheaven Battlefield about fifty years ago."
"You are one of the suspects I have identified. Zhao Tianfeng, you're already a fifth-stage Sunmoon. What can that person give you that is worth betraying humanity for? As long as you reveal who he is, the various Invincibles will gladly pardon you for your past crimes."
"Pardoning me?" The cold voice rang out from the darkness again, "There's no need for that. Ji Hong, you know too much."
Zhao Tianfeng released yet another sword strike toward Ji Hong. He sounded calm, but he was actually greatly alarmed. Sure enough, Ji Hong had found out a lot of things. He had been maintaining an incredibly low profile over the years and rarely participated in any battles. Yet Ji Hong was able to instantly recognize him based on his sword strikes. It was evident that apart from their lord, Ji Hong already knew who the rest of them were.
Ji Hong continued fleeing as wound after wound was left on his body. He was only a second-stage Sunmoon while his assailant was a fifth-stage Sunmoon. The gap between them was too big.
"Zhao Tianfeng has revealed himself..."
Ji Hong attempted to send a voice transmission, but he found that his talismans weren't working. Realizing that, he sighed inwardly. The influence of the traitor went much further than he had anticipated.
There was actually a second Sunmoon nearby, in charge of sealing the entire area to prevent the transmission of any message. And that hidden Sunmoon might even be stronger than Zhao Tianfeng. Was this the end for him?
"An Invincible stationed there over fifty years ago...capable of recruiting even Zhao Tianfeng. Is it...him?"
He went through what he knew about the few Invincibles he suspected. Even now, he was still unsure. If it was really that person...he sighed with regret and helplessness. So be it. The betrayal of any Invincible would be a massive deal. There was no need to regret the fact that the traitor was actually that specific Invincible.
After a while, a massive palm appeared in the sky and dropped down on him. In the opposite direction, a sword-wielding individual appeared. That was none other than Zhao Tianfeng, a human expert formerly stationed in the Allheaven Battlefield.
"Die!"
With a roar, Zhao Tianfeng swung his sword at Ji Hong.
With a roar, Ji Hong met the sword with his seal. After a loud explosion, he was sent flying while coughing blood yet again. This sent him right toward the incoming palm. Despair gripped his heart. Updates are released by novel·fire·net
The second enemy was at least a sixth-stage Sunmoon. Just how many humans...had betrayed humanity? It was inevitable that the betrayal of a single Invincible would involve more people, including the subordinates of the said Invincible.
If this Invincible was also a founding king, then this would signify the betrayal of one-sixth of humanity's forces.
Boom!
At the final moment, a silhouette appeared. After letting out a sigh, the newcomer sent a palm strike at Zhao Tianfeng before sending another to the second Sunmoon. There was a constant distortion around the newcomer, making it impossible for one to see clearly who this person was.
Right at that moment, a character descended from the sky before transforming into a faceless individual. The faceless individual looked at the distorted figure and asked, "Nan Wujiang? Or First Divine Sect master?"
The distorted figure answered with yet another palm attack.
Rumble!
Space shattered.
The faceless individual was forced to take several steps back. Beside him, two Sunmoons appeared. They bowed at him and said, "Lord!"
"Leave."
With that command, all three of them started retreating.
The distorted figure sent a palm attack at the escaping trio. That forced the faceless individual to stop and draw his blade before coldly asking, "How many characters do you have to sacrifice?"
"More than you can imagine."
With that short exchange, the faceless individual exploded.
The distorted figure was about to give chase to the two fleeing Sunmoons before he stopped with a frown. Then, he turned and grabbed the badly injured Ji Hong. With a cold look in his eyes, he scanned his surroundings. Done with all that, he finally sighed and left with Ji Hong in tow.
Still coughing blood non-stop, Ji Hong looked at the distorted figure and asked, "You're...First Divine Sect master?"
No reply came.
"Nan Wujiang?"
After coughing yet another mouthful of blood, Ji Hong continued, "He called you Nan Wujiang. Are you the third principal? This isn't possible. Nan Wujiang is dead..."
Ji Hong stopped and coughed a few more mouthfuls of blood before asking, "Who sent you? Are you here to trick me into revealing what I know? This whole thing must be an act, right?"
The pale Ji Hong laughed and said, "No matter what, I have stayed in Great Xia for many years. Don't bother using such a stupid lie on me. You must have staged this play because you're wary of my death triggering the leak of what I know, right? First Divine Sect master? Nan Wujiang? You can't fool me. I won't tell you anything."
"Sure."
He only received a short and indifferent reply.
***
At the same time.
At an unknown location.
A silhouette stood up and looked in Great Xia's direction. His eyes shone brightly as he muttered, "Nan Wujiang?"
He frowned. Was that Nan Wujiang? Did Nan Wujiang decide that there was no longer any need to hide since they were going to find out who the traitor was soon? He had just decided to investigate the First Divine Sect master not long ago. And now, the sect master had appeared before him. This was too coincidental.
After a short contemplation, he sent a voice transmission, "Zhao Tianfeng, the two of you will go into hiding for now."
"Yes, Lord."
With that reply, the silhouette decided to stop thinking too deeply about this. It no longer mattered. He only needed to act as if the First Divine Sect master was Nan Wujiang. That would be sufficient.
Nevertheless, this entire matter was still too suspicious. The First Divine Sect master had exposed himself way too easily. But ultimately, the silhouette shut his eyes. It was pointless to think too much about this.
***
Ji Hong was attacked before being rescued by an unknown individual. His current status was unknown. His current location was also unknown.
This was the information Su Yu received.
After blasting a Mountainsea apart with a casual punch, he frowned and said, "Prepare to leave. There are only small fries here. Clear the place before withdrawing."
"Yes, Lord."
After clearing the battlefield, they vanished into thin air.
During this process, Su Yu sent Wan Tiansheng a message, "Principal, did you arrange for that little accident involving Director Ji?"
It took Wan Tiansheng quite some time to reply, "No. But you don't need to involve yourself with this. Ji Hong won't die yet."
"Principal, just what's going on? Can't you tell me something?"
After a slight hesitation, Wan Tiansheng said, "Just remember this. Do not trust anyone. Including me. Including everyone else. Anything is possible. There are things that I'm still confused about, but I'm not too far from the truth. I can't give you an accurate answer for now, including the information about First Divine, Lan Tian, and First Profound. Telling you now will only confuse you further."
Su Yu was confused. What was the principal even trying to say?
Wan Tiansheng continued, "While we are scheming against someone, someone might also be scheming against us, taking this chance to dig out every single trump card of Great Xia. Just be careful. I still need to investigate more."
"Fine."
Su Yu was both confused and alarmed. Just what was going on? When he asked Old Wan about these people previously, Old Wan had pretended like he knew nothing. At the time, Su Yu had thought that Old Wan was simply trying to avoid telling him the truth.
But...was it possible that Old Wan was just as clueless as well?
What bullshit was that?
Holy shit!
Suddenly, everything seemed a lot more complicated than before.
After thinking about it, Su Yu realized that in the end, he still trusted Old Wan more than the likes of Lan Tian or First Divine Sect master.
"First Profound..."
He glanced at the nearby elder with a frown before deciding to toss the matter to the back of his mind. The more he thought, the more confused he would be. He was better off focusing on his tasks instead of thinking too much and confusing himself.
Chapter 1187: Return (1)
Great Xia.
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Wan Tiansheng looked out the window, at the academy outside the pavilion, at the city outside the academy, and at the world outside the city.
He was deep in thought.
He considered numerous details and contemplated numerous possibilities, wondering if he was still in control or if he had been turned into a chess piece unknowingly. He had his own ideas and plans.
Outside the window, a figure flickered into existence.
A smiling person gazed at Wan Tiansheng, who gazed back at that person.
"Principal, are you moongazing?" Wan Tiansheng replied indifferently, "I'm gazing at you. You look good."
"So you like someone with a good look, Principal?"
With a laugh, the newcomer transformed into a beautiful woman. With a dainty and wide smile, the newcomer said, "Principal, am I beautiful?"
"Lunatic."
"Why are you calling me that?"
The woman covered her face and protested coquettishly, "Principal, am I not beautiful? Or perhaps you have a special fetish so you don't like a beautiful woman like me?"
Wan Tiansheng gazed at the newcomer expressionlessly and asked, "Are you done playing around?"
"You're so boring, Principal."
The woman teased before transforming into an ethereal old man and speaking in a deep and wise tone, "O Little Wan, life is short and bitter. You should learn to enjoy life while you still can."
Wan Tiansheng's eyes started shining as he said, "If you're done playing around, you may stop."
The old man stopped speaking and transformed into a serious middle-aged man before solemnly saying, "Lord Principal, Lan Tian greets you."
Wan Tiansheng stared at Lan Tian for a very long while before speaking again, "Did you betray me?"
Lan Tian exclaimed in astonishment, "What are you even talking about? How can you doubt my loyalty? The sun and the moon can bear witness to my unwavering loyalty toward you!"
Wan Tiansheng said, "So only Sunmoons can witness your loyalty but not Invincibles?"
"..."
Lan Tian laughed, "Ahhh, Principal...you're such a practical person. Indeed, nobody knows me better than the principal! My parents might have brought me to this world, but nobody knows me like the principal!"
Wan Tiansheng coldly said, "You can shut your mouth. Lan Tian, what are you planning? Did Su Yu get his transform character from you?"
"Nonsense!" Lan Tian laughed, "How could that be me? Clearly, it was the Hundred Arm Thief, Xu Bin. And Su Yu comprehended the character himself. Nobody taught him anything. That has nothing to do with me."
"Are you not Xu Bin?"
Lan Tian exclaimed in astonishment, "Is Xu Bin me? That's not possible! Is Xu Bin...me?"
Lan Tian sank into deep contemplation. After a long while, he grinned, "Maybe. Principal, you don't know this, but Great Ming is very interesting. And powerful. They managed to create an ancient sensing jade. Through that jade, they caught me! Oh, the suffering I went through! Left with no choice, I could only pretend to be a woman and earn some pity from them. Alas..."
Lan Tian paused to transform into a woman. While brimming with tears, he continued, "Su Yu, the damn brute, does not know how to cherish the fairer sex! He even threw a punch at me!"
Wan Tiansheng merely gazed at Lan Tian coldly.
Lan Tian met Wan Tiansheng's gaze in a coquettish manner. But that only lasted a moment before he laughed and transformed back into a middle-aged man. With a helpless tone, he asked, "Principal, do you have a heart of stone? How can you be like this? How are you so indifferent even when I'm crying?"
Wan Tiansheng coldly said, "Shut up if you're done. Answer me. Do you actually know who First Divine is?"
"What are you talking about, Principal? You're First Divine."
Wan Tiansheng stared at Lan Tian silently. Lan Tian returned the gaze.
This lasted for quite a while before Lan Tian laughed awkwardly, "Is that not the case?"
"What do you think?" Wan Tiansheng asked coldly.
Lan Tian replied blankly, "I have always thought that you're First Divine."
He exclaimed in shock, "Stop messing around! Are you really not First Divine?"
Wan Tiansheng continued staring at him coldly.
Lan Tian was stunned. In a dazed manner, he said, "Stop joking with me! Is that not your past body?"
"I don't have any tri-life body."
Wan Tiansheng said, "I'm only a ninth-stage Sunmoon. A real ninth-stage Sunmoon with no tri-life bodies."
Lan Tian straightened his back in shock.
"Stop joking around!"
Wan Tiansheng stared at Lan Tian for a long while before repeating himself, "I'm only myself. Wan Tiansheng. There shall only be one Wan Tiansheng in this world. I don't cultivate my past. I don't have a future. I am only me, Wan Tiansheng."
Lan Tian was completely stunned.
"Stop this! It's not funny!"
Noticing Wan Tiansheng's expression, Lan Tian realized that the principal was really not lying. He exclaimed in shock, "Then...that...that...First Divine..."
"He was already around about a hundred years ago. How did you reach the conclusion that we're the same person?"
Lan Tian swallowed and said blankly, "N-no! That's not possible! I tested him many times. I always believed that you had replaced the previous First Divine in secret. But now, you're saying that's not the case..."
Lan Tian continued muttering in disbelief, "What is this? This isn't right. In that case, who is he?"
Wan Tiansheng stared at Lan Tian and asked, "Without knowing who he actually is, how dare you claim that he's the third principal? Do you know that this can easily cause more trouble for us?"
"No..." Lan Tian stuttered a reply, "I-I-I might have fallen into a trap!"
"What do you mean?"
Lan Tian frowned, "First Divine had deliberately guided me into this line of thinking! He set me up to say those words! He planned the whole thing! Definitely!"
Lan Tian solemnly said, "He lied to me! No...maybe...perhaps...he's really the third principal! I'm serious! Based on what I know, he might really be the third principal!"
Wan Tiansheng continued staring at Lan Tian silently.
Lan Tian continued, much more solemn than before, "The third principal might still be alive. First Divine is the third principal. That's the only possibility if you're not him."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm...quite sure."
"Quite sure?" Wan Tiansheng questioned coldly, "Why did you do this before consulting me about it?"
Lan Tian suppressed the confusion he was still feeling and flashed a smile, "This is a trivial matter, not worthy enough to waste your time, Principal. Furthermore..."
He laughed before continuing, "I'm also not sure if you're a good guy or not."
"Lan Tian, are you starting to love your position as a sect master? You're tempted to remain a sect master forever, is that the case?"
"That is absolutely not true." Lan Tian asked, "Principal, is Profound Nine Su Yu?"
"What do you think?" The source of thɪs content is NoveI~Fire.net
"I think that's the case." Lan Tian said, "Apart from him, nobody is both so brazen and good at stirring trouble. Maybe First Divine had guessed the same as well. I keep having a feeling that he knows a lot more than he's letting on. That was the main reason why I mistook him for your tri-life body. He might know a lot more than we expect. Based on what he seems to know, he can only be you or the third principal. I'm certain of this."
Wan Tiansheng laughed, "You're certain?"
"Yes."
Wan Tiansheng sighed, "Leave. You're useless. You are incapable of getting anything done. I told you to unite the entire cult under your wing, but you did the opposite. I told you to remain hidden, but you couldn't stop attracting attention. You're no longer Lan Tian. Leave and do whatever you want. I don't care anymore."
"What are you saying?" Lan Tian laughed, "You misunderstand me, Principal. I'm simply too famous to stay low profile. I can only do the opposite and grab even more attention. As for the cult, if it wasn't for me, the cult would have grown much stronger after all these years. My contributions over the years weren't light at all. Am I right?"
Wan Tiansheng ignored him.
Lan Tian continued, "Come on, it's not like I have achieved nothing. At the very least, I had successfully handed over the cult to Su Yu. Am I right?"
"Profound Nine is not Su Yu." Wan Tiansheng sighed, "You...what a fool."
"..."
Lan Tian exclaimed in astonishment, "Stop joking around! After claiming that you're not First Divine, you're now claiming that Profound Nine isn't Su Yu? You must be kidding."
"Fool."
Lan Tian's eyes widened in frustration as he asked, "I'm being serious here! Is Profound Nine really not Su Yu?"
Wan Tiansheng replied, "If you want to know so badly, you can visit Grandstar City yourself to verify it."
"..."
Lan Tian stared at Wan Tiansheng silently. After a while, he frowned and said, "You still don't trust me."
"Perhaps." Wan Tiansheng sighed, "The plan...might fail now. You fool. How dare you babble all that nonsense before verifying First Divine's identity. And now, you're spouting nonsense about Profound Nine's identity as well."
He shook his head, sighed again, and said, "Stop doing stupid things."
Lan Tian asked suspiciously, "Are you wary of me as well? Wan Tiansheng, you're being too paranoid. I'm working for you. Why are you treating me like an outsider?"
Wan Tiansheng calmly explained, "Not at all."
"You're definitely doubting me!" Lan Tian's face fell as he complained, "Is this how you treat me? After all these years? After all I've done for you?"
Mid-sentence, he transformed into a woman and spoke with the tone of a disappointed wife, "You broke my heart!"
"..."
Wan Tiansheng frowned and demanded, "Stop messing around. Is this a game for you?"
"You're a heartbreaker!" The female Lan Tian spoke with boundless bitterness, "You must still suspect me! First Divine is either your past body or the third principal. Am I right? Profound Nine is Su Yu. Am I right? Why are you hiding things from me?"
Chapter 1188: Return (2)
Wan Tiansheng stared silently at Lan Tian for a very long time. Suddenly, he said, "I'm not sure if you've betrayed me. After all, it has been too long. And you have been keeping quite a lot of secrets from me as well. You're suspecting me just as I'm suspecting you, right?"
Lan Tian continued speaking in the tone of a betrayed wife, "Why can't there be more trust between us? You tell me first! Are you First Divine?"
"No!" Wan Tiansheng frowned, "I told you that already."
"Is he the third principal?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Lan Tian frowned, "Won't he tell you?"
"I don't even know the third principal that well even if I'm officially his student."
That...made a lot of sense. He might be a student of the third principal officially, but he had actually been accepted and taught by the first student of the third principal. When he joined the academy, the third principal was already dead.
"True." Lan Tian replied, "Fine, I'll treat that as the truth. Answer my second question. Is Profound Nine Su Yu?"
"Maybe."
Lan Tian nodded, "That's more like it. Does he think I won't recognize him just with a mask on? Do you know that when you lied to me about him, I felt like giving you a punch."
Then, Lan Tian laughed before continuing, "Whatever. It doesn't matter. I don't care that much. Today, I'm here to tell you a big secret..."
"Say it."
Lan Tian started speaking as if he was revealing the profound mysteries of the universe.
"The Pseudo Emperor from the original devil race might have arrived. But that's probably not a tri-life body. Instead, that's a character clone or a blood essence clone. It is likely that he has adhered himself to Mo Duona's body. In fact, Mo Duona might be a trump card of that guy. The moment he fails his breakthrough, he might opt to take over Mo Duona's body and come back to life that way."
The look in Wan Tiansheng's eyes changed.
Lan Tian grinned, "Is this secret big enough? Of course, this is my deduction based on my experience working with the original devils. It might be wrong. Also, you know who Devil King Lade is, right? He's from the original devil race. He might have entered the Human Realm as well. Since he no longer has his present and future bodies, he might have arrived in his past body. He's probably aiming to rebuild his lost bodies in the ruin. Be careful when dealing with him. He's still a devil king."
"Do the devils trust you so much that they're telling you something this important?"
"Of course not." Lan Tian sighed, "How is that possible? Thankfully, I'm beautiful. You should know the price I paid to infiltrate the devils. Do you have any idea how many devil king descendants I slept with in the process? Oh, how pitiful my life is..."
"..."
Wan Tiansheng stared at Lan Tian for a long while before asking, "Is...that true?"
"Yes!"
Lan Tian stamped his foot on the ground angrily, "I'm very pretty as a woman!"
"I—"
That stumped Wan Tiansheng for quite a while. Finally, he spoke again, "You may leave now. Lan Tian, you're getting more and more crazy."
"For the sake of humanity, I have sacrificed my maidenhood! How can you say that about me, you heartbreaker!"
After shooting Wan Tiansheng a coquettish glare, Lan Tian said, "Fine, fine, I'll let this slide. You need to take me as your wife when the mission is over."
He then vanished.
Wan Tiansheng: "..."
What a lunatic.
Wan Tiansheng sighed inwardly. That lunatic had probably gone mad for real. No, he was already mad back then. That was why Wan Tiansheng had been quite selective with what to tell him.
It did not look like the madness was going anywhere.
At this rate, Lan Tian might end up killing himself after capturing his tri-life bodies.
"First Profound...First Divine..."
Wan Tiansheng shut his eyes and sank into deep contemplation.
Mo Duona, Devil Emperor, Lade...
That scene he saw...and that hidden palm. The palm aimed his way. Through this conversation with Lan Tian, he had formed a few new conclusions.
After a slight hesitation, he took a talisman out and spoke to it, "Watch out for Lan Tian. Also, be careful around Mo Duona and the other geniuses. These people might have the blood essence or clones of Invincibles on them."
***
Su Yu, who was busy doing something else, blanked out.
What was that?
The geniuses of the various races might be carrying Invincibles on them?
With a frown, he sent a reply, "Why those geniuses instead of those late-stage Sunmoons?"
"Blood. It's much easier to adhere oneself to the body of someone sharing their blood. And the more talented one is, the more of the Invincible's strength one could bear."
Su Yu asked gloomily, "Principal, are you saying that if I fight them, I might end up beaten to death?"
That was so unfair!
"Just take note and avoid them. If things really get out of control, leave as quickly as possible. Liu Wenyan will be back soon. He will be the one to cause the ruin to emerge and kickstart the ultimate chaos. When Xia Longwu attempts his dao affirmation, the chaos will engulf the entire Myriad Realms. If you can, try to leave."
"Sure."
Finally, Wan Tiansheng was no longer speaking in riddles.
Su Yu started grumbling inwardly. Was Old Wan finally tired of playing the enigmatic old man after realizing that things might really slip out of his control, after all?
Seriously! What a disappointment. He had thought that Old Wan was omnipotent and omniscient. So Teacher Liu was returning? And his return would be the key to kickstart the battle?
Su Yu decided that he had to work harder and kill more people before then. He also needed to cultivate harder. After all, he had yet to complete his seventy-two body forgings.
"I'm still too weak."
While complaining, he casually punched a Mountainsea apart. Then, he scanned the area and laughed, "Look at all these small fries. How did they find the courage to come here as mere Mountainseas? Everyone, we have nearly cleared all the small fries in the area. According to my latest intelligence report, Ji Hong went missing after an assassination attempt on him. A mysterious person saved him, and that person might be the First Divine Sect master. Thus, I propose we advance on the First Divine Sect master."
The Titanic Strength Sect master asked, "Do we have a way of locating him?"
"Of course." Su Yu smiled, "The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is the best when it comes to finding people."
He raised his voice as he continued, "Since chaos is going to come, we will give it a hand and ensure it spreads further. Tonight, start killing all the myriad race experts outside Nanyuan. Retreat right after your target is dead. Additionally, we will track Ji Hong and locate the First Divine Sect master. We shall drag all these hidden elements out into the open."
"Yes, Lord."
First Profound sent him a voice transmission, "Are you sure you want to track the First Divine Sect master?"
"Of course."
"He might really be Nan Wujiang. Is it appropriate for you to force him out of hiding?"
"Why not? He never told me he's Nan Wujiang. Even if he is, do I even know Nan Wujiang? That's a total stranger to me."
Su Yu was completely indifferent. After all, Wan Tiansheng had given him leave to do what he deemed necessary. And he was not one to not make use of the freedom he was given.
***
That night, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion started assassinating the various experts outside Nanyuan. Dozens of Sunmoons were attacked, chaos erupted, and countless lives were lost.
Before withdrawing, their representative, Profound Nine, mentioned that they were merely carrying out the tasks they had been hired to do. More than ten Sunmoons gave chase, unwilling to let the pavilion members leave so easily after attacking them.
Naturally, the names of those who had supposedly paid for these killings were not mentioned.
After safely regrouping somewhere else, Su Yu started heading toward Ji Hong's location by tracking the index copy issued to Ji Hong. He was getting more and more interested in the enigmatic First Divine Sect master. Just who was this person?
***
While chaos was spreading in the Human Realm.
Things weren't that much peaceful in the Allheaven Battlefield either.
Near Eastrift Valley.
Great Qin King was frowning. He had been receiving constant updates on what was happening in the Human Realm. After a long silence, he said, "The appearance of the Culture Manor has caused a massive disturbance in the Human Realm, with most of the troubles concentrated within Great Xia. Order the Sunmoons in the War Shrine and Knowledge Seeking Realm to head over and suppress the disturbance."
When Great Xia King remained silent, Great Qin King continued, "They will head straight to Nanyuan instead of going elsewhere. As for the ruin, if any non-human manages to gain something from it, kill them. The humans may compete fairly for the ruin. Old Xia, do you object?"
"Nope." Great Xia King coldly said, "If they are capable enough to snatch the ruin, it will be theirs. What else can I say?"
Great Qin King continued, "A decent number of tri-life bodies might sneak into the Human Realm for this. Including the Eternals injured due to Su Yu, there will be a lot fewer Eternals in the Allheaven Battlefield for some time. This is a great opportunity for Xia Longwu and the others. Notify Qin Zhen, Zhou Polong, Zhou Potian, Niu Baidao, Cheng Mo, Tang Yue, Wu Long, Yuan Hong, and others. They shall enter the Allheaven Battlefield and be on standby for their dao affirmations.
"Since the myriad races have been so interested in the Human Realm recently, we will oblige. A few Eternals won't be enough to destroy the Human Realm. Those who are in seclusion shall leave seclusion. Those out on travels shall return. Those watching over the minor realms shall be withdrawn." Content orıginally comes from noveⅼfire.net
"Eight Eternals will remain to defend the Human Realm under Great Ming King's command. The rest scatter and protect our seedlings during their dao affirmations."
Someone asked, "Great Qin King, why don't we let them make the attempt at the same place? This will make it easier for us to protect them."