Director Ji Ambushed

Outside the city, among the geniuses who had returned from the small realms, some hesitated while others were eager to try. They still wanted to give it a shot! Toward these people, Su Yu felt no particular ill will, nor any fondness. They were mere strangers. He had few grievances against the geniuses themselves, but he felt immense displeasure toward the people behind them who kept egging them on and pressuring the Xia family! Right now was not an ordinary clash within the human race. The myriad races were gathered here! To pressure the Xia family at such a time, serving as the vanguard and making them a laughingstock before the myriad races—none of these people were any good. Blood was thicker than water, after all; Su Yu hailed from the Great Xia Prefecture, and seeing the Xia family being pressured by fellow humans naturally made him uncomfortable. Just after Su Yu gave his order, a human genius stepped forward nonetheless. It was a young man who appeared in his twenties, with hair falling over his shoulders. Prompted by a Sun Moon's voice transmission from behind, he let out a soft sigh and walked out. Looking at the myriad race geniuses around him, he said quietly, "Hou Pingzhao of the Great Shang Prefecture, seventh stage of the Lingyun Realm..." He paused, glanced around, and looked at a myriad race genius in the crowd. "Botai, are you willing to battle?" Botai, seventh stage of the Lingyun Realm, ranked 137th on the Yellow Ranking, of the Moon-Eating Demon Wolf race. He was a genius who had fought his way up from a minor race—a rarity in itself. The Moon-Eating Demon Wolf race ranked within the top three hundred among the myriad races and was overseen by a quasi-Invincible, so they were not particularly weak. This time, as a vassal race of the Demon race, they fought on behalf of the Demons and had entered the Human Realm. Hearing Hou Pingzhao's challenge, Botai smiled. Without a word, he stepped into the air. A glint of blood-red shone in his eyes as he gave a soft chuckle. He did not utter any harsh threats; there was no need. Fighting one's way onto the Heaven Hunting Ranking from a minor race was the best proof of all. In the struggle across the myriad realms, the major races had abundant resources, immense talent, and top-tier cultivation methods and weapons. What did minor races have? Yet he had still made it onto the Heaven Hunting Ranking—that was true strength. "Kill!" No referee was needed. A low shout signaled the start of the battle. "Awoo!" In an instant, the demon wolf manifested its true form. Sharp claws glinted with cold light, moving so fast that eyes could barely track them as a claw slashed toward Hou Pingzhao. Hou Pingzhao had experienced plenty of battles in the small realms. At this moment, his divine characters manifested as he rapidly retreated. Divine characters erupted one after another! Suppression! Mountain Move! Sea of Flames! All sorts of traits unleashed! At this moment, many stepped forward to watch this clash. Both were at the Lingyun Realm. As the first in the Human Realm bold enough to challenge a Yellow Ranking genius right now, he was naturally someone of formidable strength, possessing a measure of confidence and skill. Inside the city, even Bai Feng and Hong Tan stepped out to look in that direction. Their gazes were somewhat complex, but they watched the battle attentively. How capable were the experts of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction nurtured by these great prefectures? They wanted to see for themselves! The various prefectures had used the Fifth Generation's lineage as a target to draw the attention of the myriad races, but they had never given up cultivating their own multiple divine character factions. Having kept them hidden for years, they were finally willing to bring them out. It was not just the Xia family; many from the various prefectures were watching, wanting to see the true caliber of these people. Su Yu was watching as well! He too wanted to see how strong they really were! The human race had abandoned the Great Xia Prefecture's Multiple Divine Characters Faction because they believed they still had contingency plans, still had hope, and that attaining the Dao as a Civilization Master did not depend solely on the Xia family's lineage—the people they cultivated also had a shot. Su Yu wanted to know what capabilities they possessed. After watching for a while, Su Yu thought it was decent enough. The divine character battle technique was outlined, and the number of divine characters was considerable. Almost all of Hou Pingzhao's divine characters had reached the third tier, all at the Lingyun stage, numbering around twelve to fourteen. Whether that was all of them could not be judged yet. The carrier for the divine character battle technique was a long sword, of an offensive type. Standard and textbook! Not overwhelmingly powerful, but not weak either. He had combat experience; evidently, he had not idled away his time in the small realm, and was not the kind of Civilization Master who only cultivated in seclusion as Su Yu had imagined. He had likely fought in numerous battles! In midair, the man and the wolf clashed with booming reverberations. The momentum of the battle surpassed that of some weaker eighth-stage Lingyuns. For Hou Pingzhao to dare step forward, he indeed possessed real skill. …… "Teacher... what do you think?" Bai Feng looked toward Hong Tan to ask his opinion. Hong Tan watched for a bit and nodded slightly. "The prefectures aren't stupid either. He's no trash, but... standard. Nothing stands out too much." Standard! This was a decent evaluation, but not an exceptional one. True geniuses were always dazzling! From the looks of it, Hou Pingzhao was merely displaying the normal combat power of the multiple divine character faction. Relying on numerous divine characters and varied traits, he seemed to hold a slight upper hand, suppressing Botai. However... Hong Tan soon said, "Continuing like this won't do. A divine character master expends willpower. The multiple divine character faction, in particular, tends to be fierce at first and weak later on. Botai is a warrior with a powerful physical body. Don't be fooled by how he seems suppressed right now, with his body slightly battered—his blood qi and origin qi haven't been depleted much! In another thirty exchanges, if Hou Pingzhao doesn't have a trump card for a fatal blow... he will be counter-killed!" Bai Feng nodded. Divine character masters, especially those of the multiple divine character faction, were just like that. A fatal one-hit kill! Otherwise, they could not sustain a protracted battle. Not everyone was Su Yu, who had learned Zhao Li's *Expanding Will Art* and forcefully forged his sea of will to be tougher than that of an early Shanhai. Even Bai Feng rarely engaged in drawn-out brawls when fighting others; he always unleashed his ultimate moves right from the start. If he could overpower them, he won; if not... after three moves, running away was the best choice! Bai Feng had also entered the Lingyun Realm, and he remarked, "He has plenty of combat experience, feeling like he might have even more than me, but... he hasn't grasped the essence of the multiple divine character faction." Hong Tan smiled. "The essence? What do you consider the essence?" Bai Feng thought for a moment and said slowly, "Madness! He's too standard, too dogmatic, going strictly by the book—even eager to show off every single divine character trait to let everyone know he's from the multiple divine character faction, with lots of characters and lots of traits... But some traits don't need to be displayed at all; they're only useful in specific situations. He should combine them into his battle technique, launch a frantic assault, and run if he can't win!" Hong Tan did not reply immediately. After watching for a while, he said, "This fellow's teacher should be Shang Yunshao of the Shang family. Great Shang Prefecture's lineage was probably guided secretly by Shang Yunshao. Shang Yunshao was a researcher at the Great Xia Civilization Academy who left Great Xia forty-two years ago to return to Great Shang! He was of the same generation as your grandteacher. When he left, he was at the peak of Shanhai, back when the multiple divine characters were being suppressed most severely. At the time, I thought he left because he couldn't endure the suppression, but it seems he went to secretly nurture these multiple divine character students." Bai Feng nodded. He was somewhat familiar with these older-generation multiple divine character figures. After the Fifth Generation died, Liu Wenyan was banished, Hong Tan was young, and there was no pillar to uphold the multiple divine character faction. The cradle of the faction in the Great Xia Prefecture soon dispersed, and experts who had come to Great Xia to study left one after another. They were not direct disciples of the Fifth Generation, but some had received his guidance; back then, the faction had quite a few members. Now, the teachers of many of these hidden geniuses in the Human Realm actually originated from the Great Xia Prefecture. While they spoke, the Sun Moon expert from the Great Shang Prefecture watched for a moment and suddenly barked, "Fall back, admit defeat..." A Sun Moon expert possessed sharp eyesight! Just as his voice fell, the demon wolf that had been enduring the assault suddenly roared, a wolf howl shaking heaven and earth! "Awoo!" A howl jolted Hou Pingzhao, his eyes dimming for an instant. In that split second, the blood-soaked Botai extended a massive claw, moving a third faster than before, slashing toward his head in the blink of an eye! The Great Shang Sun Moon's expression shifted, and he reached out to intervene! At that moment, a demon god materialized in the void, throwing a punch! "This seat won't indulge you!" The demon god sneered. "Since a challenge was issued, how could adults be permitted to interfere!" Boom! With a tremendous rumble, the Great Shang Sun Moon was blasted back by the punch. At the same time, Hou Pingzhao snapped awake with a roar. The divine character sword formed of fourteen characters slashed down with everything he had! Pfft! The claw landed first; Botai crushed his head with a single claw swipe, while the divine character sword pierced through Botai's claw with a squelch. Relentless, Botai paid no heed to his injury and swiped toward Hou Pingzhao's sea of will orb once more to obliterate him, his wolf eyes full of mockery and indifference. It had only been playing around! His opponent was not weak, but... too flashy. The multiple divine character faction indeed had many tricks up their sleeves. Because they had many characters and traits, some practitioners liked to use these traits to handle opponents. Under normal circumstances, that was only impressive against weaker foes; against truly strong opponents, playing too many tricks only weakened oneself. Botai's claw lunged toward the sea of will. Just then, a youth suddenly leaped out from the crowd with incredible speed. With a tug of his divine characters, he yanked Hou Pingzhao's sea of will away. The demon god in the sky chuckled and did not interfere. The youth stepped forward, facing the demon wolf. Missing his strike, Botai looked at the youth, eyes full of killing intent as he said coldly, "You want to come die too?" Hou Pingzhao was not dead, but his physical body had been completely shattered, similar to Shan Xiong back then. Even so, it was a crushing defeat. Had the youth not rescued him, he would have been killed. The youth frowned gravely. "The Yellow Ranking..." He was solemn! Hou Pingzhao had not arrogantly challenged anyone on the Heaven Ranking or Earth Ranking—not even the Mystic Ranking—choosing instead a genius near the lower end of the Yellow Ranking, and from a minor race at that. Yet after a fierce struggle, his physical body had still been blown apart by this demon wolf! The same realm! The multiple divine character faction claimed to be invincible within the same realm, yet today, facing an opponent in the same realm from a minor race, they suffered a humiliating defeat. The geniuses all around looked on with altered expressions. Hou Pingzhao was not weak among them; in fact, he was among the top tier. Yet he had been defeated so miserably! The youth knitted his brows and said, "I am at the ninth stage of the Lingyun Realm. Will you accept my battle?" The demon wolf Botai shifted into human form, revealing a bloodthirsty grin. "Ninth stage of Lingyun... multiple divine characters... very strong. I'll pass, but I can find someone to play with you!" The youth's expression changed slightly. "You refuse the challenge?" Botai chuckled darkly. "I just fought a battle and expended plenty of energy, so I'll spare you this once. Brother Huo Kong, how about you come play with him?" From the crowd, a Demon expert with flames rising from his forehead walked out with a sneer. "Huo Kong, Earth Fire Demon race, ninth stage of the Lingyun Realm, ranked fourteenth on the Yellow Ranking. Fellow Daoist of the human race, let's spar and have some fun!" The youth looked grim. Huo Kong sneered, "Come play! We didn't even ask Modona and the others to step in. A mere Yellow Ranking fighter like me is willing to play with you, and you're reluctant?" "Weren't you feeling great when you interfered just now?" "Multiple divine characters... invincible in the same realm?" Huo Kong laughed eerily. "Come, kill me, and you'll make it onto the Yellow Ranking. Can a multiple divine character genius not even make the Yellow Ranking? Or do you plan on fighting a seventh-stage as a ninth-stage? That won't do. No matter how strong you are doing that, you won't make the ranking!" "A true genius has to fight above his realm, or at the very least in the same realm, right?" Huo Kong's laugh was shrill. The youth remained silent. Around them, many multiple divine character geniuses looked grim. The Yellow Ranking... Botai earlier was ranked past a hundred, while this one was ranked in the top twenty! Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow—this was merely the weakest ranking. Earlier, when Modona of the Heaven Ranking acted, everyone knew his prowess, but they had not expected even those on the Yellow Ranking to be this formidable! Some myriad race geniuses jeered and laughed, "Go on, fight! Kill Huo Kong, and you get perks entering Su Yu's home!" "Fight, fight! If you kill Huo Kong and the Demons interfere, we'll stop them all!" "Hahaha, we won't act like the Great Shang Prefecture—losing a fight and having a Sun Moon try to step in! Rest assured, we won't. We'd love nothing more than to see Huo Kong beaten to death so someone else can take his spot on the ranking. There are too many familiar faces; we're sick of looking at them!" These geniuses laughed wildly. All were reckless! Even Huo Kong did not care about their jeers, sneering, "You can give it a try. If you kill me, I won't have the Demon experts intervene. I'm not like those lunatics of the Blood Fire Demon race who love seeking death, but... facing a nobody of the same realm, if I can't even win that, I deserve to die!" The youth was solemn beyond measure, but ultimately chose to retreat. …… "Useless trash!" Beside Su Yu, a white mask sneered softly. Su Yu said nothing; the boy wasn't trash. Seeking death—what would be the point? He could tell that the youth's ninth stage of the Lingyun Realm was somewhat unstable. Dealing with ordinary ninth-stage Lingyuns would be fine, but against a high-ranking Yellow Ranking Demon expert who had fought through countless slaughters, it would be certain death! Was the Yellow Ranking weak? Fine, it was relatively weak. Yet one had to realize that out of all the myriad race geniuses competing, only 630 made the rankings. If any random human could slay ranked experts, what was the point of competing at all? As for Su Yu... don't bring up Su Yu. His strength had nothing to do with his realm. The disparity was simply too vast! Su Yu chuckled faintly. "He's not trash. That's called knowing one's limits. Why throw his life away pointlessly?" The white mask beside him whispered, "My Lord, it seems this bunch of so-called hidden geniuses isn't all that impressive!" Su Yu smiled. "Don't say that. It's normal to conceal one's strength. They aren't stupid. Do you think the strongest among them want to be feared and hunted down by the myriad races like Su Yu and his predecessors? Some are still holding back and keeping a low profile." Su Yu could tell there was still a group of formidable individuals who had not made a move. Just as he said, if you showed excessive strength as a member of the multiple divine character faction, did you want to be hunted down by the myriad races like the Fifth Generation's lineage? Hearing this, even Xuan Jia could not help saying, "If they're hiding and concealing everything, there was no need to come out at all. They might as well have stayed in their small realms!" "You can't look at it that way!" Su Yu laughed. "The intention of some great prefectures was to broaden their horizons. In fact... after this, these fellows really will have broadened their horizons, learning what kind of strength the geniuses outside possess and how powerful they truly are. It can be considered well-intentioned. This first time, they learn the gap; when they emerge a second time, they will be mentally prepared." Xuan Jia nodded, transmitting his voice: "Why are you still speaking up for them? Shouldn't you hate them?" Su Yu looked at him in surprise and replied via voice transmission: "Take an orphanage with hundreds of children and a group of adults. One child is disliked and given no food, while all the food is given to the other children. It was the adults who did that; those kids didn't know a damn thing. What's the point of resenting them? Later, when that neglected child grows into an unmatched powerhouse, a great figure, will he take revenge on the children who ate his food back then? What did those children know? Of course he should take revenge on those adults—none of them are good people!" "..." Xuan Jia was speechless. After a long while, he transmitted: "Under normal circumstances, shouldn't a great figure not even bother taking revenge on the adults? Laughing it off, since a great figure has the magnanimity of a great figure?" Su Yu smiled and transmitted: "Under normal circumstances, that's true. But... what if one day, a gang of thugs barged into the orphanage and beat the unfed child, while all the adults stood by watching coldly, saying, 'This has nothing to do with us! That child's father was no good back then and provoked those thugs; now that he's being beaten to death, he brought it on himself!' If it were you, would you resent them?" Xuan Jia racked his brains and quickly replied: "Those adults didn't have an obligation to protect the child, did they?" "You can say that. But... what if an adult stepped forward to protect the child, and then all the other adults ostracized, suppressed, and even tried to kill that one who stepped up? In that case, tell me, should the child take revenge on them?" "You mean the Xia family?" The one who had stepped up was the Xia family. Su Yu smiled again, transmitting: "Elder, that's why if you don't protect him, it's actually fine! He's an orphan; relying on heaven or earth is worse than relying on oneself. You don't give food? Fine! You don't protect him? Fine! But not only did you refuse to protect him, the one who stood up to protect him was suppressed, coerced, and humiliated by you all. Do you think the child should take revenge on these people?" Xuan Jia was silent. He said no more. Su Yu did not elaborate further either. As he had said, some of the root causes plaguing the Fifth Generation's lineage were left behind by the Fifth Generation himself. There was nothing much to complain about; having such an ancestor was just bad luck, and one could only endure it. Yet the Xia family had stepped forward to protect this lineage, and the result... the Human Realm had relentlessly targeted them. The dispute between the single and multiple factions, lasting for decades, was targeting. Using Xia Longwu's Dao attainment to coerce them was also targeting. Under these circumstances... there was no justifying it. After a moment of silence, Xuan Jia suddenly transmitted: "Those thugs were too powerful, and the adults were no match for them either. The thugs threatened that if they didn't hand over the child, they would beat the other children to death. If it were you, how would you choose?" Su Yu thought for a moment and transmitted: "Those thugs were actually wary of the adults as well. If it were me... even if I were unwilling to step forward publicly, I would have secretly warned the child to sneak away on his own. There was no need to hand him over to be beaten to death. That's not something human beings do, is it?" "Even if it were just a secret warning, perhaps the child would still remember the favor!" This time, Xuan Jia took a deep breath and said no more. Perhaps Su Yu was right. He merely felt some wistfulness and sorrow, because he didn't really wish to see things turn out this way. Perhaps... it was because he had not lived through it himself. Hong Tan and the others probably felt the same as Su Yu. Their conversation ended there. And the clash among the myriad race geniuses ended there as well. Finding it uninteresting, Su Yu transmitted: "Everyone, find a way to lure these fellows out. Find a spot, surround and slaughter them! Frame it on the Xia family!" "Understood!" The group was eager to take action! They were more than happy to stir up trouble with Xuan Jiu. With plenty of experts and no one to stop them from killing, it felt great—especially for those of the All-Races Cult, who in the past would never have dared kill experts from these great clans. Now, the opportunity had arrived! …… The clash of geniuses ended inconclusively. Su Yu couldn't be bothered to care too much. These geniuses were not the main event this time; perhaps they thought they were, but in Su Yu's eyes, they were just bit players. Even Modona, though capable of fighting Sun Moons, was merely so-so. As for Su Yu, with his 60-cast physical body, if he didn't consume essence blood, he might not even be able to participate—and even if he did, it might not be enough. There were still ways to lure those people away. Su Yu began plotting to lure out a batch first, split them up, and slaughter them, if only to alleviate some of the pressure on the Xia family. …… While Su Yu was plotting... While the attention of the myriad realms was fixed on Nanyuan... In the Human Realm, without many paying attention, strongholds of the Primordial God Cult were being destroyed one by one, and numerous Primordial cultists were slain. Not only that. In the provincial capital of the Great Xia Prefecture... Things had been somewhat turbulent lately. Because a large number of powerhouses had departed, few experts remained to oversee the capital. In such a vast city, there were scarcely any Sun Moons. Under these circumstances, numerous bloody incidents had occurred recently. Many experts had been dispatched to suppress various areas. As the director of the Yuqiang Department and a Sun Moon powerhouse, Ji Hong had assignments as well, patrolling the surrounding territories. At this moment, Ji Hong was patrolling nearby Beifeng City. Last time, near this very place, he had nearly been ambushed and killed by Cai Yi and the others. This time, because the experts were all away, he, as a Sun Moon, was once again tasked with patrolling the security of these areas. After all, countless civilians lived in these major cities, which now lacked strong overseers. Outside Beifeng City, Ji Hong routinely patrolled the perimeter. Suddenly, the void fluctuated, and a beam of sword qi shot toward the heavens. Ji Hong seemed prepared; he retreated rapidly, and in an instant, a massive seal came crashing down. With a boom, the seal was knocked flying, and Ji Hong fled, his voice ice-cold. "Who sent you?" Silence. In the darkness, another flash of sword light flared. Ji Hong fled once more. Pfft! The sword light was immensely formidable, piercing through his back. Spitting blood, Ji Hong did not turn to fight, speaking again: "It seems the news truly leaked. I didn't identify anyone specific—you're incriminating yourselves! Even if you kill me, some of the things I found will soon spread out!" In the darkness, a sinister voice sounded: "Ji Hong, do you not care about yourself, nor about the young and old of your Ji clan?" "You can try!" Ji Hong did not stop, his voice sharp and cold: "You're the Howling Wind Sword, Zhao Tianfeng! Don't think I can't recognize you. As expected, you're among the traitors! More than fifty years ago, you were active on the All-Heavens Battlefield!" "I screened a batch of people, and you were one of those I locked onto. Zhao Tianfeng, you're already at the fifth stage of the Sun Moon Realm. What can that person possibly give you? As long as you name him, the Invincibles will consider it an act of redemption!" "An act of redemption?" The sinister voice in the darkness sneered, "No need. Ji Hong, you know too much!" Buzz! Another sword chime rang out as Zhao Tianfeng struck with his blade. Yet his heart was somewhat shaken. Indeed, Ji Hong had uncovered a great deal. Zhao Tianfeng had kept an extremely low profile over the years and rarely made a move, yet Ji Hong had recognized him instantly. It seemed that aside from not yet confirming the Lord's identity, Ji Hong had already locked onto many others! Ji Hong fled swiftly, his body slashed with bloody gashes by the sword qi; even a Sun Moon physical body could not withstand it. He was only at the second stage of Sun Moon, while the other was at the fifth stage—the disparity was vast. "Zhao Tianfeng has shown himself..." Ji Hong wanted to send a message, but found that his transmission talisman could not send anything out. He sighed internally; the enemy's faction was even stronger than he had imagined. There was another Sun Moon sealing the void in secret! And that person might be even stronger than Zhao Tianfeng. Was he going to perish here today? "Fifty-odd years ago, the Invincibles stationed there... Zhao Tianfeng was subdued as well. Is it him?" He thought of the information he had gathered on several Invincibles; even now, he wasn't entirely certain. If it was... he felt a mix of sorrow and helplessness. Never mind. The betrayal of any Invincible was a catastrophic matter, a massive disaster; there was no difference. A moment later, a massive hand materialized in the void, covering the sky as it pressed down! Behind him, a figure emerged wielding a long sword—Zhao Tianfeng, an expert once stationed on the All-Heavens Battlefield. "Kill!" With a low shout, Zhao Tianfeng struck with his sword. Holding the great seal, Ji Hong roared and smashed it forward. With a tremendous crash, Ji Hong was knocked backward, vomiting blood. In the next instant, the massive hand slammed down toward him! A look of despair appeared on Ji Hong's face! This was another Sun Moon, at least of the sixth stage. How many people had betrayed the human race...? The betrayal of an Invincible involved far more than just himself. He also had many subordinates! One person could represent the betrayal of an entire prefecture—one thirty-sixth of the Human Realm's overall strength. Boom! Just as the giant hand was about to fall, a figure emerged with a soft sigh. One palm struck toward Zhao Tianfeng, while another slammed toward the Sun Moon lurking in the dark. The newcomer's figure was ethereal, impossible to discern. Right at that moment, a divine character descended from the void, instantly transforming into a faceless person who looked at the phantom and said calmly, "Nan Wujiang? Or Cult Master Primordial?" The phantom did not reply, pressing down with a palm. Boom! The void shattered, and space tore apart. The faceless person was knocked back several paces. Beside him, two Sun Moons instantly appeared, bowing. "My Lord!" "Go!" The faceless person barked, and the three fled rapidly. The phantom reached out to seize them. The faceless person turned back with a sword strike. The phantom said coldly, "How many divine characters do you have to break?" "More than you can imagine!" With that, a tremendous boom echoed across heaven and earth. The faceless person formed from the divine character exploded instantly, unleashing a terrifying destructive force that swept in all directions. Just as the phantom was about to pursue the two fleeing Sun Moons, he knitted his brows slightly and quickly turned back. Grabbing the heavily injured Ji Hong with a cold, sharp gaze, he glanced around, sighed, and vanished with Ji Hong. Ji Hong coughed blood continuously, looking at the phantom. "You... Cult Master Primordial?" The phantom ignored him. "Nan Wujiang?" Ji Hong coughed blood again. "He said you're Nan Wujiang... Are you the Third Generation Head? Impossible... Nan Wujiang is dead..." Ji Hong kept coughing blood, severely wounded. "Were you sent by that person? Are you trying to pry information out of me? Is that it? Are you putting on a double act?" Ji Hong's face was pale as he chuckled bitterly. "I've been rooted in the Great Xia Prefecture for so many years after all. Spare me the petty tricks. Are you afraid that if I die, the things I investigated will be exposed? Cult Master Primordial... Nan Wujiang... I don't believe it! I won't say a word!" "Suit yourself." The phantom's voice was indifferent. Carrying him, he vanished from the spot in an instant. …… At the same time. Somewhere. Inside a grand hall, a figure stood up, looking toward the Great Xia Prefecture with bright eyes. "Nan Wujiang?" He frowned slightly. Was it Nan Wujiang? Did he feel exposed and therefore stopped caring, showing himself so quickly? Just as they were about to test Cult Master Primordial's identity, he appeared? Wasn't that a bit too coincidental! The figure sank into deep thought, then quickly sent a transmission: "Zhao Tianfeng, both of you go into hiding immediately!" "Understood!" The two replied. Soon, the figure stopped dwelling on it. Primordial, Nan Wujiang... whether it was or not, he would treat it as such for now! Yet there were still doubts. This Primordial had shown up too quickly, feeling a little too effortless. Faces flashed across his mind, and soon, the figure in the hall closed his eyes, thinking no more. …… Ji Hong had been attacked and rescued by a mysterious person! His life or death was unknown, and his current whereabouts were a mystery. This was the news Su Yu received! At this moment, having just blasted a Shanhai to pieces with a punch, Su Yu frowned slightly and quickly said, "Withdraw. They're all small fry. Clean up the scene!" "Understood!" The group swiftly cleared the battlefield and vanished. Meanwhile, Su Yu silently transmitted to Wan Tiansheng: "Head, was Director Ji's matter arranged by you?" Only after a moment did Wan Tiansheng reply: "No. You don't need to worry about this! Ji Hong won't die anytime soon!" "Head, what's going on exactly? Can't you say even a little?" Wan Tiansheng seemed to hesitate. After a moment, he replied: "Remember, just don't trust anyone easily! That includes me, and that includes everyone! In this world, anything is possible! Even I haven't sorted out the complete picture of certain matters, but it's getting close. I can't give you a definitive answer right now—including the situations regarding Primordial, Lan Tian, Xuan Jia, and many others. Telling you now would only create more doubts for you." Su Yu was confused. What did that mean? Wan Tiansheng added: "You're plotting against others, but without realizing it, someone might also be using this opportunity to plot against you, trying to blow open all of Great Xia's hidden cards! Su Yu, be careful yourself. There are some matters I am still investigating thoroughly!" "Understood!" Su Yu replied, but shock rippled through his heart. What did that mean? Whenever he asked Old Wan before, Old Wan acted like he knew nothing, and Su Yu thought Old Wan was doing it on purpose. Now... could it be that Old Wan truly didn't know? Then that was seriously messed up! Damn it! The meaning in his words was rather complicated. If there was anyone in Great Xia Su Yu trusted relatively more, it was probably Old Wan. Though they hadn't interacted much, it was still better than Lan Tian or Primordial. "Xuan Jia..." He glanced at Elder Xuan Jia beside him and frowned. Never mind, he wouldn't dwell on it. Some things might be far more complicated than he had imagined.