Chapter 2223: Sudden Thought
Bai Teng felt a shiver run through him as he looked at “Yu Hao’s” smiling face. "This is quite simple: answer two questions. First, you were injured while you were in the Middle Ocean, and you went into seclusion for twenty days to recover. Did you ever leave the paper boat during those twenty days?"
"No. Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei can attest to that," Lu Yin answered without hesitation.
Bai Teng continued, completely unfazed. "They can't attest to anything, as not even I can see through your cultivation. What level have you reached?"
This particular matter was a big reason why Bai Teng was so suspicious. Publicly, Yu Hao was known to be a one-tribulation Envoy, but Headmaster Wen and Xia Ziheng were both able to see that he was actually a three-tribulation powerhouse. Naturally, this information had been passed on to Bai Teng.
"This junior is a three-tribulation Envoy."
Bai Teng frowned. "Why hide your cultivation level?"
Lu Yin shrugged. "This junior is from the same generation as the most recent Junior Progenitors. May I ask if any of those former Junior Progenitors have become three-tribulation Envoys?"
“Yu Hao’s” question irritated Bai Teng, and he was suddenly reminded of Lu Xiaoxuan. The sect master found Yu Hao’s eyes were just as annoying as Lu Xiaoxuan’s. This thought caused a surge of bloodlust to radiate from the man’s eyes, and even his aura gave off a hint of killing intent as it pressed down upon “Yu Hao.”
A disdainful snort was heard from a distance. It came from the God of Food.
The Semi-Progenitor had interfered, which forced Bai Teng to regain his senses, and he quickly restrained himself.
The God of Food was someone from Virtue Archives, while Yu Hao was an instructor at the academy. It was only expected for the Semi-Progenitor to protect his own people.
Bai Teng dismissed the irritation itching at his chest. "How did you accomplish that?"
Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Would the sect master believe it if this junior said that I don’t know?"
Bai Teng’s eyes tightened and grew cold as he stared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin continued, "That is the main reason why I hide my cultivation level. This junior's progress has been so smooth that even I can’t believe how successful I’ve been. When I first met my master, I was told that my cultivation would be smooth, but how was it done? That’s a question that would be better directed to my master.”
So Grandmaster Gu Yan’s behind this? Bai Teng nodded. "I'll ask him."
Lu Yin purposely let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. If Sect Master receives a clear answer, then if it’s no bother, I ask that you share what you hear with this junior so that I can offer an explanation to the rest of the world as well."
Bai Teng replied, "You’re a three-tribulation Envoy, which means that it’s not impossible for you to hide your absence from the boat from Bai Lin and Bai Weiwei and return to the Island of Hope alone."
Lu Yin was surprised. "Return to the Island of Hope? Might I ask Sect Master what happened?"
Bai Teng stared into “Yu Hao’s” eyes, trying to see through him, but he only saw confusion and curiosity. There was no nervousness or wariness present at all.
"You’re being quite open, but your openness puzzles me. You are clearly not at all nervous when facing me." Bai Teng's voice suddenly grew rather harsh.
Lu Yin laughed. "This junior even insulted Xia Ziheng."
Bai Teng was caught off guard by this answer, but he dropped the line of questioning. Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor, so if this youth dared to insult a powerhouse like that, then why would he not be fearless when confronted by Bai Teng?
"Next question: why did you smile earlier?" Bai Teng demanded.
Lu Yin was confused by the question. "Smile? When?"
"Don’t bother trying to pretend. I saw you smile when you first saw Long Ke and Wang Zheng upon arriving. Who were you smiling at?" Bai Teng asked coldly.
Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior didn't smile."
Bai Teng’s hand shot out, and he pressed it onto “Yu Hao’s” shoulder before carefully enunciating each of his words. "The God of Food can protect you while you’re here, but there’s no guarantee that he can keep you safe everywhere else. My Celestial Frost Sect is one of the four ruling powers, and I know all about your relationship with the Xia family. You should really be trying to get my Celestial Frost Sect’s support."
Lu Yin was forced to answer. "Sect Master, this junior really was not smiling, but there’s nothing that I can do about it if you don't believe me."
Bai Teng’s hand pressed down with even greater force.
Bai Weiwei frowned a short distance aways. The Celestial Frost Sect wanted to recruit Yu Hao, but Uncle Bai Teng's behavior was a bit harsh. This could easily affect the sect's plans to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side.
Lu Yin’s expression changed slightly once he realized that Bai Teng was attacking him. Lu Yin’s physical strength was too absurd, and if Bai Teng used just a bit more force, then he would notice that something was wrong. Realizing this, Lu Yin grunted and stepped back. Immediately, the God of Food appeared right in front of Lu Yin, and the man stood in the way of Bai Teng. "Junior, do you think that this old man doesn’t even matter? You’re done speaking to Hao Yu."
Bai Teng lowered his hands. He looked past the God of Food at Lu Yin and then glanced back at Long Ke and Wang Zheng, only to see that the other two patriarchs were staring back. Bai Teng said, "Finish questioning him."
"There’s no point," Long Ke replied.
Bai Teng’s eyes narrowed. "This matter is extremely important. I hope that neither of you will give anything less than your best efforts."
Long Ke laughed, and then looked over at “Yu Hao.” "Prof. Hao Yu, it looks like I’ll need to bother you."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "I understand."
He then started walking slowly over towards Long Ke. Lu Yin did not move fast or slow, and nothing seemed out of place in his actions. Despite that, Bai Teng’s eyes never left the young man.
The sect master was absolutely certain that he had seen the young man smile when he had first seen Long Ke and Wang Zheng, but which of the two had he been smiling at? This was what Bai Teng was most curious about.
Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai had stepped a short ways back. They were both extremely curious about what had happened to bring out all the Envoys guarding the Junior Progenitor Planets.
Lu Yin walked closer and closer to Long Ke, until only six meters separated the two men. Just one more step would allow Lu Yin to Possess Long Ke, but he did not do so.
Long Ke asked the same questions that he had directed towards Bai Weiwei and Bai Lin, touching on nothing aside from the trio’s whereabouts and motivations for their trip, though a few more questions regarding Yu Hao’s seclusion were brought up. The patriarchs were not fools. It was clear that there was something suspicious about the situation, even if it was impossible for these three people to have hid anything from the God of Food.
The exchange continued between the two men, and the questioning soon ended.
"Alright, you can go now," Long Ke said.
Just as Lu Yin was about to take a step forward, Long Ke continued, saying, "Yu Hao, my White Dragon Clan welcomes your visit any time you are willing to see us."
Grandmaster Gu Yan was an extremely attractive recruit to all four ruling powers.
Lu Yin was not surprised by the invitation, and he even expected to receive a similar invitation from Wang Zheng before this matter concluded.
Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you, Patriarch Long Ke, for your consideration."
Lu Yin then took a step forward, and Long Ke momentarily went stiff. Lu Yin’s perspective almost instantly shifted as he Possessed Long Ke's body.
Immediately, Long Ke’s body opened its mouth to say something, though his face was purposely turned so that Bai Teng could not see what was mouthed.
The sect master’s eyes went still.
Lu Yin instantly returned to his own body, and he purposely made a show of moving stiffly as he walked away, though he approached Wang Zheng as though nothing had transpired. "Is there anything that Senior Wang would like to ask this junior?"
Wang Zheng waved a hand dismissively. "There’s no need for that, but if Prof. Hao Yu is ever interested, you are welcome to come to visit my Wang family."
While the invitation was worded differently, the meaning was exactly the same. The Wang family was also hoping to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan.
This also meant that Lu Yin had been approached by all four ruling powers, each eager to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan. Still, Lu Yin purposely did not reveal his thoughts on the matter to anyone, and he only offered a few polite words.
Bai Teng mentally reviewed everything that he had just seen. Long Ke had mouthed something, as well as Yu Hao’s reaction. There was also the smile that Bai Teng had seen on Yu Hao’s face when the young man had first seen Long Ke. Bai Teng was absolutely certain that the smile had been directed at either Long Ke or Wang Zheng.
It's Long Ke. Bai Teng stared at the other patriarch. Long Ke had some connection to Yu Hao; at the very least, the two had met before.
After the questioning concluded, none of the three people had revealed anything suspicious, so the God of Food sent them off.
The patriarchs watched the three people leave, and Wang Zheng complained, "What a waste of time."
Long Ke replied casually, "Not completely. This gave us all a chance to meet Yu Hao ourselves. The child is from the same generation as Long Tian, but he is already a three-tribulation Envoy. How did he pull that off? Are Gu Yan’s methods really that miraculous? Could it be some strange sourcebox array that’s responsible for his progress?"
Wang Zheng replied, "That’s certainly possible. While sourcebox arrays and cultivation are two entirely different things, one needs a powerful cultivation base to become a qualified Array Master. Without sufficient strength, it’s impossible to control the forces that Array Masters need to wield. Progenitor Hui was not known for his combat strength, and he was certainly much weaker in a fight than my Wang family’s Progenitor, but no one ever dared to underestimate Progenitor Hui when he used his sourcebox arrays.
"In fact, the only reason why we’ve been able to continue fighting against Aeternus for so long is all thanks to the sourcebox array Ceaseless Impetus, which Progenitor Hui created."
Long Ke's expression fell. "But the Forsaken Land’s trespassers also gained access to our Perennial World through one of his sourcebox arrays."
Wang Zheng grew excited as he continued to say, "Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most accomplished Array Master in the entire Perennial World, and there’s no telling just how many sourcebox arrays he might have mastered. It’s possible that he is already approaching Progenitor Hui’s level."
The man then looked back out at the Middle Ocean. He had been a bit curt when extending the invitation to Yu Hao, but the youth defied understanding. After all, he surpassed the Junior Progenitors.
The same thought occurred to Long Ke, and he stared out at the Middle Ocean bright eyes.
Bai Teng said nothing at all, though he occasionally shot glances over at Long Ke. There was no telling what was going through Bai Teng’s mind.
"These are troubled times. Xia Xing’s disappeared, and the resources on the Junior Progenitor Planets have been stolen. I feel that there are unknown elements at play in our Perennial World right now," Wang Zheng commented.
A thought suddenly occurred to Long Ke. "Do you remember that someone faced a Semi-Progenitor stellular tribulation a few months ago?"
"Are you suggesting that that person might be involved?" Wang Zheng was taken aback.
Long Ke replied, "At this moment, we still have no idea just who it was who faced that tribulation, and we also don’t know who is behind this Dealcut Association. They are able to control deployment matters on the rear battlefield and even steal resources allocated to the efforts there, which defies belief. This is not something that someone like Zuo Lingzhu could have pulled off."
"We just don’t have enough people to investigate everything. I can only hope that the New Corridor will be quickly restored. We need to settle everything with Lu Xiaoxuan," Wang Zheng remarked.
Long Ke frowned. A Progenitor had been seen standing behind Lu Xiaoxuan. Long Ke could only wish for the Grand Elder’s success.
Three people were traveling across the Middle Ocean, and they were hazarding some guesses as to what might have happened at the Island of Hope. However, they could not figure anything out from the information available to them, so they quickly gave up.
Lu Yin soon asked Tong Yu to switch with him again, and he moved away and headed back towards the Island of Hope.
When Lu Yin had Possessed Long Ke, he had made the patriarch mouth a time and location. It had been a show put on for Bai Teng’s sake, and while there had been nothing spoken for the sect master to hear, Lu Yin was certain Bai Teng had figured out what Long Ke had mouthed. This meant that Bai Teng would absolutely appear at the time and location that Long Ke had shared, and he would wait there to interrupt them.
This was not something that Lu Yin had planned in advance. Rather, it was a sudden stroke of inspiration. Bai Teng was so eager to accomplish something that he would never abandon any possible clue.
So far, Lu Yin had only acquired half of the four ruling powers’ restriction methods for controlling the members of Star Alliance. He still needed the portions that belonged to the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family, and this might be an opportunity for Lu Yin. If everything worked out, he might be able to capture Bai Teng when he arrived at the meeting place.
If Bai Teng could not figure out what Lu Yin had said while Possessing Long Ke, then the plan would come to nothing, and Lu Yin could only say that he had overestimated Bai Teng.
Reality proved that Lu Yin was correct in his judgment of Bai Teng. The sect master had ordered Bai Lin to continue to share his location. Then, Bai Teng had observed the Middle Ocean. The moment that Lu Yin split off from the other two, the sect master looked up. "Sure enough, there’s something fishy going on. Bai Lin is saying that Yu Hao is still on the paper boat, on their way to the Middle Realm, but he’s clearly going somewhere else."
A smile appeared on the sect master’s face, and he quickly chased after Lu Yin to see where the young man was going.
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