Chapter 2208: Assassination
Chapter 2208: Assassination
After leaving Yu Hao’s residence, Wu Taibai immediately called Xia Ziheng, sharing what he had seen.
Xia Ziheng's expression grew ugly. There was no need to even try to guess what was happening. If Yu Hao was in frequent contact with Bai Weiwei, then the Celestial Frost Sect was clearly also trying to win the young man over. This, combined with what Xia Ziheng had learned from Xia Yan, made it clear that both Yu Hao and Grandmaster Gu Yan were starting to lean towards the Celestial Frost Sect, which absolutely could not be allowed. Even if Yu Hao ended up dead and Grandmaster Gu Yan ended up as a sworn enemy of Shenwu's Sky, the Array Grandmaster could never be allowed to join Celestial Frost Sect.
However, Xia Ziheng simply could not understand how Yu Hao could have possibly overwhelming influence on Grandmaster Gu Yan. The old man absolutely hated the four ruling powers, so what had changed his mind?
The Semi-Progenitor soon moved on. Since Yu Hao did have that much influence over his teacher, then gaining control of the young man would cause Grandmaster Gu Yan to start favoring Shenwu's Sky instead.
This matter had to be settled as soon as possible.
This thought led to an immediate call to Xia Xing.
"You want me to go now?" Xia Xing frowned.
Xia Ziheng answered, "The Celestial Frost Sect is already taking action. I have no idea what sort of promises they’ve made to Yu Hao, but he is frequently seeing Bai Weiwei. I’ve also received word that Grandmaster Gu Yan has asked for information about the Celestial Frost Sect."
Xia Xing found this surprising. "Grandmaster Gu Yan has never tried to establish contact with me or any of the four ruling powers before. Where did you get this information, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"
"It came from Xia Yan himself," Xia Ziheng patiently explained. While he was a Semi-Progenitor, he was still from a branch family, while Xia Xing was from the direct line of the family as well as the sect master of Shenwu's Sky. The two had different statuses, and even with his far superior combat strength, Xia Ziheng could not order Xia Xing about like the other members of the family. Instead, Xia Ziheng took the time to carefully explain matters.
"Semi-Progenitor Xia Yan?" Xia Xing took a while to consider the matter, and then he made a call to the rear battlefield.
An ugly expression appeared on Xia Ziheng's face, as this demonstrated that Xia Xing did not trust the man. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do about the slight.
Xia Xing soon ended his call, and he began to carefully analyze what he had learned from Xia Yan and Xia Ziheng. If the information was all accurate, then things were quite serious.
The struggles between the four ruling powers were growing increasingly fierce as time passed. If Long Qi had not killed Bai Shaohong, or if Bai Xian'er had managed to break through to become a Progenitor, then the other three of the ruling powers would have already been completely suppressed. If the Celestial Frost Sect managed to lure Grandmaster Gu Yan into joining, that would still be a heavy blow.
On top of that, Xia Xing had to keep Shenwu's Sky's reputation in mind.
This Yu Hao could not be allowed to take refuge in the Celestial Frost Sect, as that would be endlessly humiliating for Shenwu's Sky. In that scenario, Shenwu's Sky would have sent Xia Zhitong to ruin the Yu family and scare the rest of Perennial World, only to eventually serve the benefits of the Celestial Frost Sect. That would be beyond humiliating; not to mention the sect master, not even their Progenitor would be able to show himself after such a scandal.
"Yu Hao wants my promise?" Xia Xing asked.
Xia Ziheng had a headache from the entire situation. "The child is determined to speak with you, the sect master of Shenwu's Sky, and secure your promise."
Xia Xing laughed. "It's only been a few decades, but the kid’s really changed! He’s much shrewder."
Xia Ziheng’s eyebrows rose high. What did this mean? Was Xia Xing actually agreeing with Yu Hao’s words? That was no different from invalidating the word of a Semi-Progenitor, which was not something that Xia Ziheng was comfortable hearing. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do about it.
Given the pressure that they were facing from the Celestial Frost Sect, Xia Xing did not dare to hesitate. He immediately set out from Shenwu's Sky and made his way towards the Middle Realm. Grandmaster Gu Yan could only be allowed to remain a neutral party, or join the Xia family. Xia Xing would not accept a third option.
At the side of a lake, questioning eyes stared at Lu Yin. He smiled at his class. "Ancient records can sometimes be accurate. I’ve read many of the books in the academy’s library, and I’ve finally determined a location: Mount Bleak in the Blue Moon District. Long ago, something happened to Progenitor Wen when he was near Huaiyuan, though no one knows more than that. As far as we’re concerned, we need to investigate and explore any clues regarding Progenitor Wen’s past, as there’s no telling what might be connected to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird.”
"Professor, are you going to go investigate Mount Bleak?" Nong Siniang raised a hand and asked.
Lu Yin smiled. "It’s necessary."
"Then can you take me with you?" Nong Siniang's eyes lit up, clearly excited at the prospect.
One of the girls next to Nong Siniang also shot her hand into the air. "I want to go, too!"
"I want to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu."
"Me too!"
Even the stuttering fatty raised his hand. "I- I- I want to go too."
Lu Yin pressed a hand down, and answered the students with a smile. "We need to follow the academy rules. If you don’t qualify, you aren’t allowed to leave the Virtue District. Students are not allowed to leave the academy without permission."
"We can apply for leave!" Nong Siniang was almost desperate to go on a trip with Prof. Hao Yu. This was an amazing opportunity.
Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. If your applications are approved, I’ll take you on this trip."
Nong Siniang excitedly said, "We’ll take care of it, Professor!"
A smile spread across Lu Yin's face.
When the lecture ended, many of the students ran off to submit an application to accompany Lu Yin to Huaiyuan to explore places that Progenitor Wen was known to have visited, according to ancient records. As for Lu Yin, he returned to his own residence and quietly waited.
It was only a short time later that Nong Siniang arrived, very excited. "Professor! My application’s been approved! I can go with you to Huaiyuan!"
Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. This meant that it was time.
Before he started his lecture, he had received a message from Realmless: Xia Xing had left Shenwu's Sky and was currently traveling down the Mother Tree to the Middle Realm. He would arrive in Huaiyuan soon. The Blue Moon District’s Mount Bleak was not very far from Huaiyuan, and Nong Siniang would serve as Lu Yin’s witness; she would validate his alibi at Mount Bleak.
It was not easy to force any of the four ruling powers to follow along with Lu Yin’s plans, and he absolutely would not let this opportunity slip by.
Just one day later, Lu Yin and Nong Siniang arrived in the Blue Moon District. The young woman was ecstatic, as no one else’s applications had been approved. Only she had received permission for this trip, which meant that she had Prof. Hao Yu all to herself. The more she thought about this, the happier Nong Saniang became. She was completely clueless about the fact that the Prof. Hao Yu who was accompanying her was not the one that she knew. Tong Yu had replaced Lu Yin, while Lu Yin had disguised himself and gone off to visit Huaiyuan.
At this same time, Xia Xing had boarded the Cloud Shuttle in his own disguise. He was on his way down to the Middle Realm.
Given the fact that he was the sect master of Shenwu's Sky, Xia Xing was not able to casually leave the Higher Realm. Any time he did so, it would have to be shrouded in secrecy. Anything else would induce chaos, while likely also triggering danger.
There were too many people who hated the four ruling powers. While those people would usually remain hidden and not reveal themselves, that was merely because exposing themselves would not be worth the risk. However, if word that the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky was traveling leaked, assassins would be drawn to him like moths to the flame. Still, Xia Xing considered hiding himself to be very distasteful.
The trip to Huaiyuan proceeded smoothly. Xia Xing casually revealed the false identity of a person who was a member of the four ruling powers, which caused the Cloud Shuttle guards from the Smokecloud Sect to simply wave him through the checkpoint.
It had been a very long time since Xia Xing had last stepped foot on the Middle Realm. He looked around and then smiled. The ancestor had truly made the right decision. If the Lu family had not been exiled, then how could their family have ever taken over the Higher Realm?
Xia Xing could still remember the years when he had spent looking up towards the Lu family, but those days were forever gone now.
Feeling much more relaxed, Xia Xing started making his way towards the Virtue District.
As for Humility's Gate base in Huaiyuan, Xia Xing did not even give the place a glance. While Humility's Gate was truly a powerful organization, the four ruling powers were unwilling to show that they cared. After all, after Lu Xiaoxuan, that last survivor of the Lu family, had escaped, Humility's Gate had helped him flee. That was a debt that the four ruling powers would never forget, and they would be sure to collect it sooner or later, just like Virtue Archives.
The four ruling powers would clean up all of the remaining messes that were proof of the Lu family’s existence, and they would punish all who refused to accept the change.
Xia Xing soon saw the Blue Moon District, and after passing through it, he would be very close to the Virtue District.
A bright light flashed in front of Xia Xing, drawing his attention. There was soon a deep drumming sound that reached his ears, pulsing to his heartbeat. The sect master’s eyes went wide, and a dangerous glint flickered in their depths. He was utterly fearless despite realizing that someone was attacking him.
He pierced through the void, trying to escape. Since he was being attacked, it meant that his identity and strength were already known. Regardless, he had to do his best, as there was no doubt that he was in danger and had to quickly escape.
The ground below him suddenly shattered, and a black net that had been spread across the area shot up into the air and wrapped itself around Xia Xing, catching him a fish.
The sect master screamed, "What’s this? Are you from Realmless?"
There was no answer, though the distant light grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it replaced all colors, and nothing could be seen but the brilliant light. At the same time, the drumming sound started to speed up, which caused Xia Xing’s heart rate to accelerate as well. His body started to tremble, and he lost the ability to travel through the void.
The black net almost instantly covered everything in sight, completely restricting Xia Xing.
The man was furious. "You’re seeking death, Realmless! After today, I will make sure to use the entire strength of the four ruling powers to eradicate Realmless!"
As the man shouted, Divine Martial Armor covered his body, and he waved his hands about, continuously tearing at the black net. However, Realmless had used a specially-made net that they used to deal with six-tribulation Envoys, and they had used it multiple times before in the past. It had not originally been black, but a deadly poison had been applied to it, and it had also become stained with old blood.
Realmless had killed six-tribulation Envoys on several occasions, and they had even attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect before. However, they had never attacked Shenwu’s Sky, and Xia Xing's Divine Martial Armor had not been properly taken into account, and this rendered the black net useless.
At the same time, the Divine Martial Armor that covered Xia Xing’s body continued to twist the void until eventually something that looked much like actual armor covered the man. The armor continued to grow until it formed a 100 meter tall giant that towered high in the sky. The giant’s hand reached out and tore the black net apart before reaching into the distance to shatter the void at the location of the bright light.
Far away, Lu Yin was watching the events play out, and he was surprised to see this development. What was this technique?
"Shenwu Transformation. Shenwu's Sky's greatest battle technique. Only after mastering the Divine Martial Armor to the pinnacle can a person unleash this technique. Cultivation doesn’t help with this technique at all—only a person’s mastery of the Divine Martial Armor does. There have been rumors that no one from Shenwu’s Sky has managed to comprehend this technique for almost 10,000 years before Xia Shenfei. Xia Xing really kept his strength hidden. It’s no wonder why he managed to become the sect master of Shenwu's Sky." Kui Luo let out a sigh.
"Xia Shenfei could pull that off, too?" This was a surprise, as Xia Shenfei had not used the Shenwu Transformation when Lu Yin had fought against the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm.
They watched as Xia Xing broke free from Realmless’s trap using overwhelming strength. The rhythmic drumming from the same direction of the bright light that had disappeared ceased. Only shattered space remained in that direction, and not even the corpse of the Realmless assassin could be found.
However, Realmless was not that easy to escape from. If this was the limits of the assassins, then they would have never risked attacking the master of the Celestial Frost Sect, yet they had attacked the man inside the Celestial Frost Sect itself.
Throughout the history of the Perennial World, Realmless had only ever avoided antagonizing the Lu family. There was no other power that they feared.
All of a sudden, the giant formed from the Shenwu Transformation that covered Xia Xing's body turned to look in a certain direction. An old woman appeared. She had a withered appearance and was only one meter tall. A disturbing smile appeared on her face as she looked at Xia Xing. "I never thought that I’d have the opportunity to kill one of Shenwu's Sky sect masters in my life. Hahahaha!"