War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens

Sun Liang Peng smiled somewhat sheepishly when he saw Duan Ling Tian holding the armor glowing with green light.

Duan Ling Tian stared at Sun Liang Peng intently as he said, “This seems to be a King Grade Celestial Weapon that had been nurtured by a Celestial Lord. It’s likely used as the payment to kill me. It’s truly a high price to pay…” The corners of his mouth lifted into a cold smirk as he continued to say, “Sect leader, are you going to continue pretending you don’t recognize this King Grade Celestial Weapon?”

Sun Liang Peng did not deny Duan Ling Tian’s words. Instead, he answered honestly, “This King Grade Celestial Weapon belongs to Wang Qian Zhan, the Grand Elder of our Simplicity Celestial Sect… I know he possesses such a King Grade Celestial Weapon, but I can’t say for sure if he had given it to someone else.”

“The Grand Elder of the Simplicity Celestial Sect, Wang Qian Zhan?” Duan Ling Tian slightly raised an eyebrow as he speculated, “Sect leader, earlier, you mentioned one of three candidates who were considered for the position of a true disciple before I came along was Wang Hong, the Grand Elder’s granddaughter, right? Based on your words, is it right to say that this King Grade Celestial Weapon was probably given to Wang Hong by the grand elder, and she had used it to pay an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang to kill me? If the grand elder wanted to kill me, he could’ve done so himself without the need of hiring someone else…”

“The culprit is definitely not the grand elder!” Sun Liang Peng said confidently, “Moreover, it’s also unlikely for Wang Hong to be the culprit. If she wants you dead, she could’ve asked the grand elder to kill you. Why would she go to such trouble to hire an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang? Why don’t you come with me to meet the grand elder? We can ask him to whom he had given this Jade Light Armor to…” After he finished speaking, he beckoned to Duan Ling Tian to follow him.

Before leaving, Duan Ling Tian kept the items on the ground back in the Spatial Ring. After all, this was his reward for killing the One Basic Celestial King from the Blood Skull Gang. There were quite a number of valuable things in there so he could not possibly discard them. Apart from the Jade Light Armor, there were a few other King Grade Celestial Weapons that had been nurtured by Celestial Lords in the Spatial Ring as well.

…

The name, Wang Qian Zhan, would make one envision a person with a muscular build. However, in reality, Wang Qian Zhan was rather skinny. Apart from the assassin from the Blood Skull Gang whom he had recently killed, Duan Ling Tian had never met anyone as skinny as Wang Qian Zhan.

“Sect leader.” The grand elder bowed as he greeted Sun Liang Peng. Then, his eyes instinctively moved to Duan Ling Tian who was standing next to Sun Liang Peng.

“Grand elder.” Sun Liang smiled slightly before he began to introduce Duan Ling Tian to Wang Qian Zhan. “This is Duan Ling Tian. You must have heard of him…”

Wang Qian Zhan nodded slightly before he said, “Of course… Our Simplicity Celestial Sect is blessed to have such a rare and peerless genius who hasn’t been seen in the Profound Nether Mansion in the past 10,000 years!”

“Grand elder.” Duan Ling Tian greeted Wang Qian Zhan. Then, he did not beat around the bush and directly brought the Jade Light armor out.

Sun Liang Peng did not expect Duan Ling Tian to be this direct.

“The Jade Light Armor!” Wang Qian Zhan exclaimed in shock. He looked at Duan Ling Tian and asked in confusion, “Duan Ling Tian, why is the Jade Light Armor in your possession? I’d traded it for some materials I needed to inscribe a Celestial Talisman three years ago…”

From the moment Duan Ling Tian had brought out the Jade Light Armor, he had been looking at Wang Qian Zhan intently to see if he could discover anything from Wang Qian Zhan’s reactions and expressions. However, Wang Qian Zhan seemed genuinely surprised and confused by the Jade Light Armor in his hand.

Sun Liang Peng asked, “Grand elder, are you certain you traded it away three years ago?”

Wang Qian Zhan nodded without any hesitation. “I remember trading it for, at least, a dozen rare materials… Duan Ling Tian, are you an acquaintance of the sectless cultivator whom I traded with? If that’s the case, we can be considered as fated…”

Duan Ling Tian’s expression was calm as he continued to ask, “Grand elder, do you have any evidence to prove that you traded the Jade Light Armor away to a sectless cultivator for rare materials three years ago?”

“Evidence?” Wang Qian Zhan furrowed his brows slightly. “I’m afraid I don’t have any evidence. However, I can confirm the Jade Light Armor in your hands is the one I used to own. The intricate patterns on its surface and its aura are exactly the same.”

Every King Grade Celestial Weapon had its unique characteristics. Although some weapons might have similar appearances, if closely inspected, one would be able to see the differences between the auras of the weapons.

‘Is he telling the truth?’ Duan Ling Tian wondered inwardly, ‘Is it possible that during our journey here the sect leader sent him a message to inform him of this matter so he could prepare himself?’

Duan Ling Tian knew if Sun Liang Peng decided to shield Wang Qian Zhan, even if he had the Jade Light Armor, it would be impossible for him to find out who had hired an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang to kill him.

“Grand elder…’ Sun Liang Peng began to recount what had happened to Duan Ling Tian to Wang Qian Zhan, including how they found the Jade Light Armor in the assassin’s Spatial Ring.

“What?! T-the Blood Skull Gang?! Consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon?!” Wang Qian Zhan’s expression changed drastically. He was clearly shocked.

‘If Wang Qian Zhan is lying, then his acting is truly worthy of an award like those on earth,’ Duan Ling Tian mused inwardly as he observed Wang Qian Zhan.

Sun Liang Peng concluded, “The assassin from the Blood Skull Gang most probably obtained the Jade Light Armor from the sectless cultivator you traded with three years ago.”

“That must be it.” Wang Qian Zhan nodded slightly. Then, he turned to look at Duan Ling Tian and said with a hint of concern, “Duan Ling Tian, I understand you’re worried the assassin might harm your friend, but you should’ve spoken to the sect leader. After all, if you’re worried about the assassin discovering you’ve sought help, the sect leader could have asked powerhouses outside the sect to help you. With that, you wouldn’t have had to use your consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon on a mere One Basic Celestial King. Although he was an assassin from the Blood Skull Gang, it’s still not worth it.” It was clear he felt it was a waste that Duan Ling Tian had used his consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon.

Sun Liang Peng had only mentioned Duan Ling Tian suspected someone in the Simplicity Celestial Sect had hired the assassin from the Blood Skull Gang, but he did not mention Wang Hong was one of the main suspects. For this reason, Wang Qian Zhan was rather calm.

‘It looks like it’s been a waste of time coming here…’ Duan Ling Tian thought to himself before he bade Sun Liang Peng and Wang Qian Zhan farewell. It did not matter if Wang Qian Zhan was lying or not since he did not have the evidence to prove Wang Hong had used the Jade Light Armor to hire the assassin from the Blood Skull Gang to kill him.

Duan Ling Tian’s eyes flashed with a terrifying killing intent as he continued thinking to himself, ‘Wang Qian Zhan, you can protect your granddaughter for now. If I find out the Jade Light Armor is indeed given to the assassin by Wang Hong… Prepare to die with her when that time comes!’

Duan Ling Tian would have died if he did not have the consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon! Therefore, he was eager to find out the culprit. Now that all signs pointed to Wang Hong, he would not easily let it go unless he found evidence that proved otherwise.

…

Meanwhile, after Sun Liang Peng left Wang Qian Zhan’s residence, Wang Qian Zhan sent a Communication Celestial Talisman to his granddaughter. He recounted what he had learned from Sun Liang Peng and Duan Ling Tian’s visit.

“Duan Ling Tian possesses a consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon, and he killed the One Basic Celestial King assassin from the Blood Skull Gang?” Wang Hong was stunned by this discovery. She did not expect this at all. Then, she quickly relayed what she had found out to Zheng Hong Yi.

…

“Duan Ling Tian has a consumable Royal Grade Celestial Weapon that will raise his cultivation base and Divine Consciousness to that of a Celestial Lord?” Similar to Wang Hong, Zheng Hong Yi was shocked when he found Duan Ling Tian was the one who had killed the assassin from the Blood Skull Gang.