"Reporting to the Eighth Elder! The Azure Cloud Region Army, under Li Tianyue's command, charged the Wu Clan positions in Starfall Region... but then... then they immediately turned around and withdrew all Azure Cloud region forces!"
"Bad news, Eighth Elder! Jiang Chenghuan, the Region Prince of Qi Region, somehow... appeared from the direction of the Eternal Sun Prefecture border... and has fought his way back into Qi Region!"
"Furthermore, people from the Azure Cloud region... they suddenly appeared in Qi Region as well, catching the Wu Clan completely by surprise!"
"...."
As report after report reached Lin Yuanshan's ears, his eyes lost their focus.
"Impossible... Impossible!"
Lin Yuanshan simply couldn't fathom it. After Starfall Region had aligned with Azure Cloud region, Eternal Sun Prefecture had remained constantly on alert! How could this happen? He couldn't understand how the forces from the Qi Region could possibly have arrived.
What baffled him even more was why his plan was meeting obstacles at every turn. The Li family had never truly intended to aid Starfall Region! Li Tianyue's Azure Cloud Region Army... it was as if they had acted according to his plan, precisely to lull all the Wu Clan forces into a false sense of security!
He seemed to sense an unseen black hand manipulating him from the shadows, using him as a crucial, albeit unwitting, chess piece!
"Lin Yuanshan, Lin Yuanshan..." At this moment, Xu Dingsheng's expression was ugly. Right in front of everyone, he strode up to Lin Yuanshan and forcibly pulled the storage ring from his finger. Then, staring sinisterly at Lin Yuanshan, he snarled, "I knew it! Your Qilin Mountain Lin family is incapable of achieving anything great! You've been played for a fool, don't you even realize it?"
"Impossible." Lin Yuanshan shook his head blankly. Suddenly, his expression shifted – he whipped his head around to look at Lin Hanhai. At that exact moment, Lin Hanhai was... actually... smiling, an enigmatic look in his eyes.
It felt as if Lin Yuanshan's mind was about to explode; he couldn't understand, simply couldn't comprehend what had just happened!
Xu Dingsheng shot a meaningful glance towards Nangong Yazhi, who still sat calmly in her place. Then, shaking his head with a single sigh, he led his clansmen away, departing through the air. Having snatched Lin Yuanshan's storage ring, at least he hadn't left completely empty-handed, true to the saying.
Once at a safe distance, Xu Dingsheng gazed intently towards Qi Region, where the great battle was now raging. His eyes narrowed. "The Azure Cloud region Li family..." he mused, "they really have some tricks up their sleeve. Looks like we'll have to guard against them carefully too. Our Eternal Sun Prefecture can't afford to tolerate a family like that."
After Xu Dingsheng had departed, the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth erupted violently around Lin Yuanshan. The complexion on his already injured frame turned even uglier as he stared fixedly at Lin Hanhai. "It was you!" he accused. "You exposed my entire plan to the Li family!"
Yet, even when faced with Lin Yuanshan's Nascent Soul power, Lin Hanhai showed absolutely no fear. He scoffed mockingly, "Old fool, you're far too slow on the uptake! Five years ago, when you intercepted that Li family devil, your actions nearly got me killed for nothing! Why do you think you managed to survive?"
"You..." Lin Yuanshan looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.
Lin Hanhai continued, "Why do you suppose you were allowed to approach the Li family's territory time and time again? Why do you think you managed to 'detect' their troop movements? It was all an act, put on specifically for your benefit! The Li family put up with you for such a long time; why would they suddenly stop halfway just to humiliate you? It was precisely to incite your fury!"
"'The Red Widow,' Lin Hanhai continued, perhaps quoting, 'is truly worthy of the title 'War God'. And that 'Hegemon of Azure Cloud Region' who is managing the border, is equally deserving of the title 'Hegemon'. They weren't wrong when they said it: Anger most easily strips a man of his reason, and an enemy, properly provoked, can become one's most useful 'friend'. The Li family deliberately exposed openings everywhere, just waiting for an enraged fool like you to walk right into the trap!"
Walked into the trap... the trap...
Lin Yuanshan understood. Perhaps from the very moment he had first set foot in the Azure Cloud region years ago, he had already been nothing more than a pawn in the Li family's game!
"I'll kill you!"
The Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth surged from Lin Yuanshan towards Lin Hanhai. He didn't understand why Lin Hanhai had betrayed him, but in that moment, all he wanted was to kill this clan traitor!
Yet Lin Hanhai merely continued to smile.
The Qilin phantom conjured by Lin Yuanshan charged towards Lin Hanhai, but it was intercepted mid-air by a different surge of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi and instantly dissipated into nothingness.
The force of this intervening energy lifted Lin Hanhai's robes slightly, revealing a small, simple 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion mark' tucked underneath...
Lin Yuanshan stared in utter disbelief towards the one who had intervened—it was... Nangong Yazhi!
"You... You're one of them too?!! A Li family member?!"
Lin Yuanshan's face turned livid; he was truly gripped by fear.
The demonic cultivator encountered on the road, a Li family member...
His own clansman beside him, also aligned with the Li family...
'Who isn't secretly one of them?!!'
---
3/3
Donate on Ko-fi ➡️ [https://ko-fi.com/darktea] ⬅️
Get Early Access to 40 Chapters: Search for "Dark Tea" on Ko-fi (Explore tab) and join my membership to read ahead!