Chapter 359: Chapter 358: Bait
That evening.
In the Imperial Palace.
When Han Yun City finished a day of grueling training... he barehandedly killed a Level 7 Demon Beast from the cage.
Then came a sigh of regret, too weak...
These demon beasts are far inferior to those in the secret realm, after all, they are not wild and lack the ferocity from years of hunting, not satisfying enough.
He couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh, unexpectedly missing the life in the secret realm, which was truly suitable for him, rather than living here like a canary in this narrow cage.
"I feel like an exciting life might be very close to me."
After bathing, Han Yun City sat by the bed, fiddling with his phone, browsing the latest political news... as expected, Wu Hongzhou’s death didn’t cause any waves.
Obviously, someone forcibly suppressed it.
After all, it involved the Sect and the Martial Mansion. If not handled properly, a conflict between these two giants would definitely give the deceased father a headache.
"Balance... hmm... balance indeed can help stabilize daily affairs smoothly, but once out of control, it doubles the chaos."
Han Yun City muttered, watching a message suddenly pop up on the phone.
Iron Hedgehog: "Are you there?"
Han Yun City raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his face.
Although they rarely communicated, he felt he already had a deep understanding of Xu Lingjun.
Just like now...
This guy wouldn’t just let it go after being schemed against so much.
Red Dog: "I’m here, what’s up?"
Iron Hedgehog: "Want to play a big one?"
Red Dog: "How to play?"
Iron Hedgehog: "Team up, hunt, finish it in one go!"
Before the astonished Han Yun City could reply.
The other side had already quickly typed another line.
Iron Hedgehog: "I’m tired of passive defense, tired of being lucky after being schemed against. Let’s team up and kill him."
Red Dog: "That’s an Upper Realm Grandmaster, not your pet dog. It’s not that simple to kill him just because you don’t like it."
After saying that, he also sent a few exclamation marks to express his shock.
Iron Hedgehog: "I’ve already injured him severely, not easy for him to recover, and I have a trump card... just need a trustworthy and strong partner, join or not?"
Red Dog: "What if I say no?"
Iron Hedgehog: "Then I’ll go to Zhou Qianmo and explain clearly, say the one who killed your grandson is not me, you’ve got the wrong person, and I can provide evidence as a whistleblower."
Red Dog: "Damn, when do we do it?"
Iron Hedgehog: "Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, face-to-face talk!"
Red Dog: "Are you confident?"
Iron Hedgehog replied quickly, "Yes."
Red Dog: "Think it over, if we two come out for a face-to-face talk, our hidden relationship will be exposed."
Iron Hedgehog: "No matter how deep we hide, as long as they think we have a relationship, our hiding is meaningless. This is the experience I learned from him. Often, you don’t need evidence to do things... just like now, I can’t be sure if it’s Zhou Qianmo scheming against me, but I’ve decided it’s him, so no evidence is needed."
"Insightful, face-to-face talk tomorrow!"
The other side went silent again, seemingly already making arrangements.
At this moment, Han Yun City’s heart pounded violently.
Covering his chest, he could clearly feel the flutter and excitement in his heart, even with a touch of inexplicable fear.
A strange feeling of fear...
So thrilling.
Two youngsters who had just stepped into the Profound Realm were actually planning to hunt down an Upper Realm Grandmaster?
Injured?
Even if injured, he’s still an Upper Realm Grandmaster, capable of easily defeating Wu Hongzhou, whose strength already surpassed either him or Xu Lingjun.
Yet, indeed, someone as strong as Wu Hongzhou, was casually defeated by him, even forcing out his cultivation techniques... showing the vast difference in strength between the two sides.
"It really is... thrilling..."
Han Yun City couldn’t stop licking his lips. He knew the reason why Xu Lingjun forced him to participate... unavoidable.
Zhou Qianmo’s attitude was very firm.
Revenge, judging by his firm attitude towards Xu Lingjun, his revenge against the main culprit himself would definitely be even more terrifying. In this situation, it’s beneficial to cooperate.
The next day.
Han Yun City left the city early, arriving at his favorite little greasy spoon.
During such a big chaos back then, the shop owner, the elderly couple, had luckily not suffered any injuries... after so long, their shop had been redecorated anew, appearing not as run-down as before.
Soon after, Xu Lingjun also arrived.
Ordered more than twenty bear paws, along with a few vegetable dishes to relieve the greasiness.
This time, the two showed up openly without hiding from anyone.
Soon...
With exclusive secret monitoring, news of their meeting had already been sent back to the Princess’s Mansion.
"As expected, these two indeed have a private relationship!"
Zhou Qianmo stood up angrily, saying furiously: "Their whereabouts have always been under control, when exactly did they establish a relationship... it must have been in the secret realm, must have been fighting side by side in the secret realm, bullying my poor Xiaomu."
He turned to look at Han Qingxue, angrily saying: "Princess, why hasn’t Xu Lingjun been detained? This doesn’t fit with my plan."
Han Qingxue tiredly rubbed her brow, she had been busy with Zhu Zhengdao all night, Han Xu Yang had given Zhu Zhengdao a deadline, to catch the real culprit within a month.
Zhu Zhengdao was one of her pillars, she certainly couldn’t abandon him.
Sighing tiredly, she said, "The Pavilion Master’s plan was naturally flawless, but unfortunately, we’ve all underestimated one person."
Zhou Qianmo asked: "Who?"
"Liu Zhiyuan!"
Han Qingxue said: "No one could have expected Liu Zhiyuan to come up with a Supreme Level Martial Skill, similar but far superior to ’Reversing Heaven and Earth’. With a gem in front, who would care about the mere ’Reversing Heaven and Earth’ Martial Skill? I understand that the Pavilion Master wanted to eliminate Xu Lingjun in one hit, but instead, it backfired, clearing Xu Lingjun of suspicion."
"What..."
Zhou Qianmo exclaimed: "Supreme... level? When did Liu Zhiyuan become so formidable?"
Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind.
He recalled that Liu Zhiyuan had once shared an idea for a martial skill with them, but it was so extremely difficult to cultivate, full of defects and hard to compensate. So at the time, they just joked about it and didn’t mention it again.
"Could he have really succeeded?"
Zhou Qianmo couldn’t help but feel a wave of loneliness in his heart.
Back then the four of them were on equal footing, but now, Liu Zhiyuan’s skill had increased significantly, even able to create Supreme Level Martial Skill, probably not far from the Martial Arts Ultimate Realm of Creation.
While he was still holding his position at the Nanyun Martial Mansion, his grandson and son were both dead, he was now alone, having committed major mistakes, once discovered, it wouldn’t go unnoticed for long, he feared he wouldn’t remain in his role at the Nanyun Martial Mansion for much longer.
Although he had no regrets, seeing former peers steadily leaving him behind...
Zhou Qianmo’s heart still couldn’t help but feel a pang of loneliness.
"Wait a minute!"
Zhou Qianmo suddenly snapped back to his senses, a brilliant light showing in his eyes: "These two meeting at such a sensitive time... what could they be up to? What are they planning?"
"We’ll soon find out."
Han Qingxue’s expression wasn’t looking too good.
Her highly capable assistant, used to counterbalance Han Yun City, had been secretly befriended by Han Yun City long ago?
So, the Nourishing Essence Divine Pill she gave him before, even the many benefits she fought for him, were entirely for nourishing her own enemy?
Listening to the voice coming through the earpiece.
She said, "It seems Xiaocheng wanted something that Xu Lingjun got for him. Um... it’s said that Xu Lingjun went through a lot to get it, Xiaocheng intends to feed it to a dog? When did he start raising a dog?"
At this moment, Zhou Qianmo’s face turned deathly pale.