Dark North Capital, Burning Skies Barracks.
The dark north general's quarters were located behind the Burning Skies Arena, a huge area that none could enter without the dark north general's permission.
After Duan Yi arrived, it had been renamed to the Burning Skies General's Residence.
It was extremely spacious within the Burning Skies General Residence, and it was lit by dull, yellow candles everywhere. A quiet place.
Within an ancient but elegant room, a bunch of extraordinary youths were tasting alcohol and discussing dao.
The one who was sitting at the foremost position was the master of the Burning Skies Barracks, the newly appointed dark north general, Duan Yi. He was in purple robes, a royal and noble figure clad with pearls and jewels. He had a handsome face with a high arch on his nose. His eyes had a wise look in them, and he had the look of an eagle.
In the other seats, there were men and women exceptional in both looks and quality - they were clearly rich and powerful. Even their manner and way of speaking all smacked of the breeding of the major cultivation families.
These men and women were amongst the most envied in the Jambu Realm.
Outsiders could only dream of entering this exclusive circle of theirs.
"Please chat amongst yourselves. Excuse me for a moment." After receiving a core-tail talisman, Duan Yi rose and left. He exited the luxurious room and opened the core-tail talisman. He frowned slightly.
He returned to a pleasant atmosphere. Upon seeing Duan Yi's displeased expression, someone asked, "Is there a problem in the Alternate World?"
The conversation died as they turned to Duan Yi.
Duan Yi had an angry look. "Indeed. That centurion sent news. Says that Wu Yu was whisked away by Yin Ying. The two of them are planning to go hunting, and that centurion could not stop them."
"How did Wu Yu end up with Yin Ying?" Frowns all around, then they turned to one person in golden robes. It was Yin Xuan himself. His injuries had recovered a little, and he had managed to make his way here.
Yin Xuan showed his displeasure as well. "That sister of mine is a wild one, and she likes to set herself against me. I don't spend much time with her. I don't know what her interest in Wu Yu is either. But given her personality, she must be curious about someone who is so favored by Princess You Xue."
Gong Shenjun stood up, snapping, "What is to be done? Without the tracking talisman, we cannot find him. How are we to succeed?"
"The two of them in the Alternate World, it will be like hunting a needle in a haystack." Everyone was frustrated.
Although this was Gong Shenjun's affair, they were all on the same side on this.
Just as everyone was scratching their heads, Duan Yi looked around and said, "Actually, I want to clarify something. Has everyone considered seizing the opportunity and simply killing Wu Yu? Of course, the disclaimer is that we will have no information to carry this out."
"Kill?" They sobered up. According to Gong Shenjun's plan, they had only planned to severely punish him. They had not planned to go this far.
"Princess You Xue favors him so much. If he dies, we'll be in some trouble, right?" someone said doubtfully.
Gong Shenjun's jaw was set firm. "Not necessarily. After all, that person is not from the Dark North Kingdom. And yet he uses the Princess to do as he pleases in our territory. If this keeps up, we'll all suffer. Give him an inch, and he'll take a mile! Besides, if he's too close with the Princess, she'll end up distancing herself from us...."
Duan Yi said, "In truth, I feel that this person must die."
Yin Xuan looked up at him and said, "If brother Duan feels that way, then so do I. After all, the Princess is young and easily deceived."
Seeing them all have such an attitude, Gong Shenjun hardened his own heart as well, saying, "Since the conversation has come this far, let's take a vote. Majority wins. If we decide to kill him, the rest must keep the secret.
Saying thus, he raised his hand.
Duan Yi and Yin Xuan raised their hands. They were all eminent and powerful people.
In a flash, they had more than three, and soon everyone raised their hands. After all, this did not concern them greatly at the moment. Even if the matter was pursued in the end, it would be hard for it to affect them.
"Good, then we will switch targets. Since he is in the Alternate World, we will aim to assassinate him there. Of course, we must do it in a way that is completely secret," Duan Yi said quickly as he glowered.
One young beauty said, "But we just received the news, didn't we? This Wu Yu has escaped our clutches. How are we to find him?"
Duan Yi said, "Actually, although you were the ones to seek me out this time as I am Wu Yu's dark north general, I too have the intent to kill him. Therefore, when I learned that he was going to the Alternate World, I made every preparation."
Immediate interest.
"He's just a barbarian from the Demon Sealing Continent, and he dares to strut about our Dark North. It's too much. Go on. What do you have planned?"
Duan Yi said, "This idea may sound a little complex, but the key is the Alternate Creatures in the Alternate World. They are all born of the cold and gloom, which is why the Alternate Creatures all have a heat-related desire. Anytime they meet something hot, they feel uncomfortable, and an urge to destroy it arises. I've seen Wu Yu. He's clearly a Yan Huang tribesman, and there has never been a Yan Huang tribesman in the Alternate World before. But I'm guessing that the heat and explosiveness from his body will subtly attract many Alternate Creatures to attack him. Especially the extremely savage Alternate Creatures. Wu Yu himself definitely does not know this."
Everyone was awed by this fact. Gong Shenjun gave it an approving thumbs-up. "He doesn't know, and neither did we. Do you mean that we don't even need to act, and Alternate Creatures will kill him?"
Duan Yi shook his head, saying, "That would be leaving too much up to fate. After all, he cannot wander too deep into the Alternate World, and the most savage of Alternate Creatures would not know of his existence. This time, I have to make a trip to the Alternate World."
"What will you do?"
Duan Yi was very direct. He took out a fist-sized rock from his Sumeru Pouch. It glowed with golden flames. When he took it out, the temperature of the opulently furnished room rose abruptly, and everyone's faces were flushed from the heat.
"What treasure is this?" they asked in wonder.
"It's called the Sun's Incandescence. It has seven spiritual marks, nothing too special, but it has one unique characteristic. It has a powerful capacity to automatically search for sources of heat and absorb them. In the cold gloom of the Alternate World, Wu Yu is perhaps the only source of heat. Even without a tracking talisman, I can find Wu Yu with this Sun's Incandescence!"
Everyone exclaimed.
Yin Xuan was very impressed. "What a wondrous object you have. It seems like you've done much in preparation after learning of Wu Yu's existence."
Duan Yi did not hide it. "Indeed I did. Except I was not sure if we should kill him before this, which was why I did not take it out."
"How do you plan to carry this out? Kill Wu Yu personally?"
Duan Yi gave a hoarse laugh. "Of course not. But let me remind everyone. The Sun's Incandescence not only seeks for heat sources, but is one itself. If I bring it into a deep zone, it will definitely rouse the strong Alternate Creatures. If I find a suitable one, I will lure it and then use Sun's Incandescence to locate Wu Yu, leading the Alternate Creature there. When the Alternate Creature finds Wu Yu, I will stow the Sun's Incandescence, and there will only be one detestable Wu Yu for the Alternate Creature to finish off."
Saying thus, everyone looked around at each other and burst into applause.
Everyone broke into laughter.
As they laughed, they understood that Duan Yi had long prepared to kill Wu Yu off.
He had only borrowed the excuse of the tracking talisman's failure to suggest it.
The way that he could make such thorough preparations in short order showed how terrifying he was. Yin Xuan looked at Duan Yi with respect. They were actually rivals. He had a higher status, but now Duan Yi looked far more ferocious than he was.
Someone asked, "This way, the only problem is that Yin Ying and Wu Yu will be together. What will we do if she dies to the Alternate Creature's attack as well?"
They looked to Yin Xuan.
Yin Xuan smirked, saying, "That kid doesn't die easy. She's a clever one."
After all, they had bickered and competed since young. If not for the fact that Yin Xuan was a guy, he might not have been able to win over Yin Ying. Besides, the most powerful person in their family, Minister Yin, favored granddaughters.
Duan Yi said, "That would be best. I will see if I can find a way to draw her away. After all, if she dies, the investigation will be troublesome."
"Alright, that's settled then." Gong Shenjun smiled.
Duan Yi narrowed his eyes and looked around at the others. "Most importantly, only we can know of today's discussion. No one is allowed to leak information, or this friendship is severed, and I'm sure that everyone would be scorned by all."
All of them smiled, and Gong Shenjun said, "Don't worry. Treat all of us as if we were from the same camp."
Duan Yi smiled back in answer.
This was a plan of consensus. Even if it went awry, no one could do anything about all of them. After all, they were the future of the Dark North Capital.
"Since that is the case, then wait here for my good news. I'm going in."
It was very normal for a newly-appointed dark north general to enter the Alternate World. Dark north generals were authorized to go into the Alternate World at any time.
And at this time, Wu Yu and Yin Ying were locked in an intense battle with Alternate Creatures.
They had recently reached the Level 4 Zone. Wu Yu had not expected the Alternate Creatures to increase in number so dramatically, to an unreasonable extent.
Although they were gaining merits at a furious pace, Wu Yu was very suspicious. Seeing Yin Ying grinning from ear to ear after each battle, he fixed her with a look and pressed her. "Are you hiding something from me? Tell all, or we part here."
"No, it's nothing big. Don't be petty." Yin Ying pouted at him.
"Say it."
"That, well... the Alternate Creatures of the Alternate World hate fiery things. Your body burns hot, and these Alternate Creatures will be lured here once they near. Because of that, we have such results. This shows that your body is a great lure that drives the Alternate Creatures wild…."