Chapter 374: Cleaning Up
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Why are you here, Feng Xinzi?"
Fang Yuan turned his attention to Feng Xinzi and smiled.
"I am instructed by the alliance to meet you..."
However, in reality, the 5 Grand Organisations had laid a trap and Feng Xinzi was the representative of the Realm Alliance. He had specially journeyed here to see how Fang Yuan would have ended up but instead, he was faced with a surprising outcome.
"Oh, thank you!"
Fang Yuan smiled as though he had taken Feng Xinzi's word for it. "Since that is so, now that our mission is complete, I shall take my leave and return to the prosperous land, right?!"
"That's right! That's right!"
Zhou Tian added on without hesitation.
The dangers which he had experienced in his mission had led him to reminisce about the peaceful times he enjoyed before all of this happened.
"I'm afraid that we will have to discuss this!"
Feng Xinzi rebutted as Xing Yunzi stood out. "Cough cough... although the both of you have killed the highly-skilled enemies, the fact is that the crypt has been destroyed and the altar has been gone to waste. Therefore, the mission is still incomplete."
"What?"
There was a look of anger on Zhou Tian's face. "We have killed 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and a 9th Tier spiritual knight. We are now exhausted and our energy and dream elemental forces are depleted. How will we be able to stop this destruction? Aren't you a little harsh, Lord Xing?"
"Since this is the mission objective, what can I say?"
Xing Yunzi waved his hands with a cunning look in his eyes.
"Feng Xinzi, what about you? What do you have to say about this?"
Fang Yuan paid no attention to what Xing Yunzi said as he directly pressured Feng Xinzi to answer.
"My views regarding this... is that we should follow the rules set by the Realm Alliance. Therefore, we shall go ahead with Xing Yunzi's suggestion."
Feng Xinzi calmly replied. Unknowingly, he felt a little fear as he looked at the severed heads on the floor and Fang Yuan's composed look.
"Alright, since this is the case, we shall wait for the alliance to decide!"
Fang Yuan was straightforward. As soon as he forced Feng Xinzi to make a stand, he waved his hands and together with Zhou Tian, they transformed into two streaks of light and flew into the clouds.
There was an awkward silence.
After a long while, Xing Yunzi spoke. "This person is able to kill a few 9th Meridian Wu Zongs. His ability is much stronger than mine and he is becoming as powerful as an elder... My nephew, it is not worth it to go against him!"
"I know!"
Gazing at the severed heads on the ground, Feng Xinzi laughed. "I cannot control my jealousy. After all... I have gained wisdom at 3 and started to cultivate as a dream master at 5. All I ask for is an uncluttered mind. I thought that I have already achieved it but now, I am being haunted by jealousy once more."
"When I first met him, he was only a newly advanced dream master in the Illusionary Divine stage. I even thought about helping him. Now that he had already reached the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, I am only filled with jealousy for him and even more so now..."
It was not an easy thing to witness a junior overtaking him in terms of cultivation.
"Furthermore... I am against him for the sake of the sect, and not for my own personal agenda!"
As he continued to reason, his voice became increasingly louder. "The alliance needs capable people. This person is obviously capable but he has chosen to deny responsibilities. He even left his position of duty, which shows that he is not a loyal person!"
He, however, did not mention how he had planned for Fang Yuan to be deployed here as a bait.
"With such unethical actions, the more powerful he is, the more we cannot allow!"
Feng Xinzi's eyes glistened as he spoke with a vibe of righteousness.
Beside him, Xing Yunzi was speechless.
He was indeed a talent to be able to twist facts to such an extent!
...
On the other side.
Two streaks of light flew out from a valley.
As soon as they left the region of 9 Extremes Mountain, Zhou Tian let out a satisfactory exclamation as though he was freed of shackles.
He would never want to experience the inability to use his abilities under the Ultimate Segregation ever again.
"Zhou Tian, let's part ways. What do you think?"
Fang Yuan took in a deep breath as dream elemental force was slowly restored in his actualised dream world. Slowly, his 8 Gates Sword Array started to shimmer once more.
"This... Alright, Sir, please be assured that I will not reveal anything about your secret!"
Zhou Tian sounded solemn as he begun to swear to the heavens.
Dream masters were superstitious about these things and they knew that they would be bounded by the oath they made in certain ways.
"It's up to you..."
Fang Yuan was speechless. If he really wanted him to swear upon an oath, or if he were to decide to do anything to Zhou Tian, he would have done it in the 9 Extremes Mountain.
Since he had already spared Zhou Tian's life, he was not worried that Zhou Tian would go around spouting nonsense.
It also meant something if Zhou Tian could keep the secret of Fang Yuan killing the 3 9th Meridian Wu Zongs and the 9th Tier spiritual knight.
However, there was no more meaning in acting weak.
Sometimes, it would be better for Fang Yuan to reveal his true power so as to instil fear in others.
After all, now that the war was beginning to heat up, if the alliance were to treat him like a normal dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage, he might be randomly deployed to dangerous places as bait again.
He had previously concealed his true ability in order to protect himself. Now that he had revealed some of this true ability, it was also to protect himself.
At least by doing this, Feng Xinzi would not treat him lightly any more. He would have to undergo an open discussion with the elders and this would buy Fang Yuan some time.
After all, with regards to Fang Yuan's martial arts, he was already considered half a True Divine. His prowess was already among the strongest few in the Realm Alliance.
'With rights come obligations! With martial arts comes respect! Anyway, since I have the appointment as guardian and a mission, and considering that I have revealed some of my true ability, I'm sure the alliance would not touch me without any good reason... This is also one of the rules of the organisation! How can they deal with their members without any good reason? Are they not worried that people would regard them as unethical?'
'Now that I have displayed some of my power and have fallen out with Feng Xinzi, I will be able to cause Elder Smelter to worry... If he continues to plot against me, I can look for other factions, for instance, Green Wood!'
With that, he would have the foundation and reason to leave the faction.
He could also make use of this opportunity to improve his cultivation further while the alliance would remain clueless about his actual cultivation.
This was not his maximum potential. He could attempt to form the martial arts Divine Body and attain True Divine!
"I'm afraid that other Wu Zongs, even those with the 9th Meridian, would find it extremely hard to form the Divine Body because they do not have enough resources. However, if I cannot form the Divine Body, I'm sure no other martial artists would be able to do so."
His own body was only a little weaker than the martial arts Divine Body. Additionally, after receiving the inheritance from the witches, he had the resources and knowledge and it was extremely feasible for him to form the Divine Body.
By then, as a True Divine, he could go head-on against Elder Smelter. Only at that stage would he be able to ensure his survival in the impending tumultuous period and be the biggest winner!
...
"What? Are you saying that that kid is close to attaining True Divine?"
Within the Dream Realm, Feng Xinzi knelt on the ground and explained everything. Finally, he lowered his head. "I am not lying. Based on the severed heads and the evidence found from the place they fought, that person is indeed close to attaining True Divine. Furthermore, he might even stand a chance if he were to go against a True Divine in the 9 Extremes Mountain!"
Fang Yuan's strong physical body meant that he did not require the support of martial arts elemental force. This would mean that he would gain the upper hand in the 9 Extremes Mountain. With regards to this, even other normal True Divines would be disadvantaged.
"If this is true... this is troubling!"
Elder Smelter twitched his eyebrows. His started to gaze at him with an unfriendly look.
To think about things with a calm mind, it was logical for Elder Smelter to be closer to Feng Xinzi because of their familial ties. However, now was a time of war and every fighter was equally important, and even more so for highly-skilled fighters! This would affect the outcome of the war!
However, they had already missed the opportunity. They had thought that Fang Yuan was a normal dream master in the 4th Tier of Illusionary Divine and even wanted to squeeze him dry.
Now that he had displayed such power, it would mean that within the alliance, only the elders would be able to deal with him. If they continued to pressure him, he might just join the enemy!
If Fang Yuan were to leave the Realm Alliance, he would be hunted down by all the dream masters of the alliance. Therefore, he would not be so stupid as to do it. However, he could just simply look for another faction and another elder.
It would be the fortune of other factions to easily gain such a powerful dream master.
If that really happened, Elder Green Wood and the rest might just mock Elder Smelter.
"Regarding this incident... you've handled it poorly!"
Although Elder Smelter sounded calm, in the ears of Feng Xinzi, it was as shocking as thunder. His limbs turned to jelly.
Feng Xinzi knew that if this elder were to act up, he might gladly sacrifice himself in exchange for Fang Yuan.
An alchemy master at the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage was indeed valuable.
However, how could it compare to a dream master who was about to attain the True Divine?
'This... I can't believe it!'
Feng Xinzi could predict that this was an extremely possible outcome. With that, he started to panic. "Elder... Fang Yuan has unparalleled martial skill and he refused to display it all this while. This goes to show that he has been having his reservations! Furthermore... he has been cowardly hiding in the prosperous land and is all this while unwilling to help Elder in the war!"
What Feng Xinzi was trying to convey was that although Fang Yuan was powerful, he had his own plans and ulterior motives and therefore could not compare with Feng Xinzi's loyalty and willingness to serve.
"Hmmm... you're right!"
Elder Smelter stroked his beard. "Pass a message to him and make it sound a little more respectful. Tell him that I want to meet him!"
"Yes!"
Feng Xinzi left the hall, disappointed. He knew that he had failed to convince Elder Smelter with his reasoning.
At the same time, a deep-seated jealousy started to take over him.
...
Outside the 9 Extremes Mountain, Fang Yuan did not leave. He found a hiding spot for himself and settled down, surviving on Elemental Refining Fruits and practising his martial arts. At the same time, he was hearing out for news.
"Based on Liu Mengmei, the 5 Grand Organisations have come together and used us as a bait to trick the Imperial Court. However, that plan did not succeed... Although they have managed to destroy the messy stone array, all the highly skilled dream masters have escaped and they failed to capture even one dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Instead, they had suffered heavy losses as well... However, the Imperial Court seemed to have won a few battles outside the 9 Extremes Mountain, and that made up for their lost in the 9 Extremes Mountain!"
As he took a large bite from the spiritual fruit, he gazed at the 9 Extremes Mountain with a fire in his eyes. "This is a perilous territory to dream masters, and a dangerous place to spiritual knights and Wu Zongs. However, it seems like it is a huge plot of prosperous land for me!"
Everyone was afraid of the Ultimate Segregation in the mountains. However, Fang Yuan's physical body was extremely strong and required no external sustenance. Therefore, he would not feel any restrictions at all in the mountains.