Chapter 15
1
Two days ago, the whole country knew about my duel with Duke Qin on the field. Not to mention, he is the Duke's relative, so it was a big news. Although the result was inconclusive, some people managed to guess something.
"How did you come here?" One of the "gatekeepers" looked at me. They won't let just anyone come and go randomly. The breakout wouldn't be so quiet if there were barriers on the outside.
"I was wondering why the barriers outside didn't react." I put the crystal on the table. With the crystal in my hand, the barriers would recognize me as a safe person.
"Qin, Heavenly Demon Fire, crystal? Are you the Duke's son? Why is it different from what Brother Wu said?"
"Hey, hey, Second Brother, what I said is true. I really had white hair." Elder Five gestured to his hair, swearing that it was indeed white yesterday.
Fatty is Elder Five, and the one with the long beard is Second Brother. That means it's definitely the Second Elder.
"I think it's better to know only half of things. Knowing too much is not a good thing after all!" It will take a lot of time to explain everything clearly.
"Why didn't you come with your father?" Second Elder asked.
"My father might not be able to do it either. Let's not waste time. We still need to stop the selection of Qin Hui's soul from self-harm and killing."
"Even your Duke father can't veto this selection. Why do you think you can stop it? If you want to inherit the power, it's simple, just kill all the candidates in front of you." The bearded man continued playing with his beard, looking quite pleased with himself.
"I don't want to inherit the power. On the contrary, I want Qin Yin to inherit it. With him, he can handle both light and darkness. Can anyone else win in a one-on-one battle with him?"
"Qin Yin is indeed a good candidate, but his father is not on the same side as us!"
"What do you mean? Do you also want to create some kind of conspiracy?" What is really going on with this selection?
"A conspiracy! That's for sure. There will be all kinds of things happening. This is The Human Realm. Do you think 'The Divine Realm's Cursed Dagger' would appear in the competition arena without any conspiracy?"
"You seem to know something. Why did 'The Divine Realm's Cursed Dagger' appear?"
That dagger deeply inserted in Wenxin's body for twenty-four hours. It's infuriating to think about. Who smuggled this thing into The Human Realm?
"A child doesn't need to know too much, right?" Second Elder's eyes showed disdain. I couldn't see through it. I must have some bargaining chips in the negotiation process.
"Well, have you heard about the return of the Demon Dragon?"
"The prophecy of the black fire burning the sky has already appeared, and the Holy Dragon has already awakened in The Divine Realm. It's only a matter of time before the Demon Dragon returns."
"Oh! You already know about the Holy Dragon. It is said to be a very confidential matter. It seems that you and The Divine Realm have some kind of secret relationship!"
"Well, you're playing tricks on me, but it doesn't matter. It's fine if you want to know, because you've already been ordered to be eliminated." Second Elder comfortably sat down on the chair, picked up the boiling teapot in his hand, poured out the light green tea, and the aroma filled the air. It was a very high-quality tea. With the Qin family's status and heritage, it was not surprising to enjoy such luxury.
"Ordered? Who has the ability to command you esteemed elders?"
"Qin Yang! Before you die, as your elder, it is my responsibility to let you understand the reason for your death. The Qin family has a high position and influence in the empire. If we want to continue to develop, the imperial throne is our goal, or it is to surpass humans and become gods or demons. However, it is not an easy task to seize the throne and surpass humans. Aligning with the divine and demonic races is our first choice. We need them to achieve more powerful divine ranks, which is our combat power. However, gods and demons cannot coexist. Who to follow has already divided the Qin family into different factions!"
"My father and Qin Yin's father are the leaders of the faction that aligns with The Demon Realm, right?" My father and Yuan Di are master and disciple. But the Second Elder said that Qin Yin's father is not on their side.
"That's right. They lead the Qin family to be close to The Demon Realm, while our elders advocate following The Divine Realm. The two sides have been in conflict for twenty years. In order to make the Qin family embrace The Divine Realm, we bribed the traitors of The Demon Realm and kidnapped your mother and you!"
"Crack!" The cup in the second elder's hand shattered into pieces, evaporating the tea inside.
"Young one, you have quite a temper! I haven't finished yet. Originally, the plan was for you and your mother to meet the King of the Underworld together. Unfortunately, that Fist Demon somehow managed to sneak in. Your existence, to some extent, is his doing. However, even if you disappeared for ten years, we can still execute our plan - to force your father to agree to select a successor. He no longer has any heirs, and your father definitely knows where you are. He has secretly hidden you away because of your foster parents, the Lin couple, who are close friends with him. The reasons are quite sufficient." The second elder poured tea from the pot into another cup and drank it as if nothing happened.
"Crack!" The second cup also shattered.
"Humph! You will regret coming up this mountain and walking into this trap."
"Regret? If I hadn't come up this mountain, I wouldn't have known who was responsible for the humiliation my mother suffered!" I vigorously flipped the long table with my right hand, causing the platter of meat in front of the fifth elder to fly everywhere.
"Elder Five!"
"Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! Enemy!" The chubby elder stared at the flying meat juice and shouted hysterically. Anyone who hindered his meal was considered an enemy to him.
"Ah..." Elder Five suddenly dashed out of his chair, ignoring the table that was knocked over, and slammed into pieces. He sent me flying out of the Elder's Hall and into the bamboo forest outside.
Elder Five was too heavy, and he almost fell when he hit the ground. But I couldn't fall down. I had to know who gave the order, who was the mastermind. Demon Dragon easily got angry.
"The Duke has never defeated me. What can an elder do to me? Reveal the mastermind!"
"Leave this mountain alive first, young one!"
"Enemy! Enemy..." Elder Five's chubby figure stepped forward, activating the power of magic in every cell in his body in an instant. He rapidly transformed, reversing his fatty body into muscular flesh, converting his stout waist into an eight-pack, and his flabby arms into strong biceps and perfect curves.
He used external magic to manipulate the growth of his body.
Elder Five shed his obese body, revealing muscular flesh. He crashed into the ground, creating a shocking force that caused everything in his path to shatter.
"If I can leave here alive, then you will have to tell me," I said harshly, as the Demon Fire of Heaven wrapped around my arm from my ring finger. I unleashed a powerful punch with my right fist, colliding with Elder Five's fist.
Magic that enhances the body with magic power is something many people know, but someone as skilled as Elder Five is rare. Each magic could be a subject of study in school; the uses of magic have not been fully explored by both the divine and demonic races.
After the collision of the two fists, a metallic sound rang out, and the force caused the bamboo leaves to shake. Fragile bamboo leaves fell to the ground.
The Demon Fire of Heaven's fire nature inflicts intense damage to the body. Elder Five's right hand was stripped of flesh by the Demon Fire of Heaven, but his regeneration speed was fast.
"After burning you to ashes, will you still have a chance to regenerate?"
The flames suddenly intensified, engulfing Elder Five's body from his arm to his entire body like venomous snakes. However, Elder Five, in his state of frenzy, did not feel the sensation of the flames devouring his flesh. I couldn't help but think of those who were born without pain receptors.
"Leave him, Elder Five, or you will be burnt to ashes! Shadow!" As soon as the second elder's words fell, three green-clothed people wearing masks jumped out from my northwest, northeast, and due south. Their bodies were completely covered in black and green fabric, and they had been hiding in the bamboo forest for a very long time. They were motionless until I came in just now. They moved with the wind and stopped when the wind stopped. I had initially thought they were lazy tribespeople sleeping.
The two green-clothed individuals from the northwest and northeast areas flew into the air and threw darts emitting a faint green light. My instincts told me they were poisoned darts.
I immediately dodged and, with a backlash, Elder Five's fist slammed into the yellow earth, stirring up dust.
"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!" Four sharp metal sounds followed. When the dust settled, three green-clothed individuals each held a strong crossbow, and the one in the due south had a large-sized crossbow that was half the height of a person.
"People still use crossbows in this day and age?" I didn't have any bias against their weapons, but crossbows were no longer popular in this era. Perhaps there were individuals who liked to use them, just like how Zi Sirou liked to use a spear. But it was rare to see three people with such outdated preferences.
"This is an age of magic, where cold and hot weapons are no longer the mainstream. Magic is the key, so weapons don't have a specific era. Now, you have five opponents. If I don't intervene, it will be four against one. Qin Yang, do you still want to know who the mastermind is and die, or do you want to die without knowing anything?" Although the second elder spoke to me, he still had his attention on the teapot.
"I've been lying down for all the time, so why bother choosing? I want both the mastermind and to stay alive!"
