Chapter 1944: Proof Of Innocence

The best way for Lu Yin to buy time for the Fifth Mainland was to simply destroy the New Corridor. However, there was definitely a Semi-Progenitor protecting it.

No one from the Perennial World would underestimate the Lu family’s influence. Even if the family had been exiled from the Perennial World, there were still many devout supporters who were more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Lu family. Lu Yin was in a very difficult position at this moment.

Even if he was in Long Quan’s body at the moment, it was impossible for him to approach the New Corridor. Anyone who moved close to that place would die without question.

The New Corridor was a dead end.

Lu Yin glanced around the entire valley. Suddenly, he focused on a certain place in the valley where an odd creature was speaking to elders from the Wang family. The Wang family was not the only one with a presence in that place, as there were also people from the Bai family, the Xia family, and the White Dragon Clan. He even saw Elder Long Kui.

The strange creature that Lu Yin had noticed was from Sky Creation Academy, and it was their representative in the negotiation with the four ruling powers. As long as the relationship between the two sides remained positive, the invasion force would be able to easily enter the Fifth Mainland through the New Corridor.

Lu Yin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he entered the void, vanishing from where he had stood. When he reappeared, he was close to the gathering of people from the four ruling powers.

He did not rush over to them, but rather slowly walked over one step at a time, as though he were deliberately trying to gain their notice before arriving.

"You’re demanding too many supplies! It's not like you don't understand the state of things for us here. The consumption of resources that the rear battlefield needs is astronomical, and if we divert a massive amount of supplies to you here, then it will have an impact on that battlefield." Wang Shang was speaking. He was an elder from the Wang family who had been sent to the Fifth Mainland by himself to kill Lu Yin only to end up being beaten back by Hui Kong.

This elder was also the same person who had forced Hui Kong to use up all of the golden meteors that he had stored up during his time in the Technocracy, which had forced the old man to return to the Human Domain.

The strange creature that the elder was speaking to was indescribable. It looked like a piece of metal with five sensory organs, including a pair of extraordinary eyes. It spoke in a clear voice, saying, "Headmaster Senn has put forth this condition, and the New Corridor will not open unless you agree to this."

"Us attacking the Forsaken Land’s Human Domain should be a good thing for your Sky Creation Academy," the Celestial Frost Sect’s Elder Qing Xing interjected.

The metallic creature replied, "Our Sky Creation Academy is not fighting against the Human Domain, but rather First Edition City. We have maintained a good relationship with the Human Domain."

"As far as this old man understands, Lu Xiaoxuan holds a very high status within the Human Domain, and he even appeared in your Sophic Rift some time ago after entering First Edition City. It would appear that he has already managed to establish a good relationship with this First Edition City, and if the two of them join forces to deal with your Sky Creation Academy, then things will become very difficult for you," Wang Shang countered.

That strange creature replied, "These are our conditions. If you do not agree, the New Corridor will not open."

Everyone was running out of options.

It was impossible for a Semi-Progenitor to lower themselves to speak with Sky Creation Academy’s representative, which meant that, out of everyone present, Wang Shang was the best person to represent the Perennial World for these negotiations. After all, the Wang family had always been the one to interact with Sky Creation Academy.

To the side, Long Kui's calm eyes belied the man’s complicated emotions. He was remembering seeing Long Qi—no, it was Lu Xiaoxuan who had masked his identity and used the name of Long Qi. Long Kui remembered seeing that youth when space had overlapped to reveal the Forsaken Land. It would have been wonderful if that youth truly were Long Qi instead of Lu Xiaoxuan…

It was at this moment that “Long Quan” approached. Several people glanced at him, but his arrival did not raise anyone’s concern.

Long Kui's expression betrayed his discomfort. The two different family lines were competing within the White Dragon Clan. Long Kui was a part of Long Ke's family, so he was naturally antagonistic towards Long Quan.

"Senior." “Long Quan” faced Wang Shang and gave the man a respectful bow.

Wang Shang replied, "What are you doing here?"

"Long Quan" respectfully answered, "I bring a message from our Great Elder."

He then turned to look at the odd creature from Sky Creation Academy. "It’s intended for our guest."

Wang Shang grew curious; what sort of message could Elder Ni Huang have sent?

While the Wang family was the primary force behind the invasion, seeing as they were the ones with access to the path to the Forsaken Land, the strongest powerhouse involved in this endeavor was the White Dragon Clan’s Elder Ni Huang. He was right at the cusp of becoming a Progenitor, which meant that his strength was comparable to what Ancestor Wan Zhiyi had reached in the past.

Even other Semi-Progenitors needed to show Ni Huang respect.

"If you have a message from Senior Ni Huang, then just speak," Wang Shang replied.

"Long Quan" looked somewhat embarrassed as he hesitated.

Wang Shang's eyes flickered, and he turned to leave as he understood that "Long Quan" wished to speak with Sky Creation Academy’s representative alone. Wang Shang held no doubts concerning Long Quan himself, as he was quite familiar with the man.

Everyone else took their leave as well.

Long Kui frowned. Why had Elder Ni Huang entrusted a message to Long Quan? Did their elder intend to support Long Quan’s branch family?

The Great Elder did not care about who held the position of being the White Dragon Clan’s patriarch. During the ceremony to worship their ancestors, Great Elder Ni Huang had announced Long Qi’s position as an heir of the White Dragon Clan while ignoring Long Ke's position and feelings on the matter. On top of that, the elder had announced Long Qi’s engagement to Shenwu’s Sky’s princess, which had erased any and all advantage that Long Ke's family might have held over Long Quan's branch family.

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Everyone understood that, as far as Elder Ni Huang was concerned, anyone could serve as the clan’s patriarch.

Regardless of his personal desires, Log Kui could only step away and leave "Long Quan" alone with Sky Creation Academy’s representative.

"Regardless of what you say, our conditions remain unchanged," The strange creature squinted its eyes as it spoke to "Long Quan."

"Long Quan" stared back at the odd creature. "I'm sorry."

With that, he smashed a hand into the creature, shattering it into countless pieces without any difficulty.

Countless people were startled by what they saw.

Wang Shang reacted first, and his expression changed drastically as he screamed, "Long Quan, what are you doing?"

People stared from both near and far.

"Long Quan" angrily shouted back, "Everything about Lu Xiaoxuan and Lu Yin is sheer nonsense! It’s nothing but a ploy created by the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, and Shenwu's Sky to act against my White Dragon Clan! Progenitor Mu Xie was going to accept Long Qi as his disciple, and his talent for lockbreaking even impressed a Realm Array Master. All of this caused the three of you to grow afraid of my White Dragon Clan rising up to surpass you, so you devised this scheme to give Long Qi the identity of a dead man! You are trying to suppress my White Dragon Clan, but I refuse! Even if it requires my death, I, Long Quan, will expose your lies!"

"Long Quan’s" words forced Wang Shang to hesitate for a moment just as he had been about to attack. Was this man willing to die just to expose a lie? Generally speaking, people who declared such things were not lying and truly did not fear death. Why lie when you would most likely be forced to follow through on your words? However, who could push Long Quan to prove himself? He was someone with a high enough status to compete for the position of the entire White Dragon Clan’s patriarch as well as a powerhouse who had passed through four stellular tribulations. Even more importantly, were these words Long Quan’s or Elder Ni Huang’s?

"Elder Long Quan, what are you saying?" Long Kui shouted.

"Long Quan" firmly shouted back, "Be silent! All of you have been deceived! Long Qi is Long Qi, not Lu Xiaoxuan. The Champions’ Stage innate gift that was seen and the ‘proof’ provided by the Wang family in him were both faked. Three of the majestic four ruling powers have united to work against us, and they were even able to deceive my White Dragon Clan! Only I, Long Quan, managed to uncover the truth."

At this point, "Long Quan" roared to the sky, "Grand Elder, this junior knows that you are watching! I beg you to uncover the truth! Long Qi is Long Qi! Where could Lu Xiaoxuan have come from? That youth is Long Qi, the son-in-law of my White Dragon Clan’s main family line! I am unwilling to suffer this attack against us, as he will be the foundation that will see my White Dragon Clan rise up!"

"How dare you spout this nonsense here!" Wang Si appeared, fury filling her eyes as she raised a hand to deal with Long Quan.

However, Elder Ni Huang also appeared, and he stopped Wang Si. "Wait a moment."

The old man turned to look at Long Quan, his emotions clear on his face. "Do you understand what you’ve just said? The truth of the matter was exposed during the ceremony to worship the ancestors, and even Long Qi himself admitted to everything when he was being chased. He admitted to not only being Lu Xiaoxuan, but also being a trespasser from the Forsaken Land. Who did not see the disturbance that he created when breaking through to the Envoy realm just recently?"

"Long Quan" lamented, "He was betrayed by his own family, so how could he not retaliate after being hurt by our actions? Great Elder, Long Qi needs our family to protect him now more than ever, and yet, why is our family joining this expedition to kill him? How painful must this be for him?! All of this is part of a scheme designed by the Bai, Wang, and Xia families! They manipulated all of the evidence, as how else could there be so many coincidences? Long Qi was exposed, but at the same time, the Progenitors were all forced away! They simply wanted to prevent our Progenitor from seeing the truth so that Long Qi could be killed! They are trying to force the death of my White Dragon Clan’s greatest genius!

"Great Elder, this junior is willing to prove this truth with my own death!" With that, as everyone watched in astonishment, “Long Quan” slammed a hand onto his forehead, killing himself.

Not even Elder Ni Huang had expected Long Quan to be so resolute. The man had said that he would die to support his claims, and he had done just that.

Everyone was shocked to their core by the man’s death.

Could Long Quan’s words actually be true? He had appeared to be nothing more than a distraught man who had been horribly wronged to the point where he was willing to die to prove himself.

However, there was no denying that Long Qi was indeed Lu Xiaoxuan, as there was no other way that Elder Ni Huang would have been personally sent to participate in this invasion. After all, Long Qi had caused the White Dragon Clan to lose all face.

Just what was going on?

At this moment, even Semi-Progenitors like Ni Huang and Wang Si were completely stunned.

A person’s death was the most important event of their entire lives, and the same was true of even an ant. However, Long Quan had not hesitated to sacrifice his very life in order to prove the veracity of his claims, which caused countless people to question this matter. Needless to say, the invasion army’s momentum had completely dissipated.

There was no way that the people at the bottom knew about the full details of what had happened regarding Long Qi, and Long Quan’s death had roused everyone’s suspicions. Many people already believed the dead man’s claims. They had seen his death for themselves, and his claims were not completely impossible.

After thinking about the matter for a bit, many people came to the conclusion that since the Lu family had been eliminated, why would Lu Xiaoxuan still be alive?

Silence reigned in the entire valley, and everyone completely ignored the death of Sky Creation Academy’s representative as they were all completely focused on Long Quan's body.

On this day, Long Quan had managed to shatter everything that the four ruling powers had thought to be true.

Not only that, but Long Quan had also killed Sky Creation Academy’s representative. How were they supposed to explain this matter to Sky Creation Academy? They had already been in a deadlock in the negotiations regarding what resources would be exchanged, and things had just become far more complicated.

The invasion army had not even left their staging grounds yet, but they had already lost all of their momentum.

Long Kui stared blankly at Long Quan's body. Since when had this patriarch of a branch family become so stubbornly decisive?

Far away, Lu Yin returned to himself after forcing Long Quan's body to kill itself. The moment of death had been quite uncomfortable for Lu Yin, and after his consciousness returned to his own body from the strange dark space, he found the black and white mist surging within his chest. It seemed it had been stimulated by his actions, and he struggled to calm the churning energy.

The corners of Lu Yin's mouth curled upwards. At this time, things were surely quite exciting in the Perennial World.

Lu Yin’s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan had been undeniably verified by the four ruling powers, and there was no way to even doubt the truth of that fact. However, Lu Yin had just used Long Quan to shatter that certainty and disrupt the four ruling powers. At the very least, his actions would buy the Fifth Mainland some more time and cause the White Dragon Clan to pull away from the Perennial World’s other three ruling powers. On top of that, conflicts would likely erupt between the other three families.

Finally, the death of Sky Creation Academy’s representative would further delay the invasion’s negotiations.

Lu Yin guessed that this disturbance might buy him as much as half a year’s time. During this period, he absolutely had to find a way to deal with the invasion. If he could not do that, an all-out war would break out.

He had to quickly determine the Hall of Honor’s position on this matter.