Chapter 2198: Identity Exposed

"Is there an instructor named Hao Yu in your academy?" Xia Yuan asked. He did not speak in a very polite tone, as from his perspective, Wu Taibai was still just a disciple of Shenwu’s Sky.

Wu Taibai replied, "There is a Prof. Hao Yu here, yes."

"Look into him. I want to know everything about him," Xia Yuan ordered.

Wu Taibai's eyes flickered. "I see. Senior, you may want to speak with Xia Shenguang instead, as he had a conflict with Hao Yu."

"There’s a grudge between Shenguang and Hao Yu? What happened?" Xia Yuan felt quite puzzled, though his first thought was that Yu Hao had deliberately tried to make trouble for the Xia family. There was no denying that Yu Hao was bold enough to go up against the Xia family.

Wu Taibai gave a brief overview of what had happened between Xia Shenguang and Lu Yin. The story floored Xia Yuan. "Are you saying that this Hao Yu is an Envoy? And that he’s also a Senior Array Master?"

"That’s right."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Xia Yuan could not get over his shock.

Wu Taibai was unmoved. "Completely."

Xia Yuan's mind started to race. Based on the amount of time that had gone by, it was absolutely impossible for Yu Hao to have become an Envoy. Why? Because Yu Hao was someone from Shenfei’s generation, and yet with a bit more than twenty years, he must have somehow become both an Envoy and a Senior Array Master.

It was far, far more difficult for a Lockbreaker to become a Senior Array Master than for a cultivator to become an Envoy. There was no way that Hao Yu could be Yu Hao.

Xia Yuan reached out to Xia Zhitong once again. This time, he asked about every last bit of information regarding Yu Hao. Xia Zhitong also wondered how Yu Hao had become so powerful so quickly.

The two compared the Yu Hao that they knew from before with the Yu Hao who had returned, and they quickly concluded that the person was either an impostor, or that he had stumbled upon the luckiest opportunity imaginable. It would have had to be something that could give him the same advantages as the four Junior Progenitors.

However, what sort of opportunity could that be? Not only had he supposedly risen from a pathetic cultivator to an Envoy within just a bit more than twenty years, but had he also become a Senior Array Master?

"If he’s an imposter, then it’s someone with a vendetta against my Xia family, which means that he can’t be someone without a powerful backing," Xia Zhitong commented quietly. She much preferred the possibility that the returned Yu Hao was an imposter. Given the real Yu Hao’s grudge against her, if he had really gained such power, her life would end up far worse than death.

Xia Yuan was also hoping that the returned Yu Hao was an imposter, as it would mean that the plan to use the Yu family’s fate as a warning to the Perennial World had not been a mistake. Instead, the blame could be placed on whoever was targeting the Xia family, and that had nothing to do with Xia Yuan.

"However, if Yu Hao isn’t an imposter, then it means that there has to be someone very powerful supporting him. We should report everything to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng," Xia Zhitong stated. She hoped that a Semi-Progenitor would get involved in the situation as soon as possible and settle everything. How would Xia Zhitong be willing to wait until the ancestors’ ceremony?

Xia Yuan's eyes flickered. Report the matter to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? Xia Yuan was not sure if that was the best idea. If the report was made and it proved necessary, then Xia Yuan would be praised. On the other hand, if it was determined that he could have handled the matter himself, he would be seen as trash by his superiors.

"If someone is trying to use Yu Hao's identity in an attempt to go after our Xia family, that’s not an easy task. Who in the entire Perennial World is capable of doing that? These people are not somebody whom just you and I can handle on our own," Xia Zhitong cautioned.

Xia Yuan let out a breath. "I understand."

A short while later, Xia Yuan approached Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng and shared the entire story with him. "Ancestor, this junior fears that someone is trying to use the Yu family’s name to target our Xia family, so I hurried here to report to you. This person is currently hiding in Virtue Archives, and I am not able to interfere with that academy."

An old man sat in front of Xia Yuan, fishing in a cold river. He listened to the story and remained quiet for a long time before finally responding, "Just over twenty years ago, Grandmaster Gu Yan made a trip to the Lower Realm, and after he returned, he mentioned encountering a young man who caught his attention. No one knows if the grandmaster accepted that young man as an apprentice or not."

"Ancestor, do you think that Grandmaster Gu Yan might have met Yu Hao back then?" Xia Yuan guessed.

The old man said, "Grandmaster Gu Yan is an odd person, and he also absolutely hates the four ruling powers. It’s possible that Yu Hao’s situation was enough to garner the old man’s sympathy."

Xia Yuan's face contorted at this information. Grandmaster Gu Yan was the most powerful Array Grandmaster in the entire Perennial World. How could Yu Hao have been lucky enough to run into such a powerhouse?

"If not Grandmaster Gu Yan, who else could transform a piece of trash into a Senior Array Master and an Envoy level expert in such a short amount of time? An Array Grandmaster is completely different from a Semi-Progenitor, as even Progenitors will treat such a person with respect." The old man let out another sigh.

Xia Yuan quietly asked, "If Yu Hao was really accepted as Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice, how should we handle this matter?"

The old man cast his line out again. "I can handle this however I wish. My four ruling powers have no intention of putting up with Grandmaster Gu Yan. Unless he agrees to join us, he will never be able to leave the rear battlefield again."

Xia Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. "This junior understands."

The old man lifted his head to stare up at the sky. "He may hate my Xia family and want to get revenge, haha! Still, this child is quite smart. He hasn’t used Grandmaster Gu Yan’s name when taking any actions, and instead went to hide in Virtue Archives. Not even we dare to push Virtue Archives too far. It’s not yet time for that."

Xia Yuan said nothing, as he understood that the Semi-Progenitor was thinking out loud.

Some time later, the old man said, "My Xia family is still connected to the Yu family by marriage, and our family is about to pay our respects to our ancestors at our family’s ceremony. Let’s invite him to attend."

Xia Yuan's eyes lit up. "You want to have Yu Hao come to Shenwu's Sky? Once he’s here, we can do whatever we want with him."

The old man said nothing, so Xia Yuan saw himself out after bowing to the old man.

…

Recently, many of Virtue Archives’ students had become quite interested in the stone pillar where Lu Yin lived. More precisely, they were intrigued by the Teleportation Formation that had been erected.

Lu Yin had decided to use the Teleportation Formation as the restriction to isolate his residence at the top of the pillar, as the sourcebox array would teleport away anyone who tried to ascend the pillar. Many people became interested in this restriction method, and many of the students subsequently tried to climb the pillar. Unfortunately, unless the students were capable of entering the true universe, none of them could escape the Teleportation Formation’s effects.

There were simply too few Enlighters who were capable of entering the true universe. The four Junior Progenitors had all been capable of doing so, and at present, Liu Que, Xia Shenguang, and the others at their level were similarly capable of entering the true universe. However, even people as strong as Qing Feng could not quite pull it off.

Wu Taibai arrived at Lu Yin’s pillar, and many students watched as the Enlighter instructor casually entered the true universe and rose to the top of the stone pillar. The sight triggered many students’ envy, though none were surprised. Wu Taibai was the only Enlighter among the faculty who had managed to defeat the Eighteen Lines Formation. On top of that, many people knew about Wu Taibai’s past and how he was an elite from Shenwu’s Sky’s Tai generation, a generation close to their Junior Progenitor.

Wu Taibai stepped onto the top of the stone pillar and stood just outside the garden of the residence. "Prof. Hao Yu, Wu Taibai would like to speak with you."

The door to the house opened, and Lu Yin stepped out. He looked at Wu Taibai. "Prof. Wu, what can I do for you?"

"On behalf of Shenwu's Sky, I would like to invite Prof. Hao Yu to join my Xia family at the ceremony to worship our ancestors."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Shouldn’t such an event be restricted to just family members? What does that have to do with me?"

Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin. "I thought that you looked a bit familiar when we first met, Prof. Hao Yu. Only after I received a reminder did I realize that you look exactly like the young master of the Bifrost’s Yu City, Yu Hao."

Seeing he had been identified, Lu Yin’s expression changed, and he revealed a completely different demeanor from before. He waved a hand to dismiss Wu Taibai. "You can go now, Prof. Wu."

Wu Taibai was not surprised by "Yu Hao’s" behavior, as there were rumors everywhere in the Perennial World about the Yu family and the Xia family. The most famous stories were about Yu Hao, mocking the young man mercilessly for Xia Zhitong’s actions. There were many who believed that Yu Hao had committed suicide years ago, and Wu Taibai had not expected the man to suddenly reveal himself once more. Not only had Yu Hao returned, but he had also revealed himself to be an Envoy and a Senior Array Master. Such a transformation was nothing less than legendary.

"Yu- Prof. Hao Yu, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng is the one extending the invitation," Wu Taibai warned.

Lu Yin sneered. "Then he can come here himself and beg on his knees! Maybe then I’ll go."

Wu Taibai’s voice grew cold. "You need to give a Semi-Progenitor the respect that they deserve."

"No one from the Xia family don’t deserve my respect," Lu Yin retorted.

Wu Taibai nodded. "Since you’re not willing, I'll inform Semi-Progenitor Ziheng of your decision. Please excuse me."

He immediately left.

Once Wu Taibai left, Lu Yin's expression completely recovered. Had he really been exposed? In that case, what would the Xia family do next? They could not tolerate Yu Hao’s continued existence, so Lu Yin would not be left in peace for long.

Wu Taibai quickly reported Lu Yin’s reaction to Xia Yuan. There was no need to embellish the story at all, as Lu Yin’s reaction was already more than enough to enrage Xia Yuan.

Xia Yuan did not look very good as he went to deliver a report to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng.

Very quickly, Headmaster Wen received a call from Xia Ziheng. "What's the matter?"

Xia Ziheng's voice spoke in an indifferent tone, "Does your Virtue Archives have an instructor by the name of Hao Yu?"

Headmaster Wen was taken aback. "An Envoy was able to get your attention, Xia Ziheng? Why? Is there something unusual about his background?"

Xia Ziheng replied, "He is actually Yu Hao, and you can look into his background yourself. He’s my Xia family's son-in-law, and I expect him to be among the chaperones leading Virtue Archives’ students in half a year when you visit us."

Headmaster Wen frowned. "Xia Ziheng, is your Xia family trying to push things further? You already have Wu Taibai and Xia Shenguang here, and now you’ve sent Yu Hao here as well? You’re going too far."

Xia Ziheng was unbothered by the accusation. "I have no idea how he ended up as an instructor in Virtue Archives. Regardless, I will see him here in Shenwu's Sky in half a year."

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"That’s up to whether or not he can obtain enough votes from the academy’s students," Headmaster Wen replied.

Xia Ziheng just gave a small smile. "I can make sure that more students are sent to Virtue Archives. You know that that’s not difficult for me to do."

Headmaster Wen just let out a contemptuous snort and hung up. There was truly no need to bother sending any more students to Virtue Archives, as Xia Shenguang's support alone was enough to ensure that Yu Hao would become one of the chaperones to lead the students. However, Headmaster Wen had never expected to learn that Hao Yu was actually the Xia family’s son-in-law. What the hell?

Wait, wasn't he sent here by the God of Food?

Headmaster Wen quickly pulled out the invitation that Lu Yin had received from the God of Food. The headmaster had not misremembered; Hao Yu had indeed been sent to be an instructor in Virtue Archives by the God of Food. How had the God of Food invited one of the Xia family’s son-in-laws? What the hell kind of coincidence was that?

Headmaster Wen immediately started investigating Yu Hao, and the results surprised him. Yu Hao's story had spread across the entire Perennial World, and it been publicized countless times and altered into various versions, though each of them painted a tragic picture of his life. However, such gossip did not reach people at Headmaster Wen’s level unless they deliberately sought out such things.

Virtue Archives normally did not take the initiative to look into the backgrounds of its instructors or students. The place was an academy, not a closed group like a sect or a great family. This was why Headmaster Wen had not known anything about Yu Hao or the fact that Hao Yu was an alias until this moment.

This information was too exciting, but the story was also too tragic.

Also, Headmaster Wen finally understood Xia Ziheng's message: the intention was not to quietly deal with Yu Hao, but rather to deal with him when he visited Shenwu’s Sky with the students.