Chapter 2261: Too Despicable

In truth, Virtue Archives was not afraid of the four ruling powers becoming ruthless. The God of Food had already said that the academy did not fear a fight to the death, and this was precisely why he had been able to keep Virtue Archives independent for so many years. The only problem was that, if the four ruling powers started being more direct, they would quickly learn the truth about the hidden Mountain and Sea, which was something that the academy wanted to avoid at almost all costs.

The God of Food hesitated for a moment.

Long Tian assumed that the God of Food was worried about Virtue Archives and his possible death when attempting to break through to the Progenitor realm, so the young man continued talking. "Senior, in the past, the four ruling powers would indeed have worried about you successfully becoming a Progenitor, but that fear just became unfounded. Your actions just now are very reassuring to us. While humanity might have lost a powerful Progenitor, for my four ruling powers, things just became much easier."

The God of Food arched a brow. "Junior, successfully becoming a Progenitor doesn’t rely solely on one’s state of mind, but also on their foundation. I’m an old man who has spent countless years creating my foundation. It’s impossible for you to be able to see through me."

"This junior doesn't want to argue with you, Senior. The accusations made about the blood pool must be clearly resolved and settled. I ask you, Senior, and the rest of your group to spend a few more days here on Dragon Mountain. My White Dragon Clan will definitely provide evidence that there is nothing wrong with the blood pool," Long Tian stated.

How could they possibly provide any evidence that there was nothing wrong with the blood pool? Normally, someone making such accusations would be asked to provide evidence that there was something wrong with the blood pool, but how could the White Dragon Clan take the risk of letting this matter spread any further? Even if their blood pool was fine, these accusations would cause endless problems for their clan if they spread to the outside world. Not only that, but the other three ruling powers would also widen the already great discrepancy between themselves and the White Dragon Clan. That could never be allowed to happen.

The issue was, there really was a problem with the blood pool.

Long Tian needed to make a report to the clan’s ancestors so that they could come up with a method to properly resolve this issue. Unfortunately, there were people from the Bai, Xia, Wang, Nong, and Liu families among the students, as well as youths from Humility’s Gate and other influential families. Those were the people that the White Dragon Clan needed to reassure the most, and to do so, they needed time.

The White Dragon Clan absolutely could not not allow the exchange program students to leave. The God of Food was forced to agree to stay a few days longer.

"Professor, the White Dragon Clan won't do anything to us, right?" Nong Siniang was quite worried.

Lu Yin reassured the girl. "Don't worry, they wouldn’t dare."

The White Dragon Clan was not crazy enough to actually attack the people from Virtue Archives, and Lu Yin was very curious to see how they intended to handle this matter, especially since he had been the one to create the entire issue.

Coincidentally, Long Tian looked over at “Yu Hao” at that exact moment, and both a burning killing intent and a strong amount of helplessness could be seen.

Given the four ruling powers’ lofty status, it was practically unknown for them to be left helpless when dealing with a three-tribulation Envoy.

The White Dragon Clan provided their guests with a massive courtyard that encompassed entire mountains and rivers. Everyone was provided with their own quarters, and the highest quality food and drinks were offered as well. Even cultivation resources were made freely available.

Lu Yin had wanted to talk to the God of Food, but the Semi-Progenitor had slammed his door shut, clearly not wanting to interact with anyone.

Lu Yin could only go to his own guest quarters. Once there, he pulled out Zenith Mountain and released Long Xi.

Lu Yin was quite familiar with Dragon Mountain, not because of the time that he had spent there during his one visit, but because he had read through Long Ke's memories.

He had spent a very long time Possessing Long Ke, and he had accessed a wide variety of the man’s memories. Many of them had been about Dragon Mountain, though that was naturally because Lu Yin had been searching for information regarding any personal savings that Long Ke had hidden on Dragon Mountain.

He already knew he would not be watched in his quarters. The White Dragon Clan was not the Wang family, and they did not have a Mountain and Sea hanging high in the sky. They had even needed a Semi-Progenitor to take action just to allow a Progenitor’s power to appear on Dragon Mountain. There was no chance that they had the ability to keep an eye on “Yu Hao.”

This was why Lu Yin was confident enough to release Long Xi in this situation.

Long Xi felt quite confused. "Where am I?"

She looked outside the room, and her expression instantly changed. "Dragon Mountain?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Since I'm here, I thought that you should have a look."

Long Xi's eyes betrayed her complicated emotions. She had spent decades away from Dragon Mountain, and she had become used to living on Zenith Mountain. Returning to Dragon Mountain so suddenly was emotionally jarring.

"However, I can't wander about. I’m currently disguised as Hao Yu, an instructor in Virtue Archives. Right now, Virtue Archives…" Lu Yin shared the recent events with Long Xi.

In the end, she just stared at Lu Yin. "You’re going after my White Dragon Clan again?"

Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It's just a minor issue. It’s not a big deal, really. Just a little problem."

Long Xi continued to stare. "Is there really something wrong with the blood pool?"

Lu Yin nodded. "You didn’t know about it?"

Long Xi shook her head. "I had no idea."

She then turned to stare out the window. She seemed lost in her own memories.

The matter concerning the blood pool was something that Lu Yin had learned from Long Ke's memories, but it was a tightly kept secret even within the White Dragon Clan, which was why not even Long Xi had known of it.

Lu Yin asked, "Do you want to go after Long Tian?"

Long Xi spoke in a casual tone, "The members of our White Dragon Clan live extremely long lives, and we regard decades like how the rest of you view years."

As she spoke, she gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Are you going to capture him?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

Long Xi said nothing as she continued to stare.

A surge of guilt swept through Lu Yin, as he felt like he had been seen through. "I don't actually like capturing people. But sometimes, I just don’t have a choice."

"Like when you kidnapped Wen Yi, Xia Taili, Yu Chen, and the others?" Long Xi shot back.

Lu Yin coughed. "Don't worry. We’re on Dragon Mountain, so how could I capture Long Tian? There’s simply no way, as Dragon Mountain has a Semi-Progenitor guardian, and there’s also your Progenitor’s power that’s protecting this place."

Long Xi replied, "From what I know of you, there’s nothing that you wouldn’t dare do, and anything that you do attempt, you’ll make sure you pull off flawlessly."

Lu Yin did not want to continue this line of conversation, and he was once again reminded of Long Ke. Seeing the sadness on Long Xi's face made Lu Yin feel oddly uncomfortable. "Do you miss your father?"

The light in Long Xi's eyes dimmed. "It doesn't matter. He never thinks about us."

"If you want, I can let you see him," Lu Yin said, overcome by a guilty conscience.

His offer startled Long Xi, and she blinked before turning back to look at Lu Yin. "So I was right, you did kidnap someone else."

Lu Yin was speechless. "I didn’t do that here! I did that days ago, and it was actually all an accident!"

"Wait, my father’s also on Zenith Mountain?" Long Xi asked as she looked over at the shrunken mountain nearby.

Lu Yin nodded. "If you want, I can let you two see each other. Actually, you can see him whenever you want, though I can’t release him."

Long Xi shook her head. "Forget it. I don't want to see him for now."

Lu Yin shrugged. "In that case, do you want to leave Zenith Mountain?"

He had already asked her this same question at least three times before, but each time, Long Xi's answer was the same.

"I've seen enough. You can send me back." There was a moment of silence, and then Lu Yin heard the same answer as ever. He felt a bit embarrassed, and he hesitated for a moment.

Long Xi looked over. "Go ahead and say what you want."

Lu Yin let out an awkward cough again. "Well, I wanted to ask you for a favor. I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me."

"I knew that you wouldn’t bring me out to just reminisce about the past. What do you want this time?" Long Xi angrily demanded.

Lu Yin retorted, "I really did want to let you see Dragon Mountain! After all, this was your home, and I’d feel bad if I didn’t let you out to see it since I’m here. I swear!"

"Fine, if you say so. What do you want help with?"

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Long Ke hid his personal stash here on Dragon Mountain, but it can only be opened with his blood, so…"

Long Xi was utterly speechless for a moment. "Don’t you have my father held captive? Why not just use his blood?"

Lu Yin awkwardly laughed. "Well, it would be best if he doesn’t know about it."

Lu Yin had no idea if he would be able to use Long Ke again in the future, so it was only natural that he wanted to prevent the patriarch from knowing that Lu Yin had stolen the man’s personal savings. After all, Long Xi was still around, and her blood could also be used to open the treasury. It was best to preserve as many options as possible.

Long Xi frowned and stared at Lu Yin for a long while. "Take me there."

"Thank you!" Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He had been quite afraid that Long Xi would refuse to cooperate, which would force him to use Long Ke's blood to access the hidden cache.

Given Mr. Yu’s presence on Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin knew that it would be practically impossible for him to reach the location where Long Ke had hidden his personal wealth, as the patriarch had hidden his cache inside his own home.

Long Ke was the White Dragon Clan’s patriarch, which meant that his residence had to be one of the most heavily guarded locations on Dragon Mountain.

Fortunately, there was still Progenitor Smoke.

Progenitor Smoke was in a rather irritable mood when she emerged from the pocket dimension. She wanted to snap at Lu Yin, but as soon as the woman caught sight of Long Xi, her anger was forced down. "Wow, who’s the beautiful girl? Boy, you’re not bad. It’s one after another with you."

Lu Yin was stunned. "Senior, don't talk nonsense! What one after another?"

Long Xi bowed low to Progenitor Smoke. Lu Yin had explained Progenitor Smoke before the woman had appeared. "This junior from the White Dragon Clan is Long Xi. This one greets Senior Progenitor Smoke."

Progenitor Smoke nodded and then helped Long Xi stand straight so that she could get a better look at the girl. "Not bad, not bad. You’re from the White Dragon Clan? Is Long Er your ancestor?"

Lu Yin was confused. Long Er?

Long Xi was similarly puzzled. "Long Er?"

Progenitor Smoke replied, "His name’s Long Yuan."

"Long Yuan is indeed this junior’s ancestor," Long Xi answered respectfully.

Progenitor Smoke sneered. "All of those guys are the same, and they don’t even dare to share their nicknames with their descendants. Long Yuan was known as Long Er. The guy’s an idiot who was born with an innate gift related to sight, but he still has a bit of talent. After getting some advice from me, he even managed to become a Progenitor, which is definitely not bad. So, now that you see me, do you recognize me?"

"Our ancestor could never forget the kindness that he received from Senior's guidance," Long Xi answered respectfully.

Progenitor Smoke felt quite satisfied. "Girl, you’re much more polite than this brat. He just knows how to use me, and he’s never spoken to me as respectfully as you."

Lu Yin quickly started flattering the woman, saying many sweet words. He was desperate to stop the Progenitor from sharing his actions with Long Xi.

After Progenitor Smoke learned that they were on Dragon Mountain, and that Long Xi had agreed to help Lu Yin steal her father’s hidden resources, Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin like he was the girl’s forbidden lover. "You’re doing well, huh, kid? Kidnapping a girl and then asking her to help you steal her old man’s savings. So despicable!"

The corner of Lu Yin's mouth twitched, but before he could say anything, Progenitor Smoke remembered something. "A little while ago, when you asked me to help you capture a couple of people, one of them was from the White Dragon Clan. Thinking about it, he looked pretty similar to this girl. Was that actually her father?"

Long Xi clearly found the matter quite amusing, and she turned to stare at Lu Yin. His mouth went dry as he tried to speak. "There’s a reason for that!"

Progenitor Smoke started mocking him, "First you kidnap the daughter, then the father, and now you’re asking the girl to help you rob her father? Kid, you’re beyond ruthless."

Even Lu Yin felt like he was going too far when he heard his actions bluntly laid before him.

"Honestly, if Xia Shang had been more like you back then, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a pathetic situation. That guy’s got a wooden head, just like Ku Jie. Both of them are as dense as can be." Progenitor Smoke reminisced for a brief moment before taking Lu Yin and Long Xi to where Lu Yin wanted to go.

Progenitor Smoke's comment once again confirmed Lu Yin’s suspicions that she might have once had feelings for Progenitor Chen. As for Progenitor Ku, Lu Yin had once babbled nonsense that Progenitor Ku had been a secret admirer of hers. Did she really believe that? As far as Lu Yin was concerned, all of that drama was Progenitor Smoke’s own business, and it only mattered to her generation.

Given what Lu Yin knew about Progenitor Ku's personality, he likely would have never admitted anything regarding his own feelings even if he were beaten to death. The man had been too shy and introverted.

Dragon Mountain held countless peaks and rivers, and it even had entire oceans and pond civilizations.

Long Ke’s home was rather close to the blood pool, and it was right between the blood pool and where Mr. Yu had revealed himself.

As Progenitor Smoke led Lu Yin and Long Xi forward, Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit nervous. After all, there was a Semi-Progenitor on Dragon Mountain who was capable of summoning the power of a Progenitor.