Chapter 2265: Two Choices

The Root Organization had many powerhouses among its members, and Cheng Li was someone with a high status within the organization. Of his two companions, the handsome man was an Envoy who fought for Root all the time in the Lower Realm, just like Cheng Li. As for the old woman, she was someone from the Celestial Frost Sect.

The three’s current destination was the lair of a creature that the handsome man had found with Adventure King.

The handsome man had a good relationship with Adventure King, and the two often worked together when eliminating the pests that attacked the Mother Tree’s roots. Adventure King had also been invited on this attack, but the true purpose of Cheng Li and his two companions was not pest control, but rather assassination. Cheng Li had been paid to kill Adventure King by the Celestial Frost Sect.

The reason for this attack actually had something to do with Lu Yin.

When Lu Yin’s cover as Long Qi had been exposed and he had been fleeing to the Middle Realm from Dragon Mountain, Adventure King had helped Lu Yin escape. This help had not been known by anyone else, but Adventure King had later mentioned the matter to the handsome man, and the man had betrayed Adventure King in order to reap the benefits offered by the Celestial Frost Sect.

The Celestial Frost Sect had already known that Adventure King had had a good relationship with the Lu family, and they even considered him a part of the remnants of the Lu family. This was why Adventure King was forced to complete dangerous missions for Root each year, as the Celestial Frost Sect was trying to kill the man. However, he had continued to survive, and his influence within Root made it difficult for any of the four ruling powers to openly act against the man. Fortunately for them, the information that they had received from the handsome man had planted the seeds of disaster for Adventure King, as the Celestial Frost Sect had been given a valid reason to attack him.

The decision to deal with Adventure King had been made long ago, but the Celestial Frost Sect had done nothing so far. They wanted to spy on the man and see if he could lead them to any other remnants of the Lu family who had survived and been missed. Unfortunately, even after all these years, Adventure King had never initiated contact with anyone from the Lu family’s vassals. The Celestial Frost Sect was done wasting their time watching the man, and the decision had been made to set a trap and kill him.

This was considered a very trivial matter, as it was a very simple task for the Celestial Frost Sect. There was no need for any of the sect’s powerhouses to take action, and all that was truly needed was to poison Adventure King at a critical moment to ensure that he would die to a beast. This was the task given to the handsome man.

The three Envoys continued along, and Lu Yin observed the handsome man. He could not help but feel that encountering this situation was incredibly lucky, as without this Possession, Adventure King would have ended up in terrible danger.

The handsome man and the old woman were in no way Adventure King’s opponents. After all, the man was a six-tribulation Envoy. Without that level of strength, Adventure King would never have been capable of helping Lu Yin escape. There was truly an insurmountable gap between the handsome man and the old woman from the Celestial Frost Sect and Adventure King.

Despite the overwhelming difference in power, the three Envoys were confident in their ability to take action against Adventure King, as they were relying on a certain poison. The beast that they were attacking manipulated air and wind and used it to fight. As long as the poison was released into the air, the creature’s control of air would easily guide the poison to Adventure King. Thus, as long as the man attacked the beast, Adventure King would die without any of the three Envoys needing to take any direct action.

All they needed to do was release the poison, record what happened, and then send the video to the Celestial Frost Sect.

"Will Adventure King detect the poison?" Lu Yin asked, though as far as the handsome man and the old woman were concerned, Cheng Li had spoken.

The old woman answered in a cold voice, "No. This poison is not particularly toxic or dangerous, and it is certainly not strong enough to draw Adventure King’s notice. However, when combined with this creature’s air manipulation, this poison will serve as a sharp blade to cut down Adventure King. Just make sure to retreat in time."

The handsome man sneered. "Don't worry. Even if we don't want to escape, Adventure King will make sure to find a way to toss us to safety and keep us alive."

As soon as the man finished speaking, he sneered again. "How pathetic. Given my familiarity with the man, there’s no chance of him doing anything else."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the handsome man. Lu Yin’s killing intent was growing ever stronger. This handsome man clearly had no regrets about killing someone who considered him a friend, and he even mocked Adventure King’s kindness. Even the old woman did not like this man.

The Celestial Frost Sect's desire to kill Adventure King simply stemmed from the fact that they were on opposite sides. Many of the members of the sect genuinely admired Adventure King. After all, he had not received the nickname of Adventure King because of the Lu family, but rather through his own deeds.

However, the four ruling powers would never show mercy to anyone who had previously followed the Lu family. Adventure King had continuously overcome the impossible tasks given to him each year, and after he helped Lu Xiaoxuan escape, the Celestial Frost Sect had realized that Adventure King would survive until he was killed by one of the creatures in the Lower Realm.

Such a dedicated person deserved respect and admiration, but unfortunately, Adventure King would die at the hands of scum.

The handsome man felt nothing at all for Adventurer King. The entire reason why the man had made a good impression on Adventurer King was because the handsome man had been discovered in a life-threatening situation that Adventure King had saved him from. However, everything had been completely under the handsome man’s control, and he had orchestrated the entire scenario in order to get close to Adventure King. Adventure King’s favor had led to the handsome man receiving assistance to complete many missions for Root over the years, which had granted him many resources and an impressive reputation. As his cultivation rose, the handsome man no longer needed Adventure King’s assistance, and his idea was to move on to the Celestial Frost Sect.

It was already easy to join any of the four ruling powers as an Envoy, but the handsome man did not want to receive a common status after joining the Celestial Frost Sect.

Adventure King’s death would propel the handsome man to a high position within the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant far more resources than his peers.

That was the man’s entire motivation.

The handsome man was indulging in a beautiful mental fantasy, and he did not even realize it when a knife stabbed into his neck. It was a very familiar blade, as it belonged to a companion. It was Cheng Li’s knife.

Lu Yin had taken action, instantly stabbing the handsome man's neck with a knife before releasing one of the Thirteen Swords to finish the man off before turning to face the old woman.

The old woman was badly startled. "What are you doing?"

She had never expected this rather weak Envoy to suddenly attack. Had he gone crazy?

Lu Yin held the knife and slashed it sideways. Cheng Li had never used the Thirteen Swords before, as he did not know the technique. However, Lu Yin was fully capable of using the Thirteen Swords, even when Possessing an unfamiliar body, and the Thirteen Swords were incredibly difficult attacks for people to defend against. What’s more, Lu Yin had also received an inheritance from the Sword Monument that had given him the experience of understanding how to counter thousands of different weapons in the most effective manner.

The old woman used a quite unusual weapon, as she wielded two hooks. Even so, Lu Yin immediately saw through the woman’s technique, and her arm was instantly sliced off.

The old woman was stunned. "Who are you? You aren’t Cheng Li!"

She refused to believe that Cheng Li was her opponent, and she also knew that her weapons were extremely difficult for most people to understand when facing for the first time. Her opponent had managed to find a hole in her technique in an instant, which was not something that most people could do.

Lu Yin never spoke a single word. He was more comfortable using heavier and thicker swords, but the delicate knife danced in his hand.

The old woman fled into the true universe, trying to escape, only to still be cut down by Lu Yin’s blade.

Lu Yin approached the handsome man's body, took out his communication crystal, and called Adventure King.

Both Cheng Li and the handsome man had worked with Adventure King before in the Lower Realm, so both of them knew how to get in touch with the man.

"How long do you need? The beast won’t stay still for long," Adventure King answered with a question.

Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "The Celestial Frost Sect sent people to kill you. They know that you helped Lu Xiaoxuan escape. This beast is their means of getting rid of you, combined with a certain poison."

Elsewhere, Adventure King's eyes flickered. "Who are you? What happened to the owner of this communication crystal?"

"He’s a traitor, and I’ve already dealt with him. You need to hurry up and escape. The four ruling powers won’t stop trying to kill you, so just wait quietly. The Lu family will soon return."

As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he raised a hand to his forehead.

Cheng Li was not a good person either. He had been saved by Adventure King on several different occasions, yet he was still willing to help the handsome man and the old woman lure Adventure King out and kill him.

After forcing Cheng Li's body to commit suicide, Lu Yin's consciousness returned to his own body, and he noticed that the black and white shapes inside his chest started to churn and grow slightly. They always benefited from Lu Yin’s deaths during his Possessions, as it was only possible to produce death energy while experiencing death.

Lu Yin had no idea how the God of Death had managed to develop death energy to begin with. Had the man died repeatedly? Or had he also had an ability to Possess people like Lu Yin?

Lu Yin had succeeded in rolling six pips twice in a row, so unsurprisingly, his last two rolls were useless. He also felt that it was quite likely that he would need a good bit of time before he rolled Possession again, as he had used up all his luck.

All he needed to do for the time being was wait to see how the White Dragon Clan would react to the trouble that he had created!

After two days, Lu Yin did not bother waiting to see how the White Dragon Clan would respond, and he went to go see the God of Food.

As soon as Lu Yin saw the God of Food's hesitant state, he asked, "Senior, has the matter regarding the blood pool been settled?"

The God of Food silently nodded. He took a moment to settle his thoughts and then said, "This might be unfair to you, as you are here for the sake of Virtue Archives. And yet, you are being threatened by the White Dragon Clan for the academy’s-"

Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the God of Food from continuing. The youth’s eyes blazed as he stared at the old man. "I am one of the academy’s instructors, and as long as something is best for the academy and its students, nothing else matters to me. What happens with the White Dragon Clan, or with any of the four ruling powers, has nothing to do with me."

The two men stared at each other for a moment, and then the God of Food nodded. "You were invited into Virtue Archives not only because of your incredible cultivation for your age, but also because of Kui Luo. While I myself do not like Kui Luo, I must admit that the old man is quite capable. Even if he creates problems for the academy, as long as he stays around, his strength as a Semi-Progenitor is enough to intimidate many people.”

"I now see that I indeed made the right decision, but for the wrong reason. You are much better for Virtue Archives than Kui Luo, and the academy also suits you very well."

Lu Yin shrugged. "There’s no reason to inflate this junior’s ego, though I am very curious. What did the White Dragon Clan use to influence your decision, Senior?"

The God of Food's eyes flickered, yet he said nothing even after a long time.

Lu Yin arched a brow. "Is it something to do with Mr. Yu?"

The God of Food solemnly answered, "The White Dragon Clan has offered me a fair fight with that beast, vowing not to interfere no matter if he lives or dies."

Lu Yin was surprised. "They actually dare to offer you such a condition? Aren’t they worried that you will kill Mr. Yu, Senior?"

The God of Food let out a sigh. "There’s no way the White Dragon Clan will simply abandon that beast. If they’re offering me this opportunity, then it means that they are completely confident that he will survive against me. Still, no matter what, I want this chance. I will definitely kill him myself and put an end to things."

Lu Yin understood that the God of Food's hatred for Mr. Yu was not much less than his own hatred for the four ruling powers. The matter could be considered very similar to what had existed between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu, so Lu Yin understood the old man’s need to settle things.

"Even if the White Dragon Clan does use their blood pool to suppress outsiders who join their clan, it has nothing to do with our academy. If people are willing to join the White Dragon Clan, then such is their fate. Even if this matter is exposed, it doesn’t need to be done by us. But now that we know about it, we need to take whatever benefits we can," the God of Food said before sharing with “Yu Hao” all that the White Dragon Clan was offering the students, in addition to the condition that the God of Food himself had been offered.

However, “Yu Hao” was different. He had been the one to expose the problem with the blood pool, and he needed to be bought off differently to ensure his silence.

"The White Dragon Clan is offering you two options. First, you stay here on Dragon Mountain," the God of Food continued as he looked at Lu Yin's blank expression, "This means that, as long as you remain on Dragon Mountain, you will receive the White Dragon Clan’s protection. No matter who you may have offended, even another one of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon Clan will protect you."

Lu Yin reflexively asked, "What if I offend the White Dragon Clan?"

The God of Food silently stared at “Yu Hao” for a moment. "Are you so skilled at offending people?"