Chapter 382: ！

He had calculated a thousand times, but he still missed one.

All of his actions were within the other party’s calculations, becoming their aid.

They had even predicted the changes in his thoughts at every step.

“Why didn’t I realize that the person Blue Shadow was impersonating was none other than the crucial Dui Hall Master…” Dry Hall Master clutched his chest in pain.

Yes, because the Dui Hall Master had pulled out that Eight-Grade Soul-Illuminating Mirror, causing him to let his guard down.

When he brought out the mirror, he had already acknowledged his identity in his heart.

Who would have thought, the man and the mirror were all fake.

From that moment, his entire defense plan had completely collapsed.

“What exactly happened?” Kan Hall Master was still confused.

“Alas…” Dry Hall Master untied him and began to explain patiently.

“Their entry point was precise and brilliant. The mirror played a crucial reconnaissance role, so as long as they secured that link and gained my trust, they could let Jiang Ke’er, who held the Underworld Province Cauldron, easily follow us into the Supreme Treasure Vault, as casually as taking a leisurely walk, treating all defenses as nothing.”

“…The restrictions didn’t fail?”

“Yes, the formations and restrictions of our Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce’s Supreme Treasure Vault are truly second to none. Jiang Ke’er racked her brains but couldn’t open them. Moreover, she didn’t leave any teleportation tools inside the vault, and the restrictions can block teleportation. So she… followed right behind us, under the watchful eyes of seven Hall Masters, hiding in the Underworld Province Cauldron, swaggering right in.”

Jiang Ke’er clearly knew she couldn’t do anything about that gate; only this way could she enter the Supreme Treasure Vault.

“And the initial Assassination Notice was also for this moment; it was the Assassination Notice that led us to do all this.” Dry Hall Master sighed.

The Assassination Notice made him rush to the Supreme Treasure Vault like a startled bird to check the inventory.

During this process, he first had to deactivate all defenses inside the vault, letting Jiang Ke’er in.

Then, fearing Blue Shadow, he deliberately left no one guarding inside the vault.

At the same time, he activated all restrictions, trapping himself outside, buying time for the other side to empty the vault.

Everything was according to their plan.

Dry Hall Master smiled bitterly: “Incredible. We were completely outsmarted by two little girls.”

And this was only part of the chain of schemes.

That Branch Disciple Riot Incident wasn’t just to lure the tiger away from the mountain and reduce the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce’s defensive strength.

But even more so to allow Blue Shadow, disguised as the Dui Hall Master, to escape!

They even guessed that I would leave the stronger Hall Masters to deal with Blue Shadow and send the four weaker Hall Masters to manage the scene.

“How could she guarantee she would be sent out?” Kan Hall Master asked. “What if it was me?”

“Under those circumstances, sending the weakest was obviously the safest choice,” Dry Hall Master explained.

“Even if I didn’t send all four, only one or two, the Dui Hall Master, who was the weakest, would inevitably be among them… Moreover, when he produced the Soul-Illuminating Mirror, I had already trusted his identity.”

“No, wouldn’t it have been safer for her to just follow us directly in? We didn’t discover her anyway.”

Dry Hall Master shook his head.

“When the Dui Hall Master escaped, he left a fake high-imitation mirror behind and handed it to me, completely removing any suspicion that Blue Shadow had impersonated the Dui Hall Master… In this way, I wouldn’t guess that Jiang Ke’er had already hidden inside the Supreme Treasure Vault. This was a crucial step.”

“How was it crucial?”

“If I had guessed that Jiang Ke’er had already hidden in the vault, I wouldn’t have worried about her teleporting away and frantically opened the restrictions,” Dry Hall Master continued.

“But in reality, Jiang Ke’er couldn’t open the restrictions, nor could she teleport out of the vault. She had to lure us down to open the door to have a chance to escape… And if I had realized that, I could have caught her like a turtle in a jar, making her lose everything and unable to escape even with wings.”

“…”

“Later, you know what happened. We personally opened the vault and let Jiang Ke’er go, and the mirror was useless, only allowing her to swagger away.”

Dry Hall Master let out a long sigh, playing with the mirror in his hand.

“I lost to you…”

The world only knew Blue Shadow’s Disguise Technique was formidable, but didn’t know her Artifact Refinement Technique was also this powerful…

Or perhaps, was it Jiang Ke’er’s Artifact Refinement Technique?

Absurd.

How could there be two such monstrous individuals in this world, and of the hateful Demon Race no less!

This was probably the most terrifying opponent the Human Clan had faced in thousands of years…

Even though they were only at the fifth or sixth tier now, they had already caused unprecedented losses to the Human Clan.

If they were allowed to become Honored Ones, wouldn’t they turn the world upside down?

“Since things have come to this, a loss is a loss. There’s no use feeling upset. The urgent matter is to recover the Supreme Treasure Vault,” Dry Hall Master said, not dwelling on this painful failure.

“The items in the vault are valuable, but they are all registered with the Chamber of Commerce. So it’s no simple matter for them to cash in those treasures… As long as even one item appears, we can follow the clues and find Blue Shadow and Jiang Ke’er.”

All the trading posts in the world are under the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber’s intelligence network is the best in the world; finding Blue Shadow and Jiang Ke’er wouldn’t be difficult.

As long as they use those treasures, they will leave traces.

Unless they don’t use them.

Then why would they go to such great lengths to steal them?

“Collecting!”

Jiang Ke’er said matter-of-factly, then dove into the pile of Magic Crystals with a dive pose.

“So great!”

Qiao Xiaoxian looked at her helplessly, finding it both amusing and oddly adorable.

“I’m going to become the richest collector in the entire universe!”

Sitting on the peak of the treasure mountain, Jiang Ke’er pointed one finger at the sky and declared with grand ambition.

From now on, she would collect even more rare and strange treasures. Her collection journey would never stop!

[Protagonist System Limited Prize Pool – “On the Affinity Between Dragons and Fox Demons Skill Book Fragment Prize Pool” has been opened]

[Collecting all fragments can synthesize the super strong treasure-seeking skill – “On the Affinity Between Dragons and Fox Demons”.]

‘The System truly knows me!’

‘But come to think of it, why is this prize pool only for the Protagonist System?’

‘What’s the Villain System doing? Gone on vacation?’

[I’ll open next time!] the Villain System said angrily.

[Gonna slack for a few days, we’re gonna cook up something big!]

“Oh.”

Jiang Ke’er nodded, expressing anticipation.

She didn’t bother with the two systems for now, and wasn’t in a hurry to draw prizes.

“Where to next? The Ancient Scholarly Realm?” Jiang Ke’er asked Qiao Xiaoxian.

“Your medicine hasn’t worn off yet?” Qiao Xiaoxian asked back in surprise.

Jiang Ke’er had completely forgotten about the medicine’s effect.

Reminded by Qiao Xiaoxian, she suddenly realized her mental state was heading in a very bad direction.

This was not good.

As the medicine’s effect faded, the problems caused by her brain injury were becoming more and more obvious.

She began to find it difficult to think, her head dizzy and heavy.

“Oh…”

Finally, she collapsed into Qiao Xiaoxian’s arms.