“You’ve had a different opinion of her for a long time, haven’t you?”
Guan Kelai said with a cold sneer.
“When she went on a killing spree in Tree God City! When she treated our lives as if they were nothing!”
“You knew then that you two were not the same kind of people!”
Genbeier lowered his head and bit his lip hard. A trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, yet he never once retorted.
Inside the space, the only sound remaining was Guan Kelai’s heavy breathing caused by the pain.
Time passed minute by minute.
After a long while, Lin Zhen suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
“Guan Kelai, I agree to your conditions!”
The young man’s eyelids were low, and dark currents surged in his eyes.
“But you have to do me a favor. For the time being, you must continue to act as if nothing happened. I have to see what Xiao Xi is actually trying to do. Otherwise, I can’t make a decision.”
“That’s fine with me.” Guan Kelai squeezed out a smile and gestured toward Genbeier with his chin.
“But you have to convince him. The one Guan Ruoxi trusts most is Genbeier. If he doesn’t show up, she will definitely realize something is wrong.”
“I’ll try.” Lin Zhen stood up and first gave Guan Kelai’s injuries some basic treatment, then walked toward Genbeier.
The theory classes at the battle camp taught simple first-aid methods, which were sufficient for handling these types of injuries.
“We need to talk,” Lin Zhen said seriously as he stood before Genbeier.
[We need to talk]
[The Talk-no-Jutsu master is online]
[Old Lin’s ability to talk people’s ears off is actually pretty good]
“Sister, Sister, why are you spacing out again?”
In Aili’s room, the yellow-haired girl waved her hand gently in front of the blue-haired girl.
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something.”
Yun Ruoxi withdrew her gaze from the top right corner of her vision, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
‘The plan is going very smoothly.’
It was worth all the time she spent researching and analyzing Lin Zhen’s personality. She had perfectly predicted the decision he would make.
The setup on this side was now complete.
Next, as long as the chess pieces on the other side successfully fell into place, this grand play could finally begin.
“I’m really looking forward to it…” she murmured soundlessly.
“Sister!” Aili threw herself into Yun Ruoxi’s arms with dissatisfaction. “Why aren’t you answering me again!”
“I did it on purpose!” Yun Ruoxi laughed and began playing around with Aili in the room.
Outside the window, the night was thick.
The city streets crisscrossed like a complex spider web, firmly trapping the great rock in the center.
It could not struggle, nor could it escape.
Just like this grand play woven by Yun Ruoxi—everyone was merely her chess piece!
***
In the dungeon beneath the traveling palace in Tree God City.
Mo Yuan and his group were firmly locked against the wall, their bodies bearing whip marks from interrogation.
Two tree god guards stood on the left and right sides of the corridor.
This was an arrangement they had specifically made after learning from Yun Ruoxi’s previous escape.
[Wait, how did Old Mo get caught too? And it’s a total wipeout; the whole team is locked in here. Didn’t he just leave after saving Old Xi? What’s going on? Did I miss an episode?]
[This dungeon is incredible. The first and second rankers of the battle camp are both hanging up there. When will they hang the third place up too?]
[Is this the Investiture of Gods or something?]
[Old Mo looks more miserable than Old Xi; he even has whip marks on his body]
“He’s really tight-lipped. He didn’t say a single word even after more than ten lashes!” the slightly shorter tree god guard whispered.
“What’s the use of being tight-lipped? There’s always a way to pry it open,” the other tree god guard sneered.
“True.” The short guard laughed.
Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the passage outside the dungeon.
The two stopped laughing and immediately turned to look at the exit.
Their captain, that elderly tree god guard, walked out holding a token and commanded:
“Open the gate. I am here on the orders of His Majesty the King to take that brown-haired boy away.”
Seeing the token, the guard turned and opened the gate, bringing out the shackled Mo Yuan.
“Follow me!”
The elderly guard led Mo Yuan out of the dungeon and all the way to a small grove outside the traveling palace.
*shing*
The tree god guard placed his right hand on the wooden sword hanging at his waist and slowly drew it out.
But Mo Yuan only looked at him calmly.
“You aren’t afraid I’ll kill you?” the guard asked.
“If you wanted to kill me, why bother bringing me out? You could have killed me with one strike in the dungeon,” Mo Yuan said softly.
“Smart!” the elderly guard exclaimed. He sheathed his sword and turned to leave.
The next second.
The shackles on the youth’s body instantly unlocked and fell to the ground.
He moved his reddened wrists and turned around.
Surprisingly, four sturdy adult men had suddenly appeared in the shade of the trees behind him.
Many in the Audience were confused upon seeing these four, but some with better memories remembered who they were.
[Aren’t these the four martial artist sinners who were defeated by the duo of Old Zhen and Old Xi in Episode Five?]
[I jumped back to check. The battle camp anesthetized them and took them away. I guess it’s a case of waste recycling.]
[Why are they here?]
“I can tell you’ve been here for a long time. Are you perhaps personnel sent here earlier by the Saints’ hand society?” Mo Yuan asked.
“That’s right. We have been here for two years.”
One man stepped out from the group—it was the leader who had previously fought Yun Ruoxi and Lin Zhen. He nodded to Mo Yuan and said calmly:
“At the same time, we are Dr. Forefinger’s people. We were ordered by him to rescue you and intercept the trainees who are trying to escape.”
As his voice fell.
The four of them simultaneously released powerful ripples of star energy.
Having not seen them for two years, they had actually become star energy users.
After being taken away by the soldiers that day.
They were sent to Dr. Forefinger’s Laboratory and subjected to a series of inhumane experiments.
Afterward, they underwent Forced Awakening alongside the trainees.
Whether it was because of the experiments or because they were all preparatory Combatants who only lacked star energy…
Every single one of them had successfully awakened and gained power.
Then, after being brainwashed by Dr. Forefinger, they were sent here to become the King’s personal guards, stationed near the pool of grace as the final challenge of the trainees’ mission.
“I see!”
Mo Yuan nodded in understanding, a flash of disappointment in his eyes.
Since these four could order the tree god guards to release him…
It didn’t matter if the Saints’ hand society had marginalized the King and seized control, or if the other party had actively cooperated with them.
It only proved that this planet had long since been under the control of the Saints’ hand society.
Their so-called final examination was just another game of house meticulously arranged for them by the society.
How boring.
“By the way, did the doctor have anything he wanted to say to me since he asked you to help me?” Mo Yuan asked coldly.
“No,” the leader replied, shaking his head.