Chapter 680: Blind Spot
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The battle in the east of Tiantang City grew increasingly aggressive and violent. Naturally, the commotion caused escalated as well. The entire east district was basically in ruins, looking the worse for wear.
Faced with such a brutal situation, the martial world artists began to second-guess themselves.
It was at this point in time that a common train of thought arose among them.
"Being in the martial world, every day is a day we flirt with death! We either fight for a long-running good reputation, an immortal legend, or we die quick and early. We will then become another man again eighteen years later!"
"Who in the martial world doesn"t want to become a G.o.d, a saint? Now that the opportunity is right in front of my eyes, why should I give up? The treasure has emerged in the same world as me, it exists right at the opportune timing – I should be the destined owner!"
"Which one of the martial world masters have never had a strange encounter when they first started off? Why shouldn"t a similar fate fall upon me as well?"
"Leave if you all want to; I won"t be going anywhere."
"What"s the difference between ending this life in the martial world and ending it here? Why would I leave? Could this place not be the martial world?"
"The martial world is where men are; the martial world is all around us. Dying here will perhaps be even more appropriate and gratifying!"
Initially, as the death toll increased, plenty of martial artists began backtracking on their own words. There were, of course, many pa.s.sionate men in the martial world, those who were very much self-a.s.sured, but those who were purposeful and smart were plentiful as well.
However, many different opinions began to pop out and spread, instantly picking up on the desires which resonated with most of the people present.
"Right, why don"t we give it our all? Aren"t we suppose to give our all, wherever we go?"
An elderly martial artist bequeathed some poignant advice, which spread throughout the entire east district of Tiantang City as if carried by the wind.
"The drug is only poison if it doesn"t become medicine, the man will eventually become ash if he doesn"t become G.o.d!"
A drug would always be slightly poisonous; only when it had gone through heavenly ways could it be cultivated into true immortal pills and be rid of its venom, absorbed by the human body harmlessly. When a man did not become an immortal, his destiny was only to be reduced into ash.
Now, the possibility of cultivating the magical pill and becoming a G.o.d was right before their eyes.
Retreat?
Retreating now could perhaps guarantee momentary safety, but the future was no longer in your hands!
…
Yun Yang checked everyone carefully as he hovered in the air.
He had investigated no fewer than three thousand people in secret these past few days, but there was still no clue or news leading to Ouyang Xiaoshe.
He had checked all the suspects in the city"s eastern quadrant who matched Ouyang Xiaoshe"s physique and characteristics, but there was simply no result.
"Hmm… If I were Ouyang Xiaoshe, what would I do?" Yun Yang stopped his search and asked himself, trying to think in reverse.
"If I was Ouyang Xiaoshe and I"ve betrayed Old Dugu, and Old Dugu is significantly related to Nine Supremes… Although Nine Supremes" Supreme Cloud has never shown himself, he"s a powerful and authoritative figure in the Empire of Yutang. This is especially true in Tiantang City, an area under his control."
"However, these two pieces of the map have emerged in Tiantang City – I must go and try to retrieve them. Then, how should I do it? How do I go about it?"
"Going there in a disguise and changing my appearance is necessary, but what kind of disguise will ensure my safety? Which way do I take?"
"Supreme Cloud must have already grasped all the information about me, so everything about me will become his focal point. In order not to be found out and related to, I must act the opposite of every clue that is relevant to me. That way, I can avoid suspicion. I have to change my accent, habits, dressing, appearance, weapons, and so on…"
Indeed, only when the collected information was all reversed could the suspicion be removed entirely.
"Still, even if everything has been changed, it"s not a certainty. Yutang government has divided this area with so much effort and allowed the martial artists to fight there. Won"t there be a certain implication within these actions?"
"From the outside, even though it looks like it"s for the convenience of tackling the issue and limiting the disastrous battle within a certain area, who knows if it isn"t actually a smoke-screen? Perhaps it is to intentionally reduce the search area. If I"d come, how can I not partic.i.p.ate in the battle for the dragon hide treasure map? I"d definitely put myself in the city"s eastern quadrant!"
"If so, then the east side becomes a place where I mustn"t ever go instead!"
"The other party has set up such a ploy and does not even mind using the dragon hide map as bait. What they want can"t be minuscule. While I"m a target, I"m most probably only one of the targets. In other words, the fight for the treasure map won"t end for the time being. I can hide and lurk in other areas first. As long as I pay attention to the latest news, I can judge where the ball is headed to…"
"When the final moment comes, when the picture is about done being painted, I shall emerge. Not only will I be safe, I would have saved myself so much effort. Only then will the danger be minimized. This is how I can best protect myself and ultimately gain a higher chance of obtaining the map."
"Lastly, if things were really bad and I can"t do anything, staying out of the picture is still the best way I can retreat unscathed!"
…
Yun Yang pondered and murmured, "If I was Ouyang Xiaoshe, I would have to come here, definitely, but I won"t put myself in the city"s east."
"If it"s not the east, then which side will he choose from the remaining sides, the south, north, and west? No – hiding in the other three sides a.s.sures his safety, but they"re still too far from the east. Once something happens or when the final conclusion arrives, the window of opportunity isn"t sufficient at all. There"s a big possibility he won"t be able to make it in time."
"Considering this, the palace area that"s in the middle of the four directions seems to be an excellent option…"
Yun Yang continued to muse, but his gaze suddenly grew focused.
"No, I"m afraid the palace area still isn"t the best choice. The cliché is that the most dangerous place is the safest place. It matches the current situation. As long as the blind spot of the dangerous place can be found, the perceived blind spot of danger is none other than where one is the closest to the peril!"
"What then is the blind spot of the city"s east?" It was like a bolt of lightning that suddenly struck Yun Yang"s mind as he understood it swiftly. "Once one enters the east side, life and death is only a matter of time. There"s hardly an exception. Even if one"s cultivation base is high and mighty, there"s no special right to survival in the current east district. No, there"s one cla.s.s of people who won"t get attacked in the east – the soldiers!"
A lightbulb went off in Yun Yang"s head. He felt like he had suddenly gained enlightenment, as he began to connect the dots.
"As long as Ouyang Xiaoshe blends into the troops that enter the area to collect the corpses, won"t he be able to grasp the current state at any time? He can intervene in a fight at any given moment as well. Inversely, if he doesn"t make a move, he"ll be a presence that will never be attacked!"
Now that he thought about it, it was a simple problem but it was also the best option. However, one had to make a big round to be able to come to this final conclusion.
This was a thinking blind spot.
What came afterward was relatively simple. Yun Yang went straight to Tie Zheng for help. It was much faster, more convenient, and handier for Tie Zheng to do certain things than for Shui Wuyin to handle them.