Chapter 558: Ding Hong"s Scheme
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Even though this Fleeting Cloud Sect was only a sect, it had a total of five half 5-star master teachers. Of the seventy-seven Master Teacher Tournaments held, it had been the champion thirty-six times.
On the other hand, the best result the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had achieved so far was only twenty-third place, fifth from the bottom.
It was due to this that Ding Mu had wanted to be initiated into the Fleeting Cloud Sect back then.
"As long as I can render their a.s.sistance, it wouldn"t be a problem for me to become the new alliance head, needless to say, exact vengeance!"
A menacing gleam flickered across Ding Hong"s eyes.
Given the strength of the Fleeting Cloud Sect, there would be no one who would dare to oppose him in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.
"However, to them, I am no better than an ant. Without paying a suitable price, it"ll be impossible to goad them into action."
Naturally, it was impossible to render the help of those behemoths so easily. Without sufficient benefits on the table, it would be impossible to drive them into action.
Not to mention, dealing with Zhang Xuan meant making an enemy out of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. Ding Hong knew that he held insufficient weight to get them to go that far.
If he was still a Transcendent Mortal 1-dan cultivator, they might still have spared him a glance. However, the burning of his blood essence had caused his cultivation to drop to the Zhizun realm. With his current level of cultivation, he was no better than an ant before those immense behemoths. He was an existence that they could easily crush to death.
"Unless... I use that news as leverage to strike a deal with them!"
Ding Hong"s eyes turned cold as he recalled what Ding Mu had said to him previously.
His grandson had once talked to him about the matter after he got into trouble. The reason why he got into a fight with that Zhang Xuan was due to a treasure the latter had in his possession-a treasure that would send any master teacher into a frenzy.
"Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter! There"s no master teacher who wouldn"t be moved by this artifact. If I were to reveal this news to the Fleeting Cloud Sect, even if I don"t say much about the matter, they would surely be driven into action!"
Ding Hong gritted his teeth tightly.
Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter one of the greatest treasures a master teacher could obtain. Ding Hong didn"t think that anyone could resist its allure, not even those half 5-star master teachers of Fleeting Cloud Sect.
Zhang Xuan would surely become a target for all of these powers if he were to leak the news.
Just as Ding Hong was in the midst of looking for the Fleeting Cloud Sect"s dwelling place, a thought suddenly struck him.
"No, this won"t do. Given the strength of the Fleeting Cloud Sect, once they learn of the news, they would surely try to silence me so as to prevent any news from getting out..."
If the Fleeting Cloud Sect decided to kill him so as to seal off the news, he wouldn"t be able to retaliate at all.
After all, given the importance of Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter, it would be best if fewer people knew of it.
Not to mention, a 4-star master teacher was involved in the matter as well.
"Actually, why don"t I send a message each to Fleeting Cloud Sect, Mingxia Empire, Henghai Empire, Cascading Sand Sect, Frigid Gale Sect? If I were to send them letters simultaneously and invite all of their heads out at once, they could curb one another. If so, it would become difficult for them to kill me!"
Regardless, Ding Hong used to be the emperor of a Conferred Kingdom. Politics was like a second nature to him, and it didn"t take him long to find a solution to the problem. "After all, it doesn"t matter to me who receives Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter eventually!"
His main goal was to kill Zhang Xuan and take back his country. Even if he were to obtain Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter, it would be completely useless to him. Since that was the case, he might as well use it as a trading term.
"Alright, I"ll do just that then..."
After a.n.a.lyzing the matter carefully and confirming that there was no problem-he would be able to ensure his safety while getting his vengeance-Ding Hong nodded his head in satisfaction. Walking into the streets, he soon vanished amidst the huge crowd.
...
It was an ordinary-looking mansion sitting in the middle of Myriad Kingdom City, but all of the partic.i.p.ating powers in the Master Teacher Tournament knew that it was currently resided by the most popular contender for the champion placing, Fleeting Cloud Sect.
The Fleeting Cloud Sect was created by a half 5-star master teacher, Mo Liuyun. While it was considered to be a branch of the Master Teacher Pavilion, it was also an independent ent.i.ty that was no different from the other empires.
Within the sect, only master teachers had the qualification to become the sect leader or take on high-standing roles. However, it was still densely populated by members of the other occupations as well. In fact, there were quite a handful of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan experts within their members.
This was the reason why the Fleeting Cloud Sect was considered to be the number one power among the twenty-eight in the region.
Luo Xuan, as the greatest genius of Fleeting Cloud Sect, was the most popular contender for champion of this Master Teacher Tournament. He was only twenty-nine this year, but his cultivation had already reached Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle.
At the current moment, the person in question had just completed his cultivation. Stretching his back lazily, he walked out of the room.
"Senior!"
But before he could get far, a young man suddenly rushed up to him.
"What"s wrong?"
Luo Xuan frowned.
"Reporting to senior, someone has just delivered a letter, saying to deliver it to the sect leader!" The young man said.
"Is my teacher a person whom anyone could just send a letter to?" Luo Xuan flung his sleeves.
The leader of the Fleeting Cloud Sect, Luo Huang, happened to be his teacher.
As a half 5-star master teacher possessing a cultivation of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle... It was beneath him to allow just anyone to send him a letter.
"Where"s the letter?"
After harrumphing, Luo Xuan stretched out his hand.
"Here it is..."
The young man pa.s.sed it over.
Luo Xuan was just about to tear it open when the young man hurriedly said, "The person who delivered the letter said that there"s a special seal on the letter! If it isn"t the sect leader who opens it, it will be destroyed immediately..."
"You actually believe this kind of nonsense? If there"s truly a seal, do you think that I, as a 4-star pinnacle master teacher, wouldn"t notice it?"
Luo Xuan harrumphed.
As a 4-star pinnacle master teacher, he possessed exceptionally sharp eyes. If the other party had truly left something of that sort on the letter, there was no reason why he wouldn"t notice it. But it was clear that there was nothing at all-the other party was just trying to hoodwink the ignorant.
Ssssla!
Tearing the letter open, Luo Xuan saw a card in it.
Lowering his head to take a glance, a frown crept onto Luo Xuan"s forehead.
There was only a line of word written on the card: In three days" time at Sea Gazing Gazebo. News regarding Kong s.h.i.+"s relic.
There was no signing off, and there was no name either.
Even the handwriting looked messy. Clearly, the other party had found someone to write in his place.
Keeping the card, Luo Xuan asked with a frown, "Who is the one who delivered the letter?"
"It"s a man dressed in black robe. I didn"t catch a good look at his appearance," the young man quickly replied.
"Where is he?"
"He has already left..." the young man answered.
"Alright. Don"t speak of this matter to anyone else. I"ll go look for teacher right now!" Luo Xuan instructed before heading to the centermost residence in the residence. It didn"t take too long for him to arrive at his destination.
In the courtyard, a middle-aged man was currently in the midst of executing a fist art. His movements were slow, but the powerful wind generated with every single punch of his created a huge pressure on those looking at it.
The leader of the Fleeting Cloud Sect, Luo Huang!
The strongest expert of the twenty-seven powers neighboring the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.
Upon seeing the other party"s arrival, Sect Leader Luo Huang retracted his fist and smiled, "You"re here!"
"Teacher!"
Luo Xuan clasped his fist and said, "Someone has just delivered a letter..."
"A letter?" Wiping his sweat with a towel, Luo Huang turned to look at Luo Xuan.
He knew this disciple of his very well; if it wasn"t for something important, it was impossible for the latter to pay him such an abrupt visit.
To interrupt his cultivation for a single letter, the letter had to be of the utmost importance.
"Yes..." Luo Xuan pa.s.sed the card over.
"Kong s.h.i.+"s relic?" Taking a look, Sect Leader Luo Huang frowned. "What"s your view on it?"
"Given that this matter concerns Kong s.h.i.+, I think that it is unlikely to be a lie. Besides... it"s better to be safe than sorry for such matters!" Luo Xuan replied.
"Empyrean Kong s.h.i.+ didn"t leave behind too many personal possessions when he departed. If what that is written on the note is true, then regardless of what the relic is, its value will be, in the truest sense, priceless! Becoming a 5-star master teacher wouldn"t be a problem at all if I can obtain it!"
Sect Leader Luo Huang nodded his head.
Kong s.h.i.+ was the founder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, the very first master teacher in the world. No matter how insignificant the relic he left behind was, just the essence that it harnessed could bring unimaginable benefits to those in possession of it.
Regardless of whether the content of the note was true or not, this was an opportunity they couldn"t pa.s.s up.
"This means that..."
Luo Xuan gazed at his teacher to confirm his intention.
"Of course, we have to take a look!" Sect Leader Luo Huang nodded his head. "Right, where is this Sea Gazing Gazebo?"
"It"s the most famous and bustling tavern in Myriad Kingdom City. Most probably, the other party is hoping to make use of the crowd to protect himself," Luo Xuan replied.
As a 4-star master teacher, how could he possibly be unable to discern the little schemes the other party had in mind?
"That probably isn"t just it!" Sect Leader Luo Huang contemplated for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not just it? What does teacher mean?" Luo Xuan was in bewildered.
"Simple. Since the other party delivered the letter to us, the chances are that they delivered it to others as well. Most probably, he intends to gather all of us at the Sea Gazing Gazebo in hopes of jacking up the price for his information!" Sect Leader Luo Huang said.
"Jacking up the prices? d.a.m.n it, I"ll send someone to capture that fellow immediately..."
Narrowing his eyes, Luo Xuan came to a realization and immediately prepared to rush out of the room.
As one of the strongest powers in the region, wealth was not something the Fleeting Cloud Sect was lacking.
The only fear they had was that... this news wasn"t exclusive.
If the other powers were to learn of the existence of Kong s.h.i.+"s relic and vied with them over it, they would be forced into a very troublesome position.
In fact, out of bitterness of failing to obtain the relic, some might even leak the news to the headquarters. If so, all of the efforts spent on vying for the relic would have ended in vain.
"There"s no need for that. It"s already too late!" Sect Leader Luo Huang shook his head. "Putting aside how the one who delivered the letter is unlikely to be the one spearheading the entire matter, even if he is, you can"t guarantee that we"re the first one that he visited... Perhaps, the other powers might have already learnt of the matter!"
"Then... What do we do?" Luo Xuan asked in a panic.
Sect Leader Luo Huang waved his hands.
"Suppress the news, don"t let anyone learn of it. In three days, you will accompany me to the Sea Gazing Gazebo. I would like to see who that person is personally, and which of Kong s.h.i.+"s relics he possesses information of! If it turns out to be a farce, even if we remain idle, I believe the other powers would be more than willing to make the other party understand what living h.e.l.l is like!"
"Yes!" Luo Xuan nodded.
The same sight was also occurring in the dwelling of the other powers.
Mingxia Empire, Henghai Empire, Cascading Sand Sect, Frigid Gale Sect, White Helios Sect, Spiraling Cosmos Sect...
The top few powers who had come to attend the Master Teacher Tournament had received the same letter, and the leaders of the respective groups had seen the content on the card.
All of the powers immediately became restless. The experts of the various powers were waiting expectantly for what that was to come in three days. They wanted to see what kind of incredible person had delivered them the letter, and what news of Kong s.h.i.+"s relic he had with him.
While all of this was happening, Zhang Xuan was sitting by the side of the window in the room on top of the aerial spirit beast. He was looking at the fleeting white clouds and mountains with a depressed look.
"Since they have taken away my student, I should have asked them for some spirit stones as compensation... Even if not that, if I had offered that Envoy Liu Xuan some pointers, I could have probably earned a hefty sum as well! How could I have been so dumb?"
"Offer Envoy Liu Xuan some pointers?"
Looking at the regretful expression on the other party"s face and the mutterings that came out from his mouth, Pavilion Master Kang"s body stiffened.