Chapter 630: The Mysteries of the Puppet Master
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“If it’s a creature, what can it be?” mused Nie Ting.
“There’s no way to know. After all, it can’t be he himself. Otherwise, he would be even stronger than you now,” s.h.i.+ Xuejin said with a smile, “But I suggest you talk to him about the divine punishment, as you are only one step away from that juncture of life and death anyway. I’m afraid you will be punished too if you really can reach that level. Hence, he may give you some useful advice.”
Nie Ting’s brows suddenly twitched slightly on his expressionless face. “Are you telling me to ask him to teach me how to survive the divine punishment?”
“Well, well.” s.h.i.+ Xuejin quickly switched his eyes back to his books. “I didn’t say that.”
“But isn’t that what you meant?”
“Then did it ever occur to you that Lu Shu is probably the sole survivor who has survived the divine punishment in the past hundreds of years?” s.h.i.+ Xuejin added again, “In any case, you can’t deny that Lu Shu is indeed more experienced than you in this aspect…”
“Why? Is he better because he’s been struck by lightning?”
s.h.i.+ Xuejin went quiet. All along, Nie Ting had always prioritized the greater good. In recent years, he had sacrificed too much for this belief. However, at this critical moment, Nie Ting had done something irrelevant to the grand picture, when he was well aware that Lu Shu was the best candidate in the Heavenly Network for overseas affairs and that Lu Shu’s experience in surviving the punishment would be of great help to him in the future.
But s.h.i.+ Xuejin understood Nie Ting was not entirely at fault, because Lu Shu was particularly talented at p.i.s.sing people off. Honestly speaking, s.h.i.+ Xuejin was also curious about Lu Shu’s survival. Legend had it that no one could live through the divine punishment, so how did Lu Shu do it with his sheer Cla.s.s B abilities?
At this moment, Nie Ting took out his phone and dialed Lu Shu’s number calmly. That made s.h.i.+ Xuejin unspeakably astonished, as even someone as proud as Nie Ting would lower himself and ask Lu Shu for advice out of the fear of the divine punishment?! After Lu Shu picked up the call, both of them remained silent for more than ten seconds…
In the end, Nie Ting took the initiative to break the ice. “I heard that you were struck by lightning?”
Pa.
The call was hung up…
“HAHAHA.” Nie Ting, who used to be forever composed, suddenly burst into laughter. “WONDERFUL!”
s.h.i.+ Xuejin was dumbstruck.
“We must watch out for the Puppet Master.” Nie Ting suddenly changed the topic. “According to Heavenly King Chen, he may not be as strong as Li Xianyi and I, but stronger than Heavenly King Chen. In addition, his moves are unpredictable. We can’t be complacent if there’s bound to be a fight for our lives or to the death.”
That was the truth. There was no such thing as the stronger one in terms of power would always secure the victory.
Pract.i.tioners who won through erratic moves were always looked down upon. But the Puppet Master was an exception, as he had even provoked the ire of other Cla.s.s A’s.
At this moment, Nie Ting suddenly received a piece of information. The South American remains had closed. Countless lives were lost during the battle between the Puppet Master and the Saint. No winner.
Nie Ting and s.h.i.+ Xuejin looked at each other in shock. No one knew what had happened inside before the closure of the remains. They had expected the Phoenix Society to secure the relic as they held the geographic advantage in the two Americas. But this result was definitely unforeseen!
s.h.i.+ Xuejin drew a startled breath. “Two Puppet Masters. Two top-power Cla.s.s A’s? My father has certainly not mentioned this before.”
“Maybe the Ancient Yi family we faced was simply the tip of the iceberg,” Nie Ting said, his tone was somber. The origin of the Puppet Masters was certainly mysterious. Just when they were cautious about the presence of one Puppet Master, they realized there were more than one of them.
“Chen Baili said that the Puppet Master might have targeted Lu Shu, and it’s only a matter of time before he finds Lu Shu. Should we prepare for it?” s.h.i.+ Xuejin asked.
“It will take a while. Order the overseas personnel to watch the Puppet Master’s movement closely. Report immediately once he is spotted near the border,” said Nie Ting, “But have you considered that actually none of us knows any of the Puppet Masters’ true appearance? We always think that those in the black robes are them. At first I thought maybe they could be very ugly. But now, think about it, what if they are not? What if they are just like you and me, like normal people? It’s too easy to blend in. Cla.s.s A’s can’t be guarded against easily.”
“Alert Lu Shu. We can’t endanger him because of our carelessness,” s.h.i.+ Xuejin said.
Nie Ting nodded and phoned Lu Shu again. In spite of their unhappy encounters, Nie Ting would not purposely act against Lu Shu at this moment. Lu Shu must be well informed about the Puppet Masters before it was too late. After all, Lu Shu had left too many clues and he would not be able to keep himself in hiding for long.
However… Sorry, the number you are dialing is unavailable…
Nie Ting’s expressions darkened at once. “Is this his ring tone or has he blacklisted me?”
“Probably his ring tone…” s.h.i.+ Xuejin bit his gum. It was them who started the trick…
“You call,” Nie Ting said and hung up the phone.
…
Before they boarded the plane back to Yuzhou, Lu Shu had first received Nie Ting’s call, and now s.h.i.+ Xuejin’s. At first, he did not plan to receive any more calls, but upon second thoughts, s.h.i.+ Xuejin must have something important to say in the second call.
Lu Shu’s face grew grave after he put down his phone. Meanwhile, the boarding gate was already closing. After they were seated on the plane, Lu Xiaoyu asked, “Did something happen?”
“Yes. There are more than one Puppet Master. Also, s.h.i.+ Xuejin warned me to watch out for them, because I’ve probably painted a target on my back,” Lu Shu said with a sigh.
“Then fight them,” Lu Xiaoyu said straightforwardly.
“I… will probably lose…” Lu Shu’s brains throbbed in pain. They were two Cla.s.s A’s!
“Then hide first. Fight them later,” Lu Xiaoyu replied as though it was common sense.
But Lu Shu still had the feeling that something was wrong. During the flight, he quickly scrolled through the past records of distress points. After more than two hours, the Blood Devil’s name had finally appeared, followed by one called “Tiger Zhi”.
Lu Shu gasped in shock. That was the reason he felt strange at Cloud Yi’s name back then! It was because the Puppet Master’s name did not match with what he had remembered earlier.
He would have realized on the spot that the one he met in the sea was not the previous one at all if his memory had been better.
What would happen if he had been targeted by two Cla.s.s A’s? Lu Shu pondered seriously about s.h.i.+ Xuejin’s advice. Maybe he really had to avoid the danger by using another face!