Chapter 2937: Silent Layout
Mr. Daheng quickly put the copper coin away and moved over to Chen Le. He grabbed the Monarch and then left.
It did not matter. If things were exposed, then so be it. Mr. Daheng did not intend to try to keep things hidden for long anyway.
Besides, in the end, Luo Shan had escaped. Lu Yin’s scheming ran too deep, so it would have been good to keep Luo Shan around to restrain the young man. The biggest issue was still the stones. Did Luo Shan have any at all?
In Proximity, the displays returned to normal.
Wendy Yushan watched on quietly. Behind her, Sage Bodhi and an entire group of people had been watching a display showing the entire scene of Mr. Daheng attacking Luo Shan and Chen Le.
Proximity had observed everything from the very beginning.
Sage Bodhi"s face revealed her displeasure. "Inform the Arboreal Realm that Mr. Daheng has attacked the Three Monarchs Universe without authorization, and ask them to send someone to take the man down and demand an explanation."
While there were various disputes within the Sixverse a.s.sociation, those matters were never allowed to affect the Endless Frontier.
The Endless Frontier was already a battlefield, and it was even the primary battlefield that protected humanity from Aeternus. If disputes between the Sixverse a.s.sociation’s members were allowed to spill over into the Endless Frontier, there would be unforgivable consequences to the overall war.
That was a burden that no one could afford to bear.
Of course, this was also under the a.s.sumption that such matters were known by the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
Generally speaking, even if someone attacked someone else on the Endless Frontier, the matter would not be noticed by the Sixverse a.s.sociation. There were countless people fighting on the Endless Frontier at all times. Who among them did not have some sort of grudge with another? As long as such matters were not discovered, there was no issue.
Everything remained hidden in the dark.
However, Mr. Daheng had attacked Luo Shan in a public manner, and the people of Proximity had watched the entire exchange take place. This was not a small matter, and if the Sixverse a.s.sociation did not deliver judgment for this violation, how would order be maintained on the Endless Frontier in the future?
If the Endless Frontier was negatively impacted, the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation would suffer the effects.
The Endless Frontier was not occupied solely by humans, as there were other creatures there. They could choose to ally with the Sixverse a.s.sociation, but they could also choose to betray the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
Mr. Daheng had never dreamed that his actions would be noticed by Proximity. The Three Monarchs Universe had no data center, which was a big reason why the Arborean had a.s.sumed that his actions would not be noticed by the Sixverse a.s.sociation. However, Lu Yin’s plan had taken everything into account.
Lu Yin wanted to target Luo Shan, but he had also wanted to deal with Mr. Daheng at the same time.
The grievances between them could not be dismissed easily, which meant that Lu Yin needed to seize the initiative in order to handle matters.
If either Luo Shan or Mr. Daheng were given a chance, neither of them would let Lu Yin go, and he was fully aware of that. His goal was to unify the Sixverse a.s.sociation and make it so that no one there would ever plot against him. ?
The Great Sovereign was in the process of overcoming Dukkha, and her selfishness had caused her to agree to exile the Lu family. It was all to push her own plans to deal with the Aeternals forward.
Lu Yin’s goal was to unite the Sixverse a.s.sociation, and he did not care about anything else. He intended to force the Great Sovereign to pay for what she had done.
This Sixverse a.s.sociation had been founded by the Great Sovereign, but it had now fallen under the Lu family’s control.
Mr. Daheng returned to the Liberation Palace in the Arboreal Realm. He had no idea that Proximity had already contacted the Arboreal Realm.
Chen Le dropped to the ground. His face was pale, and he looked quite miserable.
Wu Heng gave the man an indifferent look.
Mr. Daheng looked down at Chen Le. "Chen Le, you’ve finally visited the Liberation Palace."
Chen Le was badly frightened, as he still did not understand what was going on.
How had Mr. Daheng known that he had been in the Three Monarchs Universe, and why had the man attacked Chen Le?
Mr. Daheng looked at the fear in Chen Le"s eyes. "That is a wonderful look. That expression is precisely the reason why I chose you. Unfortunately, you are nothing but Luo Shan"s p.a.w.n, working against me."
Chen Le felt terribly confused. Was he Luo Shan"s p.a.w.n? Since when?
"Luo Shan is certainly cruel enough. He wanted to use you to work against me, while simultaneously putting you in the Heavens Sect to work against Lu Yin. However, he overestimates himself. Does he really think that he can scheme against everyone?
"For a time, I wasn"t sure if you belonged to Luo Shan. It wasn"t until you sneaked into the Three Monarchs Universe that my suspicions were confirmed."
He stared at Chen Le. "Does Luo Shan have any more stones?"
This was the reason why Mr. Daheng had been so desperate to get his hands on Chen Le.
Chen Le had given the Peaks and Rivers Rock to Luo Shan out of fear of being targeted by Mr. Daheng. Lu Yin had also been worried about the same thing, which was why he had suggested it.
As far as Lu Yin and Chen Le were concerned, that action had been caused by their fear of Mr. Daheng.
But from Mr. Daheng"s perspective, there could only be one reason why Chen Le had delivered the stone to Luo Shan; Luo Shan had to be collecting the stones for himself.
After ascertaining that Chen Le had always been under Luo Shan’s control, Mr. Daheng had then deduced that Luo Shan had to be the one with the stones.
It was a good deduction. The man was not an idiot, and there certainly were more stones. Unfortunately, they were with Lu Yin. Mr. Daheng’s deductions had led to the wrong person.
Chen Le was able to piece some things together, and he understood Mr. Daheng’s thoughts. It was a possibility that Chen Le had not considered. Was Mr. Daheng was certain that Chen Le had been following Luo Shan’s orders because he had secretly entered the Three Monarchs Universe?
At that moment, Chen Le understood everything. Lu Yin had suddenly ordered him to go to the Three Monarchs Universe. The order itself had already been suspicious, but Mr. Daheng’s reaction confirmed things. Had Lu Yin already planned everything out? Why? What was going to happen next?
Was Lu Yin really going to target both Luo Shan and Mr. Daheng?
Mr. Daheng was still staring at Chen Le. "I know that you fear death, so tell me. Does Luo Shan have any more stones?"
Chen Le and Mr. Daheng stared at each other. The fear in Chen Le’s eyes could not be faked. It was true that he was afraid of death, Luo Shan also did not have any stones. When Chen Le gave the one stone to Luo Shan, the man had had no idea what the stone was. Could Chen Le say that?
Lu Yin had used Chen Le to instigate Mr. Daheng into attacking Luo Shan in the Three Monarchs Universe, but Chen Le could not understand Lu Yin’s intentions. It was possible that the entire plan was to target Mr. Daheng. If that were the case, then what was Chen Le’s role to play?
Chen Le knew that he should be able to figure this out. What role did he want to play?
He started to panic. He was afraid of being destroyed by Mr. Daheng, as the possibility of being abandoned by Lu Yin was terrifying, as was the prospect of being sacrificed to Lu Yin’s schemes. Chen Le had no idea how Lu Yin wanted to handle things. Logically speaking, Chen Le, as one of the Heavens Sect’s peak powerhouses, could not be abandoned. However, Lu Yin might have decided to let Mr. Daheng kill Chen Le as a part of a greater scheme, as Chen Le’s death would give Lu Yin ample cause to openly go after Mr. Daheng.
Was that what was happening?
Chen Le’s fear grew stronger and stronger. He simply could not see through Lu Yin’s intentions.
Mr. Daheng frowned. "Chen Le, tell me the truth. I can speak with the Heavens Sect on your behalf and ask Lord Lu to spare your life. After all, you are still a peak powerhouse, so he might not be willing to let you die."
Chen Le went stiff with shock, and he stared at Mr. Daheng. "Lord Lu knows what happened?"
Mr. Daheng casually replied, "Your ident.i.ty as a traitor is already known to the Heavens Sect, though this is only known to Lord Lu and I. I am able to let you live or die."
"How did you know that I was in the Three Monarchs Universe?" Chen Le asked.
Wu Heng answered, "I have been keeping an eye on the Three Monarchs Universe."
Chen Le turned to stare at Wu Heng. Had this person been observing the Three Monarchs Universe? Then Wu Heng should also know that Chen Le had never met with Luo Shan. If that was true, then why had Wu Heng not mentioned it to Mr. Daheng?
Wu Heng would have to be an idiot to a.s.sume that Chen Le’s mere presence in the Three Monarchs Universe was proof that he served Luo Shan. However, it was highly unlikely that someone so stupid could cultivate to the level of a peak powerhouse.
The other option was that Wu Heng was also one of Lu Yin"s people and that he was speaking words that Lu Yin had given him. Chen Le sincerely hoped that the latter possibility was the real one.
The whole thing was a game, and Lu Yin was playing against both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan.
Lu Yin already knew that Mr. Daheng would tell Chen Le about certain things, and the fact that Lu Yin was not concerned about Chen Le learning of such matters indicated that Chen Le had not been abandoned. Wu Heng had been observing Chen Le, which meant that Wu Heng should also be serving Lu Yin. If Chen Le said anything, it would get back to Lu Yin through Wu Heng, and Chen Le refused to even consider what would happen then.
Yes, it was best not to say anything. He should just wait things out and see what Lu Yin had planned.
"Tell me, when did Luo Shan decide to have you join the Liberation Palace? Was it before or after I took control of you?" Mr. Daheng asked softly.
If Luo Shan had made that decision before Mr. Daheng had taken action, then it meant that Luo Shan had been scheming against Mr. Daheng far in advance. If the decision had been made later on, then it indicated that Luo Shan had been trying to take advantage of a situation, that not everything had been premeditated.
Such a seemingly insignificant question involved Mr. Daheng’s past with Luo Shan. The Arborean wanted to know whether or not Luo Shan had moved past that incident.
Chen Le said nothing.
Mr. Daheng frowned. "It was not easy for you to cultivate to your current level. There are countless human beings alive, but how many of them can reach your level of strength? Chen Le, you can’t blame me for not giving you a chance."
Chen Le still said nothing, though he glanced at Wu Heng.
Wu Heng"s face revealed nothing. He was well aware of the fact that Chen Le was not Luo Shan’s p.a.w.n, but Lu Yin wanted Mr. Daheng to believe that that was true. If this was the intent of Lord Lu, then so be it.
Mr. Daheng"s expression turned ugly. "Chen Le, do you really want to die?
"Luo Shan has already fled. He can no longer save you. There is no need for you to die with him.
"I’ll tell you right now that the Heavens Sect will never let Luo Shan go."
Chen Le gritted his teeth. He wanted to speak, but he also did not dare to say anything. Compared to Mr. Daheng, the Heavens Sect was far more terrifying.
Mr. Daheng struck Chen Le, attempting to force the man to speak.
Wu Heng looked on emotionlessly.
Chen Le gritted his teeth and endured. He continued to motivate himself. The longer he endured for, the more that Lord Lu would owe him. Chen Le was holding out for Lord Lu"s sake.
Mr. Daheng had not expected such determination from Chen Le. The longer that Chen Le refused to say anything, the more that Mr. Daheng felt that something was wrong. Was Luo Shan worthy of Chen Le sacrificing himself? The more that Chen Le endured, the more important the question became.
"Chen Le, I"ll count to three. If you refuse to speak, I will cripple your cultivation."
Chen Le"s pupils shrank, but he clenched his teeth.
"One."
Chen Le"s face turned pale.
"Two."
Chen Le trembled.
"Three."
Mr. Daheng raised his hand. Chen Le could no longer endure. His head rose, and he looked over at Wu Heng. Did Lord Lu no longer care about Chen Le? The man refused to truly sacrifice himself for Lord Lu.
At this moment, a figure stepped out from the void and moved down to the Liberation Palace.
Mr. Daheng looked up. "Mu Ke?"
Chen Le grew excited. Mu Ke was Lord Lu’s senior brother. Finally, someone had arrived.
Wu Heng was equally excited. The Heavens Sect had finally made their move. He stared at Mr. Daheng with open resentment.
Mu Ke looked cold as he stared at Mr. Daheng. "Why did you attack Luo Shan?"
Mr. Daheng was stunned. How did Mu Ke know about that?
"Why did you attack Chen Le?"
Upon hearing these two questions, Mr. Daheng"s heart sank. It was clear that something was very, very wrong. The battle between the Three Monarchs Universe should not have been discovered by anyone uninvolved in the battle. Mu Ke was clearly not surprised to see Chen Le in the Liberation Palace. How long had the man known?
Thinking back through the entire ordeal, and after remembering that no one from the Heavens Sect had ever appeared, despite Lu Yin’s promises, something finally occurred to Mr. Daheng. A possibility appeared, and all the color drained from the man’s face.
"Proximity knows that you attacked Luo Shan, violating the rules of the Endless Frontier! Come with me. You owe the Sixverse a.s.sociation an explanation!" Mu Ke ordered with a shout.
Mr. Daheng clenched his fists. "Chen Le has betrayed the Heavens Sect. Lord Lu asked me to help him deal with the traitor. As for Luo Shan, he is suspected of betraying humanity. I can explain everything."