Chapter 406: The True Face of the High Priest
Sure enough, the high priest was not someone who was easy to get along with. Even Uti, the n.o.ble emperor of the Golden Tent, was hardly getting any special treatment from High Priest Ryun. In his eyes, everyone was nothing more than a lowly ant, insignificant, and the only reason he was still staying with the insectoids was to be outstanding.
He was extremely powerful yet still struggled at transcending. This had already caused Ryun’s mental state to become unstable, which was why he was acting stranger as time pa.s.sed, slowly despising his own race more and more.
Uti bit his lips and forcefully endured the unhappiness welling inside him. Ryun’s words made him feel as if he had just eaten a mouthful of flies, a flurry of emotions that could not be vented.
Ryun was very satisfied seeing the emperor of the Golden Tent being toyed in his palm as such, and his expression seemed to say ‘Look. So what if you’re the emperor of the Golden Tent? Do you not have to beg me for help in alleviating your worries and problems? Who asked for us to be experts, always having to take care of the lessers within our race?’
Uti begrudgingly smiled. “High Priest, I feel like the fact that Duabi and the others were inexplicably sent millions of lightyears away as highly suspicious. Could this be done by that human warrior? However, I’ve never heard of such methods before, and it’s really left me feeling baffled. If sir does not step in, I’m afraid that we, your juniors, won’t be able to deal with him.”
Uti decided that, since the old monster Ryun had already torn off what face he had and stepped on it, there was no reason for him not to be a little thick-skinned and directly ask for his help. He clearly understood that it was impossible not to lose face, sometimes.
However, he did not expect High Priest Ryun to disagree. “What do you mean he got sent millions of lightyears away? Perhaps it’s your subordinates lying to your face or perhaps they got sucked into a temporary wormhole. How could there be someone able to achieve such a bizarre and heaven-defying thing? Even I am completely incapable of achieving that.”
Uti nodded. Being sucked into a wormhole was definitely a possibility, though a temporary wormhole would definitely need to pa.s.s through a tunnel of stars, and from Duabi’s description of the experience, all they saw was a moment of darkness before they appeared millions of lightyears away in the mammoth region, not at all fitting the characteristics of a wormhole. As for the issue of lying and trust, Uti believed that Duabi did not have the guts to do so. Even if he did lie to him, Laresh of the Seven Champions would definitely not.
In any case, since High Priest Ryun insisted that there was no way anyone could have done it, Uti did not bother saying anything more about the topic. After all, it was simply a guess of his which had neither basis nor evidence.
Ryun said to the young girl beside him, “Mingjing, there’s no need for your master to act over such a trivial matter. Follow the emperor of the Golden Tent and do a beautiful job of it. Don’t tarnish your master’s reputation.”
The young girl nodded meekly as she stepped forward and took her position beside Uti.
Uti was more surprised by this young girl the more he looked at her. Mingjing was indeed very pretty, with porcelain clear skin and long slender fingers. She looked every bit like the artistic type.
However, it was evident that Mingjing was not an insectoid but rather a human!
It was fine that High Priest Ryun was unwilling to do this himself, but how could he send a human brat to accompany Uti?! People of a different race would have different hearts, yet how was it that the high priest had a human by his side?
Uti furrowed his brows for a good time before he bit the bullet and asked, “Esteemed high priest, isn’t such an arrangement inappropriate?”
Ryun rolled his eyes as he asked in a questioning voice, “What’s inappropriate about this? Though Mingjing isn’t of our race, she is absolutely loyal to me. She is also leagues stronger than those garbage around you in terms of her martial arts prowess. It’s perfectly safe to have her act in my stead, or do you not trust me?”
“I would not dare!” Uti hurriedly bowed to Ryun. “Since the high priest said that it is fine, Uti shall obey; if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my with Mingjing now.”
Ryun had no objections. “Go on, then. No need to find me if there’s nothing else. I plan to seclude myself in the coming days.”
The tone he used sounded as if he was treating Uti as his own disciple. The emperor helplessly smiled, leading Mingjing out of the abode after giving the high priest a final salute.
Mingjing had a stony personality, following behind Uti as if she were a tree log. However, there was nothing Uti could do about this. Only managing to bring back a human girl after going through all that work, how much more ridiculous could this get?
Nonetheless, it did not seem that Ryun would be leaving the capital any time soon, and that was a good thing for Uti. The high priest could at least come in handy during crucial moments as long as he was still around; no matter how arrogant the former was, there was no way he could just leave the emperor in the lurch, could he?
While it was true that Ryun despised Uti, he was also not about to fold his arms and call it quits during critical junctures. After all, he was the most respected individual among all the insectoids, second only to the Black and White G.o.ds. He could not afford to lose face like that.
Still, the young girl beside Uti troubled him greatly. She looked so delicate and fragile, hardly like an expert. Besides, she was human, and now that the insectoid army was fighting against the Pan-human Alliance, Uti simply found it very unreliable to send a human to deal with another human.
‘Best if this girl dies as soon as possible; Perhap Ryun will have to take action personally when that time comes?’ Uti secretly thought to himself.
His eyes resentfully glanced at Mingjing as the corners of Uti’s mouth curled diabolically.
…
The moment Uti left, the young boy beside High Priest Ryun bowed and said, “Master, earlier, what Uti had described was clearly something done by a super expert who had grasped the Law of s.p.a.ce. Why did you deliberately misdirect his attention elsewhere?”
This young boy appeared to be a lot more muscular than Mingjing, the thick black fur in front of his chest bare for all to see, and the scales all over his face and arms had yet to devolve completely. Aside from his somewhat childlike eyes, every other part of his body bore the resemblance to a teenage insectoid, and even his voice sounded a little deep when speaking.
Ryun chuckled. “Mingzhu, it is best if as few individuals as possible know about the Law of s.p.a.ce. Don’t forget that the moment the average being understands that there’s such a mysterious martial arts skill in this universe, they will most definitely do whatever it takes to learn it. It’s enough for us to be the only ones in our race who are aware of it. You wouldn’t want to give rise to many more opponents either, would you?
“For us to receive such a treatment from the insectoids—be it in terms of our want of females or fortune—those fools immediately providing all we desire, isn’t it such a wondrous feeling? Do you actually wish to share this glory with anyone else?
“In this G.o.dless world, we are the G.o.ds! An insurmountable existence whom no one can compare! Since no one knows the truth, what reasons do we have to ruin this?”
Mingzhu seemed to have gained a level of understanding upon hearing this. Experts would always have the habit of hiding secrets, and the weaker they were, the more likely they would be afraid of their ultimate techniques being stolen by others. Because he did not know much, there was plenty he could lose.
A real expert would not need to do something like this, for they would be completely confident of their capabilities. Even if they were to stand at the same starting line, true experts would not be willing to lose to anyone else, not to mention teaching something that they had a complete grasp of to someone else.
If Uti were present, the insectoid emperor would most definitely let out a heavy sigh, as his judgment had been right on the money. The high priest was indeed a petty individual, afraid that others would learn about the existence of the Law of s.p.a.ce, afraid of losing his ‘G.o.dhood’ among his race. That was why he had to be careful in everything he did and why he was so immensely harsh to everyone else.
Mingzhu knitted his eyebrows and contemplated on this for quite some time before asking, “Since that human expert can very well be a super expert who has a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce, won’t sending sister Mingjing out be like striking a rock with an egg? She does not have sufficient cultivation to deal with a real Law Inheritor. I’m afraid that she’s going to be grave danger taking on this task.”
*Slap!*
A chestnut heavily struck Mingzhu’s head, causing the young boy to clutch his head, looking at his master in fear.
“Idiot! Are you implying that your master should personally make the trip out instead of sending Mingjing out in my stead? What if that human really turns out to be an expert who has a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce, do you want me to become his enemy?
“When two experts having a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce collide, no matter who wins or loses, the fight that occurs will create a great upheaval! Master has already been waiting to enter that circle for almost 731 years! Now that I’m literally on the cusp of being promoted, is it really worth losing my life to an expert of the Law of s.p.a.ce at this point?
“You’re really such a dumbwit! What could possibly be more important than being promoted? As long as the enemy is also an expert who has a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce, even if his cultivation is much lower than mine, I won’t take the risk of being his enemy! I’ve been waiting for this chance for 731 years! I need to play it safe, safe, and extra safe! Even if it’s but a one percent risk, I will most definitely not take the chance!”
No one would have imagined that the so-called High Priest Ryun was not only such a small-minded insectoid but also an absolutely yellow-bellied coward. Still, if anyone were to consider how he had waited for over seven hundred years to join the super expert circle, it made sense why he was unwilling to risk himself like so. If anyone else were in his shoes, they would most likely do the same.
Of course, this would not apply to an insane maniac like Xia Fei.
Heaving a deep sigh, Ryun pretended to be kind. “Actually, if that human warrior truly has a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce, eradicating the insectoids will merely be a simple and effortless task to him. All he has to do is use Spatial Distortion and he can very well crush all planets one by one; there wouldn’t be a need for him to go through all that ha.s.sle, hunting down Sacred Warriors. That’s why I think the chances of him being a super expert aren’t very high.
“Still, it’s not worth it for your master to take such a risk personally, so I sent Mingjing to probe the enemy. If she manages to deal with the enemy, then there’s nothing much to be said. Since all it takes is me sending my disciple to eliminate an enemy who’s left even the emperor of the Golden Tent restless, it just greatly demonstrates the power that I, High Priest Ryun, wield.”
Mingzhu was still confused over one thing. “What if Mingjing fails to defeat the human warrior and, instead, lose to him?”
Ryun answered, “I planted a fire seedling in Mingjing. Your master will know if it gets extinguished, no matter how far she is. If the enemy isn’t a Law of s.p.a.ce inheritor, only depending on his superior martial arts skill to achieve victory, then I will naturally appear and take charge, exterminating the human in one move. By then, I will push all the responsibility onto Mingjing and blame the brat for not being studious enough; I doubt anyone among the insectoid will dare say anything otherwise.
“And if the enemy really is an expert who has a grasp of the Law of s.p.a.ce, then you and I, disciple and master, will find some excuse to leave this place immediately. We must definitely not become enemies with him. Since I am recognized as a higher being, it will be normal for me to disappear and become elusive. In order to enter the circle of the super experts, there are some things that I will have to give up on; otherwise, all the work I’ve done before will be for naught.
“There’s not much use to keep that little mute Mingjing around anymore. I originally took her in to alleviate my boredom, since a young human girl is far more delicious than a young female insectoid, but who knew that the brat wasn’t in the least bit enlightened and actually refused to cooperate with me?! Since that’s the case, I’ll just have to treat her like a sacrificial lamb. Besides, I’ve already made the best use of her having her around so long.”
Mingzhu suddenly felt a wave of cold wash over him. Today was Mingjing whom Ryun had decided to send to her death; would it be his turn to suffer the same fate tomorrow?
…
Many, many lightyears away, Xia Fei did not know that the insectoids actually had a super expert who had comprehended the Law of s.p.a.ce! Furthermore, this super expert had now set his eyes on him!
No matter how petty or reprehensible High Priest Ryun was, he was still an existence who was higher than Xia Fei’s own! It had not been long since the wave that Yujiang and Yuhua created the last time pa.s.sed. Their ability to move mountains with a flip of their hands left Xia Fei with lingering palpitations, and now this Ryun might be even more difficult to deal with than those two before.
It was as the ancient saying went: ‘Better offend a gentleman than a villian’. A gentleman was magnanimous and upright, while a villain was sinister and despicable with his actions. There was nothing a villain would not do.
High Priest Ryun was very evidently not a gentleman.