Chapter 273: Final Cards
Black foam began to leak out through Chen Yan’s orifices as his body trembled nonstop on the sand. Elder Shen’s Body of Truth gave Arena Official Yu the signal to announce the end of the third round.
His loud shout forced Qing Hua to retract her Mystic Arts and stop the staged breakthrough phenomena. The aura of her cultivation base fell back to the ninth layer of the Physique Transformation realm, as if the massive spikes and instability just now had all been illusory.
This left the thousands of disciples watching the duel full of confusion for a good while.
They’d been mentally preparing themselves to witness someone ascend to the Soul Reformation realm. How come it suddenly stopped halfway?
But noticing Chen Yan’s crumpled form in front of Qing Hua, and Arena Official Yu’s entry inside the dueling field, everyone quickly realized the truth.
They’d all been tricked! Qing Hua must have been faking it to ambush her opponent!
Although they had not truly seen her make a move, and had no idea how she had done it, their imaginations could fill in the blanks.
The third round, after all, was bound to be dominated by Mystic Arts. It was normal for the audience to miss critical moments of the battle under layers of active spells.
The result was more significant than the process. And in this case, the result was so significant that nobody could be bothered to question the process.
Qing Hua had won. Facing a foe who was so much stronger than her in terms of mental and spiritual capabilities, she had won decisively!
Once more, the entire arena trembled under the uproar of the thousands of spectators. Even the real perpetrators behind the scenes, like Han Xuhan and Kong Ye, couldn’t help but stand up and cheer for Qing Hua, delighted beyond words.
Elder Shen contemplated whether he could rope her into his faction as well after the insurrection officially began. Someone like her, once positioned in the Inner Court, could be a great asset.
It wouldn’t be too difficult to earn her goodwill, he reckoned. All he had to do was reveal how he had helped her defeat Chen Yan decisively.
He could even help her solidify her status as a ’Black Sheep’ of the outer court, an eyesore of Xuan Zi. Killing a fellow disciple and helping the Elders dethrone Xuan Zi from the position of the sect master—a record like that would delight those old scheming fogies in charge of the Inner Court.
Once they verified her report, they’d probably reward her with the position of a core disciple of some powerful Dao Genesis realm cultivator. Even earning the favor of a Dao Integration realm expert wouldn’t be out of the question!
Can an ambitious young cultivator like Qing Hua resist the allure of such prospects?
Not likely! She had nothing to lose, but so much to gain by agreeing to his offer.
His thoughts turned back to Chen Yan. Arranging his death was the most crucial factor at the moment. But what would be the right time and place for it?
If Chen Yan died right now, it would surely cause a sensation. But that would make it difficult for outsiders to associate Xuan Zi with his death. The clan behind Chen Yan might not be interested in forcing the conflict in that direction.
Conversely, if Chen Yan dies in a cabin of the Infirmary, evidence can be planted there in advance to link his death with Xuan Zi.
A vague and mysterious death would be enough cause to force Chen Yan’s clan to investigate the matter, and then get inextricably involved in the insurrection without knowing.
Both arrangements had their pros and cons. After weighing the options in his mind, Elder Shen decided that it would be better not to gamble.
Why not test both options and choose the best route?
Elder Shen’s Shadow of Falsehood, still standing next to Chen Yan’s fallen body, cast two spells consecutively.
Myriad Deceptions Mystic Art: Body Of Falsehood!
Myriad Deceptions Mystic Art: Shadow Of Truth!
This was a reversed version of the spell with which he had split himself into two, one visible and one invisible. Under this spell, Chen Yan’s visible body could be used for the experiment, while his invisible body remained unaffected.
Elder Shen’s invisible body dragged aside Chen Yan’s invisible body and cast some extra layers of illusions on him. Then he came back to his visible body, which hadn’t moved yet from its original spot.
A group of Elders and healers had already rushed over to treat him by then, not knowing that one thought from Elder Shen could return this Body of Falsehood to full health.
But doing so was not Elder Shen’s intention.
Instead, he strengthened the symptoms of the poison dramatically, and arranged for the internal organs to fail one after another. Within a minute, despite the best efforts of the healers, this body of Chen Yan succumbed, losing its final breath.
Elder Shen even went as far as to simulate the aura of the separation of a soul and its body, so that even people like Kong Ye would be fooled.
"He’s dead! Chen Yan is dead!"
"How could this happen? Why did our medicine not work?"
The shocked exclamations of the Healers attracted the attention of everyone nearby. Arena Official Yu came running, countenance grim. Qing Hua’s jubilant celebration halted as she, too, followed in alarm.
In the distant gallery, the disciples in the front rows caught their fragmented shouts and started signalling to the rest of the crowd to quiet down. Han Xuhan, his martial siblings and seniors of the Salted Fish Mountain Peak, looked aghast.
Elder Shen felt an immense wave of satisfaction wash over his heart, watching their joy disappear.
’Heh! Didn’t think something like this could happen, did you, brat? Let this old man teach you a thing or two about the Dao of Deception!’
Arena Official Yu checked Chen Yan’s ’corpse’ himself while getting the confirmation from the Healers. An Elder with a quick movement art grabbed the body and practically flew towards the Infirmary, while Arena Official Yu prepared to issue the formal announcement.
"With a heavy heart-"
He paused. But nobody wondered why. Because the reason for the pause was apparent.
The reason was Sect Master Xuan Zi himself, entering the arena with his hands behind his back, looking relaxed.
