Chapter 678: Chapter 677: Kill with a Borrowed Knife
"I’m sorry, elder, but I can’t agree without the permission from the villa’s master."
Zhu Ling refused shaking her head.
A cold light flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes, but on his face, he only sighed slightly.
"Actually, Elder Xu just wants to take a look and swears he won’t leak any information. Why are you all holding it so tight ?"
A girl in a pink dress laughed carelessly.
Of course, she knew about the importance of guarding the Great Array, but the middle-aged man in front of her was her superior, so she had to make a gesture and express her position.
The other four terrestrial immortals, who were also members of the Martial Arts Alliance, remained silent. Three of them subtly released a strand of their aura, making the people of the Wuling Villa feel suppressed and utterly uncomfortable.
This was particularly true for people like Su Yanru, who turned pale and began to breathe rapidly.
Zhu Ling, who was even less powerful than Su Yanru, could hardly stand up and almost fell to the ground. Luckily, she was stabilized by a strand of energy from Xin Zhuliu and narrowly avoided embarrassment.
A man with a flat nose laughed as he looked at Xin Zhuliu, as if he wanted to do something, but was waved off by the middle-aged man. He said: "Since you do not wish to show us, Xu will not insist on it either. I will take my leave then," and turned to leave.
Some of the other five smiled, others shook their heads, and rose to leave as well.
"Damn it!"
The Golden Saber Elder pounded the table, his face ashen: "The six of them hardly lifted a finger when we were chasing the three great households’ Earth Immortals before, but now, they come asking for favors, even coveting our villa’s grand array. They’re dreaming!"
The Martial Art Alliance experts in charge of the operation had already left Xuanwu State along with their team. The earth immortals, who had responded to the call, were all chivalrous and straightforward, and therefore did not stay for long.
Only these six people, under the pretext of stabilizing the rear, refused to leave and even aimed at the Nine Profound Array.
"Don’t be afraid, they won’t dare to force their hands openly, at most they will exert some secret pressure. Just endure their arrogance for a while."
Silver Sword Gentleman said helplessly.
Among the six people, the highest-ranking middle-aged man had reached the third level of the Divine Barrier Realm. Although this seemed not very high, he was indeed a Twice-Tier Earth Immortal.
The term ’Twice-Tier Earth Immortal’ is a term that has emerged in the last two or three months.
The Divine Strategy Academy had always been upset about its inability to rank terrestrial immortals, and after years of research, they finally designed a stone stele testing attack power.
According to the Divine Strategy Academy, to make the Array Stele respond, the attack power must reach a Tier level.
The so-called Tier level is equivalent to an earth immortal who has a second-rate martial arts, first-rate middle-class martial arts and has burst out their limit of attack power after practicing for 60 years, according to the academy.
With the strength of the Divine Strategy Academy and their many years of planning, a large number of such earth immortals had been tested, hence the Array Stele should not be wrong.
In no time, the whole Flying Horse Dynasty’s martial world rose in uproar.
In Tian State, the appearance rate of terrestrial immortals was much higher than in the past. It seemed that everyone was interested in the Array Stele.
After all, before this, the level of power among the earth immortals was very vague, and it was nearly impossible to differentiate. Although attacking power can’t precisely judge a person’s strength, it’s still an important reference.
No one was not curious.
As for saying that the test would expose their combat power and attract unnecessary troubles, it hardly existed.
Firstly, the test of attacking power depends on the individual’s performance, who knows if you have used all your strength or not.
Secondly, even without the test, one’s rough strength level cannot be concealed from others. In the end, the Array Stele only clarified level divisions.
Therefore, in recent months, almost the entire martial world was discussing this matter. Due to the numerous testing earth immortals, some information inevitably leaked out.
Those who are not mainstream earth immortals should be the lowest level of earth immortals,
Above them are Tier earth immortals, of which there are quite a few, as all those who haven’t reached Twice-Tier level are considered as Tier earth immortals, whose skills span from sixty years to one hundred and twenty years of cultivation.
Twice-Tier Earth Immortals, whose skills span one hundred and twenty to one hundred and eighty years, and so on.
It should be noted here that anyone, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, their progress will slow down, or even at a standstill.
So, the Twice-Tier level does not refer to the attack power of a newly-promoted earth immortal after practicing for one hundred and twenty years, but the potential attack power that could theoretically be achieved by maintaining the progress of the previous 60 years.
Generally, a Twice-Tier Earth Immortal is definitely stronger than a newly-promoted earth immortal who has been practicing for one hundred and twenty years!
The middle-aged man was said to have entered the Divine Barrier Realm only about ninety years ago, yet he is already a Twice-Tier Earth Immortal, which implies either his martial arts or martial skills, must have remarkable aspects.
"Endure their pressure?"
Su Yanru said coldly: "You probably don’t know, but these days, there are people sneaking around our villa every night apparently looking for something."
Apart from Shi Xiaole, Su Yanru was the only one who mastered half of the array in the Wuling Villa, so she could definitely sense anyone approaching.
Luckily the Nine Profound Array is very concealed, and the design of the entrance is ingeniously done so the culprit has not found it yet.
"They dare to be so shameless?"
Even Jade Axe Lady couldn’t keep calm, exclaiming, "We cannot let them continue with such audacity, can we?"
No one answered.
Because they all realized helplessly that they actually had no way to deal with it.
Talking is useless; the other party just mentioned a few things verbally, hoping to peek into the secrets of the Array System. You claim that they are behaving suspiciously. Where’s your evidence?
If we fight, who in Wuling Villa could face these six people? Let alone six, any one of them alone could crush the entire Villa.
Zhu Ling suggested: "We can only wait until the Master returns."
"No way!"
Su Yanru said sternly: "I hope all of this stays between us. Especially, you must not tell Lele."
The news of Shi Xiaole becoming one of the Terrestrial Immortals had already reached Xuanwu State, leading to a great commotion in the Martial World. But exactly for this reason, Su Yanru was even more worried about Shi Xiaole.
The taller a tree grows, the harder the wind blows.
Shi Xiaole is still too young. If he gets into a conflict with those six Earth Immortals that he can’t handle alone, he would inevitably suffer. Besides, they proclaim themselves as part of the Martial Arts Federation, offending them would bring big trouble.
When one’s strength is far inferior, bear with the unbearable!
Everyone looked at each other and reluctantly nodded.
They understood Su Yanru’s plight, which made them admire this woman even more.
...
"Master, these people really don’t appreciate our kindness. We’ve travelled all the way here to help them. Are we just going to let it slide?"
Upon returning to the guest room, the man with the flat nose asked.
Being the confidant of the middle-aged man with piercing eyes, he was very familiar with his thoughts.
"Let it slide? I, Xu Zhenhai, have never failed to get what I want. Does a small power in Xuanwu State even dare to obstruct me?"
Xu Zhenhai sneered relentlessly.
On hearing this, the man with the flat nose’s eyes flickered constantly.
While Wuling Villa feared them, they were also restricted. As representatives of the Martial Arts Federation, at least on the surface, they couldn’t blatantly violate moral principles.
The most troublesome was that unmet Kirin. Given his talent, if they can’t kill him in one shot, it’s best not to offend him.
The flat-nosed man knew that Xu Zhenhai was cunning, and judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have a plan, so he asked, "Master, what’s your brilliant strategy?"
Xu Zhenhai revealed a sinister and strange expression and said, "Let me share a little secret with you, one of the Earth Immortals seeking revenge on Kirin hasn’t left, and he’s been hiding in the villa for quite some time."
The flat-nosed man’s face changed.
Xu Zhenhai laughed and said, "Tsk, that fellow excels in shape-shifting. Luckily, I mastered a divine eye technique years ago that has allowed me to see through his disguise."
Xu Zhenhai said in a joking manner, "If Wuling Villa were more cooperative, I might lend them a hand and get rid of that imposter. But since they’re not, there’s nothing I can do."
To spy on the Nine Profound Array, Xu Zhenhai had tried everything he could, even using a spiritual technique to control Su Yanru in an attempt to extract the secrets of the Array. To his surprise, this lady rumored to be the closest to Kirin, only knew half of the Array’s secrets. When he tried to engage with the other half of the Array, he almost died from its counterattack.
This incident made Xu Zhenhai realize that the Nine Profound Array was more mysterious than anyone had thought, making him more determined to seize it.
"What do you mean, Master?"
"In a few days, we’ll pretend to leave. Once we’re gone, that Earth Immortal will definitely cause trouble for Wuling Villa. By the time he’s done killing, we’ll go back. Without anyone to activate the Array, how could we not find the key?"
"What if that person fails?"
"What is there to be afraid of? If that guy is really useless, we can always lend a hand."
Had Wuling Villa been a little more cooperative, Xu Zhenhai wouldn’t have resorted to such a scheme. He would have even willingly helped them get rid of the imposter Earth Immortal.
But now, Wuling Villa only had itself to blame for its impending doom.
"Hahaha, Master, your plan is brilliant!"
Upon hearing Xu Zhenhai’s words, the flat-nosed man gave a thumbs-up, clearly impressed.
...
Three days later, Xu Zhenhai and his group of six bid farewell and left.
Xin Zhuliu led a team to send them off to the Villa gate.
"Do you think they’ve really given up, or could they be plotting something?"
Xia Yunxi furrowed her attractive eyebrows, feeling that something was unusual.
"Instruct the Villa to heighten its vigilance and at the same time, reactivate the Nine Profound Array, until Master Shi comes back."
Having adjusted to his role as the Villa Master, Xin Zhuliu made a prompt decision. Regardless of the situation, being cautious would always be the right choice. After all, whatever power the Nine Profound Array consumed could be replenished later on.
"Now that they’re gone, your doomsday is approaching."
Inside a remote guest room in the Villa, a seemingly honest man gazed at Yinfeng Pavilion direction and a cruel smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
With the people from the Martial Arts Federation gone, what more would he have to worry about? Surely, Kirin had received the news too. Since he was already involved, he decided to initiate a massacre!
