Chapter 483: Chapter 469: A Pawn to be Manipulated?
So much had happened in such a short time.
One shocking event followed another.
First, Shen Lang had lived up to everyone’s expectations, broken the Nine Array Map, and seized the Spirit Pattern Pillar;
Then, Wen Siyuan had lost control and tried to kill him, only to be severely wounded by a single slash from Shen Lang’s blade;
After that, the Spirit Pattern Pillar activated on its own, and the Divine Thought left inside by the founding ancestor of the Artifact Origin Sect manifested;
But that wasn’t all. The crowd then discovered that a King Martial Realm expert from the Beast Emperor Palace had been hiding among the spectating sects, and none of the many King Martial Realm experts present had noticed a thing!
Next, the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor did Shen Lang a favor and killed the man from the Beast Emperor Palace with a single slash.
Finally, the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor pleaded with Shen Lang to take care of the Artifact Origin Sect...
This string of events made Shen Lang seem increasingly mysterious and unfathomable in everyone’s eyes.
...
While the others were in turmoil, Shen Lang’s mind was anything but calm.
The more politely the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor spoke, the more uneasy Shen Lang felt, and the more cautious he became.
From the moment the man appeared, he seemed to have noticed something unusual about him, almost as if he had discovered his true identity.
And the more Shen Lang listened to his subsequent words, the more it sounded like he was trying to hand the entire Artifact Origin Sect over to him!
Shen Lang was, of course, happy to receive good things.
However, he had no desire to get involved in something that reeked of conspiracy.
In such a conspiracy, to put it nicely, he was the protagonist. To put it bluntly, he was just a lab rat... a plaything for others to manipulate.
Because many of the War Emperor’s memories were sealed, Shen Lang didn’t know how many people in the War God Hall knew about his connection to the War Emperor... or rather, how many people in the War God Hall knew about the War Emperor’s reincarnation, and how many were involved in it?
Although the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor had been a fellow disciple of the War Emperor, this figure didn’t seem to appear in the War Emperor’s memories.
Even that old guy who had first taught the War Emperor Artifact Refining was a carefree wanderer who rarely bothered with the chaotic affairs of the War God Hall.
But in truth, too many things were just too strange, too coincidental...
’That old guy clearly had his own favored disciples, yet he went out of his way to guide someone else, and then gifted him the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars.’
’Then, the person who received the Spirit Pattern Pillars made a high-profile announcement that he would hand them over to anyone who could communicate with all nine of them.’
’Thousands of years later, that same old guy, pretending not to care, told the War Emperor every single key detail and technique related to the Spirit Pattern Pillars... down to the smallest particular.’
’You bastard, you already gave the things away, yet you still taught the War Emperor about them in such detail. Isn’t that insane?’
’Now, in this entire world, besides me and the original owner of the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars, who else could possibly communicate with and activate them all at once?’
’To say there’s nothing fishy about all this would be a goddamn joke.’
The Elder Ancestor of the Artifact Origin Sect had only just appeared and spoken a few cryptic words, but Shen Lang had already sorted through all these matters in his mind.
’If I follow this conspiracy theory to its logical conclusion...’
’Then the whole timeline should look something like this: that old guy knew about the War Emperor’s birth ten thousand years ago, and he also knew the War Emperor would fall and be reincarnated. So, he cultivated an influence outside the War God Hall early on and left the Spirit Pattern Pillars—the pinnacle of his Magical Treasure creations—with this influence.’
’Thousands of years later, the War Emperor burst onto the scene, dominating the world, and the War God Hall’s prestige reached an unprecedented peak.’
’At this time, the old guy taught the War Emperor everything he had learned, all his insights into the Artifact Refining Dao. He also "casually" told him about the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars. Afterwards, the War Emperor surpassed his master in the Artifact Refining Dao.’
’Then, the War Emperor fell, the War God Hall vanished without a trace, and I, Shen Lang, stepped onto the stage.’
’And then, the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars fell into my hands, and the Artifact Origin Sect fell into my hands as well...’
’The entire process is as if that old guy knew everything and was making preparations for me all along.’
For Shen Lang, this was a hair-raising thought.
On one hand, like many people, Shen Lang didn’t want his destiny to be manipulated by others. He didn’t want to be a pawn in someone else’s game.
On the other hand, from what he understood, while the War God Hall was powerful, it was nowhere near this terrifyingly capable...
The old guy’s Cultivation, moreover, should have made it impossible for him to predict events ten thousand years into the future.
’Predicting the future... ’
Shen Lang possessed the War Emperor’s memories. Although the War Emperor was a Great Emperor, he was an existence that had already become a Transcendent Emperor. He naturally knew how unimaginable, how utterly incredible all of this was.
Even for a peerless powerhouse, calculating events ten thousand years into the future was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Only the legendary Witch Race possessed such an ability.
And even for the Witch Race, it was said they had to expend their Life Energy to perform such a Divination.
Back then, Zuo Wentian had learned the Divination Dao Laws through a stroke of luck, but at most, he could only foresee that he would face a crisis and that the turning point would lie with Shen Lang ten thousand years later.
As for any other specific details, Zuo Wentian had been completely in the dark.
Otherwise, how could he have ended up on the verge of having his body and soul utterly destroyed?
...
At this moment, after speaking, the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor simply watched Shen Lang below, awaiting his reply.
Shen Lang paused, then suddenly grinned and said, "Fine. I happen to be in need of a group of Artifact Refiners to work for me. Have these guys go back and tell the people of the Artifact Origin Sect. It’ll save me the trouble of being hunted down everywhere for these nine Spirit Pattern Pillars in the future."
The founding ancestor of the Artifact Origin Sect chuckled lightly, turned his head to look at Tong Fan and the others below, and said, "Did you hear our conversation clearly?"
Tong Fan, wiping away a cold sweat, prostrated himself and said, "Disciple... Disciple understands. We will relay the Elder Ancestor’s wishes back to the Sect. Please rest assured, Elder Ancestor!"
"Good." The Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor nodded in satisfaction.
He gave Shen Lang a deep look, and his figure slowly dissipated like a cloud of mist.
A deathly silence once again fell over the Martial Arts Arena.
Tong Fan and the others looked at Shen Lang with strange expressions, a mixture of terror and reverence. They wanted to speak but didn’t dare make a sound.
Nothing could be stranger than this...
A moment ago, they had hated Shen Lang to the bone. In the blink of an eye, the Elder Ancestor had appeared, and with a single sentence, Shen Lang’s status had completely changed.
Even a fool could tell that the founding ancestor was handing the Artifact Origin Sect over to Shen Lang!
Who in the Artifact Origin Sect would dare to disobey the Elder Ancestor’s words?
Although a Spirit Copper Level Influence couldn’t be considered exceptionally powerful or tyrannical, the Artifact Origin Sect was a gathering place for Artifact Refining Masters. Even Secret Silver Level and Dark Gold Level influences treated them with respect!
And yet, the founding ancestor of such an influence was humbly begging a disciple from a mere Profound Iron Level Sect to help take care of it...
Why would he do that?
Who in the world was Shen Lang?
These old men, Tong Fan included, still couldn’t understand. It all felt like a dream.
Just then, Shen Lang waved his hand dismissively as if shooing away flies and said, "Alright, are you staying here because you think I’m going to invite you for tea? Go back to where you came from!"
That gesture, that look in his eyes—it clearly screamed, ’Just looking at you lot pisses me off’!
Tears immediately streamed down the old faces of Tong Fan and the others...
’Damn it! In just a short while, he snatched away the Artifact Origin Sect’s Treasure of the Sect, the Spirit Pattern Pillars.’
’It wasn’t enough that he took the Spirit Pattern Pillars; the entire Artifact Origin Sect has now become his personal property!’
’We thought our relationship could get a little closer, that he should be weeping with gratitude... ’
’Who would have thought that after being given an Artifact Refining Great Sect that all the major powers try to curry favor with, he would actually seem unwilling and extremely displeased!’
"Yes... Yes!"
Tong Fan and the others nodded tremblingly, then went up and woke the few disciples on the stage.
Those idiots on the stage had it easy. They hadn’t seen or heard anything, sleeping comfortably through it all.
It made Tong Fan and the others so angry they wanted to kick them to death.
The moment the group from the Artifact Origin Sect stepped off the battle stage, the surrounding crowd immediately burst into an uproar.
Seeing how things had turned out, the people from the other sects wanted to slip away dejectedly with the Artifact Origin Sect group, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
However, Shen Lang had no intention of giving them that chance!
"Hold on." Shen Lang shot a cold glare at the people from those sects. "I said the Artifact Origin Sect could leave. When did I say you could?"
The people of the Profound Dao Sect reacted instantly. They focused their combined Momentum, pressing down hard on the other sects.
These were all surrounding influences, and some of their sects were not much weaker than the Profound Dao Sect.
Each and every one of these sects held varying degrees of animosity toward the Profound Dao Sect.
When the Artifact Origin Sect had come up earlier, they had been incredibly arrogant.
They had kicked the Profound Dao Sect while it was down, taunting and mocking them relentlessly.
They had only come to the Profound Dao Sect to see it make a fool of itself.
Now, not only had they not seen a joke, but Shen Lang had stopped them at the last moment, clearly intending to "settle old scores."
The expressions on this group’s faces instantly turned extremely ugly.
"We just came up with the people from the Artifact Origin Sect to watch the Artifact Refining competition between you. What right do you from the Profound Dao Sect have to tell us we can’t leave?" someone in the crowd said coldly.
"That’s right! We’re not your Profound Dao Sect’s subordinate forces, so what right do you have to say that? Our feet are our own, what the hell gives you the right to control them?" others chimed in.
Shen Lang waved his hand to stop the angry members of the Profound Dao Sect and slowly walked down from the viewing platform.
The people from the other sects hadn’t quieted down yet.
Although they felt a bit of fear toward Shen Lang, they weren’t afraid that he would actually dare to do anything.
’In any case, the Profound Dao Sect’s Sect Leader and all its Elders, even its Elder Ancestor, are here. When did it become this kid’s turn to speak?’
’Could it be that the Profound Dao Sect would actually dare to offend so many sects at once just because we mocked them a little?’
"Oh, so you’re acting all high and mighty just because you beat the Artifact Origin Sect? You really think you’re invincible now? Does your Profound Dao Sect want to make an enemy of all our sects? It’s not that I look down on you, but you really don’t have what it takes!"
A sharp, piercing voice rang out from the crowd.
"Kid, don’t think you’re so great. Even if you’re a peerless talent, the Profound Dao Sect’s strength won’t increase significantly because of you in the short term! In its current state, heh heh, the Profound Dao Sect already has its hands full dealing with the Holy Light Sect and the Golden Embryo Sect. If you offend all of our sects, you’ll be in for more trouble than you can handle!"
The person grew more and more outrageous, stopping just short of pointing at Shen Lang’s nose and cursing him...
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