Chapter 319 Two Arch-Cardinals & Xie Dou
"You're strong," Yang Lujia spoke once more as he evaluated Lu Bao once more. "However, that's not exactly what I'm trying to say."
Lu Bao's face turned dark as he looked at this little kid who kept spouting nonsense from his mouth. Although Yang Lujia was indeed somewhat strong to his eyes and that he couldn't see through him, it didn't mean that he was already stronger than him.
Lu Bao always believed in his strength. Other than the Temporal Lord, no one could defeat him. Even the other chiefs wouldn't be enough to make him submit.
"What are you getting at, young man?" Lu Bao said, not intending to hide his killing intent at all. At first, he was trying to act friendly as he could invite him to their side. However, with Yang Lujia's cocky response, he knew that they wouldn't click the first time they encountered each other at the moment.
"I said you're strong, but to me… you're pretty weak…" Yang Lujia honestly replied as he ignored the other party's killing intent. "You're only slightly stronger than the phoenix from the Phoenix Empress Palace. I forgot her name, though, but she was an old lady. And although you're indeed stronger, you're still weak. Even Yang Fei was stronger than you."
"YANG FEI!" Lu Bao had a shocked look as he also remembered this little tyrant in the past that had him good. It was said that this Yang Fei was the certified ruler of the Autonomous Region and his strength neared the combat prowess of the two Temporal Lords.
Lu Bao first encountered Yang Fei when he was tasked with a mission in the Autonomous Region. Because he was being assertive towards this dragon, he was dragged out of the region and was thrown back at the temple.
Thinking about it, he could not help but feel embarrassed. In addition to that, cold sweat ran through his back, especially when he began to feel that aura once more—that menacing aura that was not weaker than any of the chiefs or even the Temporal Lord he had always revered.
"YANG FEI!" he screamed once more. "What are you doing here?"
Lu Bao still had that fear when he first saw this man on the first mission assigned to him at the Autonomous Region. The Temporal Lord, his master, tried to warn him about this man. However, since he did not listen to any of his master's words, he suffered such a fate due to his stubbornness.
"It turns out that there really is something fishy going on with the two temples and the other palaces like the Fiend Emperor Palace. Fiend Ancestor, have you heard of Sheng Ao?" Yang Lujia's eyes turned sharp as he looked at Xie Dou, trying to hide the killing intent under his gaze. "If you lie, I will do everything in my power to destroy the vessel that's currently working inside your palace."
Sheng Ao suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was as though he came from the void. However, neither Xie Dou, even Lu Bao, could trace the place where the kid came out. With this, Lu Bao was even more certain that Yang Lujia was someone very strong.
"Lu Bao, you're actually still alive," Yang Fei teased as he grinned at the Dark Chief of the Space Temple. "I should've killed you in the past. Alas, the Temporal Lord interfered."
Lu Bao's attention was again thrown at Yang Fei. He almost forgot about this man who had almost thrashed his cultivation in the past. Thinking about it, his heart grew cold. Yang Fei was extremely ruthless. If it weren't for the Temporal Lord's help in the past, he would have fallen into a waste today.
"Yang Fei, you're going too far!" Lu Bao exclaimed.
Yang Lujia, on the other hand, looked at Yang Fei and said, "Yang Fei, enough with your games. I want answers now. If I don't get answers from these people, I would just go to the two temples and demand an explanation from them. Sheng Ao, now my disciple, suffered a fate worse than death. I would not let this thing be just a mere 'fate' to comply with all your schemes."
Yang Fei immediately retreated to Yang Lujia's side, lowering his head.
Shocked, Lu Bao did not expect that Yang Fei was very submissive towards this young man before them. He knew how strong Yang Fei was. If he transformed into his true form, even the Temporal Lords wouldn't be certain if they could defeat him. Now, Yang Fei actually submitted to a human—someone no one knew existed!
Just how strong could this young man be if even Yang Fei chose to lower his head to him?
Lu Bao did not dare think about him and even regretted coming here.
Just as he was about to think about escaping, he felt the space around them distort. It was as though some hand squeezed it like dough.
"WHAT!" Lu Bao's eyes bulged as he gathered all of his strength around him, scared of what was about to happen. Staring back at the young man who was staring at him and Xie Dou with cold eyes, he was beyond terrified.
Who could've thought that the previously confident 'him' would fall to such a state? Moreover, it was more than obvious to see that the young man was really some reclusive expert who had yet to appear in the world. Otherwise, how would he be able to explain this phenomenon at the moment?
The young man did not even raise any of his hands nor make any moves. He just stood in the air as he looked on with dominance exuding from his gaze.
"Your Highness… sire… no, sir…" Xie Dou felt like his world collapsed, feeling how the young man before them used the rules of space with just his gaze. That alone showed how terrifying someone could be when provoked.
Seeing Sheng Ao, he knew that he had to explain himself from now on. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to make it out of here alive. This expert was overly protective of those under him, especially now knowing that Sheng Ao acknowledged this formidable being as his master. He had no way out.
Lu Bao was even scared witless of his presence.
"Sheng Ao…"
Yang Lujia's eyes eased up as soon as he realized that Xie Dou was now willing to explain himself. If the explanation satisfied him, he wouldn't proceed with punishing this man. However, he still wouldn't escape a light punishment.
"Talk."
Seeing how Yang Lujia compromised, Xie Dou calmed himself down, sighing deep inside. "Sir, I don't know what the two temples are planning. However, as regards Sheng Ao, I know a bit. An Arch-Cardinal from the Holy Light Palace negotiated with me to conduct a scheme."
"Scheme?" Yang Lujia's eyes flashed with ferocious light.
"Y-Yes…" Xie Dou was trembling. Despite that, he still forced himself to stand upright and look at Yang Lujia. "Actually, there were two of them. The Holy Light Palace, although new, they were able to raise five Arch-Cardinals. With two of them trying to force me to make a move, they were able to reach a negotiation with me to scheme against the present Holy Son.
"They wanted nothing more than to expel the Holy Son from the Holy Light Palace as apart from the Holy Light Emperor who did not do what the Temples told him to do, the Holy Son, Sheng Ao, was extremely close to him. Thus, they thought that they needed to expel the son first before trying to remove the father from the picture."
"The Holy Light Emperor, however, is a strong existence. Regardless, now that he has stepped from his position and has appointed a new Holy Light Emperor from the unanimous decision of the Arch-Cardinals, he stepped down from his position. Since then, through the Temple Chiefs, they were able to activate the vessels of all the palaces."
"The Human Emperor Palace also had a hand in this matter. The Holy Light Emperor was just too kind to welcome their pretense."
Yang Lujia understood the whole situation now. "Who was the Arch-Cardinal who approached—no, who are they?"
"One of them is called Fu Yishi and the other was called Fu Liu," Xie Dou replied with a stern look on his face.
"It's him?" Yang Lujia's eyes revealed a trace of surprise. "I shouldn't have killed him that easily."
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