Chapter 195 – Two Truths, Chiming

“Junior Brother Pei is the eighth direct disciple taken in by our teacher and also the most beloved one.”

“His martial arts talent was extraordinary. Before you appeared, Little Senior Brother, he was the most gifted person I had ever seen. In less than half a year after joining, he had mastered various Legacies and even comprehended a true skill. It took us nearly ten years to achieve what he did in such a short time.”

“Our teacher regarded Junior Brother Pei as the hope for the revival of the crane style, pouring all his efforts and heart into him.”

“The favoritism was so heavy that it even caused discontent among the Fellow Disciples at one point.”

“But Junior Brother Pei was outstanding enough that, despite any grievances, no one could say a word against him.”

“Junior Brother Lin was the closest to Junior Brother Pei among all of us.”

“When Junior Brother Pei first joined, it was Junior Brother Lin who helped him lay the foundation.”

“Later, as Junior Brother Pei began to shine, he started to guide Junior Brother Lin in return…”

“And then what? Why did Pei Ye betray the sect?”

A long silence.

Finally, he began to speak slowly.

“Later…”

“Later, our teacher lost a duel to the sect leader of the Snake Sect.”

“He was severely injured. The Snake Sect, along with major sects in the martial arts world, pressured our crane style, trying to drive us out of Xiabang and the Sky Water Stream.”

“During our departure from Xiabang, our teacher’s old enemies also caught wind and came to eradicate us.”

“In that battle, our teacher lost both arms and legs, had his eyes gouged out, and took several strikes to the chest, nearly dying. Of the eight direct disciples, three died, and the rest were severely injured. As for Pei Ye… he fled before the battle even began.”

“He was scared?”

“Yes.

“Perhaps he didn’t see the need to be tied to us, who were on the brink of extinction.”

“After all, with his extraordinary talent and bright future, why should he die with us? (laughs)”

“…”

“Did Coach Lin let him go?”

“Yes. And no.”

“Hmm?”

“Junior Brother Lin was the first among us direct disciples to discover that Pei Ye wanted to escape. I don’t know what Pei Ye said to him, but in the end, Junior Brother Lin did let him go and didn’t tell anyone.”

“But…”

“That night, our teacher also knew Pei Ye wanted to leave. As Pei Ye fled, our teacher followed him from behind, protecting him the whole way. In the end, he watched with his own eyes as Pei Ye disappeared into the vast night without looking back.”

…

The conversation with Zhuang Xiujie flowed through Lu Yuan’s mind like water.

This was the truth behind the legendary Eighth Senior Brother’s defection from the crane style.

Since it was only Zhuang Xiujie who spoke of it, Lu Yuan couldn’t be completely sure that this “truth” was a hundred percent accurate.

But it seemed close enough.

Old Liu, despite his domineering and evil nature, was always known to be cold on the outside but warm-hearted and extremely protective. What Zhuang Xiujie described seemed like something he would do.

“Old Liu still had a soft heart…”

Lu Yuan murmured to himself, “If it were me, since Pei Ye wanted to leave, I would respect his choice. But I would make sure he left everything he got from the crane style behind. Why not break his limbs, strip him of his martial arts, and then call a cab to send him off…”

Lu Yuan turned his gaze back to the documents in front of him and watched the video in the files several times.

His expression grew colder with each viewing.

“Evil Martial Alliance, Night Emperor… such grand titles, such a flashy nickname…”

“Is he doing well outside and now coming back to flaunt it in front of old acquaintances?”

Lu Yuan quietly thought to himself as he continued to read through the documents.

There wasn’t much surprising after that.

Lin Zhiqin returned from Xiabang a week ago, first visited the martial arts gym, then went back to his old home, and then…

“Huh?!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes suddenly widened, staring at a small piece of text in the documents.

—”On the morning of October 8th, at 9:00 AM, went to Jiaoyan City Civil Affairs Bureau and completed the divorce procedures with his spouse…”

Lin Zhiqin got divorced?! On the same day he met with me, just an hour before dinner?!

“Why?”

Lu Yuan was puzzled and quickly reviewed the entire document from the beginning.

“A man took his daughter Lin Mo to Xiabang for medical treatment, then returned and filed for divorce with his wife, leaving all his assets to her…”

“What could have caused Coach Lin to make such a decision? Is it related to Pei Ye?”

Lu Yuan frowned deeply, scrutinizing the documents while swiftly using his access level to obtain more new information about Lin Zhiqin from Yellow Bear’s internal system.

“Martial arts gym, old home, divorce, leaving with nothing, giving me his notes, going to Weishan to see Old Liu…”

“Lin Zhiqin is…”

“Taking care of everything one by one.”

“He… has a death wish?!”

A sharp gleam flashed in Lu Yuan’s eyes.

He instantly grasped something.

Immediately, he opened the information about Lin Zhiqin’s daughter, Lin Mo.

The next moment…

The answer was revealed.

…

“Age?”

“Forty-five.”

“Title?”

“Rock Goat.”

“And the invitation?”

“Here it is.”

In a small private room, Lin Zhiqin sat across from a short-haired woman with a sharp, efficient demeanor.

He calmly answered each of her questions.

“Routine procedure, please understand.”

After asking the last question, the woman smiled at Lin Zhiqin and handed him a document.

“Take a look, and if everything is in order, sign at the bottom. Then someone will arrange for you to rest; all you have to do is wait for the Bloody Battle to begin.”

“Okay.”

Lin Zhiqin nodded, picked up the document, and read it line by line.

After finishing the last word, he took a pen.

He hesitated for a moment before signing, as if wanting to confirm something one more time. He looked up and asked the woman, “As long as I accumulate 10,000 Victory Points, I can exchange them for ‘Divine Blood’. Is that correct?”

The woman blinked and then laughed cheerfully.

“Sir, you’ve asked this question four times already.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“In the list of items you can exchange for 10,000 Victory Points, there is indeed the ‘Immortal Divine Blood.'”

“‘Immortal Divine Blood’ is a gift from the great Deity of Hunting and Combat. It possesses incredible extraordinary divine power, far surpassing any gene optimization fluids or body enhancement agents available on the market.”

“Those who consume the Divine Blood will receive the blessing of the Deity of Hunting and Combat, gaining an undying fighting spirit and an indestructible physique…”

The woman rattled off a long explanation, as if she was very familiar with this pitch.

By the end, she even half-jokingly said to Lin Zhiqin, “Sir, aren’t all you traditional martial artists participating in the Bloody Battle for this? Why are you still hesitating?”

“I’m just worried… it might not work.”

Lin Zhiqin looked down and mumbled.

The woman glanced at the nearby computer screen and smiled, “Sir, you’ve exchanged for our weakened version of the Divine Blood several times here at Mosa. Don’t you know if it works or not?”

“The weakened version you previously exchanged for didn’t even contain a drop of pure Divine Blood; it was diluted. This time, the ‘Undying Divine Blood’ is a full bottle of pure blood. Its effect is a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times stronger!”

Lin Zhiqin didn’t look at the woman’s exaggerated expression. He simply nodded and quietly signed his name.

After signing, Lin Zhiqin left the room.

As he stepped out, a few people emerged from nearby rooms.

One of them gave Lin Zhiqin a strange look, then sneered and walked away.

Lin Zhiqin didn’t pay any attention and calmly walked out of the building.

The street outside seemed deserted.

Today, the weather was somewhat gloomy, and the autumn wind was blowing plastic bags across the street.

Lin Zhiqin pulled out a cigarette and silently lit it.

Then he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and turned it on.

The screen displayed a photo of a young, beautiful girl with a bright smile.

Through the light blue smoke, Lin Zhiqin squinted and stared at the phone screen, as if trying to imprint the girl’s image deeply into his mind.

After a long time, the cigarette burned out.

Lin Zhiqin put the phone back in his pocket and walked alone towards the unknown end of the long street.

“Lin Mo, I… will make sure you live well.”

“Congenital Cellular Exhaustion Syndrome!”

Lu Yuan stared blankly at Lin Mo’s information.

“Patients with this condition have cellular activity or cell lifespan that’s only one percent of a normal person’s… Their life expectancy is extremely short, and they are highly prone to early death… It’s considered a world-class medical challenge. Currently, aside from consciousness uploading and body replacement, there are no better solutions. Even patients who undergo consciousness transfer have a high probability of experiencing the same condition again. This disease is like a curse bound to the soul…”

“Lin Zhiqin took Lin Mo to Xiabang and waited for more than a month. The top-tier world expert they had an appointment with canceled his trip the night before the scheduled time and did not come to Xia State.”

“In other words, Lin Zhiqin and Lin Mo waited in Xiabang for over a month in vain. In the end, they didn’t even get to see the expert, let alone have the surgery.”

“Lin Mo’s last glimmer of hope was extinguished. No wonder… No wonder Lin Zhiqin did what he did…”

Lu Yuan closed the file and sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the snow-white wall opposite him.

When he met with Lin Zhiqin, he had asked about Lin Mo.

Lin Zhiqin had responded quickly and naturally, saying the surgery went well and that Lin Mo would soon recover.

He didn’t show the slightest hint of anything unusual, nor did his emotions waver at all.

Lu Yuan had truly believed everything was fine.

“He must have made all his plans by then,” Lu Yuan thought, coming back to his senses. He silently used Yellow Bear to track Lin Zhiqin’s current whereabouts.

“Three days ago, in Chiming City…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, feeling like he had seen this address somewhere before.

He quickly found the source.

“The Invitation to Mosa’s Ultimate Blood Battle, the battle location… is in Chiming City!”

“Got it.”

Lu Yuan stood up from the sofa, his face calm.

“Mosa has once again become the final lifeline, hasn’t it?”

“Coach, it’s tough carrying all this alone, isn’t it? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“The ‘key’ to the Elephant Deity Sect’s clues also ended at Mosa, right? Looks like… this Ultimate Blood Battle is necessary.”

Lu Yuan casually grabbed some clothes from the sofa and put them on.

After dressing, he took his mobile phone and walked step by step towards the living room door.

His robust physique moved like a slowly awakening beast.

At the door, Lu Yuan stopped, gently tapped his earlobe, and spoke softly.

“Peregrine Falcon, arrange for a shuttle. Now… come pick me up.”