Chapter 34: The Truth Is, I Could See It from the Start...

Who won?

Light and shadow intertwined. As Murong Yunji had predicted, the Duke only had enough strength to swing his sword one last time.

How could an ordinary mortal easily perceive a strike that had stepped into the realm of a Grandmaster? In an instant, it felt to everyone as if the entire courtyard had been severed in two, and some even felt as if the entire world had been cleaved apart.

However, Long Cheng and Qin Fang could see that, in reality, it was merely the light and shadow in their eyes that had been split.

This strike truly possessed the power of a Grandmaster!

*Puff...*

Blood sprayed forth. Third Master Luo clutched his stomach tightly, but to his horror, the hand he used to cover the wound was also severed in two at that very moment. His speed... ultimately failed to dodge this sword.

"Move!"

Long Cheng’s voice was incredibly faint, but his movements were as swift as thunder. Without a moment's hesitation, he lunged toward the Duke on the field.

Qin Fang moved at that same instant, locking down every angle from which Murong Yunji might attack Long Cheng. He stood at the only interception point, his body taut and ready.

To be honest, he admired Long Cheng. Although the Duke might have exhausted his strength, he had reached the Grandmaster realm after all. To dare to strike at such a moment was truly gambling with his life. What on earth could be the reason that made him so unable to tolerate Yuchi Peng becoming a Grandmaster?

But at this moment, he had no time to ponder. That mysterious girl was extremely dangerous; he could not afford even the slightest distraction... Wait?

Qin Fang suddenly froze. Just as he was locking down all the paths the girl could take to attack, he discovered that she had no intention of joining the fray. She merely cast a cold glance at them before vanishing from the wall, clearly having no intention of entering the courtyard.

What was going on?

Qin Fang hurriedly turned back, and the scene before him made him freeze in shock.

In the courtyard, Long Cheng’s sword had plunged directly into Yuchi Peng’s chest. The tall Duke stood there like a statue, allowing the sword to pierce his heart. The smile on his face was frozen, his eyes were tightly shut, and his complexion was an ashen gray, devoid of any vitality.

"Father!" Yuchi Hong roared in fury, lunging toward Long Cheng like a wild tiger.

Lu Sheng and the others were equally stunned. Once they recovered, they shouted angrily, "Long Cheng, what are you doing?"

Qin Fang frowned slightly. He did not move to intercept Yuchi Hong. He could have excused stopping the girl by saying it was to prevent her from harming the Duke, but in this situation, stopping Yuchi Hong would mean forging an irreconcilable blood feud.

Yet, he could not understand: they had all seen it with their own eyes—was it not Third Master Luo who had lost? Why was only the Duke left on the field?

And more importantly, it was obvious that the Duke... was already dead!

"An illusion!" Long Cheng pulled out his sword. Yuchi Peng’s tall figure remained standing, his formidable aura still lingering, but there was no life left in his body. In just a moment, Long Cheng realized the truth, his face turning livid.

But there was no time to explain; before him was the storm of Yuchi Hong’s fists.

"Stop..." Long Cheng was not in a position to injure anyone, but Yuchi Hong’s grief-stricken fists were astonishingly powerful, showing signs of breaking through the First Rank. This left Long Cheng unable to catch his breath to explain, making him increasingly anxious.

If it was Yuchi Peng who had died here, it meant that the other, more dangerous presence had already escaped!

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"I really didn't expect that it would end up in your hands in the end..."

On the outskirts of the East Courtyard, Third Master Luo, severed in two, had a deathly pale face. Blood continued to seep from his wounds, which were deteriorating irreversibly.

The scene everyone saw during that duel was not entirely false. Illusion required a mix of truth and deception; to deceive two top-tier martial artists, nine parts of the truth were necessary.

Third Master Luo had indeed failed to block that strike, but the Duke who wielded it had reached his end the moment the sword was swung. This battle could only be considered a mutual defeat.

In truth, the thing inside his body could have resolved these injuries, but he clearly felt that the entity did not want to do so, all because of a single sentence from the person before him.

"Are you willing to become a malevolent spirit hunted by the whole world, or would you rather be a totem worshipped by the Imperial Family?"

A single sentence had caused the creature within him to cease all resistance, obediently following them here. Third Master Luo knew that this thing had no affection for him—it was a relationship of mutual exploitation from start to finish. But now that he was being discarded like a rag, he still felt a sense of unwillingness. After struggling for so many years and losing so much, he could not accept such an outcome.

"There is no need to struggle..." Master Tian, who was dragging Third Master Luo, said in a deep voice. "One is a destitute outcast with no roots, who would likely be hunted by the whole world after this incident. The other is the future crown prince, who has countless opportunities to provide it with higher-quality flesh and blood. It isn't stupid enough to choose wrongly."

"Heh... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, with such a noble status, also intends to become a monster neither human nor ghost, just like an old man?"

"Can one even survive in this world without being a monster?" Tian Ye laughed. "You and I both know what kind of things are worshipped behind those thousand-year-old clans. Doesn't the thing inside you want to be worshipped? Is it willing to risk everything to become an enemy of the entire world?"

"You have nothing. Relying on yourself to establish a new clan, join the ranks of the worshipped, and become one of the Yin Gods—how difficult is that path? For countless years, the birth of a clan has been harder than the birth of a dynasty, precisely because there is only so much cake to go around in this world. What makes you think you can get a slice?"

"The Crown Prince possesses the nation and the resources of the Imperial worship. What can you compare with that? You have already proven with facts that the power gained from slaughtering hundreds of thousands of lives is not even as good as that of a terminally ill old man. By clinging to you, when would there ever be hope?"

Third Master Luo’s eyes were cold. What he hated most in his life was the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao. He had fought his way to this point, and now, even evil spirits were judging him by his background?

Was he, in the end... still destined to lose to these people?

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Tian Ye stopped. Under the moonlight, black mist rose from his body as he stared with immense gravity at the frail figure before him.

"Little girl, if you aren't busy protecting your master, what are you doing here joining the fun?"

The frail figure was none other than Murong Yunji, who had left the North Courtyard without hesitation earlier.

"Master Tian... I trust you have been well?"

From the scroll in Murong Yunji’s hand, the voice of Zhang Rui emerged.

"So, Master Zhang is indeed of the Sorcerer lineage..." A dark light flashed in the depths of Tian Ye's eyes as he smiled. "Since the inception of the Painting Market, countless clans have tried to cultivate sorcerers capable of refining painting spirits, but none have succeeded. To have achieved it in just a few days, Master Zhang is truly remarkable!"

"Master Tian is too kind."

"When did you realize it, Master?" Tian Ye was curious. If his illusions were not guarded against in advance, even Minister Wang, with his Judge's Eyes, could not see through them. Zhang Rui looked so young; how could he possibly break his art?

"I realized it from the beginning..." Zhang Rui said honestly.

"From the beginning?" Tian Ye pondered for a moment, then understood. "I see. Back in Fuchun County, you were feigning ignorance, but in reality, you used some method on me and kept track of me, didn't you?"

"Uh..." Zhang Rui’s tone carried a hint of awkwardness. "Believe what you want."

The truth was, of course, not what the other party imagined...

Back in Fuchun County, he was still a transmigrator who knew nothing about the situation. How could he have had the ability to see through such a cunning sorcerer?

The reason he was certain it was him from the start was that when he was at Clerk Qian’s house in the Painting Market, he had never been deceived by the opponent’s illusions.

He didn't know why, but in his eyes, the person had always appeared as the old man Tian Ye truly was. He had also witnessed with his own eyes, at Clerk Qian’s house, that the person who exploded and died was the man everyone called "Mr. Chen."

At the time, he was extremely confused. The man surnamed Tian was standing right in front of a group of guards, yet those guards were mourning the death of "Master Tian," and even the Prince referred to that Master Tian as "Mr. Chen."

That was when he realized that if the people around him weren't blind, then his own eyes were rather unique.

Later, several tests proved that it was indeed the latter.

"A small place like Fuchun County hides a great Buddha like you. I wonder what Master Zhang intends to do by stopping me?"

"Hand over that thing..." Murong Yunji pointed her sword. "And I will spare your life!"

"This is something the Crown Prince wants!" Tian Ye sneered.

"It doesn't matter who wants it..." The voice of Zhang Rui from the scroll was cold. "Such a thing should not exist in this world, and it must never enter the Royal Family."

"Your Highness, did you hear that?" Tian Ye smiled and looked behind Murong Yunji. At the entrance of the East Courtyard, the extremely frail Crown Prince had appeared, supported by a maid. Looking at the severed body of Third Master Luo, the Crown Prince’s eyes were bloodshot with excitement.

"Master Zhang..." The Crown Prince panted, enunciating each word. "Do you truly intend to oppose me?"

Murong Yunji did not even look back; it was clear she held no regard for the Crown Prince’s orders. But Zhang Rui, inside the scroll, felt somewhat conflicted.

"Your Highness, do you truly wish to associate with such a monster?" Zhang Rui’s voice carried a heavy tone.

The Crown Prince paused, then laughed mockingly. "You people of the sorcerer clans—which of the Yin Gods you worship doesn't have thousands of lives on their hands? Associating with monsters? Truly laughable!!!"

Yin God?

Zhang Rui, inside the scroll, frowned. The Crown Prince likely assumed he was a member of some sorcerer clan, but what was this "Yin God"? A sorcerer's supernatural powers mostly came from evil spirits, so could this Yin God be...

A terrifying hypothesis emerged in Zhang Rui’s mind. Could this world... be this twisted?

"Members of the Royal Family are not allowed to be tainted by evil spirits. That is the rule, is it not?" Zhang Rui ventured a bold probe.

Sure enough, after these words, the Crown Prince fell silent. Seeing this reaction, Zhang Rui confirmed his suspicions.

So that was it...

The relationship between the so-called sorcerers—or rather, the sorcerer clans—and the Royal Family... was like this?

"Regardless of which sorcerer clan you hail from, Master Zhang, I promise that as long as you do not expose me, I will do everything in my power to support you..."

"I apologize, Your Highness..." Zhang Rui shook his head. "The rules cannot be broken. If this rule of the world is destroyed, I cannot bear the consequences, and neither can you, Your Highness!"

"I understand..." The Crown Prince nodded. "Kill him!"

"Yes!"