Chapter 2519

A month and a half ago, Gao Xue Ting told her that she had found something, but she would need to work with others to finish whatever she was working on. On the same day, she left some cultivation resources before departing Earth City, and had been missing ever since.

Seven days ago, Azure Sun Pavilion was suddenly surrounded by the City Lord's Mansion guards. Without giving a reason, they just surrounded the shop and forbade anyone from coming or going.

Having explained until that point, Lu Wen realized something and asked, "How did you get inside, Senior Brother Yang? Those City Lord's Mansion people should still be outside."

Yang Kai grinned as he replied, "Those trash couldn't stop me even if they wanted to." After a pause, he frowned, "Elder Gao left here a month and a half ago, saying that she wanted to work with others to crack open the secrets of the animal skin. But seven days ago, this place was surrounded by the people of City Lord's Mansion for no reason..."

Lu Wen explained anxiously, "Junior Sister suspects that Elder Gao might be in danger. The reason Azure Sun Pavilion was surrounded was because they didn't want me to pass on any news out of here; after all, Elder Gao did not hide her whereabouts when she was in Azure Sun Pavilion. It's easy to find out that she was related to this place."

Yang Kai nodded in acknowledgement, "You're right, if that's the case... this must have something to do with Earth City itself."

Lu Wen expressed sadly, "Junior Sister really had no choice but to use her own token to send out a message in the faint hope that it would reach someone. I really didn't expect Senior Brother Yang to come."

"I just happened to pass by while I was out on my own business."

If Yang Kai did not pass by here by chance, Lu Wen probably would not be able to reach any of her fellow disciples; after all, this was the Eastern Territory, far away from Azure Sun Temple's headquarters, and the disciples and Elders would not travel so far away from the temple for no reason.

Although Gao Xue Ting was always cold and aloof, she had taken very good care of Yang Kai and had personally given Yang Kai the Azure Sun Golden Token. She also took in Yang Kai as a disciple and gave him some pointers in cultivation.

Yang Kai certainly would not stand idly by when there was a possibility that Gao Xue Ting was in trouble.

Of course, everything was only speculation at this point, and it may just be a big misunderstanding, but it seemed a little evident since the City Lord's Mansion had surrounded Azure Sun Pavilion. If it was not related to Gao Xue Ting, why would they need to surround this unimportant shop for no reason?

"From what Junior Sister Lu says, the City Lord's Mansion must be greatly related to this matter," Yang Kai pondered for a moment, sorting out his thoughts.

Lu Wen agreed, "Junior Sister thinks so too. Elder Gao had said that she would need to work together with others to crack the secret of the animal skin, and City Lord Zu Hong is the only First-Order Emperor Realm Master in Earth City, so he would be the best choice for Elder Gao to work together with."

"Oh?" Yang Kai raised his eyebrows and grinned, "Since there is a suspect, it makes everything much easier."

"Senior Brother Yang, what are you going to do?" Lu Wen looked at his impish smile, feeling uneasy.

"What else can I do? I will have to go to him and get answers." Yang Kai snorted softly.

Lu Wen was shocked, "Senior Brother must not be impulsive! Zu Hong is a First-Order Emperor Realm Master who broke through more than forty years ago and is extremely powerful. He also has an Emperor Artifact. Junior Sister knows that Senior Brother is an elite disciple of the Temple, but against an Emperor Realm Master…"

She stopped speaking, but it was obvious what she was implying.

She thought Zu Hong was out of Yang Kai's league.

Yang Kai smiled slightly, "Junior Sister Lu, don't worry, a trivial Zu Hong is nothing to your Senior Brother." Here, he paused and turned to Zhang Ruo Xi, "Take Junior Sister Lu out of Earth City from the back door and wait for me outside the city. Since this has happened, Junior Sister Lu doesn't have to stay here any longer and should return to the Temple."

"Yes, Sir!" Zhang Ruo Xi received the order solemnly.

Yang Kai then disappeared with a flicker.

"This…" Lu Wen was startled and anxious. She had clearly told this Senior Brother Yang that Zu Hong was an Emperor Realm Master, but why was he still so passionate and impulsive?

Zhang Ruo Xi smiled slightly in assurance, "Don't worry about my Sir, Elder Sister. Zu Hong is really nothing to him."

"Sir?" Lu Wen looked at Zhang Ruo Xi in amazement, "Sister is not a Temple disciple?"

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head, "I'm only a member of a small family. I could only have such achievements today thanks to Sir's compassion to keep me by his side and teach me how to cultivate."

"Ah!" Lu Wen was flabbergasted.

As a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, Lu Wen could perceive that Zhang Ruo Xi's cultivation was higher than hers and was stronger than her by a fair margin, which meant that Zhang Ruo Xi was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm. [Such a Master was trained by Senior Brother Yang? She is just as strong as the elite disciples of top Sects.]

"What… What cultivation does Senior Brother Yang possess?" Lu Wen inquired curiously.

Zhang Ruo Xi smiled as pride welled up in her and answered lightly, "Sir is already an Emperor Realm Master."

Lu Wen was completely stunned for a moment before brightness gradually lit up her eyes, and her helplessness and anxiety were swept away.

.....

In a teahouse outside of Azure Sun Pavilion, Sir Jia watched the entrance of Azure Sun Pavilion like a falcon observing its prey, unconsciously taking sips from the teacup in his hand.

He did not recognize the man and woman who entered Azure Sun Pavilion earlier; his subordinates went down to investigate, but returned empty-handed. It seemed that they had only entered the city today. Sir Jia could not help increasing his vigilance, for fear that the pair was really related to what the City Lord ordered.

Sir Jia did not dare to let slip any details, and was completely focused on Azure Sun Pavilion.

Suddenly, his heart rate spiked as an extremely uneasy feeling rose in his chest, like danger was approaching.

Before Sir Jia could react though, he noticed a stranger appearing from the corner of his eye.

He quickly turned his head reactively, and his eyes widened as he saw the young man from before sitting on the chair opposite him, a smile fixed on his face.

*Pu...*

Senior Jia spat the mouthful of tea right towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai waved his hand casually, and the splash of tea turned around and doused Sir Jia's face.

He stood up and wiped his horrified face clumsily, and stared at Yang Kai vigilantly.

He did not understand how this young man appeared in front of him, even with his level of cultivation. It was obvious from this display that this young man in front of him could have killed him just now without him even noticing.

At this moment, Sir Jia broke out in a cold sweat.

"Sit!" Yang Kai smiled at him coldly. Sir Jia shuddered at this cold glare and stared at the young man as though he was a poisonous snake.

Sir Jia hesitated for a while, before he grit his teeth and sat again with a painful expression, as if he was sitting on countless needles.

"How should I address you?" Yang Kai asked.

"Jia Si!"

"En, a fortunate meeting!" Yang Kai greeted him insincerely, his eyes flashing a dangerous light, "Sir Jia should know the reason why this Young Master is here, yes?"

Wiping off the cold sweat from his forehead, Jia Si smiled forcefully, "Young Master must be joking, this Jia is just here to enjoy tea and relax, and I don't know why Young Master…"

He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fixed on a palm-sized shield-type artifact in Yang Kai's hand, whispering, "This shield…"

Jia Si's had exceptional eyesight, and could immediately identify that the shield in Yang Kai's hand was not some common treasure. It seemed to be a Dao Source Grade High-Rank artifact, and a defensive artifact at that, making it extremely valuable.

Even though he had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, Jia Si could not help his breathing from becoming a big ragged.

*Kacha...*

Yang Kai stretched out his hand and clenched his fist, and like a rock that had been corroded and worn by wind and rain for thousands of years, the shield artifact was pulverized into dust which then slipped from his fingertips and scattered all over the ground.

"What shield?" Yang Kai looked at him coldly, "We were talking about something else, why did you suddenly talk about a shield?"

Jia Si's sweat poured down his forehead like droplets of rain. Trembling all over, he replied nervously, "Nothing, nothing."

Yang Kai snorted, "Sir Jia seems to be a smart person, so you shouldn't be difficult to 'reason' with. This Young Master would like to ask for Sir Jia's help to answer some questions."

Jia Si responded hurriedly, "Ask away, Young Master, although this Jia is not talented, he has lived here for a long time and has many connections in Earth City."

"Very good!" Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction before his eyes sharpened and his voice turned cold, "Who gave you the order to blockade Azure Sun Pavilion?"

Jia Si divulged reluctantly, "It... was Sir City Lord!"

"Why did Zu Hong ask you to do this?"

Jia Si replied, "Sir City Lord just ordered us to arrest anyone suspicious who tried to enter or exit Azure Sun Pavilion. That they must not be allowed to leave Earth City."

Yang Kai raised his brow and snorted, "How domineering your City Lord is."

Jia Si was horrified as he hurriedly tried to explain, "This Jia is only acting on orders, Young Master. Please be calm."

Yang Kai demanded, "Then do you know which great force this Azure Sun Pavilion belongs to?"

"I didn't know before. This Jia only just recently found out that this is a shop opened and operated by a disciple from Azure Sun Temple in the Southern Territory. This discovery was only made after the City Lord asked me to investigate the details of Azure Sun Pavilion a few days ago." Jia Si explained.

"The information is quite complete, how impressive of Sir Jia," Yang Kai sneered sarcastically.

Jia Si shivered and scrunched up his face as he pleaded, "I was just acting on orders…"

Yang Kai interrupted him, "Have you seen this woman in the City Lord's Mansion?"

While speaking, Yang Kai raised his hand and pushed his Emperor Qi to create an image of Gao Xue Ting in front of Jia Si.

Jia Si glanced at this picture before shaking his head blankly, "I have never seen this woman, but I heard from my subordinates that an unfamiliar woman who matches this image often came and went from Azure Sun Pavilion. This Jia had only found out about Azure Sun Pavilion by investigating clues about her."

Yang Kai frowned, "You've never seen her personally?"

According to his and Lu Wen's deduction, Gao Xue Ting should have gone to Zu Hong to work together to crack the secret on the animal skin. Logically speaking, she should have been in and out of the City Lord's Mansion a few times. Since Jia Si was Zu Hong's confidant, it did not make sense that the two of them had never met.

But Jia Si did not look like he was lying.

[Could it be that Gao Xue Ting did not go to Zu Hong? Then, who did she want to join forces with?]

[Is the City Lord's Mansion involved with this matter or not? If it weren't for Gao Xue Ting, why would they be surrounding Azure Sun Pavilion?]

Yang Kai was now thoroughly confused.