#1198 - Chapter 1198 Subverting the Upper Realm

A scene of devastation met his eyes, the sight shaking Ye Kong to the core. There was no one around; only the crackling of flames in the vast, silent space.

Chaos, utter chaos.

Tragedy, an utter tragedy.

To think that the Tai Chu Institute bore the title of the number one sect under heaven, who would dare be so presumptuous? And where had all the disciples and elders of the Tai Chu Institute gone?

What about the people who came to participate in the sect ranking competition?

Ye Kong shouted loudly, but only the whistling of the wind answered him; no one else responded.

Ye Kong used his divine sense, wanting to know what had happened, but discovered that the entire Tai Chu Institute was surrounded by an invisible barrier, pressing down on the Institute's own protective formation. The entire Tai Chu Institute was like a sealed coffin, with only him, a living person, able to breathe.

Ye Kong immediately rushed out, heading for the Great Martial Arena, the training rooms, the cafeteria—all the places where people might be found, but now all were empty.

Deathly silence.

Just like digging that tunnel by hand that day, Ye Kong walked through every part of the Tai Chu Institute, searching, hoping to find a trace, so he could at least know what had happened.

But there was nothing.

Ye Kong walked to the back mountain.

This was the only place he hadn't searched yet. He remembered that when he tried to enter before, Sima Shizun had stopped him, and he had clearly seen figures moving around. Whether those rumored secrets were true or just baseless rumors, everything pointed to the back mountain.

This time, no one would stop him.

Ye Kong walked over, and the stagnant waterfall beside him suddenly started flowing again. The withered flowers and plants around him instantly came to life, and the huge boulder blocking the entrance to the back mountain even trembled a few times, rolling down the hillside with a rumble, leaving a small gate just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Ye Kong did not hesitate and walked straight in.

Inside the small gate was a dark and long passage. Ye Kong could only rely on his senses to find his way, and soon he came to the first crossroads.

Such crossroads were mostly meant to intercept those who strayed into them. Once a wrong turn was made, one could only fall into death.

Ye Kong closed his eyes and suddenly thought of the first lesson they had when they first entered the Tai Chu Institute. They had once read such an article, which contained a sentence:

"In the northwest, there is a tall building, reaching the floating clouds."

Ye Kong chose the dark passage in the northwest direction, which became narrower and narrower as he went, until he could only crawl forward. Suddenly, Ye Kong felt his body become wet. He curled up a little, pinched some soil with his fingers, and sniffed it, and the salty smell of the sea filled the air.

But this was inland, how could there be the smell of the sea?

Ye Kong's mind raced. It seemed that a small sect from the seaside had come to participate in the sect ranking competition, and they had only sent less than ten people, and their ranking had always been low.

Short in stature, with dry, chapped lips, and wet clothes—all sorts of characteristics came to mind. Ye Kong compared these to the strange people he had encountered at the entrance of the Tai Chu Institute, and the similarity was as high as ninety percent.

So inconspicuous; if they stirred up a storm, they wouldn't attract much attention.

Ye Kong immediately sped up, passed through this low-lying section, and then encountered a scene where sixteen cave entrances were lined up in front of him.

If it could be said that there were still traces to identify the first cave entrance, now it was truly a headache. Ye Kong walked back and forth, observed them, and smelled them, but the cave entrances were all the same, dark and foreboding, with no difference at all.

However, Ye Kong suddenly saw a green grass at the thirteenth cave entrance.

Ye Kong actually recognized this green grass. There were many of these inconspicuous little grasses in Elder Wang's medicine field, which were present in every prescription.

Ye Kong had forgotten the name, but he remembered the medicinal effects.

In this case, it was very likely that this was a mark left by Elder Wang. Ye Kong picked up the grass and entered along the thirteenth cave entrance.

After only ten miles, everything suddenly opened up, and a tall pavilion-like structure appeared in front of him.

The voice was very close to Ye Kong, and then suddenly very far away, one moment sounding like it was coming from the ground, and the next moment like it was coming from the distant sky.

"Then let me reveal the secret of the back mountain of the Tai Chu Institute!"

"How dare you!" This deep voice was Sima Shizun's, and Ye Kong was overjoyed.

"Never mind them; they are all defeated opponents, so naturally we can do as we please. Tell me, let all the sects hear how the Tai Chu Institute deceives the upper realm, deceives everyone, and engages in such shady dealings behind the scenes."

This is… Ye Kong carefully identified it. He had heard this voice at the opening ceremony of the sect ranking competition.

Are all the people trapped here? Hearing this, Ye Kong roughly knew what had happened, but with Sima Shizun's spiritual power, plus the elders of the sect, they shouldn't be trapped here.

Could it be…

That purple explosion?

No wonder Ye Kong had been feeling strange. How dare a small sect like Le Feng Mountain, which had been established for only a dozen years, launch such a suicide attack, forfeiting their permanent right to participate.

It turned out that from the beginning, it was all their conspiracy.

To change the rules, one must become the rules themselves.

Now, time was of the essence, and Ye Kong had to hurry to rescue the people of the Tai Chu Institute. However, the place where he was now was very close to the others, but he couldn't reach them.

Ye Kong tried very hard, but the entire pavilion was as solid as a rock, and the surrounding walls were also firmly fixed, having been in place for hundreds of years, and could not be moved by Ye Kong alone.

Ye Kong immediately prepared to go out and find the entrance again, but the entrance he had just entered had mysteriously disappeared. Ye Kong was trapped inside, forming a perfect, exit-less secret room.

Ye Kong held the small grass in his hand and understood that everything was at Elder Wang's instruction. He wanted Ye Kong to stay here, and there must be a reason.

Ye Kong sat down, he also wanted to know what this secret was.

"In this stone cave in front of everyone, lies the treasure that the Tai Chu Institute has plundered from the entire upper realm, enough to be a mountain, allowing the entire Tai Chu Institute to enjoy it for generations to come. And the provider is Lei Zhentian, who was once known to everyone in the upper realm!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all sounds ceased.

Then, the crowd became restless.

"Lei Zhentian? Isn't he dead? It is said that his body was thrown into the Five Lakes and Four Seas, and his soul was suppressed under the Soul Suppressing Mountain, never to be reincarnated."

"That's right, it was the Tai Chu Institute who personally annihilated him, and because of this, the Tai Chu Institute took the title of the number one sect in the entire upper realm in one fell swoop, and has been reigning ever since!"

"So that's how it is!"

…

"What if I said that all of this was the Tai Chu Institute's conspiracy?" That voice continued.

"The Tai Chu Institute secretly let Lei Zhentian go, and used Lei Zhentian's power to frantically amass wealth, and then used Lei Zhentian's spiritual power to frantically cultivate batches of puppet disciples, attempting to cover the upper realm…"

"Outrageous!"

"Nonsense!" Sima Shizun continued, "All of this is just your conjecture. There is no evidence at all. It's simply slander!"