Within the black mist, Lin Sheng’s hairs stood on end.
A strong sense of threat rapidly approached him from within the black mist.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Sheng was about to unleash his full power.
Facing a Three Realms Grandmaster, he dared not be careless; if he didn't handle it carefully, the outcome was uncertain.
However, before he could erupt, a hurricane suddenly swept in from the courtyard.
In an instant, it dispersed the black mist completely.
By the time Lin Sheng reacted, a tall, slender figure was already standing before him.
The figure had a fair and refined complexion; it was none other than Southern Qi's Military Divine Lord, Tang Zhong.
"Tang Zhong!"
The black mist scattered, revealing Rashid's hideous form.
Upon seeing Tang Zhong, the black mist on his body surged, and he spoke with some panic.
"I have not betrayed the country or colluded with the enemy; there is another hidden reason for this matter! This Disciple framed me!"
Rashid spoke quickly.
As he spoke, his figure suddenly transformed into a phantom, shooting towards the outside of the courtyard.
His speed was astonishing, completely beyond anyone's imagination.
Even Lin Sheng only felt his vision blur.
"Stay."
At this moment, Tang Zhong's calm voice slowly sounded.
He raised a hand, and a white fox phantom appeared behind him.
The white fox phantom vanished the moment it appeared.
"No... Tang Zhong, you can't do this!"
Soon, terrifying Grandmaster Qi power resounded outside the courtyard, followed by a deafening explosion, and then Rashid's screams rang out.
Huyan Ji's figure vanished from the courtyard, only to return in a breath, holding a horrifying, mummified human form.
If it weren't for the familiar aura still emanating from this mummified figure, even Lin Sheng would have difficulty recognizing that this was the once arrogant Tianluo Sect Master.
Rashid at this moment was beyond words to describe his wretched state.
Although there were no obvious wounds, his aura was extremely weak, even less than that of a Forging Tendons Martial Artist.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Sheng was quite shaken.
Not because of Rashid, but because of Tang Zhong before him.
"Is this the power of an Unsurpassed Great Grandmaster? Even a Three Realms Grandmaster has no power to fight back before him; it is truly terrifying."
Lin Sheng was shocked. This was his first time witnessing an Unsurpassed Great Grandmaster make a move.
A seemingly effortless strike, yet it left Rashid no chance to escape.
No wonder, in the vast Southern Qi and Northern Yan, although there were many Grandmaster experts, there were only two Unsurpassed Great Grandmasters.
Seemingly noticing the shock on Lin Sheng's face, Tang Zhong's gaze fell on Lin Sheng, and he slowly spoke.
"Three Realms Grandmasters are not as weak as you imagine; it's only due to the Tianluo Sect's Mystic Skill. Otherwise, Rashid wouldn't be in such a state."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng immediately bowed.
"Junior understands. Thank you, Senior, for saving me."
Tang Zhong, however, shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Lin Sheng.
Lin Sheng only felt a weight on his body, as if that gaze carried immense pressure, making him quite uncomfortable.
"Senior..."
After a long while, Lin Sheng finally couldn't help but open his mouth to say something, but just as he did so,
He felt a hand already resting on his shoulder.
Immediately, he felt his entire body enveloped by an inexplicable force, making it difficult for him to move even an inch.
Lin Sheng was startled. He immediately mobilized all his strength, wanting to break free from the restraint, but unfortunately, his power was like a mud ox entering the sea, stirring no waves, still unable to move an inch.
He only felt himself being rapidly moved by this force.
Only after a long while did the force restraining his entire body disappear, and the scene before him had already changed dramatically.
He was now inside a tent somewhere in the military camp.
This tent was not as spacious as the main command tent.
The decor was also quite simple, the most striking feature being the many bookshelves filled with various books.
Besides that, there were only two people in the tent.
One was him, and the other was the mysterious Southern Qi Military Divine Lord.
This Military Divine Lord was sitting by a table in the tent, on which a small brazier was steaming tea, emitting an enticing tea aroma.
"May I ask, Military Divine Lord Senior, why have you brought me here?"
Lin Sheng respectfully asked, looking at Tang Zhong, who was focused on brewing tea and didn't even glance at him.
He wasn't sure why this Unsurpassed Great Grandmaster had brought him here.
But he understood that in front of this Unsurpassed Great Grandmaster, he had no chance of resisting.
He didn't even have a chance to escape.
However, since the other party didn't immediately attack him, it was highly probable that there was no malice.
As Lin Sheng's words fell, Tang Zhong across from him seemed not to have heard, still concentrating on brewing tea.
Lin Sheng was not anxious, waiting quietly, until a quarter of an hour passed, and the tea aroma filling the tent grew stronger.
Tang Zhong picked up the teapot, poured two cups of tea, flicked his finger, and one cup of tea shot towards Lin Sheng.
"A cup of clear tea, try it."
He spoke faintly, then picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Thank you, Senior, for the tea."
Lin Sheng caught the teacup, bowed, and then drained it in one gulp.
The scalding tea, upon entering his mouth, had an indescribably cool sensation.
The tea's aroma was light, no different from ordinary herbal tea.
But from the tea, Lin Sheng immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
"Heavenly Gifted Spiritual Spring!?"
Soon, he thought of something, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
The tea leaves in the tea were indeed ordinary, but the water used to brew the tea was actually Heavenly Gifted Spiritual Spring.
Using Heavenly Gifted Spiritual Spring to brew ordinary herbal tea, for a moment, Lin Sheng didn't know what to think.
"You killed Lu Qing?"
Just as Lin Sheng was about to say something, Tang Zhong's light remark made his heart pound.
"Senior must be joking. Junior is merely a Bones Transformation Martial Artist; how could I compare to a Grandmaster, let alone kill him?"
He managed to keep his face calm, speaking in a deep voice.
"Oh?"
Hearing Lin Sheng's denial, a faint smile appeared on Tang Zhong's face.
"I know all the Grandmasters of your Dark Star. Although Lu Qing had only recently stepped into the Grandmaster realm, he had good talent, and his combat power was not much inferior to those veteran First Realm Grandmasters. Among your Dark Star Grandmasters, only four could have killed him."
"Two Vice Pavilion Masters who haven't returned yet, one Li Shenjun, and one who is still recovering from a serious injury. Which one was it that made the move?"
He smiled, looking at Lin Sheng, waiting for his reply.
Hearing this, Lin Sheng remained silent, thoughts flashing through his mind, finally letting out a wry smile.
"Senior's conjecture is correct. Lu Qing was indeed killed by Junior through a fortunate Opportunity and coincidence."
He hadn't expected the other party to be so well-informed about the experts in Dark Star.
Moreover, what he said clearly had a basis.
Since that was the case, there was no point in him hiding it, so he simply admitted it generously.
"Indeed..."
Hearing Lin Sheng's admission, a strange glint appeared in Tang Zhong's eyes.
Although he had guessed this possibility, hearing it firsthand still inevitably surprised him.
The last time he felt this way, he didn't know how many years ago it was.
"Grandmaster experts, whose Bloodline has already highly integrated with themselves, are in some sense already humanoid mutated beasts. Their blood will carry a special mutated beast aura; unless specially treated, it will remain for decades once stained."
Tang Zhong looked at Lin Sheng, speaking softly.
"You are stained with Lu Qing's Mystic Bird aura, and it is extremely strong."
"Mutated beast aura!"
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's heart tightened, realizing that Grandmaster Martial Artists had such a characteristic.
Doesn't that mean he couldn't hide it at all!?
No wonder this Military Divine Lord brought him here to question him.
"However, only an Unsurpassed Great Grandmaster, or a very few top individuals among the Three Realms Grandmasters, can sense this."
Tang Zhong's subsequent words, however, brought a slight relief to his heart.
If any Grandmaster Martial Artist could detect this, then Huyan Ji and Rashid should have already noticed the flaw.
"To slay a Grandmaster with Bones Transformation—such a feat, even I could not achieve back then. Even looking through the long river of history, to my knowledge, there have only been two or three such individuals. The younger generation is truly formidable."
Tang Zhong looked at Lin Sheng, his eyes flickering.
"Junior was merely lucky; how can I compare to Military Divine Lord Senior?" Lin Sheng quickly waved his hand.
"Alright, don't worry, I won't lay a hand on you. It's been many years; I'm very happy to see a Junior who has the potential to surpass me appear."
Tang Zhong's lips curved into a smile, but soon his expression became serious again.
"Northern Yan will definitely not be indifferent to Lu Qing's death. If I'm not mistaken, after you leave Jushi City, you will be found by Northern Yan Grandmasters within half an hour."
"Do not underestimate Northern Yan's foundation and methods. Besides the Mystic Bird aura you're stained with, there's also the Grandmaster's resentment accompanying you."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's heart trembled. He had no doubt about the truthfulness of the other party's words. He quickly reacted and immediately spoke respectfully.
"Please, Senior, save me."
"I have already removed the Mystic Bird aura you were stained with, and the tea you just drank has also eliminated the resentment. Now, you don't have to worry about these anymore."
Tang Zhong said indifferently.
"Thank you, Senior, for your assistance. Junior will surely repay you in the future."
Hearing that the hidden dangers on his body had been completely cleared, Lin Sheng finally relaxed completely, sincerely bowing to Tang Zhong.
"No need for future repayment. However, if my military encounters a disaster in the future, you may lend a hand to protect it."
Tang Zhong waved his hand and spoke softly.
"Junior understands."
Lin Sheng nodded in agreement, then cupped his hands again.
"However, Junior has one more request."
"Speak."
"Junior wishes to know how to erase Grandmaster aura and resentment."
"Oh!?"
Tang Zhong suddenly laughed, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Such killing intent is exactly like your Master's."
As he spoke, a round jade tablet appeared in his hand. He flicked his finger, and it landed in Lin Sheng's hand.
"This method can resolve the confusion in your heart. You may go."
"Thank you, Senior, for the Mystic Skill."
Catching the jade tablet, Lin Sheng bowed once more, then retreated.
Watching Lin Sheng's figure disappear into the distance, Tang Zhong picked up his teacup and drank it all.
"I never thought Green Robe would take such a Disciple."
"Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange, Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, could it be that this path can truly be walked?"
His eyes flickered with a hint of doubt on his face.
"Not entirely. Didn't that fellow Green Robe fail?"
Tang Zhong stroked his chin, as if contemplating something.
"However, this Disciple's Bloodline seems somewhat unusual; it doesn't have a strong mutated beast aura. Truly strange..."
After a long while, he shook his head slightly, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Forget it. There will always be anomalies. I wonder if this Disciple will ultimately be able to cross that step."
At this moment, heavy footsteps sounded outside the tent, as Huyan Ji stepped inside.
"Big Brother, Rashid has been subdued; he's only half-dead. How should we deal with those Tianluo Sect members?"
Huyan Ji, still stained with blood, asked in a deep voice.
"Why don't I just lead the troops to Western Frontier and completely wipe out the Tianluo Sect!?"
He had long disliked these bloodthirsty fanatics of the Tianluo Sect.
Now that they had made a move, he naturally wanted to completely eradicate them.
"No need. Inform the other major forces about Rashid's treason and collusion with the enemy. As for Western Frontier, let them divide it among themselves."
Tang Zhong shook his head slightly.
"In that case, wouldn't our military suffer a loss?"
Huyan Ji frowned.
"No matter. Now that war has broken out, this incident should serve as a warning to them. Western Frontier can be their sweet treat."
"That's also good."
Huyan Ji now understood, nodding slightly.
"But how should we deal with that old fellow Rashid? This damned bastard, I didn't bother with the disgusting things he did in Western Frontier before, but I didn't expect him to become more presumptuous, daring to collude with the enemy and commit treason. Should we just execute him publicly?"
Hearing this, Tang Zhong poured a pot of tea and handed it to the other party, then spoke.
"Second Brother, although that old fellow Rashid has always acted rebelliously, he wouldn't be foolish enough to easily collude with the enemy."
"Big Brother, do you mean that old fellow didn't side with Northern Yan!? Then why did you attack him?"
Huyan Ji frowned slightly, surprised.
"The Tianluo Sect's God Worship method primarily uses blood sacrifice. Recently, there have been signs that the Tianluo Sect is changing their blood sacrifice targets to Beast Transformation Warriors."
"These Beast Transformation Warriors from Northern Yan's Beast Suppression Army are different from ordinary Beast Transformation Warriors; they are more bizarre and dangerous. If Rashid uses them as blood sacrifice targets, it might become a Breakthrough point for Northern Yan. Since that's the case, it's better to take this Opportunity to eliminate him, to avoid greater trouble in the future."
As Tang Zhong spoke, a black viscous liquid, about the size of an infant's fist, appeared in his hand, with a bizarre single eye faintly visible within the liquid.
Hearing this, Huyan Ji immediately understood.
"No wonder that old fellow's base had so many Advanced Beast Transformation Warriors; he was simply playing with fire."
Having dealt with the Beast Suppression Army for many days, he was well aware of the strangeness of these Beast Transformation Warriors.
"Tomorrow, let the other leaders in the military camp decide how to deal with Rashid by vote, so they don't say we are autocratic."
"Yes, Big Brother."
*
After leaving the tent, Lin Sheng did not directly depart but returned to Jushi City.
He found a temporary residence in the city and settled down.
Although Tang Zhong said that all the auras and tracking methods on him had been completely erased, he was still a bit uneasy without a thorough check.
After inputting various high-perception mutated beasts into his body and checking several times without finding any abnormalities, he immediately took out the round jade stone Tang Zhong had given him.
Placing it on his forehead, segments of content immediately poured into his consciousness.