“Why am I being called back again? Is there still a spot for me somehow?” With a trace of doubt in his heart, Li Fan returned to Tianyu City.
After some thought, instead of heading directly to the Huan Yu Courtyard, Li Fan first went to a Tianxuan Mirror and entered his exclusive space within the Tianxuan Mirror.
At this time, his clone in the Cong Yun Sea paused his practice of the “Creation Forge Art” and began searching for Heavenly Treasures that could enhance his perception of the soul.
One after another, information on these Heavenly Treasures appeared.
After browsing for a while, Li Fan selected a high-grade Human Treasure, the Ghost Hairpin. Then he sent the Ghost Hairpin into the White Bone Realm.
The main body immediately performed the ritual and absorbed the Heavenly Treasure in the White Bone Realm.
[Truth] slowly transformed in his dantian, becoming both the Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart and Ghost Hairpin.
After completing all this, Li Fan returned to reality and hurried towards the Huan Yu Courtyard.
By using the Ghost Hairpin, Li Fan naturally hoped to increase his chance of identifying Soul Contracts.
The reason why Li Fan didn’t do this during the closed training before was due to concerns about his own safety.
It was likely that the Huan Yu Courtyard was under surveillance at all times.
If originally, his performance was mediocre, but after exchanging for a Heavenly Treasure, his performance gradually improved… he might attract others’ attention.
There was no need to take this risk.
However, outside the courtyard, within the Tianxuan Mirror, there were fewer concerns.
At least, from the current situation, the Tianxuan Mirror could still be trusted temporarily.
When Li Fan entered the Huan Yu Courtyard again, there was no chain formation test; instead, he appeared directly in front of Ji Hongdao.
“Greetings, senior!” Li Fan bowed.
“Hmm, so soon?” Ji Hongdao was a bit surprised. “At least you can avoid any further complications.” He sighed, looking somewhat weary.
“May I ask what happened, senior?” Li Fan asked.
“Ah, it’s hard to explain in a few words.” As Ji Hongdao redistributed a Huan Yu Token to Li Fan and led him to meet Huangfu Song, he explained the reason Li Fan was summoned back.
“What? Tantai Tao and a dozen others went out to relax, encountered an accident, and died?” Li Fan thought he had misheard, staring at Ji Hongdao in astonishment.
It’s not surprising that Li Fan was so startled because this was too absurd.
Tantai Tao was the most outstanding among all the cultivators during training.
As early as the first assessment, he received two top evaluations.
Moreover, his identification rate of Soul Contracts reached an astonishing one hundred percent.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that such a figure would surely achieve extraordinary accomplishments in the future.
Thus, it was inevitable that some cultivators would intentionally talk to him and make friends with him during the training breaks.
Tantai Tao was courteous on the surface and treated everyone politely.
In fact, he had a very high vision and was only willing to make friends with those who also excelled in the tests.
In this way, over almost half a year, a small group led by Tantai Tao gradually formed.
The dozen or so members were all extremely talented in the Dao of formations. Their cultivation bases were not weak, and at the very least, they were all Golden Core cultivators.
Tantai Tao himself had already attained the Nascent Soul realm at a young age.
Calling these people the pride of the heavens would not be an exaggeration.
However, such a group of people unexpectedly died in the mainland of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, Tianyu Province?
Seeing Li Fan’s expression, Ji Hongdao’s words were full of regret: “Tantai Tao and the others said that they felt suffocated after half a year and wanted to take advantage of the time before the second phase of closed training began to go out for fun, relax, and adjust their mood.”
“They were a group of people with strong strength, each with protective measures bestowed by their elders. Plus, this is the Tianyu Province, so there shouldn’t be any danger.”
“I thought about it and agreed to their request.”
“Who would have thought…”
“Ah, a moment of negligence! A moment of negligence!”
Ji Hongdao sighed repeatedly.
“More than ten people suddenly died, and the established quota for the second phase was suddenly vacant.”
“To avoid wastage, we had to extend the selection of replacement members based on the results of the first round of assessments.”
“That’s why you were summoned back in such a hurry.”
Li Fan didn’t think being a replacement was embarrassing.
Compared to those genius cultivators who had inexplicably died, his luck was much better.
After hesitating for a while, Li Fan couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Ji, what exactly happened…”
Ji Hongdao waved his hand, interrupting Li Fan’s question: “This matter is quite involved. Knowing too much will only harm you.”
Li Fan nodded and remained silent. After a while, he met Huangfu Song again.
Huangfu Song looked at Li Fan and said with a smile, “How about it, kid? My intuition was pretty accurate, right? I said we would see each other again soon, and not long after, you returned.”
“Senior is insightful!” Li Fan clasped his hands. “Could it be, Senior, that Tantai Tao and the others had an accident because…”
Before Li Fan finished speaking, Huangfu Song’s expression suddenly changed.
He slapped Li Fan’s body, lifting the memory seal and interrupting Li Fan’s words.
“Kid, you can’t talk nonsense.” Huangfu Song looked at Li Fan with an unkind look in his eyes.
“It doesn’t matter if you talk nonsense, but if someone takes it seriously…”
“Those guys all had connections and power.”
“Even Guan Xingxiu was suspended from his position. I’m even more at risk.” Ji Hongdao impatiently said, “Let’s stop talking.”
Ji Hongdao’s position was obviously higher than Huangfu Song’s. When he spoke like this, Huangfu Song indeed shut up.
“You should wait in the courtyard first.”
“Another Soul Gathering Pearl has been prepared for you. Don’t slack off during this time, and try to comprehend.” He instructed Li Fan again.
“Thank you, senior.” Li Fan thanked him.
Ji Hongdao waved his hand, and Li Fan returned to the familiar courtyard once again.
However, it was hard to say if it was the same room as before.
“Guan Xingxiu.”
Recalling Huangfu Song’s words, Li Fan’s heart stirred, and he began searching for information about Guan Xingxiu.
“Commander of the Tianyu Province Garrison Court…”
“One of the candidates for the next Supreme Commander of the Garrison Court.”
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, pondering. The so-called accident was almost certainly a pretext. However one looked at it, this matter exuded the smell of conspiracy.
“Immortal Sage Jicheng is stepping down from his post as the Supreme Commander of the Garrison Court.”
“I’m afraid the competition for this position has reached a fever pitch.”
“At this critical moment, such a major case occurred in Guan Xingxiu’s jurisdiction, leading to his suspension…”
“It seems that some people have gone a bit crazy for this position of Supreme Commander.”
“Hmm…that’s not right.”
“The method of framing is too crude, and it can be seen through at a glance. So it’s also possible that Guan Xingxiu himself is playing pig to eat a tiger.”
“First, withdraw from the center of the storm, fade from view. Then, catch the opponent off guard and win by surprise.”
“Of course, it’s also possible that the opponent is taking advantage of this mentality to blatantly frame him.”
“No matter what the truth is, these so-called geniuses like Tantai Tao, in front of the real wielders of power in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, were easily crushed and turned into a means of attacking political opponents.”
“No matter how high your talent is…”
“Once you die, it’s all for naught.”
Li Fan sighed inwardly and took out the golden Soul Gathering Pearl, skillfully extracting a strand of soul.