Chapter 314 - - 312 Suppressive Negotiation_1

—————✧✧✧✧—————

Master, have we lost?

The senior apprentice stared blankly at his master, with the sword tip against his throat, his mind a complete blank. How could this be possible?

When Leng Shi fought him, he still resorted to using a human shield for a sneak attack. Even if Leng Shi had some Art Technique hidden, the master shouldn’t have been defeated by him, right?

Not to mention that his Art Technique was the weakest among many—the Water Art…

…

Leng Shi’s master was called Yu Hongsheng.

At this moment, he sat dejectedly on the ground, his complexion somewhat unsightly and his difficulty unspeakable.

What could he say?

Could he say that Leng Shi was shameless, secretly using ice spikes to stab his meridian and ice lumps to freeze his vital points?

He couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

To be able to use a Water Series Art Technique in such a corrupted way, Leng Shi can also be considered talented.

He guessed that Leng Shi must have been within Dragon Teeth, where it wasn’t possible to practice Art Techniques openly. He could only contemplate in secret and thus concocted this lowly method of using his Art Technique.

“Who the hell are you?” Yu Hongsheng looked at Duge and asked.

“A genius young magician from the Qingwu Country, under the command of General Sichen. Code name Tian from the secret sleuths group, He Xu. Thirteen years ago, I was ordered to infiltrate Dragon Teeth to investigate the mastermind behind it,” Duge said proudly, puffing out his chest and fabricating a new identity for himself.

“?” Yu Hongsheng.

“Of course, Qingwu Country no longer exists, and General Sichen has died. By rights, my mission should no longer be necessary, but He Xu once swore loyalty to the Qingwu royal family all his life. As long as the Fourth Princess is alive, I will do my utmost to help her restore the country,” Duge said. “Master, I have returned to Dragon Teeth this time with the hope of leveraging Dragon Teeth’s power to assist the princess in restoring the country. Please grant me this favor…”

“…” Yu Hongsheng frowned, “Are you serious?”

“Master, since you know I betrayed Dragon Teeth, you naturally know what I have been doing during this time,” Duge said with a smile. “If I did not want to help the Fourth Princess restore the country, I would’ve killed her back then and claimed the credit from the organization. Now that General Sichen is dead, no one else in the world knows about my identity. By showing a bit of a magician’s talent and giving it some time, I’m bound to leave everyone else in Dragon Teeth in the dust…”

“What are you after?” Yu Hongsheng interrupted him and asked.

“One must always strive to do something in life,” Duge said. “If I must have a reason, it might be because of the bright look in General Sichen’s eyes when he rescued me from bandits! General Sichen was loyal to the country, and as his soldier, I naturally have to carry on his legacy. The things he didn’t accomplish, I will…”

Eyes?

Yu Hongsheng looked at Duge as if looking at a sick person.

Yu Hongsheng said, “What if I disagree?”

“Then I’ll put you under house arrest in this small courtyard and command Dragon Teeth under your orders,” Duge said leisurely. “After all, what happens here will be unknown to others. Having been in Dragon Teeth for so many years, I’m quite familiar with the organization’s operations. If the senior brother is cooperative, I’ll leave him here with you. If he’s not, I’ll bury him here to keep you company.”

“…” The senior brother.

Only the sound of trickling water remained in the courtyard.

After a moment.

Yu Hongsheng shook his head, “It’s impossible. You don’t know who is behind Dragon Teeth. You might control Dragon Teeth temporarily, but not forever. As soon as he notices something odd about Dragon Teeth, he won’t need to take action himself; by sending a few people over, both you and your Fourth Princess will die without a place to bury.”

“Leng Shi, listen to my advice and give up. I can overlook the past and keep you in Dragon Teeth. I can pretend to be ignorant of what happened with Luo Shuang. You two cannot restore the country on your own…”

“Master, how can you still not see the situation clearly!” Duge laughed, “Times have changed. Heaven only knows how many Heavenly Demons and Immortal Gods have slipped into this world. Even I and the Fourth Princess could easily find one. With them around, this world will not be at peace for long.”

He lowered his voice and leaned into Yu Hongsheng’s ear, “Master, why do you think I simultaneously spread the story about ‘women acting beyond their authority’? The princess is, after all, a woman. I’m betting on a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Don’t you want to take a gamble?”

To hell with bright eyes, Yu Hongsheng’s eyes suddenly widened in shock, “You…”

Wu Chang’s eyes narrowed, his power hadn’t increased much, but he could still clearly hear a conversation a few meters away.

At that moment.

He finally understood He Xu’s intention; this man who claimed loyalty to Qingwu Country was actually aspiring to become the emperor himself. No wonder he wasn’t interested in Luo Shuang. The Fourth Princess was merely a pawn in his hands from beginning to end.

Duge took a step back and continued, “Master, Dragon Teeth will continue with the original assassination mission. As long as the mission goes on, I think the headquarters won’t come to investigate anytime soon.”

Moreover, Master, have you ever considered, if you suddenly went mad from practicing your art, would Dragon Teeth choose someone from among us to replace you as the Sect Leader of the Coiling Dragon Sword Sect? I vaguely remember that you inherited the position of Sect Leader from our grandmaster. If you go berserk, it should be the turn of the eldest senior brother to take over as Sect Leader, right…"

While speaking, Duge looked back at the eldest senior brother with an encouraging expression.

The eldest senior brother came to his senses, assessed the current situation, and quickly made his stance clear, “Senior Brother Leng, if I can control Dragon Teeth, you can dispatch them as you wish.”

Yu Hongsheng’s piercing gaze suddenly turned towards the eldest senior brother.

Duge smiled, “Senior brother, the master is not dead yet! The process of changing a sect’s leader is too complicated. I prefer to cooperate with the master, after all, Master, you are much more seasoned and mature than him.”

The eldest senior brother realized he had been played by Duge, and his face turned red with sudden anger.

“Master, what do you think?” Duge turned back and looked at Yu Hongsheng again, “I have given you all the possible paths you can choose from. It shouldn’t be difficult to pick the right one!”

While he spoke, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and the tip of his longsword gently pushed forward, piercing the skin of Yu Hongsheng’s throat, “No one can stop my determination to help the princess reclaim her country.”

Pain, struggle, decisions…

Yu Hongsheng stared straight at Duge, his eyes shifting, unable to match even the most skilled actor’s portrayal of his complicated feelings at this moment.

In the end.

He sighed, as if he had aged over a decade, his voice hoarse, “Leng Shi, you’ve won.”

“Master, a pleasure to collaborate,” Duge retracted his longsword and walked over to support Yu Hongsheng to his feet, “I always remember the master’s teachings, a skilled assassin, no matter the dire circumstances, should never give up.

Even if captured, disguise, feign weakness, ingratiate… as long as you can lower the enemy’s guard, there is a chance for a counterattack. So, master, I hope you weren’t acting just now, understand?”

“Leng Shi, you are better than I imagined,” Yu Hongsheng smiled wretchedly.

“General Sichen thinks so too, as does the princess,” Duge smiled, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been chosen to join Dragon Teeth in my teens, and you all wouldn’t have discovered me for over ten years. Master, over the years, I’ve actually learned more than you can imagine…”

Yu Hongsheng fell silent.

Duge turned back and called out to the eldest senior brother and Wu Chang, “You two, come in as well!”

The eldest senior brother looked at Duge apprehensively, his gaze mixed with fear.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that he truly did not know this junior brother who had lived among them for ten years.

Wu Chang’s feelings were also complex. He was an elite picked from layers of selections at the training grounds for his flexibility and adaptability, which was why he was chosen for this extra competition.

But stepping onto the actual battlefield of Alien Star, his adaptability was useless.

With his choice to take over another identity stripped away, he was not only inferior to the Alien Warriors who commanded the winds and rain on the Alien Battlefield but even to the natives of the Alien Battlefield.

Especially He Xu, whose control over the human heart was simply masterful.

He seemed to offer people many choices, but in reality, aside from the path he set, every other choice was a dead end.

“Old Wu, help me bandage the master’s wound, I’ll go and bring over the Fourth Princess,” Duge placed Yu Hongsheng on a couch and expertly took a bottle of healing medicine from the shelf beside him, “The usage of the medicine, Master will tell you.”

“All right,” Wu Chang reined in his arrogance, acquiescing obediently.

“Old Wu, I know you are the War God from Heavenly Realm, renowned for your bravery. But your strength has not yet recovered. Yet my master and the eldest senior brother have immersed themselves in the art of assassination for many years, and who knows how many unexpected tricks they have up their sleeves, so don’t be complacent just because they are injured,” Duge glanced at Wu Chang and cautioned with a smile, “Now that the master and eldest senior brother have developed suspicions of each other, you may use this to your advantage to keep them in check, even if your own martial prowess is lacking.”

“…” The eldest senior brother’s eyes widened in sudden realization.

Yu Hongsheng furrowed his brow.

Wu Chang looked at Duge, finally understanding the motive behind his earlier scheming to cause rifts between the two.

By now, he had completely acknowledged the native as superior and silently admonished himself not to play any more clever tricks until he had enough power to control the situation.

Concentrating on being a mindless brute of valor and improving his attributes would be enough.

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦