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Chapter 148: Chapter 145: Professor
"Xin Tianqi!"
Gu Jinlai heard that this person was heading straight to Lingxiao City, and his pupils shrank.
But...
He did not feel any panic or fear in his heart, instead, he felt a sense of anticipation.
Anticipating what kind of methods a Primordial Spirit True Monarch could possibly possess.
This Meteor Star Lord was indeed a legendary figure.
He was very similar to Zhang Luu.
He was not born into some prestigious family or clan but began as an ordinary person who, step by step, diligently cultivated and rose to become the second most important person in Star State...
In the eyes of the cultivation world, he could be considered the foremost person in Star State.
After all, he was the only Primordial Spirit True Monarch in the entire Star State.
Even the Grand Marshal of Star State’s forces was only at the Divinity Transformation Realm.
Over the years, Star State had managed to maintain a superficial balance under the covetous watch of top forces like Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, Dragon Sparrow Manor, and Yellow Sky Sect, thanks to Xin Tianqi and the Meteor Star Guard he led.
To put it bluntly, if it weren’t for Xin Tianqi, Star State — a hub that connects Yellow State, Blue State, Red State, Jiangzhou State, and White State — would have already become a chaos-ridden land, overrun by devils.
Of course, Qi Zhongsheng’s trust in him and his relentless support were also very important.
The situation in Star State deteriorated so quickly that of the dozens of cities directly under its control, only four remained, mainly because Qi Zhongsheng’s two sons, Qi Renwang and Qi Fenglei, continually contested the governorship of Star State.
Moreover, with Xue Yue, the commander of the forces, choosing to support the more capable and skillful second son Qi Fenglei over the relatively mediocre but legitimate elder son Qi Renwang, the instability only worsened.
Even though Xin Tianqi tried time and again to discuss the pros and cons with Xue Yue, he still couldn’t turn the situation around.
But as long as Xin Tianqi was there, no one could ignore the power of the governor’s lineage.
"Xin Tianqi taking direct action shows a decisiveness on the part of the governor’s office,"
said Gu Jinlai.
"With Cold Moon Sect, Purgatory Sect, and Netherworld Sect shifting their focus to the Divine Sword competition, and Yellow Sky Sect retreating from Tianhe to Champsosaurus Swamp due to their fear of the devils and Demon Path masters about to gather at Canglang Mountain, they’ve greatly increased the pressure and have no spare attention. This good opportunity would not want to be missed by either the governor’s office or Dragon Sparrow Manor, yet, they suspect and blame each other for the affair at Ten Miles Slope, and have already turned against each other."
Chi Ying said, glancing at Gu Jinlai: "If at this time, the governor’s office could capture the main culprit behind the failure of the Starlight City plan, allowing both sides to turn hostility into friendship and reunite, they might even have a chance to completely retake Star State and return to the situation before the upheaval in Starlight City."
Gu Jinlai knew, what Chi Ying said made sense.
The upper echelons of the governor’s office and Dragon Sparrow Manor knew that their feud would ultimately benefit Cold Moon Sect, Purgatory Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Yellow Sky Sect.
Currently, the governor’s office and Dragon Sparrow Manor were holding back from further action, worried that if Starlight City failed, one would take advantage of the other’s lack of preparedness.
But when opportunity arose, they had no choice but to act.
After all, in that battle, Dragon Sparrow Manor lost an elder, and Qi Zhongsheng himself died on the side of the governor’s office, giving them no choice but to account for their followers.
In such a situation, whether Gu Jinlai was really the main culprit or not no longer mattered.
If he was, he was; if he wasn’t, he still had to be.
"Heavenly Monarch Gu, if I’m not mistaken, you should have a special Spiritual Artifact capable of detecting the presence of Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators in advance; even if they hide their ’qi,’ they still can’t avoid your artifact’s insight?"
As Chi Ying spoke, he quickly added, "I don’t mean to pry into your secrets, Heavenly Monarch, I just want to inform you that we all can guess this, and so can the governor’s office. Therefore, when Xin Tianqi enters Lingxiao City, he will definitely use special methods or Spiritual Artifacts to hide his tracks and avoid detection by your artifact."
With these words, Gu Jinlai’s expression became slightly grave: "You’re saying that Xin Tianqi disappeared from Starlight City three days ago?"
"To be precise, we discovered only three days ago that he had disappeared,"
said Chi Ying.
As for when he left Starlight City, no one knows.
After all, other than Dragon Sparrow Manor, no other force had the energy to keep a constant watch on Xin Tianqi.
"Even if we count three days... with the speed of a Primordial Spirit True Monarch, he would have already reached Lingxiao City."
Gu Jinlai felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
Xin Tianqi had arrived at Lingxiao City, but people like Chi Feng and Gu Qingmei, who were in charge of the Short Range Defense Cannon, had not issued any alarms.
The radar of the Short Range Defense Cannon was searching for Divine Thought fluctuations of Refining God, Divinity Transformation, and Primordial Spirit True Monarchs.
But such fluctuations were not impossible to hide.
Just like on Blue Star, thermal imaging cameras also aren’t foolproof.
"Silver Sword Master Chi Ying, you wouldn’t have made a special trip just to tell me this news, would you?"
"Actually..."
Chi Ying carefully chose his words: "I have been ordered by the tower master to invite Heavenly Monarch Gu to our Xuzhen Tower."
"You’re inviting me to Xuzhen Tower?"
"Yes, as long as Heavenly Monarch Gu stays by the side of our tower master, we can guarantee that no one will threaten your safety,"
declared Chi Ying earnestly.
"What is your purpose?"
Gu Jinlai asked: "Although I am a Silver Sword Master at Xuzhen Tower like you, unlike you, I wasn’t raised by Xuzhen Tower from childhood but joined halfway through. Surely Xuzhen Tower would not confront Divine Spirit True Monarch Xin Tianqi just for my sake."
Especially since...
Xin Tianqi, reputed as the strongest in Star State, had indeed defeated a Venerable Daoist Elder of Yellow Sky in direct combat.
"Heavenly Monarch Gu, you have already heard from us about the Divine Sword competition. I won’t elaborate on what this competition means,"
Chi Ying said: "The tower master has invited Heavenly Monarch Gu to Xuzhen Tower to represent us at the Divine Sword competition and seize the opportunity."
"A trial of fortune?" 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Gu Jinlai gradually understood.
In the recognition of the Sky Extreme Sword, who had a greater advantage than the Heavenly Monarch?
If the treasure recognition were conducted fairly for everyone, where a common man’s chance was ten, the Heavenly Monarch’s would at least be a hundred.
It was not difficult to comprehend why Xuzhen Tower invited him to recognize the Sky Extreme Sword.
However...
"Such an opportunity, Xuzhen Tower wouldn’t be so trusting of me, would they?"
"Right, when the time comes, Heavenly Monarch Gu will need to sign a Primordial Spirit contract... However, please rest assured, Heavenly Monarch, this contract will only take effect after you successfully recognize the sword. And once the Heavenly Monarch becomes the master of the Sky Extreme Sword, the future benefits will far exceed the costs paid in signing that contract."
Chi Ying said with a smile, "No one would foolishly make a future top expert sign an extremely harsh contract."
"I need to think about this."
Gu Jinlai said.
"Of course."
Chi Ying then took out an object resembling a gem and handed it to Gu Jinlai, "Whenever you’re ready, crush this Chime Stone, and a Golden Sword Envoy from Xuzhen Tower will personally take you to meet our master."
"Agreed."
Gu Jinlai took the Chime Stone.
Seeing Chi Ying about to leave, he couldn’t help but ask, "Xuzhen Tower has records about Devas and the Tendency Realm, right? If I want to exchange for related books, what preparation is needed?"
"Devas, Tendency Realm..."
As the world’s largest intelligence agency, Xuzhen Tower naturally knew of the Mental Realm techniques Gu Jinlai had demonstrated in Baihe City, and they were not surprised that he wanted to exchange Tendency Realm books.
"Become a Golden Sword Envoy and offer a piece of golden intelligence, and you may peruse the books related to Devas and the Tendency Realm."
Chi Ying stated succinctly, "If Heavenly Monarch Gu is willing to sign that agreement, we at Xuzhen Tower are willing to provide these items, including many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that enhance Spiritual Sense, free of charge."
"I will consider it seriously."
Gu Jinlai responded calmly.
Seeing this, Chi Ying bowed and took his leave.
Once he had left, Gu Jinlai immediately appeared in the adjacent room, where two models of Short Range Defense Cannons were conspicuously placed.
He immediately consolidated his True Spirit, which manifested and split in two to merge into the cannons, enhancing their radar detection to the utmost, scanning the entire Lingxiao City in circles.
The result...
There was none.
Not a single Divine Thought Fluctuation appeared in the entire Lingxiao City.
"Indeed, one must not underestimate the cultivators of this world; once they are on guard, the threat level of even ’Thunder’ Gatling Guns or Short Range Defense Cannons significantly decreases,"
Gu Jinlai’s expression grew solemn.
Knowing that a Primordial Spirit Monarch had likely already arrived in Lingxiao City but being unable to locate him was frustrating...
It took him a while to calm down.
"I have grasped the Mental Realm. If Xin Tianqi truly makes a move against me, I will definitely sense it. Then, I shall directly test the mettle of this top expert of Star State."
His eyes sparkled with a fighting spirit.
Lingxiao City was his territory.
If a Primordial Spirit Monarch came to his territory to kill him and he couldn’t withstand it, then he might as well flee whenever he faces a Primordial Spirit Monarch in the future.
Of course, that is if there is a future.
...
Blue Star.
Central Asia, Southern Central Academy.
As a Level 2 professor at a top domestic university, Du Dongyuan had housing allocated by the school.
At this moment, having finished a day’s experiment and dinner, he returned to his home, planning to check some data and then rest early.
However, when he turned on his computer and accessed an internal website, a message popped up.
It seemed...
Was it a notification from his sparsely used messaging software that an email had been sent to him?
"It must be Xiao Ke playing with my computer and setting up automatic login last time,"
Du Dongyuan pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, deciding to ignore it,
After all, he rarely used this communication number, usually adding contacts out of courtesy.
However, just as he was about to shift his attention, he noticed the title of the email.
"A new material – Black Gold, its main performance characteristics are..."
As an expert in this field, he was very sensitive to these words.
"A new material? Which student sent me this experimental data?"
With this curiosity, he moved the mouse over and clicked to open it.
