Everyone present was taken aback. Then they started talking amongst themselves in hushed tones.
The members present here were all from the Tianyu Empire, and many from the former seven noble houses. Yet all here, once foe or friend, looked into Zhuo Fan with no results.
Chu Qingchengâs sudden question had them thinking again.
[With Zhuo Fanâs capacity for power and shrewdness, just whereâs his master? Thatâs what weâd like to know too!]
âUhm, Edifice Lord Chu, youâre asking the wrong person. All of us are in the dark as well. Steward Zhuo came from the Luo clan, so youâre better off asking them.â
An elder of ex-Sword Marquise Abode pointed to Luo Yunhai on his main seat. The others bobbed their heads, âYeah, you should be asking the Luo clan. Steward Zhuo is theirs. If they donât know, no one does.â
Luo Yunhai shrugged, âPeople, brother Zhuo might have come from the Luo clan, but not even we know how he got all those skills. I believe that all of you, having roamed Tianyu for decades, are far wiser and capable of getting some hints into his background.â
[You think weâd have lost to you so badly if weâd known already?]
Rolling their eyes, the people from Hell Valley, Pill King Hall and many, many others twisted their heads away in annoyance.
Wu Qingqiuâs team frowned.
[Did Zhuo Fan just pop out of a rock or something? There were so many powers in Tianyu yet none figured out his master?]
Luo Yunhai shook his head and cupped his hands, âSorry, senior brother Wu, brother Zhuo had grown up in the Luo clan just like any ordinary person. Only after the Luo clan was facing disaster did brother Zhuo reveal his talents. Not once had he ever remotely mentioned anything about his master either so we didnât press the issue either. Even though you came a long way to check on his background, Iâm sorry to say that not even we know.â
âHow can that beâŠâ Wu Qingqiu was stumped. Chu Qingcheng looked disappointed, hoping to get a trace of Zhuo Fan through them, that maybeâŠ
[We didnât get anything.]
Ye Lin was calm as a cucumber, though he was smart not to show it, only displaying a vague smile. Zhuo Fanâs master was among the greatest in Sacred Domain, and the oldest. It was obvious they were clueless.
This secret was privy to a very few sacred beasts and himself, a sacred beast inheritor. Others would ever know such a heavy secret.
[Not like they deserve it, humphâŠ]
Ye Lin dangled one leg over the other, looking quite smug.
[The grasp of secrets embodies the gap between people, ha-ha-haâŠ]
Just as the investigation hit a dead-end, an aged voice said, âLass Chuchu, why exactly are you looking into Zhuo Fan anyway? Are you perhaps suspecting that the fall of the three sects have something to do with him?â
Chu Qingcheng looked back at the group with hope.
The one to call her that had to be an elder close to her from years back.
âUncle Jiu!â
Chu Qingcheng turned to Elder Jiu from the ex-Veiled Dragon Pavilion, Godeye Long Jiu. He was the first senior involved with Zhuo Fan in Tianyu. The two grew so close they became brothers.
Godeye Long Jiu had to know something about Zhuo Fan. Chu Qingcheng bowed in joy, âUncle Jiu, how have you been all these years?â
Godeye Long Jiu smiled, âHa-ha-ha, still kicking, though aggrieved having heard of brother Zhuoâs passing. If only I had the strength, I wouldâveâŠâ
Long Jiuâs eye flashed with bloodthirst. Chu Qingcheng clenched her fists.
[Yeah, they donât have the power, or theyâd have long destroyed the Demon Scheming Sect.]
Wu Qingqiu sighed at the sudden shift in mood, also saddened. As a member of the investigation team, he didnât come to incite revenge though. So he bowed, âJunior sister Qingcheng sees sir as Uncle Jiu, so Iâll be presumptuous to call sir that as well, despite my inadequacies.â
âOh, thereâs no need for that, young master Wu.â Long Jiu returned the bow. Wu Qingqiu was nice and very polite without any arrogance, he was still a disciple from a superior-three sect, not to mention in the Ethereal Stage. Long Jiu would never take advantage and presume himself his elder.
Wu Qingqiu smiled, âUncle Jiu is too kind. Itâs only natural to treat seniors as such. Moreover, I also noticed sir has been referring to Zhuo Fan as brother. I would be very grateful if Uncle Jiu would be willing to answer some questions.â
âYoung master Wu, please ask away.â Long Jiu bowed as Wu Qingqiu did.
Wu Qingqiu nodded, âUncle Jiu, to be quite honest, we suspect the culprit in the destruction of the three sects to have come from outside our lands, or someone taking revenge for what happened to Zhuo Fan a year ago. Thus I ask for everyoneâs help, in telling us if Zhuo Fan had been close to anyone in Tianyu besides you all. As far as I know, his skills did not come from the Demon Scheming Sect, so where could they come from?â
âAre you implying that his master took revenge?â Long Jiu cried out.
The others jumped, perking their ears to not miss a thing.
[It has to be! To train an abomination like Zhuo Fan, the power achieving this must be a force to be reckoned with.]
They had begun to have an inkling just how great his background was.
It was not like just any average power could just ruin three sects in western lands overnight.
The ones to rejoice the most were the ex-houses.
[Thank god Zhuo Fan won in the fight for Tianyu. If he lost at our hands, then Tianyu wouldâve been plunged into hell.]
When it destroyed the Demon Scheming Sect, of western landsâ nine sects, ruining Tianyu wouldâve been childâs play if they thought about it.
[So thatâs why he was so obnoxious. I always felt it off. His backing explains it. Demon Scheming Sect never figured it out so thatâs why theyâre now six feet under.]
[Thatâs what you get for messing with someone stronger than you thinking youâre better. So easy when you have no clue whoâs behind him⊠]
Everyone sighed. Only Long Jiu pondered, âBrother Zhuoâs master, hmm, well he did mention it once, though Iâm not sure if it was real or notâŠâ
âReally, who?â Wu Qingqiu lit up.
Long Jiu was grave, âOverlord Nine Serenities!â
Ugh!
Wu Qingqiuâs group was stunned.
[Overlord Nine Serenities? Is there someone like that in western lands?]
Ye Lin almost did a spit take.
[Is that a reference to Nine Serenities Sovereign? Elder brother, are you toying with these yokels for not knowing about the ten sovereigns?]
Everyone around looked perplexed.
âUncle Jiu, uhm, Overlord Nine Serenities does sound great, but Iâm ashamed to say Iâve never heard of him. Who is he, where does he come from?â Wu Qingqiu asked.
Long Jiu shook his head, âI donât know. He just dropped that full of smiles, so I always thought it was a joke. Now that youâre asking about his master, it feels like it might be true.â
âOverlord Nine SerenitiesâŠâ
Wu Qingqiuâs eyes shone, âWho is he? No one in the entire world with any amount of name to himself or power knows such a person. Do any of you know?â
Wu Qingqiu turned to the rest, only to see them stumped.
Wu Qingqiu frowned. He came to know more about Zhuo Fan and got a clue, only to have more questions left unanswered.
[Overlord Nine Serenities, what the hell is that anyway? Sounds as grand as the best in the central area, Invincible Sword, but never heard of him.
Ye Lin played dumb while his senior brother was getting nowhere.
âWhy donât you go ask Devil Mountain?â A girl spoke.
Wu Qingqiuâs team turned to Lei Yuting, Luo clanâs shadow corps captain. Lei Yuting continued, âWhen the Luo clan was stationed in Blackwind Mountain, Zhuo Fan took me to set up the arrays around it. I overheard him say something about creating a second Devil Mountain here. Maybe thatâs where his master is.â
Wu Qingqiu had found a direction at long last, though his hopeful look was met with equally lost gazes.
Wu Qingqiuâs face twitched.
[No point asking about Devil Mountain then. Where the hell is that even?]
[The more we dig, the more secretive Zhuo Fanâs background is. All I got for my questions are more questions.]
Where should they go next?
Wu Qingqiu sighed.
[Brother Zhuo, did you really pop out of thin air? Why canât we find anything about youâŠ]
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