Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  "Hey, Junior Brother Wang Lu, why are you here…"

  In the main hall of Dragon Palace, there were already more than seventy disciples of Spirit Sword Sect who were meditating. Many had come to this Blessed Fountain base in the last three days. The Blessed Fountain base was open to everyone, but anyone who wanted to come in would have to accept the restriction method in the main hall of Dragon Palace. There was no exception to this, even for Ouyang Shang. At the same time, Wang Lu was isolated outside. According to the agreement, he was not restricted by the array, but he could not enter the hall at will. If there was any violation… In theory, he could be regarded as an enemy and thus be suppressed and even killed by the array placed in the Dragon Palace by Ouyang Shang.

  This was an insurance measure. Wang Lu was alone outside the hall, and thus a source of huge risk for those inside the hall. Because he would be the first to bear the brunt in case the enemy attacked, not to mention his authority to move freely, once he fell into the enemy, he would become an extreme threat. Considering that if there were variables, dozens of people could be buried in the hall, so there was a limit to Wang Lu's action. Of course, they had also considered the worst case scenario. When that happened, the people in the hall must not panic, and just leave everything to Ouyang Shang to deal with it. If other people needlessly interfere, it would only give the enemy the chance to fish in troubled water. And if Ouyang Shang, including the arrays placed in Dragon Palace, could not hold the enemy, then there was no point in maintaining the order. Everyone would just make their move to escape.

  Fortunately, in the past three days, the worst situation had never happened, it was actually incredibly calm even. However, after these three days, everyone saw Wang Lu walk into the hall with a heavy face.

  Cai Xia, who was the nearest to the entrance of the hall, thought that the Elders of the Spirit Sword Sect had arrived, and turned around in pleasant surprise. However, she only saw the lone figure of Wang Lu. At that time, her heart sank and she thought about the worst possibility. What even worse was that, Big Brother Ouyang Shang didn't seem to realize this as he greeted Wang Lu warmly!

  Big Brother, haven't we had an agreement that once Wang Lu had a problem, you would attack him first? How could you become soft-hearted at the last minute! Who is this fellow with unknown origin? Is it worth it to make such an exception for him!

  Seeing the filled-with-trust vision of her Big Brother, there was even a hint of jealousy in Cai Xia's heart. However, she also knew that her Big Brother must have his own reason, so she had to forcefully repress the unpleasantness in her heart.

  "Junior Brother Wang Lu, what's the matter?"

  Ouyang Shang seemed at ease and relaxed, but in fact, in his heart, he was also secretly vigilant. He did trust Wang Lu, but this trust was not unlimited… While asking the question, he also activated the arrangement in the Dragon Palace. If there was anything unusual in Wang Lu, he would not hesitate at all. Wang Lu's strength was too strong, thus, showing mercy was actually suicidal.

  However, Wang Lu ignored the entanglement in the heart of the people present and just strode toward Ouyang Shang and said straight away, "How did you confirm that the sect will send reinforcement within three days?"

  Upon hearing this question, Ouyang Shang was startled and couldn't help but immediately stand up. "Go inside with me and talk about it."

  At the same time, Ouyang Shang beckoned toward his Junior Brothers and Sisters whose eyes were filled with worry. "Everyone, be patient."

  After they came inside the room, Ouyang Shang asked, "You suspect that the letter is fake, and that no reinforcement will come? I have confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Whether it's the paper or the writing style, as well as the immortal print left on it, there's nothing wrong with them at all."

  Then Ouyang Shang even took out the letter and re-confirmed the authenticity on the spot.

  Wang Lu said, "Of course there's nothing wrong. If even these little details are not done well, then they couldn't even deceive Cai Xia, let alone our eyes? But this confirmation itself has an enormous loophole. Are you sure that what you see in your eyes is real?"

  "Oh?"

  "I just realized this problem… Big Brother, a few days ago in Ghost Weeping Forest, can you distinguish Li Xi's authenticity?"

  "… You mean, the camouflage skill of the enemy can be applied to the letter, and it is beyond our ability to recognize it?"

  "I don't have any evidence for this inference, but I don't need one. Because there's a stronger proof: Although I haven't had a contact with the Elders of this era, but a group of people who can come up with this management trainee program, in any event, is not a generation who sticks to the old ways, right?"

  Ouyang Shang said, "Correct, this generation of Elders can be called as the most radical group of Spirit Sword Sect in the past millennium."

  "So when they receive the letter asking for reinforcement, the first thing that they would do is to send one or two powerful Elders. At the first chance, they would rush to Blessed Fountain to save people at all cost, not to let us wait for three days here! According to my history line, all the Elders of Spirit Sword Sect came and were annihilated, but some of the disciples were lucky enough to survive. This means that the Elders of Spirit Sword Sect treat the safety of the golden generation more than themselves. At this time, they would not care whether their rescue attempt would make them end up in a dangerous situation."

  "You're right." Ouyang Shang's face had also turned gloomy. "At least, the Sword Elder would not allow us to fend for ourselves in such a dangerous place for three days. In fact, I have already considered this point before, but I was not eager to tell everything to the sect, because if it provokes the Elders of Spirit Sword Sect, then it's likely that it would directly detonate the Black Tide… But in any case, the core of the management trainee program is that the overall risk is manageable. But the emergence of the demon race has undoubtedly broken this."

  When it came to this, Ouyang Shang's view had been completely in line with Wang Lu.

  "I guess that this is just a trick…" Ouyang Shang said, "We have wasted three precious days."

  Wang Lu said, "Wasting three precious days is not fatal, the fatal thing is that, since we mistakenly thought that the reinforcement is coming, we summoned most of the Junior Brothers and Sisters in the Savage Land to this place… This is a perfect opportunity for the other side to catch us all in one go."

  "What do you think the opponent would do next? Do you think he will still use the tactic of stirring up internal disorder by means of possession and other means?"

  Wang Lu hatefully said, "Possession? This is probably our biggest mistake, I now just realized that the effectiveness of the possession technique is not that great actually. In practice, it has enormous limits, but it's just that the opposite party is being mysterious to deceive us to tie our hands and feet. Think about it, if the demon race has such an amazing skill, then it must have been recorded in the history of the two great wars of immortal and demon. As for us, there were countless opportunities for him to make his move while we were on the road, but why didn't he do it? Think about it, of the three that he managed to use this skill, the first one is to control Wang Donghua to trap Shen Yiwen, the second is to control Li Xi to put poison in the food, and the third is to control Liu Xian to attack Wang Wu. Within these three times, each time his control is getting poorer and poorer. I don't think this is just a coincidence."

  Ouyang Shang said, "… The opposite party is very clever in utilizing his skill. With the least amount of effort, he maximized the disruption in our team. However, if it's just like you said, that taking control over someone is not enough for him to kill, and the effect will worsen once we see through it, then what do you think he would do next?"

  "I don't know." Wang Lu calmly said, "I have never guessed the opponent's thinking. From his behavior, there are many contradictions, but I can't really treat the opponent as a brainless person… It's so troublesome."

  Ouyang Shang said, "Don't worry, sort out your current problems and then let's think together about the solution."

  "The first question, what is the purpose of the enemy? In theory, the only person the demon race needs to kill is me, and then the black tide can be completely detonated. But now, the target has been shifted to other people. This is basically putting the cart before the horse."

  Ouyang Shang thought for a long time and then said, "Perhaps the importance of the black tide for the demon has declined? The demon has given up the plan to detonate the complete form of the black tide?"

  "It doesn't make sense. One of the most important purposes of creating the black tide through the dream building technique is to kill Fenrir. An unfinished black tide might be able to beat her, but it could not kill her. And as long as Fenrir is still alive, the blockade of the ninth depth prison is unbreakable. This is equal to squandering away his power."

  "… Are you sure he has to kill Fenrir before he can free himself from the ninth depth prison?"

  Wang Lu said, "The so-called ninth depth prison is, in fact, an independent space inside Fenrir's body. In the myth of Western Continent, this monster wolf can devour everything, which relies on this independent space. This space is naturally highly confined. Rumor has it that even gods could not come out after being swallowed. I don't think that the demon king is more powerful than the gods of Western Continent."

  "But do you still remember that in the demon spirit dream, with his own hand, he opened a window to the outside world, which allowed us to see the bloodline awakening of the desert tribe? If this ninth depth prison is completely isolated from the outside world… how did he infiltrate his power to the outside world? Or, if his body is trapped in the ninth depth prison, why is there a demon spirit dream that is connected to his soul?"

  Wang Lu said, "Dream building technique is indeed a technique that is beyond common sense. According to my understanding of it, there is indeed some effect of breaking the space blockade, but only a part of his soul could detach from the blockade…"

  "So, maybe only his remnant soul that is haunting us?"

  "… Is that really necessary? Tearing apart his own soul, while leaving behind his body and the majority of his soul in the ninth depth prison, this is a completely self-defeating move."

  "But this is also the most rational approach. The black tide is blocked by you and he has no ample force to kill you in a short time. If based on this, then giving up part of his soul is the right thing to do."

  "Are you sure he has no other means? Does he have no other men in the Savage Land?"

  "I can't be completely sure, but if he does have other men, there is no reason for him to stay dormant for two thousand years. At the very least, he could order his men to strengthen the scale of the demon spirit dream, right? Moreover, from what I have learned in the desert oasis at the time, those demons never knew that they had their own allies in the Savage Land. Thus, at least, I do not agree with the notion that he has other men."

  Wang Lu smiled and said, "It's very rare for you and I to have subtle differences in opinion, but this time, I listen to you… In short, according to the reasoning, we can guess that the demon king has gotten out from the ninth depth prison at an extremely heavy price. But there's still an unresolved problem: since it's not easy for him to escape, why would he persist to entangle us, young cultivators? Wouldn't it be better for him to recuperate in the Savage Land and then stage a comeback many years later? He's been waiting for two thousand years, can't he wait another hundred years?"

  Light flashed from Ouyang Shang's eyes as he said, "I guess… He probably can't wait."