181: guess

"What kind of Prodigy is this woman!" the old man shouted inwardly.

Seeing those four were dealt with, No. 28 stared straight at the old man in mid-air.

Li Rufeng laughed, "Haha, only one old bastard at the Void Refining Realm left. Kill him!"

Lin Chuan retorted, "You're only at the Soul Transformation Realm, aren't you? How dare you call someone else an old bastard?"

Li Rufeng chuckled, showing no shame whatsoever, as if he hadn't been the one speaking.

Knowing he was no match, the old man in mid-air suddenly pulled a large handful of Talismanic Incantations from his robe with a pained expression and threw them all around his body.

As soon as the talismans left his hand, they burst into a blinding light.

Lin Chuan and the others below immediately felt their vision blur.

When their sight returned, over twenty identical old men were standing in mid-air, their auras completely the same, making it impossible to distinguish the real one.

"Holy crap! Shadow Clone Technique!" Lin Chuan shouted exaggeratedly.

Li Rufeng looked at Lin Chuan with a bewildered face and asked, "What technique did you say?"

Just as Lin Chuan was about to explain, the twenty-plus identical old men turned and fled in different directions.

No. 28 picked a direction, charged up an Accumulated Thought Cannon, and fired it abruptly.

The figures of seven or eight old men were hit by the massive Nen Qi Wave like a string of candied haws, exploding into dust with several bangs!

But the others continued to fly away without slowing down.

Lin Chuan was about to command No. 28 to give chase, but Li Rufeng stopped him.

The experienced Li Rufeng said cautiously, "Don't chase. Beware of a lure to draw the tiger away from the mountain!"

Lin Chuan thought about it; indeed, it was more reassuring to have No. 28 by his side, so he gave up on the idea of chasing.

Calling No. 28 back, Lin Chuan asked, "Who do you think these people are?"

Li Rufeng sneered, "That old man is in the Void Refining Realm. In this Northern Territory, those who can produce a Void Refining expert and four Soul Transformation Death Warriors to intercept us can be counted on one hand."

Lin Chuan smiled, "Is it Xiao Lin?"

Li Rufeng nodded and said, "Most likely. I saw through that kid's politeness long ago; it was all an act."

Lin Chuan also nodded, "I knew that kid was a smiling tiger. I just made a Secret Realm entrance for him, and now he wants to kill me? What's he after?"

Qin Yi suddenly chimed in, "To prevent you from making anything better for the Southern Territory in the future. Only by killing you can the balance between the North and South be maintained."

"But why didn't he act in the Imperial City?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Because he wasn't certain of success. If he were certain, we definitely wouldn't have made it out of the Imperial City," Qin Yi said.

"But now that we've guessed it, isn't he afraid we'll go looking for trouble?" Lin Chuan asked again.

Li Rufeng laughed, "Hehe, as you said, it's just a guess. Without ironclad evidence, he can just deny it to the end. What can we do?"

"Damn, he doesn't look that old, but he's freaking calculating!" Lin Chuan cursed.

Qin Yi smiled and said, "Master Lin, you aren't involved in worldly affairs. Among these royals, how many have simple minds?"

Lin Chuan suddenly inexplicably missed that Second Fool, the Second Prince. Wasn't that guy quite simple-minded?

The four of them took to the air again, flying straight toward the Teleportation Array.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lin Chuan and the others actually returned to the place where they had just fought.

Li Rufeng looked around and said, "Hehe, Lin Kid, you guessed wrong this time!"

Lin Chuan was somewhat speechless. He thought of the novels he read before transmigrating—didn't they always seem to run away but actually hide in the same spot? You really can't trust what's written in novels.

"Forget it, let's go. It seems I really overthought it." Lin Chuan waved helplessly for everyone to take off again.

After another incense stick's time, Lin Chuan returned to the original spot once more with a face full of expectation.

Li Rufeng looked at Lin Chuan as if he were an idiot and asked, "Are we going back or not? Or should we just stay here for the night?"

Lin Chuan laughed awkwardly, "Let's go, let's go."

After the four of them left again, an unknown amount of time passed before a snowdrift suddenly moved, and an old man crawled out from beneath it.

He looked around vigilantly and cursed, "Damn it, I didn't expect the kid who looks the least calculating to be so cunning. He almost actually guessed right!"

The old man stood up, brushed the snow off his body, and muttered, "Fortunately, I can endure. You're still one move short, kid!"

Seeing no one around, the old man flew up and headed straight for the Imperial City.

Inside the Imperial City, Xiao Lin looked at the returning old man and said expressionlessly, "Failed? You let them escape?"

The old man said, "Your Majesty, it's not that I let them escape, it's that I almost didn't make it back myself!"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Xiao Lin turned around in surprise.

The old man quickly recounted the details of the battle.

After hearing it, Xiao Lin's face turned ashen. "That woman is actually that powerful? Just what trump cards is the Southern Territory still hiding?"

The old man hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to keep his mouth shut.

After a long while, Xiao Lin suddenly burst into laughter, his voice filled with ruthlessness.

"Hahaha, interesting, how interesting!" Xiao Lin laughed as he walked away.

Looking in the direction Xiao Lin left, the old man thought with deep concern, "Allowing Xiao Lin to succeed the throne... I wonder if it is a blessing or a curse for our Northern Territory!"

By this time, Lin Chuan and the others had returned to the Central Plains via the Teleportation Array and then teleported back to the Southern Territory's Imperial City. Seeing the viewing platforms already set up in the city, Lin Chuan smiled with satisfaction, "There's no place like home! Look at the Second Prince's efficiency."

Without stopping, Lin Chuan and the others continued in the pot, heading straight for the Spirit Realm Sect. Counting the days, the competition was set to begin in just one more day.

Meanwhile, inside the Secret Realm, the four who had trained all morning finally gathered again, intending to continue the Dungeon Instance. Now that all four had the Divine Artifact bracelet, the Interference Transmitter, it was time to go see the legendary Apostle Rotus.

The four found Ophelia and explained their intent.

However, Ophelia said with a face full of hesitation, "Adventurers, I have some bad news for you. The temple connecting the First Spine to the Second Spine has collapsed, and the path is blocked."

Upon hearing this, Quan Wudi said dissatisfiedly, "We've been busy for so long, and now that it's almost over, you're telling us we can't get through?"

Ophelia said with a conflicted expression, "Actually, there is another way to get through, but that is our GBL Temple. Unless one is a Cultist of Archbishop rank or higher, outsiders are not allowed to enter."

Xiao Hongyuan said calmly, "Given the current situation, if we can't get through, will your GBL Order even continue to exist?"

Ophelia said, "I understand the logic, it's just that I can't get over the hurdle in my heart."

Quan Wudi was truly angry now and said, "Then forget it! Let whoever wants to deal with that Rotus deal with him, we're not serving anymore!"

Ophelia said, "Don't be angry. How about you go find Sister Alice? Let her perform a prophecy for me to see if you can pass through?"

Xiao Hongyuan pulled the angry Quan Wudi along, saying, "Let's go, we'll check it out first."

After finding Alice, Quan Wudi angrily explained the situation.

To their surprise, Alice laughed after hearing it.

Jian Wuxie asked, "What are you laughing at? Please hurry and give us a prophecy. Can we enter that crappy temple or not?"

Alice asked instead, "Do you have any animal hides on you? The older the better!"