316: Chapter 316 The Secret of Return

After sending off Grand Preceptor Qian Wenzhao and Director Zhao, Tang Long stood by the large window, gazing outward.

In the blink of an eye, that storm had already passed three days ago.

Many things had happened in these three days.

The purge of Governor Xu Chaoyang's former subordinates was still ongoing, with thousands of people dismissed, imprisoned, or executed.

As for the original division commanders of the City Guard, some had been thrown into The Sect's prison, some had resigned in disgrace, and others had left Dongyu.

Yesterday, Wei Ye took 2nd Division Commander Wei Jun and Wei Mingzhu to the Wei Family mansion, where Wei Yuan committed suicide right in front of them.

There was also a heavyweight figure—Ye Baiyan—who had also committed suicide at home the day before yesterday, and Ye Qingzhou had just returned home to attend the funeral.

The military and political levels of Song City were undergoing a major reshuffle, with all factions scrambling to stuff their people in, especially His Majesty the Emperor.

Director Zhao, the Chief of the Military Department, came in person, and that was his ostensible purpose.

But who could have imagined that he was actually the de facto leader of the Blasphemers organization in Dongyu?

He had used the convenience of his identity as a Reincarnation Saint to gain huge benefits, but in the blink of an eye, he had to bear the crisis it brought.

After all, he had waded into the muddy waters of The Sect.

Of course, he was not afraid of these troubles.

Now, he could be considered to have a solid Foundation and formidable strength.

Coupled with his superior intellect and the advantage of some foresight, he was confident in playing games with anyone within the borders of Dongyu.

Moreover, the two biggest threats—the Pope and His Majesty the Emperor—were both not long for this world.

What he feared were those... invisible threats, even things beyond his wisdom and understanding.

The reason Governor Xu Chaoyang failed was definitely not because he was stupid or not well-prepared enough.

If it weren't for him, he would have succeeded this time.

Looking at it from another angle, the problems he faced were the same.

For example, the few times his consciousness had suddenly returned to Earth before.

There was no warning beforehand, and he still hadn't found the reason.

If he encountered a powerful enemy at such a time, what could he do other than let himself be slaughtered?

And this situation seemed to show signs of becoming more frequent.

Furthermore, his development in Dongyu had actually reached a Bottleneck period.

The power he currently controlled was not small, but the Dongyu Kingdom was too weak.

It couldn't even produce a proper expert at the Huagai Realm.

Situated in the cracks between the two behemoths of Yuanwu and the Blue Sea, so what if he became the Emperor?

Also, the closed beta would probably end in a couple of days.

He was currently level 30, having reached the version cap.

Between the closed beta and the open beta, the server downtime should be a month, but that was the players' time.

When they logged in again, Blue Star would be several years later.

In other words, during these few years, he would be unable to utilize the power of the players, and the assistance of the game system to him would also tend to stagnate.

Then he could only rely on Realm improvement to increase his strength.

Fortunately, the environment was now completely relaxed, enough for him to develop with peace of mind.

After sighing, Tang Long took out paper and pen, sat down, and carefully recalled.

He wanted to summarize all his experiences, starting from the first time his consciousness returned to Earth, up to the most recent occurrence, to see if he could find any patterns.

If he didn't solve this problem, everything he did would be uncomfortable.

Listing them out one by one, item by item, he pondered carefully.

Just then, the door was knocked, and a few seconds later, Shang Yuqing pushed the door open and entered.

"Tang Long, Group Leader Yun wants to see you."

"Yun Zhuoyue?" Tang Long looked up and smiled. "The entire army is being reorganized; as a Great Master division commander, she should be very busy. Why is she coming to see me?"

"She brought someone with her; it's that Guan Guo you almost killed last time."

"Oh?"

Tang Long thought for a moment. "I won't see her. You bring Guan Guo up."

Shang Yuqing went out with a smile, and after a while, she brought Guan Guo into the room.

Tang Long didn't even look up this time and directly pointed to the sofa opposite him.

"Sit."

Guan Guo looked slightly uneasy, but sat down as instructed.

"How are your injuries?"

Guan Guo's face twitched slightly. "They are almost healed."

Tang Long chuckled. "To be able to survive even after being decapitated, you really are extraordinary, my friend. Do you hold a grudge against me?"

Guan Guo sighed. "Even a Huagai Realm expert fell into Your Excellency's hands; how could I dare?"

"Not daring doesn't mean you don't have one. I like honest people. If you don't have any truth in your mouth, there's no need for us to talk, right?"

Guan Guo's expression was a bit dazed. He didn't know why, but he felt like Tang Long's words were echoing in the room over and over, and his eyelids felt heavy.

"Why did you come?"

"On the orders of Governor Xu, to come to Song City as a hostage."

"Tell the truth."

"On the orders of my father, to join the White Clothes Association."

"Who is your father?"

"My father is His Majesty the Emperor's Chief Shadow Guard, codenamed Shadow, and also the leader of the Fifth Saint Lineage. But his true identity is the son of the Pope."

Hearing this, Tang Long finally looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

The Pope's eldest son?

He became the leader of the Fifth Saint Lineage and even managed to get close to the Emperor?

Good grief!

Wasn't the Fifth Saint Lineage beaten into a stray dog by the Pope?

The Emperor, Ye Qingcang, was still dreaming every day about overthrowing the Pope, but it turned out... the Pope had already put a knife to his neck.

Under Tang Long's continued questioning, Guan Guo spilled all his secrets like beans from a bamboo tube.

After listening, Tang Long felt that... the Dongyu Kingdom was truly full of talent.

First there was Guan Tai, and later there was Xu Chaoyang.

But by comparison, this "Shadow" was the real master.

Not only could he pull off so many things without anyone noticing, but he could also see the value of the White Clothes Association and knew to plant a spy in advance.

Interesting.

Could he be that future Pope?

After a little thought, Tang Long tapped on the table, and Guan Guo woke up from his daze.

"President Tang, did I just zone out? Where were we talking?"

"We were talking about you wanting to join the White Clothes Association."

Tang Long looked at him with a smile. "It's good that you have this ambition, but the White Clothes Association doesn't just accept anyone. In your case, unless you make an outstanding contribution, it will be hard to convince the others."

Guan Guo was stunned. "What kind of contribution?"

"I heard that you possess two Wuque Methods; hand over a copy of each, and that way I can help speak for you at the regular meeting."

Guan Guo was very angry, silently cursing Tang Long for being shameless.

He asked for two Wuque Methods right away; did he think Wuque Methods were wild vegetables at the market?

But he was on a mission, so he didn't dare to refuse outright.

He could only say: "President Tang, this matter is too big; please allow me to consider it."

"Then go back and consider it carefully, and also make it clear to the people behind you."

Guan Guo stood up helplessly and took his leave.

He had just left when Jiang Xiaolan ran in.

"Tang Long, it's a disaster! You must help me this time!"

Tang Long was a bit surprised. What could be a disaster for her?

"What's wrong? Don't panic, tell me slowly!"

Jiang Xiaolan spoke rapidly like popping beans. "Just now, Bishop Wei ran to my house and said he wanted to play matchmaker for my dad, wanting him to marry Wei Mingzhu!"

"That woman is a jinx. She just caused Governor Xu's death, and now she wants to harm my dad!"

"You know what that Xu person did before; I think she is just as shameless as him."

"And she is a Sun Worshiper. If someone like that enters the Jiang Family, our Jiang Family will sooner or later suffer a great misfortune!"

"No way, I cannot have such a stepmother."

"Tang Long, I have almost never asked you for anything; you must help me this time!"

"Others might not know your ability, but I know you must have a way..."

At this point, Tang Long suddenly raised his hand to stop her and abruptly stood up.

Because from the Jiang Family, he suddenly had a certain inspiration and immediately found some clues on that piece of paper.

He discovered that before the previous times his consciousness returned, he had been stained with the blood of those game entities—or player blood—within a certain period of time!

Before the first return, he had injected the Jiang Family's potion, which was the game entity blood extract.

Everything started from here!

The second time goes without saying; after collecting player blood, and that fierce battle, he had been stained with quite a bit of player blood.

Most recently, during the time in the Ice Wind Realm, he had personally participated in a war against game entities!

Player blood, game entity blood!

Jiang Xiaolan saw his expression was extremely serious and couldn't help but feel a bit timid, thinking he was not very happy.

"Tang Long, my request... shouldn't be too much, right?"

Tang Long didn't answer but immediately took out his phone and made a call.

"Hello, Elder Jiang, this is Tang Long."

"I want to see you in twenty minutes!"

"It can't wait. Put other things aside; mine is important."

"Also, let Uncle Jiang come too, and tell him to bring the Class I stock solution and Class II stock solution."

"See you in a bit!"

Under Jiang Xiaolan's surprised gaze, Tang Long strode out of the room.