302: Transfer credit

Whew!

When Xiao Shi stepped into the vortex-like exit, he instantly appeared at the location he had entered before.

He saw Xiang Zizhen, who looked anxious, standing nearby.

At the same time, Xiang Zizhen also saw Xiao Shi.

Upon realizing that Xiao Shi was unharmed, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"How are things?" he asked quickly.

Xiao Shi hadn't been in the Land of Confinement for long.

Xiang Zizhen felt that Xiao Shi coming out so quickly likely meant he had encountered an insurmountable crisis inside and had to leave early.

If that were the case, he would still need to go inside to complete the task his master had given him.

Although time would be tight, he had to go in and try his luck.

With Xiao Shi's prior exploration of the situation inside, he could get some information from Xiao Shi first.

"Everything went smoothly."

"There isn't a single Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Cleric imprisoned in this Land of Confinement; only a treasure of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect that suppresses the sect."

"I have successfully brought this treasure out," Xiao Shi said in one breath.

Xiang Zizhen's eyes widened instantly.

He seemed to have turned to stone, staring blankly at Xiao Shi.

"You said... what's in the Land of Confinement is our Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect's treasure that suppresses the sect??"

"And... and you brought it out??"

At this moment, Xiang Zizhen felt his entire mind was in disarray, wondering if he had misheard.

Although his master hadn't explicitly told him what was in the Land of Confinement before this, he had given him many treasures in advance to use inside.

From this, he realized that this Land of Confinement was not simple.

But now Xiao Shi was telling him that what was inside the Land of Confinement was the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect's treasure that suppresses the sect, and he had successfully brought it out!

The impact this had on Xiang Zizhen was so strong that he became dazed, feeling as if it were all a dream, extremely unreal.

He had only hoped that Xiao Shi could return safely, and he wouldn't have been surprised even if he hadn't gained anything inside.

But now, Xiao Shi had completed this important task all by himself!

Xiang Zizhen was completely stunned...

Meanwhile, above the Star Luo Territory, on a battlefield invisible to everyone, roars constantly erupted, causing the clouds in the sky to scatter and the void to tremble and distort.

Chen Yuan, a Cleric of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect in a white robe, watched the battle between the two Lords with a solemn expression.

Originally, this battle, under the Four Symbols World Banning Formation he had set up, should have been a one-sided affair.

However, the current Star Luo Lord was completely unaffected by the Four Symbols World Banning Formation.

At the same time, because the Lord Qixing had rashly entered the Star Luo Lord's domain, the Lord Qixing had been at a disadvantage.

"It seems..."

"A Heavenly King is interfering!" Chen Yuan knew that in today's Tianwu Continent, only the Three Heavenly Kings could make the Star Luo Lord immune to the effects of the Four Symbols World Banning Formation.

Clearly, this Heavenly King had known about their Imperial Domain's actions one step ahead and had made targeted preparations!

As a result, the Lord Qixing, who was cooperating with them this time, now seriously suspected that the Imperial Domain was deliberately setting him up.

Consequently, the agreement the Lord Qixing had previously reached with the Imperial Domain completely collapsed.

The Imperial Domain not only failed to win over this Lord but also caused him to turn against them.

In fact, similar incidents had occurred frequently over the years.

Whenever the Imperial Domain wanted to win over these Lords, it would always be sabotaged.

Even if the saboteur never showed their face, everyone knew that only a Heavenly King possessed such capability.

"This attempt to win over allies has failed again..." Chen Yuan sighed.

Just then, the frown beneath his white robe suddenly relaxed.

At the same time, the Star Luo Lord, who was completely suppressing the Lord Qixing, also suddenly changed his expression and was forced to stop his attack.

He turned abruptly, gazing deeply at Chen Yuan.

"So your goal... was the eye of imperial judgment!!"

The moment he sensed the eye of imperial judgment awaken and break free from its seal, he completely understood.

The Imperial Domain had deliberately instigated him and the Lord Qixing to fight, seemingly to help the Lord Qixing transcend the Saint and ascend to the Dao Master rank, thereby winning over this ally!

In reality, it was to find an opportunity to retrieve the eye of imperial judgment.

After all, only when he was preoccupied could the Imperial Domain send someone into his domain to retrieve the eye of imperial judgment.

What he couldn't understand was... how did the other party do it?

It wasn't that he didn't know that some Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Clerics he hadn't found were hidden within his Star Luo Territory.

He also knew that the location where the eye of imperial judgment was sealed certainly couldn't be hidden from the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

At the same time, he had also considered that people from the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect might infiltrate it.

But he was full of confidence in the situation of the entire sealed land, believing that even if the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect sent people to infiltrate it, they wouldn't be able to take away the eye of imperial judgment.

On one hand, the eye of imperial judgment was in a deep slumber, and ordinary people, except for those Demigod powerhouses, simply couldn't awaken it.

On the other hand, the place where the eye of imperial judgment was sealed was a Demigod Land, containing Demigod taboos and rules.

Rashly entering it without knowing these taboos and rules would inevitably lead to death!

But the current situation... greatly surprised the Star Luo Lord!

He found it incredibly bizarre.

He couldn't fathom how the person who secretly infiltrated the sealed land managed to navigate through those taboo rules to reach the location of the eye of imperial judgment, and how he awakened the slumbering eye of imperial judgment.

Chen Yuan smiled without speaking.

In fact, from the very beginning, their goal was the eye of imperial judgment, this Demigod-level forbidden treasure!

They had just made two preparations.

If they could help the Lord Qixing kill the Star Luo Lord, then retrieving the eye of imperial judgment would naturally be an easy matter.

Of course, this was the ideal scenario.

Not only could they gain a powerful ally, but they could also retrieve the eye of imperial judgment.

But if they couldn't kill the Star Luo Lord... then Xiang Zizhen would need to enter the area where the eye of imperial judgment was sealed and try to awaken it.

In this matter, Chen Yuan could only rely on Xiang Zizhen.

He couldn't rely on anyone else because only Xiang Zizhen was the most suitable candidate.

He couldn't let the powerhouses within the Imperial Domain infiltrate the Star Luo Territory to complete this task.

Those powerhouses in the Imperial Domain couldn't enter the Star Luo Territory.

He could only find a suitable candidate within the Star Luo Territory to carry out this extremely important mission.

This was also the biggest reason why he took Xiang Zizhen as his disciple in the first place.

It could be said that he had cultivated Xiang Zizhen from beginning to end, all to have Xiang Zizhen reclaim this treasure of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect that suppresses the sect!

This was an extremely important chess piece he had laid out a long time ago!

However, he couldn't be certain that Xiang Zizhen would succeed!

Although he had given Xiang Zizhen many important treasures to deal with the taboos and rules of the sealed land, and also gave Xiang Zizhen the key item to awaken the eye of imperial judgment, he knew it might not succeed.

But he hadn't expected that Xiang Zizhen would successfully awaken the eye of imperial judgment and smoothly get his hands on it!

Although they failed to win over the Lord Qixing, as long as they retrieved the eye of imperial judgment, the loss on the Lord Qixing's side was nothing.

"You're right."

"I'm indeed not as good as Master in strategizing, but as Master's disciple, if I can learn even a little bit of his superficial knowledge, that's enough."

"However, your current predicament seems a bit unfavorable."

"The reason you've been able to connect with those Heavenly Kings all these years is simply because the eye of imperial judgment happened to be sealed in your domain."

"But now that you no longer have the eye of imperial judgment, do you think... those Heavenly Kings will still bother with you?" Chen Yuan asked with a smile.

The Star Luo Lord's face was grim.

The other party's words were like a sharp knife, piercing his heart.

He knew that the biggest difference between him and other Lords was that his domain contained the treasure of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect that suppressed the sect from back then!

This was a Demigod-level forbidden treasure that even the Three Heavenly Kings highly valued!

Unfortunately, he had never been able to acquire this Demigod-level forbidden treasure.

This was also why he hadn't made many arrangements outside that sealed land.

Even if he himself went in, he couldn't take away the eye of imperial judgment.

So why should he worry about others secretly going in and taking the eye of imperial judgment away?

"Without the support of the Heavenly Kings, I imagine... you'll never be able to transcend and become a Dao Master in this lifetime, will you?" Chen Yuan's words were scathing.

"Are you done? If you're done, get out!" The Star Luo Lord's face was ashen.

As he stopped, the Lord Qixing also timely withdrew his domain.

After hearing their conversation, the Lord Qixing's face was also very ugly.

It turned out that from beginning to end, he was just a tool, a clown.

Chen Yuan laughed heartily, and his entire figure directly vanished from before the two of them.

The Star Luo Lord and the Lord Qixing also had no intention of continuing the fight, and each returned to their own territories...

"You mean, you want me to tell Master that I was the one who brought this treasure out of the Land of Confinement, and you want me to claim this credit?" Xiang Zizhen frowned.

He wasn't someone who coveted credit.

Moreover, he and Xiao Shi were companions who had gone through life and death together, and Xiao Shi had even saved him before.

He certainly couldn't claim credit that rightfully belonged to Xiao Shi.

"It's all the same. If you hadn't held off the guards outside, I wouldn't have been able to get in there. Actually, it wasn't that complicated inside; if you had gone in, you could have also brought this treasure out. There's no difference."

"If this credit is attributed to me, when I reach the Imperial Domain, I'll probably only be rewarded with some Martial Soul Realm treasures at most."

"But if it's attributed to you, it's completely different. The Great Wu Dynasty might then fully assist you in breaking through to the Saint rank!"

"Of course, I also have a small selfish reason. I want to fully assist you in becoming a Saint first. With you as my backer, then when I reach the Imperial Domain, my Red Tiger Sect and I will be able to live better." Xiao Shi persuaded him repeatedly.

His reason indeed made it difficult for Xiang Zizhen to refuse, because he knew that the situation within the Imperial Domain was also somewhat complex.

Although the Imperial Domain could produce Saints, not every Martial Demon Realm Expert in the Imperial Domain could become a Saint.

There were also limitations on the number of quotas, and one had to be recognized by the Great Wu Dynasty.

If one didn't have enough merits or contributions... even if one reached the peak of the Martial Demon Realm, the Great Wu Dynasty might not necessarily give the Saint quota to them.

If he could have such a contribution, he indeed had a great chance of obtaining a Saint quota within the Imperial Domain.

As long as he became a Saint, he would indeed be qualified to be a backer for Xiao Shi and the others.

After all, a Saint on the entire Tianwu Continent could already be called a feudal lord, a hegemon!

If this credit were attributed to Xiao Shi, the Great Wu Dynasty certainly wouldn't directly give him a Saint quota.

In other words... the value of this reward was completely different if it was attributed to him versus Xiao Shi!

Only if it was attributed to him would the value of this reward be maximized.

However, Xiang Zizhen still felt a bit awkward.

After all, he hadn't done anything.

From beginning to end, Xiao Shi had completed this task alone.

At the same time, he also knew that the situation inside was definitely not as easy as Xiao Shi had described; it must have been extremely dangerous.

To claim credit for someone else's arduous efforts made Xiang Zizhen feel very uncomfortable.

Xiao Shi persuaded him for a long time.

Although he also knew that the credit for completing this matter would undoubtedly be immense, compared to such credit... he preferred to keep a low profile.

Especially in a place like the Imperial Domain!

He didn't want to enter the sight of those high-ranking officials.

He had too many secrets.

Whether it was the Emperors Armor or his identity as the Hall Master of Tianji Hall, once exposed, no matter how great his merits, he would certainly not be able to protect himself.

He felt that in the Imperial Domain, he needed to be even more low-key than before!

To hide even deeper behind the scenes!

If he claimed this credit, he would inevitably enter the sight of those high-ranking officials, and might even be noticed by powerhouses outside the Imperial Domain.

The retrieval of the eye of imperial judgment, a Demigod-level forbidden treasure, by the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, was such a major event that it would surely spread across the Tianwu Continent.

At that time, once everyone knew that he was the one who did it... he would instantly become famous and the center of attention throughout the entire Tianwu Continent.

Therefore, Xiao Shi absolutely could not claim this credit.

Even though his identity within the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect had always been the clone Wang Xiao, he could not allow this clone to be exposed to public attention.

Especially after Xiao Shi came into contact with the eye of imperial judgment, this Demigod-level forbidden treasure, he realized that many of his hidden aspects would be directly seen through.

He worried that once he appeared in the sight of those powerhouses, he would be seen through at a glance by them.

Just like the clone Wang Xiao, although Martial Demon Realm Experts couldn't tell it was a clone, powerhouses above the Martial Demon Realm... might not be unable to tell it was a clone!

This required him to hide even deeper and be more low-key.

Fortunately, after his continuous persuasion, he finally convinced Xiang Zizhen.