Chapter 102: It Was You Who Saved Everyone

Chapter 102: It Was You Who Saved Everyone

Yu Zheng became more and more convinced of his own thoughts.

He remembered that the adult had once said, even if he was at Tianling Mountain, his words and actions would still be seen by the adult.

He still had no idea why his behavior was being monitored and had yet to discover who was keeping an eye on him.

But now, he knew.

He had mingled with the underworld and had seen many fierce and ruthless people. Yet, he had not encountered anyone as intimidating as Lin Nuo, whose bloodthirsty gaze could instill fear just by looking at someone.

In the underworld, even the most fearsome characters did not possess such a heavy murderous look.

He had a sharp eye; a gaze like that reflected a person’s true nature. Even if one tried to pretend, righteous cultivators could not fake such a fierce glare.

Thus, Lin Nuo was indeed a hidden villain.

If he thought about it, it made sense. He, disguised as a kind and friendly alchemist at the Xuanyun Sect, Mu Yiting pretended to be a gentle and lovely popular female cultivator, while Lin Nuo was proclaimed a righteous knight. Their disguises were the same—both pretending to be reputable figures.

Moreover, recently Mu Yiting liked to associate with him and even requested to team up for alchemy. He must know how to attract her attention and subtly monitor her. At that time, he might have been the one adding materials into the alchemical furnace, which meant Mu Yiting had not personally seen what was in the furnace and couldn’t possibly know about the Black Scale Stones. This was also assisting him, Yu Zheng.

So Lin Nuo was sent by his adult to watch over him.

Yes, it had to be that way.

Now that his spiritual sense was discovered by the elders of the Xuanyun Sect and they had timely intervened, his plan had failed, and Lin Nuo had come before the elders noticed.

What was Lin Nuo’s intention? Was it to prevent him, Yu Zheng, from fleeing after his plan failed, or was he here to take him back to be punished for failing his mission?

What should he do? Resist?

No, since he was sent by the adult to monitor him, his strength was definitely above his own—he could not win. Even if he could escape, turning the entire underworld against him would lead to disastrous consequences.

At this moment, Lin Nuo noticed Yu Zheng’s hesitation and concluded that Yu Zheng knew he had let go of the Black Scale Stone to intercept him, but thought his display of intimidation had worked, causing Yu Zheng to think he was prepared, leaving him flustered and indecisive.

Making the enemy overthink was the essence of psychological warfare, and Lin Nuo held the initiative.

Lin Nuo continued to sneer, “From the very beginning, you had no chance of winning. If you want to oppose me, you’ll only bring about your own destruction.”

Confronted with Lin Nuo’s sneer and confidence, Yu Zheng grew increasingly panicked.

Indeed, he absolutely could not contend with him, after all, that was someone sent by the adult to monitor him.

Yu Zheng noticed Lin Nuo’s hand slipping into his robe pocket, seemingly searching for something, causing him to panic even more.

What was he looking for? A powerful hidden weapon? Would he eliminate him on the spot if he did not comply?

In the underworld, hidden weapons could be inhumane, inflicting suffering without killing, a fate worse than death.

Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Yu Zheng, and he immediately knelt down in a flurry:

“Please don’t kill me! This was just an accident; please give me another chance to plead with the adult! I will absolutely repay your great kindness in the future! I promise I will succeed next time!”

Yu Zheng earnestly knelt and begged for mercy, but Lin Nuo only understood that he didn’t want him dead; the rest sounded like gibberish.

However, he didn’t believe this alchemist would kneel down and plead for mercy so easily; it was likely a ploy to deceive him, pretending to be humble to lower his guard before seizing the opportunity to subdue him.

Lin Nuo would not fall for that; there had to be a trick in there.

But it also proved that his intimidation had worked perfectly, making Yu Zheng not consider direct force but instead resort to these feigned cries for mercy, clearly concerned about Lin Nuo’s strength.

Good, his pressure had created the illusion that he was strong.

However, this act of pleading was terribly amateurish—who would suddenly beg for mercy from their enemy like that?

As long as he did not get too close to Yu Zheng, Lin Nuo was fine. He had already distanced himself, concealing the Paralysis Needle in his sleeve, and took the opportunity to shoot it while Yu Zheng was still kneeling, hitting him.

After being struck by the Paralysis Needle, Yu Zheng felt weak and could barely muster any strength, even his ability to channel energy slowed significantly.

Yu Zheng now found his actions hindered, but he hadn’t planned to resist to begin with. After getting hit, he became even more sincere in his pleas: “I’ve gathered a lot of treasures and spirit artifact manuals I can give you; I’ll go back with you now. Please grant me another chance.”

“Go back? How could that be possible?”

Lin Nuo chuckled, thinking he wanted him to return to the Xuanyun Sect after saying all this.

He shot several more Paralysis Needles.

Lin Nuo released several more Paralysis Needles, striking Yu Zheng again. Now Yu Zheng was hit with over ten needles; he could barely move, and even speaking became difficult.

Taking advantage of Yu Zheng’s immobility, Lin Nuo promptly decided to flee. How could he continue staying in the Xuanyun Sect after the failure of the Black Scale Stone plan?

However, things took a turn for the worse when the elders of the Xuanyun Sect came flying in, arriving at the scene.

Damn it, it was a trap.

Lin Nuo then realized that Yu Zheng was not a fool; in fact, he was stalling for time until reinforcements arrived.

Now, with several elders descending from the sky, Lin Nuo had no way to escape.

With a body paralyzed and weak from the Paralysis Needles, Yu Zheng collapsed on the ground and could not get back up.

Lin Nuo had underestimated this situation, falling into Yu Zheng’s scheme and delaying until the elders arrived.

But even if he hadn’t stalled, his plan would have failed anyway; this area was the Xuanyun Sect’s territory, and searching for him would have been too easy.

Lin Nuo maintained a calm exterior, unperturbed, watching for an opportunity to react, observing what the elders would do next.

The elders noticed Yu Zheng collapsed on the ground and Lin Nuo, who remained unharmed, were greatly surprised and impressed.

“Lin Nuo, are you alright?” Master Zhao inquired with concern.

Lin Nuo did not respond, feeling it was a case of the cat crying for the mouse—a false display of compassion.

“Yu Zheng seems to have been struck by a hidden weapon; let’s capture him first.”

The elders swiftly approached to subdue Yu Zheng, and upon getting closer, they realized he had been struck by the Paralysis Needles.

Using hidden weapons to immobilize the enemy, while they handled the situation, Lin Nuo managed this quite expertly.

“Lin Nuo, you did well. You saw through Yu Zheng’s scheme and took advantage of his moment of unpreparedness to subdue him. You saved everyone, and on behalf of the other disciples, I thank you!” Master Zhao said respectfully, bowing to Lin Nuo.

“What did you say?” Lin Nuo was confused.

“Lin Nuo, you don’t need to pretend anymore; we’re clear now. Yu Zheng has been stealing our sect’s manuals and prized materials; we finally discovered a clue. When we rushed to the alchemy room, we found his setup for spiritual sense, and it also became apparent that the alchemical furnace you previously used had abnormalities. We later opened it to find two Black Scale Stones inside.”

“Two Black Scale Stones?!” Lin Nuo was shocked.

“Yes, two. We also suspected one was placed there by him in advance to blow up the disciples in the high-temperature and spirited environment of the furnace. The other was placed by you; at the time, Qin Shili took notice. We all know that if two Black Scale Stones are placed together, their explosion conditions would significantly enhance. Even with one more furnace, it wouldn’t be possible to detonate the Black Scale Stones, but you utilized this point to add one more Black Scale Stone, limiting the explosion of Yu Zheng’s, and with that, you discreetly resolved the crisis, saving everyone and quickly came to catch Yu Zheng. I can only admire your intelligence and strength.”

Master Zhao laughed heartily, stroking his beard.

Lin Nuo: ???