“Are you sure you’re talking about me?”
Hack was utterly bewildered, his face filled with disbelief.
“Yes, Professor Hack. Others might not detect the corrupting power of Hell, but in that regard, I’m an expert.”
Recent prolonged exposure to corrupting power, especially with the tragic cases of two gods falling due to corruption, made Chen Xu extremely sensitive to the aura of corruption.
Moreover, Akhan was a world with a precedent; Hell demons had truly invaded this world before.
Hell was an old hand at this, so Chen Xu wasn’t surprised that they would leave behind some strange hidden tricks.
Even the relatively laid-back Land of the Undead had so many peculiar things, let alone Hell, which was constantly warring across myriad worlds.
When he first emerged from the teleportation array, he had smelled a faint, strange aura in the air.
It wasn't until he saw Hack that Chen Xu confirmed the source of the strange aura was Hack himself.
“Heh, Esteemed Chen Xu, although you are now a Mythic Venerable, I am also a councilor of the Akhan Mage Council.
If you claim I’ve accepted Hell’s corruption and fallen, you’ll need to provide evidence.”
“Evidence? That’s easy enough.”
Chen Xu pulled out the pure white stone, then teleported in front of Hack. After controlling Hack with his mental strength, he pressed the pure white stone against Hack’s forehead.
The moment it touched, the pure white stone emitted a glow, a white light that flowed from the stone onto Hack’s body.
“Ah!”
A pained scream rang out, and a wisp of black smoke rose from Hack’s head.
Seeing this, everyone present was stunned.
Because the scream wasn't Hack's, but that of the strange spirit entity possessing him.
Griffinlie waved his magic wand, summoning a gentle breeze that swept the black smoke into his hand.
Griffinlie then brought his hand, holding the black smoke, to his mouth and inhaled sharply, drawing all the black smoke into his body.
Chen Xu was dumbfounded by this sight; whose subordinate was this, so courageous?
Only a mythic-tier being would dare to inhale something so unknown into their body.
After a moment, a wisp of black smoke shot out from Griffinlie’s nostrils.
“A mage from a minor school was targeted by a fallen one during an expedition to the lost land and fell into a trap, being made into this strange spirit entity.”
Hack’s face was grim, lost in thought.
“Professor Hack, to be possessed by a spirit entity, it seems your mental strength techniques aren’t so great after all.”
Hack didn’t retaliate or defend against Chen Xu’s mockery. Instead, he looked at Griffinlie and spoke with grave seriousness.
“Griffinlie, did you see who placed the spirit entity on me?
I haven’t been to that wretched lost land in a long time.”
Griffinlie nodded, waving his magic wand. Magic power outlined an emblem in the air.
Upon seeing the emblem, Hack’s eyes widened, his lips slightly parted and trembling.
“It was him!”
Chen Xu also saw the emblem suspended in the air, but he didn’t know what it represented.
In the Akhan Dynasty, every school had its own emblem, and so did nobles and the royal family.
But Chen Xu didn’t recognize this emblem, which ruled out the Ten Schools and the Akhan royal family; he had learned all their iconic emblems at the Enlightenment Temple.
Therefore, the emblem represented either a noble family or some smaller schools.
Or... Chen Xu suddenly remembered that besides those, there was another group that also had their own emblems: Archmages.
Just as Chen Xu was furiously thinking in his mind, Griffinlie suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts.
“Respected Mythic Venerable, I am very sorry, but we have encountered a major issue, and our cooperation may have to be postponed.”
Griffinlie bowed slightly, showing utmost humility.
“Ah? So I came all this way for nothing?”
“Esteemed Venerable, our school genuinely desires your Natural Wonder, it’s not a jest. It’s just that we have some troublesome matters at hand, and I worry about involving you.”
Griffinlie looked at the pure white stone in Chen Xu’s hand. Being able to dispel corrupting spirit entities with a casually produced stone showed such profound power that he no longer had any doubts about Chen Xu’s Natural Wonder.
However, from the current situation, there was a major internal problem in Akhan, one involving Hell’s corruption.
As Akhan people who had experienced Hell’s terror firsthand, they didn't want to involve unrelated outsiders in this dangerous conspiracy.
“Don’t worry about that. You provide the payment, and I’ll do the work. As for anything else, you don’t need to bother. As for the threat of Hell, hehehe, I’ve even slain corrupted gods. If you can afford the price, you can also hire my great army.
Every single one of them is a veteran of the god-slaying war.”
Watching from the ground outside Dragon Court probably counts as experiencing it firsthand, right? It shouldn’t be considered false advertising.
“Really?!”
Griffinlie was tempted, but Hack raised a hand to stop him.
“Esteemed Chen Xu, thank you for dispelling the corruption from me, and thank you for your kind offer of military aid. However, too much is involved here; we must first ascertain the situation.
As for your transaction with the Soul School, Dean Griffinlie, the review is approved. The council supports your inter-world purchase.”
After saying that, Hack handed the brochure in his hand to Griffinlie, then hastily left and entered the teleportation array outside the station. A flash of light, and he vanished.
“Uh, Dean Griffinlie, is it? Then, us?”
Chen Xu pointed at the brochure in Griffinlie’s hand, gesturing with his eyes.
“Oh, in that case, Esteemed Venerable, please follow me.”
Chen Xu followed Griffinlie into Griffinlie’s mage tower, where they had a productive discussion.
Due to the events that had just transpired, the negotiation process went very smoothly.
Ultimately, the 【Three-Phase Wraith Reincarnation Pool】 was traded for 180 legendary creature corpses, plus 5 space fragments.
Of the 180 legendary creature corpses, 100 had to be non-repeating.
Moreover, Griffinlie was very generous, immediately giving Chen Xu the 5 space fragments and the legendary creature corpses available at the Soul School.
The rest, he would have to exchange with other schools, which would take some time.
“Esteemed Chen Xu, I’ll see you off here. I still have some matters to attend to. Later, when your construction crew arrives, simply present the qualification scroll I gave you.”
“Hahahaha, Dean Griffinlie, please go attend to your business, I’ll leave on my own!”
‘Eating from someone’s hand makes your mouth short, taking from someone makes your hand soft.’ Chen Xu always maintained enthusiasm for his clients, and for generous big clients like Griffinlie, his enthusiasm was even 180 degrees.
After leaving the Soul School, Chen Xu didn’t immediately return to Blue Star but went to Daxia City No. 1.
“Good, this place wasn’t affected.”
Chen Xu emerged from the teleportation array, letting out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t detected any aura of corruption within Daxia’s territory.
“Hmm? Student Chen, why are you here? Oh, no, I should call you Mythic Chen now.”
Liu Yisi’s voice came.
“Brother Liu, it’s fine if others call me that, but we’re so familiar, you can just call me Student Chen. ‘Mythic Chen’ sounds terrible.”
“Hehe, I thought so too. I wonder who’s in charge of giving out titles in Daxia these days; their standards are far worse than before.
By the way, why are you free to come to City No. 1? I heard you were preparing to clear an ultra-tier dungeon. You should be the main combat force, right?”
“I opened a company in the City of Miracles and took on a project from the Akhan Soul School. Also, I discovered a big secret about Akhan.”
“Secret?” Liu Yisi looked around, and after making sure no one was present, he hurried over to Chen Xu, whispering.
“What secret? Share it.”
“Someone in Akhan’s upper echelons has been corrupted by Hell.”
“Ah? You, you say that again.”
Chen Xu repeated it, and Liu Yisi still stood frozen, mouth agape.
“Brother Liu, don’t worry, I checked. It’s clean here, no aura of Hell.”
Chen Xu patted Liu Yisi’s shoulder, comforting him.
“Do Daxia’s higher-ups know?”
“Not yet. I rushed here as soon as I found out; I haven’t reported it upwards. If everything’s fine here, I’ll head back and tell Teacher Xia about the situation in Akhan.”
“Alright, go quickly, this is urgent.”
...
Daxia Military Academy Dungeon Preparation Base, Xia Qiming’s office.
After listening to Chen Xu’s account, Xia Qiming leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples with a troubled expression.
“Why did something have to happen at this critical time?”
After much thought, Xia Qiming looked at Chen Xu.
“Do you think Akhan’s forces need our help? Or, will it affect us in the short term?”
Chen Xu pondered and said, “Probably not, Teacher Xia. That is, after all, a mage dynasty tens of thousands of years old. Even if it almost went extinct, it still has a foundation.”
“Alright then.” Xia Qiming stood up. “The ultra-tier dungeon clearing plan remains unchanged. As for Akhan, I’ll notify our people there to retreat for now. We’ll make further plans after the ultra-tier dungeon is dealt with.”
“By the way, I’m going to the Demon Abyss. Do you want to come along?”
“The Demon Abyss? To find the World Will?”
Xia Qiming nodded: “Yes, to ask the World Will if it can temporarily close the dungeon entrance leading to Akhan.”
“Sure, I also want to see if the World Will has changed after growing.”
Rate on N.U.
