Justice: “This matter is a bit troublesome.”
The Tower: “Be specific.”
Justice: “To be precise, a political rival of mine colluded with several council members to orchestrate this. After all, you exposed such a massive scandal regarding the smuggling of teleportation circle materials yesterday; naturally, some people couldn't sit still anymore.”
Although Shang Chuan had said Chu Yuan only received the news when he was called into a morning briefing today,
The reality was that after returning yesterday and spending a little time researching some key technologies regarding blood that were on the verge of a breakthrough, he had handed the rest of the research to his subordinates and immediately called for a night meeting within the council.
The agenda of this meeting was, of course, the matter of materials for constructing teleportation circles being resold on the black market.
During the meeting, Chu Yuan made it clear that the members of Tarot Villa who provided the materials now wanted a thorough investigation. Furthermore, once the culprits were identified, there would be no need for the Supreme Council to act; they would personally execute the thieves.
Upon hearing this, the faces of the assembled council members changed.
Rumors had already been spreading on the world channel that Olf, the leader of the Titan race known by the code name ‘Chariot’ in Tarot Villa, had wiped out a small organization. Meanwhile, intelligence regarding the locations where those two meteorites had fallen indicated it was the work of Lan Qingyou, the leader of the Witch race known as ‘The Tower’ within Tarot Villa.
Setting that fellow Olf aside for a moment,
Lan Qingyou was a major figure known to everyone.
Previously, because of the potions, everyone had hoped to gain benefits from Lan Qingyou, only for a brash youngster like Chu Yuan to seize the initiative.
The various feats she had displayed afterward and the announcements from the world consciousness all pointed to her extraordinary nature.
This made these council members, who considered themselves high and mighty, feel rather uncomfortable.
Such a lucrative target was being controlled by a young man like Chu Yuan, whom they looked down upon. Who wouldn't feel resentful?
But as Lan Qingyou’s combat prowess continued to climb, these people felt less regretful.
After all, someone with such formidable combat prowess meant she wouldn't be easily manipulated.
If she only knew how to make potions, she would certainly be the perfect subject for exploitation. They could have easily suppressed and controlled her using excuses like the fate of humanity or the greater good.
But with martial might, that was a different story.
It could be said that Lan Qingyou and Olf were the prime examples of the entire Tarot Villa.
So, when they heard that the people of Tarot Villa intended to take matters into their own hands, they all panicked.
It wasn't that they were afraid of these people killing anyone.
In this current world, people were dying every day, so that wasn't the core of the issue.
The critical problem was that once they took action, it would mean a local academic organization was interfering in the affairs of the entire Supreme Council.
The nature of such an act couldn't be smoothed over by simple words like ‘taking action’ or ‘investigation.’
An even more important issue was that the materials for making the teleportation circles were provided by the researchers of Tarot Villa.
They could be considered the ‘investors’ for the Supreme Council on this project.
Therefore, if the investors wanted to personally audit the accounts and kill people, the council wouldn't even have room to maneuver, let alone block them.
As a result, they immediately began to take this matter seriously.
This time, there was no bickering, nor was there the usual procrastination of holding three meetings a day. They identified the people involved in the reselling in nearly a single night.
Those who needed to be killed were killed; those who needed to die were dead.
They struck with lightning-fast methods, precisely to leave the investors from Tarot Villa no excuse to intervene.
But because of this, many people harbored resentment.
After all, the Supreme Council was the legitimate ruler of Kalim. What right did a bunch of scholars have to be so demanding?
Consequently, several hardliners joined forces, wanting to give Tarot Villa a show of strength.
And how could they give these researchers a show of strength?
Naturally, by targeting the most prominent one—eliminating Lan Qingyou first.
While it might be inconvenient for them to use force, they were professionals when it came to tripping people up from dark corners.
Besides, they had heard that the Witch of the Tower was only about eighteen or twenty years old.
What could be so hard about handling a young girl?
Thus, the proposal to build an Adventurers’ Guild in the Abandoned Ruins came about.
Because several council members were colluding, and other members also wanted to use this matter to test Lan Qingyou’s attitude,
By dawn, not only had the matter of the smuggled materials been handled, but the establishment of the Adventurers’ Guild in the Abandoned Land had also been approved.
Although Chu Yuan had strongly opposed it, it was of no use, as others could proceed even by bypassing him.
After all, the Supreme Council was not Chu Yuan’s one-man show.
However, now that Lan Qingyou was asking, he could naturally speak without any reservations.
Selling out his teammates? That simply didn't exist.
The Tower: “I see. So, can I view this as a provocation and a test from the Supreme Council?”
After hearing Chu Yuan’s explanation, Lan Qingyou asked with a cold sneer.
Although she couldn't fully understand what these people were thinking, there was no doubt they were up to no good.
Justice: “You cannot, because they are merely a minority faction and cannot represent the entire Supreme Council.”
The Tower: “But the majority faction gave their tacit consent in this matter, didn't they?”
Knowing he couldn't hide it, Chu Yuan didn't answer, but his silence spoke volumes.
The Tower: “Heh, interesting.”
Justice: “Do whatever you want.”
Chu Yuan simply threw caution to the wind, which allowed Lan Qingyou to see through some things.
The Tower: “You’re also playing a game on this chessboard, aren't you?”
Justice: “Indeed.”
The Tower: “Care to share?”
Justice: “There’s nothing much to say. The few bottles of blood from before were enough to increase the strength on my side. You just do whatever you think is right on your end; it won't affect me. However, my side will also make adjustments based on your actions.”
Justice: “When the time comes, I’ll share intelligence in the group in real-time so everyone can profit. After all, we’re all in the same boat now.”
Looking at the message he had sent, Chu Yuan sighed as he sat in his chair.
He knew the current state of the Supreme Council better than anyone.
Because of the teleportation circles and the Adventurers’ Guild, the Supreme Council had basically secured its rule over the land.
For a composite organization, once external problems were solved, all that remained was internal strife.
The Adventurers’ Guild had only just begun to spread, and already someone was preparing to strike at a lucrative target like Lan Qingyou.
The Tower: “Fine. Since you put it that way, help me pass a message to the Supreme Council.”
Justice: “What message?”
The Tower: “Tell them that if I cannot designate the branch president of the Adventurers’ Guild in the Abandoned Land, then from now on, people from the Supreme Council will be prohibited from entering the Abandoned Land. Anyone who enters dies. Furthermore, because I have some business to attend to here...”
Justice: “Are you claiming territory?”
The Tower: “Is there something wrong with that...”
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