Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 718 Three-Part Confrontation (Request Subscription)
The speaker was naturally Lin Ruxue, the embodiment of the Daoist Realm's plane origin. She still retained the appearance of a child, the only difference being that she was now dressed in a Daoist robe, holding a duster with an expression that was a mix of a smile and a smirk, unable to hide the killing intent that emanated from her inside out.
"Where are my subordinates? What did you do to them?" Gu Shenghui saw Lin Ruxue enter through the door but received no alert, making him worry about the safety of those on guard outside as he stepped forward to question her first.
"This is a world under my dominion. I can go wherever I please. How could your few people possibly stop me? Rest assured, they are all safe and didn't even notice how I came in." Lin Ruxue didn't so much as glance at Gu Shenghui as she gave this answer, her gaze fixed intently on the Candle Dragon seated at the center of the room as she sneered, "Speak up then, why aren't you saying anything? Let me hear how heinous a person I am, and let me hear how you intend to manipulate this foolish disciple."
Before the Candle Dragon could speak, Lin Junzhao, occupying Pei Yan's body, pre-empted, "I'm not your disciple, and I'm not foolish!"
Seeing Lin Junzhao's angry expression and then the Candle Dragon's gloating, smug face beside her, it was obvious their so-called master-disciple relationship had long become void without him needing to sow discord.
Lin Ruxue, feeling helpless and frustrated, lightly poked her forehead with the handle of the duster and sighed, "I know you bear resentment, and I also know that back then I..."
"Manipulated by someone?" Before she could finish, the Candle Dragon interjected sarcastically, "Yes, you must be saying you were manipulated by me. That's right, I did it! I orchestrated all of this."
Lin Ruxue and Lin Junzhao simultaneously glanced toward the Candle Dragon who claimed all this responsibility on himself. He got up, walked behind a chair, continuously tapping the backrest with his right hand as he looked at Lin Junzhao with profound meaning, "Back then, my plan was advancing in secret, and the chain reaction caused by it lead to the Plane Barrier's fragility, resulting in numerous crossing incidents. These matters undoubtedly drew the attention of the four Masters of Origin of the major planes. To smoothly carry out my plan, I had to divert their attention with a scapegoat."
"Heh, so I was the scapegoat?" Lin Junzhao clenched her fists and sneered.
"Uh, right. Was there a more suitable candidate than you?" The Candle Dragon spread his hands with a look of helplessness before turning to Lin Ruxue and mocked, "But back then I only nudged things slightly in the dark to entangle you in all this, with their ability, if they genuinely wanted to investigate, getting to the truth would've been easy. But did they? No! When I officially appeared before them, willing to take on all consequences and responsibilities for imprisoning you, they accepted this condition without hesitation."
At this, the Candle Dragon pointed his finger at the enraged, wanting-to-refute Lin Ruxue and laughed, "Oh! Right! I forgot! I'm truly sorry, your great Master Lin Ruxue hesitated. Yes, I won't wrong her, she did hesitate, showing her doubts and hesitation about this decision, but..."
As he said this, the Candle Dragon looked back at Lin Junzhao, gesturing with one finger of his right hand, "But she hesitated for less than five minutes? Ten minutes? At most ten minutes, before agreeing to the persuasion of the other three planes, consenting to this plan. What splendid master-disciple affection, it only took ten minutes to abandon her disciple and decide her fate. Lady Lin Ruxue, am I wrong?"
Seeing Lin Ruxue trembling with anger yet at a loss for words, the Candle Dragon poked his finger on his body a few times to slow down the deterioration of that body, then stared at Lin Junzhao and continued, "If you hate me because you believe everything stemmed from me, I have nothing to say—it serves me right—but they aren't innocent either. The excuse of preventing the Plane Barrier's rapid breakdown was merely the most suitable reason they found to imprison you! I gave them this opportunity, and they readily accepted it! Believe me, even if this hadn't happened, there would be other reasons until you submitted to their control or were imprisoned forever." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
After the Candle Dragon finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence. Faced with beings who could be considered gods from the perspectives of the three worlds' plane origins, in this godly quarrel, including Pei Yan, none of the others present had the courage or qualification to interject. Observing the turn of events clandestinely from within, Pei Yan never imagined his desire to possess an Origin Fragment would lead to such grave consequences.
"You all!" Lin Junzhao's slightly hoarse voice emerged from Pei Yan's throat, breaking the silence, "Every one of you good things." With these words, she turned to look at Lin Ruxue with a complex expression and said, "I won't believe everything he says, but I trust you're capable of doing what he mentioned. After all, in your eyes, your world and status are always what's most important, yes, and that's understandable. So, never again stand above me and accuse me of coveting power; I became like this because you forced me. From now on, there will be no difference between you and me."
"Well said, so I..."
"Shut up!" Lin Junzhao sharply turned around to point at the opportunistic Candle Dragon and shouted, "My relationship with her is none of your concern, and you don't need to provoke and incite dissension. Don't think a few words will ease my aversion to you and align me with your faction."
The Candle Dragon, being reprimanded, gestured with his hands innocently and said, "I also didn't expect you to accept me so quickly. You can take your time considering; there's plenty of time. Even if you don't join my faction, it's no matter. Once the plan succeeds, there will still be a place for you in this world. Remember, we're two sides of the same coin, both thriving and clashing. Still don't understand? Do you think your current position-level improvement was due to this foolish boy's efforts?"
Watching the Candle Dragon point at himself, Pei Yan wanted to speak up in his own defense but was struck speechless by his subsequent words.
"It's because of me; it's my existence and threat that highlight your worth. If I were gone, do you think they would still value your world and you so highly?"
The Candle Dragon's words were like a heavy hammer striking everyone's heart in the room. Even Pei Yan and Gu Shenghui had to admit the truth in his words. Indeed, Pei Yan was powerful, vastly surpassing other cultivators at his level, but what did that matter? No matter how strong he was, it wasn't enough to fundamentally reverse the foundational plane's power disadvantage against the four great planes. If the top forces of the four great planes wanted to eliminate him, or even wipe out the entire Department of Investigation, it wouldn't be impossible, albeit at some cost! The reason they hadn't done so was no more than the rules of the Plane Barrier and the presence of the top enemy, Xue Sha!
