Beneath the Ruins, a Hidden Move Is Made

Dawn struggled through the dust hanging over Nuoding City, illuminating the dormitory building ruins that had been reduced to rubble. The stench of burning, dust, a faint trace of blood, and a strange medicinal fragrance mingled in the air, telling of last night's shocking upheaval.

The Black Armored Knights of the Patrol Team had already taken control of the scene. Like cold machines, they sealed off the area, cleared away rubble, and searched for possible survivors and clues. The atmosphere was grim and oppressive.

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi hovered in midair, their expressions so dark they seemed ready to drip water. After searching all night, they had found almost nothing apart from a few terrified ordinary students and teachers, all of whom had been placed under strict guard. That "Evil Cultist" had self-destructed far too thoroughly, leaving not even scraps behind. The so-called "Exotic Treasure" had vanished without a trace, as though it had truly been completely destroyed. Nothing remained at the scene except chaotic residual energy and signs of destruction. There was simply no way to determine what had happened.

They felt like two fools shoved onto the stage, played for fools by that young Holy Son!

"Brother Gu, what do you think?" Tuoba Xi asked in a low voice, suppressed fury evident in his tone. His powerful spiritual power had scanned the ruins again and again, yet he truly had not discovered any valuable clues.

Gu Rong's sinister gaze swept over the busy knights below before turning toward the academy guesthouse, his eyes flickering. "Brother Tuoba, do you think such a coincidence truly exists in this world? We had barely arrived when the Evil Cultist self-destructed and the Exotic Treasure was destroyed?"

Tuoba Xi snorted coldly. "That brat definitely has a problem! He just covered his tracks too well, leaving us nothing to use against him!"

"Evidence?" A cold curve tugged at Gu Rong's lips. "Sometimes, evidence is unnecessary. All we need is... suspicion. Her Majesty the Empress did not send us here to clean up his mess."

He lowered his voice. "Dai Mubai was crippled, and Star Luo insists that the Holy Son acted excessively. Now this sort of evil incident has occurred at Nuoding Academy, and His Highness the Holy Son was nearly endangered as well... What does that tell us? It tells us that either this Holy Son is a calamity star, bringing trouble wherever he goes, or... he himself has a serious problem, drawing these disasters to him!"

A sharp light flashed through Tuoba Xi's eyes. "You mean..."

"Investigate. Of course we must continue investigating, and we must investigate 'thoroughly.'" Gu Rong's tone was chilling. "Even if we find no solid evidence, we must let Her Majesty the Empress and everyone in the Elder Hall know that wherever this Holy Son goes, chaos follows. He is no blessing to the Empire! As for Dai Mubai's matter... perhaps the testimony can be 'reconsidered.'"

The two exchanged a glance, a mutually understood chill flashing through their eyes. Since they could not find evidence, they would create public opinion and undermine the Holy Son's position at its roots!

Just then, a Black Armored Knight captain hurried over and dropped to one knee. "Reporting to the two elders, a half-collapsed underground chamber has been discovered on the western side of the ruins. There are traces of a violent energy impact and... fragments of chains. It appears someone was once imprisoned there!"

Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi perked up at once!

"Lead the way!"

On the western side of the ruins, a pitch-black opening half-covered by rubble had been exposed. A cold, evil aura wafted out from within. It was the chamber where Tang San had previously been held!

The two entered the chamber. Seeing the deep claw marks on the walls, the broken chains, and the lingering waves of evil Soul Power in the air that made one intensely uncomfortable, their expressions grew even graver.

"There really is something suspicious here!" Tuoba Xi frowned in disgust. "This evil aura... is even purer and colder than the one on that brat yesterday! What exactly was imprisoned here before?!"

Gu Rong crouched down and picked up a fragment of chain, rubbing the corroded marks on it with his fingertips. A flicker of uncertainty passed through his eyes. "These chains were specially made. They could restrain a Soul King, even a Soul Emperor... Judging by the damage, they were forcibly broken from the inside... What sinister energy..."

He vaguely sensed that the evil aura within this chamber shared the same origin as the "Evil Cultist" who had self-destructed yesterday, yet there was a subtle difference. It felt older and... more concealed?

"Immediately send people to search this chamber carefully! Do not overlook a single inch! Also, find out who this chamber originally belonged to!" Gu Rong ordered sternly.

He had a feeling that they might find a breakthrough here.

Meanwhile, inside the most luxurious suite on the top floor of the guesthouse.

Yang Yu stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the dormitory building in the distance that had become ruins and the busy black dots moving around it. His expression was calm. Yue Guan stood quietly at his side like a shadow.

"Your Highness, Gu Rong and Tuoba Xi have gone to that chamber," Yue Guan said in a low voice. "It seems they want to dig something out of it and make an issue of it."

"Let them dig," Yang Yu said indifferently. "The deeper they dig, the deeper they'll sink."

Tang San, this chess piece, had already been "discarded," but the chamber and the traces left behind by the Evil Technique he cultivated were themselves a fog meant to muddy the waters. It was enough for those two "clever" Douluo to use their imaginations. No matter what conclusions they reached, they would ultimately point in the direction they most wished to believe—namely, that the Holy Son was connected to evil. And that was exactly what he wanted. Once the seed of suspicion was planted, it would take root and sprout on its own.

"How is Zhu Zhuqing?" Yang Yu asked.

"Her injuries are severe. Her internal organs were displaced, and many of her meridians were damaged. However, the Life Creation Lotus Seed Your Highness provided has extraordinary medicinal effects. Her injuries have stabilized, and she is repairing herself while unconscious. Once she wakes up, her strength may even improve somewhat," Yue Guan reported. "This subordinate has already placed her somewhere safe."

Yang Yu nodded. Zhu Zhuqing was a chess piece with great potential. She could not be allowed to break. Last night's "evenly matched" battle and her final "serious injury" had been performed convincingly.

"What about Ning Rongrong?"

"She's fine. She was only frightened and is hiding in a temporary shelter beneath the ruins. However..." A strange smile appeared on Yue Guan's face. "When this subordinate found her, she was secretly collecting rubble bearing records of the chamber's structure and the Evil Cultist's residual energy. Her expression... was quite interesting."

"Oh?" Yang Yu raised a brow, a trace of interest appearing on his face. "It seems our Miss Rongrong has found a new 'toy.'" The darkened young lady seemed especially sensitive to conspiracies and chaos. A good thing.

"And... Shui Bing'er and that rabbit?" Yue Guan asked cautiously.

"They won't die for now. Most of the Immortal Herb's energy has already drawn inward; only a small portion erupted. By a twist of fate, it actually accelerated the absorption process. Shui Bing'er's ultimate ice blocked the most fatal blow for them." Yang Yu's gaze was deep. "Let them stay down there a while longer. If they come out now, they'll draw too much attention."

He needed those two Douluo's "investigation" to reach its conclusions first.

"Yes." Yue Guan bowed.

Just then, a respectful announcement came from outside the door. "Your Highness the Holy Son, Sect Master Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and Bone Douluo Gu Rong's avatar request an audience."

They had come quickly. The corner of Yang Yu's mouth curled upward.

"Let them in."

The door opened. Ning Fengzhi hurried inside with an anxious expression, followed by the cold-faced Chen Xin and a slightly illusory avatar of Gu Rong formed from condensed Soul Power.

"Young Friend Yang! I heard the academy was attacked last night. Are you all right? Where is Rongrong? How is Rongrong?" Ning Fengzhi's tone was urgent and full of worry. He had rushed over the instant he received the news, nearly unable to maintain the composure expected of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's master.

Chen Xin's gaze swept over Yang Yu like a sharp sword, carrying scrutiny and a barely perceptible edge. The academy had been destroyed, an Evil Cultist had appeared—everything was far too coincidental and strange.

Gu Rong's avatar, meanwhile, examined the room with sinister eyes, as though trying to find some flaw.

At the right moment, Yang Yu revealed a trace of "lingering fear" and "fatigue." He sighed. "Thank you for your concern, Sect Master Ning. This junior is unharmed. But last night was truly perilous. I have no idea where that Evil Cultist came from, but he carried some bizarre explosive object of astonishing power. Had my guards not protected me at the risk of their lives, this junior might have..." He shook his head, looking thoroughly shaken.

"As for Rongrong..." His tone became "heavy." "She was in the dormitory building when it happened... At present... her whereabouts are unknown. We are searching with all our strength..."

"What?!" Ning Fengzhi's face instantly turned deathly pale, and his body swayed. Chen Xin hurriedly steadied him, his gaze toward Yang Yu growing sharper.

"Sect Master Ning, rest assured! I have ordered the Patrol Team to conduct a full rescue operation! We will find her alive, and if she is dead... we will still find her!" Yang Yu promised in a "firm" tone.

Ning Fengzhi was frantic with worry and could no longer care about anything else. He turned to Chen Xin. "Uncle Jian, quickly! Go find Rongrong!"

Chen Xin nodded. After giving Yang Yu one last cold glance, his figure vanished in an instant.

Gu Rong's avatar also spoke in an eerie tone. "Sect Master Ning, do not worry. This old man's true body is also at the scene and will certainly search for Rongrong with all his strength." With that, the avatar slowly dispersed.

Only Yang Yu and the distraught Ning Fengzhi remained in the room.

Yang Yu "kindly" comforted him. "Sect Master Ning, good people are blessed by fate. Rongrong is clever and quick-witted; she will surely turn danger into safety. Perhaps she was merely frightened and is hiding somewhere secure."

Ning Fengzhi's mind was in chaos. He could only nod weakly and pray without pause.

About the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Chen Xin returned, his expression extraordinarily complicated. In his hand, he held Ning Rongrong, who was covered in dust, her little face pale, yet whose eyes shone with startling brightness and even a trace of strange excitement!

"Rongrong!" Ning Fengzhi cried with joy and rushed over to hug his daughter tightly. "You're all right! That's wonderful! You scared your father to death!"

Ning Rongrong allowed her father to hold her, but her gaze went over Ning Fengzhi's shoulder and fixed directly on Yang Yu. Her eyes no longer held their usual arrogance or grievance. Instead, they were filled with a cold, probing, even faintly provocative look.

Yang Yu gave her a gentle, fake smile.

The corner of Ning Rongrong's mouth seemed to twitch upward almost imperceptibly. Then she immediately lowered her head, putting on the appearance of someone utterly terrified and "trembling" in her father's arms.

"Where did you find her?" Ning Fengzhi hurriedly asked Chen Xin.

Chen Xin furrowed his brows. He glanced at Yang Yu before slowly saying, "In a corner beneath some half-collapsed ruins, behind a simple defense she had set up herself. She also... collected some strange things." He opened his hand, revealing several pieces of rubble stained with purplish-black evil aura and some scraps of paper covered in crude symbols.

Ning Fengzhi froze.

Ning Rongrong suddenly raised her head. Her voice carried a sobbing tone, yet she spoke with strange clarity and order. "Father! I was scared! Last night was so frightening! A bad person covered in black aura suddenly crawled out from underground! Then something exploded! When I hid, I saw... I saw that black aura seemed... seemed to have come out of a chamber! I remember what that chamber looked like! And those chains... They were so scary..."

As she "wept," she "inadvertently" showed Ning Fengzhi the rubble and scraps of paper. Faint outlines of the chamber's structure and remnants of evil aura could be seen on them.

Ning Fengzhi's expression changed instantly! He was no fool. His daughter's words and this "evidence" immediately made him think of many things! The Evil Cultist had come from a chamber? There was an underground chamber beneath the academy? An Evil Cultist had been imprisoned there?

Chen Xin's eyes also turned incomparably sharp as he looked at Yang Yu!

Yang Yu laughed inwardly, but his face displayed "surprise" and "gravity." "Such a thing happened? A chamber? I had never heard of it! Could that Evil Cultist have been lurking beneath the academy all along? What has Zhao Wuji been doing!"

He perfectly played the role of a "completely unaware" victim.

Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and doubt in the other's eyes. This matter was far more complicated than they had imagined! If what Rongrong said was true... then this Nuoding Academy, this Holy Son of Spirit Hall...

"This matter must be thoroughly investigated!" Ning Fengzhi said gravely, his tone more serious than ever. He felt that he had become entangled in a massive vortex.

"Of course it must be investigated!" Yang Yu echoed with "righteous indignation." "We must root out every accomplice and restore peace to the academy!"

Just then, a Black Armored Knight hurried over and reported to the air, where Gu Rong could hear him, "Reporting to Elder! The preliminary investigation of the chamber is complete! We have discovered traces of several incomplete items... suspected to be connected to the Star Luo Imperial Family!"

His voice was not loud, but everyone present heard him clearly!

The Star Luo Imperial Family?!

Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin's pupils contracted sharply!

An unnoticed cold smile flashed through Yang Yu's eyes. Yue Guan handled matters efficiently indeed. This dirty water had been splashed at exactly the right target.

The seed of suspicion had already been planted. The clues had already been provided.

Now, it was time to see how these "clever people" would step by step "deduce" the "truth" he wanted.

The hidden move beneath the ruins had already been made.

The game was growing ever larger.