A Plausible Explanation

A Plausible Explanation

After leveling up, Luo Jun began cleaning up the battlefield.

He first picked up Wu Youde's skateboard. Its owner was dead, so the Treasure Tool had become ownerless. Luo Jun stored it in the Hundred Treasure Box and completed Master Recognition.

If the owner was still alive, even if a Treasure Tool was lost or stolen, others could only use it and could not store it in the Hundred Treasure Box. It was said that some Treasure Tools were even bound to their owners, making them unusable even if someone else stole them.

Through the Hundred Treasure Box, Luo Jun could directly view the item's attributes.

Name: Power Skateboard

Grade: Rare

Description: A mode of transportation for some Young Hero who possesses both wisdom and strength. Sturdy, durable, easy to operate, adaptable to all kinds of terrain, essential for home and travel.

Function: Can be powered by infusing Vital Energy, while also generating a protective shield capable of resisting attacks. Speed can be adjusted according to the amount of Vital Energy infused, with a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and a maximum consumption of one Breath Vital Energy per minute. Activating the protective shield consumes Ten Breaths Vital Energy.

Note: Move aside, move aside! Not responsible for anyone I knock flying!

Luo Jun nodded in satisfaction. This was indeed a very practical Treasure Tool. No wonder that stubbly guy had been so confident he could catch up with Chen Ran and the others after killing him—he had transportation.

Unfortunately, as good as the skateboard was, it could not increase Combat Power. In the end, it only benefited Luo Jun.

This was also thanks to Wu Youde being a prisoner.

Luo Jun had once asked Old Yuan about Chaos Missions. Old Yuan told him that only by receiving a rating of Good or above in a Chaos Mission, or by completing certain Hidden Missions, could one possibly receive a Treasure Tool as a reward. The difficulty was actually quite high, so most of the time, people merely aimed for a passing grade to stay alive and returned empty-handed. Some even died during the mission.

Because of this, many Cultivators did not want to participate in Chaos Missions and had researched methods of evading conscription. At the very least, the Yuan Cultivation Society had a way to block the Chaos World's perception.

A typical example was prisoners locked up in prison. If these prisoners were summoned by a Chaos Mission, they might take the opportunity to escape. Therefore, prisoners would all be placed under restrictions and could not participate in Chaos Missions during their sentences.

This meant that although Wu Youde had entered the Foundation Establishment Realm years ago, he had spent most of that time in prison and had not acquired any particularly powerful Treasure Tools.

If it had been another expert of the same level equipped with a powerful weapon, Luo Jun would have been in real danger.

Shook his head, Luo Jun returned to the woods, retrieved the Ogre's Tongue, and began resting where he was as he waited.

Before long, sounds came from the foot of the mountain. Listening closely, he seemed to hear someone calling Luo Jun's name.

Luo Jun stepped forward and looked down. He saw a Black Panther about the size of a cow running through the mountain forest, carrying Yu Qiudi and Su KeKe on its back.

What was this? A beast tamer?

Still stunned, Luo Jun waved at them.

Upon seeing Luo Jun, Su KeKe's face lit up with surprise. Yu Qiudi controlled the Black Panther, and after several leaps, they arrived before Luo Jun.

"It's really great that you're okay." Su KeKe jumped off the Black Panther, her eyes reddening with emotion. She felt guilty for leaving Luo Jun behind and had feared that when they returned, they would find nothing but his corpse on the ground.

"Where's that out-of-control prisoner?" Yu Qiudi sat astride the Black Panther's back. Her usual lazy expression had vanished, replaced by a far more serious look.

Seeing Luo Jun's tattered clothes, Yu Qiudi knew the two had fought. The most likely reason he had survived an encounter with a Foundation Establishment Realm prisoner was that the prisoner had realized he could not kill him quickly, feared the academy would send people after him, and fled.

This kid was damn lucky.

"That prisoner?" Luo Jun pointed behind him. "I wiped him out!"

"Oh... that's good..." Yu Qiudi answered out of habit, then froze and stared at Luo Jun with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

Her perpetually half-closed sleepy eyes suddenly opened wide, startling Luo Jun.

"Teacher, your eyes are actually this big?"

"That isn't important!" Yu Qiudi grabbed Luo Jun by the shoulders. "Did you just say that you wiped out that prisoner?"

Luo Jun nodded. "I'll take you to see."

The three arrived beside the pit. Luo Jun pointed at the Giant Stone inside. "He's pressed underneath that."

Su KeKe looked at the several familiar corpses nearby, her face full of shock. "Were these people killed by that prisoner too?"

Luo Jun nodded. "They were already dead when I came back. He probably killed them to silence them after asking for directions..."

"So that's what happened..." Yu Qiudi was much calmer now. "Using a trap to kill an enemy stronger than yourself was a smart move."

"I had no choice." Luo Jun shrugged. "I couldn't even break his defenses on my own..."

"But you still survived." Yu Qiudi looked at Luo Jun's tattered clothes. "It seems he couldn't break your defenses either?"

Luo Jun had long prepared an explanation. "I used a consumable I got from a Chaos Mission. It can temporarily greatly enhance Body Strength and regenerative ability. Without it, I would have been killed in a single exchange. I couldn't have lured him into the trap either."

Yu Qiudi asked suspiciously, "How did someone in the Body Refinement Realm like you participate in a Chaos Mission?"

"I was previously swept into an operation to capture a Polluter and was accidentally sent into the Chaos World. The Ningdong Branch has records of it. You can check if you don't believe me." Luo Jun spoke with complete confidence.

"It was you?" Yu Qiudi had clearly Heard Of this. "I heard you received an Excellent rating and obtained more than one Treasure Tool?"

Luo Jun looked regretful. "Yes, I got three. This consumable was the best quality one. I didn't expect to use it here."

"You should be thankful. Without it, you would have lost your life here." Yu Qiudi yawned, visibly relaxing. She had apparently accepted Luo Jun's explanation.

"Teacher Yu, a prisoner escaped control. Should the exam continue?" Luo Jun asked tentatively. After all, if this was not an isolated incident, every examinee would be in danger. This would be a serious accident.

"Let's first find out who he is." Yu Qiudi looked at the boulder. "I contacted the control room. All collars are showing normal status, so we can't determine the escapee's identity. We need to get the body out."

"Should we notify the senior students outside to help?" Su KeKe looked at the Giant Stone. The three of them could not move it.

"We don't have time for that." Yu Qiudi frowned. "I hate manual labor most."

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers. The enormous Black Panther behind her suddenly began to transform. Moments later, it Turned Into a gorilla over three meters tall.

"Huh?" Luo Jun jumped in fright. "Teacher, your pet can transform too?"

"That's a Vital Beast." Su KeKe was more knowledgeable than Luo Jun. "It's a creature condensed from Vital Energy. Those of the Creation Faction in the Heart Refining Realm can use Vital Energy to simulate tangible objects. There are two major branches: life creation and object creation. Life creation refers to being able to simulate living Vital Beasts. Teacher Yu is a First-class Expert of the Creation Faction, especially skilled in life creation. Back then, she was also a Genius Girl renowned across the country!"

"Don't bring up those troublesome old matters..." At the mention of the past, Yu Qiudi looked thoroughly impatient. She gestured toward the Vital Beast with her chin. The gorilla obediently walked to the edge of the pit and crouched down, wrapping both hands around the Giant Stone before forcibly pulling it out of the pit!

The three gathered around and saw Wu Youde beneath the Giant Stone.

His body had been severely deformed by the crushing force. Bones were broken in many places, his internal organs had ruptured, and blood flowed from all seven orifices. He looked utterly miserable.

This had been Luo Jun's goal. Killing him with the Giant Stone trap not only gave a plausible explanation for how he had counter-killed a Foundation Establishment Realm expert, but also concealed the injuries he had left on Wu Youde.

With the explanation about that mysterious consumable, even if they later found Luo Jun's hair, skin flakes, or the like on Wu Youde's body, there would be a plausible explanation. But if Wu Youde had been injured by him, that would be impossible to explain.

Yu Qiudi took out an instrument and collected samples from Wu Youde's corpse. After confirming his identity, she sent the information to the prison director, who quickly pinpointed the location of Wu Youde's corresponding collar.

With prisoner transfers on such a large scale, the Yuan Cultivation Society's prison would certainly have assigned plenty of personnel to monitor the process. When Yu Qiudi received the report, she had already contacted the prison director, and the guards responsible for escorting the prisoners had entered the grounds to secretly verify the prisoners' conditions.

After receiving the location, the nearest guard quickly found the collar and discovered it had been placed on a wild rabbit. The rabbit had also been tied to a tree, so according to the control room, Wu Youde had never left the Upper District and had merely been moving around continuously within a small area, attracting no attention.

"Report. The collar was cracked using an Advanced Barrier Breaking Talisman. I'll send over a photo of the talisman right away."

After receiving the photo, the prison director immediately sent it to a talisman expert for appraisal. The final conclusion was that this talisman used a Barrier Breaking Talisman as its foundation but had been modified specifically for the collar, allowing it to simulate Wu Youde's life fluctuations and deceive the control room's detection even after being removed.

Additionally, the talisman had a timer function. Two hours after use, it would spontaneously combust and disappear...

It could be said that this was a prison-break tool tailored specifically for Wu Youde. There had to be a meticulous plan behind it.

This was actually good news. When he had first received the notification, the prison director had thought there was a bug in the collars that had been exploited, and he had feared that a large number of prisoners had escaped control.

But now, it seemed this was merely a plan targeting Wu Youde alone. The other prisoners could not replicate it.

"Should we cancel the exam?" Yu Qiudi stood at the edge of the pit and contacted the academy director.

"Not for now. Don't tell the other examinees yet, so as not to cause panic." An elderly female voice came from the other end of the call. "The guards have already intervened. I'll also arrange more personnel to set up surveillance around Bewildering Peak. Xiaodi, keep a closer watch as well. If you discover another similar incident, terminate the exam immediately!"

Yu Qiudi frowned and nodded. "Then what about the four examinees who encountered Wu Youde?"

"Were they injured?"

"...Only one is currently unconscious, but it isn't serious. And they've already obtained Score Plates..." As she spoke, Yu Qiudi Took off the four-point Score Plate from Wu Youde's corpse and tossed it to Luo Jun.

"Then count them as having passed. They obtained Score Plates in such a short time and escaped from a Foundation Establishment Realm prisoner. That is enough to prove their strength."

"Understood." Yu Qiudi nodded. "By the way, Director, there's another suspicious point. Wu Youde could have escaped silently, yet he specifically came to the Lower District to hunt down an entirely unrelated examinee. That's very suspicious."

"What did that examinee say?"

"He said he doesn't know Wu Youde at all." Yu Qiudi glanced at Luo Jun. "This examinee is Luo Jun, the one who was accidentally swept into a Chaos Mission by a Polluter before. He's only been in contact with Vital Energy for two or three months and has hardly ever left Ningdong City. Wu Youde had already been imprisoned for years, and before his arrest, he was mainly active in Shun City. The two had absolutely no connection..."

"Two guards are heading your way. You and the examinees wait there and cooperate with their investigation."

"Alright..." Yu Qiudi hesitated before saying, "Also, Director, Wu Youde's prison break was clearly premeditated. I suspect..."

"I understand what you mean... I'll keep an eye on it."

After hanging up, the spirit Yu Qiudi had only just managed to muster immediately withered away. "Sigh, I hate this kind of troublesome business most..."