Yan Shan Changed His Mind at the Last Minute

A smile touched Su Ye's face. "Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding. I'm planning to visit the Divine Blade Sect and see for myself."

"My lord, the matter of the Divine Blade Sect is far too dangerous. Going there could cost you your life. Please think it over carefully." Ma San looked worried.

"It's fine. I heard that many great demons appeared outside Yunzhou recently. Have there been any reports about them?"

Ma San pondered for a long while before answering, "There have, and quite a few. I heard those demons have been acting strangely. At first, they only showed themselves to provoke us; they didn't seem to intend to actually attack."

"A few days ago, they all retreated to their own territories. They say something went wrong among them, and that it was caused by infighting."

"Infighting?"

Su Ye was momentarily taken aback. Why would these Demonic Beasts, after making such a grand show of force, suddenly turn on one another? Could it be because he had taken the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele fragment?

Su Ye had long known about Yan Shan's mission to Linshan County. The Demon Suppression Division had issued the assignment specifically to find the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele fragment. The infighting among the Demonic Beasts was probably because of it, too.

The Corpse Demon Cult had been secretly plotting to obtain something, and those great demons had happened to appear at the same time. Su Ye would never believe the two were unrelated.

There was a good chance the Demonic Beasts and the Corpse Demon Cult were connected somehow. Su Ye couldn't guess their purpose yet, but the demons' sudden retreat was likely related.

Su Ye frowned, then an idea suddenly struck him.

"Right."

That Qu Mountain Demon King—the Tiger Demon—had a background. According to Qin Ganghu, its father was the Mountain Lord of Qingya Mountain.

If Big Black had left even the slightest trace when he took the Blood Fiend Sky-Severing Stele fragment, and Magistrate Chen's group had deduced what happened, they would surely have reported it to the Corpse Demon Cult.

Then, based on Big Black's characteristics, they might have guessed that those great demons were responsible. Could that be the real reason behind their infighting?

The matter still needed to be verified. He would have to be extremely careful.

"Big Black absolutely must not be exposed in public."

As the three chatted, a loud thump, thump sounded from the door.

Ma San pushed the door open.

Zheng Yu entered with a smile and asked cheerfully, "School Captain Su, have you made up your mind? Have you changed your mind?"

Seeing this, Wang Feng immediately understood. No wonder Su Ye hadn't wanted to leave with them. He'd already latched onto the Wu Family's coattails.

Though Yunzhou City's three great families all had long histories, they were not equal in strength. The Wu Family was undoubtedly the strongest of them. At this thought, Wang Feng raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Looking at the newcomer, Su Ye replied calmly, "I've made up my mind. It won't work."

"Uh..." Zheng Yu was clearly taken aback. "School Captain Su, are you really so confident you'll return unharmed?"

Not only Zheng Yu but Ma San and Wang Feng were also bewildered by his words.

Su Ye did not respond. His gaze swept over the three men, each wearing a different expression.

Seeing this, Zheng Yu didn't seem to care. "Very well. Since School Captain Su isn't willing, I'll take my leave."

As he spoke, Zheng Yu turned and left. He had something more important to take care of.

Last night, one of the school captains had apparently broken through to the Aperture Opening Realm. By morning, the entire school captain camp in the eastern district was in an uproar.

He had originally still been considering recruiting Su Ye, but once he heard about this, he immediately put the idea aside.

A school captain in the Meridian Opening Realm was utterly insignificant compared to an Aperture Opening Realm expert.

If he could recruit an Aperture Opening Realm expert to join the Wu Family, it would be a great achievement. Even if the expert already had a patron, reporting the news at once would at least let him make an impression before Young Master Wu.

The door creaked open again. Zheng Yu hurried out, only to collide head-on with Yan Shan.

Yan Shan's gaze sharpened. "Zheng Yu, what are you doing here?"

"What's it to you?" Zheng Yu snorted and turned to leave.

Yan Shan didn't take offense. He strode into the courtyard and asked, "Su Ye, did Zheng Yu say anything to you?"

"No." Su Ye shook his head.

"Oh." Yan Shan didn't press him. Instead, he asked, "Someone here broke through to the Aperture Opening Realm last night. Did you know?"

"I don't know." Su Ye shook his head.

"Someone broke through to the Aperture Opening Realm?" The other two were astonished. Such an expert only needed to diligently complete a few missions to be promoted to commandant as a matter of course.

That was vastly different from Qian Chengzhu, who had become a commandant by relying on his family's influence. A person like this had limitless prospects. With enough merit, he could travel to the Great Xia capital and undergo the Dragon Transformation Pool's baptism.

Yan Shan deliberately withheld this detail. The Dragon Transformation Pool was a great treasure of Great Xia; members of aristocratic families had no qualifications to take part.

Once Ma San had recovered from his surprise, he challenged him, "Yan Shan, a few days ago, you said Lord Su had agreed to leave Yunzhou City with us."

Before Ma San could finish, Yan Shan frowned and cut him off. "The trip to the Divine Blade Sect is extremely dangerous. I was worried about School Captain Su's safety, so I took it upon myself to make the decision. I hope School Captain Su won't hold it against me."

"It's fine," Su Ye replied indifferently.

"I still have important matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

Yan Shan strode away. Like Zheng Yu, his thoughts were already fixed on the person who had broken through to the Aperture Opening Realm. Su Ye's fate had long since vanished into the back of his mind.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Wang Feng hurriedly rose, bid Su Ye farewell, and followed Yan Shan in a few quick steps.

At the Demon Suppression Division's dining hall, Su Ye and Ma San had barely eaten when they heard a commotion outside.

"Everyone, assemble at the drill grounds!"

The booming voice echoed across the entire Demon Suppression Division.

The school captains and commanders in the dining hall all got up and headed outside. Discussion broke out among them as they went.

"What's going on?"

"What do you think? It's about the campaign against the Divine Blade Sect, of course."

By then, the drill grounds were already packed with people. Several figures stood atop the distant raised platform.

At the front stood a burly man in black armor, with a resolute face. His name was Xiao Zhenbei, and he was Ye Haichuan's trusted general, holding the rank of Town Deputy Envoy.

His strength had long since reached Aperture Opening Perfection, and he could break through to Core Condensation at any moment. He had the potential to become a powerful guardian of an entire region.

Xiao Zhenbei's voice rang out, deep and resonant.

"Anyone whose name I call, step forward."

"Xiao Shan."

"Jin Pingchuan."

"Jiang Dahu."

When Ma San heard his name called from the crowd, he couldn't help freezing. Hadn't Yan Shan arranged for him to join him on a different mission? Why was he being called forward here?

Hearing this, Su Ye silently shook his head. Yan Shan's conduct really was beyond words.

Su Ye had shown no interest in joining the Qian Family, while Ma San had grown closer to him. And now, at the last moment, Yan Shan had stooped to such a despicable trick. It seemed the debt of being saved had gone straight to the dogs.

The result of saving his life was to have him target me like this. Su Ye sneered inwardly, his resolve to kill Yan Shan growing firmer.

With such a despicable character, Yan Shan's family could hardly be any better. In that case, he would kill them—and wipe them out completely, leaving no future trouble.