Hidden Killing Game

Just as everyone was staring at that Force Weapon, their eyes practically blazing with fire, Bai Yuan made a decision no one expected.

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Falling Rock, but... please take this blade back."

The moment he spoke, the entire venue fell dead silent.

Then, an uproar of discussion erupted.

"He refused! How could he refuse? That's a fifth-tier Force Weapon!"

"Is Bai Yuan's brain scrambled from all that fighting? Such a great opportunity, and he just gave it up!"

"A gift from the heavens, and he won't even reach out to catch it—I can't understand his thinking."

Bai Luoyan was also somewhat surprised, then asked, "What? You look down on this weapon?"

Bai Yuan quickly explained, "Of course not. It's just that this junior is shallow in learning and talent, and dares not accept such a great gift."

"Haha, no need to be so formal. Your talent is quite good. Consider this blade my investment in you." Bai Luoyan laughed.

Bai Yuan's mind raced, then he straightened his back and said with spirited confidence, "Then I'll trouble Senior to keep it safe for me. When this junior breaks through to World Lord in the future, I will personally come to your door and retrieve this blade!"

At these words, Bai Luoyan found it hard to insist further. He merely gave Bai Yuan a deep look.

"Fine, then I'll wait for you to come for the blade."

With that, he turned and left with Bai Luoyan and Bai Xingyun, their figures vanishing into the sky.

Bai Yuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The others couldn't understand his reasoning—some thought he was overconfident in his talent, others that he simply lacked a few screws.

Even Bai Guanren couldn't figure out what Bai Yuan was thinking at this point.

Whoosh!

Right after Bai Luoyan left, the Universe Realm expert who had been overseeing the clan competition appeared, announcing the end of the tournament while displaying the final rankings on a light screen in the sky.

As expected, Bai Yuan's name stood firmly at first place.

[Congratulations to host for completing the task. Task reward: 5 Enlightenment Points.]

Hearing the system's voice, Bai Yuan's expression lit up with joy. What fifth-tier Force Weapon could compare to the real value of Enlightenment Points?

Soon after, several more Universe Realm experts appeared one after another, taking on disciples, recruiting talent...

The square grew lively once again.

A stern-faced Universe Realm expert approached Bai Guanren: "Your talent is ordinary, but your will is tenacious—that's worth something. I can take you as a nominal disciple. If you pass the trials I set, you may advance to inner disciple, or even personal disciple."

"Disciple greets the teacher!" Bai Guanren bowed with excitement.

Even being a nominal disciple met his expectations. Many with greater talent than him had yet to catch the eye of a Universe Realm expert.

As for Bai Yuan, he was directly taken away from the square by his second uncle, Bai Tianning.

Back in the palace, Bai Tianning's expression was solemn as he asked in a low voice:

"Why did you refuse Lord Falling Rock's goodwill?"

Bai Yuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Of course I'm tempted by a fifth-tier Force Weapon handed to me on a silver platter. But the question is—why did he have to give it to me in front of everyone?"

"Pretty soon, I'll break through to Planet Realm and head into the universe for 'adventure training.' If I carry a fifth-tier Force Weapon with me, wouldn't I be walking through the universe with a sign that says 'Come rob me'?"

"If it were just a top-grade third-tier Force Weapon or Force Armor, that would be one thing. But this is fifth-tier! Even Universe Realm experts would covet a treasure like that. Who can guarantee no one would take the risk and ambush me halfway?"

He paused, let out a long sigh, and continued:

"If I die, would the Blade Clan go to great lengths to hunt down the killer? And even if they wanted to, in the vast universe, where would they even start looking?"

"A dignified World Lord, an old monster who's lived for who knows how many epochs—do you think he doesn't understand this?"

After hearing Bai Yuan's explanation, Bai Tianning showed no surprise. Instead, a gratified smile spread across his face.

"I'm glad you can think this way. Your reaction today was also very sharp—it truly puts my mind at ease."

"If you had agreed on the spot, you might well have faced the danger you described. Even I might not be able to protect you at all times."

"But if you had refused outright, that would have been a slap in Lord Falling Rock's face. He would have had a reason to act against you, and the clan would never punish Lord Falling Rock for your sake."

Clearly, Bai Tianning had seen the same problem—even more thoroughly than Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan was stunned. He pressed further, "Second uncle, do you mean... Lord Falling Rock might personally come to kill me? What grudge do I have against him?!"

Bai Tianning's expression grew grave.

"Of course, it's because of your talent. Your performance today was too dazzling—it already poses a threat to Bai Luoyan. I suspect his original plan was to take you as a disciple first. That way, how he dealt with you later would be entirely up to him."

"But he also understood that with such an outstanding showing, you would definitely catch Lord Madman's attention. Once Lord Madman steps in, even if you had already sworn allegiance to Lord Falling Rock, Lord Madman wouldn't care."

"And as long as Lord Madman takes notice of you, Lord Falling Rock won't dare to act rashly."

The two very different titles immediately piqued Bai Yuan's curiosity.

"Second uncle, from your tone, it sounds like you have some complaints about Lord Falling Rock. I know Lord Madman World Lord well enough—the second strongest in the Blade Clan." Bai Yuan said slowly.

Bai Tianning smiled and corrected him, "Not the second strongest—the fifth strongest. Make sure you don't get that wrong. Lord Madman cares about that ranking quite a bit."

"Well... fine, the fifth strongest it is."

The Madman World Lord was the fifth-strongest expert of the Blade Clan, yet most people referred to him as the second-strongest.

The reason was simple: the second through fourth strongest weren't Blade Clan members at all.

Those three were former followers of the Blade Clan's Immortal God.

Back then, countless millions of followers had accompanied the deity in conquering the stars. Though the years had passed like a shuttle, and many followers had long since fallen, thirteen still survived, all now World Lord-level experts.

For Bai Kuangren to rise from behind and surpass one veteran World Lord after another to become the fifth-strongest was already extraordinary. The Immortal God also held him in considerable regard.

Because of this, among the Blade Clan, who worshipped the strong, Bai Kuangren's status even surpassed that of the clan leader.

Returning to the matter at hand, Bai Tianning's expression turned grave as he lowered his voice:

"Just listen to what I'm about to say. Don't bother committing it to memory."

"Back then, the Madman Lord refused to take the position of clan leader, so the ancestor could only choose between the Falling Rock World Lord and the current clan leader."

"During that period, it's said the two would compete over everything, both openly and in secret."

"In the end, the current clan leader barely edged ahead and took the position."

"But that's not the reason I despise the Falling Rock World Lord. The real reason is that he couldn't take a loss! Back then, he stirred up chaos across Blade Planet over this, even demanding a life-or-death duel with the clan leader. In the end, the ancestor had to personally intervene to settle the matter."

"That was forty epochs ago, before I was even born. I only learned these secrets by chance from the general."

Bai Yuan's mind suddenly cleared. Clearly, the Falling Rock World Lord still harbored a grudge over losing the clan leader position back then.

Now that he wanted to eliminate him, it was almost certainly to clear the obstacles from Bai Luoyan's path.