Anxiety at the Sea God Pavilion

The message reached the Sea God Pavilion that evening.

Several Soul Guidance Lamp were lit in the underground Council Hall, casting a dim, yellowish light that illuminated the faces of everyone around the long table in a half-light, half-shadow.

Yun Ming sat at the head of the table, with a stack of secret letters that had just been passed down from above spread out beside him.

Ya Li was sitting to his right, organizing the medicine list. Hearing footsteps, she looked up.

The person who arrived was Cai Yue'er, and her expression was colder than usual.

Something's happened.

Cai Yue'er placed a slip of paper in front of Yun Ming, "Of the nine people sent out, six have sent back messages saying that since this morning, the identities of more than twenty Shrek students have been exposed."

"They all deliberately exposed themselves. The locations were scattered, and the time intervals were short. After being exposed, all of these people left their original residences, and communications were cut off."

Yun Ming picked up the note and quickly read it.

There weren't many words on it, but each entry was marked with the time and location.

From early morning to afternoon, more than twenty people appeared in different towns at the same time.

This doesn't seem like an accident.

He put down the note and asked, "Has anyone been hurt?"

"No."

Cai Yue'er said, "They left quickly after they showed up; no one was detained by the Federation. At least not so far."

"They deliberately exposed themselves, then hid away."

Zhuo Shi tapped the table. "This style of work... don't you all know whose handiwork it is?"

No one answered.

The room suddenly became so quiet that the faint sound of the lamp wick burning could be heard.

Ya Li stopped what she was doing and looked at Yun Ming.

Yun Ming didn't speak, but just read the note again.

His fingertips slowly slid down those locations, finally stopping at the four words "Heaven Dou City Direction".

"What about the other nine people?" Yun Ming asked.

"After replying to the messages, three people went silent. The other six people lost contact at the same time. We tried calling them, but there was no response," Cai Yue'er said.

Yun Ming put down the note and remained silent for a few seconds.

Just as he was about to ask another question, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the passage.

Long Yeyue lifted the curtain and strode in, holding a newly translated secret report in her hand.

She didn't look well.

"Urgent report from Heaven Dou City."

She handed over the report, "Someone saw Yun Jingheng at the Blacksmith Association in Heaven Dou City. Federation officials were searching the association when he suddenly appeared from the top floor and fought Mu Ye in the street. Mu Ye couldn't stop him, Yun Jingheng has already escaped. The information came from the Federation patrols and should have been reported upstairs."

As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room seemed to lose its last bit of warmth.

"He's awake?"

Zhuo Shi was the first to stand up, his voice loud and urgent, "Another God Trial completed? Where is he? Who is chasing him? Is he injured?"

"Slow down."

Long Yeyue glared at him. "The message didn't say he was injured. It only said he fought with Mu Ye and then ran away."

"Fight Mu Ye?"

Feng Wuyu frowned. "Mu Ye is Body Douluo, while this kid has just finished his God Trial and is still quite unsteady on his feet. Going to fight Mu Ye is just courting death!"

"So Mu Ye didn't catch up," Cai Yue'er said.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Everyone present was aware of Mu Ye's strength.

The fact that Yun Jingheng was able to escape unscathed from his clutches already demonstrates the changes brought about by the God Trial.

But the greater the change, the more worried they become—a tall tree attracts the wind.

Yun Jingheng's appearance was tantamount to lighting a beacon for himself.

Ya Li remained silent.

She looked down at her hands, which were still on the medication list, her knuckles a little stiff.

After a long while, she asked in a low voice, "Where's Ye Xinglan? Is she in the messages?"

Long Yeyue shook her head. "No. The entire secret report didn't mention Xing Lan."

Ya Li looked up; her eyes were still red, but her gaze was no longer as unfocused as before.

She looked at Yun Ming: "If Jing Heng was really found out, then Xing Lan must be with him. They wouldn't be separated. But the secret report didn't mention Xing Lan at all. So there's only one possibility— Jing Heng deliberately showed himself."

Yun Ming nodded slowly.

He picked up the secret report from Heaven Dou City and placed it side by side with the previous note that exposed more than twenty people.

When the two events are placed side by side, the cause and effect become clear.

"He first deliberately exposed the trainees, creating the illusion that Shrek had scattered and fled."

Yun Ming said, "Then I'll reappear from Heaven Dou City. That way, the Federation and the Holy Spirit Cult will all be focused on him. Everyone will be chasing after him."

He turned the fire on himself.

Cai Yue'er said coldly, "This is his old problem. He shoulders everything by himself and never knows how to consult with the adults."

"It's not that I don't know."

Ya Li suddenly said, "It's too late. He must have discovered something terrible. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted in such a hurry."

"He knew we were waiting for his message, so his message was his action."

Yun Ming looked at her but didn't reply.

A moment later, he turned to Long Yeyue: "What's the situation in Heaven Dou City right now?"

"The Federation patrols have been mobilized. Heaven Dou City and several surrounding cities have increased their vigilance. The last message from above said that Heaven Dou City dispatched more than a hundred people to search for him. But so far, they haven't caught him," Long Yeyue said.

"It seems like he deliberately left the pace unseen," Yun Ming said.

He stood up and paced back and forth in front of the long table. "Let the trainees show themselves first, then we'll break out ourselves and muddy the waters. Since Xing Lan isn't mentioned in the secret report, it means Ye Xinglan is safe for now."

"If she's safe, Jing Heng won't die. He dared to cause such a big scene because he's still holding onto something we don't know about."

"Then what do we do?"

Zhuo Shi asked, "Are we just going to sit here and watch? No matter how strong he is, he can't withstand a city-wide manhunt by himself."

"We can't go out."

Yun Ming's tone was indifferent, "Once we leave, his whole charade will be for nothing. The more chaotic things are outside, the safer he is. What he wants is a situation where everyone is running around in the open, while he operates in the shadows."

Upon hearing this, Ya Li finally slowly closed the list of medicines in front of her.

Long Yeyue glanced at her but didn't say anything.

The other people's expressions were also different.

Zhuo Shi sat back heavily in his chair, as if all his strength had been drained away.

Feng Wuyu clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

Cai Yue'er picked up the secret report again and read it over and over again.

Yun Ming sat down again.

He stacked the two intelligence reports together and placed them beside the candlelight.

The firelight flickered, illuminating the words on the paper with exceptional clarity.

Just as everyone fell silent, footsteps sounded again from outside the passage.

This time, it was Zang Xin who came, but he had a very strange smile on his face.

"You've heard about it?"

He walked to the long table, slammed his cigarette down on it, and said, "The Tang Sect received it too. Heaven Dou City is bustling with activity. I almost jumped out of my chair."

Nobody paid any attention to his jokes.

Seeing everyone's grim expressions, he straightened his face and said, "I came up here just to say something. That kid is probably clearing the way for Ye Xinglan by doing this."

"Think about it, if he were truly in dire straits, wouldn't Ye Xinglan be by his side? Since even the name Ye Xinglan didn't appear in the message, it means they've already separated. Separated because they each have their own things to do."

"That girl went back to the Ye Family," Yun Ming said.

Zang Xin clapped his hands. "I knew it!"

He picked up the cigarette, put it back in his mouth, but didn't light it. "There were people watching the Ye Family before. Now that there's trouble in Heaven Dou City, a lot of their people have definitely been pulled back."

"Ye Xinglan's return to pick them up now is just right. This kid started playing chess as soon as he woke up. We can't keep up with him, but we can't hold him back either."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Yun Ming: "I propose that the Tang Sect provide support from the outside. They should not show themselves, but only send messages. At least this will leave Ye Xinglan and Jing Heng with a way out."

Yun Ming nodded. "Okay. You can arrange it."

"Clear."

Zang Xin stood up, took a couple of steps, then turned back and added, "Ya Li, don't worry too much. That kid's shrewd. People like that are tough."

Ya Li didn't reply, she just lowered her head.

The candlelight illuminated a tiny glimmer at the corner of her eye.