ASER - Chapter 96
Chapter 96: Investigation
But A'Diao couldn't exchange for any of them now. She could only directly infuse herself with the Mental Power Will Cultivation Method Vol 1. And most importantly, she had to deal with the spirit clusters first.
The Toilet's current average spiritual energy release rate would eventually reach the peak of a Medium Spirit Gate. At level 9, it would become a Large Spirit Gate. However, in terms of total uninterrupted daily release, the Spirit Power it emitted was more than 20 times the total daily release of a typical peak Medium Spirit Gate.
And not long after A'Diao activated it, her cultivation efficiency was more than ten times that of yesterday. Most importantly, all her skills had been enhanced.
Both 101 and 202 had become stronger.
As a result, the Spirit Power in her body surged continuously, but instead of enhancing her cultivation level, she used it to move the spirit clusters.
This task was arduous, seemingly bottomless, and she had no idea how much Spirit Power it would consume.
While A'Diao was arduously cultivating, the night in the Jinxiang Area was brightly lit, with lamps hanging everywhere for illumination. Below, in the caverns, a large number of cultivators swarmed in to fight monsters and level up.
Qu Jiangnan sat on the eaves, drinking water and playing on her phone. She noticed that high officials like Chen Ran seemed shocked by something, hastily holding meetings to discuss it. Curious, she looked into it and learned about the Cui family's situation, which greatly surprised her. She then chatted with the Principal about it.
"The situation is still unclear, it's very unexpected. And as far as I know, Cui Liang also died there, blown up along with two A-rank enforcers from Kyoto."
Qu Jiangnan frowned. "So, people from over there will likely come to investigate?"
The Principal replied, "Inevitably. Currently, the official investigation results indicate that Cui Yong took people out today to Linghuang County. His destination has been identified as the lair of the Fierce Bandit Organization… Below, bodies are strewn everywhere; it's a gruesome sight. The two sides must have fought fiercely. The specific details still need to be investigated, and we'll probably have results in two or three days."
Qu Jiangnan wasn't concerned about who lived or died on either side. "But the people from Kyoto will probably arrive tomorrow."
The Principal chuckled. "If they arrive, they arrive. In these times, death is commonplace."
"When one family falls, others will rise. It's natural. As for you, with your actions this time, your family back home will surely be restless once they get the news. Do you need my help to intervene?"
"No need." After hanging up, Qu Jiangnan looked at the moonlit sky, her expression cold.
At dawn the next day, a high-end airship worth two billion indeed arrived in Jinling. The usual half-month travel time for a standard airship had been shortened more than tenfold.
However, considering the speed at which Cui Liang had arrived previously, one could imagine the depth of this family's resources.
A group of black-clad individuals flew down and entered Jinling City… commencing various investigations.
Meanwhile, the faction behind Li Yuanshu was also investigating.
Including the imperial court's people, a total of three parties were conducting thorough investigations, both overtly and covertly.
What would they uncover?
A'Diao cultivated in the cultivation room for two days, a continuous 72 hours.
Finally, on the morning of the third day… Om!
As A'Diao's body released a ring of faint golden power, and various viscous liquids oozed from all over her, one of the spirit clusters in her body finally disappeared, while the other entered the dimensional space where the Toilet resided, hiding itself there.
She opened her eyes and was somewhat surprised to see the impurities expelled from her body.
The Toilet said, "Although it's hidden, the spirit cluster belongs to you, bound to your body and soul. By moving to the dimensional space, it's essentially being nourished by the dimensional space's energy field, which will naturally have a stronger tempering effect on you."
In other words, she was now being cultivated by the energy field systems of two spaces.
It was a huge, unexpected gain.
A'Diao naturally understood that the two spirit clusters didn't just give her an extra bag to store energy; they also opened up a larger platform for her.
And this advantage would become even more apparent when she reached the Forbidden Master level and refined the spirit clusters into Spirit Cores.
Now that this major task was completed, A'Diao bound and integrated the Green Eagle Light Armor into the second spirit cluster, hiding it in the dimensional space with the Toilet.
With this done, her biggest hidden danger was resolved. Next, she needed to enhance her Spirit Power. Previously, her two spirit clusters combined could reach a D7 level. Without converting Mental Power, and with the Yuan Staff's amplification, she could achieve a maximum burst of C7 at its highest limit.
Previously, she could burst power one major rank higher; now, it was even more. But the most important thing was still the foundation.
A higher foundation meant a stronger effect from burst amplification.
A'Diao resumed her cultivation, simultaneously training the Mental Power Will Cultivation Method Vol 1 along with two secret manuals: 《Art of the Blood Bee》 and 《Heavenly Round Shield》.
Speaking of which, she had been coveting those two secret manuals. She was shocked when Li Yuanshu used them.
The first was an area-of-effect spell, and the second was a hemispherical defensive shield – very impressive.
Moreover, the manifestation of these spells wasn't particularly unique. With slight modifications, others wouldn't be able to tell where she learned them from, thus not exposing her past actions. After all, she had Qu Jiangnan and Jinling Academy backing her; there were traceable origins for her Daoist techniques, and it was perfectly normal for those two to know spells of this level.
A'Diao estimated that once she learned 《Heavenly Round Shield》, combined with the defensive power of the Green Eagle Light Armor and her own innate body defense, probably all attacks below B-rank would be ineffective against her.
A humanoid fortress!
Time is tight, I need to cultivate quickly, lest some accident happens later…
The death-fearing A'Diao immediately became excited and eagerly began to cultivate.
Now that her physique had improved, she could withstand stronger medicinal effects. She could soak in the Muscle-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Soup seven or eight times a day. She still had several doses of the D-Grade Aptitude Marrow Cleansing Formula left. Since she couldn't afford to exchange for the C-Grade one anyway, she would use the D-Grade for now. In a couple of days, when she had accumulated enough Mental Power, she would exchange for the C-Grade and take them together. In any case, once those pieces of equipment were sold, she would easily get several billion, and should be able to afford the medicinal ingredients for the C-Grade formula, allowing her to improve in all aspects again.
The combined effect was terrifying, but A'Diao felt it wasn't as terrifying as being directly infused by a toilet.
What do you mean by that?
The Toilet immediately retorted sarcastically, "Impressive. Your speed at learning these life-saving techniques is several times faster than for other spells. Is your most awesome talent attribute being a turtle?"
A'Diao shamelessly replied, "Yeah, the Black Tortoise, in fact."
Pah!
However, her current cultivation efficiency was indeed terrifying. Advancing from D to C was even faster than her progress from G to F.
Perhaps, her golden period of rapid cultivation growth had just begun.
A'Diao was excited, but from the first day of her seclusion, the outside world had erupted.
Firstly, considering proximity, a few Chen family members who now basically came to the Small Spirit Gate to pass time were involved. Around four in the afternoon, Favored Concubine Xie, having finished her beauty bath and her full-body "peerless beauty self-care routine," gracefully opened her door. Just as she was about to leave with an aesthetically pleasing posture, intending to, as usual, nourish the visual senses of everyone in the residence, suddenly!
Her body staggered, and she leaned against the wall.
Th-th-this!!!
Just then, she saw Xu Zhaoyin emerging from another cultivation room and couldn't help but question, "What did you eat?!"
Xu Zhaoyin had actually come out earlier and had also smelled it. But her composure was exceptional, and she showed no sign of disturbance. She was merely standing in front of a trash can by the door of a room opposite, looking at a large pile of durian husks, appearing as if several durians had been eaten.
She was caught in the act by Xie Yuqing.
A glint flickered in Xu Zhaoyin's eyes as she said faintly, "It doesn't stink."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yuqing instinctively retorted, "It doesn't stink? Your taste is truly strange, so unsophisticated… Xu Zhaoyin, there's no one else here. Let's speak plainly. You've gone too far. I just finished my beauty treatment. Are you doing this on purpose?"
Xu Zhaoyin said nothing and was about to leave.
Because no governesses or maidservants were present, Xie Yuqing grew bold with malice and stepped forward to block her. "Leaving already? If you don't apologize, I'll…"
Xu Zhaoyin: "You'll what?"
Xie Yuqing: "I'll go tell Mother that you intended to release poisonous gas to harm the three of us…"
Xu Zhaoyin suddenly smiled, her slender finger pointing vaguely at the opposite door. "That's A'Diao's cultivation room. She ate it. And the durian was a gift from Mother. Go ahead and report it."
Xie Yuqing: "…"
You wretched Xu, setting me up.
"Since you knew, why did you let these stinking durian husks pile up unattended? As the First Madam, how can you face me, a mere concubine? I trusted you, First Madam, so much. My sincerity was truly wasted on a dog…"
As the two bickered, another door opened.
A slacker student like Chen Yang would never study to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep. He embodied all the traits of a poor student: from the moment his bottom hit the chair to face an exam paper, he was already calculating when it was time for lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack.
Time's up, time's up!
Swish!
Chen Yang shot up from his chair and ran outside. The moment he rushed out…
"What smells so fragrant?"
"Wow! Mother dear, isn't this our favorite durian? Did you secretly eat it all again? You didn't even leave one for me."
Xie Yuqing: "…"
Xu Zhaoyin: "?"
While the Chen family staged a failed extortion attempt, the cultivators in the Jinxiang Area were extremely fatigued.
The rewards were good, but the Spirit Power consumption was immense. After continuous effort, their medicinal supplies were nearly depleted. At times like these, some individuals stood out.
For example, Song Ling, wielding a pile of talismans, surpassed Ming Zeye and a few others in terms of killing effectiveness and spoils, second only to Tuoba. At this point, these two were the ones who left the deepest impression of Jinling Academy on the wilderness cultivators.
Jiang Chao couldn't help but secretly ask Song Ling where she bought her talismans.
Song Ling found his question a bit strange. "You can buy them yourself, why ask? Besides, there should be many in your university who make talismans."
The top university in the country would encompass all sorts of geniuses; those with talent for talisman crafting wouldn't be few.
Why resort to this?
Jiang Chao gave a wry smile. "Naturally, there are many. Grade one are easiest to buy, and grade two can also be bought, but the quantity is small because too many people want them. They have a price but no market. Besides, my resources and connections are really nothing in comparison."
The Song family is very influential in Jinling and actually has some reputation in Kyoto; they aren't without foundation. But the problem is that the top-tier powerful figures have already started forming factions.
Song Ling suddenly understood from Jiang Chao's expression, and her heart sank: Monopoly.
Has the situation in Kyoto already become so severe?
Then, if they were to pass the exams and go there, they would likely face such a situation too.
Either they would have to attach themselves to certain factions, or they would have to endure the disadvantage of resources being monopolized.
"You're not considering…?" Song Ling also hinted.
Jiang Chao shook his head. "I'm not smart enough. My father happens to have some power, and might climb to Kyoto in the future. If I really attach myself to someone, he might get dragged into doing this and that because of me. But I'm not good at handling such matters and wouldn't be able to secure the benefits I deserve. Besides… the reason it's so severe over there is also related to that. It's too dangerous."
Song Ling understood.
The struggle for succession.
His Majesty is in his twilight years, but the princes under him are all fiercely contending like dragons and tigers. The situation is naturally severe.
"I bought them from someone else, a private workshop. I still need to cultivate and can't spare the effort to make them. But I can share some with you. I can still manage on my end."
High school was extremely comfortable compared to university. Song Ling knew that although she was in the Song family, she wasn't from the direct lineage. For the consistent friendliness shown by the Jiang father and son, she had to return the favor.
However, speaking of talismans, her thoughts couldn't help but stray: A'Diao isn't acting right. So quiet. Isn't she scrounging for money and resources anymore?
The most terrifying thing was…
"Don't you guys feel like something's off?" Yuan Shu couldn't help but ask the others.
"What's wrong?"
"It does feel a bit off. Nothing feels normal."
"It seems too quiet. There's no noise in the group chat either."
"If Chen A'Diao isn't causing trouble, I feel like she's brewing up something big."
"…"
As they talked, the group felt their own mentality was becoming a bit warped.
Damn it, A'Diao wasn't causing any trouble at all, and they instead felt like it was doomsday.
"I know what's going on. The Cui family was blown up. Do you think Chen A'Diao had anything to do with it?"
"It probably has nothing to do with her."
But if it had nothing to do with her, why was she so quiet?
Zhongchuan Mingxiu and the others felt their hearts skip a beat: Had this incarnate of trouble finally been assassinated?
Though they didn't voice their concerns, these students were all shrewd. Early in the morning, they used various connections to ask people still in Jinling. Soon, they received news and roughly determined the cause of the Cui family's misfortune.
It was actually due to mutual destruction?!
At this time, regardless of how other factions were investigating, the three parties each had their own focus in their investigations.
Jinling Authorities: Through the Cui family's internal investigation, the testimony of the Cui family's airship pilot, and the investigation of the underground lair, it could be confirmed that this was the result of a fierce battle between the Cui family and the Fierce Bandit Organization. No wonder Cui Yong suddenly diverted Zhang Que's forces and headed to Linghuang County with all his might. It turned out he had found the Fierce Bandit Organization's lair and wanted to wipe them out in one go to make a fortune. Unexpectedly, the Fierce Bandit Organization was so formidable that they killed all his subordinates. Regardless, Cui Yong still emerged as the winner, taking all the benefits and leaving the underground lair alive. However, he didn't expect the leader of the Fierce Bandit Organization to have survived. Among the remains in the underground lair, the deceased with the highest cultivation level only left a severed arm, indicating he was still alive at the time. Cui Yong, unaware of this, was followed back to the Cui family residence and killed in a retaliatory attack.
Kyoto Aristocratic Families: Through information retained by the A-rank enforcer before his death, the appearance of the person with the severed arm could be seen. This person had infiltrated the Cui family residence, killed Cui Yong in retaliation, and intended to monopolize all resources. However, he happened to encounter Cui Liang and his two companions. This individual possessed extremely profound invisibility and escape techniques, temporarily hiding. But after being discovered, he decisively manipulated Rager No. 01 to destroy everyone. Yet, he himself didn't die? It seemed to be a dimensional space hiding technique—impressive! This person must have a mysterious origin, definitely not an ordinary bandit leader. Continue investigating!
The Organization Behind Him (Li Yuanshu's backers): How did Li Yuanshu cause such a huge commotion? Based on the strength he showed us, he shouldn't have been able to defeat Cui Yong and his group. Yet, he survived, even lurked, followed Cui Yong back, and killed him in retaliation. Furthermore, no remains of his were found in the Cui family ruins, indicating he didn't die. That's interesting—he hid his true strength. But if he hid his strength, why didn't he directly counter-kill them in the underground lair? This suggests he wanted to use Cui Yong to wipe out everyone else, monopolize the resources, feign death, then go back to kill Cui Yong and seize the Cui family's resources as well. Unexpectedly, he ran into Cui Liang and his companions. Because he couldn't defeat them, he went all out and blew them up, offending the Kyoto factions in the process. But he possessed a special dimensional space life-saving technique and escaped with all the treasures. Heh, very good, excellent! Don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive and pull out your tendons!
Regardless of what each of the three parties focused on, they ultimately reached a consensus on the truth through various pieces of evidence and clues: the Cui family airship pilot's testimony, traces from the underground lair and the Cui family ruins, the visual information left by the A-rank enforcer, plus they had delved deeper and found pre-existing grudges between the Fierce Bandit Organization and the Cui family. On the way to murder Chen A'Diao, the Cui family had conveniently killed a squad from the Fierce Bandit Organization in the Jinxiang Area and plundered their resources. The Fierce Bandit Organization wouldn't stand for it, so they struck back at the Cui family and framed the Chen and Song families. This move was brilliant, directly cutting off Cui Yong's path to ascendancy. But Cui Yong was also formidable; he retaliated by attacking their lair. This back-and-forth…
The evidence was self-consistent, the logic was self-consistent, and the complex web of grudges and feuds formed a perfect closed loop.
And all of this aligned with A'Diao's previous plans.
Initially, Plan A began with the counter-killing of Vulture's squad in the Jinxiang Area. But when the Ghoul threat in the caverns erupted, she revised it into Plan B. Plan B was originally sufficient, basically achieving the effect of both sides annihilating each other, allowing her to make a perfect escape.
But there was one hidden danger in all of this.
—The Cui family was gone, but Cui Liang was still alive. The Kyoto family he was attached to remained a serious hidden threat to A'Diao. If he continued to live and grow under their cultivation, even if A'Diao wasn't afraid of his personal development ceiling, she was wary of the destructive power he could potentially wield through this family. It was best to eliminate this future trouble forever! So, after she transformed into Cui Yong, she initially only planned to take people to the underground lair to close the loop on Plan B. However, along the way, she discovered the relationship between Cui Yong and his son, and then found Rager No. 01 in the lair. Almost instantly, she realized an opportunity had come and temporarily revised it into Plan C.
The outcome of Plan C was to lure Cui Liang and the enforcers he might bring back. But it didn't matter; one Rager No. 01 could eliminate everything, and she happened to have 303 for a perfect escape.
But this also successively led to another future trouble—the Kyoto aristocratic families would definitely investigate. What then?
The best outcome would be for them to believe this logical closed loop and return to Kyoto after their investigation. The worst outcome would be for this family to relentlessly seize on minor details to find trouble with her…
After all, throughout the entire process, some minor issues always existed.
The people from Kyoto had indeed found the closed loop. There was nothing more to say at this point, and they prepared to return. But just as they were about to depart, a call came in.
It was a female voice.
Willful and arrogant.
"Are there no other issues? Didn't I hear the Cui family had enemies? Are the Song and Chen families cleared?"
"Second Miss, as it stands, the Song and Chen families did indeed have friction with the Cui family. However, in this matter, they were mostly in the Jinxiang Area, their attention drawn and tied down there, leaving them no time to bother with Cui Yong. But there is one slightly strange point: the pilot said Cui Yong initially took people out to ambush Chen Ran's third daughter. Later, it seems the person they were tracking was a decoy, and in fact, they were likely ambushed themselves, so Cui Yong temporarily changed plans to go and wipe out the Fierce Bandit Organization's lair."
"Isn't that a flaw? Couldn't it be that the Song and Chen families orchestrated a scheme to make the two sides fight, so they could reap the benefits like the fisherman?"
Er, how to put this… that's a rather far-fetched accusation. The enmity between the Cui family and the Fierce Bandit Organization wasn't something that could be accomplished by a single act of framing. There was a continuous chain of cause and effect, a major feud, and during this period, mutual coveting of each other's resources. Each attack was subjectively motivated.
If they truly had such scheming abilities, the Cui family would have been wiped out long ago. Why wait until now?
Second Miss Baili sneered, "The Song and Chen families indeed couldn't spare the effort. But don't forget that Chen-something A'Diao is backed by Jinling Academy. What if Jinling Academy colluded with Chen Ran?"
The three experts: "…"
No, if the Academy wanted to deal with the Cui family, would they even need to use the Song and Chen families?
They could wipe out Cui Yong in minutes, alright.
To avoid actually having them investigate the Academy, one person immediately said, "That Chen A'Diao can indeed be investigated. For example, where exactly was she on that day, and was she involved? If she is found suspicious, then it can be confirmed that the Song and Chen families were involved, and we have our own means of retaliation."
Second Miss Baili was satisfied and said coolly, "If the mere Song and Chen families dare to offend my Baili Family, wouldn't it make us a laughingstock to the world? Investigate her! Give me a result."
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