Chapter 3304: The Day of the Battle
“Han Yun Jin?” Lei Ying was shocked by Xu Lang’s words. “Are you sure?”
Xu Lang responded, “Do you think I’d tell you this if I’m not sure? We’ve known each other for so long now; you should know what kind of person I am.”
Lei Ying asked, “Han Yun Jin is fighting your seventh disciple in a year, right?”
“That’s right. He probably resorted to this because he’s not confident he’d win,” Xu Lang said.
…
Meanwhile, after conversing with Xu Lang, Lei Ying fell deep into her thoughts. After a while, she finally shook her head, dismissing her thoughts.
At this moment, Lei Jun was coincidentally by Lei Ying’s side. Upon seeing his mother’s behavior, he asked curiously, “Mother, what’s the matter?”
Lei Jun had not been in a good mood recently because he had discovered Dugu Wen’s shattered Soul Pearl not too long ago.
Lei Ying replied, “I just spoke to Xu Lang through Voice Transmission. He told me they were attacked by the Dugu Wen and Dugu Wu, the Hundred Variant Celestial Emperor and the Indestructible Celestial Emperor respectively. It seems like someone’s targeting Duan Ling Tian, and Xu Lang suspects it’s Han Yun Jin.”
Since Lei Jun was Lei Ying’s son, she did not feel the need to conceal this matter from him. She did not notice that his eyes had widened briefly when she mentioned Xu Lang suspecting Han Yun Jin.
Lei Jun asked curiously, “How did they escape?”
Lei Jun had a.s.sumed Dugu Wen had died before he could even carry out his mission to kill Duan Ling Tian. His heart sank when he realized Dugu Wen was killed while he attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Duan Ling Tian.
“Coincidentally, Zheng Yu Yi, the Copper Mountain Celestial Emperor, had brought his disciple to the t.i.tle Temple as well. Therefore, Xu Lang asked for Zheng Yu Yi’s help…” Lei Ying said, “Apart from that, Xu Lang said that another t.i.tled Celestial Emperor who escorted his granddaughter to the t.i.tle Temple had helped as well due to his enmity with Dugu Wu and Dugu Wen. Apparently, Xu Lang and Zheng Yu Yi weren’t a match for Dugu Wen and Dugu Wu. However, when that powerful t.i.tled Celestial Emperor joined them, the scale tipped in their favor. Although they managed to kill Dugu Wen, Dugu Wu managed to escape.”
After that, I think there was another t.i.tled Celestial Emperor heading to the t.i.tle Temple with their granddaughter who knew and held a grudge against Dugu Wen and Dugu Wu. Thus, they joined in the fight. When it was only Xu Lang and Zheng Yu Yi, they were no match for Dugu Wen and Dugu Wu… However, the t.i.tled Celestial Emperor who happened to pa.s.s by was very powerful. Not long after they joined the fight, Dugu Wen was killed. Nevertheless, Dugu Wu managed to escape.”
“Duan Ling Tian is really lucky…” Lei Jun said as his eyes glinted with a vicious light. However, it was gone before Lei Ying could see it.
Lei Ying nodded. “He wouldn’t have survived if the other two t.i.tled Celestial Emperors weren’t around. Although they suspect Han Yun Jin and are highly certain their suspicion is right, they have insufficient evidence to prove it. Nevertheless, Xu Lang has said that he’ll continue investigating the matter. I didn’t expect Han Yun Jin to lack so much confidence to the extent of hiring someone to a.s.sa.s.sinate Duan Ling Tian.”
After Lei Ying finished speaking, she shook her head as contempt flashed in her eyes.
Lei Jun said, “Mother, the culprit might not even be Han Yun Jin. This is just their speculation, after all.”
Lei Ying shook her head. “It’s not just a baseless suspicion. I said they had insufficient evidence to prove their suspicion; I didn’t say they have no evidence to prove their suspicion. After Dugu Wen died, the t.i.tled Celestial Emperor who joined them last collected Dugu Wen’s Spatial Ring. After searching in the Spatial Ring, Xu Lang found three Soul Pearls. Xu Lang’s fourth prodigious disciple identified one of the Soul Pearls as Han Yun Jin’s Soul Pearl. I’m sure you know Xu Lang’s fourth prodigious disciple, Wen Wan’er, used to be a couple with Han Yun Jin. Although they did not get married, they were together for such a long time. It’s not surprising she could identify Han Yun Jin’s Soul Pearl…”
“Soul Pearls?” Lei Jun’s eyes widened imperceptibly. He knew one of the three Soul Pearls was his. Previously, he had given Dugu Wen his Soul Pearl. Han Yun Jin had also handed his Soul Pearl to Dugu Wen in case he needed to contact Dugu Wen.
“What’s the matter?” Lei Ying asked in confusion when she saw her son’s abnormal behavior.
“Nothing.” Lei Jun shook his head after he inhaled deeply. Then, he said, “Mother, I just remember I have something to attend to. I’ll take my leave first…”
Lei Jun did not even wait for a response from his mother and left as soon as he finished speaking. At the same time, he hurriedly sent a Voice Transmission to Han Yun Jin. “Han Yun Jin, Dugu Wen and Dugu Wu actually did meet Duan Ling Tian. We were wrong when he thought he died before he could even carry out his mission.”
Han Yun Jin was shocked when he heard Lei Jun’s Voice Transmission. “What happened? If Dugu Wen found Duan Ling Tian, how did he fail the mission and die?”
“It is because…” Lei Jun recounted everything he heard from his mother to Han Yun Jin.
After listening to Lei Jun, Han Yun Jin fell silent for a long time. In the end, he said, “Even if they know I’m the culprit because of my Soul Pearl in Dugu Wen’s Spatial Ring, it’s not enough to prove anything.”
“I know… However, I’m worried about my Soul Pearl. They managed to identify your Soul Pearl because of Wen Wan’er. They didn’t recognize my Soul Pearl, but who can guarantee they won’t find out it’s my Soul Pearl in the future?”
“So what? Even if they identify your Soul Pearl, it’s insufficient to prove that you’re the culprit,” Han Yun Jin said nonchalantly, clearly unafraid.
“Han Yun Jin, we’re in different situations,” Lei Jun said, “Based on how much Junior Sister Huan’er cares about Duan Ling Tian, if she finds out the Soul Pearl belongs to me, she definitely won’t accept me even if Duan Ling Tian dies. Therefore, she can never find out the Soul Pearl belongs to me.”
Han Yun Jin said in a leisurely tone, “Alright, alright. So in the end it’s all for a woman? Don’t worry, I’ll help you kill him during our life-or-death battle.” After a moment, he asked, “Hey, since they failed the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, will Dugu Wu return us the price we paid?”
“You’re dreaming,” Lei Jun said with a sneer, “Do you really think that’s possible? Put aside the fact that the treasures we used to hire them were probably with Dugu Wen and were probably taken away by someone else after he was killed, even if the treasures were with Dugu Wu, do you really think he’ll return them to us now that Dugu Wen is dead? If you dare ask him for a refund, he’ll probably kill you in a fit of rage!”
Han Yun Jin was frightened by Lei Jun’s words. After a moment, he said with a sour expression, “If that’s the case, we shouldn’t ask for a refund. However, we still need to find out if he’s still going to continue with the mission…”
Upon hearing this, Lei Jun reminded, “I think it’s best you wait for some time to pa.s.s before you head out. Xu Lang already suspects you…”
“If I have to wait, it’d probably be the time for my life-or-death battle with Duan Ling Tian. If that’s the case, what’s the point of us hiring an a.s.sa.s.sin?” Han Yun said in a deep voice.
“We have no choice. Don’t act rashly unless you have a death wish. If Xu Lang finds evidence that you met Dugu Wu, it’s over for you. That’s all the evidence they need. Colluding with outsiders to harm fellow members of the Heavenly Pool Palace is a heavy crime. If you’re convicted, even your master, the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor, won’t be able to help you!” Lei Jun said icily. Naturally, he did not care about Han Yun Jin’s wellbeing. He was only worried he would be implicated if Han Yun Jin acted rashly. If Han Yun Jin was caught, it was not impossible for Han Yun Jin to sell him out in exchange for a lighter punishment. Moreover, he was also worried that his Soul Pearl would be identified.
Han Yun Jin mulled over Lei Jun’s words before he said, “I know what to do. I won’t act unless I’m 100% confident I won’t be discovered.”
…
Time continued to pa.s.s.
Han Yun Jin discovered that every time he planned to leave the Heavenly Pool Palace, Xu Lang’s disciples would be nearby, keeping an eye on him. Apart from Wen Wan’er and Xu Lang’s first disciple, it seemed like all of Xu Lang’s prodigious disciples, including Duan Ling Tian, were taking turns keeping an eye on him. With this, he naturally did not dare to leave. In the end, he could only give up. After all, at this time, the life-or-death battle was just a little more than two months away.
Although Han Yun Jin had given up on meeting Dugu Wu, Xu Lang and his prodigious disciples did not stop keeping an eye on him. During the last two months before the battle, it was only Hu Mei, Ouyang Qi Fei, and Hong Fei were the only ones left keeping an eye on him, leaving Duan Ling Tian to cultivate. Although they were confident about Duan Ling Tians’s strength and knew he had extraordinary means to defeat his opponents, Duan Ling Tian could hardly bring out the Ning Dragons during the battle, after all. Therefore, they wanted him to continue cultivating his G.o.dly Image Phenomenon to increase his strength so that he would be able to face Han Yun Jin in peak condition.
…
Finally, the day of Duan Ling Tian and Han Yun Jin’s life-or-death battle arrived.
A huge crowd had already formed at the Prodigy Arena early in the morning. Many of them were disciples of the Heavenly Pool Palace who had come early to secure themselves a good seat.
“The day of the battle between the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor’s strongest disciple, Han Yun Jin, and the Verdant Prairie Celestial Emperor’s seventh prodigious disciple, Duan Ling Tian, is finally here!”
“Duan Ling Tian is an up-and-coming star of the Heavenly Palace. Although he’s not even 300 years old, he’s already incredibly powerful!”
“Since he dares to challenge Han Yun Jin to a life-or-death battle, he must have tricks up his sleeve.”
“That’s not necessarily true. I was there when he challenged Han Yun Jin. He might have only done it to intimidate Han Yun Jin and didn’t expect Han Yun Jin to accept the challenge. In the end, he was left with no choice but to continue on with what he had started…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Soon enough we’ll be able to see who’s the stronger one between the two of them!”
“Hey, it seems like they’re taking bets! Let’s place a bet as well. Although Han Yun Jin’s odds are lower, I’ll bet on him!”
“I agree. I’m betting on him as well!”
Before the main stars of the battle arrived, there was already a huge buzz of activities around and in the Prodigy Arena.