Invincible Dad-Chapter 665 - 165 Marvelous_1
As they knelt on one knee, it signaled they no longer had any doubts about the identity of the man in black.
The Ji Royal Order was a symbol and representation of status.
The four scions of the Moon Clan and the Moon King’s wife would certainly not give it to an outsider. There was only one possibility—this was bestowed personally by the Moon King!
"Elders, please rise."
The man in black hastened to help Mou Yuan to his feet. "I am Lin Xuzhi, sent by the Sect Master to assist you in assassinating Xu Lai."
Mou Yuan did not remain stubbornly on his knees. He took the opportunity to stand, cupped his fists, and said, "May I ask if Brother Lin has a plan?"
"Naturally." Lin Xuzhi nodded emphatically.
He turned to look at Mount Haitang, shrouded in darkness, and sighed. "Xu Lai’s Boundary is incredibly high. If we act recklessly, we would be moths to a flame. We must devise a foolproof strategy."
Mou Yuan and the other Elders sighed. They were all too aware of this truth. Sixteen cultivators at the Peak of Golden Core, without a single true Nascent Soul Realm expert among them. Facing an adversary who was, at a minimum, at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm and possibly even stepping into the Divinity Transformation Realm, was simply a death sentence.
Yet, they were willing to die for the Moon Clan, willing to die for the Moon Clan’s ten-thousand-year grand plan!
Of course, if they could eliminate the great thorn in their side that was Xu Lai without having to die, that would be for the best.
Lin Xuzhi’s gaze swept over the sixteen Elders, and the corner of his mouth curved up in a smile, which he quickly suppressed. No one saw this detail; after all, he was shrouded from head to toe in black robes.
"And that is why the Moon King sent me," Lin Xuzhi said, extending a finger and pointing to his head. "We can start by eliminating Xu Lai’s strategist."
"Xu Lai’s strategist?"
"That’s right." Lin Xuzhi articulated, word by word, "His name is—Tan Chang!"
"According to my intelligence, every single one of the Moon Clan’s failed offensives was orchestrated by this man from behind the scenes."
"When Gu Jiu’an, Feng Yuanzi, and Yao Yun infiltrated Earth and were captured, Tan Chang was on the scene."
"The intelligence network that Ji Wuming spent hundreds of years establishing on Earth was also uncovered by Tan Chang, who pieced together various clues and traces."
HISS!
As Lin Xuzhi spoke, Mou Yuan and the others gasped, little knowing that this was only the beginning.
"The Sect Master once ordered me to use the annihilation of the Penglai Sword Pavilion to compel the other three sects and eight pavilions to attack Xu Lai in the name of moral justice. The intention was to cause mutual destruction within the Human Race."
"But ultimately, it failed," Lin Xuzhi spoke with a bitter tone.
"Could that also be..." Mou Yuan asked instinctively.
"Correct, it was also because of Tan Chang!" Lin Xuzhi said with a self-deprecating laugh. "If not for him, our formation projections indicated that the three sects and eight pavilions would have been annihilated, and Xu Lai would have been gravely injured."
"But he discovered the Moon Clan’s plot and made it public. Not only did he foil that plot, but his actions also led to eleven Supreme Elders from the three sects and eight pavilions ascending to the moon in search of the truth. This forced the Yunxiao Sect to completely sever ties with its subordinate sects."
"All of this, everything, was because of Tan Chang!"
Lin Xuzhi narrowed his eyes. "This person’s Boundary is not high, and his appearance was extremely sudden, nearly coinciding with Xu Lai’s own emergence."
"Xu Lai opposes the Moon Clan, and so does Tan Chang. Once is a coincidence. But time and time again... could it all be a coincidence?"
"Do you believe that?"
"Because I certainly do not."
"Therefore, I have every reason to believe that Tan Chang is Xu Lai’s strategist!"
HISS.
A chill crawled up the scalps of Mou Yuan and the other Elders.
No wonder the Moon Clan’s recent operations had met with repeated failure. It turned out that aside from Xu Lai, another such terrifying enemy was hidden on Earth. With pure strategy alone, he had unraveled the Moon King’s three-hundred-year-old infiltration of the Yunxiao Sect and had even worked in concert with Xu Lai, one in the light and one in the shadows.
These Earthlings are truly cunning and despicable!
"In terms of threats to the Moon Clan, Xu Lai is the greatest, but Tan Chang cannot be ignored," Lin Xuzhi chuckled lightly. "My plan is to first cut off Xu Lai’s right-hand man. This individual’s importance to Xu Lai probably surpasses even that of his own family."
"Whether we use him for threats, make an example of him through assassination, or even use him as bait, he is the perfect choice!"
"Brilliant," Mou Yuan’s eyes lit up.
The Supreme Elders looked on with admiration.
The ability to meticulously unravel events and connect them all to the central figure, Tan Chang, was a display of insight that proved Lin Xuzhi was no simple man. His logic was clear and well-supported. He was truly worthy of being a human confidant to the Moon King.
"We shall follow all of Mr. Lin’s arrangements," Mou Yuan said, clasping his hands and bowing respectfully.
The Moon Clan is dominated by brutes; true strategists are exceptionally rare. The Moon King’s own schemes are, of course, unparalleled, but of the King’s four children, only Ji Jie possessed even a fraction of the Moon King’s style from his younger days. If the Moon Clan were to rule Earth in the future, they would need sufficient intellects in addition to absolute power. Lin Xuzhi was likely one of them.
He suddenly understood the Moon King’s true purpose in sending Lin Xuzhi to help them. Besides being able to eliminate the great thorn in their side, Xu Lai, Lin Xuzhi could also pledge his allegiance to the Moon Clan, and they could see if he had genuine abilities.
The Moon King’s plan to kill three birds with one stone was truly masterful!
"Where is this Tan Chang now?" an Elder asked.
"Rest assured," Lin Xuzhi chuckled. "I have not been idle these past few years. I have placed many chess pieces within this Zhu Lang Pen. As for Tan Chang’s whereabouts, I already have them locked down."
Hearing the words "Zhu Lang Pen," the Elders felt quite pleased; it confirmed he was truly one of their own.
"Now, may I ask the Crown Prince to grace us with his presence?" Lin Xuzhi asked, clasping his fists respectfully. He didn’t believe for a second that the Crown Prince was missing.
What a joke. A mighty Golden Core Cultivator. Go missing on this paltry Earth? It’s laughable. He was more inclined to believe the Crown Prince was observing them from the shadows.
However, he saw the expressions of the Elders gradually stiffen.
Lin Xuzhi asked in disbelief, "Don’t tell me the Crown Prince has actually gone missing?"
"There is no falsehood in this matter," Mou Yuan said bitterly. "His life token has not shattered, but as for his specific location... we do not know." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Where did the Crown Prince disappear?"
"Near the island housing the Yunxiao Sect’s Teleportation Array. He wanted to prey on the Zhu Lang of another island..."
"There are seventeen islands near the Teleportation Island, but only Chang Island is inhabited. No, wait—"
Lin Xuzhi’s voice trembled. "We’re in trouble!"
"What is it?" The Elders’ faces turned grim.
"Thirty nautical miles from Chang Island, there is a Sea City. Just yesterday afternoon, three hours before your arrival, a Divine Gate Realm expert from the Human Race paid a visit to the Demon King of Sea City, but was unceremoniously driven away..."
"The Human Race and the Sea Demon Clan have never been on good terms, so I didn’t think much of it at first."
"But I fear the Human Race already knew we were coming. They must have allied with the Sea Demon Clan in advance and laid an inescapable trap in the surrounding waters!"
"Don’t tell me that even the Crown Prince being unable to restrain his impulse to hunt the fishermen of Chang Island was also part of his calculations!"
"You’ve all staged quite a play together!"
In an instant, Lin Xuzhi seemed to age by decades, his back gradually hunching over.
"Could it also be the work of that man?"
The sixteen Elders shivered with a cold dread. Never before had they feared a man they had never met, not even Xu Lai, as much as they did in this moment.
"That’s it." Lin Xuzhi smiled bitterly. "Besides Tan Chang, it could be no one else. In this confrontation... I’ve already been outplayed."
