Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 770: The Paths For Protection
Han Yu felt a chill that had nothing to do with the ice around them.
The Peak Head watched him carefully, then continued.
"It was the Frost Sentinel Guards," he said, "who located the first Cold Silk Orchid for the First Kidney Peak Head."
Han Yu's eyes widened despite himself.
So that was it.
The mystery of how such a rare herb had been found, the whispers of unnamed experts, the absence of any recorded mission... it all fit now.
"Elemental affinity is not a requirement to join them," the Peak Head went on. "The only requirement is selection. We choose who joins. No one applies."
Han Yu hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"This disciple's cultivation base is… lacking," he said honestly. "Compared to those who operate at that level, my combat strength is not exceptional."
The Peak Head snorted softly. "If brute force were the only measure of value, the Frost Sentinels would be a band of idiots."
He looked Han Yu up and down.
"They require specialists. Formation experts. Curse masters. Alchemists. Puppet artisans."
His gaze lingered meaningfully.
"Your puppet mastery alone is sufficient to qualify," the old man said. "Especially given your unusual rate of progress."
Han Yu did not immediately respond.
Joining the Frost Sentinel Guards meant vanishing from the surface of the sect. It meant being consumed by secret missions, bloodshed, and obligations that would never end cleanly. Worse still, it would bind him tightly to the Kidney Peaks... perhaps too tightly.
It would be protection.
But it would also be a leash.
"This path," Han Yu said slowly, "would cut off many future possibilities."
The Peak Head's lips curved slightly. "You are sharper than you look."
Han Yu lifted his gaze. "What other paths exist?"
The old man raised a second finger.
"The second option," he said, "is simple."
He paused deliberately.
"I send you away from the sect."
Han Yu stiffened.
"On a mission?" he asked carefully.
The Peak Head shook his head. "To my clan."
Han Yu was genuinely surprised this time. He had assumed that the Peak Head's clan had long since been absorbed into the sect or dissolved entirely.
"I have a clan outside the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect," the old man said calmly. "Though I severed formal ties upon taking this position, command does not disappear simply because one stops visiting."
He turned his back slightly, as if looking toward something far beyond the frozen warehouse.
"I can place you there," he continued. "You would be safe. Far from Zhao Liumen. Far from the First Kidney Peak. Far from the sect's internal struggles."
Han Yu's heart sank. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
"And in exchange," he said, already knowing the answer.
"You would gain nothing from the sect," the Peak Head replied. "No missions. No merit points. No access to resources. No influence."
Han Yu shook his head almost imperceptibly.
While safe, this path would end everything he was working toward. It would distance him from the mines, from the slaves, from any chance of recovering his companions. It would also delay, or perhaps permanently stop his return to the Twin Leaf Peak Sect.
"This option is unacceptable," Han Yu said evenly.
The Peak Head nodded. "I expected as much."
He raised a third finger.
"There is a third path," the old man said slowly.
Han Yu's attention sharpened immediately.
"But," the Peak Head continued, "this one depends on something you cannot lie about."
He turned fully toward Han Yu, his gaze suddenly intense.
"Your affinities."
Han Yu's heartbeat quickened.
The Peak Head did not ask him to release his Qi. He did not request permission. He simply stepped forward and extended a hand.
Before Han Yu could even react, a wave of frigid intent washed over him. It was not hostile, but absolute. It bypassed his surface defenses entirely, slipping into his body like cold water into cracks.
Han Yu clenched his teeth, holding himself steady as the Peak Head's perception swept through him.
His meridians.
His dantian.
His cores.
His blood.
His very being.
For an instant, it felt as if every secret he possessed was laid bare beneath that gaze.
The Peak Head's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting," he murmured.
And Han Yu knew whatever came next would change everything.
The Second Kidney Peak Head's hand remained hovering inches from Han Yu's chest, fingers slightly curled as layers of perception peeled back one after another.
The first thing he encountered was impossible to miss.
Fire.
Not a faint spark, not a thin thread, but a vivid, roaring affinity that burned bright within Han Yu's meridians and dantian. It was stable, deeply rooted, and clearly not something that had been forcibly grafted on recently.
The Peak Head's brows rose ever so slightly.
Fire was common enough in the sect, but this fire carried a purity that suggested long-term integration rather than temporary enhancement. It was not wild, nor unstable. It was disciplined.
'Interesting.'
He said nothing yet and continued probing.
Soon after, another resonance answered his perception.
Wood.
Subtle, resilient, intertwined with Han Yu's life force like hidden roots beneath scorched soil. It was not as dominant as the fire affinity, but it was undeniably present, providing balance, recovery, growth, and endurance.
The Peak Head finally withdrew his hand a fraction and looked down at Han Yu with open surprise.
"Fire… and Wood," he said slowly.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"But according to the sect's records," the old man continued, "You possess a Water elemental affinity."
The statement was not an accusation. It was an observation; cold, precise, and utterly assured.
Han Yu's heart skipped a beat, but his expression did not change. He had prepared for this moment long ago.
"I..."
Before he could speak, however, the Peak Head let out a low chuckle.
"So that is how it is," the old man murmured. "I had heard rumors of your… blood experiments. I did not expect you to be insane enough to attempt this."
Han Yu inwardly exhaled.
The Peak Head's gaze grew complex, part scrutiny, part grudging admiration.
