Chapter 68 – Preparation

No wonder the Youying Spiritbond Academy would send out the weaver ant and Hai Ruobo as a double insurance to assassinate Bai Ze. If not for the fact that Zhuzhao had already awakened, and releasing Zhulong again would provoke Zhuzhao’s displeasure, Bai Ze and Qin Shu might have experienced the same fate as Ling Qingkong and her husband.

No, that’s not quite right. It was precisely because Zhuzhao had awakened, and Bai Ze was under Zhuzhao’s protection, which allowed it to disregard the rules and peek into many secrets, that it attracted assassination attempts. If Bai Ze were in its usual state, it wouldn’t have been able to leak so many heavenly secrets.

This chain of events made it unclear who was implicating whom, and who was helping whom.

Hearing that even Kong Haoming was an enemy, Li Zheng and Inspector Zhang fell silent. Kong Haoming was the former leader of the Special Affairs Bureau, and this matter was of great importance. Without absolute evidence to convict him, they had no way to condemn Kong Haoming.

Bai Ze’s words carried significant weight, but it was only Bai Ze’s opinion. Lu Wu and Kong Haoming were of equal standing. If Kong Haoming were to point out that Bai Ze was the enemy, they would have no way of judging.

There was evidence that the Youying Academy had problems. Hai Ruobo and the weaver ant were solid proof. Gu Shoulu was from the Youying Academy, so he would certainly be within the scope of the investigation. Investigating Gu Shoulu, or even asking him to come to the bureau to cooperate with the investigation and detaining him for forty-eight hours, would be reasonable. But Kong Haoming lacked substantial evidence, and they couldn’t mobilize all the forces of the Spiritbond World to attack him.

Most importantly, the Spirit Beast Codex was closely related to Zhulong.

Besides possessing the Spirit Beast Codex, a treasure powerful enough to subvert the Spiritbond World, Kong Haoming was also highly likely to have Zhulong’s support. Even if they were to find evidence to convict him, they would have no way to arrest him.

No one in the Spiritbond World could defeat Kong Haoming. The best way was to find a reason to trick him onto an uninhabited island and then bombard the area with artillery fire.

However, doing so would be extremely costly, and they might not even be able to defeat Zhulong.

Zhulong controlled the power of space and time. With a blink of an eye, a thousand years could pass. Macroscopic physics didn’t work with Zhulong, and artillery shells might not even be able to injure it.

It was difficult, too difficult.

Yun Xiguang remembered that Chi Qiong had once been confined inside the Spirit Beast Codex and unable to escape, so he asked, “What exactly is the Spirit Beast Codex? It was even able to imprison him?”

Bai Ze said, “In this world, no one can imprison the Crimson Chi, except for the Moon Youying. The Spirit Beast Codex does not have the ability to trap Zhuzhao; it is simply attracting it to return. But at that time, the Supreme Deity’s power was too weak, and it was temporarily unable to break free.”

Yun Xiguang remembered what Chi Qiong had mentioned about how his and Youying’s powers canceled each other out, returning everything to chaos. From this, he inferred, “Would Youying also be confined within it?”

“I don’t know about things that haven’t happened. I’m merely inferring the nature of things based on the fact that the Supreme Deity was once confined within the Spirit Beast Codex. This matter is beyond my capabilities. If it hasn’t happened, I can’t speculate,” Bai Ze sighed.

“What exactly is the Spirit Beast Codex? How was it created? Did it exist since Pangu separated the heavens and the earth?” Yun Xiguang asked.

Bai Ze shook its head. “There was no such thing as the Spirit Beast Codex in ancient times. You have seen the Spirit Beast Codex, and you know that it uses simulated spirit contracts to control spirit beasts. Spiritbond Masters are a product of modern society. In other words, the Spirit Beast Codex only appeared after the spirit beasts awakened.”

Yun Xiguang and Bai Ze’s conversation seemed to be encrypted, leaving everyone confused. Li Zheng and the others simply stopped listening and focused on thinking about how to deal with Gu Shoulu and Kong Haoming.

After pondering for a long time, Li Zheng finally said, “I think we should temporarily put Kong Haoming’s matter aside. We should pretend that we don’t know about this and deal with the Youying Academy first, allowing the ‘beep’ Bai Ze mentioned to retrieve those three strands of spirit energy. Then we can discuss how to deal with Kong Haoming.

“We cannot provoke two Heaven-grade Spiritbond Masters at once; we can only take them down one at a time.

“To avoid alerting the enemy, we should act as if we are completely unaware of this matter. It would be best to temporarily seal this memory.”

Inspector Zhang agreed with Li Zheng’s words and nodded. Looking at Yun Xiguang, he asked, “What do you think?”

Kong Haoming was closely related to the Spirit Beast Codex and Zhulong. Ling Qingkong’s death was highly likely to have been orchestrated by him, and he was the enemy Yun Xiguang had been searching for all along. Temporarily putting aside Kong Haoming’s matter and focusing on the Youying Academy was a form of torment for Yun Xiguang.

Inspector Zhang and the others had already regarded Yun Xiguang as a true A-grade Spiritbond Master and a powerful combatant. Therefore, they especially valued his opinion.

Yun Xiguang did not hesitate. He also nodded and said, “I agree as well.”

He did indeed want to take revenge. After finding out who his real enemy was, he was also full of surging emotions and couldn’t wait to rush over and avenge his parents.

Fortunately, Yun Xiguang was naturally calm and had already grown accustomed to being patient. He knew that going to Kong Haoming right now would be no different from courting death.

On the other hand, there were three Phoenix Feathers at the Youying Spiritbond Academy. If they retrieved those three Phoenix Feathers, Chi Qiong would have seven Phoenix Feathers and would be nearing his full strength. Only then would they be able to fight Zhulong.

Li Zheng said, “I’m sorry.”

Yun Xiguang said, “I’ve waited ten years. It doesn’t matter if I wait a little longer, it’s not like it’s a real grievance. Director Li’s suggestion is the best solution, and I think so too.”

Seeing Yun Xiguang agree, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Shan said, “Lu Wu has the ability to predict its own future. We must seal our memories; otherwise, it will definitely notice. Who among you has the ability to seal memories?”

Li Zheng said, “The Golden-Winged Peng has this ability, but it can only seal my memory.”

After saying that, Li Zheng suddenly felt a headache. He looked at the Golden-Winged Peng and said, “That’s strange, my head hurts when I mention sealing memories. Did you ever seal my memory before?”

The Golden-Winged Peng ignored him, and, whistling, went to chibi version Bai Ze’s side, pretending not to hear Li Zheng’s words.

Its behavior confirmed for Li Zheng that he did indeed have a memory that had been sealed.

Li Zheng said, “I believe that you sealed my memory for my own good. I won’t pursue the matter. You just need to tell me, will I have a chance to recover this memory in the future?”

The Golden-Winged Peng respectfully glanced at Chi Qiong and said decisively, “Yes!”

Moreover, that time would not be far off. When the Phoenix Venerable retrieved the three Phoenix Feathers from the Youying Spiritbond Academy, the laws would have a difficult time restricting the Phoenix Venerable. When that time came, everyone in the world would know of the Phoenix Venerable’s reputation, and it would naturally remove the seal for Li Zheng.

Li Zheng said, “The Golden-Winged Peng can help me temporarily seal this memory. What about you? Bai Ze, I remember that you also have the power of rules. Can you do it?”

Bai Ze shook its head and said, “My rules can only take effect within the Zhuzhao Spiritbond Academy. They will fail once I leave Zhuzhao Academy. However, someone can help everyone seal their memories.”

“Who?” Everyone looked at Bai Ze.

Bai Ze raised its front hoof and pointed at Yun Xiguang.

“Me?” Yun Xiguang was dumbfounded. “I don’t have that kind of power.”

“You do,” Bai Ze suddenly said. “Do you remember the bookworm’s power?”

Yun Xiguang naturally remembered. The bookworm could erase human memories by eating text. He had suffered quite a bit because of this power in the past.

Yun Xiguang was adept at making inferences. When Bai Ze mentioned the bookworm, he immediately thought of how the bookworm had such a powerful ability because it had borrowed Chi Qiong’s spirit energy, which was the first Phoenix Feather they had retrieved.

Now, the Phoenix Feather was on him, wrapped around his arm.

“Are you saying that by using ‘beep’… I can recreate this power?” Yun Xiguang speculated.

Bai Ze nodded at Yun Xiguang.

Yun Xiguang took out the first retrieved Phoenix Feather. Each Phoenix Feather had extremely subtle differences in color, length, and shape, and Yun Xiguang could recognize these differences.

Yun Xiguang looked at Chi Qiong and said, “Shall we try?”

“Chirp!” Chi Qiong pressed its claws against Yun Xiguang’s hand, indicating that it was fine.

Qin Shu retrieved paper and pen, and Yun Xiguang wrote down the memory that needed to be sealed on the paper, then placed the paper on the Phoenix Feather.

The Phoenix Feather showed no reaction.

Yun Xiguang thought about it and released a wisp of the Fire of Rules, using it to ignite the Phoenix Feather.

This time, the rule that Yun Xiguang thought of was “what is borrowed must be repaid.”

Anyone who borrowed Zhuzhao’s spirit energy had to repay it with interest. The principal was spirit energy, and the interest was power.

In fact, the Phoenix Feather had already memorized the bookworm’s ability; it just couldn’t activate the power within the Phoenix Feather without Chi Qiong. Yun Xiguang was just using the Fire of Rules to activate the power of the Phoenix Feather itself.

Flames engulfed the Phoenix Feather, and a dark blue flame ignited on the Phoenix Feather itself. The flames devoured the paper, burning the words on the paper into ashes.

After the last word was burned away, Yun Xiguang looked at everyone. Seeing that no one had changed, he pulled chibi version Bai Ze aside and whispered, “Do you still remember this matter?”

To prevent others from hearing, Yun Xiguang quickly wrote the character “Kong” on the ground.

Bai Ze looked at Yun Xiguang with confusion in its eyes.

Yun Xiguang was relieved.

If even Bai Ze didn’t remember this matter, then the other Azure Dragon and Golden-Winged Peng would not remember, and the Spiritbond Masters present would not remember it temporarily.

Only in this way could they avoid alarming the enemy and attracting Kong Haoming’s attention.

Li Zheng and the others began to discuss how to maintain secrecy and how to launch a surprise attack on the Youying Spiritbond Academy, acting as if nothing had happened.

This matter had to be quick.

Since Hai Ruobo was captured, the Youying Spiritbond Academy must have become vigilant. They had to fight a quick battle and swiftly defeat the enemy before the Youying Spiritbond Academy was fully prepared.

Fortunately, Bai Ze had recovered. With its guidance, the Youying Spiritbond Academy would have nowhere to hide. No matter where they fled, Bai Ze could help point them in the right direction.

However, it was because of this that the Youying Spiritbond Academy knew that it couldn’t escape. Therefore, it would undoubtedly concentrate its forces and fight a desperate battle. The enemy possessed three strands of spirit energy and a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master. This battle would be difficult.

Li Zheng decided to take Hai Ruobo to swiftly request reinforcements from his superiors. Inspector Zhang was avoiding suspicion and would not participate in this operation.

Qin Shu and Ning Shan, under Bai Ze’s guidance, rapidly gathered those within the Spiritbond Master Association who were not controlled by the Youying Academy. They quickly subdued the people within the Spiritbond Master Association that were related to the Youying Academy to avoid being attacked from both sides.

Fortunately, Bai Ze was present; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to distinguish who was on their side and who was the enemy.

After quickly finalizing their plan of action, everyone rapidly began to mobilize, while Yun Xiguang returned home to wait for orders.

At the earliest tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning, Li Zheng would lead a large force to Nan Province to capture the anti-human elements in the Youying Academy. Yun Xiguang would also be one of the main members.

Yun Xiguang had to recover his strength as soon as possible during this period to ensure that his internal spirit energy was sufficient so that he could participate in the battle in the best possible condition.