Chapter 35: Reveal

Lu Mei furrowed her brows and said, "If it were any other organization being infiltrated by the Black Vatican, I would believe it, but the Tribunal has the [Oath Tree]. One swears an oath under this divine tree, and it absolutely cannot be violated; otherwise, one's cultivation will be nullified."

"Every member who joins must undergo this verification. The Tribunal is definitely the purest force."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jun pressed his lips together. This was the difficult part for him—others found it hard to trust him and preferred to believe the Tribunal.

But fortunately, his sister trusted him unconditionally. She quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

She said, "Forget it, since you're a mind mage with poor intuition, don't involve the Tribunal. Find people you trust and cooperate with them. Let's investigate and gather evidence first."

Hearing his sister's gentle support, Lu Jun felt touched. He already had a plan to deal with the Black Vatican. Even if they didn't need anyone else, the two of them could handle half of the crisis in Bo City.

The only thing to worry about was future retaliation from the Black Vatican.

Many people were afraid to provoke them because of this; they'd anonymously report things to avoid involving their families.

However, Lu Jun was too familiar with the internal structure and distribution of the Black Vatican. Their influence was spread throughout the world, deeply rooted in human society, with the highest leader being the White-robed Pope, followed by the seven Red-robed Cardinals.

The Red-robed Cardinals were like local leaders, generally listening to the Pope's declarations but not his orders.

The Black Vatican's influence in Bo City was just a part of the whole, originally only one Red-robed Cardinal had been present. However, reality didn't play fair. In the future, three Red-robed Cardinals would arrive in Bo City to stir up trouble.

The current operation in Bo City was planned by one of these Cardinals, [Salan]. Her traditional forces were overseas, acting as a powerful figure. She was specifically responsible for her subordinates, such as the Grand Deacon Mu He and Headmaster Wu Ku.

Salan's real name was Ye Chang, and she was also the stepmother of the protagonist Mo Fan, as well as the biological mother of his sister Ye Xinxia... The relationship was quite complicated.

Of course, the two sides had long since severed ties due to the Bo City disaster. Later, Mo Fan relentlessly pursued them, and his sister Xin Xia killed her mother, which could be called a classic example of filial piety.

Lu Jun knew that the disaster in Bo City was just a precursor to the [Ancient City's Spirit Disaster].

Even if he provoked them, Bo City's local power wasn't strong enough, and Salan was currently focused on the Ancient City, so she wouldn't be able to intervene for a while. For the short term, he had nothing to fear regarding retaliation.

"As for the future... well, let's wait and see if she survives the Ancient City first!"

He secretly made up his mind. Moreover, there was a great opportunity waiting for him in the Ancient City. The Black Vatican's resources in the mind and curse systems were rich, and his choice of these two systems was largely due to the Black Vatican. He had them in the bag.

However, Lu Jun had to admit that dealing with Mu He and Wu Ku would be quite difficult. The former was a high-tier mage, while the latter had surpassed tier limits.

Mu He was in charge of creating the Frenzied Spring and digging tunnels in Bo City. Wu Ku controlled the weather, blending the Frenzied Spring with the rainwater, causing a violent storm that would send monsters into a frenzy.

The Bo City disaster began with this torrential rain.

Fortunately, Lu Jun clearly remembered that Salan had instructed that Mu He and Wu Ku's identities must not be exposed. They were unlikely to act themselves, so the remaining issue was dealing with the monsters.

It wasn't particularly hard, but it wasn't simple either.

Although he would love to tear apart the script and eliminate a few people, his strength wasn't yet enough. It would be best to play along, pretend to be unaware, cooperate with them, and save Bo City, avoiding forcing Mu He and Wu Ku to act.

He didn't want to add unnecessary difficulty for himself and would keep his advantage by staying ahead of the game, taking a long-term approach.

Soon, the next day, Lu Mei followed her brother to the Hunter's Alliance to investigate. Sure enough, the frequency of the giant-eye rat's movements in the sewers had risen significantly over the past year. There had even been sightings of advanced-stage one-eyed magic wolves within the city.

This was a bit outrageous, indicating that a tunnel from the underground might lead to the wilds outside the city. Once the monster tide began, it could bypass the Snow Peak Mountain checkpoint and invade the city. It would lead to countless deaths.

"We need to do an on-site inspection." Lu Mei realized the seriousness of the situation and said solemnly, "Such a big event has not been reported, and there's no reaction from the city's upper echelons. You were right—there's an internal spy from the Black Vatican in the higher-ups."

The siblings planned to investigate and inspect the sewer breach.

...

At night, in the library of Mingwen Girls' School.

Two girls were reading and researching materials. One was sitting in a wheelchair, with a soft demeanor and flawless beauty, but unfortunately, her legs were too weak to stand. The other girl was healthy, with a rather delicate appearance.

They were chatting and laughing. The girl in the wheelchair frowned and said, "Lin Yun'er, do you smell something strange?"

The healthy girl named Lin Yun'er sniffed and nonchalantly said, "Indeed, there's a smell. The school cafeteria is next door; it's probably leftover food that wasn't disposed of properly, normal."

"It's not that." The girl in the wheelchair, Ye Xinxia, felt a vague sense of unease and said, "I think something's wrong. It's late; let's leave."

Lin Yun'er paused for a moment and said, "Xin Xia, are you unable to bear the smell? Well, it's already late, so you should head back to the dorm. I'll keep reading."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinxia hesitated but then bit her lip and said nothing. "Then I'll head back to the dorm. Be careful, though. I've heard about students going missing recently."

The carefree girl waved her hand, letting the one in the wheelchair leave.

Before long, Xin Xia was heading back to her dorm alone in the wheelchair. She felt as if some terrifying creature was watching her from the darkness, tightening her clothes and accelerating the speed of the wheels.

"Could it be ahead?"

Suddenly, voices appeared in the dark road ahead. Xin Xia was startled, quickly raising her head to look at the campus path. She saw a man and a woman dressed in trench coats, their aura strong.

Lu Jun slightly paused upon seeing the girl in the wheelchair and said, "Are you Xin Xia?"

Seeing it was a living person, Xin Xia felt relieved but then puzzled, "Who are you...?"

"My name is Lu Jun, a friend of your brother. I don't know if he's mentioned me to you."

He casually said, but in his mind, he was thinking that Mo Fan's sister had always kept a low profile. He had never been introduced to her, probably afraid that he was too handsome and might steal her away.

Just kidding—who would dare touch the daughter of the Red-robed Cardinal Salan, who would almost become the Pope in the future? And her father was even more complicated. His complexity far surpassed Mu Ningxue.

Lu Jun always kept his distance from her.

"Oh, it's Brother Lu Jun, my brother mentioned you."

Xin Xia said softly, but inside, she thought to herself. Mo Fan often said that Lu Jun was arrogant, but after seeing him today, she wasn't so sure.

Lu Jun scrutinized the beautiful girl thoughtfully. His mind flipped through the dusty memories, and he realized something that should have happened six months ago.

Ah!

Just as Lu Jun was about to speak, a shrill scream suddenly cut through the night sky, coming from the direction of the library.

"Not good, it's a monster."

His spiritual energy sensed a malicious and turbid aura ahead. Without time to explain, he activated his [Azure Cloud Boots], exploded with speed, and turned into a blur as he rushed forward.

[For additional chapters....

Versatile mage {40 chapters}

Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}

Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]