I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 769: Chapter 770: Ji Wuqing’s Manipulation
 

In the mountains, within a cave dwelling.

Li Xiaobai, accompanied by Ergouzi, had returned to the cave dwelling. Ji Wuqing was already there, having returned early for some unknown reason. His little eyes were filled with excitement, clearly having caused some mischief outside.

Ergouzi didn’t care about that and began to read scriptures. It was a dog with dreams now, secretly accumulating Merit Value to amaze everyone and establish its grand dream of preaching to the world.

“Giggle, kiddo, the deity here has just done something big. Guess what it is?”

Ji Wuqing approached with excitement.

“Hmm?”

“You wouldn’t have been using this gourd to capture people all over the streets, would you?”

Li Xiaobai glanced at him, asking somewhat warily.

“How could that be? When the deity makes a move, it’s always with a targeted abduction. I wouldn’t even bother with cultivators below the Human Immortal Realm!”

Ji Wuqing gently tapped the gourd, speaking in a mysterious tone, “You know, today is the birthday banquet of the Supreme Emperor of the Great Flame Dynasty, right?”

“I know.”

Li Xiaobai laughed. He had just come back from the banquet.

“Hehe, did you notice that suddenly there’s a lot of young cultivators in the city?”

“So what?”

“These are all Sect Disciples who came to celebrate the birthday, and many of them are elite disciples among the sects. I heard them talking. It seems that at the birthday banquet, the cultivators from the sects only brought disciples with average cultivation levels to deceive the Great Flame Dynasty. The top disciples are actually loitering outside!”

Ji Wuqing explained.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaobai immediately had a bad feeling: “Could it be that the big thing you’re talking about is…”

“Hehe, exactly. It’s quite an eyesore to see this bunch roaming around aimlessly, so I’ve collected them all!”

Ji Wuqing touched the small gourd hanging on his chest, his eyes nearly squinting into slits.

“How many did you capture?”

Li Xiaobai asked, knowing that there were many sects and dynasties that had come to the city that day. If this joker had captured all their Sect Disciples, this matter could really blow up.

“Do you even have to ask? Any of them with a bit of fame in their sects, I’ve captured them all, didn’t miss a single one!”

“Don’t worry, perfectly done, no one will find out,” Ji Wuqing assured, patting the Purple Gold Gourd, a look of pride on his face.

Well, he’s got them all!

“So, are you saying that now we have all the outstanding disciples from the major sects in our hands?”

“Giggle, yes.”

“The Sword Sect trial is about to begin, and with the disciples mysteriously disappearing, the great sects must be panicking!”

“Giggle, yes!”

“And if we sell their disciples back to their respective sects at this critical juncture, I believe they will pay a high price to buy them back.”

“Giggle, yes!”

The light in Ji Wuqing’s eyes grew brighter. Why hadn’t it thought of this before?

Li Xiaobai had black lines all over his forehead, but eventually, a sly smile appeared on his face as he and the chicken exchanged a smile.

“Kid, that’s a pretty good plan!”

“Xiao Ji, well done!”

…

Meanwhile, the Elders from the various Great Sects and dynasties returned to their residences, only to find no one there.

While they had gone to attend the banquet, all of their Sect Disciples had disappeared. Initially, they assumed the disciples had simply gone out to explore the city—a normal occurrence—and would soon return.

But after waiting an entire day with no sign of them, and with their search yielding no clues, they grew restless.

In the evening, they couldn’t sit still anymore.

“What’s going on? The Great Disciple of my house has disappeared in Yan City!”

“Yes, several of our disciples are missing too. These are the core disciples of our sect; how could they just vanish without a trace?”

“Could it be that the people of the Great Flame Dynasty have uncovered our little schemes, and took advantage of our attendance at the banquet to secretly abduct all our Sect Disciples?”

“Damn it, this is just disgusting! I was counting on my direct disciple to clinch a spot in the Sword Sect’s trials. Without them, how can our clan rise to fame and fortune?”

“This is unacceptable; we must demand an explanation from the Great Flame Dynasty!”

The Sect Elders began to stir in uproar, with the influence of both the Sword Dynasty and Li Dynasty at the fore. The color drained from every cultivator’s face, for this time they had arranged for their top disciples to move freely within the city to gauge the Great Flame Dynasty’s strength, without revealing their identities.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, almost all of the disciples had vanished without a trace. The only possibility they could think of was that their disciples had been abducted.

And with premeditation and planning at that! Within the confines of the city, no one other than the Great Flame Dynasty could have pulled this off!

The elderly of the Sword Dynasty looked particularly outraged. Both the Saint Heir and Saintess of his Sect were now also missing—pillars of the future for the Sword Dynasty. Someone had dared to target them, acting with brazen impunity!

In the Great Flame Dynasty, at the Imperial Palace’s Great Hall,

Dozens of experts gathered at the entrance, a uniform array of Earth Immortal Realm powerhouses, seeking out Yan Nian.

This matter had stirred stormy waves throughout the city, and everyone knew about it. Cultivators from all corners were discussing it; the high-level masters of the Sects and dynasties had brought their disciples to wish the Grand Emperor a happy birthday, yet their disciples were now missing. No one could remain calm in the face of such events.

Yan Nian was naturally aware of the situation. His first thought was conspiracy—a plot targeting his Great Flame Dynasty.

Recently, he had become very prominent, between the return of the formidable King Weiwu with a prodigy and the Grand Emperor’s birthday. Indeed, his actions had drawn envy, which was not unreasonable. But he never imagined someone would be bold enough to kidnap the core disciples of the various Sects and pin the blame on his Great Flame Dynasty.

The fact that the people were lost in Yan City made it the responsibility of the Great Flame Dynasty, both morally and logically. At this moment, his head felt as heavy as a cauldron.

“Cough, esteemed ones, please believe me. I can guarantee that within the Great Flame Dynasty, there is absolutely no one capable of such despicable acts. Otherwise, let me be struck by lightning and lose my ability to enjoy life’s pleasures!”

“The most urgent task at hand is to quickly investigate and locate the whereabouts of the geniuses from the various families, and rescue them—it’s of utmost importance.”

“The Great Flame Dynasty will assist with all its might, sending out our Sect Disciples to help you all in the search,” Yan Nian said.

“It had better be so. We came in good faith, but if the Great Flame Dynasty lacks martial ethics and has resorted to underhanded tactics, we several families will reveal all our resources to keep you company in this dirty game!” The elder from the Sword Dynasty said with flashes of cold light in his eyes, his tone ice-cold. If indeed the Great Flame Dynasty was behind it, it meant a complete fallout with them. Even if the Pinnacle of the Heavenly Immortal Realm’s Supreme Emperor was on the other side, they would be forced to fight.

“Elder, rest assured, I will surely give all of you a satisfactory explanation,” Yan Nian said, his heart also plagued by endless rage. Such a good celebratory occasion had turned into a disaster. Even if someone intended to kidnap the Sect Disciples, couldn’t they wait until after they left Yan City? He fumed internally.

He didn’t know who was responsible for this damnable act, forcing him to take the blame. If he found out who it was, he’d tear them apart a thousand times over!