Reymon stopped and looked at the Hall elders, his light blue eyes cold and bright in the rune-lit hall.
"It seems I have trained a bunch of yes-n and won who don’t even bother to think when carrying out my orders. Is critical thinking a cri in the Grand Martial Hall?
"Have any of you asked yourselves why that old fool Zinnia suddenly started cooperating with us? If she had these Aurous-level techniques for years, why did she remain in the Argent Body Realm?
Why did she not use those thods herself to break through long ago? These were imperfect techniques, yes, but training in them would have been better than being stuck in the Argent Body Realm for her whole life.
"Even if she was unwilling to beco an Aurous-level martial artist for personal reasons or gave up hope because of so injury, there was no need to share these techniques with us—her bullies. Soone like her should have died without revealing anything.
Plus, these techniques seed to be different from the one practiced by Zinnia. Why did she not share her own technique with us in the exchanges we have had with her if she really wanted to cooperate with us?"
Reymon then looked at the Hall elders with disappointnt evident in his eyes as he asked. "How can you not ask these questions to yourself? Has practicing martial arts for so long damaged your heads?"
A slow hush passed among the elders. They felt a sting of sha when their leader questioned their judgnt.
Reymon’s tone sharpened a little.
"This woman had a close tie to a man nad Aksai during the last intrusion of the Tree Devils. He was involved in the Devil’s Den incident at the Serenity Peak, then suddenly disappeared from Sharang as if he were a ghost. In many ways, he was like those infiltrating Tree Devils who co every century to exploit and kill us.
"However, that man, Aksai, fought the Tree Devils and helped break the Devil’s Den. After reading witness testimonies from the incident, I can say he was not one of them. And yet he moved through Sharang as easily as if it were his backyard.
"I have lived long enough to know that Tree Devils aren’t interested in our body cultivation path. They co every hundred years or so, create a Devil’s Den, reap the lives of mortals and low-level martial artists, and leave. They don’t bother to study our martial arts.
"This man, Aksai, is different. He studied our techniques and even created an Argent-level Martial Compendium. He showed great interest in martial arts despite not having many Martial Gates opened as per his records maintained by the martial arts schools of that ti. That tells us he is interested in our cultivation path. He might also be looking for ways to improve his Qi foundation."
"My lord, do you an to say that—" the gray-haired woman began, starting to connect the dots. Reymon waited a mont, then continued.
"What I an is this: these techniques can’t be produced from thin air. If I’m right, that man has returned to Sharang. That is how Zinnia obtained them. It seems he has easier access to our world than the Tree Devils. He doesn’t have to wait a century to co here. In so ways, that is good news for us."
He let the idea hang in the air, watching their faces. Then he paced again, the scar on his neck moving as he turned.
"If he has indeed returned, then the reason she asked us to share our research and data is because she and the man behind her are trying to create a perfected Aurous technique.
"Although I have never seen the manual of the Celestial Harmony that old bat Zinnia practices, I am sure that it is even more refined than the best Aurous-level technique that we have. This is because I have felt that woman’s aura and observed her residual Qi.
"If he makes the right use of the data that we have shared with them so far, there’s a huge possibility that he’d be able to upgrade the Celestial Harmony in a few months," Reymon said while looking in the distance, as if he could see what was bound to happen in the future.
"Then the reason they decided to cooperate with us–" the one-eyed elder spoke, realizing what his hall master was getting at. The latter smirked before speaking further.
"It’s a simple yet clever plan: they want to use our resources and our testers as guinea pigs. It saves them ti and effort. It also gives them more breathing room to operate because we would have supposedly allied with them.
"We thought that we are the bigger beneficiaries of this exchange because we gained more Aurous-level techniques in exchange for the data we acquired after conducting several experints.
But what if these techniques are ant to keep us busy instead of solving the problems we have? It could be just that the Aurous-level information exchange is a ruse crafted by that man to buy himself so ti.
"After taking all the possibilities into account, I’m sure that this deal was in their favour. I admit—they have had so success. But we cannot let them keep that advantage."
Reymon’s voice grew colder, though a quiet excitent showed under it.
"We must lure this man out under any condition before he leaves Sharang again. If he truly has easier access to our world, he won’t hesitate to disappear for another few decades once he gets what he wants. It would be too late to confront him again if that happens.
"In a way, catching him is more important than acquiring dozens of Aurous-level techniques. The knowledge he holds could act as a bridge between two different civilizations. We could do much more if we learn how to use both paths of power together."
***
AN: Aksai obtains Vermilion Blood Sacrifice Art and Demonic Dragon Soul Armor Technique from Haitin in Chapter 358. One-eyed man and gray-haired woman elder of the Grand Martial Hall were first introduced in Chapter 145.
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