Chapter 697: The Deterrence of Eight Fingers

The true Ban Sheng families hold the real secrets of the continent.

Outsiders dare not make rash conclusions because of their ignorance and lack of qualification.

For Jiang Xian, however, as a direct descendant of the Ban Sheng lineage with the most authentic bloodline, this deduction was simply a matter of gathering intelligence and drawing the obvious conclusion.

Jiang Si and Jiang Qi fell silent at the same time.

Though they also bore the surname Jiang, within the Jiang clan, they were merely illegitimate offspring, completely estranged from the main family.

People like them, no matter how hard they fought or how many resources they amassed, could only reach the peak of Zhan Dao at best.

Only if they relied on their own talent, willpower, luck, and some extraordinary opportunity to achieve Tai Xu might they have a slim chance of being accepted into the main family.

Otherwise, they would remain lifelong subordinates to the main family members.

Naturally, under such circumstances, they had no access to most of the information that Jiang Xian could reach.

But from another perspective,

Since Jiang Xian was so certain, Jiang Si and the other could completely dismiss that highly absurd theory.

After all, when it came to such secrets, Jiang Xian must know more and more accurately than they did.

And thinking from another angle...

“Jiang Shao’s reasoning makes sense, so if this Xu fellow isn’t a Sheng Di descendant, or even a Ban Sheng descendant, then the existence behind him that makes the two of us feel uneasy...”

“Perhaps it’s just someone at the peak of Zhan Dao who has survived a few Nine-Death Thunder Tribulations,” Jiang Xian interrupted Jiang Si, waving his sleeve dismissively. “Tai Xu? Nonsense!”

The two Wang Zuo exchanged glances, a slight unease in their hearts.

They had experienced it themselves, so they didn’t think it was that simple.

But for Jiang Xian, whose current strength was still quite weak, let alone the difference between Zhan Dao and Tai Xu, he probably didn’t even fully grasp the gap between one Wang Zuo and another.

Jiang Si said no more.

But Jiang Qi, who had been silent, spoke up at this critical moment: “Perhaps Jiang Shao’s speculation is correct, but we’ve been to Tian Shang First Tower, and it’s not that simple. Jiang Tai and Jiang Yu couldn’t have been lost for no reason.”

“That Xu...”

Jiang Qi hesitated for a moment before affirming: “Maybe he’s a fake Ban Sheng descendant, but the forces behind him are probably not simple either.”

Jiang Xian looked at her, not reprimanding her, but instead narrowing his eyes and saying: “You never speak without evidence.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Qi nodded seriously: “I speculate that this Xu is a pawn sent by some major force to stir up trouble in Dong Tian Wang City, with a true mastermind pulling the strings behind him.”

“After all, unlike our goals, the biggest events about to happen in Dong Tian Wang City are the Wang City Trial and the Sheng Mi Zhi Di.” Jiang Qi paused.

Sheng Mi Zhi Di... Jiang Xian closed his eyes in thought.

He had to admit, this speculation was bold yet practical, the only explanation that made sense right now.

“You continue,” Jiang Xian said.

Jiang Qi nodded, her mind flashing through all the intelligence she had recently gathered. Her thoughts suddenly cleared, and she spoke fluently:

“The Wang City Trial aside, if there’s someone behind this Xu, he wouldn’t care about this trial. It’s all just a cover; his real target is the Sheng Mi Zhi Di, which is... Xu Kong Dao!”

“Half a month ago, Gou Wu Yue led a group of white-robed figures to surround Bai Ku, and they lost seven hundred in a small Ba Gong. The world should have been in turmoil, but Sheng Shen Hall suppressed the intelligence.”

“What outsiders don’t know, we can get our hands on.”

“All of this is because Bai Ku produced a Sheng Nu, and the leader of the Sheng Nu is suspected to be the Eighth Jian Xian.”

Jiang Xian raised his hand, interrupting her and correcting: “Not suspected—it’s one hundred percent!”

Jiang Qi was startled.

She and Jiang Si exchanged looks, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

Jiang Shao wouldn’t say this without basis; he must know some inside information.

So...

It really is the Eighth Jian Xian!

That person hasn’t died after all!

Her mind raced, and the picture of how the world might turmoil became clearer in an instant.

But Jiang Qi didn’t dare get distracted; she focused all her attention back on the current matter.

Indeed, the intelligence she had was still insufficient.

If Jiang Shao could be so certain about this, it only proved that he, through family channels, had learned more about the true reason behind Sheng Shen Hall’s losses in Bai Ku.

Eighth Jian Xian... Jiang Qi shook her head slightly, pulling her thoughts back, and continued: “Since it’s one hundred percent, that makes it even easier to explain.”

“Jiang Shao should also know about the things the Eighth Jian Xian was involved in back then, his place of fall... well, the place where he disappeared for those decades.”

“Even if the world doesn’t know where he went, Sheng Shen Hall can’t deceive our Jiang clan...”

“Xu Kong Dao!” Jiang Xian’s eyes lit up, suddenly interrupting.

He wasn’t foolish; Jiang Qi’s words had enlightened him, and he realized what she was getting at.

“Coming from Xu Kong Dao, scheming for Xu Kong Dao, so you guess that this Xu is a pawn of the Sheng Nu?” Jiang Xian leaned forward.

Jiang Qi hesitated: “There’s another possibility.”

“Say it,” Jiang Xian gestured for her to continue.

“In the Bai Ku battle, not only the Sheng Nu organization appeared; there were also faint traces of the Xu Yue Hui Gong.”

“But later events escalated, with what seemed to be... well, the real Eighth Jian Xian appearing, so Xu Yue Hui Gong’s backup retreated immediately.”

“So...”

Jiang Qi stopped, not needing to state the conclusion, as Jiang Shao would understand.

“So it could also be someone from the Gui Shou coming to stir things up?” Jiang Xian rubbed his forehead in frustration.

These two organizations were ones even the Ban Sheng families didn’t dare provoke lightly.

But then, the “Tian Zhi Zhi Yan” sensing had locked onto this Xu’s group; if they didn’t act, how could they succeed?

“Is there a third theory?” Jiang Xian asked.

“No,” Jiang Qi shook her head, then added after a pause: “But I guess it’s more likely a Sheng Nu pawn.”

“How so?” Jiang Xian was intrigued.

Jiang Qi was the head of his think tank; even for Zhan Dao-level operations, he always consulted her first to know if it was feasible.

For her to reach this level with just Wang Zuo cultivation showed how much Jiang Xian trusted her.

And similarly, every word she said could be verified by facts—nine times out of ten, spot on!

So, he might ignore others’ words, but never questioned hers.

“Everything is just speculation.”

Jiang Qi started, then casually pulled a document from her ring and handed it over, saying: “This is the personnel data I got from investigating the Sheng Nu earlier. You can skip the others for now, Jiang Shao; flip to this person’s information.”

As she spoke, she flipped to the last few pages and stopped.

“Lei Shuang Xing?” Jiang Xian murmured, his pupils suddenly contracting. “Lei?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Qi nodded: “There was once a Tai Xu family on the continent called the Lei family, known for their ‘Tian Xia Tong Shu,’ which controlled the power of heavenly punishment. Though their highest member was only Tai Xu, even Ban Sheng didn’t dare underestimate them. Jiang Shao must have heard of them.”

“I know.”

Jiang Xian frowned, pausing before saying: “Too rigid and it breaks; prosperity leads to decline. They were wiped out.”

Jiang Qi pointed to the name on the document: “This person’s surname is Lei. The last time he appeared, it was in Bai Ku. He had a sword in his hand called ‘Chou Shen Zhang,’ and the previous owner of Chou Shen Zhang was from this Tai Xu Lei family.”

“The key is, he’s blind.”

Jiang Qi’s finger moved to the description of “Lei Shuang Xing’s” appearance at the bottom of the page, and Jiang Xian’s gaze followed.

He fell silent for a long time before shifting his eyes upward, pointing to the document himself: “Lei Shuang Xing, gender: male.”

With that, Jiang Xian lifted his gaze, his San Yan Tong swirling in his eye sockets like three wilting gray flowers.

Jiang Qi sensed Jiang Shao’s doubt and calmly explained: “Though the person with Xu is female, since the Sheng Nu dared to take in someone from the Tai Xu Lei family, they wouldn’t reject a second one... if there is a second.”

Jiang Xian lowered his brow.

Indeed, Jiang Qi’s words had preemptively addressed all his questions—truly deserving of being the head of his think tank.

It seemed that aside from explaining it this way, there was no other possibility.

But if they were up against the Sheng Nu, was the mission more important, or his life?

Such an existence was far beyond what a minor Ban Sheng descendant like him could face directly.

Though that Xu was only at the Xiantian level, Jiang Xian knew, based on Jiang Qi’s theory, that Xu was just a joke.

What he truly had to face was the real mastermind behind Xu, sitting in Tian Shang First Tower.

Suspected to be Tai Xu!

At that moment, Jiang Xian even suspected that the mastermind was at least Tai Xu!

“How certain are you?” Jiang Xian asked after a moment of contemplation.

“Seven out of ten,” Jiang Qi replied.

Though it was only seven out of ten, Jiang Xian knew that in Jiang Qi’s world, there was no such thing as one hundred percent.

A seven-out-of-ten probability was basically ninety-nine out of a hundred for others—nailed down.

Even if there were variables, they’d just be minor errors from incomplete intelligence.

The big picture was set!

Xu, Sheng Nu’s pawn, was inescapable!

“With this guess, you’ve turned our opponent into one of the most terrifying organizations in the world,” Jiang Xian put down the document, feeling a headache coming on, and sighed helplessly.

“It’s just speculation; I can be wrong.”

Jiang Qi stepped back to Jiang Si’s side.

Her task was done; she wouldn’t say more and would continue being his shadow.

Speculation... Jiang Xian’s thoughts wandered far.

He furrowed his brows, pondering his next move, while pulling over a chair. After moving the foot on it aside, he sat down and instructed Jiang Si: “Send a message to the main family, tell them about this, and ask if we should continue the mission... Hmm?”

He stopped abruptly, his heart tightening.

He realized something was wrong.

If he remembered correctly, when he pulled the chair over, he had moved a foot?

In an instant, cold sweat broke out, and Jiang Xian’s scalp tingled.

There were only three of them in the room.

Jiang Si and Jiang Qi were right in front of him.

Whose foot was that?

Suppressing the urge to turn around, Jiang Xian stood up immediately and dashed behind the two Wang Zuo guards.

At the same time, Jiang Si and Jiang Qi seemed to notice something amiss, stepping forward to shield Jiang Xian while drawing their swords toward the chair.

“Clang—”

The resonant sound of the sword echoed in the dimly lit room.

Then,

“Clap, clap, clap.”

From the side of the table and chairs came a crisp, unhurried applause, which only heightened the tension in the Jiang trio’s hearts.

“Who are you?!”

Jiang Si shouted angrily.

“Shh.”

A shushing sound rang out.

Only then did the three fully see the shadowy figure casually seated on the chair.

He seemed perfectly blended into the surroundings, like the bed, wardrobe, or chairs—as if he belonged there.

If not for seeing it with their own eyes and sensing something wrong, even a spiritual scan might not detect anything amiss in their distracted state.

It was a figure completely wrapped in black clothing, with a mask and gloves, all black.

The only exposed parts were his eyes, dull and murky, like those of someone in their twilight years, half a foot in the grave.

But the Jiang trio was certain—this couldn’t be ordinary!

How could a regular person hide so well that even Wang Zuo hadn’t noticed his appearance in the room?

More importantly, this figure, this attire...

If they had noticed earlier, Jiang Xian wouldn’t have thought much of it.

But after Jiang Qi handed over the document, this was exactly as described on the first page: the Sheng Nu leader, the Eighth Jian Xian.

“Ba Zun An, coming to my home?”

Jiang Xian’s mind exploded!

Just a moment ago, he was about to instruct Jiang Si to contact the main family; if they really had to face the Sheng Nu, they’d need at least one Tai Xu, several Zhan Dao, and ideally a Ban Sheng watching over.

The next second, the Sheng Nu leader appeared directly in the room...

“What on earth is going on?!”

Jiang Xian was on the verge of exploding on the spot; the foot he had moved earlier might become the source of all his nightmares!

“You, you you...”

Jiang Xian stuttered “you” for a while but couldn’t get a full sentence out.

No matter how strong his mentality was compared to his peers, in the face of an absolute legend, he was still just a small ant with some status.

And crucially, the other party wasn’t afraid of his background at all.

The Eighth Jian Xian was a man who dared to confront Sheng Shen Hall head-on!

Jiang Xian couldn’t speak, Jiang Si was still staring at the figure on the document in a daze, but Jiang Qi was the first to recover from the panic.

“Eighth Jian Xian?”

The moment those four words were spoken, the Jiang trio’s hearts skipped a beat.

It was fine not saying it, but once uttered, the room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop, including Jiang Qi’s breathing.

“Shh.”

The figure on the chair still had one finger raised to his lips, shushing them not to panic.

Jiang Qi noticed a subtle detail.

When people shush, they usually bend their other fingers.

But this black-robed figure, with his shushing hand, had the thumb of his black glove straight and unwrinkled, as if it was always like that.

Glancing down, his other hand’s glove also had the thumb straight, without a crease.

Eight fingers...

At that, even the usually calm Jiang Qi felt a chill in her heart.