Chapter 900: The Third Party of Killing the Different

"What?!"

On Void Island Crack, Teng Shanhai and several black-clad enforcers all wore expressions of utter shock.

Just moments ago, as the time arrived, Rao Yao Yao had promptly recalled all the intelligence agents who were out tracking clues related to Yi's death. But as soon as everyone gathered, Wang Da Chui's blunt statement left them all stunned.

"Yi was killed by the Shuo Shu Ren?"

Teng Shanhai fixed his single eye on Wang Da Chui, his gaze filled with disbelief.

Rao Yao Yao had granted intelligence sharing to the high-level operatives of this mission. Even though the news of Yi's death was still sealed off from the outside world, all the black-clad enforcers present were already aware of it.

So, who didn't know that the Shuo Shu Ren's true self, at this point, should still be inside Sky City with Ba Zun An? How could he have found the time to slip away quietly and kill Yi?

"Impossible! I think it's a trap—some other force must have stolen the Yin Yang Sheng Si power and framed the Sheng Nu to divert attention!" one black-clad figure blurted out.

No sooner had he spoken than someone beside him retorted, "The Sheng Nu's Shuo Shu Ren and his Yin Yang Sheng Si—you've been handling intelligence for years, but have you even figured out his abilities? If you haven't, how can you claim that someone else in the world could steal them?"

"You have a point, but how do you explain the Shuo Shu Ren's true self being in Sky City and still managing to teleport out and kill Yi?"

"He has an external incarnation!"

"An external incarnation? Nonsense! Not to mention that the Shuo Shu Ren's external incarnation isn't like a half-saint's—its abilities are far inferior to his true self. Even if his true self showed up, do you think he could actually kill Yi?"

"The Shuo Shu Ren may have reached Zhan Dao, with power rivaling Tai Xu, and his Ling Ji tricks are unmatched in the world. Perhaps, if he teamed up with that Tian Ji Shu Shi, they could succeed in killing Yi!"

"Perhaps? Ridiculous! Zhan Dao is Zhan Dao, and Tai Xu is Tai Xu. You can blur the lines between geniuses and ordinary people... but who is Yi? Is he just some average Tai Xu? In terms of Ling Ji trickery, even if the Shuo Shu Ren is incredibly sly, can he be slyer than Yi?"

"Maybe it was a sneak attack?" someone else ventured weakly.

The black-clad figure who spoke first shook his head and said gravely, "Tai Xu has bloodline intuition. Unless they're extremely weakened, who could pull off a sneak attack? Yi was on a mission in full strength, and in that state, as a department head under the Sheng Nu, could he really be beaten by a Zhan Dao seventh-in-command?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Everyone was overwhelmed by the force of that black-clad enforcer's words.

Teng Shanhai narrowed his single eye slightly.

Wang Da Chui looked thoroughly impatient.

But surprisingly, Rao Yao Yao remained silent, and neither of them dared to act rashly in this tense situation—they simply observed.

Arguing in front of the red-clad enforcer leader Rao Yao Yao seemed like a very unwise thing to do, but the black-clad enforcers showed no sign of stopping.

After a brief pause, someone who had thought it through spoke up again. "What you said is true—the Shuo Shu Ren's abilities are tricky, but not as tricky as Yi's. Maybe he could work with the Tian Ji Shu Shi for some deceptive assassination, but he doesn't have the power to finish the job."

"So, it might not have been him who killed Yi, but the appearance of his Yin Yang Sheng Si power at the scene isn't as simple as some outsider's involvement."

"My guess is that besides the Shuo Shu Ren, there must have been a third person, or even a fourth or fifth!"

He paused and added emphatically, "At least Tai Xu level!"

"Heh..." The first black-clad enforcer sneered, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Besides the Yin Yang Sheng Si power, you seem to have forgotten about that Tian Ji Shu Shi? Si Tu Yong Ren said that the Tian Ji Shu Shi's abilities rank among the top five, or even top three, on the continent!"

"Are you saying the Tian Ji Shu Shi has the power to end it, and Yi was killed by him?"

"You could interpret it that way."

"But earlier, you didn't think Yi was killed by anyone else?"

"The Tian Ji Shu Shi could be an 'anyone else,' and others could be as well." The first black-clad enforcer stayed calm. "What I mean is, we don't actually have any grasp on the connection between the Tian Ji Shu Shi and the Sheng Nu. Speculating without evidence is pointless. Maybe he's allied with another organization and framed the Sheng Nu."

Everyone fell silent again.

That bold possibility wasn't out of the question.

No one had solid evidence that the Tian Ji Shu Shi and the Sheng Nu were in cahoots. This swing player—on which side did he stand during Yi's killing, and to whom did he hand the blade? No one knew!

"You're wrong."

Just then, after calming down, someone else countered. "Yi absolutely couldn't have been killed by the Tian Ji Shu Shi. Don't forget, Yu Zhi Wen was overseeing the Yun Jing World at the time. Her abilities might not yet match the Tian Ji Shu Shi's, but..."

"Zhu Ji Xing Tong!" someone immediately chimed in.

"Exactly, Zhu Ji Xing Tong. This pair of star eyes can pierce through heavenly secrets. Even in a contest for control of the Yun Jing World, if the Dao Dian Zhu showed up, they couldn't completely ignore it—they'd have to apply pressure to make Yu Zhi Wen counter it."

"But if that's the case, the Tian Ji Shu Shi would be held back, wasting a lot of time."

"So, Yi couldn't possibly have been killed by him."

"At the scene, there must have been a third person, or even a fourth or fifth!"

The first black-clad enforcer, the most assertive one, was finally silenced by the group.

The one who had suggested a third person earlier added excitedly, "At least Tai Xu! The third person must have at least Tai Xu cultivation to have the power to end it!"

Wang Da Chui listened from the side, his eyelids twitching wildly.

These guys didn't care about the setting when they argued, did they?

With Yi's death, the situation was already chaotic.

Rao Yao Yao's mind was probably a mess right now.

Were these people just stirring up more trouble for the fun of it?

"Shut up!"

Wang Da Chui thought about it and immediately shouted. As the head of the Body Department, he felt he should step in for Rao Yao Yao and stop this nonsense. "All this arguing—haven't you had enough? Isn't it annoying?!"

All the black-clad enforcers fell quiet at once, the only sound their breathing.

Rao Yao Yao massaged her temples, her head throbbing, then turned her gaze slowly to Wang Da Chui.

"Wh-what?" Wang Da Chui was intimidated by Rao Yao Yao's piercing look.

"You should shut up!" Rao Yao Yao snapped irritably, then turned to the intelligence agents and gestured with her jade-like finger. "Keep going."

The intelligence agents exchanged glances.

Soon, their suppressed anger flared up again.

"Go on, cat got your tongue? We were just getting to the third person. Got nothing to say now, huh? I told you, you have issues. The Yin Yang Sheng Si power showed up, and it's not the Shuo Shu Ren's doing?"

The assertive black-clad enforcer seemed to have ignited everyone's fury, turning it into a group assault.

But he wasn't backing down; he just frowned slightly, tilting his head as if pondering some detail.

Teng Shanhai, watching from the side, began to understand.

These intelligence agents weren't just adding fuel to the fire—they were actually helping Rao Yao Yao sort through her thoughts!

Yi's death was suspicious, with too few clues.

Only by having these sharp-minded people brainstorm together could they help Rao Yao Yao untangle the threads and recall key details.

It was just that their method...

Teng Shanhai didn't quite agree with it.

Earlier, he had shared Wang Da Chui's mindset.

Arguing like this?

It was madness!

Now that Wang Da Chui had been rebuked, Teng Shanhai calmed down and realized these intelligence types were as cunning as ghosts.

They started with an impossible hypothesis to spark anger and let the discussion flow naturally.

As a result, the situation had shifted from total confusion to something like clearing the fog to see the sky.

Teng Shanhai looked at the assertive black-clad enforcer, deep in thought.

He tried to recall and finally remembered—this guy was a key figure close to Rao Yao Yao. They'd crossed paths during previous missions.

Strictly speaking, he was the leader of this group of intelligence workers. Just over an hour ago, he had handled the most important interrogation of Mu Xiao Gong regarding Yi's mission.

His name was... Huan Yi?

The assertive black-clad enforcer, Huan Yi, was still thinking, and the others wisely didn't interrupt.

As Teng Shanhai had realized, they were using this unconventional method to help Rao Yao Yao clarify her ideas.

Similarly, through this debate, they were pooling all the disparate intelligence details each of them held.

Among the six departments, it was well-known that the heads of the Body and War departments were all brawn and no brains.

They didn't expect those two to see through anything.

Not getting in the way was the best they could do.

A fool's argument is like a shrew's rant—unreasonable.

A wise person's argument is like a court debate—methodical and revealing.

Huan Yi was deep in his subordinates' relentless challenges, his mind racing.

He had proposed what he considered an impossible theory and treated it as the correct answer first.

Then, his subordinates, to refute that impossibility, had to come up with something more plausible.

Huan Yi wasn't seeking the truth.

He just wanted to use this "debate" to spark ideas through verbal clashes and uncover that hidden "possibility."

"The third person..."

"At least Tai Xu..."

Huan Yi murmured to himself.

After a long while, it was as if he had grasped a key clue—his eyes lit up.

"What you said about the third person, I agree—the Tian Ji Shu Shi was held back, and the Shuo Shu Ren has abilities but not enough to finish the job, so there must have been a third person at the scene!" Huan Yi stated firmly.

"Hmph." His subordinate snorted smugly from the side.

"But that third person absolutely isn't Tai Xu!" Huan Yi turned to him, his words dropping like a hammer, utterly certain.

"Are you crazy? If you're going to be wrongheaded, fine, but not Tai Xu? Then who killed Yi? Do you think Yi is that easy to kill?"

His subordinate was so choked up that his face turned greenish.

Huan Yi didn't explain.

Instead, he turned to Teng Shanhai and asked respectfully, "Senior, if you encountered the Shuo Shu Ren and a Tian Ji Shu Shi who wanted to kill you, what would you do?"

Teng Shanhai paused, glancing at Rao Yao Yao.

Rao Yao Yao nodded gently at him.

"Fight!" Teng Shanhai replied.

"What if not?" Huan Yi pressed.

"If it's just those two, I wouldn't necessarily lose. I've fought the Shuo Shu Ren before—his abilities are indeed tricky, no wonder he's evaded the White Clad's pursuit for years on the edge of life and death. But in a real fight, he couldn't beat me."

"What if there's one more?"

"Another who?"

"The Eighth Sword Immortal!" Huan Yi smiled. "Let's assume the Eighth Sword Immortal who entered Sky City and the Shuo Shu Ren were both fakes, and their real selves sneaked into the Yun Lun Mountains to set a trap for you."

Teng Shanhai's face darkened, and he hesitated.

Rao Yao Yao interjected coldly, "Tell the truth."

"Run." Teng Shanhai said steadily, his single eye fixed on the void.

"Pfft, ha ha ha..." Wang Da Chui burst out laughing, slapping his thigh, but he held back from making any snide remarks, sensing the seriousness of the moment.

Huan Yi turned to Wang Da Chui. "What about you, Senior?"

"Me? What about me?"

"Three against you, and the third is the Eighth Sword Immortal." Huan Yi smiled.

"You little..." Wang Da Chui reached for his spatial ring, ready to pull out his hammer and smash him.

"Can you just settle down?" Rao Yao Yao quickly held him back with one hand. "Can't you answer the question properly?"

Wang Da Chui: "..."

"Run." He wilted.

"Hah." Teng Shanhai let out a humorless chuckle, like a machine.

Wang Da Chui's anger boiled over, nearly jumping up to hammer Teng Shanhai's knee.

"Enough!" Rao Yao Yao stopped the two of them.

Huan Yi took a deep breath and continued, "Suppose you couldn't run—the Tian Ji Shu Shi has sealed all escape routes, and Rao Jian Xian, through the Yun Jing World, wouldn't notice anything wrong because you're on a mission and shouldn't be in danger."

Rao Yao Yao's fist clenched slightly, as if struck by a sore point.

Perhaps that time, when she told Yu Zhi Wen not to monitor Yi's domain, Yi was already in a fierce battle.

If only she'd noticed earlier... Rao Yao Yao felt a twinge in her heart.

Wang Da Chui and Teng Shanhai, however, were unfazed and shook their heads in unison: "Run!"

"Still run?" Huan Yi asked.

"Still run!"

Wang Da Chui added, "Fighting is out of the question. Before I break through to half-saint, I'd never take on that eight-fingered cripple, even if it means drinking the blood of saints—I'd run! Do you think I'm a fool?"

Teng Shanhai said calmly, "I have confidence that if I run at full speed, they couldn't stop or kill me."

"The blood of saints..." Huan Yi pondered, glancing at Rao Yao Yao before turning back with a serious tone. "But Yi is dead."

Both department heads felt a weight in their chests.

Yes, they were all heads of the six departments and believed that if they ran full out, no one could stop them.

So why did Yi still end up dead?

Was Yi weaker? No one would think that.

Huan Yi didn't explain; instead, he changed tack. "But what if the third person wasn't the Eighth Sword Immortal—it was me? I went there and wanted to kill you too!"

"Just you?" Wang Da Chui's eyes widened in disbelief. He laughed heartily. "I'd smash you into pulp with one hammer, give the second to that dead pretty boy the Shuo Shu Ren, and with the third, blast the held-back Tian Ji Shu Shi. Why run when I could fight? Sounds great!"

"Senior?" Huan Yi looked at Teng Shanhai.

Teng Shanhai remained expressionless, his single eye sharp as an eagle. "You couldn't even withstand one glance from me."

In an instant, Teng Shanhai's aura shifted, hitting Huan Yi like a thunderbolt and forcing him to step back repeatedly.

Once he recovered, Huan Yi clutched his chest, gasping heavily, then looked to Rao Yao Yao.

"Rao Senior, I don't know much, and asking up to this point is already my limit."