chapter 74

“So that’s how it is.”

Su Chen finally realized the reason why Zhu Xianyao was so cautious around Li Daohong.

Bastards like this, who dared to stir up trouble and also had the strength to back it up, did need to be dealt with carefully. You never knew when a person like that would suddenly turn on you and retaliate with full force.

Even though Zhu Xianyao didn’t like him, there was not much she could do about him either. She could reject his advances and make it clear that she had no intentions of reciprocating, but she couldn’t much more for fear of further antagonizing him.

“Thus, your interruption today was not wise at all. He might look to make trouble for you as a result,” Zhu Xianyao warned anxiously.

Su Chen chuckled. “This prince might be able to do as he pleases in Liaoye Country, but he cannot threaten me here.”

“I know that you aren’t afraid of him, but don’t forget about the mission this time. You should not publicly reveal your identity; otherwise, the entire mission might be canceled,” Zhu Xianyao said straightforwardly.

Su Chen absolutely needed to keep his identity concealed during this trip. Otherwise, the Harpies wouldn’t let him leave their city alive.

Just the fact that he was the Worldly Sage, the inventor of the bloodline-less Light Shaking Realm cultivation technique, was more than enough reason for any of the various foreign races to kill him at any cost. His research was destined to increase the strength of the human race and destroy the world’s current equilibrium. Actually, the various races had already put up bounties for Su Chen. These bounties were mostly secret and only accessible by the higher-ups of their respective societies, so most foreign commoners didn’t know about them. Regardless, if Su Chen was able to develop a technique for reaching the Spirit Burning Realm without a bloodline, the foreign races probably wouldn’t hesitate to cast away any semblance of cordiality to destroy him.

What they didn’t know was that Su Chen had already developed a method for reaching the Spirit Burning Realm without a bloodline. All he had to do now was improve it.

Thus, Su Chen could not reveal his identity no matter what. This put him at a clear disadvantage when it came to dealing with Li Daohong.

Su Chen sighed when he heard Zhu Xianyao’s words. “Unfortunately, even if I didn’t try to anger him, he will provoke me of his own accord. If everything is as you have said, then this Li Daohong is definitely a guy with a quick temper and a vengeful personality. If I, a servant, interrupted him, then he will almost definitely send someone to kill me.”

“That’s why you cannot leave my side!” Zhu Xianyao said. “I know that he cannot kill you in a battle, but if he even forces you into attacking, you will lose!”

“If he forces me into attacking, I will lose? So in other words, we are comparing the strengths of our subordinates now?” Su Chen’s eyebrows jumped up in interest.

Zhu Xianyao grew a bit agitated. “Su Chen, this is not the time for you to let your emotions affect your decisions. You cannot choose to fight against him!”

“I’m not letting my emotions affect my decisions,” Su Chen said faintly. “If he were just a wastrel, I might have been fine with enduring his actions. But Li Daohong is different. Our linked fate is more than enough reason for me to necesitate capturing capture him!”

“What?” Zhu Xianyao was taken aback by Su Chen’s declaration.

Su Chen said, “There are some things that you just don’t understand, Xianyao. But I can at least tell you that what happened to Li Daohong and me is not a coincidence. I believe that Li Daohong would recognize this if he knew about it as well. If he were to hear about my experience and learn that I am here as well, he will definitely do everything in his power to capture me…… That old beggar……”

Su Chen’s voice began to dwindle.

Zhu Xianyao understood somewhat. “So that period of blindness affected you greatly, right?”

Su Chen didn’t reply. Patelocke, on the other hand, spoke up. “After he recovered from his three-year period of blindness, he obtained a set of eyes like those that the Arcanists possess.”

Su Chen stared at Patelocke in surprise.

Patelocke dryly replied, “Even though you never told me this, Su Chen, I would be an idiot to not notice this given how long I have been following you for. I also want to know what kind of person that beggar was and why he would bestow upon you the Microscopic Eye and Li Daohong the Attendant’s Brain.”

“Attendant’s Brain?” Su Chen and Zhu Xianyao both exclaimed.

“Yes!” Patelocke confidently replied. “If my analysis is correct, then Li Daohong should have been given the Attendant’s Brain.”

“What is the Attendant’s Brain, anyways?” Zhu Xianyao asked.

Su Chen was the one to reply this time. “You should have heard of the Attendants before, right?”

“The Attendants?” Zhu Xianyao was taken back before understanding suddenly dawned on her. “So it’s them.”

The Attendants were once one of the Intelligent Races, and the brightest one at that.

Apparently, they possessed an eidetic memory and powerful calculatory abilities akin to Su Chen’s consciousness crystal. However, Su Chen had acquired that ability after his birth, while the Attendants were born with it.

However, the Attendants suffered quite a tragic fate. Just because they were incredibly smart didn’t make them invincible.

Usually, in a clash between brain and brawn, brawn held the advantage.

This was because intelligence needed time to reach its full potential, while raw strength didn’t.

Brawn was more powerful in the earlier stages, while the brain was more powerful in later stages.

This was the case for the Attendants. The Heavens had blessed them with extremely powerful minds, but severed their opportunity to become physically stronger. Their physique was about as powerful as that of the Harpies, but they weren’t nearly as proficient at using Origin Energy, and their cultivation strength was roughly equivalent to that of the Ravagers (but without their powerful physiques). As such, they could only use their intelligence to serve as vassals of the other races, which was part of the reason why they had later been named the Attendants.

This name was also linked to another trait of theirs: their pride and arrogance.

In their eyes, the other races were all idiots, only possessing brawn but not brains. They were not worthy of ruling at all; for this reason, they constantly tried to pull off small clandestine schemes even though they were servants in name.

Most of the time, they succeeded.

But even the smartest person would make mistakes from time to time, let alone an entire race over a period of time that spanned thousands of years.

Every time they made a miscalculation, they would bring ruin upon their race, forcing them to change backers.

For this reason, the Attendants jumped from the Arcanists to the Ravagers, then the Harpies, the humans, and even the formerly powerful Nocturnals, Demons, and Metalskins at one point. They switched backers so quickly that one could only cluck their tongue in amazement.

They were smart, deceitful, and disloyal, making their characteristics extremely fitting for their name. This extremely smart race eventually reached a point, however, where there was no one left for them to turn to.

This was because no race favored them anymore.

Every race wanted to destroy them.

The end result could be easily imagined. They were swallowed up by the sands of time, becoming a part of history, just like the Arcanists.

Su Chen and Zhu Xianyao both understood what Patelocke was trying to say when he mentioned the Attendants.

Li Daohong had an eidetic memory, and he was incredibly smart. In addition to that, his personality was wicked, but he also knew how to respect someone’s bottom line, and he didn’t forget to make sure to reap the rewards along the way. He could choose to do something well, but he always chose the riskier path…… Didn’t this fit the Attendants’ personality traits to a tee?

This Li Daohong had definitely received the Attendant’s Brain.

Zhu Xianyao also finally found out that Su Chen had been given a pair of Arcanists’ eyes from Patelocke’s interjection, and that he could even observe the microscopic world. No wonder he had come up with so many inventions.

But why would the old beggar give Su Chen and Li Daohong these powers? This was a question that no one really had the answer to. In addition, the old man’s powers were definitely mysterious given that he was able to directly replace a person’s eyes and mind. In Su Chen’s words, this “was definitely not possible for a mortal to accomplish.”

“It almost feels like there are eyes in the sky watching my every move right now,” Su Chen said as he looked up at the sky.

“Do you think that someone is manipulating the situation under the surface?” Zhu Xianyao asked curiously.

“I don’t know. But I do know that my fate belongs solely to me, not to the Heavens!” Su Chen vowed as he clenched his fist.

He didn’t know who the old beggar was, but he wouldn’t thank him, and nor would he accept being manipulated. No matter who that old beggar was, Su Chen was Su Chen, and he would walk down his own path.

Of course, he was also incredibly curious about Li Daohong’s situation.

Perhaps he could find more answers about his situation from Li Daohong.

Since that was the case, he was even somewhat hoping that Li Daohong would make trouble for him so that he would be justified in making a move on Li Daohong.

Even if Su Chen couldn’t find an opportunity, he was going to try and make one for Li Daohong now that this idea had crossed his mind.

He said to Zhu Xianyao, “You guys should go back first. Patelocke and I will keep looking around.”

Patelocke was a transmission puppet, so he innately possessed recording capabilities. If Su Chen wanted to deal with a prince of Liaoye Country, he first needed a way to take the initiative, so these recording capabilities were absolutely essential to any plan.

Zhu Xianyao knew how important this was to Su Chen, so she didn’t try to stop him. All she said was, “Please, try not to kill him.”

“I understand.” Su Chen nodded.

There weren’t many humans in Harpy territory. If Su Chen were to murder Li Daohong straightforwardly, it would be very easy for them to pinpoint him as the culprit.

But just because he couldn’t kill Li Daohong didn’t mean that he couldn’t capture him. No matter what, Su Chen was going to dig up the information that he was after.

Su Chen bid his goodbyes to Zhu Xianyao, then began to wander around the marketplace with the transmission puppet. He looked just like someone searching for more precious materials on behalf of his master.

As he was browsing around, a Harpy walked over and said, “Human, your puppet is very interesting. It seems to have been constructed in ancient times. I never would have expected to see such an ancient puppet still walking around. Coincidentally, I am currently researching puppets, so would you consider selling it to me for me to take a look at it?”

“Sorry, it’s not for sale,” Su Chen said, shaking his head.

The Harpy’s expression sank. “Human, this is Harpy territory. You’d better think carefully before answering again.”

“Of course.” Su Chen glanced at the Harpy, then walked over, and said straight to his face, “Did you not hear me clearly? I’ll tell you again then. He’s not for sale!”

The Harpy didn’t expect Su Chen to be so aggressive. He was so angry that his face turned pale. “How arrogant! Which commerce group are you a part of? I will definitely prevent you from conducting any more business here!”

“That depends on whether you have the ability to do so,” Su Chen chuckled coldly.

The Harpies had indeed brought back the broodmother with them, but unfortunately, the broodmother still needed to be fed Stargold, which was only mined in Flat Sky City.

Even Eternal Night himself probably wouldn’t stop this kind of trade.

The lower a person’s status was, the more they liked to brag. Su Chen completely ignored the other party and turned around to leave.

“Courting death!” When the Harpy saw that Su Chen was ignoring him, he was instantly enraged, and he charged right at Su Chen without a second thought.