“You should know that we once captured your Wealth Envoy.” Feng Qingyou explained, “She once saw the Moon Princess in action and recognized it as the exclusive art of the Profound Moon Dynasty. Specifically, it is something only the royal family possesses the right to practice. That is how we deduced that the Moon Princess is a member of the royal family of the Profound Moon Dynasty.” “Not long after the incident of the City of No Return ended, the mysterious Princess Yue Ling just happened to appear on Gold Island. Knowing what we know, it is difficult not to suspect a connection. And assuming that Yue Ling really is the Moon Princess, then her appearance on Gold Island could only be the result of your order. You are the one who ordered her to get close to us for nefarious purposes.” “I see. Yue Ling is still too uncautious.” Old Man Profound Firmament shook his head, though there wasn’t a hint of frustration in his voice. “Still, that alone is not enough to confirm that Yue Ling is connected to me, is it?” “Of course not.” Feng Qingyou smiled. “But since we suspect that Yue Ling was the Moon Princess, we naturally suspect that one of the Sages who came to Gold Island to be the mastermind behind the City of No Return.” “Therefore, both you and Reverend Danxia fell under our suspicion.” “Hahaha! In that case, Danxia is more suspicious than me, isn’t he?” Old Man Profound Firmament’s interest was growing. “That was true.” Feng Qingyou nodded. “Reverend Danxia shares a profound connection with Princess Yue Ling. It makes logical sense that he would be the mastermind. We had assumed that was the case until you changed our opinions for us.” Old Man Profound Firmament asked smilingly, “Oh? What did I do?” Feng Qingyou looked at Old Man Profound Firmament with pure eyes that looked like they had just been washed in a clean spring. “Reverend Danxia clashed against us during our initial meeting. You could have stopped it earlier, but you didn’t. Your spoken words can be interpreted as inflammatory as well. Your goal is obviously to sow dissension between us and Reverend Danxia.” “It’s probably for two reasons. One, you probably knew that we would suspect both of you, so you used Reverend Danxia as a shield to draw our attention. Two, it allows you to play the good guy and earn our goodwill. If we lowered our guard around you, then you would be able to ambush us with impunity down the line.” “Hahaha... you really are an intelligent girl.” Old Man Profound Firmament lavished her with praise. “What happens next? How did you dispel your suspicion toward Danxia?” “I wouldn’t say we had dispelled our suspicion toward him. After prolonged contact, we simply discover that, for all his inflexibilities and old fashion, Reverend Danxia is a man of rare purity and innocence. Later, Joyless probed him a couple times more and found nothing unusual. Naturally, our suspicion of him decreased somewhat.” Feng Qingyou curled her lips, but her smile did not touch the eye. “You, on the other hand, seem increasingly enigmatic in our eyes.” “Enigmatic? What do you mean?” Old Man Profound Firmament asked, puzzled. “For starters, your origins and roots are a complete mystery. You possess a free and easygoing personality. Your methods are as varied as they are profound, and your conduct seems to be whatever first comes to your mind, free and unrestrained...” Feng Qingyou said slowly. Old Man Profound Firmament chuckled. “Are you flattering me?” “I guess so,” Feng Qingyou replied smilingly. “To sum it all up, your origins, your methods, and your behavior are all as enigmatic as a deep lake or a bottomless pond. It is beyond difficult to fathom your depths.” The source of thɪs content is ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt “In any other circumstances, this much is nothing. But considering our situation, you can see why we suspect you.” “Besides that, you have never employed your full strength from the start until the end; not even when we encountered the Figment of Time earlier. You also employed a wide repertoire of Magia and secret arts, all of which you have mastered to a great extent. This could mean that you are as old as you are masterful, but it could also mean that you’re trying to hide something.” “But what can you be hiding?” Feng Qingyou seemed to be asking both Old Man Profound Firmament and herself. “It can only be your true strength and skills.” “When you fought Joyless earlier, you had succumbed to temptation and tried to kill him. Naturally, you were employing your true strength and skill. However, not only did you fail to end him, you even allowed us to memorize your aura and energies.” “You’re well aware of this. That is why you can only hide your true strength and skill in order to avoid exposing yourself to us.” “All things considered, you are more suspicious and deserving of our guard than Reverend Danxia.” Old Man Profound Firmament let out a self-derisive chuckle and said, “I see! It looks like my mistakes were plentiful as well!” Feng Qingyou ignored him and continued her explanation, “But of course, these are just guesses and theories. What truly confirmed to us that you are the mastermind behind the City of No Return and the one who meant us harm is one, the fact that you sent away Reverend Danxia, and two, the fact that you went against the very strategy we agreed upon and insisted on studying the god demons’ powers.” “After all, nothing is more important than confirming the Rakshasa Kingdom’s position and taking them out right now. Sure, those two god demon powers are beyond dangerous, they are completely harmless in the grand scheme of things. But despite knowing this, you insisted on coming here and stirring up unnecessary trouble. There is no way you wouldn’t know that a single misstep here could potentially ruin the entire plan; could easily cause the deaths of countless people belonging to the Profound Alliance.” “You knew all this, but you still insisted on coming here. There could only be one reason. You are plotting something. Specifically, you are plotting to kill Joyless and I while we are studying the god demon powers and cannot spare our concentration elsewhere.” “Am I right, Elder Profound?” “You’re completely right.” Old Man Profound Firmament sighed. “In the end, my impatience got to me. The more impatient I became, the more I acted without thinking, and the more I blundered. I shouldn’t have blundered. I really shouldn’t have.” “But I must say, your meticulousness and intelligence are also one of a kind. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like you until you.” “I know. I’ve been told that by a lot of people,” Feng Qingyou said simply. “I’m curious about something. You are one of the six Sages of the Profound Alliance. You stand above countless others and only answer to a few. You are as influential as you are well-respected. All things considered, why did you hide behind the curtains and act like a petty villain?” “What else? Because I want the Profound Alliance, of course,” Old Man Profound Firmament answered without hesitation. Feng Qingyou could not understand him. “Aren’t you already one of the six Sages of the Profound Alliance?” “You said it yourself. I’m just one of the six Sages of the Profound Alliance. Not only does the Profound Alliance have five other masters, I’m the one with the worst base and influence.” Old Man Profound Firmament replied with faint scorn, “Be it Sea Dividing, Celestial Suppressing, Sky Scorching or Yue Su, they’re either the master of a sect or a country. I am the one person who has nothing.” “Because of this, they look down on me despite pretending to be respectful on the surface. They have many times kept their guard against me and suppressed me. It’s the same for the other Sages. It’s the same for their masters and the seniors as well.” “Do you know why they’re ?” Feng Qingyou did not say anything. Old Man Profound Firmament wasn’t expecting her to answer either because he continued without waiting for her, “Because I’m from another place. I am not originally a member of the Profound Alliance. That is all. Because of this, no matter how much I did for the Profound Alliance, no matter how many achievements I’ve accrued, and no matter how much blood, sweat and tears I’ve shedded in the name of the Profound Alliance, all I ever earned from them is suspicion, wariness, and endless suppression. Why?” “I cannot accept this fate. I will not accept such a fate. That is why I desire to become the sole master of the Profound Alliance. I want to stand higher than everyone else. I want everyone to answer to me and only me!” “Do you think I’m wrong?”