I Am Supreme
chapter-317

"Old Sir He ultimately met his doom. The old man had done everything in his life for Yutang and was still patriotic and loyal until his death." Yun Yang lowered his head in grief, even his eyes were rimmed red.

Lei Dongtian sighed along with him but was silently calculating the credibility of this incident and the incidents leading up to it.

Who would He Hanqing be if not a Four Seasons Tower’s man? Why would that party wreck so much havoc with so much effort? What was the real motive behind?

The objectives and motivations must not have been so simple.

"The battle that day was earth-shattering, wrenching our hearts, the people of Yutang!"

Yun Yang's words were melodramatically laced with anguish.

"The old, loyal official of Yutang had died, maligned. Several other Yutang warriors who were once renowned in Yutang fell with him. These warriors of virtue have carried the wicked name of being a spy and harboring rebellious intention upon their death!"

"We reflected constantly after the incident, connecting everything that has happened recently to figure out what exactly the situation was." Yun Yang’s voice was low. "Then, we came to realize something horrible."

Lei Dongtian couldn't help himself, and asked eagerly, "What is it? What is this horrible thing?"

"Once we came to realize how well-coordinated everything was, we were petrified."

Yun Yang’s voice sunk, resentment flashed in his eyes. "Everyone knows that the battle of the Nine Supremes at Tianxuan Cliff on that fated day was arranged by the Four Seasons Tower in collaboration with a number of experts, to set up an offensive formation. It could be said that all the experts in their pinnacle of the martial world were in that battle! Under such circumstances, the news that spread from it could never be false."

"Which means, the initial news of Nine Supremes Lords perishing without a single survivor was true."

"Under such circumstances, how could such an intricate arrangement by a phenomenal sect like the Four Seasons Tower allow someone to slip away? How was it possible?" Yun Yang asked.

Lei Dongtian’s gaze was heavy as he said, "You are absolutely right."

He thought about it and said, "If I were the one to set up the trap, since I intended to annihilate all of the Nine Supremes, I would never leave anyone alive to become a hidden threat later!"

"Couldn't they just verify the number of dead bodies? How could a such a simple check have been omitted in such an extensive ploy?"

Yun Yang replied, "What Brother Lei had just said is exactly one of the doubtful points we were pondering upon."

Lei Dong Tian said, "This is simply one of the aspects that must be confirmed! If I were behind this, I’d have cut down all the heads, or even shattered their bones or scattered their ashes, even when all the corpses were laid out before my eyes to make sure absolutely nothing is wrong! Under the oppression of such formidable forces and power restriction of the great heaven and earth formation, isn’t it a joke for someone to escape? It’s ridiculous – impossible!"

Yun Yang heaved a deep sigh, "Exactly so. This is was our first suspicion."

"Since there was a first, there must be a second." Lei Dongtian was totally immersed in the story now.

"The second doubtful point is time!" Yun Yang said, "Let us assume the first issue never arose; the Four Seasons Tower person-in-charge did really commit such an impossible and ridiculous mistake and the Nine Supremes did have a survivor! However, this Lord Supreme Wind appeared a year ago; it means that he has reemerged after one whole year since the Tianxuan Cliff incident, to seek vengeance!"

Yun Yang asked, "Then… why was he gone for one full year? Why didn’t he come back earlier – even if just to deliver a message? Even if he couldn't trust anyone, couldn't he trust Yutang’s emperor? Was His Majesty willing to betray his own empire?"

"That’s right, this is an inexplicable suspicion!" Lei Dongtian said with a clap.

Yun Yang gritted his teeth. "My cultivation base is limited, my knowledge even more shallow. I just don’t understand what kind of injury he bore that it took a whole year to recover?"

Lei Dongtian thought quietly, "Your knowledge is indeed shallow; there many injuries that need a year of recovery."

Yun Yang continued his tale, "However, I know something else. Lord Supreme Wind did have the cultivation method to turn into a gale that was unchallenged; his personal cultivation base was not high at all, maybe even lesser than mine, but he would have no trouble defeating someone with a higher cultivation base. The more shallow the cultivation base of a person, the lesser the ability to heal himself; if there had truly been a very severe injury, how could it have healed within a year? That kind of cultivation base is unable to sustain high levels of damage… I’m not sure if Brother Lei thinks I’m right?"

Lei Dongtian agreed with him. "Correct. Under normal circumstances, the type of injuries that expert can’t heal within a year would have killed an ordinary practitioner a dozen times over. This is another doubtful point."

"Therefore, the year of absence to heal is highly suspicious. Even if we acknowledged the fact that he recovered using this one year, there has been no news whatsoever! This isn’t right."

Lei Dongtian followed his inference instinctively and said, "That is correct. It’s truly unacceptable that there isn’t any news being relayed for one whole year. Just like you’ve said, he may not have trusted anyone, but how could he not trust the Emperor of Yutang?"

Yun Yang snorted and said, "Even if this could be explained, because he wanted to avoid the spies of the Four Seasons Tower or was recuperating somewhere void of other inhabitants, which didn't allow him to send news back– how can you be so calm and collected when you are carrying the grudge of blood as deep as the ocean?"

"Correct. This is yet another suspicion, one that stems from human behavior. Supreme Wind’s comeback now is forcefully assertive and has no mercy when facing the enemy; it shows his characteristics of being emotional. It is indeed suspicious for one to be able to endure a year of inactivity," Lei Dongtian said.

Yun Yang continued, "There’s also the fourth suspicion… his cultivation base! Supreme Wind’s wind manifestation cultivation base."

Once Yun Yang spoke of it, Lei Dongtian's ears perked up. The biggest factor of him picking Supreme Wind was his wind manifestation skill. Hearing the related clue now, he could not help being anxious and asked before he could contemplate his words, "How so? What was wrong?"

Yun Yang exhaled and explained, "Each of the Nine Supremes Lords is very mysterious with their background. No one knows where they come from nor their history, not even their identity or names; we don't even know whether they’re male or female. The only thing recorded of them is their cultivation base. After all, the Nine Supremes Lords have always given their all on the battlefield, decimating the enemy and bringing glory! The biggest taboo on the battlefield is to withhold strength, so the ability and cultivation base they showed should be their genuine cultivation base. The Empire of Yutang documents the Nine Supremes Lords’ cultivation base meticulously. When Lord Supreme Wind went to Tianxuan Cliff, his wind manifestation was only of the fourth stage but when he came back this time, his power was only at the third stage!"

"One stage lower?" Lei Dongtian’s interest thickened. "This is very unusual."

He very much enjoyed the structured analysis, especially the process of it! It highlighted his intelligence.

Yun Yang chuckled wryly and said, "It looks like Brother Lei has already guessed most of what I want to say… Sigh, I don’t really want to continue this."

Lei Dongtian said with peaking interest, "Then I shall continue on your behalf."

Yun Yang cast a long look at Lei Dongtian and said decisively, "Alright then, I shall hear Brother Lei’s opinion on this matter."

"This Lord Supreme Wind carries the thickest blood debt… When he managed to escape and went into seclusion for one whole year, his cultivation base actually dropped a level when he reappeared. This is a very strange situation. Since his resentment is so great and he’d be thinking of revenge all day and night, won’t he be practicing with his all? I would understand if there was no improvement, but why the recession instead?"

Lei Dongtian grew increasingly confident, pointing out the main issue once he spoke.

"What Brother Lei has said is exactly what we are contemplating," Yun Yang sighed.

"Besides… if he’s completely sealed off the world in this one year of disappearance and has wreaked havoc once he came back, how could he have found the Four Seasons Tower’s men so accurately? Did the Four Seasons Tower’s people write their identities on their faces? This is equally illogical!"

Lei Dongtian was indeed the Lei Family’s young lord; his words went straight to the point and hit the target unerringly!

Yun Yang looked impressed as he said, "Brother Lei’s intelligence awes me. We have gathered to study this entire incident inside out, flipped it around and cracked our heads over it to finally come to this conclusion."

Lei Dongtian comforted him. "The main reason lies in the fact that you all don’t even want and aren’t willing to doubt it. It is an understandable failing."

He was already chuckling despite saying it was nothing, a complete show that he was in fact very pleased with himself. It was so gratifying to break others apart with his intelligence.

Lei Dongtian smiled reservedly and said, "After this Lord Supreme Wind has made his comeback and picked off his victims one by one… was there no error throughout this process?"

Yun Yang corrected him. "Whether there were errors or not depends on the individual, because the people he chose were all executed before the officials were notified."

With a clap of his hands, Lei Dongtian said, "This grows even more mysterious! Didn’t you just say that many of the renowned warriors had gone against him when he was assassinating Old He? This spells the problem out right!"

"Furthermore, since he’s back for revenge but his ultimate goal is still to serve the nation, why would he bring all the manpower under the Nine Heavens Dictum away from the control of Yutang’s higher-ups?"

"The intention is obviously to leave the system; it’s a disrespectful action of deceiving the emperor and others – it can even be said to be mutiny!" Lei Dongtian said.

Yun Yang could only sigh, "Yes, this is also the conclusion we have arrived at."

As they got to this part, Yun Yang continued saying, "Since this Lord Supreme Wind came back, his wind manifestation cultivation base has improved by leaps and bounds. During the last altercation, he could already turn into a tornado. This should already be wind manifestation skill’s sixth stage cultivation base."

Yun Yang's chuckle was devoid of humor. "Supreme Wind has increased three full stages in less than a year after his reappearance!"

Lei Dongtian said, "This is even stranger. Could that fellow be eating sh*t for a whole year? Stagnant for a year and even degenerating, but advancing swiftly after he comes back? There’s simply no such logic in the world’s cultivation route!"

Yun Yang nodded, "I couldn't agree more."