You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?-Chapter 471 - 50, Imperial Decree

Therefore, Lin Yue had the courage to so ostentatiously leave his own Prince Mansion.

With the aid of the Divine Artifact Battle Saber, he possessed the combat power of the eighth layer of Tianxia Building!

And ordinary saints, or avatars of saintly powerhouses like Duanmu Yan who defy the heavens, would also have the strength of the eighth layer of Tianxia Building.

He also had the assistance of the Blood Sea Saint Mother and the equally terrifying Phoenix Crown Green; how could he be afraid to step outside?

Although he didn't understand how the Second Prince had obtained the Imperial Decree... he feared that the Second Prince understood that as long as he had the Imperial Decree, he would be much safer in Jingzhou.

It was as if everyone else was suppressed by a whole level, and only he could exert his full strength; how could the advantage not be significant?

"Seventeenth Prince has good tactics."

Taking a deep breath, Duanmu Yan spoke, "Your Highness must know that my original intention was not to deal with the Seventeenth Prince, nor did I have any desire to kill Baili Fengzhi. I merely wished to prevent Your Highness's trusted aide from continuing the relief efforts."

"Is that so?" said Lin Yue indifferently: "Why would your Demon Clan want to condemn mortals to death?"

"Does Your Highness wish to know? If Your Highness is willing to join our Demon Clan, I shall certainly tell you," said Duanmu Yan.

"Speaking more meaningless drivel."

Lin Yue shook his head slightly and said, "No matter the reason, it all boils down to opposing Great Yong, opposing the Human Clan; there's nothing more to say."

"Does Your Highness feel a sense of belonging to the Human Clan?" Duanmu Yan countered, "Even if you become part of the Demon Clan, there isn't much difference from the Human Clan; you would live longer and be more powerful. If you do not wish to consume the life essence qi of humans, you can still survive. Don't you think so?"

"That's quite reasonable; I cannot refute it," Lin Yue nodded slightly, "but I am doing quite well as a human; why should I become a beastly demon?"

Duanmu Yan laughed and said, "One day, Your Highness will understand."

Lin Yue knew what he meant.

He probably thought that he was the reincarnation of Xiahou Shou, and once he awakened the memories from his Harmonization Stage past life, he would betray the Human Clan?

"Whatever the future may hold, we'll discuss it then, but today, your avatar remains here."

Just as Lin Yue's words fell—

"Boom!"

The barrier enshrouding the high skies suddenly shattered, and a dazzling bolt of thunder tore through the barrier, bursting into the area.

It was none other than the head of the Heavenly Punishment Department, Sikong Jing.

"Duanmu Yan? Blood Sea Saint Mother?"

Sikong Jing swept his cold gaze over the two, and immediately a brilliant thunder descended from the sky, targeting both Duanmu Yan and the Blood Sea Saint Mother's avatars.

Not even glancing at the thunder, Duanmu Yan watched Lin Yue with a smile and said softly, "Your Highness, we shall meet again."

And with that, he was overwhelmed by the thunder, vanishing into nothingness.

"Your Highness, Qingluo will come to see you again tomorrow." The Divine Thought Transmission of the Blood Sea Saint Mother resonated in Lin Yue's mind, and then she willingly dissipated that avatar.

For her, new avatars could be formed from the Blood Sea at any time, each with twenty percent of her strength, so she did not mind the loss of a mere avatar.

The thunder receded.

The mansion's guards quickly gathered around Lin Yue once more, and the three nine-colored Luan Birds regained their freedom.

"Sikong Head."

Lin Yue addressed the Head of the Heavenly Punishment Department, "Head, aren't you a bit too late? If it weren't for the Blood Sea Saint Mother's intervention, I might have already been killed by Duanmu Yan, and yet upon your arrival, you attack my lifesaver?"

"Duanmu Yan came to assassinate the Seventeenth Prince?" Sikong Jing glanced over the scene and in a soft voice asked, "But Your Highness is unharmed?"

"Are you implying that I should be dead?" Lin Yue replied.

"You misunderstand, my intention was merely to make sense of the situation," Sikong Jing said calmly, "It's good that Your Highness is unharmed."

"So Duanmu Yan is without sin, yet the Blood Sea Saint Mother carries great sin, and you attacked both at once?" Lin Yue spoke, "It seems... the Head does not merely judge based on sin?"

Sikong Jing said no more, merely speaking tranquilly, "Your Highness should be careful. Such a great sinner as the Blood Sea Saint Mother, should she act in Jingzhou, her great sin will emerge with her presence, and my Heavenly Punishment Department will surely come to eliminate the sin."

After finishing his words, he glanced once more at Baili Fengzhi, then transformed into thunder and departed.

In the sky, only the entourage from the Prince Mansion remained.

The commander of the mansion's soldiers floated over and frowned, "Your Highness, the carriage has been destroyed, shall we return to the mansion to get a new one, or..."

"No need."

Lin Yue said casually, "Isn't the Nine-colored Luan Bird still here? Let's just go directly to the Seventh Princess Mansion."

Immediately, three Nine-colored Luan Birds flapped their wings, commandeering the Nine-colored Clouds and carrying Lin Yue and the others towards the Seventh Princess Mansion.

"Your Highness."

Baili Fengzhi began softly, "Why did Your Highness speak to Sikong Jing in that manner just now? The barrier blocks all essences, and he probably only came because the Heavenly Punishment Department sensed great sins from the Blood Sea Saint Mother."

"I know." Lin Yue nodded slightly, "I was just testing him, and by the way, telling him that I was the target of Duanmu Yan's assassination attempt. Only with me, would there be hope to catch clues of that Duanmu Yan. If such an incident happens again, he will not fail to come..."

He smiled and added, "And after this, he will have the Heavenly Punishment Department pay even closer attention to the appearance of great sins like the Blood Sea Saint Mother's, so he would be able to come quickly next time... That was the answer he gave me."

That barrier blocked all essences, but it couldn't prevent the Heavenly Punishment Department from sensing sins.

Therefore, even if the barrier impedes everything next time and the outside world cannot detect the assassination attempt, as long as the great sins of the Blood Sea Saint Mother are detected by the Heavenly Punishment Department, the head of the department would arrive with the utmost haste.

The head of the Heavenly Punishment Department's power was on par with Duanmu Yan's, but it was Duanmu Yan's avatar that had come, while the head of the department was his true body.

"So that's how it is..."

Baili Fengzhi suddenly understood, and then frowned, "Your Highness, that Duanmu Yan probably did not lie earlier; he had no intention of killing me."

"Of course he doesn't want to kill you." Lin Yue nodded, "You, a half-demon, could achieve a Perfect Fire Phoenix Divine Body and possess such combat power. One look and it is clear your parents are no ordinary beings. He probably suspects one of your parents is a significant figure from the Demon Clan."

Baili Fengzhi fell silent.

"Moreover, it's very simple for a half-demon to undergo demonization, not even needing the flesh and souls of mutant beasts." Lin Yue glanced at her and said, "That Duanmu Yan must have wanted you to join the Demon Clan."

Baili Fengzhi was silent for a moment then asked, "Why doesn't my mother want me to become a demon?"

"When you reach the Harmonization Stage in the future, you may have a chance to meet your mother," Lin Yue said while holding her hand, "Ask her yourself at that time."

He could see that the God Sovereign Yan Yue weighed heavily in Baili Fengzhi's heart.

After all, she was her mother.

Baili Fengzhi nodded silently and then spoke, "Your Highness, could you urge the Blood Sea Saint Mother to prepare faster, so I can Harmonize and become a Saint as soon as possible? During this assassination attempt, I was not able to help Your Highness much..."

"She said it would take at least a few years." Lin Yue shook his head slightly and continued, "Don't worry, with my current strength and the Imperial Decree, I am already able to protect myself in Jingzhou."

"That Duanmu Yan now knows Your Highness's trump cards, if he comes again, I fear..."

"That Duanmu Yan's Path is indeed terrifying."

Lin Yue sighed, "Not only can he turn dreams into reality but also simulate various techniques. If it hadn't been for the Blood Sea Saint Mother, even with the Imperial Decree, I would not have been able to beat him."

He glanced at Baili Fengzhi and said, "But you don't need to worry too much. Since he failed this time, even if he hasn't used all his trump cards, he must have used most of them, right?"

He had not yet played all his trump cards.

And there was plenty of room for his strength to improve; he had only just begun to shape the initial forms of two ordinary Paths.

If he could shape the initial form of the Ultimate Path, then he would truly be safe in Jingzhou.

"However, shaping the initial form of the Ultimate Path is probably incredibly difficult. It would be good to first master a intermediate Heavenly Reversal Path..."

Lin Yue pondered, "With my current strength, I am not sufficiently confident to venture into the Temple of Thousand Gods and secure the highest reward. I must wait… it would be best to also master the initial form of the Water Phase Path."

Now, he had mastered the initial forms of both the Wind Phase and Fire Phase Paths, which was somewhat imbalanced.

The technique Chaos Reopening was a collision of Water and Fire, with Wind piercing the body and Earth Phase suppressing.

When he mastered the initial form of the Wind Phase, this technique became several times stronger than before, but after he consolidated the initial form of the Fire Phase, there wasn't much improvement because of the imbalance between Water and Fire.

If he could master the initial form of the Water Phase Path, the balance between Water and Fire would likely improve the technique significantly.

He had to be cautious.

The Temple of Thousand Gods was a magnificent opportunity given by the Divine Emperor to the core descendants of the Great Yong, an opportunity that came only once. The reward level depended on the performance in the test.

Thus, he needed to be fully prepared.