Chapter 992 - Each With An Ulterior Motive

Chapter 992: Each With An Ulterior Motive
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Was Lu Shu annoyed that the elimination of the other candidates was too slow? No, he was annoyed that he was earning money too slowly!
There were a total of 47 people in the Sword Hut selections. Lu Shu had only eliminated Ding Qiushui and Duanmu Yunge, the Rank Twos with the highest odds. He had also eliminated the Rank Two who had exposed his advancement to Rank One, as well as another Rank Two on the way here.
This meant that other than Lu Shu himself, there were 41 candidates left for the Sword Hut selections.
Everyone felt that no matter what mischief Lu Shu caused, four people would still be selected for the Sword Hut. On one hand, it was the standard. In the past, no matter how intense the selections were, it never reached a point where not even four people were left behind. After all, when only four people were left, they no longer needed to kill one another.
On the other hand, everyone felt that Lu Shu was not crazy enough to eliminate everyone. There was no need to do so!


Thus, while the people had not realized what Lu Shu was doing, things started to happen beneath the surface. The people in the palace suddenly realized that the candidates for the Sword Hut had started to secretly form alliances. They saw many people hurriedly working together with another candidate for the Sword Hut.
It seemed very urgent. They even did a crude job of keeping it secret.
At this moment, Li Fangfeng appeared. He had an advantage. The Li family had their eyes on the whereabouts of many candidates of the selections. Thus, it was very convenient for them to cooperate.
Li Fangfeng sat in the courtyard of the Li residence with a dark expression on his face. He was waiting for his subordinates to bring back news about the alliances. The Li family had not planned to do this. But ever since they were forcefully pushed down the rankings, they grew more desperate.
The Li family from the palace, who was one of the five upper wealthy families in the palace, had to buy odds to protect themselves. To Li Fangfeng, this was simply humiliating.
Furthermore, the Li family had proved that the person who had come to the palace with Sun Zhongyang was Lu Shu. The Li family had put in a lot of effort to kill Sun Zhongyang during this journey, but they had failed.
They did not try to understand the process, as the Sun family was observing the situation in order to find the person behind the scenes. Every single action by the Li family could leave hints behind.
But was the process important? It was no longer important. Sun Zhongyang and the rest had to die. No matter whether it was the slaves or the mercenary soldiers led by Yi Qian, they had all been planned in detail. With Sun Zhongyang’s strength, it was not possible for him to flee from danger completely. Thus, there had to be an unexpected variable.
Looking back, the variable was Lu Shu. Out of the entire trade caravan, the only people they had not included in their plans were Lu Shu and Lu Xiaoyu.
But Li Fangfeng could not understand. They had estimated that Lu Shu might be very strong, but this was too much.


They had more than enough manpower to kill Sun Zhongyang. Even if the experts from the Mo family were able to rush over, Sun Zhongyang would still die.
Although the experts from the Mo family had come earlier, it was not particularly timely. Even so, Sun Zhongyang did not die.
Now, the Li family had new hatred piled on old ones towards Lu Shu. They had to kill Lu Shu. This had to do with Li Fangfeng’s entry to the Sword Hut. There could not be any mistakes.
The Sun and Li families did not hate each other to the point that they would not rest until the other was dead. This time, there was another consideration behind the attack on Sun Zhongyang. Sun Zhongyang’s father was related to someone who had just advanced to the Master Realm. More than one year ago, when someone saw Sun Zhongyang’s father, they determined that if another Master were to appear in the palace, it would be Sun Zhongyang’s father, Sun Xunwen.
Furthermore, Sun Zhongyang was Sun Xunwen’s only son. If he was a cold-hearted and expressionless expert, then so be it. Many people in the palace knew that Sun Xunwen doted on Sun Zhongyang. He did not spoil his son. Instead, he personally taught his son morals. Some said that in order for Sun Zhongyang to enter the rear mountain of the Sword Hut, Sun Xunwen had stood outside the Sword Hut in the rain for three days and three nights. In the end, a senior disciple from the Sword Hut went to find the Sun family. No one knew the process, but Sun Xunwen did not get the results that he had wanted.
Sun Xunwen was a disciple of the Sword Hut.
If Sun Zhongyang was dead, they would be able to slow the Sun family down for at least five years. This was a conservative estimate made by the Li family.
They were not worried that angering Sun Xunwen would instead help him to advance to the Master Realm. After all, one could not advance to the Master Realm just by being agitated. They might even be able to disturb him.
Li Fangfeng was said to be the person who was most likely to advance to the Master Realm in the Li family. When he advanced to Rank One, the Sound of Dao reached a radius of eight kilometers. The last time this had happened was when Wen Zaifou had advanced to Rank One!
Thus, the Li family badly wanted Li Fangfeng to enter the Sword Hut and become the first Master in their family!


At night, some candidates of the Sword Hut selections entered the Li family courtyard carefully. They did not say much. They coldly stood in their own corners and prevented them from getting too close to anyone.
Li Fangfeng sat alone at a stone table in the courtyard. He smiled.
I have called you here today regarding Lu Shu. I believe that you don’t want to be a tool in the corrupt collection of wealth, right? I cannot help but admit that Lu Shu is the strongest candidate in the Sword Hut selections. Thus, instead of waiting for him to find us, we should work together and look for him.

Li Fangfeng intentionally put himself in a low position. He had come here alone in the hopes that it would be able to dilute his identity as a member of a wealthy family and be of the same standing as the rest.
But they were not foolish. Someone stood in the shadows and laughed coldly.
How do we know what the Li family is planning? Don’t rise early unless there are benefits. You should know this better than we do.

Li Fangfeng seemed prepared. He laughed and said,
I am just getting rid of any worries about the future. If everyone is willing to work together, I am willing to pledge on behalf of the Li family that before the selections officially begin, the Li family will not attack anyone.

This meant that as long as they were willing to work together and eliminate Lu Shu, the Li family would only appear during the official selections.
Among the underlying trouble in the palace, if there was no longer the worry of the Li family causing trouble, everyone would feel much safer, even more so if Li Fangfeng was a true expert.
They did not doubt whether Li Fangfeng was speaking the truth. On one hand, the Li family would not go back on their word in this situation. On the other hand, everyone knew that with Li Fangfeng’s abilities, he would be able to enter the second round of selections safely. This was advantageous to the Li family as well.
If Li Fangfeng gave himself a disadvantageous condition, the rest would not blindly believe him.
Thus, to everyone, as long as they worked together to eliminate Lu Shu, they would be able to eliminate two sources of trouble before the selections started!


Furthermore, some people looked at each other in the shadows. Was there another possibility that Li Fangfeng and Lu Shu would severely injure each other during the attack?
They would be able to kill two birds with one stone!
Boldness of execution stemmed from superb skill. But as long as there was a possibility, they were willing to try!