Upon Elder Xu's reminder, he understood the implication: killing Xue Ye would mean killing the financial backer of the entire Sky Net organization.
At that point, all assassins might turn hostile towards Huaxia.
While Huaxia wouldn't care about one or two assassins, if the entire Sky Net organization went mad with revenge, even Huaxia might struggle to cope.
More importantly, the public panic and other losses would be unbearable!
"Haha, you are teachable."
Elder Xu chuckled, then continued, "Now, let's discuss another issue. Do you think the Guangming Hall has any other ulterior motives?"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed immediately.
The reward offered by Guangming Hall this time was very high, even astonishing.
To know that three Nine Revolving Golden Pills, if used wisely, could create three Earth-level powerhouses.
And all they sought was to kill one Earth-level expert and seize the golden leaf from Tang Xinwan.
For the sake of the three Nine Revolving Golden Pills alone, Ye Cangtian felt this deal was not worthwhile.
In his opinion, although the golden leaf's ability was terrifying, its value was at most equivalent to one Earth-level expert.
After all, the golden leaf had obvious shortcomings: it offered only ultimate defense with no offensive capability whatsoever.
Moreover, this ultimate defense was less significant against attacks that surpassed the Earth-level.
Even if, for the sake of argument, Guangming Hall didn't know the specific effects of the golden leaf and overestimated it,
the three Nine Revolving Golden Pills would still be sufficient. Why add another three Enlightenment Pills?
Guangming Hall was clearly not foolish; they wouldn't engage in a losing proposition!
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian said with a frown, "I think there can only be two outcomes..."
Firstly, Guangming Hall has other ulterior motives, and these motives could deal a heavy blow to Huaxia, or cause significant adverse effects.
Secondly, Guangming Hall never intended to deliver the remaining three Enlightenment Pills.
In other words, similar to their previous actions, after carrying out this mission and provoking conflicts between various factions and Huaxia, Guangming Hall would renely on its promise.
After all, they had maintained a tripartite balance for years; who could do anything to them?
"Clever."
"I believe the Enlightenment Pills are likely a ruse, meant to mobilize the enthusiasm of various factions."
Listening to Ye Cangtian's words, Elder Xu cast a look of approval and slowly said.
"Hmph, ruse or not."
"If I don't see the Enlightenment Pills then, I'll make sure no one from Guangming Hall returns!"
Ye Cangtian snorted upon hearing this.
Elder Xu didn't say much about it, nor did he stop him. Since the other party had come to cause trouble in Huaxia, they wouldn't be allowed to leave freely.
Even if Ye Cangtian hadn't acted, he wouldn't have let them depart so easily.
After a brief moment of calm, Ye Cangtian glanced at Elder Xu and asked again, "Elder, one last question. Do you know what kind of force Ting Feng Lou is?"
"I've heard of it, but I don't know much," Elder Xu replied with a nod.
Dozens of years ago, Ting Feng Lou was a leading international intelligence organization. However, it later chose to go into seclusion, becoming a hidden force.
The specific reasons were unknown, but Ting Feng Lou was not particularly powerful decades ago.
After decades of secluded development, it could at most be comparable to the Shinobi Division.
An intelligence department?
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed.
It was clear that Guangming Hall had suffered intelligence setbacks in recent operations, and to compensate for this deficiency, they had approached Ting Feng Lou.
What Ye Cangtian wanted to know was, since Ting Feng Lou had been in seclusion for decades, why would they emerge? What price had Guangming Hall paid?
However, since they had now been invited by Guangming Hall, it essentially meant that Ting Feng Lou had sided with them and would undoubtedly take action against Huaxia in the future.
After chatting with Elder Xu for a few more sentences, Ye Cangtian left the family compound.
...
Returning home, Ye Cangtian went to the rooftop of his villa.
He directly picked up his phone and dialed Viper's number.
"Haha, boss, you finally remembered your brother," Viper's voice came through the phone after a short while.
Ye Cangtian snorted and said, "Stop fooling around. I have a critical mission for you this time."
Upon hearing this, Viper immediately became serious and said, "Boss, tell me, I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
"Mission one, investigate Ting Feng Lou for me, as detailed as possible, and quickly!" Ye Cangtian said.
"What? Ting Feng Lou? I've never even heard of it," Viper said, stunned, scratching his head.
Ye Cangtian replied exasperatedly, "Ting Feng Lou was an intelligence force decades ago. They've gone into seclusion now. Be careful when you investigate them..."
After receiving the general information from Ye Cangtian, Viper immediately agreed.
The most troublesome part was starting from scratch. Now that he had basic information, he could follow the clues by searching past records.
"Mission two, find the true purpose of Guangming Hall's visit to Huaxia with all your might! Don't overlook any clues!"
Ye Cangtian said. There was always a reason for unusual occurrences.
Guangming Hall was not foolish. Such a high price just to kill him and seize the golden leaf was clearly impossible!
"I understand, boss."
"Leave this matter to me, and you just wait and see!"
Viper immediately accepted this task.
Guangming Hall was an old rival. Although they frequently changed their IP addresses and codebooks, it wasn't difficult for him to crack them.
After assigning the tasks, Ye Cangtian returned to his room.
...
In the mountains of Kyoto.
A figure flashed through the mountain forest. If Ye Cangtian were present, he would surely recognize this person.
He was none other than Feng Ze of Ting Feng Lou.
The reason he appeared here was to find a quiet place to consume the Nine Revolving Golden Pill, so as not to be discovered.
At this moment, he didn't even trust his own subordinates, coming alone to find a suitable location.
Fortunately, his efforts paid off. He found a clearing in the mountains, along with a dilapidated wooden hut.
Judging by the hut's dilapidation and the dust settled on the items, no one had been here for a long time.
The next moment.
Feng Ze eagerly took out the Nine Revolving Golden Pill. However, before he could ingest it, his phone rang.
Looking at the number displayed, Feng Ze's brow furrowed, and a sense of foreboding washed over him. He instinctively answered the call.
"Elder, you were looking for me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a male voice came from the phone.
"It is said that Guangming Hall paid one Nine Revolving Golden Pill upfront. I am reminding you that Nine Revolving Golden Pills are rare commodities, and they are remuneration for the mission, not your private property."
"Therefore, you must not consume it yourself, but hand it over to Ting Feng Lou. Do you understand?"
The stern voice came through, and Feng Ze's face turned extremely grim, anger surging within him.
It was one thing for Elder Chen to dislike him on a daily basis, but now he was even interfering with the ownership of this Nine Revolving Golden Pill.
Without the Nine Revolving Golden Pill, he didn't know when he would be able to break through to the Earth-level realm.
Despite his extreme dissatisfaction, Feng Ze suppressed his anger on the surface and replied respectfully, "Elder Chen, please rest assured, even if you lent me a few more courage, I wouldn't dare to act rashly!"
"It's best if that's the case, otherwise, you'll face the consequences!"
Elder Chen snorted coldly and continued, "By the way, Ting Feng Lou is emerging from seclusion this time, and many people will undoubtedly inquire about our information. If you unfortunately fall into someone else's hands, you should know what to do, right?"
That old bastard!
Hearing this, Feng Ze trembled with rage.
Other people's elders would wish them success on their missions, but his own elder was intent on his death.
Despite his inner resentment, Feng Ze dared not show it, and instead answered firmly.
"Elder, please be assured, your subordinate swears to death that I will not reveal half a word about Ting Feng Lou."
The two spoke for about ten minutes. The moment he hung up the phone, Feng Ze let out a series of furious roars.
After a long while, he took out the Nine Revolving Golden Pill and unhesitatingly put it into his mouth.
He firmly believed that he could break through to the Earth-level. Once he reached the Earth-level, he could assume the position of an elder, and Elder Chen would no longer be able to suppress him.
...