Chapter 548 - 350: Rapid Development of the Tri-Race Alliance (2)

Chapter 548: Chapter 350: Rapid Development of the Tri-Race Alliance (2)

But he alone—no, even if all the Trialists combined their strength—stood no chance against this group.

If he were to summon the Huai Kong Race, they could certainly wipe out the surrounding Beast Masters, but he and his companions would never escape the Celestial Sea. It was a dead end either way.

’After thinking it over and over, the only way to save my life... is to submit to the Deep Sea Beastmasters’ inspection.’

A total of 47 Beast Masters had survived to return to the Celestial Sea. Their numbers had been cut by more than two-thirds since they entered over four years ago—a catastrophic loss.

Most of them were the prodigies and elites of their respective families. The magnitude of the loss was hard to imagine.

"Form a line! One by one," a Blood Shark Beastmaster with a vicious glint in his eyes ordered from the front, motioning for the remaining Trialists to line up for inspection.

Those on good terms with the Blood Shark and Dread Whale races, or those who were members of their families, went to the front of the line.

As they were inspected, they answered the investigators’ questions and briefly recounted their experiences to Shark Lian and the others after contact with the Secret Realm was lost.

Their own people were inspected first. The Beast Masters from the two races were clearly lenient, giving them a cursory glance and just going through the motions before moving on to the next person.

But when the group of inspecting Beast Masters reached the middle of the line and began to examine a Beast Master from the Deep Sea Coral, their attitude clearly shifted.

"These are all the spoils I’ve collected. Most are from the Sea God Palace..."

The Deep Sea Coral Beastmaster reluctantly presented the Soul Artifact he used to store his treasures for inspection.

"Hold on... What’s this?"

The inspecting Beast Master, who was probing with his Spiritual Power, raised an eyebrow. He suddenly reached into the bag-like Soul Artifact and rummaged around.

He pulled out the corpse of a Realm-Splitting Insect.

"A Realm-Splitting Insect? Seize him. Throw him in the Water Prison. We’ll interrogate him properly later!"

Shark Lian, who was patrolling nearby with her hands clasped behind her back, snorted coldly, completely ignoring the Deep Sea Coral Beastmaster’s attempts to explain.

The moment she spoke, two Beast Masters exuding a terrifying aura stepped forward without a word. They seized the Trialist, using tyrannical Spiritual Suppression to crush any thought of resistance, and dragged him onto the back of a giant red shark to be placed under special guard.

The faces of the remaining Trialists darkened as they witnessed this.

Just then, the search party reached Ruiyue. She proactively handed a bright yellow Jade stone to an investigator and explained, "My Soul Artifact contains the corpses of two Realm-Splitting Insects. Both were taken from the bodies of invaders."

The investigator clearly recognized this prodigy from a powerful land-based race. The grim look on his face softened slightly, and he actually listened patiently to her entire explanation before probing the artifact with his Spiritual Power.

Just as Ruiyue had said, the Jade container held two black Realm-Splitting Insect corpses, along with a series of other valuable spoils.

The investigator ignored the other spoils, took out the two Realm-Splitting Insect corpses, and handed them to Shark Lian, who was observing from the side, awaiting her orders.

"I have no doubt about your strength, Miss Ruiyue," Shark Lian said, "but... you seem to be holding something back. Why haven’t you handed over all of your storage Soul Artifacts for inspection?"

Shark Lian’s gaze was icy. Her eyes moved past the Jade in Ruiyue’s hand to stare intently at the beautiful, golden-glowing bracelet on her wrist.

Hearing this, Ruiyue’s expression hardened. "This is a family heirloom of the Taman Family. If Vice Clan Leader Shark Lian truly has the audacity to take an ancestral treasure of my Taman Family, then I have nothing more to say."

"But I feel I must remind you: snatching an ancestral heirloom from the hands of a Taman Family heir will bring down not only the wrath of the Taman, but the wrath of the entire Holy Crystal Race upon the Blood Shark Family."

"You..."

Hearing such a blatant threat, the expression on Shark Lian’s ugly, shark-like face twisted several times. Finally, she let out a heavy snort and signaled her subordinate to move on to the next person.

The prestige of the Holy Crystal Race was too immense for a mere Vice Clan Leader of the Blood Shark Family to oppose.

After Ruiyue came a few more pushovers from the Deep Sea Race, who were easily handled and quickly interrogated by the inspectors.

Next was Han Ning, who was standing toward the back of the line.

The moment Shark Lian saw Han Ning, a vicious light flashed in her cold, shark-like eyes.

Following Ruiyue’s example, Han Ning had already placed his relatively valuable treasures—the ones with clear origins—into a separate storage Soul Artifact.

Crucial treasures like the Flood Dragon True Essence and the Heart of the Flood Dragon from the Dragon Palace were all stowed away in the high-grade storage Soul Artifact given to him by Bobo Man, hidden safely on his person.

"What were you doing when the invaders separated the Secret Realm?" the inspector began to question him.

"I was with Lin Ke, Irena, and the others in the palace complex, fighting against the invaders," Han Ning replied with a half-truth.

"Which palace? I asked the Trialists ahead of you. None of them saw you," the inspector pressed, all while examining the treasures inside Han Ning’s Soul Artifact.

"The 29th palace. We entered the Sea God Palace late, so we were behind the main group."

"Why were you late? What were you doing?"

"We were in the Dragon Palace, of course. You can look up everything we did before entering the Sea God Palace, so why bother asking?"

"Your activities in the Dragon Palace were also concealed. Your whereabouts are highly suspicious."

Shark Lian took over for the inspector and began to question Han Ning herself, staring intently into his eyes.

"Tell me, what were you doing in the Dragon Palace? I have every right to suspect that you helped the invaders plant an agent beforehand. Otherwise, why would the Deep Sea Race’s monitoring Array lose its surveillance of the Dragon Palace?"

"As soon as we entered the Dragon Palace region, the space was partitioned. Ruiyue and I were in the same great hall, competing for the right to leave," Han Ning explained.

"Ruiyue? Miss Ruiyue, is what he says true?" Shark Lian tilted her head, asking Ruiyue who stood ahead of them.

Ruiyue shot a quick glance at Han Ning’s face before replying calmly, "It’s true."

"According to information from the other Trialists, you are only at Spiritual Tier Four, and your Soul Beasts average at the Lower Monarch level. However, the rule of the Shadow Array within the Dragon Palace is that a single winner must be decided. Based on the information from you both, you were the one who won that duel?" Shark Lian’s gaze was now filled with pressure.

"I was. I happened to have a breakthrough. Ruiyue can attest to that," Han Ning said fearlessly.

"That’s right. I was defeated," Ruiyue confirmed with a calm nod.

"That makes no sense. Your Soul Beasts are merely at the Lower Monarch level. It’s impossible for you to defeat Ruiyue, who possesses an Upper Monarch. And judging from her tone, I see no indication that she surrendered willingly."

Shark Lian pressed her advantage, suddenly striding to a stop two meters in front of Han Ning. She said coldly,

"There’s only one explanation: you hid your true strength before entering the Secret Realm. Speak! What is your objective? Why did you conceal your abilities? If you can’t give me a clear explanation, I can only assume you have inextricable ties to the invaders."

"Isn’t it normal to hide one’s strength? Which of your Ten Races’ so-called ’Inner Designated’ candidates doesn’t hide their strength?"

Irena, who had been standing behind Han Ning, stepped up to his side to speak for him.

"I can vouch for Han Ning. He has nothing to do with the invaders. Ever since he entered the Secret Realm, he was with me and Irena the entire time. You can use the Spiritual Array’s tracing function to check our movements," Lin Ke said, mustering her courage as she stood on Han Ning’s other side.

"The Deep Sea Race is the Deep Sea Race... and he is not one of us. Miss Yelena... little girl from the Azure Dragon Family, you want to speak for a suspect?"

Shark Lian’s eyes narrowed. An imposing Spiritual Suppression, befitting her Profound Moon Level, swept out from her body and instantly enveloped the three of them.

ROAR!!

A Blood Shark, reeking of endless slaughter, soared into the sky.