madnovel Chapter 186 Return Chapter
Chapter 186 Return Chapter
Chapter 186 Return
"No wonder, no wonder—"
Lu Kun, president of the Guannei Province Divine Mind Masters Association, murmured to himself.
No wonder Wu Tianchen, ranked 21st on the Blue Star Apprentice Spirit Master Ranking, was helpless against that magical prayer bead that was under a mental restriction imposed by a master of extraterrestrial spiritual power, while Chen Lie could easily break through it.
There might not be a huge difference between the 100th and 110th place on Blue Star, but the difference between the 21st and 9th place is definitely not small.
The higher a genius ranks, the greater the gap between the two ahead and behind them.
Similarly, the gap between the first and second place on Earth may be even greater than the gap between the second and ninth place.
Governor Zheng Meng of Guannei Province tried his best to hide his shock and turned to look at Chen Lie.
The ninth-ranked genius of divine sense on the entire planet, with his terrifying potential, will become a grandmaster-level divine sense master in less than ten years.
Divine Sense Masters are almost all Grandmasters in martial arts, and they are stronger than ordinary Grandmasters.
This seemingly ordinary young man, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will become one of the strongest individuals on Earth within ten years.
Upon thinking of this, Zheng Meng's solemn expression instantly softened. Seeing Chen Lie still standing in front of the desk, he immediately greeted him, "Friend Chen Lie, please have a seat—"
As he spoke, Zheng Meng waved to the staff next to him to bring over a chair, which he then personally took and pushed to Chen Lie.
Chen Lie asked expressionlessly, "Governor Zheng, I wonder if, given my level of genius protection, I could exempt you from the half-month detention you mentioned?"
Zheng Meng immediately said, "Young friend Chen Lie, you are joking. How could I, with my limited authority, possibly detain a top ten genius of divine sense like you on Blue Star?"
Actually, the reason I was so on high alert just now was for the safety of you top geniuses.
If a genius ranked high on the Blue Star's Divine Sense Master list were to have an accident in our Guannei Province, and we were to turn a blind eye, wouldn't that be tantamount to a corpse wrapped in white silk?
Chen Lie nodded: "I understand."
"As long as you don't blame me, that's fine."
Zheng Meng is worried that Chen Lie is still angry and will come back to settle scores when he has enough strength.
Such top geniuses are fawned over and treated with the utmost respect wherever they go. Over time, this inevitably leads to a narrow-mindedness, and they can hold grudges for years over the slightest inconvenience.
Even if he himself doesn't care, shouldn't he at least think about his family?
Lu Kun then stepped forward and said, "Young friend Chen Lie, I am truly sorry about this matter. We were just doing our job."
Also, thank you for helping us break the mental energy restriction that the extraterrestrial master had placed on the magical prayer beads yesterday.
"Your youth elixir is ready, and we are urgently searching for two extraordinary spiritual treasures worldwide, aiming to have results within one month."
Chen Lie sat down, said "Oh," and then asked, "Can you deliver that thousand-year-old spiritual herb to me before I leave?"
"That's natural."
Lu Kun quickly responded.
He secretly rejoiced that he hadn't gone back on his word about the resources he'd promised yesterday, otherwise he really wouldn't know what to do.
Such a top genius must be nurtured by a top expert. If you offend the younger one, you'll definitely attract the older one. Even if he is the president of the Divine Sense Master Association, he'll still have a lot to deal with.
Of course, the reason he didn't go back on his word yesterday was also because Zhao Jinglan from Dongchuan Province endorsed Chen Lie.
Zheng Meng instructed the staff next to him to serve Chen Lie a cup of tea.
After taking a symbolic sip of tea, Chen Lie said, "Governor Zheng, if I cannot prove my innocence based on these suspicions, what will you do?"
"Young friend Chen Lie, you are quite humorous. What suspicion did you have?"
How could the ninth most gifted genius in the Blue Star possibly be a spy for the Dark Moon Organization?
"If the Dark Moon Organization produced a genius like you, how could they possibly be willing to send you out on an assassination mission? They would definitely protect and nurture you properly," Zheng Meng said.
"Oh, so that means I'm cleared of suspicion?" Chen Lie asked.
"Yes." Zheng Meng nodded.
"Can I leave now?"
Zheng Mengdao said, "Of course you can. As you know, such a thing has happened at the gathering of eight provinces. As the provincial governor, I am bound to be responsible."
"Our immediate priority is to find this assassin, so I can't meet with you right now."
Chen Lie nodded: "Then I'll be going."
Zheng Meng and Lu Kun responded and then escorted Chen Lie out of the room.
After Chen Lie left, Zheng Meng and Lu Kun exchanged a glance, saying incredulously, "We never imagined that such a top-tier genius of divine sense was hidden within our eight provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi."
"The ninth on Blue Star, is he not just a top-tier genius of divine sense? He is a genius among top-tier geniuses. Such a prodigy is hard to find even in the top ten provinces of Blue Star. Only the top three provinces of Blue Star can nurture such a genius of divine sense," Lu Kun couldn't help but say.
"I thought that Chen Lie was a spy planted by the Dark Moon Organization, and that after interrogating him, we could find the real culprit and everything would be fine."
Now look what's happened, we've both received a gag order. "Zheng Meng sighed helplessly.
Immediately afterwards, Zheng Meng looked at the staff members next to him.
"To prevent the secrets of potential geniuses from being leaked, you guys will be quarantined in this room from now on."
Until someone from the Blue Star Divine Sense Master Association headquarters arrives.
"yes!"
Several staff members nodded in agreement.
Just then, Dong Qichao, the president of the martial arts association of Guannei Province, walked over.
Upon seeing Zheng Meng and Lu Kun, he asked, "Governor Zheng, Chairman Lu, how's the interrogation going? Is that Chen Lie a spy for the Dark Moon Organization?"
Zheng Meng and Lu Kun both shook their heads. Zheng Meng said, "Chen Lie has an innocent background and is not a spy for Dark Moon."
"Oh? How will he explain those suspicious points?"
"From an ordinary student at Wuke High School to being promoted to the Dongchuan Province Genius Team in just over three months, this speed just doesn't make sense, does it?" Dong Qichao asked.
"You don't need to ask about these details. There's absolutely no problem with Chen Lie's identity. Chairman Lu and I have already confirmed that."
Lu Kun nodded in agreement.
When Dong Qichao learned the truth, he realized that besides getting another gag order, it was of no use whatsoever.
"Let's not talk about Chen Lie anymore. How's it going on your end?" Zheng Meng asked.
Dong Qichao immediately became serious and said, "There was no result. I focused my interrogation on the most suspicious individuals, Song Yixuan from the Dongchuan Province Genius Group and Wu Zan from the Shanzhou Province Genius Group."
Both of them had only joined the group of geniuses in the last few days, but both had solid alibis.
The others also have witnesses.
"Could it be that we've gone in the wrong direction?" Zheng Meng frowned.
"No matter what, such a big thing has happened, we can't cover it up. In my opinion, we should report it to the authorities," Dong Qichao said.
"Then let's report it. If such a genius gets into trouble in our province, all three of us will have to receive at least one major demerit, and we'll also be publicly criticized globally." Zheng Meng shook his head and sighed.
At this moment, a staff member handed the investigation data from the first floor to Dong Qichao.
Dong Qichao found Chen Lie's relevant statements and began to read them.
A moment later, Dong Qichao frowned and said, "Governor Zheng, Chairman Lu, are you two sure that Chen Lie is alright?"
Chen Lie's testimony clearly doesn't match the others'.
"Oh? It doesn't match up?" Zheng Meng was puzzled.
"Chen Lie said that at the time of the incident, he was on the seventh floor of the hotel with two geniuses from Dongchuan Province, Luo Zhixun and Tang Jiu'er."
Luo Zhixun's account was identical to Chen Lie's, but Chen Lie was not mentioned in Tang Jiu'er's description.
"In any case, there is absolutely no problem with Chen Lie. Chairman Lu and I can vouch for him."
Chairman Dong, let's focus our attention on others.
"Well—okay."
Upon hearing Zheng Meng's words, Dong Qichao could only reply, "Then we'll have to thoroughly investigate the members of the Eight Provinces Genius Group once again."
If we still can't find the problem, we should release these people by noon tomorrow at the latest.
"Then let's check again carefully. After they've finished defecating, regardless of whether they found anything, let the members of the Eight Provinces Genius Group leave."
At the same time, the incident was reported to higher authorities, and a specialist was assigned to assist in the investigation.
"good!"
Meanwhile, Chen Lie returned to the first floor of the hotel.
Upon seeing Chen Lie, Tang Jiu'er couldn't help but ask, "Chen Lie, they won't suspect you're the Dark Moon killer just because my confession didn't mention you, will they?"
"No." Chen Lie shook his head.
Upon hearing this, Tang Jiu'er said, "Then, otherwise I'll have to go and testify for you."
Chen Lie ignored Tang Jiu'er and went directly to the location of the Dongchuan Province Genius Group to sit down.
Upon seeing Chen Lie, Luo Zhixun couldn't help but ask, "Chen Lie, what did the Governor of Guannei Province ask you? He didn't suspect you, did he?"
"No," Chen Lie said. "After their interrogation, they found out I was innocent."
"That's good."
After Luo Zhixun nodded, she added, "By the way, after you were summoned by the provincial government staff, Song Yixuan and Song Tong from our provincial genius team were also summoned and haven't returned yet."
"Oh? Song Yixuan?"
"It's that girl who joined the genius group a day after you. On the first day she joined the provincial youth genius group, we held a lottery for the participants of the eight-province gathering."
"Okay, I understand."
Chen Lie nodded. He felt that Song Yixuan was very suspicious. She was clearly so strong, yet she pretended to be a newcomer.
However, it cannot be ruled out that they might be hidden geniuses protected by the Blue Star's potential geniuses, or perhaps they are sons of powerful and wealthy families who have fallen on hard times.
Anyway, Song Yixuan has already come into the sights of the higher-ups in Guannei Province. If she really has something fishy going on, unless the person in charge of investigating this assassination in Guannei Province is an idiot, she should not be able to escape this investigation.
Around 6 or 7 p.m., Song Yixuan returned to the Dongchuan Province Genius Team.
Jiang Xiaodong, the leader of the Dongchuan Province Genius Team, called Chen Lie and Song Yixuan together.
"Chen Lie, Song Yixuan, do the organizers of the rally suspect you of being the assassins in this attack?"
Chen Lie replied, "They did suspect me, but I have now proven my innocence."
Song Yixuan nodded and said, "Me too."
"That's good."
Upon hearing the reply, Jiang Xiaodong was immediately relieved and continued, "It's already evening, so it seems the organizers aren't going to let us go back today."
"But rest assured, as long as the assassination has nothing to do with us, we are not afraid. If it is Guannei Province deliberately making things difficult for you, although Dongchuan Province is an impoverished province, we still have the courage and obligation to defend our martial arts geniuses."
Chen Lie and Song Yixuan replied in unison, "Thank you, Steward Jiang."
"Okay, you can go back now."
Upon hearing Jiang Xiaodong's words, Chen Lie and Song Yixuan returned to their seats.
A short while later, the hotel manager came out and announced something.
"Dear students from the Eight Provinces Genius Group, I am truly sorry for taking up half a day of your time this time."
On behalf of the organizers of the rally in the interior of the province, I apologize to you. It is already late today, and it is not convenient for me to ask you to take the superboat back now.
Therefore, please stay one more night at the hotel and leave tomorrow. Our hotel will certainly do its best to accommodate you.
After the hotel manager finished speaking, the more than 200 members of the eight-province genius team who had undergone screening went to the second-floor restaurant to finish their meal under the guidance of the hotel staff.
After quickly finishing their meal, they went to their respective dormitories as arranged by the hotel staff.
The next morning, dozens of staff members from the provincial government of the province went door-to-door to check the qualified candidates' dormitories.
After about an hour of investigation, the information was compiled into a booklet and delivered to Provincial Governor Zheng Meng and Martial Arts Association President Dong Qichao.
After reading it, Dong Qichao immediately threw the information booklet onto the table.
"Still no results!"
Zheng Meng said, "Perhaps we're guessing in the wrong direction, and it wasn't done by someone from inside the hotel?"
"But with such tight defenses, it's impossible for a grandmaster martial artist to sneak in and assassinate someone silently, right?" Dong Qichao countered.
"I have already reported the news, and now we are just waiting for representatives from Blue Star University, the Blue Star Divine Sense Master Association headquarters, and the Blue Star government to accept the investigation."
Now that things have come to this, we can't avoid punishment. Let's leave the investigation of the Dark Moon Assassins to the specialists.
As for the members of the Eight Provinces Genius Group, let them go. You know, there's a super genius hidden among these two hundred-plus people, and we have no reason to restrict the freedom of so many martial arts geniuses.”
"This is the only way."
Lu Kun, who was standing next to him, nodded.
Dong Qichao couldn't help but wonder, when did the gathering of eight provinces hide a super genius?
Could it be Ji Lingxuan, the martial arts champion of the Yunnan Province's genius team?
I heard that she completely suppressed Yang Tianlai, the martial arts champion of Guannei Province, during their sparring match. Although no winner was decided, she can be considered a super martial arts genius based on this alone.
At eight o'clock in the morning, after finishing his breakfast in the restaurant on the second floor, Chen Lie went to the first floor to gather.
A middle-aged man shouted, "All members of the genius team from the three provinces of Sichuan, come with me! All of you, assemble outside the hotel!"
After the middle-aged man shouted, the members from Sichuan province followed him out of the hotel.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the middle-aged man arranged for the more than sixty people from Sanchuan to line up and continued, "I am Du Jinlong, the deacon of the Guannei Province Martial Arts Association who escorted you here. Now I will escort you back."
In a short while, the super airship will land behind you. You will have ten minutes to board the airship, and then we will set off to return.
"Don't dawdle, everyone. Once the super airship lands, line up and board it immediately."
Because of this incident, the security measures for escorting members of the Outer Provinces Genius Team back to the mainland by the Guannei Province Martial Arts Association have been greatly strengthened.
A short while later, a large super airship landed behind the members of the Sanchuan Genius Team. After landing, the airship's cabin door opened automatically.