You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Chapter 236 236: 35. Secret

The following morning at dawn,

Lin Yue sat quietly beside the black jade coffin; after his consciousness returned to his physical body, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath.

Although only five hours had passed, within the Illusion World of the black jade coffin, he had already been fighting hordes of mutant beasts for sixty hours.

That previous night, after entering the Illusion Realm, he had asked the Human Ancestor how he could quickly elevate to the level demanded by the Main Hall Master.

And the Human Ancestor's answer was quite straightforward—

"I have taught you all that should be taught; what you need now is accumulation, learning! Learn enough Ultimate Killing Skills!"

"Summarize the commonalities and strengths; only then might you create your Martial Arts True Skill that belongs to you alone, and only then might your True Skill far surpass those of predecessors!"

"But the most important aspect is temperance."

"Back then, within Eternal Night, when it was so difficult for the Human Clan to communicate with each other, why were there still so many martial arts experts?"

"Because the pressure of the environment is motivation! It seems you were born in a decent era; no wonder with such conditions and talent you are as you are."

"Go forth and kill; which martial adept hasn't fought their way up through blood?"

...

Thus, Lin Yue continued to fight within the Eternal Night of that Illusion Realm.

As for the matter of the Main Hall Master taking on disciples, he had spoken of it with the Human Ancestor, but even he was unclear about the details, given the countless years that had separated them.

He could only confirm that it probably had something to do with the Martial Arts Divine Skill.

"There has been progress, though."

Lin Yue rubbed his temples; although sixty hours of combat had left him a bit mentally fatigued, it didn't affect much. He would recover quickly.

Packing up the black jade coffin, he finally opened the door of the secret chamber and walked out.

"Your Highness."

Just stepping out, he saw Baili Fengzhi with a slight frown starting to speak, "It looks like there might be trouble."

"What's wrong?" Lin Yue looked at her.

Baili Fengzhi said in a low voice, "Lord Qi has sent a message, saying that as of now, the majority of people have already released their Jade Cicadas from those three plum trees, but..."

"The majority?" Lin Yue walked outside the room.

Baili Fengzhi followed him and said, "Yes, out of the thirty-six White Jade Cicadas, twenty-two have already attached to the plum trees, and of the nine Red Blood Cicadas, six have attached as well."

"Didn't they say that when the Jade Cicadas attach to the plum trees, flower buds will appear?" Lin Yue said calmly, "How many buds are there on the three trees now?"

"Qi Chongshan's plum tree only has three buds, and the Fifth Miss's tree has twelve..."

Baili Fengzhi sighed, "The remaining thirty-one are all on Qi Tianxing's tree; most of the Jade Cicadas are now attached to his plum tree."

"Oh?" Lin Yue's brows raised slightly, and he then smiled and said, "Let's go have a look."

Seeing him so composed, Baili Fengzhi felt considerably relieved.

In no time, the two arrived at the main family courtyard.

The morning light was faint, and the cold was piercing. Amidst the chilly wind, in front of the three plum trees that were just planted last night, Wu Nu was frowning as he looked at the trees.

Each plum tree had Jade Cicadas clinging to it, and on their branches, there were unopened flower buds.

Near the plum trees, many Guest Elders could be seen watching from not too far away.

"Wow, so many Jade Cicadas, it really seems the Third Young Master has the most support."

"The Third Young Master is a disciple of the Martial Saint! If it weren't for this year's excessive Inner Hall assessment at the Ancestor Hall, the Third Young Master would have been first!"

"However, Lord Qi and Elder Gu haven't decided yet; just two Purple Gold Jade Cicadas would total thirty-six buds."

"Elder Gu is most prudent; he should also see that the Third Young Master is most suitable, right?"

Many were discussing in hushed tones; although they were not aware of the essence of the princely struggle, after the designated heir disappeared last year, the Third Young Master's reputation was already quite high. Once it was known that the eldest had passed away, naturally, more people believed the Third Young Master would succeed.

Moreover, the relationship between Lin Yue and the Fifth Miss had been covertly developing in private, known by very few.

Even if they were aware that this Prince supported the Fifth Miss, it didn't make much of a difference.

"Martial Father."

Lin Yue approached Wu Nu and, with a thought, controlled the Wind Element to seal off the sounds around them before speaking softly, "It seems the situation is as we expected last night, eh?"

"Your Highness is not worried?" Wu Nu inquired.

"Isn't it just as we anticipated?"

Lin Yue spoke calmly, "Those supporting Qi Tianxing have always been numerous; he also has the support of the Twelfth Prince, and probably has already negotiated terms with those Guest Elders. With inherent advantages and further driven by interests, such an outcome is quite normal."

Seeing him so composed, Wu Nu couldn't help asking, "Your Highness is confident he can turn the situation around?"

"Before the hour of Zi (11:00 PM–1:00 AM), the Jade Cicadas adhering to the plum trees are only temporary," Lin Yue said casually.

"What about Your Highness's Red Blood Cicada?" Wu Nu asked.

"I released it last night," Lin Yue revealed, "Of the two Red Blood Cicadas on the Yinmo plum tree, one was sent by me."

At that moment—

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, a clear chirping of a cicada rang out, and a glint of light flew over from beyond the courtyard wall.

It was unmistakably a White Jade Cicada.

That White Jade Cicada landed on the plum tree bearing Qi Yinmo's Jade Token, causing another unopened flower bud to slowly emerge at the tip of the branch.

However, including the original, there were only thirteen buds now.

Immediately thereafter—

"Swoosh!"

A whizzing sound pierced the air, and a streak of purple-gold light flew out from the main house's courtyard.

This streak of purple-gold light turned out to be a Purple Gold Jade Cicada, landing gracefully on Qi Yinmo's plum tree, attaching itself to the bark.

Subsequently, the branches began to slowly sprout spiraled flower buds.

A full eighteen buds emerged one by one, and together with the original thirteen, this made a total of thirty-one buds.