1034 Secret Vault
"Here. this is for you," said Lin Fan as he placed a space ring in her soft palm.
"What's this?"
"Heavenly Dao restricted what we could bring back, but some leeways remain. I found a few rare resources for you."
"Where did you get the time and opportunity to get these things?" asked Xu Shi after checking the contents with her Divine Sense.
"It's a loan from the Rebellion."
She immediately frowned, "Will that not cause more complications?"
"Maybe. But I only need to do one special mission, and I can repay the debt."
"That sounds dangerous."
"Possibly, but it's worth it," replied Lin Fan calmly. "Plus, I came here to prepare for any possible danger." Xu Shi immediately understood what he meant.
Eternal Emperors born in the lower dimension have an advantage over the upper dimension ones: they can leave a normal clone along with well-protected secret realms containing their name and history. The lower dimension is under True Heavenly Dao's protection, whose rules do not allow any beings to influence or mess with it easily. As such, when someone tries to erase a lower dimension Eternal Emperor, the clone and secret realm become a barrier that forces them to deal with the restrictions of True Heavenly Dao.
Such a loophole is a right granted only to Eternal Emperors from the lower dimension. In other words, if someone is born in the upper dimension but descends and proves the Dao there, True Heavenly Dao won't allow it. Additionally, they have only one chance and cannot recreate these clones or secret realms if they are destroyed.
"I'm worried about Wang Wei," said Lin Fan. The [Security Vault] - as it has been labeled over the years - is one of an Eternal Emperor's greatest secrets, something that some of them do not even tell their Dao Companion. However, Lin Fan knew he would not be able to hide his vault from Wang Wei's eyes - even if he put it somewhere in the Endless Void.
"His existence has long broken the balance," replied Xu Shi. Eternals are usually generations - if not eras - apart, and their strength is relative to one another, making it easier to hide their vaults. Unfortunately, this era was a mess.
"Do you have any idea?" he asked, not willing to relent on this particular situation.
"The only thing I can think of is if you could find some resource to hide and send it back. However, such a thing must at least be Tier 11, and Heavenly Dao would never allow such a thing to descend to the lower dimension."
"Not necessarily," countered Lin Fan. "As you said, he's broken the balance, and True Heavenly Dao will not accept that, even if there is some kind of connection or deal between them. Maybe it can be convinced."
"You're thinking too positively. Do you think it will give you an unfair advantage just to balance out Wang Wei?"
Having a vault protected or hidden by an Empyrean Tier Resource would give Lin Fan too much of an advantage, so his plan had a very low chance of success.
"Unless I could find something that targets only him," he added softly.
"Does such a thing exist? And if he did, is it worth using it only on him - especially given the situation?"
"That remains to be seen."
"In that case, you can try." Xu Shi wished he would succeed as she, too, felt uncomfortable with the idea that her vault would not be a secret. Although she was Wang Wei's friend, this involved her life and safety.
Lin Fan smiled after receiving her support. He then became serious as he changed the subject: "I'm worried about something else."
"What's on your mind?"
"Our Academy has 10 Emperors and 3 Eternals, just the Dao Opening Sect."
"Are you worried he will turn on us?"
"We have to take that into consideration."
"Then, you're worried for nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"If he saw us as a threat, he would have never allowed you to prove the Dao in the first place - at least not in this generation."
Lin Fan's brow furrowed, "Is the difference in foundation between our two factions so vast?"
"I'm afraid it is," she said softly. "The only reason he allowed us to grow so powerful is to remove the severe restrictions of the Balance Mechanism against his sect - that's how much more powerful they've become."
Lin Fan groaned in frustration. First, it was the upper dimension, and now it is also here. He sighed as he decided not to focus too much on this issue. Helping Emperor Kong grow the Academy into one of the most powerful factions in the upper dimension should be very fulfilling.
"Let's go. Many people are waiting for us." He had spent long enough with her, so it was time to meet the Academy's upper echelons.
Heavenly Court:
Wang Wei received two guests: Yang Guowei and Xiao Songxi. He summoned the former while the latter came at his own volition. After a brief conversation, Xiao Songxi immediately left.
"You should guess why I wanted to talk to you."
"Is it about my father?" asked Yang Guowei.
"Yes," replied Wang Wei, who paused for a moment. "I will be direct. My grandfather's Dao Heart is flawed and needs a rematch with your father to fix it."
Yang Guowei's body tensed. He opened and closed repeatedly a few things before saying carefully: "Although I disagree with what he's done, he's still my father."
"No need to be concerned since you have my words that no matter the victor, no one has to die."
Yang Guowei was still hesitant, and his facial expression showed it. Alas, after thinking about the karmic debt he owed to the Heavenly Emperor, he reluctantly agreed.
"This is for you," continued Wang Wei as he granted him a talisman. "You can just contact your father to get his position. But if he does not want to see you, this talisman will be your plan B."
"I...understand," he muttered softly. "Is there anything else?"
"Did your identity bring you any trouble?"
"No, they didn't say or do anything, not even once. I thought there would be some delay to my Heaven Will but nothing of the sort."
"It's odd they didn't mention it whatsoever," muttered Wang Wei.
"I feel the same way."
"No need to worry," reassured Wang Weia after seeing the look on his face. "This could mean they don't worry you will be a threat or have long decided not to include you into their core."
"Is that so?"
"It could be a good thing," continued Wang Wei. "Not being a core member means you won't be sent on horrible missions. Of course, you must be cautious not to be used as a discarded or replaceable pawn."
"I will be careful."
Wang Wei dismissed him and looked into the distance for a moment before closing his eyes and waiting. He did not have to wait long as Zhen Biyu soon came to see him.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, standing up from the throne and inviting her to walk outside.
"I came to ask for a favor," replied Zhen Biyu directly. "I know I owe you a lot already, but I can help it."
"Help? Why don't you ask your employer?"
"Employer?" She shook her head, thinking what a strange way to refer to these people and their circumstances. "We have not reached such a level of trust yet."
"That's understandable. So, what do you need?"
"A way to track and kill Five Heart."
"I understand tracking her, but killing? Don't you want to do it yourself?"
"No, I want her gone as soon as possible." She was almost in trouble while absorbing the Heaven Will. If not for the talent of her Pure Heart, she might have fallen short like Yang Guowei and Xiao Songxi. After that ordeal, she decided to remove that trouble as swiftly as humanly possible.
"Very well," agreed Wang Wei. He raised his palm to condense a talisman with two purposes: use Karma, Divination, and Yin-Yang Calculation to find a target and seal a powerful attack from him."
"Thank you, and I promise I will repay my debt."
Wang Wei smiled but did not say anything else, not even mentioning Emperor Five Heart's artifact that he was slightly interested in. Some things were simply not destined for him, and since this artifact was not worth the effort of ignoring fate, he was more nonchalant about it.
Zhen Biyu returned to the Five Element Balance Palace, feeling a heavy burden lifted from her shoulder. Now, she can focus on repairing her relationship with the palace.
After what happened in the Heaven Will Battle, no one completely trusted. Although she understood their reason, she was still a little distracted and chose to view her relation to her sect as more of a transaction where each party gets what they want. However, after seeing the situation upstairs and knowing the importance of a good background, she wanted to repair the relationship to prevent any trouble with the upper dimension.
