Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 112

Volume 7 Chapter 112: Doubts

When Xu Qingfan rested, over two thousand Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands cultivators returned, and the masters from the Human Alliance came with many cultivators to greet them outside Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. Everyone seemed a bit uncomfortable.

At the front were naturally the three top masters: Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Zhang Xusheng.

Following them were the ordinary masters of slightly lower status.

Because they had been saved and deceived by Xu Qingfan, these masters did not know how to face him. Their polite words sounded very dry and repetitive.

Compared to their last meeting at the "Azure Crystal Treasure House," there were more masters from the Human Alliance this time. Most of the newcomers were the result of forced advancements in their levels over the years. These masters gathered together, not greeting Xu Qingfan, but silently trailing behind the master team, some with blank expressions and others, despite being masters, showing signs of illness on their faces—the detrimental effects of their forced improvements, which made Xu Qingfan silently sigh.

These people lost their value after the battle with the Shura Clan. By then, would the world still give them the respect they deserve? If these masters had not passed away early.

Further back were the ordinary cultivators of the Human Alliance, many of whom Xu Qingfan recognized, like Xu Xirong, Chou Xuan, Lv Ziqing, and others…

They looked at Xu Qingfan with some hesitation, uncertain if they should go over and greet him given his status today.

Just like Xu Qingfan, hesitating about whether he should approach and meet with the masters who were surrounding him.

Many times, this hesitation creates a gap between people.

Then, after much effort, Xu Qingfan tried to get away from the polite masters to approach them, but saw their faces flash with a look of giving up as they turned to examine the group of cultivators behind Xu Qingfan. After all, the last time they met, Xu Qingfan was just a Real Golden Core Stage cultivator, which was very different from being one of the top five experts in humanity now.

For some reason, even though it was a moment to meet, Xu Qingfan felt a strange sense of parting.

However, remembering the times spent together back then, the battles remain clear, but their faces in those memories have become quite blurry.

It seems that, apart from a few people, most individuals encountered in one’s life, no matter how deep their past experiences were, remain just passing figures as time goes by, just like Xu Qingfan feels about them or they feel about Xu Qingfan.

Besides these familiar faces, there were even more cultivators Xu Qingfan had never seen before. After such a long time of war, they seemed to carry an indescribable toughness and indifference, constantly walking on the edge of life and death.

A toughness towards life, a indifference towards life.

In comparison to each other, the communication between the three real leaders is much simpler.

For Mr. Liu, a simple glance is enough for both sides to understand each other’s meanings.

Immortal Zizhen smiles and nods at Xu Qingfan, but the smile seems a bit forced.

As for Zhang Xusheng—when Xu Qingfan first saw him, he couldn’t believe that the serious and calm man before him was the same Zhang Xusheng who used to be gentle and charming, as if he controlled everything. At this moment, Zhang Xusheng looked like a warrior, lacking some of the old charm and confidence, but showing a pressure and authority that was hard to describe.

Xu Qingfan heard Tian Zhenxian whispering to Tian Zhenling behind him, saying that Zhang Xusheng just needed to hold a sign saying "Fight for Humanity."

However, after seeing Xu Qingfan, Zhang Xusheng’s expression changed slightly; a familiar mysterious smile seemed to flash across his lips but quickly vanished, and he became serious again, leaving Xu Qingfan to wonder if what he just saw was an illusion.

When Zhang Xusheng subtly revealed a familiar smile, he nodded at Xu Qingfan, who nodded back; there was no more of Zhang Xusheng’s usual self-talk, which made Xu Qingfan feel a bit out of place.

At that moment, Zhang Xusheng should have said something like "The fruit is ripe and should be picked."

Alternatively, for Xu Qingfan, returning here after nearly two hundred years, the most significant impression is probably the strangeness.

After all, things were not the way they used to be, and he was no longer the person he used to be; even Zhang Xusheng was not the same Zhang Xusheng as before.

…

While Xu Qingfan was observing the Human Alliance, the cultivators of the Human Alliance were also watching the cultivators of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands.

Over the years, Liu Ziqing had stayed within the Human Alliance and had interacted with many masters, so they were all familiar with him. However, Liu Ziqing had secretly gained a long sword on his back. The sword had not yet been drawn, but an intense feeling of pressure was already building, clearly hinting at a very powerful God Weapon.

Looking at this long sword, the members of the Righteous Alliance suddenly remembered Mr. Liu’s earlier comment about Liu Ziqing—"If he has a top-tier God Weapon, he would be equivalent to a Soul Splitting Stage master."

On the other side of Xu Qingfan stood a tall cultivator, wearing a black robe and a black hood, quietly floating in place. Under Xu Qingfan’s introduction, the cultivators learned that this was Xu Qingfan’s most outstanding disciple—Chou. Words like "admiration" began to appear frequently, but Chou simply floated there, ignoring everyone. This left a group of experts, who were accustomed to polite greetings, feeling the awkwardness of being overlooked.

In addition, most cultivators’ attention was focused on the two camps on the left and right. The cultivators in these two camps stood behind Liu Ziqing and Chou, one group dressed in white and the other in black. One group was proud while the other was indifferent; they seemed to coordinate yet subtly oppose each other, as if living in two different worlds.

These cultivators were not weak, all at the Golden Core Stage or Real Golden Core Stage, but this level was not considered strong among masters. However, many masters felt that when these two groups came together, they would give the impression of facing an equally matched expert.

Additionally, prominent cultivators from the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, like Ting’er and Wang Zegang, also drew a lot of attention.

The Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands and the Human Alliance examined each other closely and, in general, recognized each other’s strength.

…

Although the formalities were lengthy, they eventually came to an end.

The cultivators of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands had their own arrangements, while Xu Qingfan and Chou, together with Wang Zegang, Ting’er, and Liu Ziqing, entered Qingxu Hall with a group of masters.

Inside Qingxu Hall, Xu Qingfan, Chou, Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Zhang Xusheng sat at the front of the main hall, while the other masters sat on either side.

This gathering of masters was mainly to introduce Xu Qingfan to the current situation of the Shenzhou Continent and the preparations of the Human Alliance during this time, as well as to inform all the masters about the new changes in the situation and the preparations to respond to these changes.

To Xu Qingfan’s surprise, it was Zhang Xusheng who spoke about these matters.

Xu Qingfan already knew most of these things from his time on the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, except for one thing: the Shura Clan was also ready for a decisive battle with humanity and had already made some attempts in the past few days.

In the meeting, Xu Qingfan noticed something interesting; Zhang Xusheng mostly led the discussion. After raising each issue, he would pause to ask the masters if they had any opinions or additions. The masters all shook their heads, and then Zhang Xusheng would move on to the next question, repeating the same process.

This continued until the meeting was over.

This meeting basically became Zhang Xusheng’s one-man show.

After the meeting, Xu Qingfan took out the "World Crafting Cauldron," satisfied the curiosity of the masters, and placed it into the Human Alliance’s Secret Warehouse. Each master set up a barrier outside the Secret Warehouse, so without all the masters acting together, no one could break into this Secret Warehouse.

After doing all this, the masters went their separate ways, while Xu Qingfan, accompanied by four masters from Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, walked slowly with Mr. Liu towards Mr. Liu’s home.

"What are you thinking about?"

Mr. Liu suddenly asked Xu Qingfan, who had been silent all the way.

"I’m thinking about Zhang Xusheng and the situation we encountered today."

Xu Qingfan replied.

"Is it strange?"

"Everything is very strange. Zhang Xusheng has turned out like this, and all the meetings of the masters have become just Zhang Xusheng’s words…"

Mr. Liu smiled sadly and said, "Don’t say it’s you; I find it strange too. I don’t know why Zhang Xusheng has changed like this, but for the past three months, during every meeting, Zhang Xusheng has made all the decisions alone. Everyone has gotten used to it."

"Why?" Xu Qingfan asked with a frown.

"Because three months ago, when the ‘Spirit Eater’ suddenly appeared, before anyone could react, Zhang Xusheng was not only the first to respond but also came up with a lot of questions we hadn’t thought about and many practical solutions. At that time, Zhang Xusheng felt like this. At first, we thought it was just a coincidence, but over the past three months, to deal with future situations, the masters have been meeting almost every day to discuss. Zhang Xusheng has always been able to bring up the most crucial questions and find practical solutions that leave no flaws. When others brought up issues, Zhang Xusheng had already solved them. Every idea others thought of had flaws that Zhang Xusheng pointed out. After trying a few times, everyone gave up, and that led to the current situation where the top of the Human Alliance has become Zhang Xusheng’s one-man show, with everything decided by Zhang Xusheng alone. No one can speak up because Zhang Xusheng has taken care of everything, presenting ideas with no flaws. We can only nod along."

Mr. Liu paused and sighed, "If Zhang Xusheng is truly doing this for humanity’s sake, that would be wonderful. His abilities surpass everyone in the Human Alliance."

"But do you believe it?"

Xu Qingfan asked.

"Can I dare to believe it?"

That was Mr. Liu’s answer.

Xu Qingfan shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "This time, Zhang Xusheng has made me feel that he is the most mysterious one yet. But his excited mood seems real; no one can pretend to have feelings that do not belong to them so convincingly. From what I know about him, it seems like he has found a challenger who excites him greatly."

"But what kind of opponent could make Zhang Xusheng so excited? The Shura Clan? Zhang Xusheng probably never takes them seriously. The ‘Spirit Eater’? With his abilities, if the ‘Spirit Eater’ really could destroy this world, Zhang Xusheng would definitely be the last one to die, and it would never be you or me… Could this guy be fighting against the entire Heavenly Way?"

Mr. Liu’s exaggerated complaint accidentally hit the mark of reality, but neither Xu Qingfan nor Mr. Liu took this statement seriously.

Xu Qingfan sighed and stopped thinking too much. Suddenly he said, "Are you saying that all the things happening in the Righteous Alliance these days are all done by Zhang Xusheng alone? Shouldn’t we look through everything Zhang Xusheng has been handling lately to see if he is hiding something?"

Mr. Liu and Immortal Zizhen had done what Xu Qingfan suggested, but they still had no clues.

However, Mr. Liu did not refuse Xu Qingfan’s proposal. He took out a few jade slips and handed them to Xu Qingfan, which contained all the decisions Zhang Xusheng had made during this time.

Xu Qingfan, along with Zhang Ningmei, Liu Ziqing, and Bai Qingfu, began to sort and categorize the various pieces of information in the jade slips, carefully checking if there was any major conspiracy hidden within.

After one night passed, everyone’s faces changed.

Not because they had truly found a great conspiracy, but because the plans made were simply too perfect, showing no flaws at all.

According to these plans, the Human Alliance has at least a fifty percent chance of winning against the Shura Clan, with at least a thirty percent reduction in casualties. Even if they fail, there are many ways to preserve their strength. When dealing with the "Spirit Eater," the likelihood of finding its deadly weakness has at least doubled. If the "Spirit Eater" truly cannot be controlled, based on Zhang Xusheng’s various plans, humans will certainly be the last species to perish on the Shenzhou Continent.

Xu Qingfan finally understood why the Human Alliance had become Zhang Xusheng’s one-man show in recent days. If Zhang Xusheng suddenly presented these plans to him, he really wouldn’t have anything to say except to nod in admiration.

If it weren’t for the certainty that the "Spirit Eater" was unleashed by Zhang Xusheng, and if it weren’t for the belief that Zhang Xusheng had plans for both destruction and creation…

Perhaps many masters who do not know the truth have unconsciously developed trust and even reliance on Zhang Xusheng? Is that Zhang Xusheng’s goal?

To gain people’s trust, there are many methods that are quicker and easier than this slow and laborious way. But aside from that, what is Zhang Xusheng really trying to achieve with this?

Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but furrow his brow, feeling that compared to the "Spirit Eater" and the "Shura," Zhang Xusheng was much more difficult to deal with.

"Zhang Xusheng, what are you really planning?"