Yang Kai suddenly said, "Brother Zuo, does your Holy Cult frequently manage to root out lurking Ink Cult members?"
"What?" Zuo Wuyou replied instinctively, then quickly caught on. "The Holy Son means..."
Before he could finish, Chu Anhe's voice rang in both their ears. Concealed by a formation, no one knew where he was hiding, but his tone had completely shed its earlier warmth. It was now brimming with cruel violence. "Zuo Wuyou! The Holy Cult has trained you for years and placed its trust in you, and today you collude with members of the Ink Cult to destabilize the very foundations of our Holy Cult! Do you acknowledge your guilt?!"
Zuo Wuyou cried out, "Lord Chu, I, Zuo Wuyou, was born in the Holy Cult and raised in the Holy Cult. The Holy Cult gave me everything I have. Without the Holy Cult's protection all these years, where would Zuo Wuyou's glory be today? My loyalty to the Holy Cult is absolute—the heavens and earth can bear witness! On what basis does Lord Chu claim I have colluded with the Ink Cult?"
Chu Anhe let out a cold snort. "Still defiant, are we? And the person beside you—is he not a member of the Ink Cult?"
Zuo Wuyou frowned and said in a low voice, "Lord Chu, are you perhaps suspicious of the Holy Son..."
"Silence!" Chu Anhe barked. "He is an Ink Cult spy—how dare you call him the Holy Son?"
Zuo Wuyou immediately corrected himself. "Brother Yang has traveled with me the entire way. We killed numerous Ink Cult followers, drove off the Universe Department Commander, and wounded the Earth Department Commander. Without Brother Yang's protection along the journey, I would have long since become a wandering ghost. Brother Yang is absolutely not a member of the Ink Cult."
Chu Anhe's voice fell silent for a moment, then slowly resumed. "You say he drove off the Universe Department Commander and wounded the Earth Department Commander?"
"That is correct. I witnessed it with my own eyes."
"Ha ha ha ha!" Chu Anhe burst into laughter.
"Why does Lord Chu laugh?" Zuo Wuyou asked in a grim voice.
Chu Anhe roared, "Foolish! The person beside you has a mere Zhenyuan Realm cultivation! You should know that both the Universe Department Commander and the Earth Department Commander are among the most formidable existences under heaven. Even a Shenyou Realm expert like myself would be helpless against them—standing there waiting to be slaughtered. What gives him the ability to defeat those two? Zuo Wuyou, have you eaten too much lard and lost your mind? You can't even see through such a simple ruse?"
Zuo Wuyou's expression turned uncertain. He couldn't help but glance at Yang Kai.
That's right—he had been so stunned by the tremendous strength Yang Kai had displayed, fighting across realms, even repelling two Ink Clan commanders. But what if that was all an act arranged by the enemy to earn his trust?
Now that he thought back, the timing and location where this apparent Holy Son had appeared did seem rather suspicious…
Zuo Wuyou's mind began to spiral into confusion.
Meeting his gaze, Yang Kai merely offered a faint smile and spoke. "Old man, to be honest, I'm not particularly interested in being your Holy Son. Brother Zuo here has simply been under a misapprehension this whole time and has taken to calling me that. Whether I am or am isn't really of no consequence. The only reason I've been traveling this way is that I'd like to meet your Holy Maiden. Old man, could you oblige me?"
Chu Anhe let out a cold snort. "Facing death and still spouting pretty words. The Holy Maiden is a figure of the utmost sanctity—she is not someone an Ink Cult spy can simply demand to meet."
Yang Kai's displeasure was evident. "Ink Cult spy this, Ink Cult spy that—how can you be so sure I'm a member of the Ink Cult?"
Chu Anhe's side fell quiet for a moment. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Since matters have reached this point, I suppose there is no harm in telling you! The Holy Cult's true Holy Son was found ten years ago! If you are not an Ink Cult member, why would you impersonate the Holy Son?"
"What?!" Zuo Wuyou cried out in shock.
"This was originally a matter of the highest secrecy—known only to the Holy Maiden, the Eight Banner Lords, and a select few! However, the Holy Cult has decided to allow the Holy Son to emerge publicly in order to stabilize the faith of our followers, so it is no longer a secret!"
Zuo Wuyou stood frozen in place. The impact of this revelation was enormous.
So the Holy Cult's true Holy Son had been found ten years ago!
But if that was the case, then what did that make the person standing beside him? When he had appeared, he had indeed matched the prophecy left behind by the first-generation Holy Maiden.
No wonder the Holy Cult had never sent anyone to meet them along the way. The Ink Clan had already dispatched two commander-level powerhouses, yet the Holy Cult's response had been slow—and the only one who eventually arrived was Elder-rank. In that instant, Zuo Wuyou understood a great deal.
It wasn't that the Holy Cult didn't value the Holy Son—it was that the true Holy Son had been found ten years ago.
"Zuo Wuyou!" Chu Anhe's voice softened. "No one doubts your loyalty to the Holy Cult. But the trouble was ultimately caused by you, so you will need to resolve it."
Zuo Wuyou clasped his fists. "I await your orders, my lord."
"Simple! Kill the person beside you—the one who dares impersonate the Holy Son. Cut off his head and set the record straight!"
Zuo Wuyou stiffened and turned to look at Yang Kai once more. A struggle flickered through his eyes.
Yang Kai, meanwhile, didn't so much as glance at him. He seemed not to have heard Chu Anhe's words at all. A golden vertical pupil had appeared in his left eye at some point, scrutinizing the void around them, and an odd expression had surfaced on his face.
Beside him, Zuo Wuyou struggled for a long while before finally pointing his long sword at Yang Kai. Killing intent slowly coalesced around him.
Only then did Yang Kai look at him, saying, "So, Brother Zuo has decided to make his move?"
Zuo Wuyou nodded slowly, then shook his head. "Brother Yang, I need only one answer—are you or are you not an Ink Cult spy?"
"If I say I'm not, will you believe me?" Yang Kai replied with a smile, gazing at him.