Eldritch Horror Theatre

A Harmonica could be played, or it could be burned.

A tacit understanding regarding exploitation did not mean a tacit understanding of its methods.

The party holding the advantage tended to adopt a more conservative strategy. Brother Lu Yi, for instance.

Honestly, Fu Qian didn’t believe the Demigod Realm was necessarily Lu Yi’s absolute limit, but his assessment of the situation had led him to this choice.

With his initiative snatched away, and since true gold does not fear the test of fire, the real mastermind behind the scenes chose to lay out the facts and reason things out, step by step exposing his own deceptive facade to the audience.

The special guests had thus received quite the hospitality; he had even helped purge the corruption they suffered.

As for seizing the opportunity to elevate himself to the Demigod Realm, it was certainly to enhance his Combat Power to counter any direct threat Fu Qian might pose, but its greater purpose lay in supporting his narrative.

After all, if someone capable of orchestrating such a massive conspiracy possessed too low a Rank, it would easily undermine people’s confidence.

But going too high wouldn’t work, either. It was one thing for someone in the Demigod Realm to use three guests to search for the mutated, hidden Benjamin, but if a Tier 2 did such a thing, it would inevitably raise suspicions of a deeper ulterior motive.

This was a carefully considered choice of scale.Lu Yi wasn’t willing to ruin his narrative advantage by raising his Rank beyond the Demigod Realm just to gain the ability to physically eliminate his opponent.

It was only natural. The side holding too many cards was bound to act with far more leeway.

Furthermore, whether this competitor of his actually had an Anchor Point in reality to support further advancement remained unknown. After all, those in the Demigod Realm were already rare enough.

Even if he did have one, whether he would actually choose to use it, and whether he possessed enough guiding ability to pull it off, added yet more variables to the equation.

Even if all of this miraculously aligned against astronomical odds, the guidance process would still be an open hand, leaving Lu Yi ample opportunity to react and adapt.

All these factors forged a paradigm that Lu Yi himself found difficult to break through.

...

Being at a disadvantage precisely because you held the advantage—that was a profound art.

Fortunately, Fu Qian was a pioneer in this field. The moment he had chosen to split from the group, it was for the express purpose of returning in exactly that posture.

As for why he hadn’t ranked up on the spot, instead going out of his way to run off for a bit?

The answer was simple. For one, the shock value of his narrative had been all but exhausted—far from enough to support another level-up.

He had needed to step out and gain some experience, adding a few new slides to his pitch deck in order to keep fooling the investors.

Such as the strange location he had traveled to, the mask he had never once removed from his face, or even the Tyrant’s Fist he could unleash bare-handed.

That was right. That whip strike just now really had been a casual toss.

As for how he could do it, that was also simple—Insight.

As the Original Sin Sage, he was meant to study and learn at any given moment. Naturally, the vanished Tyrant’s Fist had been consumed.

This sharp contrast would serve as the first spark to ignite the audience’s imagination.

That was also why he had selected Aike—of everyone present, she ought to be the most sensitive to it.

As for the second reason, coming over here to be a public spectacle would allow him to smoothly play the part of a fraud caught red-handed, his lies exposed on the spot.

From then on, his narrative would immediately be framed as a feeble struggle, the kind where his situation only deteriorated further.

And this assumption would maximally delay the moment Brother Lu Yi became alert.

Of course, even so, the available window of opportunity remained extremely brief.

What was comforting was that Excellency Aike hadn’t betrayed his trust.

Relying on the transcendent comprehension sparked by the threat of death, she had gained insight into his unspeakable secret.

Naturally, he now needed to deepen that impression and further solidify the consensus.

In his field of vision, the smile on Lu Yi’s face had completely frozen.

Blood dripped steadily from the Long Halberd in Old Man Li’s hands.

Meanwhile, Excellency Ji Ning finally dragged her gaze away from the source of the blood—the horrifying wound stretching from his right shoulder across his back. She unconsciously glanced at a nearby seat, seemingly realizing something.

”You... lured us here on purpose...”

”The view’s not bad, is it?”

Fu Qian nodded genially at this, even following her gaze to look in that direction.

”Believe it or not, this used to be a great place to free the mind...”

With the final word, Fu Qian’s figure vanished from where he stood.

...

Clang—

Amidst a bizarre collision, a bloody shadow and a golden radiance flashed simultaneously beside Ji Ning.

Li He, who had been standing right next to her, seemed to have anticipated that she would be the target. He struck almost instantly, meeting Fu Qian’s attack head-on.

It couldn’t be helped. Although the Psychic Type was immensely versatile, most of their physiques were simply too fragile.

In close-quarters combat, Ji Ning’s Health Bar might not even come close to Aike’s. They couldn’t afford to take even the slightest risk.

”Good swordsmanship!”

Facing the Long Halberd for the second time, Fu Qian showed no surprise.

Amidst his praise, he didn’t let the weapon tear through his flesh and retract as he had the first time. Instead, he grabbed it tightly the moment blood sprayed again, sweeping his other hand out in a vicious arc.

Clang—

However, it was met once again with a light chime. Colliding with it was a silver straight sword slashing in from another direction.

With astonishing decisiveness, the Old Man had completely abandoned the Long Halberd, allowing it to shatter into fragments upon losing its support.

And in the brief window of opportunity bought by this decisiveness, Ji Ning, fully aware she was a liability, retreated without hesitation.

”Watch out!”

Accompanying her movement was Old Man Li’s urgent shout.

Ugh—

Unfortunately, it was a step too late. In the next moment, Ji Ning’s fleeing figure crashed directly into two invisible Air Bullets.

Despite their shocking power, under normal circumstances, such an attack wouldn’t be enough to deal exaggerated damage to someone in the Demigod Realm.

Yet amidst her cry of pain, horrifying wounds were ripped open across her body.

”Watch out, there’s a curse aimed straight at the essence! He really is—”

Even after taking the hit and nearly losing control of her body, the very first thing Ji Ning did was roar a warning to Li He.

But before she could even finish her desperate warning, her head and body were pulverized by a rapidly expanding giant claw.

...

”Pardon the offense. Please believe that I bear no ill will toward either of you. If there’s an opportunity after we leave, please apologize to Excellency Ji Ning on my behalf.”

Having completed this brutal slaughter, Fu Qian turned his head to look at Li He, whose gaze was as sharp as a spear, and earnestly expressed his apologies.

”It’s a pity... she hasn’t allowed me to visit her for many years.”

A few seconds later, Old Man Li actually responded, though his tone was entirely devoid of emotion.

”Is that so...”

Recalling how the two had interacted earlier, Fu Qian frowned slightly, seemingly coming to a deeper understanding. Naturally, this didn’t deter him from sticking to his path.

”I’m sure Excellency Ji Ning won’t be angry.”