Chapter 119 : Hand It Over to the Sect for Handling

Chapter 119: Hand It Over to the Sect for Handling

Long Tao looked at the Man in Black on the plaza below.

Not only had the ease with which the mission was completed failed to dispel the doubts in his heart, it instead made everything feel even more unreasonable.

Even if there were supposedly follow-up tasks, it should not have been this simple.

He carefully analyzed the suspicious aspects within it.

If the man’s true objective was to steal Nan Yuchen’s destiny luck, then up to this point, none of his actions had contained any major mistakes.

First, he had entered under the identity of an ordinary wandering martial artist—this in itself was a very prudent choice.

Then he had gathered a group of followers through that strange charm aura.

At this chaotic disciple recruitment ceremony, such a thing was entirely normal.

In a place where hardly anyone knew one another, relying on one’s presence, eloquence, and knowledge—even with an ordinary appearance—it was easy to become the core of a small circle.

Looking across the plaza, similar little groups could be seen everywhere.

If Xiaoying had not deliberately pointed him out, Long Tao would never have paid special attention to this particular circle around the Man in Black.

What alerted Long Tao even more was that if the Man in Black had not, by sheer coincidence, set his sights on his younger sister Long Xi, Xiaoying would never have noticed him at all.

And without Xiaoying’s identification, he himself would have had absolutely no way of locking onto the target so quickly within this vast sea of people.

Everything was far too coincidental, as though some invisible force were secretly pushing events along—causing this Destiny Luck Thief, who should have been able to lie low with ease, to be exposed before even formally stepping into the sect.

Was this the power of the system? Or… was it due to Nan Yuchen’s formidable destiny luck? Would anyone who intended harm toward this Child of Destiny be targeted by fate itself?

Just as he was lost in thought, his gaze casually swept across the long queue for the spiritual root testing and happened to catch sight of his younger sister Long Xi.

To his relief, the girl was not alone but chatting cheerfully with a well-dressed young lady, clearly having already made a new friend.

Seeing that Long Xi was waiting in line, Long Tao felt somewhat reassured.

In any case, she had a letter of recommendation; the rest of the process was merely a formality.

Based on his understanding of her, her temperament and comprehension were probably about the same as his, but her performance on the Ascending Stairway would likely be poor.

Influenced deeply by their mother, her longing for cultivation was not strong.

After confirming that his sister was safe and sound, Long Tao’s thoughts returned to the headache-inducing mission.

To be honest, he was thoroughly annoyed.

He had just endured over a month of devilish training under Fang Wuqi and his master, and had thrown himself wholeheartedly into preparing for the upcoming sect competition commentary.

He needed to memorize every participating disciple’s background information and the characteristics of their cultivation techniques.

Where would he find the extra energy to handle this sudden side mission?

Yet this side mission happened to be related to Nan Yuchen, which meant it could very well affect the completion of the main mission.

Annoying! Truly annoying.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Wasn’t Nan Yuchen the sect’s most celebrated prodigy? Why was it always him, an Outer Sect Disciple, who had to act as bodyguard and nanny? Shouldn’t the sect’s upper echelons—especially True Person Mingzhu—bear primary responsibility for this?

Previously, because he did not dare expose the system, he had always chosen to act alone.

But now things were different.

Earlier, almost inadvertently, he had prepared an alias for the system—the mysterious “Itinerant Merchant.” Wasn’t that the perfect excuse to report to the sect’s higher-ups?

The thought invigorated Long Tao.

Rather than shoulder this burden alone, he might as well make use of the sect’s power and toss this side mission over to them.

Having come to this world without talent or background, if he had any advantage at all, it was choosing to join such a great sect.

They always said the sect was a disciple’s backing.

Now it was time for that backing to prove its worth.

Seeing Xiaoying fully engrossed in watching the grand scene of the spiritual root testing below, Long Tao quietly took out the message talisman Nan Yuchen had previously given him and wrote upon it:

“Junior Brother Nan, the senior Itinerant Merchant has urgent matters to report. Please summon True Person Mingzhu immediately.”

The characters on the talisman vanished beneath the surface.

Within moments, new writing surfaced—Nan Yuchen’s handwriting:

“Understood. I have informed Master and she will arrive shortly.”

As expected of Junior Brother Nan.

Faced with such an abrupt message, he did not ask a single unnecessary question and instead handled the matter first.

While Long Tao was still pondering, True Person Mingzhu’s figure silently appeared on the deck.

Not even a trace of escape light manifested—clearly she did not wish to be seen.

Xiaoying, who had just turned to speak with Long Tao, widened her eyes in shock at the sudden appearance of this Grand Martial Uncle.

Before she could bow in greeting, True Person Mingzhu spoke calmly, “Xiaoying, I will borrow your young master for a moment.”

Before her words had even finished, Long Tao felt the surrounding space twist.

When his vision steadied, he found himself aboard another cloudship, with Nan Yuchen and Zhu Huaisu standing before him, both wearing expressions of curiosity and gravity.

“Should they withdraw?” True Person Mingzhu looked toward Long Tao.

Her tone was calm yet tinged with solemnity.

The matter concerned that mysterious senior Itinerant Merchant who was at the Deity Transformation stage—even she did not dare treat it lightly.

Long Tao pondered briefly, sweeping his gaze over the two of them.

Since Nan Yuchen was already aware of his own uniqueness, there was no need to deliberately conceal certain matters.

As for Zhu Huaisu, as Nan Yuchen’s closest Senior Sister, there seemed little point in hiding it from her either.

If there truly was anything she should not know, True Person Mingzhu would surely have a way of handling it.

“No need.” Long Tao slowly shook his head.

“It is better that they know.” He took a deep breath, his expression solemn as he looked at True Person Mingzhu.

“Just now, the senior Itinerant Merchant sent word to me, saying that a thief capable of stealing destiny luck has infiltrated the disciple recruitment ceremony. His target is Junior Brother Nan.”

“Stealing destiny luck?” Nan Yuchen and Zhu Huaisu exclaimed simultaneously, disbelief written across their faces.

The concept was simply too inconceivable for them.

Even True Person Mingzhu, widely experienced as she was, could not help but let her expression change slightly.

“Did that senior indicate who it was?” True Person Mingzhu pressed, a hint of urgency in her tone.

Long Tao pointed toward a certain spot on the plaza.

“Over there on the plaza—a man dressed in black tight-fitting attire. He had been staring at Junior Brother Nan just now.”

The three of them followed his direction and quickly locked onto the figure of the Man in Black.

In the eyes of Nan Yuchen and Zhu Huaisu, the man appeared utterly ordinary, nothing unusual at all.

However, after True Person Mingzhu carefully probed with her divine sense, her brows drew tighter and tighter.

“This person is indeed strange,” she said in a low voice.

“Those around him seem to be subtly influenced by something, unconsciously drawn to him. This clearly bears the signs of being affected by a charm technique. Yet…” She paused, confusion flickering in her tone.

“There are no traces of him casting any charm technique.”

As expected of True Person Mingzhu.

Although she could not discern the Man in Black’s true background, she still deduced the issue from the condition of those around him.

Long Tao then continued to supplement,

“The senior Itinerant Merchant specifically stated that this person used stolen destiny luck to form a special aura around himself, one that carries a bewitching effect. Therefore, ordinary methods of detecting charm techniques cannot expose him.”

“Destiny luck…” True Person Mingzhu murmured, exchanging a grave look with the two disciples.

After a moment of silence, she made a decisive judgment.

“I will invite the Sect Master and True Lord Luohong.”