Gong Shu hadn’t expected his question to be linked by Wen Jiang to an unrelated association.
He was montarily stunned but quickly responded, "Is it the association you’ve competed against?"
Actually, Gong Shu had occasionally heard of it. Having been out of the lilight for too long, he didn’t pay much attention to outside matters. The Crying Angels had risen to prominence in the past decade or so, and he only knew about them because he had followed so of Wen Jiang’s matches.
Wen Jiang nodded, and Gong Shu frowned. "Is there a problem with this association?"
"Their association once released a sinister Spirit Card nad Crying Maria," Wen Jiang explained. "This card beca infamous because Spirit Card Masters who competed against Crying Maria suffered various degrees of injuries. The effect was similar, though manifested differently, to Tan Heming’s suppressed spiritual power."
Wen Jiang had made herself clear enough.
Gong Shu was incredulous. "Are you saying this is related to the Crying Angels?"
"I’m only speculating," Wen Jiang surmised. "I can’t say it’s directly related to their association. Rather, there’s a sinister Card Maker behind that Spirit Card."
Gong Shu pondered thoughtfully.
It wasn’t that he was inept at navigating complex social interactions; it just ant he wasn’t clueless.
He recognized the importance of this matter and looked at Wen Jiang. "Why did you choose to tell about this?"
It would have been best to inform the Empire’s inner circle.
"I just feel that others can’t escape the notice of those with ulterior motives," Wen Jiang said. "Teacher Gong, you are a new UR-Level Spirit Card Master, and your strength is extraordinary. It’s unlikely anyone would be bold enough to target you. If you were to investigate sothing, it would be easier for you than for others."
Gong Shu was slightly taken aback. "Are you assigning this to so directly?"
As a UR-Level Spirit Card Master, he could, in theory, stay out of such matters.
Wen Jiang smiled. "In the matter of the Black Tortoise, Teacher Gong, you owe a favor. That’s partly why you ca to . Instead of letting it hang over your head, I thought it better to ask for your help directly. It’s not a troubleso request. Now that I’ve risen to S-Rank, many people are watching . Asking you for help is the most fitting choice."
What Wen Jiang said was true. Gong Shu had indeed been motivated by this when he sought her out. It was public knowledge that he owed Wen Jiang a favor regarding the Black Tortoise incident.
Behind Wen Jiang stood the Jimo Family. The Jimo Family hadn’t had a UR-Level Spirit Card Master at its helm. Previously, they were aligned with the Empire, but now that Jimo Xiao had perished, Wen Jiang was on her own. The relationship wasn’t as strong as when Jimo Xiao and the Empire stood together. Who knew if Wen Jiang would take this opportunity to win Gong Shu over?
Gong Shu had prepared himself for the possibility of becoming entangled with the Jimo Family. Yet, Wen Jiang had abruptly brought up an unrelated matter that didn’t pressure him to take a stance. This left him feeling sowhat conflicted. "You actually have many options; you didn’t have to waste your effort on ."
"Moreover, this matter is closely related to the Empire. If you rely ntion it, plenty of people in the Empire would be willing to help you."
Wen Jiang gave a slight smile. "That’s not necessarily true. Who knows what shocking secrets might be uncovered during an investigation?"
Seeing Wen Jiang’s aningful smile, Gong Shu didn’t know what to say for a mont. He finally sighed. "Then I agree. I will investigate this matter of the Crying Angels."
It seed Wen Jiang ant for him to keep this investigation under wraps, so it was better for him to handle it himself.
He shared a coffee with Wen Jiang, and after a brief chat, Gong Shu left.
Zero Egg was sowhat puzzled. "Do you really trust Gong Shu that much?"
Wen Jiang looked into the distance. "I may not trust Gong Shu, but I trust the Black Tortoise."
Soone chosen by the Black Tortoise wouldn’t harbor ill intentions.
Zero Egg, being sowhat naïve, didn’t understand where Wen Jiang’s confidence ca from. "Can the Black Tortoise really be trusted?"
Wen Jiang replied, "At least more reliable than you."
Zero Egg: "..."
That’s just too much! Its long-standing revolutionary friendship was so disdainfully rejected by Wen Jiang. Zero Egg was very hurt. It decided to console itself by digging up a couple of embarrassing secrets about Wen Jiang.
Tan Heming suddenly returned to the Mountain Ghost Association, and the higher-ups were the first to receive the news.
Tan Heming didn’t plan to hide the fact that he had regained his spiritual power. He simply didn’t reveal that Wen Jiang had helped him, only ntioning that his power had unexpectedly returned.
The high-ranking official was so furious he was practically in tears. "Couldn’t you have recovered a couple of days earlier? We just submitted the roster, and now you’ve regained your spiritual power! You—!"
Tan Heming offered a faint smile. "Well, it’s been submitted. I’ve been competing for so many years; I might as well take a break. Besides, I’d like to see how far the new team mbers can take the team in the rankings."
His words were a bit harsh, sothing the Tan Heming of before would never have said. But, having been inford by Wen Jiang, he suspected his loss of spiritual power might be related to this new teammate. Even without evidence, it was enough to make Tan Heming feel discontent. Moreover, it seed the Black Tortoise had taken issue with his previous withdrawal, so he naturally wasn’t going to be polite now.
The higher-up was also sowhat surprised that the usually good-tempered Tan Heming would speak like this. After hesitating, he suggested, "That’s fine. Rest if you want to. But you are a captain, after all. Why not help coach the team with your coach this year? Ming Fuzhi is still a newcor and doesn’t have as much experience as you."
This wasn’t an exaggeration by the higher-up. In the team, the main commander was usually the support, but occasionally Tan Heming would step in. His awareness and abilities were top-notch. Ming Fuzhi, his replacent, definitely lacked his rich experience.
"Okay." Tan Heming didn’t refuse.
He thought for a mont and then asked, "Where are Jue Rao and the others now?"
"They’re all in the conference room having a eting," the higher-up shrugged. "The selection tournant is about to start, and then Mount Flower dropped a bombshell like this. Who’s still in the mood for training?"
Tan Heming knew as soon as he heard it that Mount Flower had announced Wen Jiang’s promotion while he was en route. That was indeed a huge bombshell.
"She was already that strong in the A-Rank Group, and now she’s S-Rank? What kind of miracle elixir has she been taking? Her upgrade speed has left even the Great Emperor in the dust! Isn’t she going to be even more monstrous in competitions than the Great Emperor?"
However, the higher-up was just making a casual remark. He then looked at Tan Heming. "It’s a pity, though. If you were competing, and we had the Black Tortoise..."
"Even with the Black Tortoise, it wouldn’t work," Tan Heming said quite sensibly. "I could use it, but if Wen Jiang just dragged out the ti, I wouldn’t last."
The higher-up: "..."
And that made sense. Summoning the Black Tortoise previously hadn’t been that difficult for Tan Heming. But, after all, he wasn’t a UR-Level Spirit Card Master. Facing this phenonal SSR Card that had catapulted Gong Shu to fa, using it in a competition would still be sowhat challenging. The Empire’s previous idea of using it in a competition had been a bit presumptuous.
Now that Tan Heming had recovered his spiritual power, the higher-ups naturally assud the Black Tortoise was also fine, so they didn’t press Tan Heming for more details about it.
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