Sorry, I Fooled You Again

Creating a Secret Technique was easy, but naming it gave Du Chen a headache!

By the time Du Chen successfully fused the Precious Lotus Scripture, battle qi, Primordial Spirit, Battle Soul, and sacred artifacts – everything into a nascent Secret Technique, the eastern sky was already painted with Fish-Belly White!

His previous Vanishing Snow Burial of Petals sword art was a Secret Technique centered on the longsword, but today, Du Chen almost suffered a great loss because he couldn't draw his sword. Thus, this new Secret Technique revolved around the Lotus Sacred Artifacts!

Brockman was a whirlwind of shock and uncertainty. Though he'd realized his opponent had stolen his Secret Technique and simultaneously developed an even more potent one, he was helpless! In the end, he could only maintain an undefeated stance with Homan's assistance!

But time was against them; the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys would soon awaken!

Du Chen sighed inwardly. Killing Brockman by his own hand was impossible today! So...

Time to fool him again!

With that thought, as the two separated, Du Chen signed: "Keep fighting, and those below will wake up!"

"Hmph, you won't leave until I get what I want!"

"Alright, what do you want? I'll give it to you, but not those dozen or so girls!" Du Chen replied.

"A map!"

Du Chen paused, "When I made my move just now, I didn't find any map at all!"

Brockman had, in fact, already searched thoroughly himself and hadn't found the map he sought. He stated, "Search again! If there's no map, I'll keep you here until the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys awaken!"

This Brockman truly was a desperate man! Du Chen racked his brain, but he genuinely hadn't stolen any map. "You've been here all this time, so you must have searched for a long while. You should know I truly didn't find a map!"

"I don't care! Everything in the Aqua Envoys' Camp is in your hands now, so the map must be too!"

Du Chen frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the now-empty camp. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed to the only things left... Donna and the others!

Brockman looked over as well, his eyes also lighting up!

People couldn't be maps, so...

Their clothes!?

Brockman hastily signed, "Don't move! The moment you budge, I'll stake my life, wake the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys!" With that, he pounced towards the Divine Envoys, his fingers like scissors, delicately snipping open their sashes! He was incredibly, painstakingly careful!

Du Chen rolled his eyes, turning away. "Heavens, what kind of attire were the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys wearing?! Just a single white gauze robe! If I were to peek, would that count as being too close to women?!"

"Haha, it really was drawn on their clothes!" Brockman's heart soared with wild joy! He meticulously cut their robes into shreds with his hands, scooping the fragments into his pocket, then signed to Du Chen, "For both our peace of mind, let's leave together, monitoring each other, and split up once we're off Silvermoon Island!"

Du Chen smiled. Just moments ago, Brockman had been desperate to corner him, willing to fight to the death, all because he hadn't yet gotten what he wanted!

Now that Brockman had it, his thoughts weren't of fighting to the death, but of fleeing for his life, and taking his spoils with him – this was the shared psychology of thieves, something Du Chen knew intimately!

So now, if any unexpected event occurred, Brockman would absolutely not cling to him as he had before!

With that in mind, Du Chen pointed to the small hole he had dug in the Cloud Banner.

He signed: "I agree with your suggestion, but which path do we take to leave together? As you can see, my path only allows one person at a time! So, I propose that if we take my path, for fairness, you go out first. I'll wait for your 'all clear' signal before we both leave this dangerous place! However, if you don't give me a signal within ten seconds of exiting, I'll immediately wake the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys, and we'll both be screwed! If your path also can't accommodate two people, then we'll reverse my method! Of course, if your path can fit two people simultaneously, that would be even better!"

Du Chen chuckled darkly to himself. 'My dear Earl of the Divine Shrine, I checked the Cloud Banner multiple times before entering, and there were no holes in the misty banner! Therefore, you must have relied on your Tyran Beast, using a Secret Technique to slip in through a weak point in the mist!'

Thus, if we take your path, you'd inevitably have to use your unique Secret Technique again. But would you truly employ a Stealth Secret Technique in front of someone who just copied your combat Secret Technique? Heh, your answer will undoubtedly align with my design!

Brockman signed back, "What you say is fair. We'll take your path, but I'll get to safety first and wait for you outside. Then we'll leave Silvermoon Island together from the southeast corner!"

"Deal! But if you don't give me a signal within ten seconds of exiting, don't blame me for staking my life too!"

Brockman transformed into a mass of blue water, floating to the small hole. He slipped out through the opening, concealed himself, mentally calculated the time, then secretly extended a wisp of water light back down through the hole – that was the signal for Du Chen!

According to the plan, Du Chen should emerge now, and both would leave the island safely!

The little Tyran Beast reported Du Chen's movements from the side, "Papa, that person seems to be getting very, very small, he must be trying to fly out too! Homan doesn't know how he does it, so amazing!"

Brockman nodded.

"Huh? Why is that person flying towards the flagpole... Papa, run! That person pried open the flagpole, then hid in the sand! The Divine Envoys are all awake!"

"Damn it, I've been duped!" Brockman exclaimed!

But he couldn't help but be duped, because it was beyond his comprehension how an opponent he couldn't even fully defeat could suddenly change his mind and 'rape' the Ninth-rank Aqua Cloud Banner?!

It was this blind spot in his thinking that left Brockman...

The moment before, the hazy mist abruptly vanished, leaving Brockman suspended alone in mid-air. He watched as the towering Aqua Cloud Banner disappeared into thin air, and then, the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys stirred awake...

Don't forget, Du Chen could breach the Aqua Cloud Banner in the blink of an eye!

The Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys awoke to find themselves naked, and as far as their eyes could see, the area was utterly bare, even the Aqua Cloud Banner was gone!

At that moment, a conspicuous mass of blue water was frantically fleeing across the sky...

Who would pay attention to the little Precious Lotus Scripture hidden in the sand!?

"Sisters, kill them!" The Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys went berserk!

Brockman heard the Tyran Beast's warning in his ear, "Papa, run east quickly!" His heart hardened, and he shouted, "There's another one hidden in the sand! He's the mastermind!"

The Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys paused, and Donna shouted, "Third Sister, Fourth Sister, follow me! Second Sister, search the sand!"

Donna, stark naked, led her sisters in pursuit of Brockman!

And Du Chen?

He was a master between Eighth and Ninth-rank, and with his ethereal Precious Lotus Scripture, if he couldn't shake off an Eighth-rank Divine Envoy who'd lost her sacred artifact and was bare-assed to boot, he'd be unworthy of the title Thief Ancestor!

The instant the anomaly began, the Tyran Beast started scouting for the best escape route, with no time to spare for him. And while the Divine Envoys' attention was entirely focused on the blue mass of water in the sky, Du Chen and his Precious Lotus Scripture had already plunged into Moon Lake!

Except for Brockman's mid-plan appearance, his entire scheme was a resounding success!

Soaking in the clear lake water, Du Chen rubbed his nose, chuckling mischievously. 'What an unexpected windfall! I developed an 'elegant' Secret Technique, and even learned part of Philip's plan – a huge profit! Oh, and most importantly, someone willingly took the blame! Dus is impersonating me in the tent, and Brockman is fleeing here. If anyone still suspects me... then there's no Heaven's Will! The only regret is that Brockman saw my Precious Lotus Scripture and learned I can destroy Ninth-rank sacred artifacts. Let him guess all he wants; it won't lead back to me anyway! This operation: success!'

Hidden in the heart of the lake, Du Chen mused, according to plan, the Eye of Heaven Forest must be in utter chaos the moment the Cloud Banner vanished! The Dragon God and the Pontiff would both launch Secret Technique probes. At this point, flying around disguised as a tiny mosquito on a Precious Lotus Scripture would be practically courting death – could there even be mosquito-like creatures in the Dragon Clan's domain?

So, since Dus was holding down the fort in the tent, he'd lie low in Moon Lake for a while – the most dangerous places were often the safest, after all!

In an instant, the formerly serene Moon Lake became clamorous. The Divine Envoys' shouts echoed: "Catch the thief! Someone stole the Cloud Banner!"

"Not just the Cloud Banner, but the future Divine Servants, and the tributes presented by various factions to our gods have been stolen too!"

"Clothes, get me some clothes first!"

"Second Sister, forget the clothes, look at that glint of water! The thief must be an Eighth-rank Battle God or higher, capable of elemental transformation! He must have temporarily stored our belongings in water elemental form. But living people and the Cloud Banner cannot be transformed, so he must have an accomplice! Search quickly!"

Finally, the four sisters collectively screamed, "Dragon God, Pontiff! Our gods' sacred artifacts have been stolen! If you don't want our gods to descend upon the mortal realm and hold you accountable, help us catch the thief immediately!"

The Eye of Heaven Forest was in utter pandemonium! Du Chen's stomach ached from laughing!

For safety, he probed deeper into Moon Lake, intending to hide profoundly, hoping to find an Underground Waterway for a direct 'transfer'!

Gradually, deeper and deeper...

Deeper still!

Something was amiss. Did this Moon Lake have no bottom!?

'Haha, the Five-Battle Pact is quite lively... it's just that Moon Lake is a bit strange, capable of absorbing so much battle qi from top experts. Otherwise... Silvermoon Island would have been destroyed!'

Du Chen abruptly halted his Precious Lotus Scripture. Indeed, how could the battlefield of the Five-Battle Pact be an ordinary place? Even without Mas's earlier remark, he shouldn't have descended further!

With the stolen goods still on him, it was better to be cautious!

While contemplating, Du Chen suddenly saw a silver light shoot up from the deepest depths of the bottomless Moon Lake, heading straight for his Precious Lotus Scripture!