455: Chapter 455 Anomaly

"You're asking me?"

"Ah, no... it's... it's not like that..." Sun Shaoming was so scared he began to stutter.

"Just answer truthfully."

"There isn't anyone," Sun Shaoming shouted with his eyes closed. "Senior, I only focus on my Cultivation every day. I really don't know if any special people have entered the Xuanwu Palace. Maybe those people just now would know."

"How about you ask my classmates?"

To save his own life, Sun Shaoming did not hesitate to sell out his classmates.

Xiao Weiqing ignored this and asked again, "Then have you noticed anything unusual?"

"Anything unusual?"

"Something that felt strange to you."

"Strange?"

Sun Shaoming's brow twitched. "There actually is something. In the last two or three months, the Training Camp suddenly issued a mission to mine Ore in the center of the island. Half a year ago, they even allowed us to exchange Ore for divine charm treasures."

The operational model of the Xuanwu Training Camp was similar to the Azure Dragon Training Camp; generally, using external resources to exchange for items within the divine hall was not permitted.

"Ore?"

Xiao Weiqing was puzzled. "What kind of Ore?"

Sun Shaoming said, "Any kind works. The rarer and harder the Ore, the higher its value."

Xiao Weiqing thought for a few seconds; he really couldn't connect the Ore to the changes in the Xuanwu Temple.

Then there was the disappearance of Dongfang Baichen. Within the Xuanwu Palace, there might be a Ninth Realm existence or an invincible Eighth Realm; otherwise, Dongfang Baichen wouldn't have vanished without a sound.

But did this have anything to do with Ore?

It seemed unlikely.

"Anything else?"

"Anything else? Well, there was something a few days ago."

"What happened a few days ago?" Xiao Weiqing asked hurriedly.

"A few days ago, it seemed like people were fighting in the divine hall. The commotion was even bigger than it was two months ago," Sun Shaoming replied, not daring to hide anything.

"Do you know who it was?"

Sun Shaoming shook his head. "I don't know, but the commotion was huge back then. We were in the Training Camp, and we could feel it even from over ten kilometers away."

"Is there more?"

"You just said the commotion was bigger than two months ago. Does that mean a battle also occurred two months ago?"

"Yes, but the commotion was much smaller then."

"We saw from far away that there were a dozen black dots fighting above the divine hall."

Xiao Weiqing frowned. Could he be talking about the people sent in by the Xuanwu Kingdom high-level officials two months ago?

"What is your name?"

"Senior, my name is Sun Shaoming."

"Since you saw a great battle break out at the divine hall, aren't you afraid?"

Sun Shaoming said dismissively, "Senior, what is there to be afraid of? Because of resource issues, the Powerhouses of those great families fight all the time."

"Sometimes they fight for an entire day; we've long since gotten used to it."

The Xuanwu Temple was different from the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Divine Halls. Because the Xuanwu Divine Envoy had been killed by Dongfang Hao years ago, it had been in a semi-managed state ever since. The divine hall's influence was weak, and it was basically co-managed by the various prefectures of the Xuanwu Kingdom.

This led to a situation where, inside the Xuanwu Palace, whoever had the biggest fist was right. It was perfectly normal for various Prefecture Cities and great families to come to blows over the divine hall's resources.

"Who controls the Xuanwu Temple now?"

Xiao Weiqing asked again.

Sun Shaoming hurriedly said, "Senior, no one controls the Xuanwu Temple. For a long time, some of the side halls have been open, and they produce resources periodically, which are carved up by those great families."

"As for the core part of the divine hall, it's in a sealed state. No one can enter."

"It seems you know quite a lot."

Sun Shaoming stole a glance at Xiao Weiqing. "Senior, around here, these things aren't secrets. Everyone in the Training Camp knows."

At this point, Sun Shaoming would be an idiot if he still didn't realize that Xiao Weiqing wasn't from the Xuanwu Kingdom.

In the Xuanwu Kingdom, no Powerhouse was ignorant of the situation at the Xuanwu Temple.

But the more he realized this, the more terrified he became.

The person before him clearly hadn't entered the Xuanwu Palace through normal means; he was truly afraid of being silenced in a moment.

"One last question."

"Senior, please ask."

"How long has it been since you left the Xuanwu Palace, and do you know that the Xuanwu Palace is in a sealed state?"

Sun Shaoming answered seriously, "Senior, I haven't left the Xuanwu Palace for about eight months. As for the Xuanwu Palace being in a sealed state as you mentioned, this Junior knows about it."

"You know?" Xiao Weiqing was somewhat puzzled.

"Yes."

"Half a year ago, the Xuanwu Temple issued a notice that the Xuanwu Palace was 'entry only, no exit'."

"Weren't you curious? Weren't you worried?"

Sun Shaoming shook his head. "Senior, curiosity killed the cat. Besides, my time at the Training Camp was supposed to end, but now I don't have to leave and can continue using the Training Camp's resources to Cultivate. Why would I worry?"

"As for the Xuanwu Palace being sealed, that's happened before. Sometimes for as long as a month, sometimes just a few days."

"However, being sealed for over half a year this time is indeed quite long."

"It's strange to say, but for these past two months, even the Powerhouses of those great families don't seem to have come in again. Don't they want those resources and treasures anymore?"

Xiao Weiqing sneered inwardly. If their lives were gone, what use were resources?

It seemed these people in the Training Camp didn't know that the current sealing of the Xuanwu Palace was different from before; it had turned into a valley of death.

If what Sun Shaoming said was true...

Then...

The Xuanwu Kingdom had announced the seal half a year ago for some reason. At that same time, another thing happened: the divine hall was willing to let Training Camp students exchange rare Ore for divine charm treasures.

Subsequently...

Two months ago, a battle occurred. If Xiao Weiqing guessed correctly, that battle involved the five Powerhouses sent by the Xuanwu Kingdom. As for the other party in the battle, it was currently unknown.

But...

It was predictable that those Powerhouses most likely met with disaster.

And then...

Xiao Weiqing and the others had learned from the Vermilion Bird Divine Envoy that unpredictable changes might have occurred in the Xuanwu Temple, and Dongfang Hao had come here personally to scout for information.

After sneaking into the Xuanwu Kingdom for a month...

After inquiring in many places, they determined that this matter was heavily related to the Sakura Prefecture, and a few days ago, they sneaked into the Xuanwu Palace.

Then...

The great battle Sun Shaoming mentioned must have been when Dongfang Baichen made his move.

So, was the person who fought Dongfang Baichen the same person, or the same group, that fought the five Powerhouses sent by the Xuanwu Kingdom two months ago?

Xiao Weiqing thought for a moment and decided to go to the divine hall to take a look. With his current strength, as long as a Star Lord didn't appear, there wouldn't be any great danger.

Every moment of delay meant another moment of danger for Dongfang Baichen.

"Student Sun Shaoming, thank you for your answers." A divine light flashed in Xiao Weiqing's eyes as a surge of Mental Energy quietly entered the space between Sun Shaoming's brows. "Go back and have a good sleep."

"Oh, okay."

Sun Shaoming's pupils lost focus, and he turned around blankly, walking toward the Training Camp.

Xiao Weiqing glanced at the distant Xuanwu Temple through the gaps in the leaves, and with a flash of his figure, he disappeared.