655: Chapter 655 The Reason

"Hmm, it's in the hands of Celestial Venerable Lingyan, who is also the Old Ancestor of Qi Hao and Ge'e," Hendrick replied.

"No, what does that have to do with me? The Holy Land assigned the mission; Qi Hao deserved to die, and I just did what I was supposed to do."

Hendrick said, "I told you, you were used as a pawn. There's more to this than meets the eye."

"During that mission, there was another descendant of a Celestial Venerable among Qi Hao's companions who, before dying, sent out information about the treasure land."

"And then?"

"Then, the Holy Land dispatched an enforcement team…"

"That's not right. The information I was given stated that the Holy Land did not dispatch an enforcement team," Xiao Weiqing interrupted.

Hendrick shook his head. "They did, but returned empty-handed."

"Really? The Holy Land's enforcement team actually returned empty-handed?"

"Yes, because Ge'e was in the enforcement team. He showed mercy and let Qi Hao go."

Xiao Weiqing suddenly understood. "Is this why you said he was punished by the Holy Land?"

"Correct."

"A hundred years ago, Ge'e could have entered the Eighth Heaven, but because of this incident, he was punished by the Holy Land and delayed."

"And then? What about my mission?"

Hendrick said, "I just mentioned that another Celestial Venerable's descendant died back then. Your mission was arranged by that faction."

"Using me as a knife to kill someone?"

"From your perspective, yes."

"What do you mean 'from my perspective'?" Xiao Weiqing was a bit annoyed. In his eyes, neither side was any good.

Hendrick laughed. "You have to understand, this matter was an assessment mission for the Seventh Heaven."

"Assessment of what?"

"Strength, Heart-Nature, the ability to make trade-offs—every aspect. I went through it too."

"I can tell you this: even if it was using you as a knife, since the mission was assigned to you through the Holy Land, it means the Holy Land wanted you to execute this mission to test you."

"Don't tell me you didn't inquire about the mission target's information beforehand."

Xiao Weiqing curled his lip. "I went to the Nanwu Civilization to ask, but I couldn't find anything. I only knew that Qi Hao had a background or was involved in something."

"Later, Qi Hao said he was a descendant of a Celestial Venerable, and that if I killed him, I wouldn't have an easy time in the Holy Land in the future."

"That explains it," Hendrick said. "If you had been timid or abandoned the mission, I can tell you clearly that you would never have been able to enter the Seventh Heaven again."

Xiao Weiqing was still annoyed. "Then what about me now? I've offended a Celestial Venerable for no reason, and then there's that Ge'e who attacked me the moment he showed up."

Hendrick said, "You haven't offended a Celestial Venerable. What kind of status does a Celestial Venerable have? Why would they deliberately target you over such a small matter?"

"If that treasure hadn't been truly tempting back then, there wouldn't have been so much trouble."

"What about Ge'e?"

"I feel like I can't beat him right now."

Hendrick said, "No need to feel—you definitely can't beat him right now. He has already comprehended a triple Domain and is preparing for a Breakthrough to become a Dominator and enter the Eighth Heaven."

"And haven't you noticed? He only threw one punch just now."

Xiao Weiqing frowned. Thinking about it, that was indeed the case. Even if Hendrick hadn't blocked the middle, Ge'e hadn't intended to continue fighting; that punch seemed to be just a gesture.

Hendrick laughed. "Understand now? I was stopping you just now because I was afraid you'd suffer."

"The matter from back then has come to an end. Those who deserved to die are dead, and Ge'e has been punished. He is about to enter the Eighth Heaven and cannot have any blemishes on his record, but since Qi Hao is dead, he couldn't just do nothing."

"The Holy Land has also dealt with the traitor."

"The faction of the other Celestial Venerable's descendant has also vented their anger."

"And you, you've also passed the assessment."

"This matter ends here."

Xiao Weiqing was still indignant. He said unhappily, "I still feel like I was used as a pawn."

Hendrick laughed. "I said, from your perspective, yes. I said that at the beginning because I used to think the same way."

"And now?"

"I still think so now, which is why I said that, but…" Hendrick paused.

"But what?"

"But, I have another perspective."

"Don't keep me in suspense," Xiao Weiqing said irritably.

Hendrick composed his expression and said, "That is, ultimately, it's because our strength isn't enough."

"You're annoyed because Ge'e came to your door, and you had no way to deal with it."

"If you had enough strength, when he threw that punch, you could have retaliated and beaten him to the ground directly. Would you still feel annoyed?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded slightly.

Hendrick continued, "You're annoyed that others used your hand to kill Qi Hao, also because your strength isn't enough."

"If your strength and talent were so strong that they feared you, would they dare to do this?"

"Members of the Seventh Heaven appear once every few decades or even centuries, but those in the Undying Realm have long lifespans and have seen so many Geniuses."

"Ge'e was about to enter the Eighth Heaven back then, but because of that incident, the Holy Land said he couldn't enter, so he couldn't. He was delayed for a full hundred years."

"Now, compare that to you?"

"And…"

Hendrick suddenly said in a low voice, "Why do you think Ge'e temporarily served as a member of the enforcement team back then to hunt down Qi Hao?"

Hearing this, Xiao Weiqing's heart tightened. He suddenly looked up at Hendrick.

Putting himself in Ge'e's shoes, a chill suddenly surged from Xiao Weiqing's feet to his head.

Why would Ge'e go to hunt down Qi Hao?

If he killed him, would Celestial Venerable Lingyan be happy? Celestial Venerable Lingyan only obtained an unknown treasure because of Qi Hao.

If he didn't kill him, not to mention the other Celestial Venerable, he wouldn't be able to pass the Holy Land's test. As an enforcer, engaging in favoritism and bending the law was a slap in the face to the Holy Land, not to mention at the critical moment when he was about to enter the Eighth Heaven.

Therefore, as long as Ge'e went, it was a mistake; he would fall into a dilemma. It was impossible for Ge'e not to know this. Yet he still went. What does that mean? It can only mean he couldn't refuse.

There are only three possibilities for why Ge'e couldn't refuse. First, pressure from the other Celestial Venerable's faction, but the possibility is very small. If it were just that, there would be no need to sacrifice Ge'e, or Ge'e could have refused and adopted other forms of compensation.

Second, the Holy Land assigned him to do it, making Ge'e destroy his own kin for the sake of justice, which would also establish authority. But this possibility is also very small. According to what Xiao Weiqing has seen and heard over these years, the Yunxu Holy Land has absolute dominance and prestige in the Southern Region and has absolutely no need for such methods.

Then there is only the third possibility: Celestial Venerable Lingyan's faction made Ge'e go.

"Hiss~" Thinking of this, Xiao Weiqing's scalp tingled. Before this, he had always thought that Ge'e let Qi Hao go because he was soft-hearted. Now that he thought about it, that might be wrong, perhaps even completely wrong.

"Hendrick, do you mean that Celestial Venerable Lingyan deliberately sacrificed Ge'e for the treasure? To appease the anger of the other Celestial Venerable and the Holy Land."

Looking at Xiao Weiqing's terrified expression, Hendrick was stunned, feeling a mix of amusement and frustration.

"What are you thinking? You're so young, why is your mind so dark?"