If the Five Elders and Five Emperors have already ascended to godhood and are irreplaceable in the world of Star Martial Warriors, then there are also a group of legendary figures who have achieved the same status in that world.

Their fame may not equal that of the Five Emperors, and their prestige may not match that of the Five Elders.

The Five Elders and Five Emperors are the top-tier legends, followed by the second and third tiers.

And without a doubt, Martial God Yu Changdong ranks first among those in the second tier.

Yu Changdong, a direct descendant of the royal Yu Family, is one of the current patriarchs of the Yu Family and the great-uncle of Yu Ruoyun. Twenty years ago, he nearly reached the realm of the Five Emperors, but since then, it has seemed as though he disappeared from the world.

Everyone knew he was still alive, but he kept such a low profile, as if he were invisible. Some said he went mad from his failed attempt and had to explode his Star Palace to save his life. Others believed he actually succeeded and, having no more desires, retired from worldly conflicts.

But how could that be?

Wang Lan looked at Ming Baiye with confusion. "Isn't Yu Changdong Yu Ruoyun's great-uncle? How could he possibly..."

"In this world, those who can harm you are not always enemies; sometimes they can be friends, or even close kin. With enough benefit, what couldn't happen?

Yu Changdong is not only a patriarch of the Yu Family, but fifteen years ago, he was also the dean of Modu City's Star Martial Academy. He had both the opportunity and ability."

"What about the motive?"

"To restore the Great Jade Dynasty. Yu Changdong is a typical restorationist."

"But can't it be investigated thoroughly?" Wang Lan asked with a wry smile.

"No, it can't be investigated openly, but a secret investigation is still possible. This is going to be a long process; leave it to us. Don't worry about it anymore."

"..." Wang Lan looked with a baffled expression at Ming Baiye, who dismantled the bridge after crossing it so smoothly and naturally.

"After all, you're still a student, and given the significant implications behind this, if the Yu Family were to catch on, they are capable of anything. I'm also doing this for your safety..."

"Fine... wait a second!" Suddenly, Wang Lan's expression changed as if he had thought of something.

"No, something's wrong. Nangong Meng previously said 'one misstep leads to eternal regret'... If there's someone behind Nangong Meng, or if he is someone's pawn, then why would he say that? That's not something a person who has picked sides would say; at that time, he should've been spouting 'winner takes all, loser is nothing' or something similar."

"Is it necessary to pay attention to such a detail?" Zhang Xiao murmured quietly from behind.

"There's a saying that details determine success or failure. Words spoken in different states of mind carry different meanings. 'One misstep leads to eternal regret'; that is, if I hadn't met that ingrate... Who is usually described as an ingrate?"

"A child!" Bai Xu raised her hand and said, "My mom always calls me an ingrate."

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Yang Yang coughed lightly, covering his chest.

"I get it now... it's Mu Fanghua." A sharp glint flickered in Wang Lan's eyes. "Duanmu Qingsuang, Nangong Meng, there's another key figure connecting them: Mu Fanghua.

Or rather, Mu Fanghua is the bridge between them."

"Isn't it because Duanmu Qingsuang and Nangong Meng are in collusion, and they needed a go-between? That's why they chose Mu Fanghua?" In just a short while, Wang Lan's reasoning had completely confounded Ming Baiye.

"Mu Fanghua was originally Duanmu Qingsuang's illegitimate child, and his mother had instilled a lot of hatred for the Duanmu Family in him from a young age. If you were Duanmu Qingsuang, would you send someone who possibly hated you to be a liaison? Would Duanmu Yi not do? Even if Duanmu Yi were unsuitable, the Duanmu Family has many trustworthy people. The only explanation is that Mu Fanghua became Nangong Meng's man first before serving as the bridge to the Duanmu Family."

"Makes sense. Come on, let's go to Star Martial Academy to arrest Mu Fanghua."

Ming Baiye left some people to handle the aftermath and led the rest towards Modu City's Star Martial Academy.

Under Wang Lan's guidance, they quickly arrived at Mu Fanghua's dorm. Since it was a time when students were in class, the dormitory was empty. As Ming Baiye was about to ask the academy which class Mu Fanghua was attending, Wang Lan found a note in Mu Fanghua's bedding.

Moreover, the note was addressed to Wang Lan.

"Classmate Wang Lan, I await you at the summit of the academy. I will answer all your queries there."

"The summit of the academy..." Wang Lan looked up thoughtfully. "Mr. Ming, he's at the back mountain."

If you speak only of the summit of the main school building, that is undoubtedly the clock tower, the tallest structure, standing one hundred seventy meters tall with sixty floors. But if one refers to the summit of the academy, indisputably, it's the back mountain, home to the Nine-layer Pagoda, which is three hundred meters high.

Wang Lan and the others swiftly made their way to the back mountain. There, dressed in the blue uniform of the academy, Mu Fanghua stood distantly atop the mountain summit, basking in the warm sun and gentle breeze.

"Mu Fanghua!"

Wang Lan stepped forward with Yang Yang's squad, while Ming Baiye and dozens of Tianjian Bureau brothers surrounded them for support.

"My name is Mu Fanghua." Mu Fanghua said with a light smile, slowly turning around. "When I realized you went to the airport, I knew it wouldn't be difficult for you to trace this back to me. After all, even the Demon Clan's high-level spy teams have been brought down by you, let alone a small fry like me."

"So, the ingrate Dean Nangong spoke of... It was you after all! What exactly did you do to Dean Nangong that made him prefer suicide to revealing it?"

"Of course, he was unwilling to speak. If he died embracing the 'winner takes all, loser is nothing' mentality, he could at least preserve a reputation as a formidable figure. But if you were to learn that he had failed to maintain his integrity in his later years by assaulting his own student, then after his death, he would only be known as a beast.

Dean Nangong valued reputation above all, and that was his weakness."

"Violated a student?"

"I remember you investigated a matter two months ago, a girl named Ma Chuchu?"

Wang Lan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Correct! Could it be that Ma Chuchu didn't really commit suicide?"

"She certainly did commit suicide, but only after being violated by Nangong Meng and forced into a corner. Ma Chuchu... she once fancied me… but because she liked me, she was doomed to misfortune.

First, she was drugged and violated by Duanmu Yi, and then similarly violated by Nangong Meng. And I have the complete record of all these things done by Nangong Meng.

When the effects of Nangong Meng's drug wore off, he became furious and wanted to kill me. However, I told him that all of this was a part of the Duanmu Family's scheme. Hence, Nangong Meng had no choice but to follow my lead.

I played the role of the go-between for Nangong Meng and Duanmu Qingsuang. On one hand, I was Duanmu Fanghua of the Duanmu Family, and on the other, I was the direct disciple of Nangong Meng. But we didn't belong to either side.

I used the name of the Duanmu Family to make Nangong Meng obediently sell Soul Beads. I also used Nangong Meng's name to have the Duanmu Family purchase a large quantity of Space Stones. The Duanmu Family never suspected, even at their deaths, whether Nangong Meng actually requested these Space Stones. And Nangong Meng likely died without knowing that it wasn't the Duanmu Family who had him sell the Soul Beads for money."

"Heh… how ironic. You managed to toy with the Duanmu Family and Nangong Meng so effortlessly? So you're saying… the mastermind behind the assassination of Yu Ruoyun was you?"

"Flattered as I am, I'm just a small fry. The plan was devised by the person backing me, but I'm not sure if that's all. My feeling is that the person behind me is also cooperating with someone else.

But at least, that batch of Space Stones was indeed bought through the Duanmu Family. And the money used to purchase that batch of Space Stones came from the Soul Beads stolen from the academy.

If Yu Ruoyun died, it would not only cause turbulence in Jade Country but also eliminate two individuals who posed a great threat to the Divine Clan. It might even make Elder Di pay a heavy price. Maybe Elder Di, out of sheer frustration, would just pass away? This plan can truly be said to be beneficial in every way and harmless."

Wang Lan furrowed his brows instantly, but then his expression cleared as he had an epiphany. "So you're from the Demon Clan!"

"I am not from the Demon Clan, but I have worked for them. If there was even a glimmer of hope in my life, I wouldn't have betrayed my own kind to become a dog for the Demon Clan.

My mother's legs were not broken by the Demon Clan, and the hardships I've endured didn't come from them. It was our own kind that hurt me, blood relatives at that. If even my kin could harm me, what reason do I have left to be loyal to such a people?"

"The infiltration plan?"

"It seems you're quite informed. Correct, it's the infiltration plan."

"Who's your contact?"

"He is right in…" Suddenly, Duanmu Fanghua's head twisted violently, his eyes grotesquely bulging out of their sockets.

"AAAH—"

A scream emanated from Duanmu Fanghua's mouth. With a loud pop, Duanmu Fanghua's head exploded right in front of Wang Lan.

A spider-like Brain-eating worm burst forth from Duanmu Fanghua's brain. Wang Lan instantly waved his hand, and a Flame Sword swept out, killing the spider Brain-eating worm in mid-air.

"Congratulations, host, for uncovering the final mystery. Reward: 100,000 experience points, 30,000 skill points."

"Congratulations, host, for finding the true cause of Ma Chuchu's death. Reward: 20,000 experience points, 5,000 skill points."

The moment the two notification sounds arose, on the system interface, the experience bar, which had only ten percent remaining, was instantly filled; its 900,000 experience points were topped up.

"Wang Lan…" Ming Baiye was about to step forward but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A clear Star Energy Fluctuation rippled out, and Wang Lan once again achieved a breakthrough, ascending from Star Cloud 8 to Star Cloud 9.

There's a fundamental difference between Star Cloud 8 and Star Cloud 9; Star Cloud 8 is referred to as the late stage of Star Cloud, while Star Cloud 9 is known as the peak of Star Cloud.

Although the people from the Tianjian Bureau of Suzhou City had grown accustomed to Wang Lan's sudden breakthroughs, the group from the Tianjian Bureau of Modu City had not yet adapted.

Wang Lan's breakthrough was not particularly loud and was already very low-key compared to others. But, discreet as it was, it still couldn't conceal his shameless tendency to break through without warning.

So, when Wang Lan opened his eyes, he found dozens of eyes staring straight at him.

Wang Lan smiled awkwardly and said, "It's basic practice, don't be alarmed."

He was tired of it all, so tired of explaining. Enough. Let destruction come. The Earth is mine anyway.

"COUGH—" Ming Baiye coughed lightly. After his expression changed several times, he managed to calm down. He knew some information about Wang Lan, as the records transferred from the Tianjian Bureau of Suzhou City were very detailed.

Among them was a special note: Wang Lan likes to break through post-battle. This is basic for him, so please do not act too surprised.

"Um… Wang Lan, are things about cleared up to this point?" Ming Baiye was somewhat dazed. The day had been full of too many reversals: first Duanmu Qingsuang, then Nangong Meng was implicated, and now an infiltration plan and a Demon Clan spy had been revealed.

Ming Baiye was a bit scared; it felt like the waters were getting murkier.

"We can only say that this concludes one chapter thus far; the entire case can be connected. Shall we go back and make a closing report?"

"That's what I mean. It's a shame, though. Duanmu Fanghua didn't get to reveal the identity of the Demon Clan spy; otherwise, we could have followed the vine to find the melon."

"A Demon Clan spy capable of blending in and surviving in Modu City is definitely hidden much deeper than those in Suzhou City."

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