Chapter 1076: Lu Song
Duan Ling Tian raised a brow when a pang of realization suddenly dawned on him.
Big brother?
That grey-clad young man called himself 'big brother' in front of Lu Bai?
"Lu Song!" Soon after, Duan Ling Tian put the puzzles together and guessed the identity of this grey-clad young man.
In the Lu Clan, the only person who could address himself as 'big brother' in front of Lu Bai could only be Lu Song, the First Young Master of the Lu Clan. He was also Lu Bai's sworn enemy, the stumbling block that hindered Lu Bai from becoming the next Clan Leader of Lu Clan.
Moreover —
"I heard from others that Lu Huai, the Third Young Master whom I killed, was Lu Song's younger blood brother!"
Blood brother! That meant they were siblings with the same parents!
The gaze he used to look at Lu Song was instantly filled with a hint of vigilance.
"So, this must be Elder Duan?" Lu Song did not get angry even when he saw Lu Bai ignoring him. Soon after, he shifted his attention to Duan Ling Tian as a dazzling smile appeared on his face.
However, the dazzling smile on Lu Song's face was like an eyesore to Duan Ling Tian.
"This Lu Song is not that close with Lu Huai, his blood brother,?" Duan Ling Tian asked Lu Bai through his Voice Transmission as he ignored Lu Song.
"Their parents died when they were young. Both of them supported each other ever since then. Naturally, they had an excellent relationship with each other. In addition to being his elder brother, Lu Song also played the role of 'father' to Lu Huai. He was both brother and father to him!" Lu Bai replied through Voice Transmission.
Duan Ling Tian immediately felt chills running down his spine.
He did not believe Lu Song did not know about the fact that he had killed Lu Huai.
However, Lu Song could still smile in front of him. This made him feel as though there was a cold breeze blowing on his back. "This Lu Song is an extremely dangerous person!"
Duan Ling Tian was almost certain about this.
Being able to remain nonchalant in front of an enemy who had just murdered one's own brother was not something ordinary people could do. One must have some ulterior motive to be able to that.
Duan Ling Tian might not have paid Lu Song any attention if Lu Song tried to kill him the moment he laid eyes on him.
However, Lu Song's actions made him feel dread from the bottom of his heart.
An enemy who was upfront was not terrifying, unlike an enemy in the dark.
"Who are you?" Duan Ling Tian asked knowingly as he looked at Lu Song.
"I'm Lu Song." Lu Song's smile remained on his face as he replied Duan Ling Tian in a polite manner.
"Lu Song? The Lu Clan's First Young Master?" Duan Ling Tian pretended to be surprised.
"Yes." Lu Song nodded before he added, "Although I'm the First Young Master of the Lu Clan, I'm nothing in front of you, Elder Duan... After all, you're a grade one alchemist. Even the Clan Leader and the three Guardian Elders must show respect to you."
Lu Song's face was filled with modesty when he spoke.
Duan Ling Tian did not pay much attention to Lu Song's flattery. He looked at Lu Song as he asked, "I heard that Lu Huai, the Lu Clan's Third Young Master, was your younger blood brother?"
The moment the words left his mouth, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Song. His gaze was so sharp that it was as though it could pierce through everything. At the same time, he extended his Spiritual Energy out as well.
"Yes." Lu Song nodded his head. The smile on his face brightened instantly. He did not seem angry that Duan Ling Tian mentioned Lu Huai.
"Do you know I killed him?" Duan Ling Tian asked again.
When he asked this question, his heart jolted in surprise. This was because he noticed that when he mentioned Lu Huai, both his eyes and Spiritual Energy did not detect any fluctuations in Lu Song's emotions at all.
Not even a tiny bit.
What did this mean?
Either Lu Song did not care about Lu Huai's life and death or he could perfectly conceal his emotion.
It did not matter if it was the former. However, Lu Song was really terrifying if it was the latter.
Through the conversation he had with Lu Song via Voice Transmission, he concluded the former was impossible and only the latter was plausible. This caused chills to run down his spine.
From what he could see, Lu Song was like a poisonous snake that could easily adapt to his surrounding environment. He could perfectly conceal himself.
Such a poisonous snake was no doubt extremely dangerous, even being extremely cautious was not enough to defend against it effectively.
Once it was provoked, it would kill without any warning.
"Huh?" Suddenly, Duan Ling Tian felt the Spiritual Energy he had extended out suddenly quivered.
At this moment, Duan Ling Tian noticed there was an obvious and abnormal fluctuation in Lu Song's emotion after his words left his mouth.
The fluctuation in his emotion was very small, and it disappeared as soon as it appeared. However, his Spiritual Energy's keen sense was able to detect it clearly.
There was a hint of bloodthirsty killing intent in the emotional fluctuation!
"I know. However, I'd like to thank you, Elder Duan, for helping us to thin the clan! With Lu Huai's temper, he would have eventually met with a mishap. Being able to die in your hand, Elder Duan, is also a kind of blessing!" Lu Song nodded with a smile on his face.
However, Duan Ling Tian felt chills running down his spine when he saw the smile.
It was all thanks to his Spiritual Energy that he noticed Lu Song's emotional fluctuation. Otherwise, he would have been deceived by him if he only looked at him from the surface.
"Then, I guess, I must have unintentionally done a good deed! However, you don't have to thank me. I barely even lifted a finger," Duan Ling Tian replied calmly as he looked at Lu Song nonchalantly.
"Kid, you're looking for death!" At this moment, the eyes of the old man standing behind Lu Song gleamed coldly as his aura locked on Duan Ling Tian.
He stepped forward and attempted to attack Duan Ling Tian.
Whoosh!
However, he was blocked by Lu Song's outstretched hand before he could even attack.
"Elder Duan, I'm sorry. Elder Guan had a close relationship with Lu Huai so I hope you'll excuse him for his transgression," Lu Song said apologetically.
Duan Ling Tian did not look at Lu Song even when he spoke. Instead, his eyes were focused on the old man standing behind Lu Song. The old man glaring at him had a head of white hair and white brows.
At this moment, a contemplative look appeared on Duan Ling Tian's face.
"Interesting." Duan Ling Tian looked at the old man intensely before he shifted his gaze away. He did not pay any attention to Lu Song as he left with Lu Bai after motioning to him. He left Lu Song and the old man behind him standing on the same spot as they watched Duan Ling Tian and Lu Bai's silhouettes that were slowly disappearing.
The old man stared at the purple figure that was disappearing with an enraged face as he said in a deep voice, "Young Master! You shouldn't have blocked me! I'm certain I'm able to kill him to avenge Little Young Master!"
"And then?" At this moment, the dazzling smile on Lu Song's face had also disappeared and was replaced by coldness.
"Then..." The old man became speechless when he heard this.
"If you kill him, there's no way you'll be able to stay alive! Even if you flee, you're destined to go into exile! At that time, what should I do? Or, do you intend to have me go into exile with you?" Lu Song enunciated each word carefully and made the old man speechless.
Exactly.
If he killed Duan Ling Tian, he could go into exile to flee the group of enraged Lu Clan's senior officials. However, the Young Master would be burdened by him.
After all, each of his action represented his Young Master, Lu Song.
'If you kill him, you'll either die or you'll have to flee... And I'll lose my chance at becoming the Clan Leader of Lu Clan even if I'm allowed to stay here. The Lu Clan will never allow a person who doesn't care about the clan's interest to become the Clan Leader. You know this very well," Lu Song replied in a deep voice.
If he allowed this old man to kill Duan Ling Tian, the Lu Clan's high officials would definitely be against him and feel that he did not care about the interest of Lu Clan even if the Lu Clan did not punish him.
Duan Ling Tian was a grade one alchemist and the First Interim Elder of the Lu Clan. If he was killed, it would greatly damage Lu Clan's interest.
"Young Master, then what about the Little Young Master's revenge? Are we not going to avenge him?" The old man asked with an enraged look.
"Not avenge him? How's that possible! That's my younger blood brother for goodness sake! The younger brother that I brought up!" Lu Song's eyes gleamed icily before it returned to normal. The slightly wretched expression turned calm again as he proclaimed, "However, we can't act recklessly when it comes to this matter. We need to give this matter further thought!"
The old man's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he replied respectfully, "I'll listen to you, Young Master."
Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian and Lu Bai were fast approaching the residence of Lu Rui, the Clan Leader of Lu Clan. In the span of a dozen breaths, they would arrive at the residence in front.
"Duan Ling Tian, you must be more cautious against that Lu Song. That Lu Song is a wolf in disguise! He'll say one thing but act differently in the dark! You killed his younger blood brother. It's impossible for him to be so tolerant and accepting of it. He won't give up so easily!" Lu Bai reminded Duan Ling Tian solemnly as he looked at him.
Duan Ling Tian nodded.
Even without Lu Bai's reminder, he already knew about it.
"Lu Bai, do you know the background of the old man standing behind Lu Song?" Soon after, Duan Ling Tian recalled the old man standing behind Lu Song who attempted to attack him.
"I only know that the old man's surname is 'Guan', and everyone addressed him as Elder Guan. As for his background, I heard that he was a servant of Lu Song's grandfather. Due to his impressive innate talent, he later became a Lu Clan's secondary disciple. After the death of Lu Song's grandfather, he continued to follow Lu Song's father. And after the death of both Lu Song's parents, he followed the two brothers, Lu Song and Lu Huai, and took care of them. It's said that the old man has already entered the Ninth Level Void Transformation Stage and is not far from entering the peak of the Void. His strength is much stronger compared to many elders in our Lu Clan." Lu Bai revealed everything he knew.
"Ninth Level Void Transformation Stage?" When Duan Ling Tian heard Lu Bai's words, he raised a brow as his heart jolted. "That old man really concealed himself well. He's obviously a Martial Monarch, but he actually said he's only at the Ninth Level Void Transformation Stage?"
Earlier, when that old man's aura was locked on him to attack him, he had extended his Spiritual Energy out to probe the old man's cultivation. However, it was as though his Spiritual Energy had met a bale of cotton and disappeared without a trace the moment it went near the old man.
At that time, he knew the old man was a Martial Monarch!