I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 803 - 557: Sword Seal, Shocking Change_3

The Pill Masters finally let out a long breath, the taut nerves suddenly relaxing. They clustered together in groups, faces interwoven with the joy of surviving a catastrophe and lingering shock.

Many raised their hands to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads, quietly discussing the danger just now.

They had been immersed in the Pill Dao, long accustomed to comfort and privilege. Even though their Spiritual Ability Levels were not low, they had never gone through such a fierce and bloody battle.

The terror of facing those corrupted claws and Evil Energy head-on still lingered in their hearts at this moment, truly the most perilous ordeal of their lives.

Some were grateful that the Judgement Court and hidden experts made their move in time, while others were still shaken by the catastrophe that befell the Dan Tower, their words full of sighs.

Dongfang Haoyue’s gaze swept over the busy Judges and the relaxing Pill Masters, then suddenly turned to Qin Tian and said, "The Judgement Court had already calculated that the Xieshen Association would come and laid an ambush in advance."

Qin Tian nodded slightly. "It appears so."

He did not mention what he had done in all this; the fewer people knew of it the better, lest it bring unnecessary trouble.

"They sensed it beforehand yet kept their troops still," a trace of amusement flashed in Dongfang Haoyue’s eyes. "They wanted to wait until the Xieshen Association fully exposed themselves, then wipe them out in one fell swoop."

The Royal star was the core of the Empire; the slightest turbulence here would tug at the entire situation.

The Judgement Court clearly knew the Xieshen Association harbored ill intentions, yet chose to endure until the enemy made the first move before striking back. Such an arrangement was extremely bold.

A slight misstep—if the Pill Masters or honored guests suffered heavy casualties—it would surely set off turmoil in the Empire, and the Judgement Court would bear the blame of dereliction; but if they could use this chance to uproot the Evil God forces that had infiltrated the Royal star, it would be a monumental achievement.

Qin Tian nodded lightly, his consciousness quietly sinking into his body to inspect the few trickster-type Talents he had harvested from slaying the corrupt entities just now.

These Talents came from the trickster Evil God lineage; some were Blue, some Purple, all quite useful. But the situation was not yet fully clear, not the best time to fuse Talents. He planned to wait until everything settled, then find an opportunity to fuse them.

On the other side, Mu Village, holding his shield, walked up to Yun Hele and said respectfully, "Elder Yun, are you all right? I’m Mu Village from the Judgement Court."

Yun Hele slowly lifted his withered hand and waved it, his voice old yet steady. "I’m fine, young man. Just now, it was thanks to you risking your life to protect me." If not for Mu Village taking the Tier Seven berserk ape’s attack head-on, his old bones would probably already be in the ground.

Mu Village gave a simple, honest smile. "You flatter me. Protecting you is my task."

Not far away, a young Judge sidled up to Shi Poyuan and said with a grin, "Captain, you’re the clever one! You had Brother Mu transferred from the Fifth Squad ahead of time to guard Elder Yun. Aside from Brother Mu, the rest of us really aren’t good at protection."

Shi Poyuan smiled at his words and was about to respond in agreement when his voice abruptly stuck in his throat.

His brows furrowed sharply, the smile on his face instantly freezing.

Something was wrong. He had never issued any transfer order to have Mu Village come over from the Fifth Squad!

A terrifying thought seized Shi Poyuan’s heart in an instant. A shudder ran through his whole body. Ignoring the looks from those around, he shouted sternly, "Mu Village!"

However, everything was already too late.

At the very instant Shi Poyuan spoke, Mu Village’s eyes, which had originally been firm and clear, were suddenly shrouded by a dense, strange black aura. His pupils turned completely pitch-black, losing all reason.

His broad, thick hand suddenly clamped down on Yun Hele’s arm with astonishing force. Yun Hele was already frail; with that one grab he let out a muffled groan of pain, his dry, thin arm actually being squeezed slightly out of shape.

"You..." Yun Hele’s eyes were full of shock. He instinctively tried to break free, but had no strength to resist at all.

The surrounding Pill Masters cried out in alarm at once. Their nerves, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. They all backed away, their faces written with terror.

This Tier Seven Judge had actually been controlled by a corrupt entity!

Seeing this scene, Qin Tian’s expression also changed slightly.

The Xieshen Association’s target was actually him!