Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 224: A Message That Has Two Layers

The mysterious senior disciple’s abrupt decision made sense to nobody. But their desperate attempts at convincing him to drop the challenge fell on deaf ears.

He ignored the crowd and roared again with spirit.

"Whoever it is, let it be known that I’m always up and ready for the duel. Someone whose ambition reaches such heights better have the guts to fight for what they want.

If they still keep resorting to these despicable means, well... What can I say except that their father must have been a dog and their mother a bitch?"

"Senior Brother, that’s a bit too much!" Han Xuhan shouted from the back, looking deeply concerned.

The masked senior didn’t answer, choosing to leave the gathering instead. A few disciples chased after him. But they returned moments later, looking distraught.

"He’s really powerful. Disappeared so fast that we didn’t even see how he did it."

"Must be a practitioner of some kind of quick-acting illusion technique. Or is it a movement art that emphasizes concealment?"

"It doesn’t matter what technique he’s an expert on. He won’t listen to our opinions anyway."

While the crowd lamented their pitiful fates and cursed the villain who was attempting to monopolize the path of law cultivation, a certain young man approached Han Xuhan with barely suppressed rage and panic written all over his face.

"What the hell are you doing, you fool? Can you afford to have your whole scheme exposed?" he hissed the moment he came close enough to talk without others hearing him.

"Yang Kai, right?" Han Xuhan asked, squinting.

"Does it fucking matter what my name is? Worry about what you’re going to do when senior brother Chen Yan hears about your good deeds!

Do you think you can blackmail him with crimes you committed yourself? Don’t forget, this scam you’re running, to manipulate the entire outer court into buying your cultivation manual, can’t be exposed! You will doom yourself first!"

Han Xuhan shook his head. "I believe you’ve misunderstood something critical, Brother Yang Kai. This fiasco has nothing to do with me. It’s not a part of my plans."

"Huh?"

Yang Kai couldn’t tell what new outrageous claim this guy was going to make now.

In his understanding, Han Xuhan certainly didn’t have the thinking pattern of a normal person. He and his friends were not just witnesses to this fact; they were victims of it as well!

"Do you think you people are the only ones eyeing my fat purse?" Han Xuhan said bitterly.

"Chen Yan isn’t the only disciple of the senior generation who knows about the resource transfer deals I’m in charge of.

Unfortunately for both of us, someone just as greedy as Chen Yan has decided he wants a cut of the resources."

Yang Kai’s eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to point out that the mysterious senior disciple who had challenged Chen Yan was none other than Han Xuhan’s minion, that skeleton freak.

Who was he trying to fool?

But before he could open his mouth, a better idea struck him.

Even if he exposed Han Xuhan, the argument would go nowhere. This shameless fellow would simply deny the accusation.

Since Han Xuhan had clearly devised a plan, pretending to be blackmailed by two different parties, perhaps hoping that this would make Chen Yan back off in apprehension, why not use his own plan against him?

Yang Kai felt smug. Hahaha, you idiot, you didn’t think your plan would be seen through at the very first step, did you?

Don’t you know that we’ve been keeping an eye on you and your minions for a long time now? Any of us could tell who it was under the robe!

Thinking thus, Yang Kai restrained his anger and responded in a tone full of doubt.

"So you’re saying that this new lecturer has hijacked the whole operation? Does he want to hog it all for himself?"

Han Xuhan nodded, looking pensive. "That’s why the previous lecturer has been sidelined. This senior brother is such a petty man!"

Yang Kai almost laughed out loud. Aren’t you criticizing yourself?

"But will he keep his word?" he asked.

"Since he has challenged Senior Brother Yan, does he have the guts to really stand against him in a duel?"

Han Xuhan shrugged. "I don’t even know his identity. How can I guarantee what his personality might be like?

Ask Senior Brother Chen Yan to settle this through his own means, IF HE CAN. It’s out of my hands right now."

"Sure, sure, I’ll pass on the word," Yang Kai said. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The way Han Xuhan emphasized his presumption of Chen Yan’s capabilities didn’t escape his notice. He could pretty much tell what this wretch was planning at this point.

Yang Kai headed back to his mountain peak and wasted no time in informing his senior brother. Chen Yan didn’t really look surprised.

"I was wondering what his next step was going to be. He has fully displayed his stubborn attitude by beating up Jiang Chen and Xiao Mei.

He would’ve run out of excuses if I sent someone else, someone unrelated to the feud between you guys, to retrieve the rest of the Nightflower essence from his hands."

Yang Kai felt his heart ache when he recalled the state both of his friends had been found in after their visits to Han Xuhan’s hut.

Both of them had physically recovered from the duel without a hitch, thanks to their foundation in martial cultivation.

But the degree of psychological damage they seemed to have received from being defeated by that guy was not so easily undone.

Sister Mei had been especially affected by the defeat. Since her return to the mountain, she refused to talk to others, locking herself inside her hut. Not even Chen Yan’s sincere persuasion had worked.

One time, the rest of their group had tried to visit her together, hoping to take her to a nice outing and cheer her up, only to be yelled at and berated. She practically blamed THEM for her defeat!

Truly a hopeless case, that girl!

"Yang Kai, are you certain that the person delivering the lecture today was one of Han Xuhan’s useless skeleton soldiers?" Chen Yan asked.

"Of course, senior brother. The visuals and the indirect signs matched perfectly. Even the voice sounded familiar to me. I wouldn’t dare to conclude this based on mere speculations!"

"Then I can more or less guess what Han Xuhan’s roadmap is. He wants to try the tactic of second-hand intimidation first.

He will claim that he has nothing to do with the challenger, no matter how hard you grill him for it, no matter what evidence you produce.

If I back off right now, he’d have won without having to make a big sacrifice."

"What kind of sacrifice?" Yang Kai grew curious.

Did Senior Brother figure out something that he hadn’t? How impressive!

"The big sacrifice will come into play if I don’t back off. This lie he has been peddling, that he’s being blackmailed by another senior disciple, is actually a warning.

He’s not stupid enough to think that he won’t be seen through under any circumstances. So he has designed a message that has two layers, one for you, one for me."

Yang Kai was dumbfounded. Back then, he had been secretly laughing at Han Xuhan. Had Han Xuhan been secretly looking down on him, too?

Despicable, truly despicable!

"If that lie is a warning, does that mean..."

"Yes, he’s threatening us that he’s going to ask another senior disciple for help. Whoever his candidate to oppose me may be, they’ll surely not do it for free. They’ll want a piece of the pie, a big piece for a big contribution."

Chen Yan’s face hardened. "In the Salted Fish Mountain Peak, there is nobody of my generation who can stand up to me.

Not only is my cultivation superior to theirs by a big enough margin, but also my status as a member of the Sect’s disciplinary body trumps theirs."

"Then he’s going to have to choose someone from other mountain peaks," Yang Kai muttered.

"If he chooses someone stronger than you, senior brother..."

Chen Yan put up a finger to shush him. "In the entire outer court, many disciples of my generation think they can defeat me.

I’ve misled most of them into having such delusions. If we’re lucky, Han Xuhan will end up choosing one of them."

"What if luck doesn’t favor us?"

A corner of Chen Yan’s lips curved upwards. "Then there’s another way. I have not truly used all of my means on junior brother Xuhan.

Someone from ordinary backgrounds and mortal roots... How can they fathom the depths of my connections in the sect?"

Then, as if he had recalled something distasteful, Chen Yan sighed.

"But I hope it doesn’t come to that situation. For now, let me have some fun. Han Xuhan, I hope your useless challenger is ready for a hard time, hahahah!"