Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

[True Monarch of Radiant World]

The moment he heard this title, Lü Yang’s first reaction was to ponder its meaning. After all, a Perfected Lord’s title wasn’t chosen casually.

Each lineage had its own customs.

Some Perfected Lords preferred to directly use the imagery of their Fruit as their title, while others were more obscure, enjoying a bit of mystery.

But either way, a Perfected Lord’s title almost always hinted at their origins and would never be completely unrelated—like a Water Element True Monarch taking an Honorary Title of the Fire Element.

However, in Lü Yang’s view, [True Monarch of Radiant World] was just such a strange Honorary Title. The strangeness lay in a specific word within its original form.

That word suggested joy, exchange, and perseverance; it represented inner strength and outer gentleness. But most importantly, the imagery associated with this word was actually of the Metal Element.

’A Perfected Lord of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire] including a word with Metal Element imagery in his Honorary Title? That’s obviously not normal. What’s more, combining that word with another for ’light’ makes it even more bizarre... The combination I can divine from that is ’inducement to pleasure, yet without light,’ which is not a positive image at all...’

What did "inducement to pleasure, yet without light" mean?

It meant to lure others into sharing one’s pleasure—a path that was neither righteous nor honorable.

This raised many questions.

Honorary Titles were symbolic. A Perfected Lord couldn’t just choose any title; its imagery could even influence the transformation of their Fruit.

’He is clearly a Perfected Lord of the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], yet he adds Metal Element imagery to his Honorary Title. Metal and Fire clash, wearing each other down. On top of that, he deliberately created the imagery of ’inducement to pleasure, yet without light,’ which is clearly detrimental to himself. This [True Monarch of Radiant World]... doesn’t seem like a good person.’

At the very least, he didn’t seem truly dedicated to his [Fruit of Celestial Fire].

At this thought, Lü Yang’s smile didn’t falter, but immense vigilance flared in his heart.

’After entering the state of [Supreme Dao Transformation] earlier, my Cultivation improved extremely rapidly. Otherwise, I might not have been able to see through the secret behind this Honorary Title.’

As for the Daoist Child, he completely disregarded his words.

Outwardly, however, he put on a sincere expression. "Please enlighten me, Senior. I have no recollection of this Perfected Lord’s Honorary Title at all."

"You want to know?"

The Daoist Child chuckled. "That’s simple. In the past, my master opened a void portal at Holy Fire Cliff, leading to a disordered Space-Time Secret Realm."

"Fei Xue came from there. You can ask her for the details."

"There, you might be able to find the answer."

The Daoist Child’s tone was sincere and his words were direct. He didn’t even shy away from the topic in front of the other Perfected Lords, including Bright Pearl Great Saint, speaking with complete candor.

At first glance, it all seemed open and aboveboard.

Lü Yang, in turn, put on a look of surprise and intrigue.

Beneath his shifting expression, however, a bone-deep chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He had to use all his might just to keep his face from twitching.

’[Pseudo-History]! He’s talking about the [Pseudo-History]!’

Had the Daoist Child lied?

No. The chaotic historical Secret Realm, Fei Xue’s origins—the Daoist Child had told him everything truthfully. He had even explicitly stated that Lü Yang could ask Fei Xue for the details.

None of that was wrong.

Lü Yang was also confident that if he asked World Purger Fei Xue later, she would tell him every detail about the [Pseudo-History] without error or omission.

There was just one problem. Or rather, the Daoist Child had hidden just one truth.

’The [Pseudo-History]... is the Bhagavat’s place of Attainment! It’s his very lifeline! What the fuck is that bastard’s scheme, sending me there!?’

Lü Yang’s mind snapped into focus.

’The hell with [True Monarch of Radiant World]! It’s all fucking bullshit! The [Pseudo-History] is the crucial part; everything else is just bait to lure me in!’

’Someone connected to the [Pseudo-History] who also took such a bizarre Honorary Title... no matter how I look at it, that [True Monarch of Radiant World] isn’t normal... Damn it, could he be an alt account the Bhagavat made in the Stain Sect? I remember the Bhagavat studied at the Stain Sect for a while back in the day!’

If this was true, the situation was dire.

’That damn bastard said I am the [True Monarch of Radiant World]. If I were to believe him, couldn’t the Bhagavat use that to resurrect himself through me?’

’No, I don’t even have to believe it!’

’The moment I step into the [Pseudo-History], all someone has to do is fabricate the possibility that "I am the True Monarch of Radiant World" over there, and it’ll be a done deal!’

’Just like with Hongtian!’

’Isn’t that how the [Pseudo-History] works? Using future possibilities to affect reality. If I really go, I’ll really become this so-called [True Monarch of Radiant World]!’

Lü Yang’s brows furrowed. There were bad people in the Stain Sect!

Most importantly, the Daoist Child’s appearance likely represented the will of both the Saint Sect Ancestral Master and the Bhagavat. That was what Lü Yang feared most.

’Two Masters of Dao, both waiting on little old me!’

’When it came down to it... it was all about the Emperor Fruit!’

’I appeared too abruptly, and on top of that, I control the crucial Emperor Fruit. The Saint Sect Ancestral Master... a Master of Dao wouldn’t allow me to remain beyond his control.’

Lü Yang put himself in their shoes and felt it was a perfectly reasonable course of action.

’Honestly, this scheme is pretty similar to what I encountered in my Previous Life. They’ve just changed up the playbook, but the underlying method is the same.’

It was just that in his Previous Life, they used an Outer Dao Fruit Position.

This time, they were using the [Pseudo-History].

’Of course, this is just my initial speculation.’

’I know too little about that [True Monarch of Radiant World]. It’s also possible he really was a [Fruit of Celestial Fire] Perfected Lord from the Stain Sect’s past.’

But what did that matter?

’As long as that possibility exists, I can’t take the risk!’

What’s more, unlike in his Previous Life, this time he had a very simple way to verify if his suspicions were true.

In a flash, Lü Yang sorted through his thoughts and turned to look at the Daoist Child.

’[Immortal Core Survival Guide], activate!’

The next second, an imperceptible, shimmering golden light appeared in the depths of his eyes. It silently swept over the Daoist Child, then coalesced into a panel.

[HUGE PITFALL! STAY AWAY!]

"..."

’That settles it!’

’My previous speculations might have been off on some details, but the conclusion was definitely right. That damn Daoist Child was absolutely trying to screw me over!’

’Or rather, the Masters of Dao wanted to screw me over!’

Lü Yang’s expression was calm, the depths of his eyes icy cold. He did not feel flustered by this. In fact, after so many lives, he had grown somewhat used to it.

’This is what cultivation is really about.’

’The higher you climb, the more likely you are to appear on the radar of those even higher, and the more likely you are to be targeted by them... To advance, you have no choice but to face the challenges head-on!’

’But then again, a head-on confrontation is definitely not wise.’

’Since the Bhagavat and the Saint Sect Ancestral Master haven’t descended to kill me directly, it means I’m not that important in their eyes yet.’

’So what I should do now... is stall!’

’The best thing to do is stall for as long as I can, using the time to gain as many advantages as possible. When I can’t stall any longer, I’ll do the same thing as my Previous Life: reset and run.’

As for the [True Monarch of Radiant World], although Lü Yang was curious—and his intuition even told him this mysterious Perfected Lord likely had a major connection to the Bhagavat’s experience with his Nascent Soul Attainment—the karmic links involved were too heavy for his current self. He couldn’t afford to get entangled. For now, it was best not to investigate.

After all, what if he actually discovered something?

The Bhagavat’s disposition was infamous. If Lü Yang really uncovered something, He would genuinely ignore the difference in their cultivation levels and kill him!

At this thought, Lü Yang felt his mind clear, as if seeing a vast, open sky.