Chapter 378: Audacious to the Extreme

"Xiao Zhan?" Kong Ming was full of confusion, truly unable to understand how this matter could have become entangled with Xiao Zhan.

"Yes, it is indeed him." Huo Yun was gnashing his teeth with rage at this moment, glaring with wide eyes as he said, "President, just last night, Xiao Zhan suddenly approached me and asked right off the bat if I wanted to have an inexhaustible supply of Superior True Qi Pills to take in the future.

I didn't even think about it at the time and replied that of course I did, I had been dreaming of such a good thing.

You also know that the quantity of Superior True Qi Pills in our Association is limited, and even for you and the few high-level members, your hands are not necessarily loose."

"And then?" Kong Ming's heart tightened suddenly, an ominous premonition arising spontaneously, and he hurriedly asked in pursuit.

"Following that, Xiao Zhan said mysteriously that he had a method that would allow me to never again have to worry about a shortage of Superior True Qi Pills. As soon as I heard that, my heart instantly blossomed with joy, and I hurriedly asked him what exactly this method was."

As Huo Yun spoke, he snuck a glance at Lu Yu, tears unable to be held back from spilling out of his eyes, "He told me that there was an extremely formidable Alchemist at the Yongan City Martial Dao Branch who could refine Superior True Qi Pills, and every furnace of pills was of Superior grade, without exception.

I pondered at the time that this matter was likely not that simple.

If it were truly as wonderful as he claimed, then why wouldn't he monopolize such a good thing for himself instead of running over to tell me? It wasn't until later that I completely understood his sinister intentions."

"What did you understand?" Kong Ming's gaze instantly turned icy and piercing, as if he could see through everything; he had vaguely guessed the general direction of the matter.

It seems this Huo Yun really did come all the way from the Headquarters to Yongan City targeting little brother Lu; no wonder little brother Lu's expression was frighteningly gloomy just now.

"I finally saw clearly that Xiao Zhan, that despicable wretch, was purely trying to use me. He said that although little brother Lu has extremely high attainments in alchemy, his martial arts strength is not very good.

We could tie him to an extremely stealthy place and force him to refine True Qi Pills for us non-stop. In this way, wouldn't we have a constant stream of Superior True Qi Pills to enjoy?"

"Did Xiao Zhan really say that?" Kong Ming stared fixedly at Huo Yun's eyes, his gaze so sharp it seemed as if he wanted to see through him, and asked solemnly.

"President, even if I had the guts of a bear and a leopard, I would never dare to deceive you on such a matter," Huo Yun said with a mournful face, "Every word I have spoken is the absolute truth, without a single lie."

"Good, continue speaking." Kong Ming's gaze carried a chilling coldness, like the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month.

"Yes, President. At the time, I was truly shocked when I heard these words of his, and I hurriedly said, how could we lay a hand on one of our own brothers?

Although I have never met little brother Lu, everyone is, after all, a member of the Association.

Furthermore, since little brother Lu can refine Superior True Qi Pills, wouldn't it be better to just generously spend money to buy them from his hands?

Why must we use such low-class methods? If this matter were known by others, both of us would be in deep trouble."

When Huo Yun reached this point, he licked his dry lips and continued, "But that guy Xiao Zhan was dismissive; he said that Superior True Qi Pills are expensive, and if we bought them with money, it would cost a fortune, and the quantity we could buy would be extremely limited.

It would be better to tie the person over; then we would only need to pay for some medicinal materials to harvest a large amount of Superior True Qi Pills. How cost-effective that is."

"So you were tempted?" Kong Ming questioned coldly.

"No, President, how could I be that kind of person?" Huo Yun hurriedly shouted that he was wronged, his face full of grievances,

"I decisively refused him at the time. But who could have thought that Xiao Zhan would actually threaten me, saying that since he had already told me about this, if I didn't do as he wished, the consequences would be extremely severe.

President, you are aware that Xiao Zhan is a True Essence Realm martial artist, his strength is far superior to mine, and furthermore, his status is noble; I truly did not dare to disobey him.

Therefore, I had no choice but to agree and travel all the way from the Headquarters, intending to abduct little brother Lu. But as it turned out, little brother Lu was hiding his true strength, and before I could even make a move, I was struck by his acupoints. As for what happened afterward, President, you are now aware."

Huo Yun put on a pitiful and deeply aggrieved appearance.

"Why don't you talk about what you did to President Song?" Lu Yu asked coldly at this moment.

"Hm?" Hearing this, Kong Ming once again cast his gaze toward Huo Yun.

"I... I..." Helpless, Huo Yun had no choice but to recount everything he had done to Song Tian one by one.

"Huo! Yun!" Kong Ming on the screen was instantly furious, the anger in his heart erupting like a volcano.

This guy actually dared to lay a ruthless hand on someone from the same Association, and the target of his attack was actually a Branch President; he was simply audacious and lawless to the extreme!

"President, I know I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong beyond measure!"

Huo Yun hurriedly cried out; if his body hadn't been immobilized by the acupoint striking, he would definitely have knelt heavily on the ground with a "thump" and begged for mercy while kowtowing like a pestle.

"President, at the time I was truly blinded by greed, thinking only of finding little brother Lu's whereabouts to take him away, which is why I came up with such a rotten idea. President, I was wrong, I am willing to accept any severe punishment from the Headquarters!"

"Blinded by greed? You really know how to make excuses for yourself!" Kong Ming was gnashing his teeth with rage, his gaze as if he wanted to swallow Huo Yun alive to vent his hatred.

This guy was clearly trying to kill to silence the witness at the time; he clearly knew that the person standing in front of him was a brother from the same Association, yet he could still commit such a poisonous act—he is simply a beast devoid of conscience!

Of course, compared to his anger toward Huo Yun, what Kong Ming worried about more in his heart was Lu Yu, fearing that he would harbor dissatisfaction toward the Headquarters because of this matter.

After all, judging from the current situation, this was already an obvious fact.

"Little brother Lu..." Kong Ming took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down slightly.

"President Kong," Lu Yu raised his hand, signaling him not to speak for a moment, then said slowly, "I have a question I have always been unable to understand, and I hope President Kong can clear up my confusion."

"Please speak, little brother Lu." Kong Ming said hurriedly; as long as he could salvage the situation, let alone one question, even if it were ten or a hundred, he would answer without the slightest hesitation.

"The only people who should know that I can refine Superior True Qi Pills are President Kong, as well as Yao Lao and He Lao, right? Then how did this Xiao Zhan know about this?"

"This is my negligence." Kong Ming said slowly, "Xiao Zhan is gifted with extraordinary talent, and the General President has always favored him, keeping him by his side to cultivate him with care.

Didn't we agree before that we would provide you with three Demon-Breaking Arrows?

These Demon-Breaking Arrows are rare treasures at the Headquarters; even I have to obtain the General President's approval to use them. Therefore, I informed the General President about your situation, and presumably, Xiao Zhan learned of this from the General President."

"So that's how it is." The suspicion in Lu Yu's eyes did not completely dissipate.

"Brother Lu, I know you might be suspicious in your heart whether this matter was instigated by me or Yao Lao and the others behind the scenes. But there is truly no such possibility."

Kong Ming said with a bitter smile, "I, Kong Ming, am definitely not that kind of despicable person. Ever since Yao Lao and the others obtained the Prescription you gave, they have buried themselves in the Alchemy Room, studying day and night with several other Alchemists.

Not to mention whether they have the motive, even if they did, they don't have the strength.

If you don't believe me, I can have them confront you face-to-face to see if I was the one playing tricks behind the scenes."