Chapter 760: Suspicion
On their return to the Holy City of Asal , Ling Zhan and his party decided to take a direct route instead of passing through Radiant City.
Although the news hadn't spread yet, Ling Zhan knew it would take only a day or two for the events to be made public in Radiant City.
If they chose to stop and rest in Radiant City, it would undoubtedly bring a lot of trouble.
First, the acting city lord of Radiant City, Liu Hong, would certainly not let Ling Zhan and his party go.
After all, Ling Zhan had killed his son.
Secondly, the various mercenaries and rogue adventurers in Radiant City would definitely covet the treasures Ling Zhan possessed.
Everyone knew Ling Zhan had obtained absolute control over the Radiant Grand Treasury, meaning all the treasures within belonged to him.
"An innocent man becomes guilty by holding treasure."
With so many valuable resources on him, Ling Zhan was bound to become a prime target.
For these people, Ling Zhan's strength didn't matter.
If someone possessed valuable resources, they would try to take them.
These bounty hunters and resource hunters were hardened individuals who thrived on danger.
Death didn't scare them.
Ling Zhan wasn't worried about these adventurers; he just found them bothersome.
So, he chose to head directly to the Holy City of Asal .
Unlike their arrival journey.
Ling Zhan chose to travel with his teammates, instead of teleporting back to the Holy City of Asal ahead of them.
After all, Ling Zhan possessed a powerful skill—"Teleportation."
With just a thought, he could teleport to the outskirts of the Holy City of Asal .
Normally, just having a teleportation skill wouldn't achieve such results, but thanks to the "Space Domination" talent, spatial teleportation skills received massive enhancements.
But to ensure his teammates' safety, Ling Zhan chose to travel with them.
The distance between Radiant City and the Holy City of Asal was significant, requiring about three to five days of travel.
By traveling at full speed, Avril and the others reached the Holy City of Asal in just two and a half days.
Upon arriving, they immediately submitted their mission.
The Radiant Dragon King's dragon pearl.
It was an SSS-grade mission item.
Hidden on the fifth floor of the Radiant Grand Treasury.
Since the Radiant Grand Treasury couldn't be taken out as a whole, Ling Zhan had already swept through it, collecting all the materials inside.
After submitting the key item for the mission, the task hall official from the Holy Knights was visibly surprised.
The old man hadn't expected these young people to actually acquire the Radiant Dragon King's dragon pearl.
Most of the time, students accepted Radiant Treasury missions just to enter the secret realm and gather rare resources, leaving the Holy Knights' mission as a secondary concern.
Whether or not the mission was completed didn't matter, as long as they could collect materials from the secret realm.
However...
The old man carefully examined the registration form. "I recall your team had five members. Where is that Yamashita Masahiko fellow?"
Before Ling Zhan could respond, Avril answered calmly, "He betrayed the team and defected to the Demon Dragon Palace during the mission."
"So, our team worked together and killed Yamashita Masahiko."
"Additionally, it is now confirmed that the Demon Dragon Palace and Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance have ties to the Demon Arrival Organization. I strongly suggest that the Holy Knights thoroughly investigate Yamashita Masahiko's family and associates."
"It's a precautionary measure."
Those three statements.
Left the task hall official dumbfounded, with a deeply shocked expression.
Even Ling Zhan was surprised.
Avril was effectively speaking in Ling Zhan's defense.
She attributed Yamashita Masahiko's death to "betrayal."
This was no light accusation.
According to the Holy Knights' regulations, if a team member betrayed their comrades during a mission, the consequences were severe.
Not only would they be expelled from the Holy Knights, but they would also be placed on the organization's wanted list.
Even the Holy Knights' commander couldn't intervene on their behalf.
Moreover...
Avril had also hinted that Yamashita Masahiko had ties to the Demon Arrival Organization, since he had sided with Zhang Mingruo and Ding Haoji.
Zhang Mingruo and Ding Haoji's display of demon bloodlines confirmed their connection to the Demon Arrival Organization.
As such, the Demon Dragon Palace and Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance couldn't escape suspicion.
Zhang Mingruo and Ding Haoji were the young masters of their respective organizations.
If they had been ordinary members, the leaders of the Demon Dragon Palace and Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance could have claimed ignorance, citing poor internal management.
However...
These two were their sons.
How could they explain that away?
Who would believe them?
Could they seriously claim that, as leaders of major organizations and level-190 powerhouses, they didn't realize their own sons were part of the Demon Arrival Organization?
It would be laughable.
Most likely, the Demon Dragon Palace and Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance would soon be regarded as public enemies of the Sacred Continent.
As a result, Avril's accusations wouldn't be seen as baseless.
Instead of facing punishment, their team would be commended.
Yamashita Kazami, Masahiko's brother, wouldn't have any grounds to trouble them and would instead have to cooperate with the Holy Knights' investigation.
Indeed...
Those three statements carried significant impact.
The task hall official wasted no time and immediately sent someone to investigate the matter.
The mission credits for the Radiant Treasury task weren't overly generous, with each person receiving 200,000 credits.
After all, the mission itself provided plenty of benefits, and offering excessive rewards on top of that would be unreasonable.
After collecting their mission rewards.
Ling Zhan returned to his residence.
The system's mission reward had arrived.
Since Ling Zhan had successfully slain the Radiant Dragon King, the mission was complete, and the rewards promised to be exceptional.
It was a system-issued challenge mission.
Typically, the rewards for such missions were substantial.
Ling Zhan also needed to sort through the resources obtained from the Radiant Grand Treasury, keeping what was useful and selling the rest.
This would give him the capital needed to tackle higher-level dungeons.