Chapter 4340: Perfect

The more or less jumbled-together Godly Pressure Disguising Array turned on. Immediately, it began to absorb the Celestial Stones Rean connected to it, the energy inside the stones flowing into the array like streams being dragged into a whirlpool.

Of course, the part where it separated Godly Energy into Celestial Energy and Godly Pressure had been deliberately deactivated beforehand. That was precisely why it required Celestial Stones instead of the Celestial Energy that originally came from the Godly Crystals.

The Array, now fully ramped up, shone intensely as its countless runes worked in overdrive. Layer after layer of symbols lit up across the array, each one pulsing at different intervals as if the array itself was desperately searching for something hidden nearby.

Everyone present could tell the array runes were trying to accomplish something, but aside from the increasingly blinding radiance, nothing else happened. That was because it couldn’t find any Godly Pressure to manipulate or pull out into the open.

Tobao had his full attention fixed on the Array Masters inside the barrier. There was no need to worry about the workers outside since they didn’t have access to the important parts of the Sacred Relic in the first place. If there truly was a puppet capable of sabotaging Besgol Region from within, then it had to be one of the Array Masters gathered there.

One second passed.

Then two.

Then three.

Tobao couldn’t help but quietly sigh in relief. Since no Godly Pressure had appeared from any of the Array Masters, that most likely meant none of them were puppets controlled by the enemy.

However, it was exactly at that moment that Tobao received a message from Rean through the RC. ’Pay attention! You have your target! Celis and I have ours!’

Tobao was taken aback, his eyes immediately widening as he noticed that Rean had already moved several steps away from the center the moment the array activated. What was Rean talking about? There was still no Godly Pressure anywhere inside the barrier!

Not only had Rean stepped back, but Celis had done the same as well, his gaze already locked onto a specific direction.

Tobao didn’t bother suspecting Rean and Celis themselves. After all, they were the very people who had created the array in the first place. If Rean were truly a traitor, a puppet, or something similar, then he could have simply built the array in a way that would never expose him or Celis to begin with. There would be no reason for those two to reveal themselves now, much less warn Tobao in advance. No, there was definitely something else happening here.

At the same time, none of the Array Masters noticed Rean and Celis quietly repositioning themselves. Their attention was entirely focused on Tobao, waiting to see whether he would suddenly attack someone among them. Every single one of them was prepared to flee the instant Tobao made a move, hoping to avoid getting implicated in whatever conflict was about to erupt.

Then, without warning, Rean’s Crystal Void Sword appeared in his hand.

At the exact same moment, he coordinated with Celis through their soul connection.

’Now!’

Celis’s roots exploded outward like countless venomous snakes lunging toward prey, instantly entangling two Array Masters before anyone else even understood what was happening.

’Red Death, Crimson Stellar Piercer!’

*KABRUM!*

One of the Array Masters panicked immediately and tried to escape, but Celis’s roots wrapped around him tightly and completely locked down his movements. Left with no other option, he released all the power inside his body in a desperate attempt to break free.

And then...

Godly Pressure burst out from his body!

The surrounding Array Masters were utterly shocked by the scene unfolding before them. It was immediately obvious that the Godly Pressure hadn’t appeared because of the array itself. Instead, the man had only revealed it because he was forced to defend himself at the last possible second and could no longer suppress the Godly Pressure hidden within him. The Godly Pressure didn’t actually strengthen his cultivation or combat ability, but it was clearly necessary for whoever controlled him to maintain perfect command over his body.

Too bad for him, though. By the time he reacted, it was already far too late.

The man had paid too much attention to Tobao and completely neglected Rean and Celis.

*Pft!*

Rean’s Crystal Void Sword pierced directly through the man’s head. Instantly afterward, the Red Lightning contained within the sword erupted inside the corpse. The torrent of Godly Pressure that had just exploded outward immediately weakened, collapsing into a thin stream that was quickly erased by the suppressive power of the Sacred Relic.

Not too far away from Rean and Celis...

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

*Zush!*

*Crash!*

Another Array Master suddenly erupted with Godly Pressure as well. Just like the first one, he too was merely a dead man being used as a puppet!

When the second man initially found himself being restrained together with his companion, he hadn’t reacted immediately. In fact, he had been just about to shout in anger and confusion. After all, he hadn’t released any Godly Pressure, so why was he suddenly being attacked?

However, everything changed the instant he saw Rean and Celis instantly kill the first puppet.

Only then did he understand that there was no longer any path of retreat left for him.

The Godly Pressure inside his body burst outward at once.

Unfortunately for him, paying attention to Rean and Celis only made things worse. Tobao was still there!

In truth, Tobao hadn’t attacked immediately because even he had been momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of Godly Pressure from the first Array Master. Nevertheless, Tobao was still a Law God Realm expert. His reactions, speed, and battle instincts far surpassed everyone else present. The instant the second puppet lost focus on him, Tobao seized the opportunity without hesitation.

In a single move, Tobao brought down the second Array Master as well!

Rean’s Crystal Void Sword disappeared from his hand while Celis slowly retracted his roots back underground.

"Phew..." Rean let out a long sigh of relief. "It would’ve been troublesome if they suddenly decided to self-destruct or create some other mess. That’s why we had to take both of them down simultaneously."

Tobao stared at the two corpses still leaking traces of Godly Pressure, his expression filled with confusion. "Just... how? Your array never pulled any Godly Pressure out from their bodies. So how exactly did you know those two were being controlled?"

"Oh!" Rean nodded in realization. "The array, right. Well... that part was bullshit."

Tobao’s mouth twitched violently, but he still waited for Rean to continue his explanation.

"There was never any way my Godly Pressure Disguising Array could forcibly drag the Godly Pressure out from their bodies," Rean explained casually. "I mean, come on. These people are standing right beneath the Sacred Relic itself. If even the Relic couldn’t suppress or expose the Godly Pressure hidden inside them at this distance, then how could my little array possibly accomplish something the Relic couldn’t? That assumption was ridiculous from the start."

That still didn’t answer Tobao’s actual question.

"So?" Tobao pressed.

Rean shrugged. "Reaction."

"Re...action?" Tobao frowned. "What reaction are you talking about?"

"Their reactions," Rean answered while pointing toward both the surviving Array Masters and the two dead puppets. "These two tensed up completely differently from the others. The normal Array Masters were preparing to run away if something happened. These two weren’t. They knew escape was impossible from the very beginning. Instead, they were preparing themselves to fight to the end or cause as much destruction as possible before dying."

Rean narrowed his eyes slightly as he continued.

"For me, there’s a very obvious difference between someone preparing to flee and someone preparing to kill. Their muscles react differently. Their energies circulate differently. Even their life force fluctuates differently. The moment the array activated, those two stopped thinking about survival and started thinking about combat."

Rean crouched beside one of the corpses and examined it more carefully. "Boy... this guy has been dead for quite a long time already, that’s for sure. Honestly, I’m impressed his body still retained this much life energy despite being in such a condition. Whoever created these puppets definitely understands life force manipulation at an absurd level. There’s actually a lot we could learn from this."

Tobao looked both annoyed and helpless at the same time. "You could’ve warned me about your actual plan beforehand."

Rean stood up again and shook his head. "We barely know each other, senior. I wasn’t certain you’d be able to hide your intentions if I told you everything in advance. That’s why I only contacted you through the RC at the exact moment Celis and I moved. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end."

Tobao glanced back toward the array Rean had activated earlier. By now, the array had completely stopped functioning, its runes cracking apart one after another as the energy sustaining it vanished.

"I suppose the whole story about creating an array capable of detecting Godly Pressure was a lie from beginning to end, then."

"Hum?" Rean looked at him before shaking his head. "Not exactly. Detecting hidden Godly Pressure through arrays should theoretically be possible eventually. But it would require an absurd amount of research, testing, failures, and refinement first. Maybe the Arrays Guild can continue working on that idea in the future, using my array as basis."

Celis finally joined the conversation directly. "Fine, we found two of them here. But who’s to say the remaining Array Masters aren’t secretly working with the enemy as well?"

The surviving Array Masters instantly felt chills run down their spines.

Would Tobao simply decide to kill all of them just to guarantee nothing went wrong?

However, Rean shook his head calmly.

"No, it’s fine," he said. "They all witnessed what happened just now. If there were truly more puppets hidden among them, they would’ve shown at least some reaction when we killed their companions. Shock, hostility, killing intent, hesitation... something. But there was nothing. I refuse to believe anyone else here is still hiding it."

Tobao narrowed his eyes. "Are you absolutely certain?"

Rean shrugged once more. "There aren’t many things in this world anyone can be absolutely certain about. But I’m confident enough in my judgment, if that counts for something."

Tobao fell silent for a few moments.

To the remaining Array Masters, however, those few seconds felt like entire hours.

Finally, Tobao decided to trust Rean.

*Vuf!*

With a wave of his hand, the golden barrier surrounding the area disappeared completely.

"Very well," Tobao announced. "All of you, return to your positions immediately. Prepare to power up the Sacred Relic once more."

The Array Masters collectively sighed in relief before quickly scattering back to their assigned tasks.

Yet, while all of that happened outwardly, Rean was secretly speaking to Tobao again through the RC.

’Is this really fine?’

Tobao gave an almost imperceptible nod.

’Yes. This is perfect. Leave that one alive.’

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