I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 267 - 265: Bold Speculation (Part 2)

"Teacher Yang, why do you think the Unascade Cult is creating beast tides? The destruction of the human fortress causes chaos on the entire Qianyuan Continent, and they would also be affected, right?"

Although everyone stands on opposite sides of good and evil, they are all human beings living on the same land. Li Xing couldn’t understand why they would dig their own graves in such a harmful yet unbeneficial way.

Yang Zhou scratched his graying hair and sighed, "The Unascade Cult is just a group of anti-human lunatics. Once you join, you’re brainwashed and your worldview becomes completely different from that of normal people. Who knows what they’re thinking!"

Li Xing rubbed her chin and spoke slowly, "Unless—they have a way to control the Star Beasts!"

Yang Zhou was shocked, "What—! Is that possible?"

"Completely possible! The three-eyed worm is likely the medium the Unascade Cult uses to control the Star Beasts. By controlling the three-eyed worm, they aim to control the Star Beasts. The Unascade Cult continually creates beast tides to both weaken the combat power of the four main corps and eliminate dissidents. They can also use millions of Star Beasts as test subjects to weed out inferior strains and select the perfect breeding ones, then reproduce them in large numbers."

Li Xing’s hypothesis was based on established facts and a rational analysis for maximized benefits. The more Yang Zhou thought about it, the more he felt it was reasonable, causing him a burst of fear.

"Do you think they have selected the advantageous breeding strains this time?"

Li Xing shook her head, "The battlefield is too large, and there was a time when my condition wasn’t good. I can’t guarantee all the three-eyed worms died in the Great Array."

If any three-eyed worms did escape, it would have been during the time she was troubled by the Heart Demon.

"Teacher Yang, I have someone suspicious in mind, and I’d like you to help me keep an eye on them."

Yang Zhou’s eyes became sharp, "Who is it?"

"Lin Yin."

Yang Zhou frowned, "Him? Do you have any evidence?"

"No." When the Qi Ming Searching Killing Array was dismantled, out of the corner of her eye, Li Xing saw Lin Yin making a grasping motion toward the battlefield, as if he was retrieving something.

After the Qi Ming Searching Killing Array was dismantled and the fog dissipated, it was inconvenient for Li Xing to use her Divine Sense. Moreover, they were very far apart at that time, so she couldn’t make an accurate judgment. Perhaps Lin Yin truly was up to something strange, or maybe he was just relaxing his tired arm after the battle.

"If the Unascade Cult wanted to take the advantageous three-eyed worm strains from the battlefield, then Lin Yin would be the best candidate. To be safe, we should investigate him."

Li Xing didn’t want to speculate maliciously about people, but the sinister and decayed aura around Lin Yin seemed perfectly suited for hiding the three-eyed worms. As long as the bugs stayed invisible and still, even if Li Xing searched with her Divine Sense, she might not be able to detect them.

Lin Yin’s mother is a local, and their family has an old home in Cold Smoke Castle, so Lin Yin doesn’t live in the Cold Smoke Pavilion. Li Xing didn’t have a chance to get close to him; she could only hope that the Freedom Army had informants in Cold Smoke Castle.

Yang Zhou rubbed his chin and spoke slowly, "In Sun Qing’s report to the Military Department, two main combat forces were commended, one of which is you, and the other is Lin Yin. According to Sun Qing’s account, Lin Yin has been with the regular army on the most dangerous frontline since the start of the battle, and his Dark Elemental Spirit played a huge role in this operation. Without Lin Yin, the defensive line might have collapsed before you arrived."

"Lin Yin is now a war hero, and without evidence to accuse him, a public investigation is impossible. I will assign someone to secretly monitor him, and will inform you immediately if any suspicious signs arise."

"Hmm."

Yang Zhou: "Li Xing, the Elder Council has a prophecy that in the near future, the Qianyuan Continent will fall into unprecedented chaos. If the crisis cannot be resolved, the Qianyuan Continent will become desolate, returning to the darkness of ten thousand years ago."

"Your speculation about the three-eyed worms might be true, and it could be the threat to the entire continent that the elders prophesied! This is of great importance, and I need to report this to the Elder Council."

"Once the Teleportation Port is restored, you need to return to Harssas as soon as possible. Avoid going out recently and stay safe. Xue Han is still at large, and I fear he might act out of desperation and target you."

Li Xing smiled toothily, "Don’t worry, Teacher Yang; I always do as you say!"

Yang Zhou gave Li Xing a warning glance and logged off.

In the following days, apart from meditating and training in her room, Li Xing wandered around Cold Smoke Castle with her friends, spending her days peacefully and pleasantly.

Young Master Tang Dou, as the "local host," led the four of them through all the fun and delicious spots in Cold Smoke Castle.

His generous nature and childhood friendship with Li Xing endeared him to Ye Qingting, Cui Tian, and Qi Ming, quickly integrating into the small group and being humorously called the fifth member of the "Four Masters Who Cure Disobedience" team.

During this period, Li Xing received an encrypted document from Zhou Wu, which was Lin Yin’s personal resume.

According to Zhou Wu, Lin Yin signed an enlistment agreement with the Second Corps half a year ago. Although he has not yet graduated, administratively speaking, he already belongs to the Second Corps.

Lin Yin’s file is now classified as a confidential document, and apart from officers above the rank of general in the Second Corps, no one else has access.

Since it couldn’t be acquired through official channels, Yang Zhou had Zhou Wu take action, which not only obtained the official document from the Second Corps’ archive but also gathered an "unofficial history" from other sources.

Lin Yin’s official resume can be summed up in two words—excellent!

With the status of a noble family and the rare Primordial Spirit adding to his appeal, Lin Yin is exactly the kind of young talent the corps likes to recruit, without any flaws. Once he graduates and enlists formally, his rank will definitely not be low.

But the resume seems too clean, prompting Li Xing to suspect that it has been deliberately embellished.

It’s known that the Martial Arts Department’s courses are extremely dangerous, and many students have records of accidentally injuring opponents, causing disabilities, or even death. However, Lin Yin, who is typically impulsive and aggressive, surprisingly has no such issues at all. Not even the incident of him severely injuring Liu Ye during the preliminary round was mentioned, which is very puzzling.

With these questions in mind, Li Xing reviewed the other "unofficial history," feeling that the mysteries surrounding Lin Yin were even greater.

The next day, the group of five continued to enjoy food and entertainment in the city. While passing by a dessert shop facing the street, Li Xing called out to everyone to go inside for a bite and to rest.

The five of them chose a spot by the window, where they could see the street view through the full-length glass.

Tang Dou stuffed a big bite of velvet cake into his mouth, and as he looked at the apartment building across the way, he suddenly made a small sound, "Hey."

Cui Tianxiao: "Dou Er, what’s up?"

"If I remember correctly, Lin Yin used to live in that building across the street."

"Just that?" Cui Tianxiao clicked his tongue, "Seems pretty basic."

Li Xing: "Dou Er, are you familiar with Lin Yin?"

"Not really, he’s always been odd and keeps to himself. Although we’re in the same department, we’ve never spoken."

Li Xing: "Then how do you know he lived here?"

"I heard it from my younger cousin; he was Lin Yin’s classmate in the Basic Academy."

Li Xing had planned to try her luck to see if Lin Yin would appear, who would have thought there’d be an unexpected surprise!

"Dou Er, given that the Dark Elemental Spirit is rare and powerful, Lin Yin must have excelled at the Basic Academy, right?"

Tang Dou’s expression suddenly became very strange. After making sure nobody was paying attention, he told everyone to come closer and mysteriously said:

"I did gossip about this with my younger cousin, but guess what? According to him, Lin Yin’s grades were terrible back then; he was at the bottom of the entire Martial Arts Department."