The old man's voice rang throughout the courtyard.
"These last two days, I have thoroughly investigated the whereabouts of Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun. At first, I was told he's in close door cultivation, but then he made few public appearances, and just today morning, I visited his mansion."
"He's in the Middle Heavens, and cultivating to break through to the next realm."
His words shocked Qin Wentian, "What!? But that's impossible, I am hundred percent sure it was indeed Crown PRince's aura, I was not lying."
The old elder shook his head, "I know you weren't, but Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun is indeed in the Middle Heavens."
Qin Wentian frowned and asked, "What if he went back just now? It's been four days since you first heard of Kang Bai's death."
The old elder replied, "No, he couldn't have possibly come back without us knowing. It would take at least three days for him to return, and we already knew about this within just two days of his aura, so he shouldn't have been in his mansion."
"Also, the most logical question is - why would he hurry back? He didn't know you would come to investigate the death of the disciples. There was nothing that could have given him a red flag to run back to his mansion - so it's impossible for him to hurry back for no reason."
"But, Master, I still think we're not seeing the whole picture. THere's something that we're missing."
The old elder let out a sigh, "Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun is following his fate, he's still in the Middle Heavens, doing what he should be doing, and cultivating how he should be cultivating."
Qin Wentian felt unresigned, he was very confident in himself that it was indeed Ye Tian Yun, whose aura he felt in the dungeons where the incident happened.
"Master, what if it's someone else in disguise? What if the Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun in the mansion is just a diversion, and the real one is in the Lower Heavens?"
The Elder shook his head, "It's not a diversion, I personally visited him just to confirm this. It is indeed the same Ye Tian Yun whose aura you sensed in the dungeon. Unfortunately, I don't think we will ever be able to get to the bottom of this."
Qin Wentian asked with a frown, "But then, Master, if he's not in the Lower Heavens and I did indeed judge the aura to be wrong, then this still doesn't explain the hidden luxury of this Sect."
"As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of high ranked arrays, with a complex mechanism, all over this sect, and they seem to be always running - now the question is, how is this small sect able to keep up with the resources used to active these arrays."
The old Elder nodded his head, "YOu're indeed making a certain point, however, the answer is already given by you - you said that the sect leader of this Sect is a part of the Divine Ye Corps. That can validate any reasoning behind your question - how is the sect able to make the arrays run all the time."
Qin Wentian nodded his head, "Indeed master, this is what I was thinking, however, if we go by this explanation, it will raise even more questions - why is the Great Ye Clan supporting this sect? And why is the sect indiscriminately wasting so many resources instead of nurturing the disciples."
The old man nodded his head, "Indeed there is something off with this scenario, however, let me tell you one thing - don't bother whatever Great Ye Clan is doing, you will only bring trouble to yourself."
"There's only Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun who is a public character, as for the rest, most of the world hasn't even seen them. People only know that the Great Ye Clan is much bigger, more powerful, and the most mysterious Clan in the Middle Heavens."
Qin Wentian pursed his lips and tried to convince the old man once again, "But, Master, why don't I investigate for some time, anything that comes out as the truth, it will only be bad or good news, depending on where our interests lie."
The old man nodded his head, "You're right. It's better to stay here and clear the clouds over the truth, and give yourself self-reassurance."
Then he went silent for a moment, before continuing, "Tian'er, you can stay here if you want. The selection ceremony is still a year away. For now, polish your skills here"
"Yes, Master." Qin Wentian cupped his fists in respect.
The old man nodded, and just as he was about to disappear, he stopped the array and asked, "Don't forget to use all the techniques you know, just don't end up killing a person over nothing. But now, we are only creating trouble in the Lower Heavens, other powers here are already getting some reports."
"They think we have taken a headstart by solving the first stage to get the Throne and subsequent treasures - however, all of us got different weapons. There are support weapons too - like Shield and few other weapons. What they don't understand is that the future is getting unstable with every passing day."
Seeing Qin Wentian nodded his head, the elder also nodded and said, "Alright, I will take my leave. Don't waste much time, and get back soon."
Qin Wentian cupped his fists as the elder's projection disappeared, dimming the courtyard once again as the remaining two stared at the table.
"Senior Brother, what should we do now?" Ji Yi asked, clearly confused about what should be the next course of action.
Qin Wentian pursed his lips and thought for a few minutes.
After that, he replied, "We will now focus on investigating two things - Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun because I am sure he was in this Sect that day. And the second thing we need to look into is the source or the thing that's allowing this sect to waste resources without any repercussions.
"We will leave once we get to the bottom of these two mysteries."