Chapter 189 - Ambivalence Hall

"How did this happen?" Third elder Zihao De asked with narrowed eyes. 

"Last night her health started deteriorating for no reason. At first, it was not so serious, but it got worse with every passing minute. Her parents gave her healing pills and potions, but they had no effects. When the situation got worse, they called the healing cultivators, but it was already too late. She died by the time healing cultivators arrived." Tai Qi told everyone. 

The man who had arrived a while ago told this to the Clan leader. This was the reason there was a slight change in Tai Qi's expression when the man muttered this in his ear. 

"But, why did her health deteriorate?" Elder Wang asked the Clan leader. 

"That's what I want to know as well." Tai Qi also does not know and looks at the man. This man is a servant of the clan leader. 

"Elders, we don't know the reason yet, but after investigating, we found out that she had taken a potion from Yang Zhai yesterday before the competition started. However, the same potion was also taken by her friend Hyun Hae, and we sent someone to check up on her and found out that she is completely fine." The servant is explaining everything to the elders present here. 

When Yang Zhai gave the potion to Ai Hao and Hyun Hae, the surrounding disciples had also seen him. This is how they found out that Yang Zhai had given her a potion. 

Everyone is silent after hearing this. They don't know what to do. There is only a single suspect, that is Yang Zhai, but even he can't be blamed as the evidence proving him innocent is also there and that is alive Hyun Hae. 

"It can be that only the potion he gave to Ai Hao was poisoned and not the one he gave to Hyun Hae."Elder Nain Kii broke the silence and spoke. 

"Elder, the disciples who saw Yang Zhai giving the potion to Ai Hao also said that Yang Zhai was about to drink the potion himself, but Ai Hao stopped him and took the potion. Yang Zhai was also hesitant and only gave the potion on the condition that Ai Hao would give him something valuable in return." The servant said after he heard elder Nain Kii. 

"Huh," Elder Nain Kii became quiet after she heard the servant. 

If what the servant is telling is true, then, why would Yang Zhai drink the potion that was poisoned? It can only mean that the potion was not poisoned. Or, he himself did not know that the potion was poisoned. 

"We are missing something here, but what?" Tai Qi muttered. He is not sure what he can't put his finger on. 

"Whatever, everything is done, and we can't lose Yang Zhai or Si Kim now. Third elder, from now on, you will personally keep an eye on Yang Zhai. I don't want any mistakes to happen, protect him from everyone who comes to kill him. It might be the Ma clan who killed Ai Hao, and we can't afford to lose the remaining two competitors." The Clan leader, Tai Qi began to speak after contemplating, 

"Also, the Cougar was able to enter the village and even attacked the competition venue. And according to the elders there, the Cougar wanted to kill Yang Zhai, one of the three competitors. It means that the Ma clan was behind this."

"But we don't know its real purpose: there's a chance that there will be another attack like this, and it will put the lives of the disciples in danger again. So, I have decided to delay the competition. We will hold this for a year or so."

"Additionally, I don't know if Yang Zhai killed the disciples at the competition venue on purpose or not, or whether he killed Ai Hao or not, but we need him. So, he must stay alive until the final round of the competition that is between us and the Ma clan. We will decide what to do about him after the final round of the competition. Do you understand?" Tai Qi looked at everyone and ordered: in return, no objections were raised. 

Everyone was silent when elder Ren came forward, 

"Clan leader, there's something important that I think you need to know."

"Hmm," Tai Qi nodded and gave the permission. 

"The Cougar that attacked yesterday was no ordinary Cougar." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean that someone was controlling that Cougar." 

"That is something obvious."

"But what's not obvious is that the Cougar was originally a human." 

When Elder Ren said this, everyone's attention was drawn. 

"What do you mean, Elder Ren?" 

Elder Shu Ti saw the silence and asked what obviously everyone wanted. 

"When the Clan leader returned after killing the Cougar yesterday, I heard it say something. I didn't hear what it said and went closer to it to hear, and I felt a familiarity in its eyes. After thinking deeply, I found out who had the exact same eyes. I investigated more closely and observed its essence and everything. And do you know what I found? Everything was the exact same as sis Yua Emi, clan leader Tai Qi's wife."

"What?!!"

"Elder Ren, have you gone crazy?!! What are you saying?" 

"Are you sure that you did not make any mistake?!!

"Do you even know what can be the consequences if you are mistaken?"

Everyone in the hall was shocked after hearing elder Ren. Nobody could believe what he said. This was something that was thrown at them out of the blue. 

Everyone was stunned, but the Clan leader himself was not shocked, he looked at elder Ren seriously and questioned, 

"Do you have any proof?" 

"Here is the proof." 

Elder Ren took out a scroll and a bottle. He handed them both to the Clan leader. 

"At first, I was unable to believe myself and wanted to confirm everything again. So, I took the blood of the Cougar and went to the ambivalence hall. I asked them to investigate the blood. And after investigation, they told me that the blood and its essence matched sister Yua Emi's blood they had."

"Of course, the family members can have the same blood essence. So, I asked them to match sister Yua Emi's cultivation essence with the cultivation essence of the Cougar, and you know what, the cultivation essence matched as well. And as everyone here knows that everyone in this world possesses cultivation essence that can match no other cultivation essence."

When Elder Ren said this, a deadly silence permeated the hall. 

The ambivalence hall stored the Blood and cultivation essence of everyone in the Clan. And it was called ambivalence because it also examined the things that could not be interpreted with just the eyes, such as the essence of something and other things that could not be understood or were mysterious. 

Now, there was no need left to doubt what elder Ren said if even the cultivation essence matched. 

It was because, in this world, no cultivation essence existed that could match someone else's cultivation essence. 

Everyone looked at the Clan leader. They did not know what would happen now. 

Clan leader Tai Qi was reading the scroll. Then, he closed it and threw it toward the third elder. 

Third elder Zihao De was the strategist of the Bai clan. So, no one was confused as to why the Clan leader handed the scroll to the third elder. 

Thereafter, the Clan leader walked out of the hall. 

"He just left like that?" 

!*****!*****!