The failure of the foreign races' High Universe Venerable–level assassination of Jiang Yan sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of every major faction.
Demon Clan Camp
"Damn it! Can this failure really be blamed on me?!"
Venerable Demon Sha's expression was twisted with fury.
"Who could have predicted that the Star Prison Demon Lord would secretly leave a clone protecting Jiang Yan at all times?!"
"That is one of the three supreme universe overlords of the human race!"
The one dispatched to assassinate Jiang Yan had merely been one of Demon Sha's clones—but even so, that clone had reached High Universe Venerable level.
Such a clone required unimaginable resources.
And now—
It was gone.
Vanished without even leaving residue.
"How can we enslave or assassinate him in the future?" another Demon Clan Universe Venerable said grimly.
"If Jiang Yan is allowed to grow, he will inevitably become a grave threat to our demon race."
"He may even become another Chaos City Lord!"
"He might not grow up at all."
A Demon Clan Cosmic Lord spoke coldly.
His crimson scale armor gleamed, three horns protruding from his head.
"Jiang Yan is praised by the human race as a genius once in hundreds of millions of epochs—but in truth…"
"It will be extremely difficult for him to break through and become immortal."
"Perhaps even until his lifespan is exhausted, immortality will remain out of reach."
A sneer appeared on his face.
"I have lived through countless epochs."
"I have never heard of anyone who could cultivate both time and space laws before immortality—and still succeed!"
"Even if he grows to the peak…"
"He will, at most, be an invincible Realm Lord."
The demon lord laughed softly.
"An invincible Realm Lord?"
"Why should the demon race fear such a thing?"
Zerg Camp
"Since he is the champion of the Genius Battle…"
A Zerg Invincible King spoke leisurely, a charming smile blooming on her exquisite face.
"He will eventually be sent on experience missions."
"Once he reaches the Realm Lord stage, he must go to the battlefield outside the domain."
"When that time comes…"
"I'll look for an opportunity to enslave him."
She smiled with clear delight.
"Enslaving a human genius of this level…"
"That would be rather satisfying."
Human Territory — Heilongshan Empire
White Star
Another Red Kite clone descended via Kingdom teleportation, immediately taking over Jiang Yan's protection.
Her expression was still filled with disbelief.
"So… Teacher actually arranged a clone to guard Jiang Yan from the very moment he accepted him as a personal disciple."
"One of the three supreme overlords, personally protecting a junior…"
Even the senior brother had never received such treatment.
Teacher truly doted on Jiang Yan.
"Sister Red Kite, these are yours."
Jiang Yan returned the storage rings she had lost.
When her previous clone perished, those items had naturally scattered across White Star.
Red Kite accepted them, then casually asked:
"Where is Teacher now?"
Yet her gaze subconsciously flicked toward Jiang Yan's storage ring.
The clone… surely didn't just disappear, did it?
"The teacher's clone collapsed after expending too much energy," Jiang Yan said with a smile.
That was what he had seen.
As for the truth—
Who knew?
How could a clone of a supreme overlord truly vanish so easily?
More likely, Teacher was still watching… from the shadows.
Perhaps—
Using him as bait.
Red Kite nodded slowly, then her expression hardened.
"This assassination attempt was extremely serious."
"The Demon Clan's High Universe Venerable not only entered human territory—"
"But precisely located you on White Star in a very short time."
"Do you understand what that implies?"
High-level alien experts—especially Universe Venerables and above—were under constant surveillance.
The moment they approached human territory, they should have been detected.
Yet this time—
The demon venerable slipped in unnoticed.
This alone was terrifying.
"There's no need to guess."
Jiang Yan's eyes turned icy.
"There must be a high-ranking traitor within the human race."
Someone powerful.
Someone immortal-level.
Only such an existence could teleport another via Kingdom of God, bypassing detection.
"I remember… there was an immortal-level spy in the original timeline…"
He frowned.
"One who leaked battlefield intelligence to the Zergs, causing massive losses."
"But I can't recall the name."
He sighed inwardly.
He remembered major events—but details were hazy.
Still—
"If I meet them, I'll remember."
"And there was also someone enslaved by the Zerg Queen, Nan Punishment…"
Again, the name escaped him.
"The fact that they found you so quickly is the most disturbing part," Red Kite said coldly.
Jiang Yan took a slow breath.
"I think I know who leaked my location."
Peccaro.
After arriving on White Star, Jiang Yan had contacted no one.
Only Peccaro had spoken to him through the virtual universe.
Not long after—
The Demon Clan Venerable arrived.
"Who was it?!"
Red Kite's killing intent surged.
She had lost a clone worth tens of thousands of mixed element units.
This debt demanded blood.
Jiang Yan shook his head.
"It wasn't intentional."
"And it wasn't betrayal."
"He's my soul slave. If he betrayed the human race, I would know instantly."
Every thought.
Every action.
Soul slavery meant absolute control.
The truth was simpler.
The Demon Clan likely traced Jiang Yan's connection to the Nolan Mountain family, went to the Karo Empire, and—
Stumbled upon Peccaro.
Extracting information from him?
Illusions alone would suffice.
The real danger was not Peccaro.
It was the traitor hiding within the human race itself.
And that threat—
Had only just revealed its shadow.