Everyone had gathered on the fiftieth floor of the Emerald Tower.

  It wasn't just Vinia and Kles Nor's two sides. Even Piaro, who was originally unrelated, had also shown up with someone, and that person had met Chen Yue once before.

  At that time, Chen Yue had sensed that Kaxiu had some hostility towards him. Originally, he thought it was because of the conflict between him and Kaxiu's elder brother Carlo. However, after seeing Kaxiu here again, Chen Yue realized that it might not be that simple.

  "Sure enough, we meet again."

  The corners of Chen Yue's lips twitched slightly, and he sketched a faint smile.

  ...

  "I'm late. Haha, Vinia, Kles Nor, please forgive me," Piaro put on a humble attitude from the very beginning.

  With his status taking the initiative to show weakness, even if the two of them had a big temper, they wouldn't flare up on the spot. Their expressions softened a little.

  "The reason I asked you to wait this time is that I have a suggestion," Piaro smiled and turned his head to let Kaxiu come forward.

  As soon as the seemingly ordinary man walked forward, he immediately became the focus. Although they didn't know Piaro's intention, when they saw this ordinary apostle at the peak of the third level, Vinia and Kles Nor couldn't help but show a bit of solemnity in their eyes.

  "Kaxiu pays his respects to Lord Vinia and Lord Kles Nor," Kaxiu saluted and said neither haughtily nor humbly.

  "Ah, Kaxiu, who is at the peak of the third level, is quite famous in the association. But, Piaro, what exactly do you mean?" Kles Nor casually glanced at Kaxiu and was the first to question.

  With a light cough, Piaro didn't beat around the bush anymore and directly stated his intention: "Vinia, Kles Nor, according to your bet and the subsequent agreement, this disciple trial actually consists of two parts. First, there is the bet between Chen Yue and West. The result of that will determine the candidate for the disciple. Originally, the previous process had nothing to do with me. However, since you've set the location of the bet in the Trial Ground, I also have an idea."

  After a pause, he said with a smile, "I suggest that Kaxiu become the third person in the disciple trial. He won't participate in the previous bet, but he will enter the Trial Ground with them and wait for the end of the bet between Chen Yue and West. If, by chance, there is no result in the bet, then Kaxiu will directly become the winner and the new disciple..."

  "I don't agree," Before he could finish speaking, Kles Nor interrupted him sharply.

  Piaro's face darkened, and then he looked at Vinia.

  Vinia pondered for a moment and didn't directly refuse: "Piaro, this is rather sudden. We need to discuss it first."

  "Of course," Not being directly rejected by Vinia, Piaro was obviously in a much better mood and smiled tolerantly.

  After that, he took Kaxiu and left the room first, leaving Vinia and Kles Nor to discuss.

  As soon as they left, Vinia's face immediately darkened, and Kles Nor had the same expression.

  The relationship between the two of them was definitely not harmonious, and there were quite a few conflicts. However, at this moment, they had to sit down and discuss because of Piaro's unexpected proposal, which had disrupted their plans.

  Before, although they had agreed in the agreement with Piaro that if there was no result in the bet, they would give up the candidate qualification. However, the probability of no result was too small, so they didn't pay much attention and agreed. Besides, even if there was really no result in the bet, they thought that after Piaro got the qualification, he would arrange for his confidants to take the position, which wouldn't have an impact on the bet itself. Who would have thought that Piaro would suddenly pull such a trick.

  Piaro's words sounded nice. He said that Kaxiu wouldn't participate in the bet after entering the Trial Ground with Chen Yue and West. But these words could only deceive a three-year-old child. Their influence was far from being able to affect the Trial Ground. Therefore, once Kaxiu entered, the consequences would be unpredictable.

  In order to obtain the disciple qualification and enter the special area to obtain the Prime Liquid, Kaxiu would definitely not just wait for the bet to proceed. He might even directly take action to kill Chen Yue and West. If the key people died, there would naturally be no result in the bet, and his goal would be achieved.

  Everyone thought of this possibility, and their expressions became a bit ugly. The atmosphere in the room also became somewhat gloomy.

  "Could this be the real reason behind the cooperation between the neutral forces and Piaro?" Chen Yue rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache.

  Kaxiu was the younger brother of Carlo, a fourth-level disciple, so he was naturally a member of the neutral forces. He didn't have the identity of a disciple, but his strength had reached the peak of the third level, which was the highest standard for entering the Trial Ground and was the best candidate.

  Thinking about it this way, it became clear why the neutral forces had been so enthusiastic about fueling the fire to smear Chen Yue, using schemes on Ling Yue'er, and even having a figure like Carlo come forward personally, trying to completely ruin Ling Yue'er's reputation. Everything had a reasonable explanation.

  All of this was to promote Kaxiu to a higher position.

  "Teacher Kles Nor, we mustn't let Kaxiu participate. Otherwise, we're doomed to lose," West, with the weakest strength, was the first to lose his composure.

  "Shut up. It's not your turn to speak here," Kles Nor scolded unkindly. Indeed, since the two deacons hadn't spoken yet, West had clearly overstepped his bounds.

  West closed his mouth, but looking at his expression, he was extremely reluctant.

  "Vinia, what's your opinion?" Kles Nor asked.

  "There's no way to directly stop it," Vinia sighed and said, "Piaro also has the qualification to recommend. Even if we don't agree, he can directly send Kaxiu in. If we break off relations with him like that, it will only make things worse."

  Kles Nor nodded. His concern was exactly this.

  "After so many years, huh, they're not willing to stay quiet either," Kles Nor sneered.

  "They're taking advantage of Piaro's greed," There was a hint of helplessness in Vinia's voice. "After all, no one is willing to be under others forever. And once Kaxiu has the qualification for an overseas assignment and becomes a master of one side, as long as the quota in the country he's in isn't full, he can apply to transfer disciples from other associations. That's what they're aiming for."

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  Kles Nor was stunned when he heard this. He hadn't thought of this aspect before. Now that Vinia had revealed it, he immediately became furious and gritted his teeth and said harshly, "They won't succeed."

  "Alright, it's meaningless to talk about these. Let's think about how to weaken Kaxiu," Vinia rolled her eyes and said bluntly.

  Being contradicted by Vinia in person, Kles Nor was obviously a bit unhappy. However, this wasn't a good time to lose his temper, so he could only hold it in.

  "Sure enough, eternal life is to blame," There was a lot of information in the exchange space. At this moment, Chen Yue was no longer completely ignorant of the Apostle Association. Although the two of them didn't speak very directly, after thinking carefully, Chen Yue still understood.

  Unless it was due to accidents or death in battle, apostles had almost eternal life. Although being immortal was nice, some drawbacks had gradually emerged, and one of the prominent ones was the issue of status.

  No one wanted to be suppressed by others all their life. Many people understood the principle that it's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a cow. Unlike ordinary people who had birth, aging, illness, and death, even if there was a gap in status, they could endure it over time, so the contradiction wasn't prominent. But for apostles, the gap in status might last forever...

  It was impossible for all apostles to be equal. There were always differences in superiority and inferiority among people. After all, positions like elders, deacons, and disciples were limited. Most apostles were ordinary apostles.

  Take Kaxiu for example. As a strong man at the peak of the third level, he was just an ordinary apostle, while people like Macedonia were not as strong as him but held higher positions. How could he be convinced? Maybe he didn't care about it for decades or hundreds of years, but what about thousands or tens of thousands of years? The same was true for Carlo and others. In fact, it wasn't just them. Similar situations existed in the apostle associations all over the Apostle Continent.

  Kaxiu's fight for the disciple qualification was a means of breaking through. Carlo and others' support for Kaxiu was also another means. It wasn't just because Kaxiu was Carlo's younger brother. Otherwise, Carlo might support him, but the other two fourth-level disciples in the neutral forces might not be interested. And with only Carlo alone, he wouldn't have the ability to persuade Piaro.

  Behind Kaxiu, there must be the full support of the neutral forces.

  According to the regulations of the association headquarters, the apostle associations of third-level countries could have at most three disciples. If there were not enough personnel, they could apply to the headquarters to transfer members from other associations. Although it was still full of difficulties, it was much better than having no hope at all.

  After successfully being transferred to the association of a third-level country, although in terms of status, one might be slightly inferior to Kaxiu, who was the master of one side, they would still be on the same level. Compared with the current situation, it was undoubtedly a world of difference.

  "In this way, with the full support of several fourth-level disciples, um, maybe with Piaro's limited support as well, I'm afraid Kaxiu's preparations will be extremely thorough and might not be weaker than Carlo's," After understanding this, Chen Yue immediately realized that Kaxiu had become his primary enemy.

  For the disciple qualification, even if Chen Yue was willing to give in, Kaxiu might not have the heart to tolerate others. There was basically no room for compromise between the two sides.

  It was a matter of life and death.

  Suddenly, Chen Yue's gaze became sharper than ever before.

  ...

  "Chen Yue."

  The sudden voice pulled Chen Yue out of his deep thoughts.

  Looking at the person who came, Chen Yue was a bit surprised in his heart, but then he understood.

  The owner of the voice was West.

  He could feel the threat brought by Kaxiu more vividly than Chen Yue. At this moment, he took the initiative to come to talk to Chen Yue, and his purpose was clear at a glance.

  Swept by Chen Yue's sharp and intimidating gaze, West's momentum faltered. The words he had prepared for a long time suddenly got stuck in his throat, and a faint chill rose in his heart.

  "This person's strength is probably above mine."

  A sense of frustration welled up spontaneously. West had to admit that the somewhat thin young man in front of him was indeed a brilliant genius, far beyond his comparison.

  Half a year ago, his strength was still firmly above Chen Yue's. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he was now at a disadvantage. How could this not make him feel frustrated?

  After all, how did he practice...

  Somewhat helplessly, West pulled himself together and said straightforwardly, "Chen Yue, let's join forces. Alone against Kaxiu, neither of us can win. The result will only benefit him for nothing."

  "Are you negotiating with me?" Chen Yue knew that at this moment, in the face of Kaxiu's threat, joining forces was the best option. Of course, West had no choice, while Chen Yue's strength gave him room for negotiation. Therefore, even though he agreed to join forces in his heart, Chen Yue didn't want to agree hastily.

  "There's no deep hatred between us that requires us to fight to the death," West said sincerely. "I think you don't want to disappoint Lord Vinia either."

  With a light chuckle, Chen Yue looked directly into West's eyes and said, "Yes, there's no need for us to fight to the death. But there's one thing you don't understand. I have the strength to fight against Kaxiu, but you don't."

  As he said that, Chen Yue gently patted West.

  A powerful force surged from his shoulder. West's face changed drastically, and his legs went weak, and he was about to fall to the ground. However, Chen Yue supported him to avoid his embarrassment.

  "You've been hiding your strength," West said in horror. Originally, he also knew that Chen Yue had a strong body, but he just thought it was a natural talent and didn't take it to heart. Even when he saw Chen Yue's battle with the Diamond Skeleton and was shocked by his martial skills, he just thought it was because of the Blade Beast. Who would have known...

  Chen Yue smiled slightly. Since Kles Nor was still there, he certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to expose all his strength. The strength he used was only equivalent to that of a third-level fighter. But even this exposed part of his strength was enough to crack West's psychological expectations.

  An apostle with familiars and considerable close-combat strength represented the possibility of achieving victory by surprise. Especially when it came to sneak attacks, it was even more so. Although it was still very slim to say that he could defeat Kaxiu, it was already much better than West.

  After Chen Yue showed this hand, West understood that he no longer had an equal footing with Chen Yue. After his expression changed several times, he tried to choose his words carefully:

  "Teacher Kles Nor has some expectations of me, so I can pay some price to exchange for our cooperation."

  "It's not just some, right?" Chen Yue looked at him with a half-smile. Just to seal the Blade Beast, Kles Nor had paid the price of the Prime Liquid. One could imagine how much he had bet on West. West's pressure was definitely not just a little expectation.

  West blushed but didn't refute. Instead, he stated the price he was willing to pay, which was nothing more than some powerful props and the like.

  In the past, Chen Yue might have been tempted, but after seeing the deacon-level exchange system, Chen Yue's heart was as calm as still water.

  Seeing Chen Yue's expression gradually become indifferent, West also realized that his offer wasn't enough. After gritting his teeth, he made a decision: "If the price I offer is the Prime Liquid, will you agree to cooperate?"

  "Prime Liquid."

  Chen Yue's heart skipped a beat. Looking at West's somewhat distorted handsome face, an uncontrollable thought popped up in his mind.

  "Is this guy West Kles Nor's illegitimate son?"

  ...