George was speechless for a moment, then wiped the sweat off his forehead and forced a smile at his elders, "It''s all borrowed, I''m just starting to develop my skills... cough, I''m busy."


    He quickly turned his gaze to the Masked Man at the edge of the barrier, his voice booming, "Take off the mask!"


    At hismand, everyone''s eyes shifted to the Masked Man. Their mission, besides acquiring the Rootless Soul Soil, was to capture him alive!


    "Take off the mask!"


    As the words echoed, the Masked Man looked utterly defeated, realizing he had no way out. With George alone stripping him of all his advantages, and knowing ckwood had even more skilled fighters!


    He gave a bitterugh, "I want to know, how did you track me down? It seems like you''ve calcted everything. Who is it? Who is plotting against me?"


    "You seem to have killed someone you shouldn''t have."


    George silently pulled out a token, it was... a token from The Oracle Chamber. As long as a member of The Oracle Chamber was within a hundred miles, the token would react!


    Looking at the token, engraved with inscriptions and suppressing its power, the Masked Man felt all his strength leave him.


    He remembered that day on the high tower, when he had scattered Stephen''s soul, that ungrateful old fox still smiling at him.


    He suddenly understood everything.


    With a sigh, the Masked Man slowly removed his mask, revealing only a bitter smile.


    But as he revealed his true face, the eyes of the ckwood group widened in shock.


    A Psychic from the county town arrived at Betty''s yard, bearing news that drained the color from her face. Staggering, she rushed to the ckwood hall.


    "Edward, Edward..."


    She had hoped to find her husband, but as she entered the hall, she saw Nathan and his wife seated in the main chairs, and Edward, giving her a nce, shook his head.


    The Duke''s Mansion had been sealed for two years, its secrets unknown, but today, its protective barriers were finally lifted, and the ckwoods had been watching closely.


    "My brother..." Betty fell to her knees. "He lost the battle for the family leadership and now he''s missing. Please, you must help me find him; he''s thest family I have left. My father will never let him be."


    Nathan and his wife exchanged a nce.


    Luna stepped forward, helping Betty to her feet with a gentle expression. "Betty, let''s talk."


    ...


    Atop Crestwood Hills, the Masked Man slowly removed his mask.


    "Keh."


    As his true face was revealed, the temperature seemed to drop, and Olivia murmured his name softly, causing everyone from ckwood to widen their eyes in shock.


    The family had never ceased their investigations into their own, and they had gathered every piece of information on Keh, including details about his sons and his affairs. Yet, they had never imagined that Keh, who had been battling Martin in Cloudview County for over a hundred thousand years, was actually the current leader of The Oracle Chamber!


    Martin and his son, who had lived side by side, had never truly seen each other.


    Now, Keh, with a bitter smile, faced the ckwoods.


    The sky was eerily silent, save for the wind.


    Keh discarded his mask and, with a long sigh, handed his Storage Ring to George. It contained the ''Rootless Soul Soil'' he had schemed so hard to acquire.


    In that moment, he seemed to shed all his burdens and waved his hand nonchntly.


    "I''ve lost. Spare my life, inw; I still have my uses."


    Hearing this, George looked towards his great-aunt, who nodded. Only then did he dissolve the barrier, his power slowly fading.


    Keh didn''t fight or flee. Once subservient as a dog to Michael, he now stood tall, unburdened.


    "This isn''t the ce to talk. Let''s go down," Olivia said to Keh with a faint smile.


    ...


    "tter."


    Ethan''s bubble tea fell to the ground. It took him a moment to pick it up and continue drinking; only a little was left.


    [Your family has captured The Oracle Chamber''s Masked Man!]


    In the Psychic Sanctuary, Keh''s voice was low.


    "The Oracle Chamber is moreplex than you imagine. I only know about the part in the county town because myte Forebearer left me the legacy of The Oracle Chamber when I was a hundred years old."


    "What?!"


    The ckwoods were once again taken aback. To destroy The Oracle Chamber in Cloudview County and ensure the direct session of Duke''s Mansion—what was the reasoning behind this?


    Keh chuckled. "Surprising, isn''t it? I was just as surprised when my Forebearer told me."


    He sighed deeply. "My Forebearer also warned that if I ever betrayed them, Martin would face the full wrath of The Oracle Chamber, possibly even from a Basic Mastery-level powerhouse. As the years passed, to ensure Martin''s existence, I had to ept missions from The Oracle Chamber, even though I''ve never met my direct superior."


    "Over the years, I''ve developed many members within Cloudview County''s The Oracle Chamber, including leaders like Stephen of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, Elder Dn of the Sky Sect, and the Elder of the ck Tortoise..."


    As Keh listed the members of The Oracle Chamber in Cloudview County, the implications were startling.


    Elder Dn had been the one who had helped Marcus in the past.


    "Years ago, I received a mission," Keh continued gravely. "They said the time hade to destroy Cloudview County. I was to inform the Druids and all major powers in Cloudview County to unite against you, the ckwoods."


    "That was the first time I resisted a mission. I didn''t want to see Cloudview County destroyed. I was even prepared to reveal everything and have my father lead our people to flee."


    For some inexplicable reason, the people of ckwood could sense the immense burden and pressure hidden behind Keh''s seemingly casual words. The Oracle Chamber possessed formidable power; even if they wanted to flee, where could Martin possibly go?


    "But my father''s words gave me some relief," Keh said with a self-deprecatingugh. "I could never fully understand him. One day, I subtly leaked some information to him to ensure ckwood''s safety, to solve everything. He was confident, telling me that Martin had to be directly involved."


    As he spoke, tears streamed down Keh''s face, his voice gradually turning into a low growl.


    "I believed him, so I methodically carried out my tasks, even killing Stephen, that troublesome traitor. I thought he had a perfect n, haha, what aughable ''perfect'' n—it was all driven by his own interests!"


    "Do you know what he said?" Keh continued, his voice filled with scorn.


    "He said he would wait, just maintain a bnce, let all the powerful forces in Cloudview County exhaust themselves! He was prepared all along. The neighboring Starlight County was also getting ready; they were all waiting to pick up the pieces. My father had secretly promised Starlight County a third of our taxes for a thousand years."


    "And if all else failed, he could still escape. He was a duke, a noble of the empire; he could ask the Emerald Emperor to let him develop newnds."


    The people of ckwood could see Keh''s breakdown.