Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1223: Overbearing and Sneaky

After harvesting the Pure Ore, the team continued digging deeper. Yet, just a couple of days later, they were interrupted by something.

Someone had entered the Excursion Lobby, and they almost immediately contacted Abyssal Depths.

"I'm from Extended Family. I've been told that there are some issues that need to be resolved," the newcomer transmitted.

"You have to contact Kyle. He's the Leader," Abyssal Depths transmitted back.

The newcomer looked at Green, who looked back.

'Here we go,' Kyle thought. 'I saw this coming from a mile away. Luckily, I've already prepared everything.'

The newcomer was a grey-haired woman with a young appearance. Her aura was similar to the aura of the dead Minor Immortal but much stronger. She was surrounded by a thick wave of Energy that continuously transformed into different aspects of the Primordial Forces. Just based on the intensity of her aura, Kyle could tell that she was at least an Ascending Immortal, which was the seventh level within the Universe Realm.

Between the Minor Immortal and her were three breakthroughs. Minor Immortals turned into Medium Immortals, who turned into Major Immortals, who turned into Ascending Immortals.

The first three levels in the Universe Realm represented fresh Immortals, which was why they were called New, Beginner, and Adept Immortals.

The middle three levels were the true Immortals. They had proven themselves. These true Immortals were called Minor, Medium, and Major Immortals.

The last three levels represented the strong Immortals. Those were the ones that had started the climb to the Void Realm. Ascending Immortals just started the climb. Zenith Immortals were at the top of the mountain. Finally, Half-Step Lords had taken the first step into the Void.

Ascending Immortals were pretty rare in Wild's Summit. At such a level, most Immortals had already found a permanent place. These Immortals didn't need to prove themselves anymore, which was why many powerful Organizations gave them important tasks that paid a lot of Energy Stones. Usually, Ascending Immortals had one Avatar inside a Level Eight Law Well while another Avatar performed their duties.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Green asked via voice transmission.

"According to our system, Team Ankylosaurus, and you in particular, have an ongoing conflict with Extended Family," the Ascending Immortal transmitted. "Has that conflict been resolved?"

'Somehow, I don't think giving a positive answer will solve all of my problems,' Kyle thought.

"Depends on how you view it," Kyle answered. "I just want to dig some holes and find some shiny stones. I'm not actively looking for people from Extended Family, and as long as they don't try to stop me from finding my shiny stones, that also won't change. I don't see an ongoing conflict, but I fear you might have a different opinion."

The Ascending Immortal blinked slowly. "Have you been in contact with one of our Minor Immortals recently?"

"What if I say no? Would you believe me?" Kyle asked.

"If you swear a confirmation oath," she answered.

"While I don't target Extended Family, I can't say that any of my interactions with members of your Organization have been pleasant," Kyle answered. "Whenever I talk to one of your guys, things only get worse. What do I have to gain out of talking to you?"

The Ascending Immortal furrowed her brows. "I'm not surprised that our members might have been a bit unpleasant, considering your attitude. I'm here to solve an issue, not to steal your so-called shiny stones."

"And what might that issue be?" Kyle asked, deciding to make his voice transmission a bit posher in tone.

"One of my employees went to talk to you. They should be back by now, but they're still missing. Since you were their target, I came to you to ask for information," she transmitted.

"I believe I've encountered this individual," Kyle answered. "It was quite an unpleasant affair, if I may say so. Why, this young lad acted in a very unbecoming manner with his little gadgets and such. Is this usually how you screen for employees?"

The Ascending Immortal took note of Kyle's lack of seriousness, but she was more concerned with what he just said.

"Little gadgets?" she asked, her voice becoming even more serious than it already was.

"Nasty little things," Kyle answered, shaking his head. "Why, if I weren't such a forgiving citizen, I would've already written a sternly worded letter to the authorities. My God, can you imagine what could have happened if I did? The drama, I tell you!"

"Be clearer," she answered, narrowing her eyes. "You're treading on dangerous ground. Your statements can be interpreted in a variety of defamatory ways. If you want to say something, say it clearly. I don't want misunderstandings."

"Do you?" Kyle asked, his voice a bit deeper. "Do you really want me to say it clearly and plainly? Are you sure you really, really want this?"

The Ascending Immortal looked at Kyle for a bit before summoning a Space Ring. This Space Ring had several complicated Formation Arrays on it. Kyle could tell that this Space Ring used Formation Arrays that were far beyond his level.

It was clear what she wanted him to do.

Kyle took the Space Ring, put a small note inside it, and handed it back.

When the Ascending Immortal took hold of the Space Ring, she looked at the note inside.

"Can you prove the accuracy of your written statement?" she asked evenly.

"I swear on my life, the things I have written on that note are the truth," Kyle answered.

"You could have changed the contents," she answered calmly.

"I swear, if the contents have been changed to reflect something that is not the truth, it was not my conscious doing," Kyle replied.

"What about subconsciously?" she asked, still calm.

"I swear, it was not my intention to paint an inaccurate picture," Kyle answered.

The Ascending Immortal looked at Kyle for a moment longer.

A moment later, the note inside the Space Ring burned to ash. If Kyle had seen it, he would have noticed that the contents of the note had been changed.

This was a special Space Ring. When Kyle had accessed it, it had stored some of his Energy. The Energy had been released after a delay of a couple of seconds. The Energy had influenced the note and had changed it to say something else. All of this had been automatic.

This was an oath trap. A person who gave a truthful statement didn't fear swearing on their statement. After all, it was the truth. Because of that, they were more likely to be careless when swearing their confirmation oath.

In fact, Kyle might have even fallen for this trick if he hadn't noticed a subtle change in Karmic Luck. When the Ascending Immortal had handed him the ring, her Karmic Luck had dropped just ever so slightly. This had made him suspicious, and when the Ascending Immortal had asked him to swear an oath, he got confirmation. Her Karmic Luck had dropped just a bit more.

The changes in Karmic Luck had been so subtle that almost nobody would have noticed them. Someone needed to know a lot about Karmic Luck to sense them.

'How is every single interaction with them horrible?' Kyle thought. 'Overbearing, sneaky, and fake. I hate these guys.'

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