Inside the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion, in the Tower of Listening to Rain.
On the top floor of the Tower of Listening to Rain, a small banquet was laid out. Prince Ji Nan, Zhao Qiyang, a man with a bulging belly, sat drinking. Beside him, two maids attended him: one poured wine, and the other massaged his legs and served him food. Zhao Qiyang looked utterly content, holding his wine cup in his right hand and continuously caressing the maid’s leg with his left.
"Shua~~~"
A figure swept into the Tower of Listening to Rain, transforming into a woman in a black long dress. It was Cao Ying, the pavilion master of the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion.
"Pavilion Master!"
The two maids rose in unison to salute.
"Withdraw."
Cao Ying frowned and dismissed the two maids. She then removed her veil, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face that could stun the heavens. Her starlike eyes gazed at Zhao Qiyang. "Your Highness, the operation has failed."
"What?!"
Zhao Qiyang couldn't help but furrow his brow. "What happened? Is there no one in White Emperor City that even you, Cao Ying, cannot handle? As far as I know, that Chen Xi is merely a martial artist of the eleventh realm. How could she be your match?"
Cao Ying gritted her teeth. "There were unforeseen circumstances. I was about to succeed, but then two outsider sword cultivators suddenly appeared. These outsiders are likely the group who have traveled from another world to train in our world's Jianghu. One of them has an unknown origin but carries a considerable number of Light-Reflecting Talismans. These talismans contain the sword Qi of Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua."
"How could this be..."
Zhao Qiyang's brow furrowed deeply. "Logically, for a Sword Immortal to nurture a wisp of sword Qi within a Light-Reflecting Talisman requires a vast amount of spiritual energy. Furthermore, imbuing sword Qi into a talisman like this means bearing the great karmic retribution of the talisman killing someone. Most Sword Immortals would absolutely not nurture Light-Reflecting Talismans for others without good reason. What were Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua thinking, nurturing so many Light-Reflecting Talismans for one person? Aren't they afraid of being implicated by the Great Dao if this person uses them recklessly?"
"This subordinate does not know the details."
Cao Ying said, "However, anyone who possesses so many Light-Reflecting Talismans from both Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua must have a profound relationship with these two great Sword Immortals. Since such a person has appeared in White Emperor City, we must be even more cautious."
"Indeed."
Zhao Qiyang asked, "Was your identity exposed?"
"No."
Cao Ying shook her head. "I did not remove my veil, nor did I reveal my name. However, given Chen Xi's astuteness, she can surely guess my identity."
"It doesn't matter."
Zhao Qiyang smiled faintly. "Whether Chen Xi can guess it is one thing, and whether she exposes it is another. Even if Chen Xi does expose it, whether we acknowledge it is a separate matter."
Cao Ying smiled and nodded. "Your Highness is wise!"
"Have a drink with me?"
"I'm not in the mood."
Cao Ying stood by the railing of the Tower of Listening to Rain, gazing into the distance, her willow-leaf eyebrows tightly knitted. "What about that sword cultivator of the lower five realms? Should we send someone to investigate his background?"
"No need."
Zhao Qiyang shook his head. "Let him do as he pleases in White Emperor City. We don't need to keep too close an eye on him. You can issue an order: the people of the Mountain and Sea Division and the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion should stay as far away from this lower five realms sword cultivator as possible. If you don't have to provoke him, don't. Perhaps in the future, we will need him to act as a bridge to forge a connection with the two great Sword Immortals, Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua."
"Yes."
Cao Ying looked towards the direction of the Mountain and Sea Division in the distance and then asked, "Last time, a Dragon Boat from the Mountain and Sea Division headed north and was directly chopped into scrap metal by the great demon Feng Quan, not to mention suffering heavy losses. How did Lin Xuanzhi, the Mountain and Sea Commissioner, handle it? Was he killed?"
"No."
Zhao Qiyang took a bite of food and said calmly, "After all, Lin Xuanzhi brought back the heads of a twelfth-realm demon, and two eleventh-realm demons. He did contribute somewhat. Moreover, it is said that he fought alongside Lin Xingchu of Xi Jian River and Lin Wanhua of Fusu Great Wall on Mount Luoyan to kill demons. This matter was handled leniently. A few middle five realms cultivators below him were punished, and Lin Xuanzhi was fined half a year's salary and retained his original position."
"Mm."
Cao Ying nodded. "After all, the number of cultivators in the upper five realms of the Mountain and Sea Division and the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion is neither a lot nor a little. Eleventh-realm sword cultivators are indeed quite scarce."
Zhao Qiyang said, "Recently, pay more attention to the situation in the northern three prefectures, especially Chen Xi. After surviving the assassination attempt in White Emperor City, what actions might she take upon her return to Tianji City? If absolutely necessary, order the Grand Prefect Wen Hao to lead troops north and station troops and cultivate land between Fusu Great Wall and Shanhaiguan. We cannot hand over the entire northern human realm's gateway to Li Chunyang alone."
"Understood."
Cao Ying smiled and said, "However, Your Highness, you may not like to hear this, but I must say that although Wen Hao is the Grand Prefect, he has never fought any major battles. After taking on the position of Grand Prefect, the biggest battle Wen Hao experienced was merely suppressing the rebellion in Yuzhou. Compared to a renowned general like Li Chunyang, who experienced the battle of Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, he is still too young. I fear that if he truly goes to the Northern Region, he will inevitably suffer hardship under the armies of demons and fiends."
"Hmph..."
Zhao Qiyang smiled faintly. "How many people are left in the Wen Hou lineage? Whether this Wen Hao can become a renowned general depends on his own abilities. If he fails, then the Wen Shuoyang lineage can be considered broken. The times create heroes; new renowned generals will naturally emerge from the south. We don't lack him, Wen Hao."
"Yes!"
Cao Ying smiled and nodded, then turned to leave.
Zhao Qiyang's gaze followed her receding back. If only this woman's abilities were a little less remarkable.
...
A narrow alley, a wine shop.
The wine banner still swayed in the wind. Leng Yan was helping Chen Xi apply medicine and bandage her injured arm. Lin Zhao ordered a few more dishes and handed Chen Xi a pot of wine.
Chen Xi tilted her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of wine, with a heroic air. She placed the wine on the table and said, "This wine... is truly not very good. When you return to Tianji City, I'll treat you to better wine."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded.
Chen Xi looked up at him, her gaze deep. "I didn't believe what Ye Tang said before, but now I have no choice but to believe it. Yet, I still have doubts. Are you truly... him?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao replied, "I am Lin Zhao, my nickname in the Jianghu is White Robe."
"Lin Zhao, White Robe, Lin Baiyi..."
Chen Xi couldn't help but chuckle. "So that's how it is. That makes sense. I heard... you practiced boxing with your grandfather back then, and my father also mentioned that you were your grandfather's most proud unregistered disciple. Is that true?"
"Something like that."
Lin Zhao smiled. "Back then, in the back mountain of the Mountain Summit Villa, Marshal Chen did teach me boxing and boxing principles for ten days. Of course, it was mostly about honing my skills. Leng Yan was also there at the time."
"Ah?!"
Chen Xi couldn't help but laugh and looked at Leng Yan.
Leng Yan recalled, "I bought divine chicken for Lin Zhao to eat back then, but Marshal Chen snatched more than half of it. I have to admire Marshal Chen's ability to snatch a chicken leg with his mouth open mid-air."
Chen Xi smiled faintly. "My father had me quite late. My grandfather had already sacrificed himself for the world for over seventy years when I was born. Therefore, everything about my grandfather I learned from my parents, and from books. It's a pity that I never received even a shred of guidance from my grandfather. In this regard, I truly envy you, Lin Zhao."
"Yes..."
Lin Zhao said with a smile, "Marshal Chen was very approachable. After teaching me boxing for ten days, I didn't even know he was the Grand Marshal of the Cangnan Iron Cavalry."
"Back then..."
Chen Xi pursed her red lips. "Did you witness firsthand your grandfather's prowess in the Rebirth Realm?"
"Yes, I witnessed it firsthand."
Lin Zhao nodded. "On the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, during the five clashes between humans and demons, the first match was Marshal Chen tearing apart a twelfth-realm great demon with his bare hands. Afterward, during the bloody battle at the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, Marshal Chen, along with Elder Lu Xinghe, teamed up to decapitate a thirteenth-realm great demon. At that time, Marshal Chen was the foremost martial artist in the human world, without a doubt."
"Mm..."
Chen Xi listened intently, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Ever since I started practicing boxing from a young age, I have always dreamed of becoming like my grandfather. After forming a Soldier God's Core, I began to have this hope. It felt wonderful then. But the path of martial arts is truly too bitter and difficult. The Rebirth Realm is truly easy to know but hard to achieve. I truly don't know when I'll be able to break through."
"No rush, take your time."
Lin Zhao said, "But you were clearly too reckless today. When visiting the Emperor in White Emperor City, you should have brought some people with you, no matter what. If Ah Yan and I hadn't been here, you would likely have been assassinated."
"Mm."
Chen Xi nodded. "I'll be more careful next time."
After chatting for a long time, Lin Zhao and Leng Yan escorted Chen Xi to the teleportation point in White Emperor City. Only after watching Chen Xi teleport back to Tianji City did they feel relieved.
Afterward, Lin Zhao bid farewell to Leng Yan, intending to return to the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake to continue presiding over the situation. Leng Yan, meanwhile, led the group from Shengtian out of the city, needing to accelerate their conquest plan and snatch more Bosses. They couldn't let the first wave of Earth-grade Bosses in White Emperor City be snatched by guilds like Xinghe, Canglong, and Xunxian; that would be too much of a loss.
...
"Shua!"
Appearing in the teleportation array, Lin Zhao confirmed that after the version update, there were only two teleportation points open between the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake and human territories: one was Shanhaiguan, with a teleportation fee of 10g, and the other was White Emperor City, with a fee of 20g. However, not all players could use these teleportation arrays; a reputation value of 100,000 was required to have the qualification to use them.
Basically, currently, no one but Lin Zhao could use them. Even he only had over 80,000 reputation points, while other players were far behind. Most players currently had a reputation value between 10,000 and 30,000. To use the teleportation arrays in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, they would have to endure it slowly. However, the system had opened a teleportation route from White Emperor City to Fusu Great Wall. Therefore, for players intending to enter the Northern Region, the best option was to depart from Fusu Great Wall. With the speed of cavalry players, it would take them about an hour to reach the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake or Gu Xiao Pass, which was still acceptable.
He opened the large map and observed the changes around the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake. When his gaze fell upon the vicinity of Mount Panyun, a dense scarlet glow appeared.
"Something's wrong!"
His heart suddenly tightened. He immediately spurred his horse towards the northern mountain of the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake. He saw demon race banners fluttering in the direction of Mount Panyun, suggesting reinforcements. After a maintenance period, the garrison at Mount Panyun had increased from two military tents to four!