The Whole Story

The Marquis Who Guards the North came from a prestigious family in Spirit Province.

But after centuries of decline, only a handful of people remained in the Shi Clan.

One of them was the Thief God.

The Thief God was a senior member of the clan, but he had left it as a child to make his own living.

Destitute and struggling to survive, he had gone astray and taken up thievery. Through a series of chance encounters, he had earned the name of Thief God.

Though famous, he could hardly be called an honorable man.

The Shi Clan had always looked down on him.

Then Shi Tianhao, the current patriarch, had ridden the tide of the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty. His military exploits won him the title of marquis.

The name of the Marquis Who Guards the North resounded throughout the northern lands.

But he was not satisfied. He dreamed of restoring the Shi Clan to its former glory, so he sought out the Thief God's whereabouts.

He invited him to the Listening Rain Tower to discuss matters.

The Thief God felt that he owed the clan and had brought shame upon it, so he obeyed the Marquis Who Guards the North in all things.

And so half a year passed...

All of the above was information the system had displayed when the third stage of the mission began.

It had also allowed Chen Ning to understand the whole story.

Now, at last, the Thief God had agreed to steal the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty's national fortune for him. A flicker of emotion appeared on the face of the Marquis Who Guards the North, who had remained unshaken through every change for years.

His ambitions were vast. Military honors and a noble title were not all he wanted. What he wanted...

Was the entire Great Yan Imperial Dynasty!

But how difficult was it to bring down the imperial family?

The workings of fate in the unseen world, the seemingly intangible national fortune—those were the key.

And only the Thief God could accomplish this.

The Marquis Who Guards the North knew full well how terrifying the Heaven-Stealing Ghost Hand was.

But the Thief God had always maintained that he was not certain he could steal Great Yan's national fortune.

And so the wait had lasted half a year.

Finally!

The day had finally come. How could the Marquis Who Guards the North not be excited?

For this, letting Chen Ning, who had tried to assassinate him, go was a mere trifle.

"Second granduncle, I cannot release this man immediately. Once you have stolen Great Yan's national fortune, I will release him at once. I also promise that I will never act against your granddaughter."

"Good!"

Hearing the Marquis Who Guards the North agree, the Thief God gave his own assent.

In the present circumstances, he had no room left to struggle.

He truly was not completely confident that he could steal a nation's fortune.

But more importantly, doing so would cost him years of his life.

If it only concerned his own worthless life, that would have been one thing.

He feared that even sacrificing his life would not be enough to offset the heavenly punishment.

When that happened, the calamity would befall his descendants.

Su Ling'er would be the first to suffer.

That was why he had stopped contacting his granddaughter half a year ago.

Over those six months, he had also worked hard to make many preparations, hoping to sever that thread of connection in the unseen world.

But things had come to this, and there was no turning the tide.

He stepped forward and headed out, with the Marquis Who Guards the North close behind. Just as the two were about to leave the dungeon,

Suddenly,

A voice rang out.

"It seems neither of you has asked my opinion from beginning to end, has he?"

Chen Ning walked out from among the hundreds of soldiers surrounding him and spoke with a smile.

"Your opinion?"

The Marquis Who Guards the North glanced at Chen Ning, then laughed. "I don't believe I need to consider the opinion of a martial artist at the Third Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm."

Chen Ning paid him no heed. Instead, he looked at the Thief God and said solemnly, "Senior Thief God, don't place your hopes in someone else. Protect your granddaughter yourself."

Chen Ning had naturally noticed the Thief God's hesitation and uncertainty.

On one side was his precious granddaughter; on the other were the patriarch's orders.

Yet the stubborn Thief God still felt he owed the clan, so he had let matters take their course.

What blind loyalty!

Sigh...

If only those undercover agents in the Dragon-Seeking Sect were all blindly loyal to me like that.

He was even a little envious.

Chen Ning's thoughts wandered to something unrealistic, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

After hearing Chen Ning's words, the Thief God's previously dim eyes suddenly lit up again.

Chen Ning spoke again. "If the Heaven-Stealing Ghost Hand steals national fortune, heavenly punishment is inevitable, and Su Ling'er will be caught up in it too. Is this your blind loyalty? Is this what you want to see?"

Now that Chen Ning had stated these facts so bluntly, the Thief God's expression grew even more complicated.

At that moment, the Marquis Who Guards the North could no longer stand by and watch.

Chen Ning's words had clearly swayed the Thief God.

If he were allowed to continue, the great undertaking would surely collapse. If the Thief God changed his mind, everything would be lost.

After so many years of scheming and lying low, the Marquis Who Guards the North was unwilling to see it all destroyed by a few words.

"Boy, you're courting death."

The Marquis Who Guards the North's face darkened. He raised a hand and waved it. "Kill him."

At his command, the hundreds of soldiers, whose formation had never fully dispersed, gathered together once more and formed a battle array.

Because they had previously had ample time to form the array, its power surged once again.

The faint phantom of a spear took shape in the void.

It shimmered with divine might.

"Hah!!"

"Hah!!"

A terrifying pressure descended upon Chen Ning.

An ordinary martial artist at the Third Level of the Spirit Martial Realm would already have been unable to withstand it, their body shattered.

But after Chen Ning had cleansed his marrow and tempered his bones, the strength of his body had soared.

The Marquis Who Guards the North watched from nearby, making no attempt to conceal the killing intent in his eyes.

This time, even if the Thief God pleaded for him, Chen Ning was sure to die!

The Marquis Who Guards the North was not afraid that the Thief God would disobey him. After all, he still had his granddaughter to use as leverage.

And now that Chen Ning was trapped in the battle array, even if the Thief God wanted to save him, it was too late.

"You!"

The Thief God's eyes blazed with rage as he stared fixedly at the dark face of the Marquis Who Guards the North.

This patriarch seemed such a stranger now.

He let out a dejected sigh, tears streaming down his aged face. Perhaps he had long since ceased to be a member of the Shi Clan and was merely a tool of the Marquis Who Guards the North...

Just then, Chen Ning's gentle voice rang out again:

"Senior Thief God, once I break the array, I'll take you to see Ling'er."

As the words fell,

The Thief God raised his head in astonishment and looked at Chen Ning within the battle array. He saw that Chen Ning's presence was steadily rising.

The Marquis Who Guards the North also sneered. "You're at death's door, yet you dare talk so wildly? I'd like to see how you break the array."

But the Thief God saw clearly that, after Chen Ning's presence rose to its peak, it gradually grew calm again.

"Returning to simplicity and truth!!"

The Thief God cried out in shock. "That's the Heaven-Stealing Ghost Hand at great perfection!"

At the same time,

Chen Ning made his move within the battle array.

He shot into the air and reached out, closing his hand.

A large number of soldiers fell.

A gap instantly opened in the battle array.

"Change formation! Kill him!"

The Marquis Who Guards the North's expression turned ugly, and he hurriedly issued another order.

The battle array began to shift its formation, while a terrifying pressure continued to shroud Chen Ning.

Countless phantom spears hurtled madly toward him.

But as soon as the spears came within a few meters of Chen Ning, they were annihilated into particles of primordial Qi.

Chen Ning drew them into his Qi sea.

His body grew ever more radiant.

Seeing that the killing array was having no effect, the Marquis Who Guards the North felt his heart jolt.

Could it really be unable to stop him?

Is he even human?

Rage surged through the Marquis Who Guards the North, and he shouted at the soldiers in the battle array, "Fight to the death! For those who fall in battle, I will pay ten thousand taels of silver in compensation!"