Legend had it that Mount Zhenwu was where Great Emperor Zhenwu pointed toward the Nine Heavens and ascended in feathered transcendence.
Yet throughout the Great Shang, there were no fewer than a hundred places called Mount Zhenwu.
But at this moment, Su Changqing could almost certainly conclude that Great Emperor Zhenwu had indeed visited this mountain.
Whether it was the Profound Heaven True Water or the bizarre scene beneath the Withered Well, either one would shock the martial world if revealed.
A handsome young man in ink-black clothes emerged from the dense forest and mountain ravines, his steps swift as the wind, leaving no trace upon the grass.
Once he returned to the main road, however, he abruptly stopped, his eyes narrowing.
On the bloodstained road lay the corpse of a young eunuch, appearing at some unknown time. He had died miserably, dressed in a red eunuch's robe and wearing a scholar's cap.
"Someone from the East and West Factories?"
Su Changqing lightly touched the corpse with his fingertips. It was still warm; the eunuch had been dead for less than two hours.
"A man of Li Lianying, the Director of the West Factory? I was carrying out a mission for the Imperial Guard Enforcement Agency. How could they possibly know?"
Su Changqing pondered inwardly. This corpse had been deliberately left behind for him to find.
Whoever this person was, he had killed not an enemy but an ally. He was surely ruthless, cold-blooded, and merciless.
Why would Li Lianying, a Factory Director, personally travel hundreds of miles to kill Su Changqing? It had to be one of Li Lianying's subordinates.
Leaving a corpse here signified that the West Factory had come—and exposed that someone within the Imperial Guard had betrayed Su Changqing.
Though Su Changqing had never met this person, he was truly no ordinary man.
Diverting disaster eastward—one corpse alone revealed so much.
"Not simple. He might be a great villain like Qing Jiang. I just wonder who he is..."
Su Changqing fell silent.
He had long realized that even insignificant people possessed much wisdom and their own ways of navigating the world.
For example, Qing Jiang, Li Kongxiang, Ji Xingyue, and the rest...
Some appeared weak, temporarily swallowing humiliation and bowing beneath others' feet.
Yet their destinies were immensely powerful; they were fated to roar across the Nine Heavens.
Of course, that was only if he, this great villain favored by fate, did not interfere and plunder them...
"If I had not plundered others and changed my fate, I would likely have died in that blizzard long ago, frozen to death on the streets."
His movements in coming to Mount Zhenwu for an Enforcement Agency mission had surely been leaked by Ye Tian!
That was also the eunuch's scheme—to make Su Changqing and Ye Tian fight to the death.
"How amusing. How did this man know I would see through it? Let's see how you proceed from here..."
Su Changqing threw back his head and laughed, then turned and left.
Ye Tian had not hesitated to betray an enemy and leak his whereabouts, nearly sending him through the gates of hell.
There would surely be a battle between him and Ye Tian!
But the eunuch behind all this would likely become extremely terrifying in the future. He was absolutely an old schemer, perhaps even worse than Li Lianying.
They ought to meet sooner rather than later.
To fight Heaven, to fight men—there was endless joy in it.
Imperial Guard, Enforcement Agency Mission Hall.
Inside the great hall, enormous pillars supported the beams, and nearly eight hundred Imperial Guards stood gathered within.
The man surrounded at the center had reclining brows and phoenix eyes, a face like polished jade, and an exceptionally handsome bearing.
A jet-black long saber hung at his waist. His aura was extraordinary, and the faint sound of Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound echoed around him.
Yet his appearance was calm and gentle, mild as water, like the noble young son of a worldly prince.
The Enforcement Agency's top-tier Heavenly Pride—Ye Tian!
"Ye Tian has broken through to Xiantian. Our Enforcement Agency now has another Deputy Thousand Household, another Xiantian Realm expert!" Jin Yichuan laughed heartily.
The many followers beneath Ye Tian were all fired up, including Ye Ronghuo.
Once Ye Tian became a Deputy Thousand Household, he would command five hundred men. He would rank only below Zuo Qianhu, Jin Yichuan, and the others, and his future achievements would be limitless!
Today, I should have become a full Thousand Household.
Ye Tian looked toward Jin Yichuan without speaking, sighing faintly to himself.
He had instinctively sensed that something was wrong with Mount Zhenwu.
Jiang Tianfeng cultivated Profound Heaven True Qi and had remained on this mountain for more than ten years without leaving. There truly had to be some opportunity hidden there.
"Even if that brat did not die at Jiang Tianfeng's hands, he would surely die at the hands of those eunuch dogs. Once I go to Mount Zhenwu, I can still complete this mission!"
Ye Tian accepted the Deputy Thousand Household token bestowed by Jin Yichuan, his thoughts churning and his killing intent as vast as the sea.
When he had been at the ninth level of True Qi, he had not dared to go there.
He had intended to wait until he broke through to the Xiantian Realm, when he could be fully certain of killing Jiang Tianfeng and the hundred-odd bandits.
What right did Su Changqing have to accomplish that?
He did not believe it.
A Seven Orifices Exquisite Body, photographic memory, and a Martial Arts Prodigy—
How could a mere servant who had clawed his way up compare?
After granting the token, Jin Yichuan looked pleased and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, the doors of the great hall opened. A figure in ink-black clothes slowly stepped inside, carrying the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade.
Xiantian True Qi erupted around him, like a dragon soaring and a tiger roaring, astonishing the world.
He casually planted the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade on the ground. The indestructible bluestone slabs instantly split apart, and the hilt drove straight into the earth!
"Sorry for the trouble, Commander Jin. Please give me another Deputy Thousand Household token." Su Changqing cupped his hands and smiled.
The young man before them had handsome features, wore the Imperial Guard's flying-fish uniform, and bore frost and snow at his waist. His bearing was like jade, as though he were an exiled immortal descended from the heavens.
"Good lad! You killed Jiang Tianfeng, broke through to the Xiantian Realm, and achieved flawless circulation!"
"You deserve it!"
Jin Yichuan's eyes filled with shock and delight as he instantly praised him.
In the distance, every Imperial Guard fell silent at the sight of the young man in black, nearly frightened out of their wits!
Su Changqing had single-handedly wiped out the Mount Zhenwu bandits and slain Jiang Tianfeng. It was simply unimaginable!
That Azure Dragon Crescent Blade had been forged from steel as hard as diamond and had once been wielded by Guan Gong's son, Guan Ping.
A peerless blade capable of uprooting mountains, forged by a master craftsman—the cost of making it alone was worth three thousand taels!
Toss it into any auction, and it would fetch close to five thousand taels!
Not to mention that Su Changqing had even broken through to the Xiantian Realm, reaching the same level as Ye Tian!
Su Changqing had risen from a servant disciple amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His glorious achievements had all been witnessed by the crowd.
He had pursued and killed Scarlet Blood Scholar across a hundred miles, completed ten major missions, and slaughtered the Tianfeng Village bandits alone!
He shone like a rising star.
No one could casually provoke him again!
At the center of the crowd, Ye Ronghuo remained silent, bitterness filling his eyes. His younger brother possessed the Seven Orifices Exquisite Body and had reached the Xiantian Realm—he was already exceptionally dazzling.
But compared to him, Su Changqing's rise had undoubtedly been faster and even more terrifying.
Thus, every Imperial Guard compared Ye Tian with Su Changqing.
Ye Tian's face darkened. He pushed through the crowd and walked forward step by step, his cold gaze like lightning as he stared fixedly at Su Changqing.
"You dog, you dared to steal my opportunity!"
His piercing voice brimmed with killing intent, plunging the entire hall into silence.
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