Qi Bei glanced at Will, his gaze sweeping over the three young men behind him.
Two of them were familiar faces—the two young masters of the Heron Family, one of the Golden Leaf Dynasty's top-tier noble families. The other was Emperor Hanmos's fourth son, Lando, a powerful contender for the next imperial throne.
"Second Brother, you really are quite busy. I heard you even visited a female student's home a couple of days ago. Truly dedicated and hardworking—I feel ashamed by comparison." Qi Bei replied calmly.
Will's expression shifted slightly. He had indeed been carrying on heatedly with a beautiful female student recently. According to the academy rules, instructors were forbidden from developing any romantic entanglements with students who had yet to graduate. He had always believed he had kept it well hidden. How had this little bastard Qi Bei found out?
As it happened, the matter was quite coincidental. Over the past few nights, Qi Bei had often been drifting around here and there, basically circling the area around Marquis Lanling's residence.
Qi Bei was actually quite the grudge-holder. He was about to leave the Imperial Capital and had no idea when he would return. He was no gentleman; revenge could not wait ten years. Naturally, he needed a meticulous plan.
Who could have known that two nights ago, he would discover his Second Brother from the family secretly fooling around with a beautiful student from Nord Military Academy?
"Fifth Brother, your eyes must be playing tricks on you. You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." Will Nord said with a smile.
Qi Bei could not be bothered to deal with him. This fellow was exactly like his father—a smiling tiger!
"Qi Bei, I haven't congratulated you yet on escaping alive from the Undead Mountain Range. I heard that a few days ago, you even shaved off a lock of Marquis Lanling's hair on the street. Your improved strength truly leaves us older brothers green with envy. How about sparring with me?" Fourth Prince Lando stared at Qi Bei as he spoke. His words were courteous, but his gaze was like that of a venomous snake.
"Not interested." Qi Bei was somewhat impatient. He truly did not want to put on a fake act with these people he did not get along with.
"But I am interested." As soon as Lando finished speaking, he reached out with his large hand toward Qi Bei's arm.
Qi Bei was just about to dodge, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Mio Nord looking over in their direction. He deliberately slowed down for a beat.
"Riiip!"
One of Qi Bei's sleeves was torn apart by the hidden battle aura. He himself let out a miserable cry and was sent flying backward, landing and staggering several steps before falling toward several beautiful young women who were chatting with great interest.
Lando and the others were all stunned. That had been nothing more than a light grab, with only the slightest bit of battle aura released. How could its power have been so great?
Qi Bei flailed about in a panic, shamelessly taking advantage of the girls who cried out and hurried forward to help him, his hands groping them all over.
At that moment, Mio Nord walked over with a cold expression and stopped in front of Will Nord.
"B-Big Brother." Will felt somewhat uneasy. Among the younger generation, everyone feared Mio Nord to some degree.
With a crisp slap, Mio Nord raised his hand and struck Will across the face.
Will lowered his head, both fists clenched tightly, yet he did not dare make a sound. Only in his lowered eyes flickered intense unwillingness and resentment.
"Don't forget that your surname is Nord." Mio Nord said coldly, his gaze shifting toward Fourth Prince Lando.
"This prince merely heard that Qi Bei had become quite formidable, so I was seized by an itch to spar with him. But now that I see it, rumors truly cannot be trusted." Lando spoke coldly. Other people might fear Mio Nord, but how could he? If he were afraid, he would not be qualified to contend for the throne of the next emperor.
"If Your Highness the Fourth Prince feels the itch to spar, you can come find me anytime." Mio Nord replied coldly.
Lando merely sneered. His strength was inferior to Mio Nord's, but what did personal courage amount to? Could it stand against a vast imperial dynasty? One day, he would make every member of the Nord Family crawl at his feet like dogs, wagging their tails and begging for mercy.
Mio Nord gave Qi Bei, who was enjoying the support of several beautiful noble ladies, a deep look before returning to his circle.
"My Big Brother is actually quite a good person. Don't you agree?" Qi Bei asked with a smile, reaching out to stroke the lovely faces of several girls. There was not the slightest trace of his earlier disarray left.
"You're pretty good too." A bold noble girl cast Qi Bei a flirtatious look.
"Not just pretty good—I'm extremely good. If you don't believe me, we can spar tonight." Qi Bei laughed heartily.
"Then let's spar. Who's afraid of whom? Sisters, am I right?" The girl provocatively eyed Qi Bei, directly taking his hand and pressing it against her mostly exposed, ample bosom.
Seeing the wolfish looks in the eyes of the girls, Qi Bei fled in disarray.
Damn, I judged this wrong! These were nobles with utterly debauched private lives. Not only did they have threesomes, they even engaged in group sex. Hell, even lesbians and gays were flourishing here!
Not long afterward, Mio Nord gave a speech at the banquet, and the feast officially began.
It was not until midnight, when some of the old fellows gradually departed, that the banquet turned into a wild party for the younger generation.
A so-called noble party was really nothing more than two people or a group of men and women with hormones overflowing, getting together to engage in physical activity.
Draped in a black cloak, Qi Bei appeared soundlessly in a large tree not far from the rear courtyard of Marquis Lanling's residence. A pair of black eyes watched the shadowy depths of the marquis's estate.
Marquis Lanling was a first-rank marquis, and the security inside his residence was exceptionally tight.
After several days of investigation, Qi Bei knew that the defenses around the rear courtyard were somewhat weaker.
"It should be about time." Qi Bei thought to himself.
Just then, several furious beast roars suddenly rang out from inside Marquis Lanling's residence, followed by two screams that tore through the silent night sky.
Several black shadows emerged from the darkness and departed.
The corners of Qi Bei's mouth lifted. His figure drifted over the courtyard wall like a ghost, vanishing into the darkness.
During his more than eight months in the Undead Mountain Range, Qi Bei had ambushed countless undead and repeatedly evaded pursuit by high-level undead. His concealment ability was extraordinarily powerful.
Only a few breaths after Qi Bei slipped into the marquis's residence, those black shadows swept back and melted into the darkness.
Qi Bei passed one concealed sentry after another, both hidden and exposed, and arrived at the courtyard where Marquis Lanling lived.
Suddenly, Qi Bei felt the black longsword hidden in his sleeve tremble lightly.
"Threefold Invisible Dark Soul Restriction. Thirty souls as the catalyst, supplemented by ten high-grade magic crystals. Set up using the technique of Dark Magic restrictions, it can conceal and sever all fluctuations of aura. Anyone who enters it will have their soul devoured.
"Methods of breaking it: first, destroy the main crystal located in the southeast direction. Second, destroy the souls within it. Third, have the threefold Invisible Dark Soul Restriction devoured."
A stream of information passed from the black longsword into Qi Bei's mind, just as it had the day it sensed the maid casting the Nine Nether Soul Nail Technique.
Marquis Lanling's residence actually contained Dark Magic!
Originally, Qi Bei had only wanted to vent the resentment in his heart. Now that Marquis Lanling was connected to a Dark Mage, the matter had suddenly become complicated.
It seemed the old man had been right. The waters of the Imperial Capital were growing murkier by the day.
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