Outside Embracing Moon City, the evening wind swept down with the chill of the mountaintops, making Qin He's gray-cloth, blue-green robes snap and flutter.
He kept moving, his flight light hugging the ground as he skimmed over the wild grass. The Gold-Black Law flickered faintly around him, wrapping his aura up tight. Though the High God lay dormant and the Divine Court's stir had gradually subsided, a cautious hand could sail a ship for ten thousand years. The conversations in the tavern had been a warning: the storm over this affair had not yet completely passed.
The Black Demon Banner in his sleeve grew faintly hot. Long Qingyun's soul projection drifted out again, huddling at the banner's tip with his voice lowered to a whisper.
"Lin Yan came from the Lin Lineage of River-Yang City." A faint bloody glow shimmered over Long Qingyun's soul projection, and his tone was more solemn than usual. "River-Yang City is five hundred li from here. It isn't a large city, but the Lin Lineage has some standing there."
Qin He raised an eyebrow without slowing his flight light. "Go on."
"One of the Lin Lineage's ancestors was a mid-ranking cultivator in the Divine Court. He died long ago, but even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. He left behind some connections and cultivation resources." Long Qingyun paused, as though recalling those days. "Lin Yan was the prodigy of his generation in the Lin Lineage. His aptitude wasn't exceptional, but he fought hard enough. Through sheer persistence, he ground his way into the Other Shore Realm."
"And after his breakthrough, he used his ancestor's connections to join the Realm Patrol Bureau?" Qin He asked.
"Right." Long Qingyun scoffed. "The Realm Patrol Bureau looks glamorous, with its cultivators roaming the various realms, but it's