As the morning sun rose, Ye Zhen stood guard at the entrance to the Battle Soul Hall. Far away, tens of millions of miles distant, in Qingzhou City, where the Western Patrol Envoy Department was located.
Wei Gang, the right-hand man of Xi Qiangu, who had been transferred to serve as a Right Aide to the Western Patrol Envoy, hurried toward Xi Qiangu, who was having breakfast in the Flower Hall.
"My lord, the matters in Luoyi concerning Ye Zhen have been thoroughly investigated." Wei Gang respectfully presented a jade slip reinforced with layer upon layer of seals.
Xi Qiangu did not rush to read it. He slowly finished his last bite of food, took another sip of richly fragrant spirit wine, then picked up the jade slip and used a secret art to dissolve its layers of seals before reading it.
After only a few glances, Western Patrol Envoy Xi Qiangu raised his brows.
"For Ye Zhen to actually get Wu Yu to lend him a hand—and not lightly, either—it seems the price Ye Zhen paid was no small one."
"The Secret Directorate has intervened as well? This must be Princess Changle's influence." Xi Qiangu commented as he read.
"Even Princess Changle personally stepped in to intimidate the Battle Soul Hall's daily priest? It seems Ye Zhen was determined to obtain the Myriad Bones Samsara Seal's avatar." As he spoke, Xi Qiangu slanted his gaze toward Wei Gang, clearly asking for confirmation.
"My lord, your judgment is correct. This entire conflict began because the Battle Soul Hall refused to rent the Myriad Bones Samsara Seal's avatar to Ye Zhen and deliberately made things difficult for him. That very afternoon, after being obstructed, Ye Zhen charged into the Battle Soul Hall and blocked its gates. According to our intelligence, Ye