530 One Step II

'He doesn't want to train you to be Spirit General, but rather to use you as a mark of Gods and Buddhas. As long as you don't feel aversion, fear, or resistance towards them, the stronger you are, the stronger his Void will become.'

The strength of the Void determines the strength of the Gods and Buddhas themselves. Therefore...

"So, the stronger I am, the stronger he is?" Zhang Rongfang said directly.

"That's right. You've seen his true form, so your existence will also benefit him," White Scale replied.

"And what about you? I've also seen your true form. Will you also benefit from this?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly asked.

White Scale did not reply, but simply fell into complete silence.

Zhang Rongfang, however, gleaned the answer from her silence.

He said that the strange White Scale were initially acting like they were going to die, but later they became more and more cooperative, telling him everything they knew.

So that's how it works.

If this is the case, and in the future, when fighting with other Gods and Buddhas, upon seeing their true forms, the stronger one becomes, the stronger the opponent becomes, how should one resolve this? He pondered a solution.

At this moment, the surrounding white mist dissipated, and Zhang Rongfang stood up and put the Blood God Statue back into the box next to the Wishing Wish Bell of the Wish Woman.

Then they walked out of the cave.

He suddenly raised his hand and forcefully drew a line across his skin with his fingertips.

Laugh.

A bloodstain appeared, and a few drops of blood splattered out.

The wound healed in an instant, in less than a second.

Zhang Rongfang paid no attention to the wound, but instead looked at the three drops of blood he had deliberately spilled.

After the three drops of blood fell onto the stone ground, they began to wriggle again.

Although it's slow, they are indeed moving.

'Sure enough.' Zhang Rongfang was waiting on the side.

Time passed little by little.

The three drops of blood lasted for more than half an hour before slowly stopping. The reason they stopped was that the blood droplets were finally dried by the wind and could no longer move.

Standing up, Zhang Rongfang sighed softly.

With 500 life points, he's becoming less and less like a human being. ***Late at night.

Wushan Prefecture, another figure in white was rapidly approaching.

In the heavy snow, this person moved like a drifting cloud, silent and light, instantly covering a distance of tens of meters and rushing towards the tall city wall.

With a light touch of his toes, the man in white walked as if on flat ground, and swiftly ascended vertically up the wall.

He walked all the way to the top of the wall, then leaped down, his sleeves fluttering as he landed lightly on the roof of a nearby restaurant in the city.

There were already people waiting there for a long time.

Upon seeing the man in white, the man clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"This student greets you, sir."

The man in white stood still, revealing a thin yet remarkably spirited Azure Elder face.

"Has the investigation been completed? Where are they? Who is the successor chosen by the Righteous Lineage?"

"The successor is in the home of an official in the city. He doesn't seem to have any significant background. I'm also a little puzzled as to why the Righteous Lineage would choose this person." The person who was supposed to meet him asked in confusion.

"Have you investigated the location of the Human Immortal Temple?" the old man asked again.

"It's clear that the area outside the city is where the people inside the city are likely living in seclusion. As long as we make our stance clear, don't escalate the situation, and resolve this quickly, there shouldn't be any problems," the person who was supposed to meet us replied.

"Indeed. The successor should have already obtained the Gentleman Sword Sword Bell. The Sword Bell has not been seen for decades." The old man nodded. "Let's go, lead the way, and we'll take the Sword Bell tonight."

"What should be done with the successor?" the person in charge couldn't help but ask.

"Although the Gentleman's Sword originated from the Seven Lineages, it has long been powerless to protect it. Isn't the reason for throwing out the Sword Bell now just to let outsiders decide the victor? That successor is burdened by ambition and misled by greed, and is destined to suffer this calamity," the old man said, stroking his beard.

I looked up at the night sky.

He hesitated for a moment.

"Since I've come here in person, it's to curb the unpredictable changes at Dongfang Mu and the Human Immortal Temple. Let's go, let's finish this quickly, and then we can go find your master for a drink."

"Yes."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them took to the air and headed towards the Mu Chi Prefecture in the city.

*** Mu Chi Prefecture.

Zhang Rongyu suddenly woke up from her sleep.

She instinctively reached out to touch her son on the small bed next to her, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that he had just turned over and was not awake.

"Someone's here." A deep female voice came from outside the room window.

"The teacher's side," Zhang Rongyu instinctively thought Righteous Lineage the Underground Palace on the other side of the righteous path.

"The Righteous Lineage will not intervene; this is your own test. From the moment you accepted the title of successor, you must shoulder the responsibility of Protecting the Dao. This is a setback, a trial, and a storm."

The woman answered from outside the window.

Zhang Rongyu took a deep breath.

Having gone to such lengths to get to this point, she has no intention of turning back.

If we lose this time, the only outcome will be death.

From the very beginning, all the way to now, she has long been accustomed to this kind of gamble-like test.

"If I fail, will I die?" she asked softly.

"Not only will you die, your whole family will die," the woman replied.

"My husband is a descendant of a noble Noble Spirit Person." Zhang Rongyu couldn't help but speak again.

"That depends on who it is," the woman said. "If it's another contender, at most you'll end up like last time—your son crippled and your Sword Bell stolen."

However, if someone from the Academy were to come... The Academy today is a colossal entity comprised of Spirit Person, Noble, and Imperial Clan. Within the entire Great Ling, it is second only to the Great Sect Alliance in power.

However, because he always adhered to neutrality, only teaching and doing academic research, and did not participate in politics, he was considered to be isolated from the world.

However, the Academy gathers outstanding children from many Spirit Noble, as well as members of the Imperial Clan and other high- Noble. Therefore, even though the Great Ling has a rule prohibiting Confucian and Daoist officials from holding office, the value of knowledge cannot be ignored.

The woman paused.

"Therefore, those who impart knowledge are also different from ordinary Confucian scholars. They are even different from the descendants of great Confucian scholars like the Seven Lineages and Dongfang Stronghold."

Zhang Rongyu remained silent.

She finally understood what the other person meant.

The Academy was no longer a purely Confucian force; in fact, the Ling Ting) was also involved.

Their search for the Seven Gentlemen's Swords was likely also intended to disrupt the resurgence of the Confucian Sect.

After all, Confucian Sect does not have a bloodline inheritance; it is merely a certification of knowledge.

If a person learns Confucian Sect and is willing to acknowledge his own stance and viewpoints, then he is a Confucian scholar.

Therefore, Confucian Sect is very difficult to eradicate completely in a practical sense.

The purpose of the Ling Ting the Academy was probably to dismantle the core of the Confucian Sect from within.

"Almost there. So fast!" Suddenly, the woman's voice outside the window deepened, seemingly filled with surprise.

"I entrust everything to you, senior." After the previous assassination attempts, Zhang Rongyu understood that relying solely on the few skilled men in Mu Chi Prefecture was simply not enough to stop the Confucian Sect's attack.

So this time, she lured her husband out from the beginning and didn't sleep in the same room with him.

The area around the rooms and courtyard was also equipped with extremely tight security measures.

Several of the worshippers were still there, as was the senior she had once helped, who was also staying in the side room, so that he could come to her rescue at any time.

Now it's finally time to face the test.

With a soft whoosh, the woman outside the window leaped up and quickly went outside to meet them.

"Assassin!!" A shout suddenly rang out from outside the window.

Above the courtyard, a woman dressed in white with flowing sleeves leaped into the air, heading straight towards the white-clad old man who was rushing towards her from afar.

"Master Chang Gull Academy Chang Xueyi?!" The woman recognized the old man the moment she saw him. A chill ran through her; she knew something was wrong.

"Zhao Niangzi? I didn't expect to see you here." The old man stroked his beard and said softly.

"What? You want to stop me? Get out of my way."

The woman fell silent, but did not move aside.

She knew she was no match for him, but since she had made a promise, she had to keep it.

She owed her life to Zhang Rongyu back then, and now, no matter what, she still had to do what she had to do! With a hiss, she slowly drew the soft sword from her waist, suddenly straightened it, and pointed it at her opponent.

"Mr. Chang comes from Benevolence Lineage. Do you remember the oath you took when you first entered the family?"

"A vow? You're just joking." Chang Xueyi. "I was never Bei People, but Spirit Person. I was just sent by orders to infiltrate Benevolence Lineage and change my identity."

He looked at the strong woman opposite him.

"I'll say it again, move aside."

***Just then, in the gaps between houses in the distance within the city.

A dark red figure flashed past, gradually slowing down before stopping on the rooftop of a building just over ten meters from the Mu Chi Prefecture. It gazed at the two figures facing off in the distance.

The person who arrived was Zhang Rongfang, who had just come from Wish Woman Canyon.

The experts he sent, as soon as the people from the Gull Academy entered the city, immediately relayed the news to Zhang Rongfang.

This meant that, before he was fully awake, he hurriedly got up and rushed to the vicinity to keep a close eye on the situation on both sides of the attackers and defenders.

"What's the situation now?" Zhang Rongfang asked Ying Shadow Daoist from the Human Immortal Temple beside him, while watching the two confronting each other in the distance.

"It's alright for now. There are only two attackers, and the defense is swarming with people, including quite a few experts. We should be able to decide the outcome soon," Shadow Daoist replied. "I estimate it'll be the same as last time, no major problems."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the white-robed old man flashed out and disappeared past the strong woman.

The woman raised her hand to strike, but her strike missed completely, hitting another spot instead.

He was struck on the shoulder by the old man and tumbled and fell to the ground.

"Grandmaster!? This isn't a big problem??" Zhang Rongfang's expression turned cold, and he silently rushed towards Mu Chi Prefecture from below.

The Shadow Daoist was also taken aback, never expecting the old man to be so powerful.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang had already passed through the building and entered through the side door. He quickly arrived at the courtyard next to his sister's side, stopped among the guards, and stood still, his eyes fixed on the old man in white.

The old man was like a sharp arrow piercing through layers of protective netting, leaping into the air repeatedly.

The barrage of crossbow bolts arranged by Zhang Rongyu was easily deflected by him with a casual wave of his hand.

The old man was getting closer and closer.

The older sister, Zhang Rongyu, had also come out of the room, her face pale and almost bloodless.

"How dare you!!"

At this moment, several worshippers rose from the ground and approached Chang Xueyi.

However, the gap between the two sides was too great. In just one exchange, the group was defeated and fell to the ground, unable to get up again.

At this moment, many guards inside the Mu Chi Prefecture were awakened and raised torches around them, brandishing their weapons and standing ready for battle.

But the old man broke through too quickly.

The ordinary soldiers treated him as nothing. With just a few quick movements, he passed through the blockade line created by the soldiers' crossbow bolts and approached Zhang Rongyu's courtyard.

At this moment, all that remained between him and Zhang Rongyu was a vast, empty courtyard.

"Senior, if I hand over the Sword Bell, will you spare us?" Zhang Rongyu said through gritted teeth.

"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place." The old man paused slightly and looked at Zhang Rongyu.

Suddenly he sighed, his figure flashed, and he moved straight forward to grab at his opponent.