Green Robe Tower

Beneath the deep darkness of night, He Heng stood in the street with his hands behind his back. The famed Longevity Sword lay at his side.

It was already the small hours of the morning. The moon and stars had dimmed, and the sun had yet to rise. It was the darkest time of day—the darkness before dawn.

A chill seeped into the air, and He Heng's heart turned colder still, surpassing the darkness and cold before dawn. He gazed indifferently toward a place darker than the rest.

"He's been gone for so long. Are you still not coming out?"

He Heng's voice rang out, breaking the silence of the endless night.

He looked toward the corner he had spotted. A patch of mist had appeared there out of nowhere, hazy and indistinct, with a figure inside.

A faint silhouette, seeming even fainter than the mist—more illusory and elusive.

He Heng looked into the mist at the figure and saw only a pair of eyes.

No one could describe what kind of eyes they were.

Eyes were, of course, set in a face, but that person's face had dissolved into the mist. Though his eyes held a glimmer of light, even that light seemed to have melded with the mist.

Though He Heng could see his eyes, it seemed as if all he could see was still a patch of mist.

After the mist appeared, He Heng suddenly smiled, though no one knew why.

The person in the mist smiled, too, just as inexplicably.

They laughed for a while, then looked at each other.

The figure in the mist said, "Thank you for guiding him today. His swordsmanship still has tremendous potential. Given time, he might reach our realm. But the overly rigid break easily. I believe he'll make great progress after this."

He Heng looked at him. "No need to thank me. We're cut from the same cloth. Besides, I didn't spare him because you were here. I wanted to see how far he could go—whether he could reach the pinnacle!"

The figure in the mist gazed into the distance. "I believe he can."

"Is that so..." He Heng's features grew even more indistinct. He glanced at the mist and said, "There's something else I wanted to see you about today."

The figure in the mist looked at He Heng. "What is it?"

He Heng smiled. "It's not me who wants to see you. Boss Azure Dragon does. I'm just passing along the message."

"Oh? What does he want with me?" the figure in the mist asked.

He Heng looked at him, his expression as still as water. "What else could he want? Naturally, it's about this... world."

"The world?" The figure in the mist murmured, still puzzled.

"He wants you to join him in a great undertaking, one that could change the entire martial world and prepare the way to seize the realm in the future." He Heng abruptly spread his arms, as if embracing heaven and earth and crushing the universe in his grasp. The air around him surged violently, seeming to explode with that embrace and roll without end.

"Is that so? Interesting. I haven't exercised in a long time. But will you be taking part, too?" The figure in the mist studied He Heng's movements, then praised him. "Your Embrace the Bright Moon is much stronger than before."

"Haha, of course." He Heng smiled and continued, "Naturally, I won't sit this one out. We may be facing the strongest expert in the world, after all. How could I pass up the chance to fight him?"

"Now I'm even more curious. Who are you planning to fight?" the figure in the mist asked.

"You'll find out in due time," He Heng said mysteriously.

The long night had to end. At last, it passed, and a brand-new day dawned.

He Heng continued riding his horse, making his way slowly along the path.

Before long, he arrived at a grand city. It was prosperous, with people streaming along the streets, vendors calling out their wares, and carriages filling the roads. The place was bustling with noise.

He Heng silently entered an unassuming little building. It stood in a remote part of town, where few people passed by. It was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the noisy streets.

The interior was somewhat dim, the light indistinct, but the table before the counter was spotless.

"May I help you, sir?" A young attendant hurried over to greet He Heng as soon as he entered.

He Heng waved him away without a word, then slowly walked up to the counter. He looked at the shopkeeper and took out a drawing.

The shopkeeper shuddered at the sight of it. His expression changed as he looked at He Heng, seeming to regard him with boundless awe, but he quickly composed himself.

He immediately came out from behind the counter and said, "Please, sir, come upstairs!"

He Heng followed him upstairs and entered an ordinary room. It was cramped and extremely dim.

The shopkeeper glanced around, shut the door, then abruptly dropped to his knees before He Heng.

"Your subordinate pays his respects to the First Tower Master."

He Heng stood with his hands behind his back and looked down through the upstairs window. "Get up."

The shopkeeper hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Tower Master."

He Heng suddenly turned around to look at him. His gaze was unfathomably deep, like two black holes that swallowed everything.

"I came here today with an important matter."

"Please give your orders, Tower Master. I'll go through fire and water without hesitation," the shopkeeper said, bowing low.

He Heng looked at him, his expression still as water. "Recently, I and the Great Dragon Head of the Azure Dragon Society, along with several others, have been planning something momentous—something that will shake the world. To ensure it isn't disrupted, the entire Green Robe Tower must refrain from any transgressions for the time being. Do you understand?"

The shopkeeper shuddered. "Your subordinate understands."

"Good. Pass my orders to all One Hundred and Eight Towers of the Green Robe Tower at once." He Heng nodded, his tone stern. "Effective immediately, without my orders, the One Hundred and Eight Towers of the Green Robe Tower are to cease all operations except their routine duties and lie low. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"

"Also, have all the elite fighters from every tower stand by, ready to await my orders and take action."

"Finally, tell the Second, Fourth, Seventh, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Tower Masters to drop everything and come see me at once."

"Your subordinate will carry out your orders." The shopkeeper bowed respectfully and hurried out.

The pitch-black room was suddenly left with He Heng alone. He stood in the darkness, his figure indistinct and hazy, as if he had merged with the gloom.

In this lifetime, He Heng's origins were just as extraordinary. He was born into a family with countless ties to the Azure Dragon Society. That was why he was so familiar with Boss Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon Society was not, as some novels described, founded and secretly controlled by the imperial court to bring the martial world completely under its thumb.

In fact, the Azure Dragon Society had existed long before the Great Ming Dynasty. No one knew when or why it had been founded.

It seemed to have been part of the martial world ever since its very beginning. No one knew when or where it had emerged, who had led it, or when it had infiltrated the martial world.

When had the martial world come into being? There was no answer to that question. Wherever there were people, there was a martial world. It had existed since the birth of humankind, and it would never disappear unless humanity became extinct.

Like the dynasties, the Azure Dragon Society had endured throughout the ages. It represented both good and evil, and had always sought to overthrow the other, yet neither side had ever been able to defeat the other.

Unlike the dynasties, which rose and fell regularly, the Azure Dragon Society had never been destroyed since its founding, though it had weakened at times.

It was like the desires in people's hearts: they would never, ever perish. Thus, the Azure Dragon Society would exist forever.

No one knew what kind of person Boss Azure Dragon was.

Over hundreds and thousands of years, dynasties had risen and fallen, and the Azure Dragon Society had waxed and waned. Yet the hand that controlled the Azure Dragon had remained eternal. No one knew whether it had ever changed, and it seemed to be the very same hand as in the beginning.

But could anyone live for a thousand years? At the very least, no one in this world could.

Even He Heng couldn't see through Boss Azure Dragon's mystery. He couldn't explain or describe it.

Though He Heng might have been the person in the world who understood him best, he still didn't know whether Boss Azure Dragon was male or female, young or old, what he looked like, or how strong his martial arts were. It remained a mystery.

When He Heng led his family away from the Azure Dragon Society, he had assumed Boss Azure Dragon would step in to stop him. He hadn't expected the other party to show no reaction at all and simply ignore him.

Was it because Boss Azure Dragon didn't care, or because he was only shrouded in mystery and possessed little real power? He Heng knew none of this, despite being the person in the world closest to that figure.

After countless years of change, the Azure Dragon Society had been shaped by history. Everyone except the Dragon Head had inevitably fallen to the same fate as the dynasties, with various factions and families taking control. Yet no one dared to offend that "emperor." Boss Azure Dragon seemed like the moon hanging high in the sky, coldly watching everything below and controlling it all, while paying no attention to anything. But his existence was an obstacle no ambitious person could ever get around.

It was only after He Heng appeared that he seized control of his family through sheer strength and began to bare his claws to the outside world. He soon absorbed nearly a third of the Azure Dragon Society's power, yet Boss Azure Dragon continued to watch from the sidelines. To him, the world was governed by the law of the jungle, and He Heng's actions were right.

After that, He Heng stopped expanding within the society. Instead, drawing on the novels he had read, he absorbed several powerful forces: Huo Xiu's Green Robe Tower, Xue Xiaoren's assassin organization, Old Knife Handle's Ghost Villa, and others. His power swelled further. Then he reorganized them into the One Hundred and Eight Towers of the Green Robe Tower, combining all the forces in his hands and breaking away from the Azure Dragon Society. Yet Boss Azure Dragon still paid no heed.

"What kind of person are you, really?" He Heng murmured as he merged with the darkness.

P.S. When you send me a tip, please let me know in the comments. The system is very buggy right now and often doesn't notify me. I tested it myself, and I didn't receive any notification for a tip, so please tell me, or I might not know.