"But before getting to the bottom of this question."
"Earthly Lotus..."
Zeng Anmin's gaze settled on the imperial palace.
It was information he had seen in the Secret Archives Repository of the Imperial City Department.
"An evil zombie with a powerful physical body can temporarily increase its combat strength greatly by swallowing an Earthly Lotus."
Zeng Anmin had caught that piece of information with exceptional sharpness.
That Hat Guest's arrival that day had been far too strange.
And there was also his combat strength.
His fighting style had relied entirely on the physical body...
Moreover, from the Hat Guest's panicked escape beneath the Second Rank Ancestor's short sword, one could infer—
The Hat Guest possessed the sort of strength that fell short of the best yet surpassed the rest.
He could crush a Third Rank Martial Artist.
Yet before a Second Rank Martial Artist, he had fled in panic...
If that was the case.
A deep, shadowy look surfaced on Zeng Anmin's face.
"Judging further from the image deduced by the Profound Formation Division's disciples..."
"The Hat Guest's identity is very likely that evil zombie I encountered."
"As for why the Hat Guest's strength did not match that evil zombie's..."
Zeng Anmin muttered to himself:
"Earthly Lotus... The boost in strength gained by an evil zombie that consumed an Earthly Lotus is temporary."
Then the question arose.
Zeng Anmin narrowed his eyes, his voice carrying faint confusion:
"What is the evil zombie's purpose?"
"Or rather, what is the purpose of the person behind the evil zombie...?"
"Assassinating His Majesty?" Zeng Anmin slowly shook his head.
"If the goal were to assassinate Emperor Jianhong, they would never have chosen such an occasion, much less the capital."
Wait.
Zeng Anmin's eyes suddenly froze.
He raised his head and looked toward the imperial