Zhu Youning slowly walked out of Jiaolan Hall.
He stood in the square before the hall and looked back. Apart from the great hall rising in the middle, there was nothing around it. Only now and then did a palace maid carrying fine wine and delicacies, or a eunuch with a whisk, tread cautiously inside.
Everyone here acted with utmost deference and care, afraid that one careless misstep might offend the emperor and cost them their lives.
He raised his head and saw clouds surging across the sky, dark currents churning beneath them.
Lowering his gaze, Zhu Youning looked at the ground beneath his feet and couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Jiaolan Hall was destined to be drenched in blood and swept by a storm of violence after all.
Tonight, Zhu Youning hadn't summoned Miaocheng Tian or Xuanjing Tian to his bed. Instead, he planned to borrow something from two other people.
What he wanted to borrow was the Inverted Dragon and Phoenix Art!
As for what exactly the Inverted Dragon and Phoenix Art was, well, the name said it all. Those who knew, knew!
It was a dual-cultivation technique unique to Black and White Impermanence. It wasn't some peerless martial art, but it had a wide range of uses.
Since Zhu Youwen was still in Bian Prefecture, his disciples, Black and White Impermanence, were there as well. They weren't hard to track down.
That night, Zhu Youning put on an ordinary Liang Soldier's suit of armor and a metal mask. In an alley, he came upon two strange figures.
One was a man and the other a woman. The man wore black from head to toe, and his face was deathly pale, with eerie dark-red eyeshadow painted around his eyes.
The woman was dressed all in white. She had a graceful figure, and though her face was just as pallid and bloodless, she too wore dark-red eyeshadow, with dark-red flowers painted on her cheeks.
Both wore bizarre, tall hats.
The words "Fortune at First Sight" were written on White Impermanence's hat, while Black Impermanence's bore the words "Peace Under Heaven."
They were Black and White Impermanence.
Chang Haoling and Chang Xuanling!
At that moment, White Impermanence, Chang Xuanling, seemed to be itching to vent her anger. From her tone, she was clearly resentful toward someone but didn't dare show it, so she could only grumble and curse under her breath.
"Zhu Youwen treats us like hired hands and nothing else!"
"Shh!" Chang Haoling quickly gestured for Chang Xuanling to be quiet, then whispered, "Xuanling, keep your voice down. We can't afford to provoke Master."
Chang Xuanling was still fuming. "What kind of master? He barely taught us any martial arts. All he does is treat us like servants! He calls us his disciples, but what are we really? Just his servants! If he really saw us as disciples, why wouldn't he teach us the Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Skill?"
"Little sister, you know that's impossible. He treasures the Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Skill! How could he possibly teach it to us?"
Chang Haoling had plenty of grievances against Zhu Youwen too, but he was cautious by nature and kept his voice low.
"What would Zhu Youwen say if he heard you talking like that?"
Just then, as Black and White Impermanence were badmouthing Zhu Youwen, a low, hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
"Who's there? Show yourself! Eavesdropping on Impermanence is asking for a death wish!"
The unexpected voice startled Chang Xuanling. She had never been one to hold her temper, and she immediately shouted, "Who's there?"
"Little sister, don't make a sound."
Chang Haoling was more alert. He was already on guard. With a glance, he signaled Chang Xuanling, and the two stood back-to-back, warily scanning their surroundings. Between their fingers, they had quietly revealed their signature hidden weapons: Spirit Edge Daggers.
The Spirit Edge Dagger was the signature hidden weapon of Black and White Impermanence.
Despite its pleasant-sounding name, the dagger was coated in corpse poison. A single lick could be fatal, and even the slightest cut to an ordinary person's skin would kill them instantly.
Though Black and White Impermanence were only at Mid-Star Rank, even a martial arts expert whose internal cultivation had reached the Small-Heaven Realm could die if struck by one of these weapons and infected with corpse poison. Without Black and White Impermanence's unique antidote, there was no escape.
But Zhu Youning wasn't afraid in the slightest. The corpse poison of Black and White Impermanence could threaten Small-Heaven Realm martial artists at most. Against anyone above that level, it was useless.
The voice from earlier had naturally been his doing. He'd only wanted to give Black and White Impermanence a scare.
And he had succeeded.
The person who'd spoken had appeared and vanished without a trace. His martial arts were clearly far beyond theirs.
The alley fell silent. Only Black and White Impermanence remained, their hearts in their throats as they slowly circled back-to-back, hoping to find Zhu Youning.
"Don't bother looking. You won't find me."
The alley was undoubtedly home to wealthy families.
To keep thieves from stealing their possessions, the rich built their walls high. As a result, the alley was deep and dark.
In such a deep, dark alley, any sound would echo.
When the voice rang out once more and its echo faded, Chang Haoling's brows knitted tightly. He gripped a Spirit Edge Dagger between the fingers of his left hand, while his right hand silently closed around the hilt of a short sword. An invisible, oppressive tension began to spread through the alley.
Black and White Impermanence were on edge.
Then Chang Haoling's pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw someone.
At the far end of the otherwise empty alley, someone stood without making a sound. The alley was so dark that he could only make out a rough silhouette.
A bone-chilling aura poured from the figure. He seemed colder than ice itself.
Just then, fog began to rise through the alley.
It grew thicker and thicker, almost obscuring the moon.
The figure stood in the mist, cold and indistinct, seemingly holding an icy sword.
"Who are you?"
At Chang Haoling's voice, Chang Xuanling turned to look as well.
They cautiously approached and finally made out Zhu Youning, dressed in Liang Soldier armor. They cried out in alarm, "Who are you? How dare you play ghost before Impermanence! Are you tired of living?!"
"Little sister, be careful!" Chang Haoling warned in a low voice.
Zhu Youning said nothing. He simply stood there.
He held an ordinary iron sword, but it didn't look ordinary.
A chill aura, formed from his yin-soft Northern Dark True Qi, coiled around the blade. Its tip slanted toward the ground. Though shrouded in mist, it glimmered like water, casting a thin shadow of cold steel.
Chang Haoling and Chang Xuanling stared at the mysterious figure in Liang Soldier armor and suddenly felt an extraordinary chill.
Many times colder than ice!
That icy feeling came from the mysterious masked man before them, dressed in Liang Soldier armor.
He held only a simple pose, yet he and his sword had become one, inseparable and impossible to read. From any angle, it seemed he could unleash a fatal strike with effortless directness.
After a while, Zhu Youning finally spoke.
"Covering the sun and dimming the day, with yin at its height and daylight plunged into darkness—you may call me Yanri!"
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