Ye Yang stood with his hands behind his back, not gazing up at the stars but looking down toward the Prince's residence, where the lights glimmered beneath the night sky.
Though he hadn't activated the Emperor Armor's perception, his instincts for sensing fate and malice were exceptionally sharp.
From the direction of Xue Xing's residence, a gloomy, restless aura—one carrying the air of someone with nothing left to lose—was quietly rising.
"Has the dog been driven to leap over the wall...?" Ye Yang murmured to himself, a cold smile playing at his lips.
Xue Xing's reaction had been just as he expected. People cornered by fear either broke down or took desperate risks.
He was hoping for the latter. The crazier the action, the more flaws it would expose.
A thought stirred in his mind. He didn't summon the Emperor Armor, instead blending a thread of the faintest spiritual power into the night breeze and sending it silently toward the Prince's residence.
It was a rudimentary application of the "wind" and "spirit" among the Five Elements. It couldn't match the wondrous Zen Seal, but it had the advantage of being silent and difficult to detect.
His spiritual power swept like a thin mist over the high walls of the residence, avoiding several obvious Soul Power sentries. It picked up hushed conversations, hurried footsteps, and a faint ripple of Soul Power from the direction of a secret chamber.
"Shadow Pavilion... Ghost Head Order..." A few broken phrases rode the breeze to him. A glint flashed in Ye Yang's eyes.
Shadow Pavilion? He quickly searched the original owner's memories and the information he had gathered over the past few days.
An assassination organization that had vanished from the world long ago, with an old grudge against the Clear Sky Sect. Was Xue Xing trying to kill two birds with one stone and divert the blame?
"Interesting." Ye Yang withdrew his spiritual power.
Xue Xing hadn't disappointed him. He'd actually managed to contact people like that. These waters ran deeper than he'd expected.
Still, Shadow Pavilion's involvement might help him draw out things hidden in the shadows more quickly, such as... the Clear Sky Sect's true attitude.
He turned and looked toward the elegant courtyard where Tang Yuehua lived. Its lights were out, and all was quiet.
"Madam, if your elder brother knew that the blade of an old enemy might be turned toward the Clear Sky Sect again because you entered the palace... what would you choose?" Ye Yang whispered, as if asking the night.
He wasn't in a hurry to stop Xue Xing.
On the contrary, he needed to let the blade come out first so he could see its path. As for Ning Fengyuan... Ye Yang fell into thought.
Ning Fengyuan wasn't a great villain, and he belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Letting him be killed might certainly worsen the turmoil, but it wasn't what Ye Yang wanted, and it could leave behind an uncontrollable variable.
"Perhaps I can give Uncle Xue Xing an even bigger 'gift.'" Ye Yang already had a plan.
He needed an assassination attempt to fail at just the right moment: enough to alarm all sides and confirm that an outside force was at work, while keeping Ning Fengyuan alive. That would give the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's anger a more specific target and... expose one of Xue Xing's trump cards for nothing.
On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, beside the main road leading to Heaven Dou City.
Qian Renxue leaned against an old tree, resting as she chewed on some dry rations. She had been traveling nonstop, sleeping rough and eating on the go, yet her gaze remained clear and keen. Soul Power circulated smoothly through her body, and she was growing more adept at controlling her Emperor War Dragon Martial Soul through combat and stealth.
But that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was like a ticking bomb buried deep in her heart. The faint tremors it occasionally sent through her always left her unsettled.
"Heaven Dou City..." She gazed at the faint outline on the distant horizon—the center of the empire's power and prosperity, and perhaps where all the answers would converge.
She might find clues there about Ye Yang's identity, the secrets of this body, and the Soul Ring's abnormality.
She needed a new, plausible identity.
Appearing openly as Ye Yang would be suicide, while pretending to be an ordinary young Soul Master would make it difficult to get close to the people who mattered.
Join a Soul Master Academy? Infiltrate a noble's residence? Or... make use of Spirit Hall's hidden forces?
No. She couldn't contact Spirit Hall just yet. Her disappearance had likely already caused a stir, and returning rashly before learning the truth about Ye Yang and this body could lead to unforeseeable consequences.
As she pondered, the clatter of carriage wheels and a commotion came from the main road.
A caravan had stopped nearby to rest. Its guards were laughing and talking loudly, while the curtain of a more luxurious carriage was drawn aside. A middle-aged man who looked like a steward was scolding a servant.
Qian Renxue's gaze swept over them, then stopped on the caravan's banner. It bore a crossed sword and shield, with the tiny characters "Seven Treasure" beside it.
A caravan of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
Her heart stirred.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was wealthy beyond measure, with caravans across the continent and access to abundant information.
If she could join them, she might find an opportunity to make some useful connections after reaching Heaven Dou City.
Besides, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had close ties to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. She might hear more about Crown Prince Ye Yang.
She quickly assessed her condition. Her Soul Power was at rank thirty, but her actual strength was far greater. Her Martial Soul was special but could be concealed, and she looked about thirteen or fourteen—the perfect age to be recruited as a temporary guard or servant.
Still, a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had recently been killed outside Heaven Dou City. The caravan would undoubtedly be on high alert, and its screening would be strict.
As Qian Renxue weighed the pros and cons, a commotion and cries suddenly came from the rear of the caravan!
"Soul Beasts! Watch out!"
"Gale Wolves, over a hundred years old! There's more than one!"
Several blue-gray shapes burst from the woods on the flank, swift as lightning, lunging straight for the carriages loaded with the caravan's cargo! They were Gale Wolves, famed for their speed. The leader already bore faint silver markings on its forehead and was close to a thousand years old!
Most of the caravan's guards were Soul Masters in their twenties or thirties. Caught off guard, they were thrown into disarray in an instant. The steward turned deathly pale and stumbled backward.
Qian Renxue's eyes narrowed. An opportunity!
She didn't immediately use her Emperor War Dragon Martial Soul. Its aura would draw too much attention.
Instead, she poured Soul Power into her legs, mimicking the effect of a wind-type acceleration. Her figure shot forward like an arrow! At the same time, she picked up several handy stones and wrapped them in Soul Power, flicking her wrist again and again!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The stones tore through the air, striking the joints or eyes of several Gale Wolves lunging for the carriages and servants! The blows weren't fatal, but they interrupted the wolves' attacks and bought the guards time.
In the next instant, she had charged to the side of the nearly thousand-year-old wolf king. With a low shout, she covered her fist in a layer of condensed, pale golden Soul Power and drove it into the wolf king's soft flank without any fancy moves!
"Bang!"
The wolf king howled in pain and was sent flying several meters. It crashed through a small tree, then struggled back to its feet and stared warily at the sudden arrival—a youth whose aura seemed weak, yet whose strength was terrifying.
Qian Renxue stood in front of the carriage, calmly surveying the pack.
She hadn't released her Soul Ring, but her steady bearing, tempered by the trials of killing, along with the precise technique and formidable strength she'd just displayed, made the wolf king instinctively sense the threat she posed.
The wolf king growled a few times, then finally led the pack back into the woods, unwillingly disappearing from sight.
Before you continue