The Two Are Different

"Here?"

At the end of a bluestone path in the rear courtyard of a grand residence stood an ancient, elegant pavilion nestled amid green trees and blooming flowers.

Su Qingyang and Ning Qingqing stood atop the pavilion, looking down at the brightly lit courtyard below, where faint voices drifted up.

"That's right. The God-Shocking Token appeared out of thin air on top of the corridor just now."

"Why did you come here?" Su Qingyang glanced sideways at her, somewhat curious.

Ning Qingqing looked around, her beautiful eyes bright and piercing.

"I came in pursuit of a flower thief. Three districts in the imperial city have suffered incidents one after another lately. A lecherous villain has been preying on unmarried young ladies."

"Not only does this thief defile women's chastity, he also uses a bizarre evil art to split open their skulls and consume their brains. His methods are exceedingly cruel."

As she spoke, a glint of killing intent surfaced in Ning Qingqing's eyes. She had been searching for this flower thief all along.

A young lady of exceptional beauty lived in this residence. Believing that the lecherous thief was very likely coveting her in secret, Ning Qingqing had concealed herself atop the pavilion to wait by the tree stump for the rabbit, intending to lie in wait for the culprit.

Yet she had unexpectedly encountered Blackheart Old Man instead.

Then they had witnessed the God-Shocking Token appear out of thin air, and the two had immediately fought fiercely.

At this point, Ning Qingqing paused and looked toward the long street where the old man had died, her delicate brows knitting together.

"I had originally suspected that old ghost might have been the wicked flower thief. Unfortunately, you killed him with a single punch. Now the dead tell no tales, and the trail has gone cold."

Su Qingyang had only listened to half of it before his gaze fell upon the spot where the God-Shocking Token had appeared.

Above the bright corridor, all manner of vine plants covered the overhead frame.

At that moment, they seemed blanketed in thick mud, squirming and shedding flakes as dark green droplets continuously dripped down.

Thick, mold-like fuzz covered parts of the vines' surfaces.

That fuzz seemed to possess the vitality of living creatures, constantly writhing and swaying. Like poisonous mushrooms sprouting from rotting wood, it endlessly scattered fine dark green dust into the air.

Su Qingyang narrowed his eyes slightly, golden light flashing within them like lightning!

He drew a breath.

Light gray specks were drawn over by his breath, trying to burrow into his nose and mouth.

Yet the moment those specks left the writhing gray mud, after traveling merely two or three meters, they began to slowly dissipate until they melted into the air.

"Just as expected!"

Su Qingyang landed upon the vines and casually grabbed a handful of gray sludge. It felt exactly like spores; when he lightly squeezed it, it went pfft, pfft.

"Ah?" Ning Qingqing followed after him, her gaze falling on his hand in curiosity. "Did you pick something up?"

"Didn't the elders of your family tell you anything?" Su Qingyang glanced at her. Even Liu Qingni had heard of it before, yet this member of the Fengtian Ning Clan knew nothing.

"What? Tell me what?"

Ning Qingqing's face was full of question marks as she looked at Su Qingyang with some resentment. Those old geezers were all alike—why did they all speak in riddles?

She secretly raised her eyes to examine Su Qingyang.

Hm?

But she had to admit it.

This old fellow in front of her was rather handsome, and his hands were beautiful too!

But at such an advanced age, still maintaining such a youthful appearance—was he trying to seduce young girls?

Ning Qingqing assumed Su Qingyang was far older than she was, perhaps some old monster who had lived for over a century and possessed an art for preserving his looks. After all, how could someone so young already be an Innate Warrior at the Three Flowers Crown the Summit stage?

"Nothing."

Utterly unaware of Ning Qingqing's thoughts, Su Qingyang ignited the fire of his blood and qi, instantly burning the sludge in his hand to ashes.

The two were different!

Su Qingyang compared it with the crimson Red Hair and quickly discerned the difference between them.

It seemed they had not emerged from the same place, and the effects they caused upon appearing in this world were different as well.

Then the appearance of the God-Shocking Token was most likely a meticulously laid trap.

The only question was what they sought by scattering God-Shocking Tokens and luring Innate Warriors at the Three Flowers Crown the Summit stage to their location.

An opportunity to break through to Grandmaster?

Those top Innate Realm warriors who entered the secret realm would likely end up as nourishment for others to seize their bodies and souls.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ning Qingqing standing beside him, absentminded and dazed. An unprecedented thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"I need an organization—one capable of investigating the world for me."

Hundred Rivers Sect, Barbarian Prefecture, Blood Shadow Tower, the Spirit-Shocking Secret Realm, the true and false princes...

The clues were tangled into a chaotic mess. Investigating them alone was far too slow.

The Secret Bureau, the Fengtian Aristocratic Houses, the forces of the imperial court...

If he could use his identity as the Sixth Prince to control a force spread throughout the land, one that could gather intelligence for him, many problems would be solved as easily as a knife through butter.

Su Qingyang finally developed a faint interest in this identity of the Sixth Prince.

"Senior, may I leave now?"

Ning Qingqing's large eyes rolled about as she desperately wanted to get away from this terrifying senior, then hide in her little room and recover a bit of her sense of safety.

Su Qingyang lowered his eyes to look at her. He suddenly revealed a kindly smile, yet it made Ning Qingqing's heart tremble.

"Miss Ning can be considered a talent. It would indeed be a pity to kill you."

Su Qingyang deliberately put on a troubled expression. "But you did offend me in the end, and that puts me in quite a predicament..."

Ning Qingqing instantly curled into a ball like a startled quail, trembling all over. Her little face scrunched up as she hurriedly bowed and begged for mercy.

"Spare my life, Senior! I was misled by that old thief just now, which was why I came into conflict with you. I beg you, in your great magnanimity, to forgive this junior just this once!"

"As they say, a prime minister's belly can hold a boat; a great man does not remember a small man's faults..."

Ning Qingqing trembled as a jumble of strange phrases spilled from her mouth.

Su Qingyang's face darkened as he listened, and he hurriedly stopped her. "Stop. Let me ask you: does the Fengtian Ning Clan have a Martial Dao Grandmaster overseeing it?"

Ning Qingqing froze, then timidly asked, "Ah? If we have a Grandmaster, you won't kill me?"

"...The Fengtian Aristocratic Houses do have Grandmasters."

Su Qingyang smiled faintly. "So your Ning Family doesn't."

"..."

Ning Qingqing fell silent for a moment, bit her lip, and stubbornly said, "Our Fengtian Aristocratic Houses are bound together by a common cause!"

"Hah! Say that outside if you like, but don't fool yourselves." Su Qingyang smiled dismissively. "Forget thirty-six aristocratic houses—even within a single great family, it is impossible for everyone to be bound together by a common cause and united from top to bottom."

Those words could only fool foolish youngsters who knew no better.

Ning Qingqing fell silent again, biting her lip. Su Qingyang was right. If the thirty-six aristocratic houses were truly bound together by a common cause, why had no one from the Ning Family joined the Heavenly Mandate Guard this year?

Wasn't it because the Ning Family had declined? Over these years, they had only had one aged and frail Innate Warrior at the Three Flowers Crown the Summit stage.

The Innate Realm was ultimately still mortal, with a lifespan of no more than two hundred years.

Only Grandmasters could transcend the ordinary and cast off the mundane, living as long as Peng Zu. With their long lifespans, they could look down upon the rise and fall of dynasties and aristocratic houses alike.

"What do you mean by that, Senior?"

Su Qingyang raised his eyes. Clear moonlight spilled entirely over him, while his surging blood and qi spread into a gentle glowing haze. He seemed to gather all the moonlight of heaven and earth unto himself as he slowly spoke.

"Do you want to break through to become a Martial Dao Grandmaster?"