Fate!

"You said... this Demonic Beast was transformed from a Six Doors constable?"

Qin Wushe's pupils contracted slightly. He exchanged a glance with the old man in scholar's robes, and both saw the shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"Yes."

Liu Qingni's expression remained composed as she explained. Yet she concealed Su Qingyang's existence, saying only that they had begun with the news of Su Huai's death at Purple Pavilion Manor and followed the trail all the way to the Six Doors constables who had escorted him back to the capital.

After speaking, she lowered her eyes and stood quietly to one side.

Yet she could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.

Though she had hastily pieced together a rough account of events, she could not be certain that she could fool figures such as Martial Dao Grandmasters.

Xia Konghan, on the other side, also furrowed his brow, seemingly not expecting such twists and turns behind the matter.

He then explained to the two Grandmasters that he had been disturbed by a huge commotion late at night and had thus acted to kill the monster.

Hearing this, Qin Wushe swept his gaze over them. His pupils were sharp, as though he had seen that both of them were concealing something to some extent, but he said nothing further.

"Then it seems Barbarian Prefecture has undergone some changes!"

The old man in scholar's robes spoke gravely. He had always looked down on Barbarian Prefecture as a land of barbarians. Had he known this would happen, he should have acted back then and wiped out those barbarians.

Qin Wushe pondered. "Some days ago, was it not said that banditry had arisen in Barbarian Prefecture? Could it be that members of the White Lotus Cult have learned some secret..."

"Or perhaps those barbarians who submitted still harbor treacherous hearts and have once again sacrificed to their evil god!" The old man in scholar's robes looked at Qin Wushe and asked, "Brother Wushe once ventured into the Barbarian Sacred Mountain. Do you know what secrets that so-called evil god hides?"

"What god exists in this world? I once drew my bow and shot down their great temple, yet no god came to punish me!" Qin Wushe said calmly, carrying an innate dominance.

The old man in scholar's robes pondered, then said, "Of the two constables, one is still nowhere to be found. If a Demonic Beast has also parasitized his body..."

"There is no need to mobilize men on a grand scale and alert the enemy. Find this person first. Perhaps we can follow the vine and find the melon..."

Before he could finish, an icy voice suddenly descended from the heavens.

"Too troublesome. I will personally make a trip to Barbarian Prefecture and see what sort of fiend is causing trouble."

"No, there may be an accident!" The old man in scholar's robes hurriedly said. Transforming into a streak of sword light, he shot into the high sky, intending to stop him.

"What accident could there be? Could anyone beneath these heavens possibly keep me?"

The voice in the sky grew ever fainter as two streaks of sword light tangled together and flew away from the imperial city.

Qin Wushe withdrew his gaze from the heavens and let it fall upon Liu Qingni.

Those pale golden eyes were so sharp they struck fear into one's heart, making it impossible to meet them for long. A moment later, he suddenly restrained his edge and smiled faintly.

"Miss Liu belongs to the Secret Bureau. I leave the search for Huang Di to you. If you encounter trouble on the road that cannot be resolved, simply report my name."

As he spoke, he took a wooden token from his robes and handed it to Liu Qingni.

Liu Qingni looked over. Carved upon the wooden token was a golden-feathered eagle spreading its wings. Its patterns were ancient and unadorned, yet they concealed a powerful arrow intent.

Having said this, Qin Wushe let out a long laugh. His figure flashed, turning into a streak of golden light that vanished beyond the horizon.

"..."

At last, the air fell quiet. Ning Qingqing looked around, let out a long breath, patted her chest, and squatted down with a miserable little face.

She had it far too hard.

In one day, she had gone through the Demon Ghost incident and met three Grandmasters. The pressure had been as enormous as a mountain, and cold sweat had not stopped running down her back.

"My lord is truly heartless. He turned around and ran off, leaving us here to deal with the aftermath."

Suddenly, she jolted violently.

Because...

A warm, large hand had somehow landed atop her head. Ning Qingqing stiffly raised her little head and saw the suddenly appearing Su Qingyang. Her expression was on the verge of tears.

"M-My lord, you didn't leave?"

"Of course I didn't leave!" Su Qingyang fiercely patted her head, then looked toward Liu Qingni. "You have worked hard, Miss Liu."

Su Qingyang gazed at the two Martial Dao Grandmasters who were departing from the imperial city, his eyes narrowing slightly.

As for Qin Wushe, known as the Northern Ling Arrow Emperor, and the two sword immortals who had appeared, his assessment was:

Passable, but not strong enough.

It seemed there were differences even among True Qi Grandmasters!

"Let's go!"

Now that things had come to this, Su Qingyang had conveyed the matter of Barbarian Prefecture through Liu Qingni and captured that Demon Ghost. It was time to properly clean things up.

"But in the next instant...

"My lord, please stay!"

A voice full of enthusiasm and sincerity suddenly rang out. It came from Xia Konghan!

Xia Konghan, clad in white robes, stepped forward and called out to Su Qingyang. The excitement and warmth in his once cold, proud eyes were now impossible to conceal.

"What, you wish to fight me as well?"

Su Qingyang lightly raised a brow, revealing a faint smile. Xia Konghan's expression immediately stiffened, and an awkward smile appeared on his face.

"How could a Grandmaster say such a thing? No matter how arrogant this junior may be, I would not dare be so presumptuous as to challenge you."

"Besides, you are my savior. Other than admiration, I also feel gratitude toward you!"

Xia Konghan straightened his clothes, his tone filled with gratitude and sincerity. None of the coldness and pride from their first meeting remained.

"There is no need for this. In a sense, I should thank you instead."

Su Qingyang spoke blandly. Otherwise, if Liu Qingni had directly used the Blood Jade, that Demon Ghost would have been blasted to pieces without even a corpse left behind.

"However, you did not stop me merely to spout this nonsense. For the sake of your courage, and because I am in a good mood today, I can answer one question for you."

Xia Konghan's eyes immediately lit up. Knowing that opportunity must not be lost, he did not dare decline and promptly asked:

"My lord, might you offer this junior some guidance? Can I break through to Martial Dao Grandmaster?"

Su Qingyang expressionlessly swept his gaze over him from head to toe. "I have nothing to guide you on. Your martial arts and foundation rank among the finest of the younger generation. Given time, breaking through to Three Flowers Crown the Summit will be no difficult matter."

"As for Grandmaster, I can only tell you this: it depends on your fate!"

"Fate? What... does that mean?" Xia Konghan's expression froze. He had not expected such an answer.

"Exactly what it means!"

"If your fate is good, breaking through to Grandmaster will be as smooth as sailing downstream. If your fate is poor..."

Su Qingyang did not continue, but the meaning was self-evident.

Having said that, he ignored Xia Konghan, who stood there stunned. With a sweep of his sleeve, he left with Liu Qingni and Ning Qingqing.

Inside a private room somewhere.

A somewhat slovenly man was drinking.

The wine was fine wine.

Across from him sat a beautiful woman wearing heavy makeup. Her delicate hands were pouring wine for him, while her lovely eyes gazed at him with tender affection.

"My lord, would you like this servant to play a tune for you?"

The woman was brimming with delight, for the man was not short of money and paid generously in silver.

"Hm? Thousand Slave actually died just like that."

The man suddenly muttered to himself. His ordinary-looking face abruptly radiated a terrifying Sha Qi that warned the living to stay away.

"My lord, what is wrong? Has this servant failed to attend to you properly..."

The woman spoke while trembling like a white rabbit fallen into a tiger's jaws, but halfway through, she suddenly could not continue.

Her face gradually filled with terror.

"Y-Your face..."

The man raised his right hand and gently covered the left side of his face. Through the gaps between his fingers, one could see a horrifying crack splitting that half of his face.

From within the crack, two scarlet vertical pupils shot out, flashing with boundless bloodlust and Sha Qi!

"What a pity! You actually saw it..."

As the words fell, the woman exploded in midair, bursting into a cloud of blood mist. The man opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing it all into his stomach.

Then he walked to the window and looked down upon the countless living beings below.

"Thousand Slave and I were both of [Thousand Army], yet he died so quickly. Could it be that a [True General] took action?"

Naturally, he did not care about the death of a comrade. Yet this concerned their plans, and he could not afford to be careless.

"...It seems I must hurry and die as well!"

"But I cannot die just anywhere. I need the right time, the right place."

The man spoke blandly, his tone cold and merciless. Slowly raising his eyes, he looked toward the imperial palace, revealing an unblemished face.

If anyone who knew him had seen it, they would surely have recognized him. It was Huang Di.