Night Clouds Brew Rain (1)

The night was black as ink. The wind over Beast Spirit Peak carried the mountain's peculiar chill as it swept past the lattice windows of True Person Yulan's residence, letting out faint, broken whimpers. The sound seemed like some ill omen, or like countless tiny claws scraping at one's nerves.

Inside, True Person Yulan sat silently before the couch, his face so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water, the violent malice churning in his eyes nearly bursting through the restraints of flesh.

It had been a full half year.

Ever since learning that Shen Qingming, the sect leader's disciple, possessed the prophetic ability to glimpse the future, he had immediately become wary and thought first of eliminating him. Yet he had actually failed last time—despite being in the Soul Emergence Realm, he had failed to deal with a mere Golden Core junior!

The more True Person Yulan thought about it, the angrier he became. His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, coldness seeping from the gaps between his bones.

His plan that day had been simple and direct, but it should also have been foolproof. So what if Zhu Yuqing had left three protective strands of Sword Qi within Shen Yuxi? Having been fellow disciples for centuries, he knew Yuqing's sword techniques like the back of his hand even with his eyes closed. Dealing with them should have been effortless.

The problem had been time. Once the Sword Qi was triggered, Yuqing, with his cultivation, would certainly sense it. He could not afford to delay, yet Hua Wuyi of the Hehuan Sect had chosen that very moment to stick her hand in, throwing his arrangements into disarray.

Time was what he lacked most. He could only watch helplessly as an opportunity already within his grasp slipped away, returning