A Secret Deal

Night lay black as ink, and the oil lamp in the small courtyard flickered unsteadily.

Wang Dong panted heavily as he shut the courtyard gate. He did not forget to poke his head out and scan the surroundings, confirming that no tail had followed him before he hurried to the quiet room.

"I risked my neck today to find an old friend who used to do maintenance work for the sword formation," Wang Dong said in a lowered voice, his fat face grave. "He was only transferred away from sword formation duty a few days ago. He secretly told me that Xiao Wuji visited the formation foundation hall late one night a few days ago and stayed alone before the formation mechanism platform for a long time. Moreover, Xiao Wuji transferred out a batch of reserve Spirit Crystals for high-grade Flying Sword Puppets."

"Reserve Spirit Crystals?" Shen Yuan's gaze sharpened.

"That's right." Wang Dong nodded. "Spirit Crystals are the energy source that drives Flying Sword Puppets. The output power of the Spirit Crystals for the seventh-floor flying swords originally had a limit set by the elders. If additional high-grade reserve Spirit Crystals are installed, the flying swords' speed and killing power will soar by a huge margin out of thin air. Publicly, he can use 'maintenance reserves to prevent the Spirit Crystals from running dry midway through the test' as a pretext. Once the test begins, all he needs to do is secretly adjust the formation mechanism and connect the extra Spirit Crystals to the seventh floor's formation patterns. The killing intent inside will double in an instant."

What a vicious method.

Every operation could be dressed in the legitimate guise of "maintaining test safety." Even if someone investigated afterward, it would be difficult to convict him directly.

"That maintenance worker also said that Xiao Wuji has secretly been exchanging letters with Zhao Kun, who was sent to face the wall," Wang Dong continued. "Although Zhao Kun himself is confined at Wall-Facing Cliff, he can pass notes through trusted aides. Zhao Kun wrote to Xiao Wuji about all your combat habits and weaknesses in your moves. Xiao Wuji will specifically adjust the seventh floor flying swords' attack patterns to counter your True Subduing Tiger Fist and movement techniques."

After hearing this, a chill slowly rose in Shen Yuan's heart.

Even while facing the wall, Zhao Kun had not given up plotting against him. He had leaked all of Shen Yuan's fighting habits to Xiao Wuji, allowing the latter to set a deathtrap tailored specifically for him within the sword formation.

"One link chained to another." Shen Yuan spoke slowly. "Open spears and hidden arrows—they've prepared them all. They're only waiting for me to step into the Azure Cloud Sword Formation."

"What do we do now? Should we report this to Elder Zhang?" Wang Dong asked anxiously. "Xiao Wuji privately transferred Spirit Crystals, which already breaks the rules. If the elder intervenes and orders him to remove the extra Spirit Crystals, the crisis can be resolved directly."

Shen Yuan shook his head slightly.

"We only have the verbal testimony of your old maintenance-worker friend. We have no physical evidence. Xiao Wuji can completely argue that the transferred Spirit Crystals are merely reserves for maintenance and were never connected to the formation patterns. Without catching him altering the formation mechanism on the spot, a verbal accusation will only alert the snake."

Once the snake was alerted, Xiao Wuji could temporarily remove the Spirit Crystals and destroy the evidence, then secretly reconnect them during the test. They would gain no leverage, yet would instead be suspected of falsely accusing an Inner Sect senior brother.

Wang Dong let out a heavy sigh and lightly slammed his fist against the stone table. "Knowing full well that someone wants to kill us, yet being unable to produce proof—this feeling is too stifling."

"Stifling or not, we can only endure it for now." Shen Yuan's gaze was calm. "If we cannot change what is outside us, then we can only strengthen our own means of dealing with it."

He closed his eyes and once more fed the fragments of newly obtained intelligence into the Martial Arts Heavenly Stele.

"Heavenly Stele, add intelligence: the seventh floor may have additional high-grade Spirit Crystals installed, and the flying swords will specifically counter the True Subduing Tiger Fist and movement techniques. Deduce breakthrough plans under various extreme changes."

[Intelligence updated. Deduction cost: 3 Martial Dao Points. Current Martial Dao Points: 7. Remaining after deduction: 4.]

Within the martial simulation void, the phantom of the seventh-floor sword formation changed once again. The flying swords were no longer raining down attacks without pattern; instead, they deliberately targeted the True Subduing Tiger Fist's evasion rhythm and sealed off routes for movement and repositioning. The flying swords' speed surged, cold light filling the sky.

Again and again, Shen Yuan charged into the perilous formation.

Flying swords pierced his shoulder, sharp blades sliced open his chest and abdomen. Again and again, he fell; again and again, he reviewed and began anew.

Time flowed at a furious pace within the Martial Arts Simulation Space. Though only one night passed in reality, Shen Yuan had already experienced more than a hundred simulated attempts at breaking through altered sword formations.

He summarized three different contingency plans.

Plan One: If the power increase was only minor, he would still follow the standard route, conserve true qi as much as possible, wear down the Flying Sword Puppets' spiritual power, endure until the formation's time limit ended, and force his way through.

Plan Two: If the flying swords' power surged drastically but the formation eye's location remained unchanged, he would abandon evasive skirmishing, spend vast amounts of true qi without hesitation, launch a direct assault on the formation eye, destroy part of the formation patterns, and tear open a gap to escape.

Plan Three: If the formation patterns were altered on a massive scale and the situation became utterly hopeless, he would preserve the last portion of his true qi, seek out cracks in the formation, and find a chance to actively trigger the great formation's "danger alarm." The elders outside the formation would then detect the crisis within and forcibly shut down the sword formation.

The three plans advanced layer by layer.

When the deductions ended, Shen Yuan slowly opened his eyes. A faint weariness filled them. After suffering injuries in more than a hundred simulations, his soul had been greatly depleted.

"These three contingency plans are what I'll rely on after entering the sword formation." Shen Yuan looked at Wang Dong. "But there is one greatest hidden danger. I still do not know exactly how far Xiao Wuji will alter the formation. When I truly enter it, everything will have to be judged on the spot."

After carefully listening to all three plans, Wang Dong's brows remained tightly furrowed. "Triggering the danger alarm is the final trump card for preserving your life. But once the alarm is triggered, it means failing the trial and losing your qualification to enter the Inner Sect. Unless there is absolutely no other choice, it must never be used."

"Correct." Shen Yuan nodded. "It will not be used unless life and death are at stake."

The night slipped by in haste.

In the blink of an eye, it was the second day before the test.

Everywhere in the Outer Sect, people were discussing the upcoming Inner Sect Test. Numerous Outer Sect disciples gathered together, both anticipating and fearing the dangers of the Azure Cloud Sword Formation.

Following Shen Yuan's instructions, Wang Dong prepared to spread false information that would confuse their opponents.

"I'll go chat with the miscellaneous workers and people throughout the Outer Sect later, deliberately letting word spread that your Meridian Opening Realm breakthrough has an unstable foundation, that your true qi is floating and weak, and that your actual combat performance has been greatly reduced. Let Xiao Wuji misjudge my true strength," Shen Yuan instructed Wang Dong.

"Good idea!" Wang Dong's eyes lit up. "The intelligence Xiao Wuji and Zhao Kun have is all combat data from your Outer Sect Assessment. If they believe that you are in poor condition after your breakthrough, they may misjudge the deathtrap they set and leave us an opening instead."

With that, Wang Dong set off to spread the rumors.

Only Shen Yuan remained in the small courtyard.

He sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating the true qi of the Meridian Opening Realm to stabilize his newly broken-through cultivation. At the same time, he repeatedly reviewed the three plans for breaking through the formation in his mind, engraving every detail into his soul.

Yet he knew clearly that a simulation was only a simulation. Within the true Azure Cloud Sword Formation, any kind of accident could happen.

Xiao Wuji held a position in the Inner Sect and possessed a deep, calculating mind. No one knew how many unrevealed backup schemes he still had hidden away.