Tower Master

"Third Senior Brother?"

The familiar voice pierced Yang Zheng's ears. A dazed look swept across his deathly pale face, his Adam's apple bobbing several times. His voice was so hoarse it nearly shattered in his throat. "You... you... you're Cheng... Yang?"

Cheng Yang raised a hand and removed the azure fanged mask. His ancient-well-still eyes rested quietly on Yang Zheng's face, without a trace of unnecessary emotion.

"Yes, Third Senior Brother."

Yang Zheng's bulging eyes nearly popped from their sockets, shock, absurdity, and disbelief churning in the depths of his pupils.

Cheng Yang?

That Seventh Junior Brother who had entered the sect only a few days ago?

That newcomer who had only been in the Skin Tempering Realm on the arena back then?

The one who had cut him down in utter humiliation, severed his arm, and held a blade to his throat was actually his Seventh Junior Brother?

Absurd.

This was absurd to the extreme.

For a moment, Yang Zheng even wondered whether he was dreaming, but the excruciating pain from his severed arm made it crystal clear that everything was real.

"Actually, I'm very curious." Cheng Yang lowered the tip of his blade, his tone calm, as though discussing something unrelated to himself. "You and I may have had our disagreements, but they shouldn't have involved Junior Brother Ge. Why did you lay a hand on him?"

Ge Tao had transferred his Ascending Dragon Conference slot to him, and Yang Zheng had attempted an assassination that very night. What reason was hidden behind this?

"Why?" Yang Zheng suddenly pulled his lips into a twisted grin, several dry, cracking notes of mockery squeezing from his hoarse throat. "Where are there so many whys? I killed Ge Tao, but when all is said and done... he died because of you! Because of you!"

"Third Senior Brother, there's no need to use such words to disturb my state of mind." Cheng Yang's face remained unmoved, though the fingers around his sword hilt tightened slightly for an instant.

"No matter what, you cannot escape death."

Yang Zheng fell silent for a breath, then suddenly bared his teeth again.

"Aren't you curious why I killed Ge Tao?"

He paused. A malicious gleam flashed through his eyes, and his words abruptly turned. "Pah! I'm not telling you."

"But I can tell you one thing. Qinglin County will soon undergo a transformation.

Once that transformation descends, neither you nor your Chen Clan Martial Hall will escape calamity.

Hahaha..."

Before the laughter could fade.

Splurt.

With a flick of Cheng Yang's wrist, his long blade swept sideways. A head fell to the ground, rolling twice before it stopped.

The smile on that face was still frozen at the corner of its mouth, fixed forever in its final moment of savagery.

"A transformation?"

Cheng Yang lightly flicked the beads of blood from his blade, his brows drawing together slightly.

Yang Zheng's words, "unable to escape calamity," were like a fine needle stabbing into his heart, sending an inexplicable chill racing up his spine.

Was Qinglin County about to have its skies changed? A transformation that even the Chen Clan Martial Hall could not escape... what could it be?

He drew a deep breath and suppressed his surging thoughts.

No. Thinking too far ahead would only breed needless anxiety. There was only one thing he needed to do now: increase his strength as quickly as possible.

No matter when the transformation came, only the power held in his own hand would be a true support.

He cast the distracting thoughts from his mind and bent down to search Yang Zheng's body.

Broken silver, poisoned throwing darts, a pouch of concealed weapons, several crumpled secret letters... he turned up a whole pile of odds and ends.

Cheng Yang's gaze quickly locked onto one item among them.

A token.

The words "Star Tower" were engraved on its front. Its iron was solid and weighty, and its edges bore faint signs of wear, showing that it had been used for many years. A string of numbers was engraved on the back, while two small words, "Night Ghoul," were inscribed in fine clerical script at the lower right.

Night Ghoul?

Cheng Yang turned it over repeatedly, coming to a conclusion. This should have been Yang Zheng's alias within Star Tower.

As for that string of numbers on the back... he could not guess their meaning, but they presumably served some purpose within Star Tower's system.

"Third Senior Brother Yang Zheng was an assassin of Star Tower. Master probably doesn't know."

A core disciple had secretly joined an assassin organization. If that news reached the martial hall, it would inevitably stir up a towering uproar.

Cheng Yang weighed the token in his palm and frowned slightly.

It seemed this thing would be of little use to him.

He did not know where Star Tower's stronghold in Qinglin County was located. To him, the token was merely a lump of iron.

"Forget it. I'll keep it. It may come in handy someday."

He tucked the token into his robes, then straightened and gazed quietly at Yang Zheng's already cold corpse for several breaths.

"Junior Brother Ge, I have avenged you."

His voice was soft, as if he were speaking to the night wind.

"Though... there is no undoing what has happened.

But if I truly reach the heights of a Dao Ancestor someday, I will remember you and fish you back out from the river of time."

He paused, a faint trace of self-mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's hope that day truly comes."

Cheng Yang said no more. He turned and stripped Yang Zheng's room clean, taking what should be taken and destroying what should be destroyed. Only after confirming that no trace had been left behind did he push open the door and step into the courtyard.

The night wind rushed toward him, carrying a faint chill.

Yet the moment he stepped out of the courtyard gate, his footsteps halted.

Outside the gate, a tall figure stood beneath a locust tree not far away. He wore a mask identical to Yang Zheng's, and the gaze beneath it was as sharp as an eagle's, sweeping Cheng Yang from head to toe.

Cheng Yang's heart tightened, and the long blade in his hand rose slightly.

Another person from Star Tower?

And... this man's aura was restrained to the extreme. Standing in the night, he was like a piece of dead wood. If Cheng Yang had not seen him with his own eyes, he might not even have sensed the man's existence.

Such concealment skills meant he was definitely an expert.

Trouble.

The man spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse and casual, as natural as chatting with an acquaintance on the street. "Kid Cheng, interested in joining my Star Tower?"

"Who are you?" Cheng Yang's gaze did not shift, his blade tip still slanted toward the ground.

"Who am I?" The man gave a low chuckle. "Good question. I am the Tower Master of Star Tower's Qinglin County branch.

A fine seedling like you is precisely the best candidate for joining Star Tower.

The branch Tower Master?

"Senior," Cheng Yang suppressed his churning thoughts and kept his voice as steady as possible. "You were... following me all along just now?"

"More or less." The man stood with his hands behind his back, his tone as relaxed as though discussing the weather.

"Wondering how someone could follow you for so many days without you noticing? Want to know how I did it? Simple... join Star Tower, and I'll tell you."

Cheng Yang's mouth twitched.

"Senior, what if I don't join?"

"Don't join?" The man seemed to smile. "Then you can just get lost. What else would happen? Do you think this old man would force you to join?"

"..."

That reaction truly took Cheng Yang by surprise. He had thought the other man would use both soft and hard tactics, threats and temptation, forcing him to act out some scene of "enduring humiliation and being forced to join."

"Still," the man continued, the casualness in his tone fading somewhat as he studied Cheng Yang more seriously, "you're naturally fated with Star Tower.

You have talent, you're ruthless enough, and your way of doing things is exactly like the assassins in my tower. You always pick moonless, windy nights to knock on people's doors one household at a time."

"You jest, Senior." Cheng Yang's expression was complicated. "I had no choice. I was forced into it."

"Fine, fine, whatever you say." The man waved a hand, his tone turning lax again. "This old man won't beat around the bush with you.

Kid, if you want intelligence, resources, and all sorts of good things, joining Star Tower is the right choice."

Cheng Yang fell silent for a moment.

To be honest, there were only two things he lacked most right now: stance arts and resources.

Joining Star Tower was indeed not a bad option. But he still had one concern in his heart.

"Senior," he said, lifting his eyes, "an assassin from your Star Tower attempted to assassinate me once before."

"If I join you, I can't help feeling a thorn in my heart."

"Just that?" The man seemed to have expected him to bring it up. "Don't worry. This old man can give you sufficiently generous compensation."

"How generous?"

"You'll naturally find out after joining."

Dangling the bait again. Cheng Yang grumbled inwardly, though his expression did not change. "Senior, you may as well reveal a little first. If it truly is generous enough, I will gladly join."

"Fine, I'll give you the bottom line, kid." The man held out one finger. "I plan to compensate you with points. In Star Tower, points can be exchanged for everything: cultivation techniques, heavenly treasures, divine weapons, sharp artifacts. Whatever you want, you can trade for it."

Cheng Yang's eyes stirred slightly.

"If that is the case..."

He sheathed his long blade and clasped his fists in salute.

"Senior, I am willing to join."

The eyes beneath the man's mask curved slightly, as if he was quite satisfied with that answer. Seeing that the other party had no intention of taking issue with it, Cheng Yang simply pulled out the "Night Ghoul" token from his robes and asked another question.

"By the way, Senior, I just killed one of your Star Tower members... do you truly not mind?"

"Out with the old, in with the new." The man's tone was indifferent. "He died, and you take his place. This old man thinks I got the better deal."

"...Fine."

Cheng Yang spun the token around once between his fingers, his gaze falling on that string of numbers. "Then, Senior, now that I have joined the tower, what use does this token... have for me?"