Dark Currents Beneath Lantern Shadows! Qian Renxue the Impostor!

The Heaven Dou Lantern Festival arrived as scheduled.

The moment night fell, the entire Heaven Dou City seemed to ignite.

Soul Tool lanterns of every kind hung throughout the city's streets and alleys, red, blue, and yellow lights weaving together into a warm sea of radiance.

Vendors lined both sides of the streets, selling sugar figurines, flower lanterns, and snacks. Their cries rose and fell, turning an ordinary night into a grand festival celebration.

The Imperial Way on the eastern side of the imperial palace was also opened to the public.

This Imperial Way, normally reserved for the royal family and nobility, was lined with glazed lanterns. Every few dozen feet stood a carved lamp post, its lamp burning with an undying Soul Tool flame that illuminated the entire road.

A wooden platform two zhang high had been erected in the center of the Imperial Way. Suspended from it was a lamp half-concealed by red silk, with a faint azure glow seeping through the gaps like a fallen star in the night sky.

The viewing pavilions on both sides of the Imperial Way were likewise draped in colorful silk and lanterns, brightly lit and packed with people.

Nobles and titled lords stood along the pavilion corridors, looking down at the crowd below and occasionally pointing things out as they discussed them.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Way was packed with commoners.

Men and women, young and old, crowded along both sides of the road, craning their necks toward the lamp shrouded in red silk as they pointed and whispered among themselves.

Some said it was a national treasure. Some claimed it was the legendary Vast Sea Divine Pearl. Others swore that the lamp had fallen from the heavens.

How could ordinary people ever have seen something like this? The azure glow alone was enough to leave them in awe.

Amid the crowd, a youth in plain gray clothes strolled along at an unhurried pace.

He looked utterly ordinary and drew no attention whatsoever among the crowd.

There was no mask, no cloak. His features were plain, his build not especially tall. Like the curious commoners around him, he looked up at the lamp and occasionally chimed in with the surrounding discussion.

Yet deep within his eyes, a faint trace of purple light occasionally flashed.

Huang Yun's Lightning Falcon Eyes operated soundlessly amid the crowd. The purple patterns deep in his pupils resembled a lotus so faint it was nearly invisible, quietly blooming in the darkness.

His gaze pierced through a hundred zhang, through the red silk and wooden frame, revealing the lamp's true nature.

Fake.

The lamp's outline and color were indeed extremely similar to the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Its entire body was azure and crystalline, with flowing light circling its base. At first glance, it was convincing enough to pass for the real thing.

But Huang Yun's Lightning Falcon Eyes could perceive finer details. Its blue radiance was not pure enough, a faint ring of weld marks ran around its lower edge, and the flowing light within was merely an illusion driven by a Soul Tool. It lacked the natural, soul-deep profundity of the true Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.

Moreover, he could not sense even the slightest energy fluctuation from it.

The true Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was an artifact-level object. Even when inactive, it would inevitably emit a subtle and strange aura.

But this fake was merely an exquisite imitation, nothing more than a dead object.

As expected, it's a trap.

Huang Yun understood at once, but his expression did not change. He continued forward with the crowd, as though he were simply another visitor admiring the lanterns.

His gaze seemed to casually sweep over the viewing pavilions on both sides of the Imperial Way, while his Lightning Falcon Eyes swiftly captured details hidden in the shadows.

There was a Soul Power fluctuation behind a window on the second floor to the left, steady and heavy, at least at the level of a Soul Saint.

A breath nearly too faint to hear came from the shadow beside a corridor pillar on the right, but the rhythm of its heartbeat exposed its position.

In a hidden chamber farther away, he sensed an exceptionally powerful Soul Power aura, silently lurking like a dormant beast.

A Soul Douluo.

Xue Ye had truly gone all out, even deploying a Soul Douluo-level worshipper.

Huang Yun withdrew his gaze and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Just as he was nearing the middle of the Imperial Way, his eyes casually passed over a viewing pavilion high on the right.

That pavilion stood a level higher than those on either side. Its windows were wide open, and several bright lamps illuminated the interior.

A handsome young man in silver-white brocade robes stood at the window, looking down at the crowd. His features were refined and beautiful, his skin as pale as snow, and a gentle yet distant smile rested on his lips.

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.

Huang Yun's gaze paused slightly. His steps did not falter, but that face had already been committed to memory.

Qian Renxue.

The future leader of Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, heir to the Angel Godhood, and possessor of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.

The only child of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, and Qian Daoliu's only granddaughter!

What an overwhelming background!

He had not expected even her to come.

Logically speaking, it was perfectly natural for Xue Qinghe, as crown prince, to appear at a public event like the Heaven Dou Lantern Festival.

But Huang Yun noticed one detail. Unlike the other nobles, she was not admiring the lanterns. Her gaze kept sweeping over the crowd below, sharp and discreet, as though she were searching for something.

Qian Renxue was looking for him too.

Spirit Hall's hidden agents were spread throughout the imperial palace. What had happened that night definitely could not have been concealed from them.

Huang Yun immediately withdrew his gaze and looked elsewhere, maintaining the demeanor of an ordinary young visitor.

He did not know that Qian Renxue had already learned from spies within Ge Long's army about the Treasury attack that night. But that did not prevent him from reaching a conclusion. The Heaven Dou Empire's crown prince appearing on the Imperial Way at such a critical moment could not possibly be a coincidence.

Huang Yun silently calculated, Qian Renxue probably still doesn't know the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's true value. Otherwise, with her methods and resources, she would have taken it long ago.

She may have come to the lantern festival merely out of curiosity, wondering whether the person who broke into the imperial palace that night—me—would appear, so she could see me for herself.

After thinking it over, he felt that this deduction was probably correct.

Huang Yun did not continue deeper along the Imperial Way. He turned amid the crowd and slowly made his way toward the exit.

His movements were neither hurried nor slow, no different from the commoners around him who had grown tired of wandering and were preparing to head home.

Meanwhile, Qian Renxue in the viewing pavilion frowned slightly.

She had stood at the window for nearly half an hour. Her gaze had swept over the several thousand people coming and going along the Imperial Way, yet she had not spotted anything suspicious.

No one wore a mask. No one behaved furtively. No one emitted an unusual Soul Power fluctuation.

The lively atmosphere of the lantern festival was real. The commoners' laughter was real. Everything was perfectly normal.

Either the other party had seen through the trap and had not come at all.

Or they had come, but their disguise was so flawless that even she had failed to recognize them.

Qian Renxue was more inclined toward the former.

After all, someone who dared to infiltrate the imperial palace at night should not be stupid enough to walk into a trap they knew was there.

Xue Ye's chessboard had been seen through by his opponent before the opening move was even complete.

She gently shook her head and took a sip from the teacup beside her.

"That is rather interesting."

She spoke softly, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger, but the interest in her eyes deepened.

A lightning-type Soul King who was young, incredibly fast, powerful, and clear-minded—if such talent could be recruited into the Worship Hall and properly cultivated for a few years, he would certainly become top-tier combat power in the future.

But it seemed she would not be able to wait for him tonight.

Qian Renxue set down her teacup and turned, preparing to leave the window.

Yet at the instant she turned around, the corner of her eye caught sight of a youth in gray cloth heading toward the Imperial Way's exit with the crowd. His steps were steady, his posture natural, and there was not the slightest sign of anything unusual.

But Qian Renxue looked at him again.

That youth's proportions... were somewhat similar to the spy reports describing the slender, light-footed intruder.

Although he wore no mask and his face could not be seen clearly, there was an inexplicable fluidity to the way he walked, entirely unlike the clumsy movements of the commoners around him.

Her gaze lingered on the gray figure for two breaths.

Just as she was about to observe him more closely, the youth turned into an alley outside the Imperial Way's exit and vanished into the crowd.

Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze and did not pursue.

She merely smiled and softly said, "Interesting."

The festival lights remained bright, and the crowd continued to surge.

Huang Yun had already blended into the streets and alleys of Heaven Dou City, silently leaving the imperial palace district.

Only after he had traveled several li beyond the city did he stop in a quiet place. He looked back at the lights filling the sky above the distant imperial palace, his gaze calm.

The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was still in the Treasury. The lamp was fake. Xue Ye had laid a net from which nothing could escape. Qian Renxue was also on the scene, and those two Titled Douluo were surely hidden somewhere nearby as well.

This lantern festival was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

Although he had not obtained the item on this trip, he had still gained quite a bit.

He now knew the level of their defenses, knew that the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud had not been moved, and knew that Qian Renxue was watching this matter as well.

He rolled his neck and headed briskly toward the forest.

"Now that all the key figures are here, will the Treasury be poorly guarded?"

"Xue Ye will definitely think I can't tell that the one at the lantern festival is fake. He has set up an inescapable net here, so if I go to the Treasury now, might there be an unexpected gain?"

"Then I'll go verify it."