On the raised platform, after watching the bout end, Xiao Zhengyan unconsciously reached for the heavy sword at his waist, the one he had used for twenty years.
The blade had accompanied him for twenty years and been repaired five times. One of its notches rested against his thumb.
Whenever he pondered something, he would rub that notch.
Today, he rubbed it for a long time.
He stared at the figure in the arena, with his black hair and aged face, and memories from more than half a year ago surfaced in his mind.
That day, while going through the files, he had seen the information listed beside the name "Yi Yang."
Sixty years old, Grade C, Middle Tier aptitude, first inner qi level cultivation.
At the time, the file had not interested him enough to warrant a second glance. He had merely judged, "Unfit for any important role."
He had casually pushed the roster aside and chosen Feng Fei.
Later, the reports from White Fish City arrived in the Prefectural City. Yi Yang had single-handedly uncovered the Blood Pool, subdued several factions, and killed several third inner qi practitioners.
Xiao Zhengyan had pulled out the old file and read it again.
Regret was too strong a word.
At most, he had misjudged him.
After all, however strong someone in the inner qi realm was, they remained confined to that realm. The Evil Punishment Office had no shortage of third inner qi practitioners. Losing one Yi Yang hardly wounded its muscles or bones.
But today, Yi Yang had stood in the arena and defeated Jingchen head-on with true astral realm cultivation, even unleashing an outrageously powerful saber art.
This was no longer something he could brush aside as a mere misjudgment.
The Evil Punishment Office had personally pushed a true