Verifying Their Identities

Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

A hundred ladies had moved in, and Cao Jinxing led the guards stationed there, sitting in the ground-floor hall to drink and cultivate.

Perhaps his aptitude and comprehension were simply too exceptional. A few days earlier, he had discovered that he could "multitask."

For instance, he could talk to someone while thinking about something else, or read, memorize, and comprehend all at once. By the time he finished reading, he had already learned it...

And those were just the basics.

One day, Cao Jinxing had a sudden idea: since he could multitask, could he keep one of those "tasks" running permanently? For instance, could he keep his internal cultivation circulating constantly, increasing his internal energy every moment of the day?

Honestly, the idea was almost pure fantasy.

Cultivation required undivided attention. Any distraction could send true qi down the wrong path, causing cultivation deviation at best and full-body paralysis at worst. Instead of helping, it would only harm him.

But the advantages were equally obvious.

If he could really do it, he would cultivate internal energy several times faster than an ordinary person!

Imagine cultivating while eating, sleeping, and walking, twenty-four hours a day without interruption. How quickly would his true qi grow?

Combined with his aptitude, Cao Jinxing was confident he could surpass veterans who had cultivated for decades within just a few years!

To achieve that goal, he had been consciously training himself, determined to see it through! Where there was a will, there was a way. He believed he would succeed sooner or later!

He had prepared himself for a long struggle.

Then, after just one day...

He succeeded.

"..."

Now he could go about his business normally while keeping his cultivation circulating at all times, completely unaffected by the world around him.

What others considered impossible had become a reality for him.

"No sense of accomplishment whatsoever..."

Cao Jinxing had already gone numb. Was this what being a genius meant? Easily accomplishing things others could never manage in their entire lives...

Guard duty was tedious.

Cao Jinxing sat around for an entire day. His only gain was that he was on the verge of breaking through to Xiantian.

Before long, night fell.

Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion blazed with light.

The main event of the evening began: verifying their identities.

"Everyone, line up in order, ten to a row. Let Eunuch Feng inspect you one by one."

A eunuch from the Judicial Review Office called out loudly.

All the tables and chairs had been removed from the ground-floor hall. The doors and windows were locked, eunuchs from the Judicial Review Office guarded every exit, front and back, and another seventy Embroidered Uniform Guard officers sealed off the perimeter. Any impostor would be shown no mercy!

Feng Bao and Cao Jinxing sat in the center of the hall, facing a hundred respectful, apprehensive ladies.

"First row, step forward."

The ten ladies in the front row cautiously approached Feng Bao, who held up the portraits and checked them one by one.

"Pass."

"Second row, step forward."

"Pass."

"Third row, step forward."

Another row of ladies approached. Feng Bao glanced over them and suddenly smiled. The other Judicial Review Office eunuchs immediately grabbed their sabers and surrounded them, startling all ten women.

"Are criminals these days really this careless? Third from the left! Tear her face off!"

Feng Bao gave the order.

A eunuch moved swiftly, raking his hand across the woman's face like an eagle's talon!

With a scream, half her false face was ripped off. The adhesive held too tightly, and the force of the pull left her streaming blood!

The other ladies fell deathly silent.

"Break her legs! Take her to the imperial prison!"

Feng Bao waved a hand in disgust.

Two Judicial Review Office eunuchs stepped forward and kicked her kneecaps apart, one each. White shards of broken bone pierced her flesh.

"Castrated scum! You serve a tyrant! You'll die a wretched death!"

The woman looked deranged, her cries hysterical. "The Lord of Light bears witness! One day, the sacred flame of light will burn across the mortal world!"

Her voice grew more and more distant.

"Of the Demon Cult's three sects, the Bright Sect is the stupidest!"

Feng Bao dismissed her words with contempt, then turned to explain to Cao Jinxing, "Of the other two, the Peace Sect excels at manipulating people, while the Maitreya Sect pursues enlightenment through slaughter. Only the Bright Sect has its followers thoroughly brainwashed. They believe all that nonsense about darkness passing and light arriving, and devote themselves to rebellion. Utter fools!"

"I can see that."

Cao Jinxing nodded. "Not particularly clever, indeed. That mask was...?"

"A [Rooted Face]," Feng Bao said. "A fairly rare disguise tool, nothing more. She thought I wouldn't spot it? What a joke! Next row!"

Another ten ladies were brought forward.

Feng Bao glanced at them and waved his hand. "Pass."

"Next row."

"Pass."

Before long, they reached the last row.

Feng Bao glanced over them without any change in expression, but secretly focused his voice into a thread and transmitted it to Cao Jinxing. "The big fish has appeared! Company Commander Cao, I'll need you to act this time. Fourth from the left!"

Even as he transmitted those words, what he said aloud was "Pass."

The instant the woman relaxed, Cao Jinxing struck like lightning, driving a Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger toward the acupuncture point at the center of her chest!

The attack was blindingly fast.

The woman was shocked. Knowing how formidable Cao Jinxing's saber techniques were, she had been watching his Embroidered Spring Saber all along. She had never imagined he would attack without drawing it!

In her haste, she hurriedly gathered her qi and raised her palm. Roaring flames surged upward!

But she had too little time to muster sufficient qi, and the Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger excelled at piercing broad defenses with a concentrated strike, catching its target unprepared.

As palm met finger, she shuddered violently. A cold, sinister strand of invisible sword qi broke through her protective qi and burrowed into her body, instantly inflicting severe injuries on her internal organs!

"Pfft!"

The woman flew backward and slammed into a pillar, her bones knocked out of alignment. She spat out blood, her face alternating between blue and red.

"The Sacred Fire Canon really is formidable."

Cao Jinxing could not help praising it. Those flames carried the force to incinerate everything under heaven, and with Xiantian power driving them, he had almost suffered a backlash!

This did not mean the Cold Toad Art was inferior to the Sacred Fire Canon. Ultimately, his cultivation realm was simply too low. The gap between Houtian and Xiantian was too great.

"Splendid!"

Feng Bao clapped in delight. "Wait a moment, Company Commander Cao. Once I've dealt with this wicked woman, I'll write up a report to request a reward for you!"

He strode up to the woman and crouched, looking down at her with a sneer. "Are you wondering how I saw through your Thousand Transformations Divine Art and Breath Concealment Technique?"

The woman stared fixedly at him, like a venomous snake.

"I won't deny that you're cleverer than those expendable pawns. The Thousand Transformations Divine Art is remarkable, too. It lets you alter your appearance with your own flesh, without external tools, making the disguise almost impossible to detect... But you forgot something very important. There's a martial art that can see through skin and examine the bones beneath..."

The woman's pupils contracted sharply.

Feng Bao roared with laughter. "So you remembered! That's right! I've reached the fifth level of Perceiving the Smallest Detail! Your face, your aura-neither can hide from these eyes! Guards!"

He stood and shouted.

Two Judicial Review Office eunuchs approached.

"Bring the refined iron shackles and help the holy maiden put them on! Take her to the imperial dungeon and keep her under close watch. Don't harm a hair on her head! Live bait is the most useful kind..."

"Yes!"

The two eunuchs brought heavy refined iron shackles, bound the woman securely, and carried her away.

Her eyes remained fixed on Feng Bao and Cao Jinxing. She said nothing.

Just before she vanished into the darkness, Cao Jinxing saw the woman smile. Then a soft, seductive voice sounded in his ear.

"I'll remember you~ Lord Cao~"

The voice was sweet and pleasing to the ear.

But every word brimmed with murderous intent!

Cao Jinxing chuckled. "Why remember me? I'm not interested in you. Stop dreaming, ugly."

"..."

Jiang Lvxia, the current holy maiden of the Bright Sect, drew a deep breath. Her features and the shape of her face shifted back to their original form, revealing a stunning beauty with bright eyes, white teeth, and a distinctly exotic allure.

"I'm ugly?!"

She ground her teeth. "You corrupt bastard! Just you wait!"