As the entire Library Tower rumbled and shook, Ye Zhiqiu was hurrying toward it, her face ashen.
Her figure sped like a gale, gliding through the air like a goshawk, her feet scarcely touching the ground.
As she hurried along, Ye Zhiqiu cursed inwardly.
Those newly admitted disciples would spend two full days inside after entering the Library Tower. As an instructor, she could hardly hunker down beneath the Library Tower and wait.
She had already arranged to meet Constable Lin from the east of the city for tea later, followed by a good long session of mahjong.
Yet Ye Zhiqiu had never expected such an incident to break out inside before she had even left the academy gates.
When she landed on the steps before the Library Tower, she saw West Court instructor Shao Lingshan and North Court instructor Qiu Feng standing ahead, confronting a blood-robed youth behind the doors.
The youth was fifteen or sixteen, with a hooked nose, deep-set eyes, and a cold, sinister air. He was looking outside with a hint of mockery.
Somewhat puzzled, Ye Zhiqiu pushed off with her foot and glided toward the building.
"Old Qiu, Shao Lingshan, look at what's happening! Why are you still standing there watching?"
Shao Lingshan remained motionless, his expression icy. "Don't go over there. Come back!"
How could Ye Zhiqiu possibly listen to this bitter rival? She had already swept up to the doors and reached for the blood-robed youth's neck.
The youth offered no resistance, standing there with a smile.
Just then, a boom suddenly erupted inside the building.
Ye Zhiqiu froze briefly and looked toward the sound.
It came from the third door along the corridor on the left, where great tongues of flame were spewing out.
She also saw scorch marks on two other doors inside.
"That was the martial True Intention diagram for the Cloud-Expelling Palm, one of your External Ten Arts. Now it's been burned to ash."
The blood-robed youth let Ye Zhiqiu seize his neck, a wicked smile rising on his face. "Instructor Ye, for every step forward you take now, another True Intention diagram in this library will turn to ash.
"If anything happens to me, this entire building's collection, along with everyone inside, will be buried with me."
Doubt and alarm flickered in Ye Zhiqiu's eyes.
She did not know whether he was telling the truth.
The blood-robed youth chuckled, took out a fiery-red talisman, and waved it before Ye Zhiqiu.
"See this? An Explosive Flame Talisman. They go for about ten taels of demon silver apiece on the market. There are now six thousand nine hundred Explosive Flame Talismans planted throughout this building, enough to blow the whole thing sky-high. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to try again."
Ye Zhiqiu could not help drawing a sharp breath. She saw that quite a few identical fiery talismans had indeed been pasted on the nearby walls.
But what exactly were these people after, spending on such a lavish scale?
Six thousand nine hundred Explosive Flame Talismans-that was sixty-nine thousand taels of demon silver.
With a casual expression, the blood-robed youth slapped Ye Zhiqiu's hand away. "If you don't wish to try again, Instructor Ye, please step outside. Remember to shut the doors!"
Ye Zhiqiu stood rooted to the spot, her face ashen.
As she hesitated, a deep, powerful, cold voice came from behind her. "Step back for now, Instructor Ye. This scum is probably telling the truth."
Ye Zhiqiu turned and found that Academy Master Lei Yuan's towering, mountain-like figure was already standing outside the doors.
Another person stood beside him.
He was a middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of an Embroidered Uniform Guard thousand-household commander. His green hair, green beard, and green eyebrows gave him a very unusual appearance.
Ye Zhiqiu recognized him at once as Cao Xuan, the thousand-household commander of the Xiushui Commandery Thousand Household Office under the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Eastern Surveillance Bureau.
With a muffled snort, she retreated, utterly unwilling, but did not close the doors.
Two people wearing inner disciple uniforms came out from within to push the heavy ironwood doors slowly shut.
After withdrawing, Ye Zhiqiu noticed large numbers of Embroidered Uniform Guards filing in from outside the courtyard. Clad in heavy armor and carrying swords and sabers, they brimmed with killing intent as they surrounded the twelve-story Library Tower so tightly that not a drop could pass through.
Ye Zhiqiu could not help looking suspiciously at Lei Yuan and Cao Xuan. "Academy Master, Cao Qianhu, may I ask what's going on? Where did these bandits inside come from?"
"They're the Bloodwind Bandits under Li Daogui."
It was Commander Cao Xuan who spoke, his green brows easing slightly. "About three days ago, our spies discovered someone purchasing Explosive Flame Talismans in bulk on the black market and immediately reported it to the Eastern Surveillance Bureau.
"We followed the trail back to its source and finally identified the wanted fugitive, Bloodwind Sword Li Daogui. He slipped into Xiushui Commandery recently, though his intentions were unknown. I pursued every lead and only just traced him to Zhengyang Martial Academy. Unfortunately, I was still one step too late."
Lei Yuan's brows knitted deeply as he fixed Cao Xuan with a piercing gaze. "Li Daogui has no feud or grievance with our Formless Divine Sect. What is he doing at our Zhengyang Martial Academy?"
Cao Xuan's expression immediately darkened as he looked at the twelve-story building ahead. "He's likely here for Qin Muge's God-Defying Banner. Somehow, he obtained information that led him to believe clues to the God-Defying Banner might be hidden in this Library Tower."
Lei Yuan and the instructors present all froze briefly and exchanged glances.
Lei Yuan then rubbed the space between his brows with his fingers, his head aching terribly as he considered how to resolve this crisis.
"Rest assured!"
With his hands behind his back, Cao Xuan looked toward several windows on the seventh floor. "Though those Explosive Flame Talismans are terrifyingly powerful, someone must remotely activate them with magic before they can go off.
"Our Eastern Surveillance Bureau dealt the Bloodwind Bandits a heavy blow not long ago. Only one lower eighth-rank spellcaster under Li Daogui survived. Once we eliminate him, Li Daogui and those Bloodwind rebels won't escape even if they sprout wings."
Where his gaze rested, four black-clad figures were silently opening those windows.
Just as they were about to slip inside, Cao Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted. He saw countless crossbow bolts, each half a finger long, spewing out through the windows.
They were Locust Crossbows. In an instant, they riddled the four black-clad men with holes, and the men fell soundlessly from the seventh floor.
Four elite Embroidered Uniform Guards with strength reaching the upper eighth rank had lost their lives in a single instant.
Then four burning scrolls were thrown down from the seventh-floor windows.
Lei Yuan glanced at them from afar, and his face could not help twitching. He felt both that the four guards had died for nothing and that the loss of those scrolls was painful.
They were four True Intention diagrams for sixth-grade martial arts, each worth a thousand gold.
Those Bloodwind Bandits bastards really did keep their word.
He looked at Cao Xuan, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot. "What other methods do you have, Cao Qianhu? A frontal assault is absolutely out of the question—the books and True Intention diagrams in this Library Tower are worth as much as a million taels of demon silver. More importantly, those True Intention diagrams and visualization diagrams can't be bought even with money. If this building is destroyed, neither of us can bear the responsibility."
Cao Xuan's expression shifted uncertainly. After a moment's thought, he abruptly clenched his teeth. "We still have to find a way to deal with the spellcaster. Before we storm the building, we must kill him. Since our people can't get inside, we'll find a way to contact someone already in there.
One of your Zhengyang Martial Academy's martial instructors or a True Disciple with greater combat strength will do. We can distract them from outside and give that person an opportunity to close in and strike."
Most of Zhengyang Martial Academy's martial instructors had cultivation around the seventh rank, while its True Disciples generally possessed eighth-rank combat strength.
That was more than enough. A spellcaster's weakness lay in a lack of close-combat ability. Once within striking distance, a ninth-rank martial cultivator was enough to finish off an eighth-rank spellcaster.
But Lei Yuan's head ached terribly.
The timing today was unusual. There were no True Disciples in the library, not even a single two-leaf or three-leaf inner disciple.
The twenty-odd martial instructors inside had probably met with disaster. He did not know whom he could contact.
As for the four hundred or so inner disciples, only three had combat strength reaching Ninth-Rank Lower. The rest fell considerably short.
Even those three were a notch too weak. Having them act would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
He shook his head. "First, find a way to confirm which of the martial instructors inside are still alive."
At that moment, Shao Lingshan suddenly interjected. "The Bloodwind Bandits have always been meticulous. Before making their move, they would certainly have eliminated every martial instructor to remove any hidden threats. In my opinion, Commander, you'd best not count on them. Aside from them, however, there is one other person inside we could use."
He smiled faintly, an unusual gleam in his eyes. "Yesterday, a youth named Chu Xisheng wounded Long Sheng, the Long Household's second young master, with a single saber stroke. His blade struck like lightning and sparks from flint. The academy master lavishly praised his concise, refined saber technique and his deep grasp of the Essence of Swift Blade. If he can get close to that spellcaster, he will certainly succeed."
"Shao Lingshan!"
Ye Zhiqiu shouted, towering fury in her eyes. "Stop spouting nonsense! Chu Xisheng hasn't even reached the second level of his foundational cultivation. Are you trying to send him to his death?"
Lei Yuan was likewise displeased, and his gaze toward Shao Lingshan held a measure of severity.
To judge fairly, if that spellcaster truly was only at the lower eighth rank, Chu Xisheng did have a chance.
But it carried boundless risks.
Even if Chu Xisheng succeeded, how would he withstand the Bloodwind Bandits' retaliatory attack?
Before they could fight their way inside, Chu Xisheng would already be a corpse.
Cao Xuan, however, gave a low hum, his eyes flickering as he sank into thought.
As far as he knew, the Long Household's second young master also practiced swift saber techniques.
If that youth named Chu Xisheng could defeat Long Sheng with a swift saber, then his blade speed was quite formidable.
If there were no martial instructors left inside who could be used, then this boy could be used as well.