Court assembly

The arrow blurred into a shadow in the darkness, beyond the reach of Xu Qi'an's eyesight, but his powerful mental strength locked onto the pale blue arrow.

The Spirit Refining Realm is a minor peak in a martial artist's combat power, and this is no exaggeration. Martial artists at this level have an extremely keen intuition for danger.

Once you reach the Spirit Refining Realm, you've basically said goodbye to being ambushed, attacked from behind, or sneaked up on.

The Bureau of Astronomy's Law Artifact crossbow, a deadly weapon capable of killing even those at the Spirit Refining Realm, was immediately recognized by Xu Qi'an, as he himself had once possessed such a Law Artifact.

Instinctively, he tried to leap off the horse to avoid the arrows.

"No, my little mare can't die here."

The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately changed his mind. He reached behind his waist with his right hand, and with a clear, sharp sound of a blade being drawn, he swung his hand back and precisely severed the arrow.

With a soft clattering sound as the roof tiles slid, two men in black leaped from the roof ridge, flanking Xu Qi'an from the left and right.

They gripped standard-issue longswords, their billowing blade energy distorting the air, poised to cleave Xu Qi'an and the horse in two.

"Drive!"

Sensing the danger, Xu Qi'an spurred his horse's flanks, causing his beloved mare to gallop forward and avoid the two men's attack.

At the same time, he leaped off his horse and landed lightly on the roof of a restaurant.

"Bang!"

The two men in black slashed through the air with their blades, leaving deep gashes on the ground.

Spirit Refining Realm. Xu Qi'an glanced down and made a judgment in his mind.

What concerned him even more was that the man in black hiding in the alley ahead was probably even stronger than Spirit Refining Realm.

Strategic retreat!

This is the inner city, patrolled by Nightwatchers and the five imperial guards on rotation. These three assassins cannot stay for long; the time they have is even more limited than the time the national football team has.

As long as I don't engage in prolonged combat, they won't be able to defeat me in a short time and will retreat on their own. At that point, I can immediately use the Qi-Watching Technique to hunt down the three of them with the Nightwatchers and reverse the situation.

At that moment, another image flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind: the tall, slender man in black appeared eerily behind him and punched him in the back of the head.

"Holy crap, when did he appear behind me? "Xu Qi'an's body moved faster than his brain; he instinctively swooped down and leaped off the roof.

At the same time, I heard a fist shattering the air behind me, like a muffled thunderclap.

Bang!

The energy contained within the fist exploded in mid-air, creating ripple-like air currents.

The expert seemed quite surprised when his attack missed, not expecting that this newly-entered cultivator, a mere beginner in the Spirit Refining Realm, would possess such keen spiritual perception.

As soon as Xu Qi'an landed, he was greeted by two swordsmen at the Spirit Refining Realm.

Ding ding! He swung his knife to deflect the two blades that were coming at him, landed on the ground, and quickly fled.

Moving around on rooftops is too dangerous; cleverly using obstacles such as alleyways and houses is a safer method.

But before he could run more than a few steps, the sound of something cutting through the air rapidly approached from behind, and images of the attack by men in black automatically flashed through his mind.

Xu Qi'an gritted his teeth, twisted his waist, and turned around to slash.

Bite!

The black and gold longsword struck the fist, bursting into dazzling sparks. Xu Qi'an's right hand's tiger's mouth split open, and his legs slid back more than ten meters, the thick soles of his shoes detaching from the shoes with a cracking sound.

A sixth-rank martial artist, with skin of copper and bones of iron.

Despite having anticipated it, Xu Qi'an's heart still sank.

The mastermind behind this knew my skill level, so the assassins they sent were almost certain to defeat me. They also knew my travel routes, so they lay in ambush on my usual path.

Who wants to kill me?

There was no time to think about that now, as the attacks of two Spirit Refining Realm experts followed closely behind. The three were clearly a well-coordinated team, with the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm expert leading the charge and the two Spirit Refining Realm assisting. Their attacks were seamlessly connected.

Within fifty moves, I will die. This terrifying realization flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind.

He abruptly stopped, ignoring the attack from the man on his left, and made a gesture as if he were going to die together with the man on his right. But strangely, the man on his right calmly accepted his fate and died with him, while the man on his left, who could have attacked, withdrew his sword and went back to defend.

Xu Qi'an suddenly turned around and slashed at the man in black on the left, striking the blade that the man was blocking.

Thud. The long dagger of the man in black on the right pierced Xu Qi'an's left shoulder.

"Cut!"

Xu Qi'an cursed under his breath.

His real target was the man in black on the left; his plan to perish together with the man in black on the right was just for show. However, the other man was also at the Spirit Refining Realm and sensed the danger beforehand.

He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.

Xu Qi'an kicked the man in black on the right away, sending the blade flying and drawing out a stream of warm blood.

At this moment, the expert of the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm had already pounced on Xu Qi'an in an instant, his fist condensing his energy and fiercely smashing into Xu Qi'an's chest.

Bang!

Xu Qi'an felt a sound like something exploding in his chest, and the next moment, he was thrown into the air as if he had been hit by a heavy truck.

"Cough cough cough"

Xu Qi'an steadied himself and coughed up blood. What exploded in his chest were the bronze gong, Law Artifact assigned by the Nightwatchers watchman's office, and Song Qing's breast protector.

With this double defense, he managed to withstand the full force of the expert with copper skin and iron bones, thus saving his life.

"Standard-issue weapons, the Bureau of Astronomy 'Law Artifact crossbows, and you dare to kill people in the streets of the inner city? You must be assassins trained by some powerful figure."

As he spoke, he subtly glanced around.

The three men in black ignored Xu Qi'an's words, showing no awareness of their role as villains, and relentlessly pounced on him.

Xu Qi'an turned and ran, disappearing into the narrow alley on the right.

Three men in black chased into the alley and saw Xu Qi'an standing at the end of the alley, his incomparably sharp longsword already sheathed.

"Why did you stop running?" the assassin with the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm asked.

His voice was hoarse; he was faking it.

"You can't escape, so I plan to kill you here." Xu Qi'an squinted, quite satisfied with the width of the alley, which was only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.

He only had one chance.

The expert with the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm frowned, focusing his senses on his surroundings, but could not detect the footsteps of the Nightwatchers and patrolling soldiers.

But Xu Qi'an's confidence made him instinctively wary.

bluff?

At this moment, he saw the bronze gong, who had just entered the Spirit Refining Realm, slowly place his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

Focus on one point, and reach the pinnacle.

All emotions subside, all energy recedes, just as the tide recedes before a tsunami.

At that moment, the three men in black felt a sense of alarm; their intuition, honed by their Spirit Refining Realm, told them: danger, danger, danger.

Without hesitation, they followed their warrior instincts and planned to retreat from the alley. But just then, a roar that pierced their eardrums and shook their very souls rang out.

The three of them were momentarily thrown into confusion and lost control of their bodies.

Immediately afterwards, they heard a clear, resonant sound, like the roar of a dragon, as it was drawn from its sheath.

The assassin with the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm was the first to break free from the intimidation of the Lion's Roar, and immediately saw a thin line of blade light slashing towards him.

He only had time to cross his arms, surging his energy and muscles, relying on his indestructible body to withstand the attack.

"Clatter."

A Qi Refining Realm expert scurried across the rooftop, following the signs of damage until he found the alleyway.

He leaned down and looked into the alley, where he saw four people facing off. Three men in black stood motionless in place, while opposite them, Xu Qi'an, leaning on his knife, was panting heavily, sweating profusely, with wisps of steam rising from the back of his head.

"Here!"

Tonglu shouted, grabbed a knife in one hand and a crossbow in the other, leaped into the alley, and stood beside Xu Qi'an.

Two gong players from the adjacent rooftop then arrived and entered the alley.

"Lord Xu, are you alright?"

The three-man patrol team inquired with concern, and after sensing that they could not hear the heartbeats of the three men in black, they concluded that the assassins were dead.

"I got a minor injury, but it's nothing serious."

Xu Qi'an was panting. Before his three colleagues arrived, he had already taken a powerful pill and his strength was slowly recovering, but he needed to rest for another 15 minutes before he could walk again.

The sword given by the supervisor is a perfect match for the Heaven and Earth One-Slash Sword.

The three gongs nodded slowly, glancing at the man in black. One of them must be a true Spirit Refining Realm expert to have forced Master Xu, who had just entered the Spirit Refining Realm, into such a sorry state.

At that moment, a noisy and dull sound of footsteps approached, and a group of fifty Imperial Saber Guard arrived.

"Lord Xu, please return to the yamen to heal your wounds. We will handle these three."

The man with the gong who had spoken emerged from the alley and instructed the Imperial Saber Guard who had rushed over, saying, "You escort Lord Xu back to the Nightwatchers's Office. Leave ten men behind to assist me in handling the body."

The junior Imperial Saber Guard clasped his hands and said, "Yes."

After Xu Qi'an left, the three gongs returned to the alley. When they touched the corpse, the black-clad man, who had been standing still, suddenly split in two, his upper and lower body separated, and a diagonal wound appeared on his waist, level with the cut.

Various organs mixed with fresh blood flowed all over the ground.

The gong players frowned, some with disdain, some with surprise.

"I remember Xu Ningyan's signature move was a powerful sword technique; he once wounded Zhu Yinluo with a single strike."

"Yes, it seems even more powerful now. This strike killed three people, and one of them was definitely at the Spirit Refining Realm."

The three of them looked at the man in black at the front; clearly, he was the strongest of the three.

"Huh, why doesn't he have a weapon?"

The other two men in black were equipped with standard longswords and crossbows, but this man in black was empty-handed and carried no weapon.

Was it picked up by Xu Ningyan?

Filled with doubt, they examined the body of the man in black alone, feeling the metallic texture as their fingers touched the remains.

The body still retained the state it was in when it exerted its strength before death.

"Um?"

A series of question marks simultaneously flashed through the minds of the three of them.

After a few seconds, they came to their senses, and a feeling of absurdity and shock welled up inside them.

"Copper, copper skin and iron bones," a gong murmured.

Half an hour later, the Nightwatchers at the yamen.

Divine Sword Hall.

Upon receiving the news, Zhang Kaitai, who was on duty tonight, summoned all the silver gongs to discuss the assassination attempt on Xu Qi'an.

Silver Gong, who had just led the team to survey the scene, reported, "From the assassination attempt to the killing of the enemy, the entire process took no more than a quarter of an hour. The three assassins seemed to have known Xu Ningyan's route beforehand and ambushed him on the only way."

"After a brief exchange, they chased Xu Ningyan into an alley, where he was swiftly and decisively killed with a single blow."

Zhang Kaitai nodded and looked at the other silver gong, who was in charge of examining the corpses.

The man with the silver gong said in a deep voice, "The assassin used the most common standard longsword. The three imperial guards and the five imperial city guards all use this kind of sword. Even the guards in the mansions of some princes and ministers use this kind of sword. We cannot find any clues from the weapon."

"In addition, we found a Law Artifact crossbow on an assassin, a crossbow powerful enough to pose a threat to someone at the Spirit Refining Realm. But this still cannot be a breakthrough."

"The corruption within the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War was very serious, and the private buying and selling of military supplies by princes and ministers was equally frequent. Over the years, countless ritual Law Artifact and military equipment leaked out of the country, and it was impossible to detect."

"If we were to investigate, it would involve most of the officialdom in the capital, and there would be a lot of resistance. I'm afraid that even if His Majesty personally ordered it, it would probably be fruitless."

Zhang Kaitai nodded, seemingly having expected this, and then asked, "What about the three assassins' cultivation levels?"

"Two at the Spirit Refining Realm, and one at the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm."

With a single strike, he killed both a cultivator at the Spirit Refining Realm and Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm. The hall fell into a deathly silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Kaitai asked, "Where is Xu Ningyan?"

He fell into a deep sleep after his injuries were treated.

Zhang Kaitai nodded, looked around at the Silver Gong members, and coughed, "There's no need to worry too much about minor details. As Silver Gong members, you are all Great Feng, no less capable than anyone else. It's just that occasionally... occasionally one or two oddballs will appear, and we can't judge them by the norm."

The silver gong players forced smiles and echoed a few words.

Zhang Kaitai changed the subject, "Who do you think sent the assassin?"

One of the silver-ranking officials frowned and said, "We don't yet know who Xu Ningyan has recently made an enemy of. Based on what we know, if we rule out personal grudges, then it's very likely related to the Fufei case."

The next day, at dawn.

Zhang Kaitai first went to visit Xu Qi'an, but found him still asleep, so he did not disturb him. He then took the dossier on "The Assassination Case of Xu Qi'an" that he had ordered the clerk to write the previous night and went to Haoqi Tower.

After being informed, he arrived at the seventh floor and met Wei Yuan in the tea room.

This high-ranking eunuch's activities revolved around two points: the Imperial Palace and the Haoqi Tower.

Thanks to the intelligence network established by the Nightwatchers's office, Wei Yuan could know what was happening in the world without leaving his home.

"Duke Wei, Xu Ningyan left the palace yesterday and was assassinated on the way." Zhang Kaitai handed over the dossier.

Wei Yuan's gaze sharpened. He took the file, but didn't open it immediately. He asked, "How is he?"

"He sustained some injuries, but nothing serious. He's just severely exhausted and is still asleep," Zhang Kaitai said.

Wei Yuan nodded, then unfolded the dossier, quickly read it, and looked up at Zhang Kaitai: "Two at the Spirit Refining Realm, and one with copper skin and iron bones?"

He seemed to be seeking confirmation.

Even a man of great wisdom like Duke Wei was often left bewildered by that young man. Zhang Kaitai hummed in agreement.

"Skin of copper and bones of iron."

Wei Yuan remained silent for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly, "Not bad, not bad."

Zhang Kaitai followed up by asking, "Could it be related to the Fufei case?"

"The case of Consort Fu is His Majesty's family matter, and it is not appropriate for an outsider to interfere. However, I will report this matter to the emperor." Wei Yuan closed the file and frowned.

He didn't have many spies in the palace, after all, the palace was Emperor Yuanjing's territory, and having too many spies would completely enrage Emperor Yuanjing. Since the last time three of his pawns were removed, Wei Yuan had temporarily given up paying attention to the palace.

The tacit understanding between the emperor and his ministers should still exist. Emperor Yuanjing made it clear to him: do not inquire too much about what is happening inside the palace.

However, after the assassination attempt on Xu Qi'an, Wei Yuan was somewhat angry. He decided to reinstate the palace's spies and personally oversee the case.

Footsteps came from outside the stairs. Wei Yuan looked up and looked over, and Zhang Kaitai turned his head in response.

A black-clad official entered the tea room with his head bowed and said respectfully, "Duke Wei, an order has come from the palace: a court assembly will be held at the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM)."

"Understood." Wei Yuan nodded.

"Perhaps something important has happened." Zhang Kaitai tactfully stood up. "Then this humble servant will take his leave."

Court assemblies were not held every day. Generally speaking, a diligent monarch would hold a major court assembly every three days. The time was fixed.

A ruler who neglects his duties will do so every five to ten days.

Emperor Yuanjing rarely held morning court sessions. If he was in a good mood and felt he needed to attend to state affairs, he would send someone to inform the officials a day in advance.

The fact that a court assembly was convened on short notice today means that something major has happened.

After Wei Yuan finished his tea, he summoned Nangong Qianrou and went to the palace with his adopted son.

Arriving at the Meridian Gate at 6:45 AM, the square was filled with officials from the capital, whispering and discussing the reason why Emperor Yuanjing had suddenly convened a court assembly.

Most people are speculating whether it's related to the Fufei case; this is the only major event recently.

This case involves the crown prince and the very foundation of the state. Only something like this would prompt Emperor Yuanjing, who had long neglected state affairs, to suddenly convene a court meeting and summon his ministers to discuss the matter.

"Duke Wei."

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate approached, cautiously glancing left and right, and whispered, "News has come from the palace that His Majesty entered Fengqi Palace last night, and then left in a rage."

Wei Yuan paused slightly, then slowly nodded. "Mm."

P. S.: Oops, I just posted the announcement and it backfired on the same day. This chapter has fighting, and fighting is always particularly difficult to write. Sorry, sorry.

Today's word count is still 10,000 words; I'll update first and revise later.