Intelligence

"Something strange?"

Xu Qi'an asked in surprise, and seeing Sun Xuanji's lips move, he quickly pushed the paper and pen aside:

"Senior Brother Sun, there's no need for you to say such things."

Sun Xuanji thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "If... I..."

Five minutes passed, Xu Qi'an yawned, pointing to the paper and pen.

Sun Xuanji sighed, resigned himself to his fate once more, and picked up his pen to write:

"I collected twenty scattered dragon energies. Li Miaozhen, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan collected six dragon energies together. How many did you collect?"

Fourteen!

Xu Qi'an immediately said that he had been like a child who had received pocket money these past few days, counting it every day and not letting a single copper coin slip by.

"Exactly thirty."

Sun Xuanji nodded and wrote furiously, "Then, the Buddhist School, the Witch God Sect, and the Hidden Dragon City, which don't have any fragments of the Earth Book, couldn't possibly have collected more than us, right?"

"That's natural."

Xu Qi'an nodded in affirmation.

"However, I don't know when it started, but I gradually stopped being able to find hosts for the dragon's energy. These past few days I've been working tirelessly, piloting the cannons to search all over the place, but it's still very difficult to find hosts for the dragon's energy."

After Sun Xuanji finished writing, he silently looked at Xu Qi'an, seemingly hoping that he could give his opinion.

"Is the dragon energy host almost finished collecting?"

Xu Qi'an gave the first thought that flashed through his mind.

Sun Xuanji shook his head, bent down and continued writing, "Nine is the ultimate number, nine crucial dragon energies, ninety-nine scattered dragon energies."

"I see." Xu Qi'an immediately understood. They had collected thirty scattered dragon energies, while the Buddhist School, the Witch God Sect, and the Hidden Dragon City couldn't possibly have more.

This is because it is determined by the Unseen, and the three forces could not possibly have collected more than him, who is a person with such fate.

So, where did the remaining dragon energy go?

Xu Qi'an's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze sharpened. "Is there a force we don't know about secretly collecting dragon energy?!"

"It seems you think so too." Sun Xuanji nodded.

Xu Qi'an frowned and remained silent, his mind flashing through the forces of the Nine Provinces Continent: the Buddhist School of the Western Regions; the Great Feng Dynasty of the Central Plains; the Witch God Sect of the Northeast; and the royal family of Qianlong City.

These are the forces that have already withdrawn from the game.

The forces that did not meet their end include the barbarian demons of the northern border; the Gu clan of the Southern Frontier frontier; and the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons.

The northern barbarians were eliminated first. Having experienced the chaos of war in the first half of the year, they were in dire need of rebuilding and recuperating. Their primary task was to rebuild their homes and allow them to recover.

Even if they obtained the dragon's energy, they wouldn't have the military strength to conquer the Central Plains.

"The Gu Clan is a possibility. Back then, the Heavenly Gu Elder stole the Qi Luck in order to use it to repair the seal of the Confucian Sage. Dragon Qi is also a kind of Qi Luck."

"The ultimate goal of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons is definitely to restore the kingdom and reclaim its homeland, but Buddhist School is an insurmountable obstacle. If I were the Nine-Tailed Fox, I would form alliances and gather allies to eliminate Buddhist School first."

"Seizing the dragon's energy at this critical juncture is pointless; it will only embolden the rebels in Qianlong City, who are allies of Buddhist School."

After a moment's thought, Xu Qi'an said, "The Gu Clan?"

Sun Xuanji nodded and lowered her head to write:

"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but I think we shouldn't focus on the entire force, but also pay attention to smaller forces or individuals who have the ability to control or find dragon energy."

Xu Qi'an asked, "What are your thoughts, Supervisor?"

Sun Xuanji shook her head.

After a moment of silence, he continued writing:

"Now let's talk about the enemy's intelligence."

"According to reliable sources, a host of one of the nine dragon energies may have appeared in Yuzhou, but not long ago, he was abducted by a group of mysterious people. Based on the descriptions of bystanders, I judge that he is one of the seven constellations of the Azure Dragon."

"Yes, they're operating in the middle of the city; they're extremely brazen."

One of the nine dragon energies, Xu Qi'an, suddenly leaned back in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Although he told Mu Nanzhi that the bottom line was the two dragon energies, when the time came, he still felt inexplicably irritable.

Is there anything else?

Xu Qi'an silently exhaled and asked.

"The two sisters from the East Sea Dragon Palace are helping the Witch God Cult collect dragon energy. Logically, one of the nine dragons should be the host of the three provinces of Jing, Xiang, and Yu. We need to be mentally prepared."

Sun Xuanji was writing on the paper, but before she could finish, Xu Qi'an pressed her for an answer:

Why didn't you kill them?

Sun Xuanji shook his head. "I wouldn't dare!"

"Um?"

Xu Qi'an asked in a short, nasal tone.

"One of the twins has Nalan Tianlu's Primordial Spirit residing in his body. Like the Daoist School, wizards rely on their Primordial Spirit as their foundation. Even without a physical body, their combat power will not be weakened too much."

"I encountered them at a distance that wasn't too close or too far. The twins didn't notice me, but Nalan Tianlu locked onto me. Luckily, I ran fast; the teleportation array is really useful."

Xu Qi'an looked up and saw that Senior Brother Sun's face showed lingering fear and relief.

Nalan Tianlu was killed by Duke Wei, and I am Duke Wei's successor. Xu Qi'an pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"I see."

He slowly exhaled and forced a smile, "Senior Brother Sun, shall we talk about something interesting?"

Sun Xuanji thought for a moment, picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote:

"Junior Brother Yang has left the capital; the Supervisor has assigned him a task."

"What's so interesting about that?"

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "I thought he had been suppressed by the supervisor again."

"Here's what happened: Junior Brother Yang attempted to take advantage of our teacher's absent-mindedness to announce during the sacrificial ceremony that he would donate all the funds of the Bureau of Astronomy."

As the brushstrokes lightly danced across the paper, Xu Qi'an looked at the line of words and thought to himself, "Wow!"

Once he succeeds, with all the civil and military officials and the emperor witnessing it, even the supervisor would find it difficult to shamelessly back out.

If any other white-robed Warlock had done this, the entire court would not have believed it and would have even ordered the Bureau of Astronomy to take this mad disciple back.

However, Yang Qianhuan is the third disciple of the Director of the Imperial Observatory, a dignified fourth-rank expert, and he can represent the Bureau of Astronomy to a certain extent.

Xu Qi'an remained calm and composed, because he knew that with the old silver coin's methods, the King of Conscience would never have a chance to rise to prominence in his lifetime.

"To avoid being noticed, Senior Brother Yang tempted Caiwei with delicious food to help him monitor the Supervisor. However, the Supervisor had anticipated this and handed the Heavenly Secrets Compass to Junior Brother Song, who was to suppress Yang as soon as he left the Star-Gazing Tower. In this matter, Junior Brother Song was definitely more proactive than anyone else."

"Fifth Junior Sister also made a great contribution. She's always been very obedient and listens to everything the teacher says."

Xu Qi'an was stunned, thinking to himself that this was some kind of Bureau of Astronomy version of Infernal Affairs.

The supervisor is experienced; he knows how to use his apprentices to keep them in check.

What task did the Supervisor assign to Senior Brother Yang?

"I don't know. I only know that Senior Brother Yang left with Junior Sister Caiwei, and she was also exiled."

"Chu Caiwei, you idiot, if you're not smart enough, don't get involved in things that could cost you your life."

"I've given you all the intelligence."

Sun Xuanji said.

Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and then recounted the matter of the Hun Tian Divine Mirror and his deal with the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

"Senior Brother Sun, what do you think?"

After pondering for a long time, Sun Xuanji wrote, "She must have taken control of a portion of the remnant body of a deity."

He meant that the Demon-Sealing Nails could only be broken by Buddhist School Secret Method, and the fact that the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox dared to make such a promise meant that she had control over a part of Shen Shu's remaining body.

I think so too. Xu Qi'an nodded. "I'm fine now."

Sun Xuanji nodded, and a clear light rose beneath his feet, enveloping him as he departed.

Seeing this, Mu Nanzhi, who was sitting demurely on the edge of the bed, maintaining the demeanor of a princess, let out a breath.

She glared at the man with displeasure. "Always coming in the middle of the night, isn't it annoying? Don't you understand the difference between men and women?"

She remembered the last time Xu Qi'an had pinned her down in bed, Sun Xuanji had come too.

"Senior Brother Sun always informs us before he comes. Last time, we didn't know him well and weren't prepared. Besides, in the martial world, there's no need for so many formalities. The guest rooms are just temporary resting places."

Xu Qi'an casually offered a word of comfort.

As he pondered the intelligence brought by Sun Xuanji, his heart felt heavy.

Quanrong Mountain.

The Quanrong Mountain, spanning a radius of a hundred li, is the founding mountain of the Martial Alliance, with the Alliance Leader's Mansion, a place of solemn courtyards, at its core.

The peaks stand facing each other like dragons and tigers vying for supremacy, with red mountains and green waters, and rising clouds and mist, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

One-Armed Old Zhou is a centurion in the Martial Arts Alliance. Logically speaking, even in the Martial Arts Alliance, where there are many masters, a centurion can be considered a pillar of strength.

Unfortunately, the one-armed Lao Zhou had no real power.

It is said that the Martial Arts Alliance has always used the military organization left by the old leader, which has never changed in the past six hundred years.

He earned his centurion rank by trading his right arm. Old Zhou was originally a guard. About a month ago, he was escorting Cao Qingyang's wife and two children back to her parents' home when they were ambushed and killed by their enemies.

Old Zhou lost his right arm at that time, taking a knife for Cao Qingyang's children.

From then on, Lao Zhou was promoted from a lowly guard to a centurion, receiving the treatment of a centurion, but without any real power.

As a martial artist at the Essence Refining Realm, losing his right arm renders him virtually insignificant in combat.

Old Zhou, with one arm, carrying a jug of wine, braved the cold wind and knocked on the door of a courtyard.

The courtyard gate opened, and a middle-aged man wearing a thick cotton coat stood out with a broad smile.

"Brother, you've finally arrived! The dog meat smells delicious, come on in."

The middle-aged man was tall and thin with exceptionally long arms. His name was Wang You, and he was an archer on guard duty.

The two went inside, sat at the table, and enjoyed strong liquor and dog meat, drinking the piping hot soup, feeling completely refreshed in the cold winter.

"Brother, you're really something. You traded an arm for the treatment of a centurion, and you'll be set for life. Unlike me, I spent all my money on women."

Wang You's face was full of emotion, and he kept complaining.

Old Zhou drank his wine and laughed heartily, "Isn't the point of living this life to sleep on a woman's soft belly?"

The two drank and ate, chatting about everything. After a few rounds of drinks, Wang You said in a casual tone:

"Brother, you said last time that Alliance Leader Cao's two daughters survived being struck by an enemy's palm, is that true?"

Old Zhou let out a burp and said loudly:

"Why would I lie to you? I was closest to them at the time, and my hand was chopped off while protecting the two kids."

"Hiccup~ I saw those two little kids get slapped, and they were dead for a moment, otherwise, how could their enemy have left? But guess what? In less than fifteen minutes, they woke up again."

Wang You laughed and said, "You must have seen wrong."

Old Zhou slammed his fist on the table in dissatisfaction and shouted angrily, "You don't believe me? Why did you ask me twice?"

Wang You immediately clasped his hands in apology.

Soon, the dog meat hotpot was finished, and Old Zhou left satisfied.

The drunkenness in Wang You's eyes vanished. He walked to the bedside, pulled out a box from under the bed, took out a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and laid them on the table to write:

"The children of Cao Qingyang of the Martial Alliance are suspected to be hosts of dragon energy."

P. S.: Today I got stuck on a logical flaw and contradicted myself for a very long time, probably several hours.

Thank you everyone for your monthly votes! I'm prepared to work incredibly hard this month. So touching!