Chapter 94

On the city gate tower, Xing Kun, dressed in the black and red attire of the Inner Guard, held the imperial sword in his hand. His gaze, sharp like that of a hawk, tightly focused on the outside, scanning every person entering the city.

The Inner Guard, directly under the command of the emperor, was responsible for safeguarding the capital's security.

He was one of the ten leaders of the Inner Guard, having learned a secret eye technique passed down within the Inner Guard. This technique, originating from the Red Mansion, could see through a person's true cultivation at a glance.

With this eye technique, the Inner Guard knew exactly which martial arts experts entered and left the capital every day.

Now, he was looking for a man of the Second Rank and a woman of the Fifth Rank.

Xing Kun had been standing there since morning, as solid as a rock, without changing his posture even once.

The generals of the City Guard standing behind him were struggling to hold on, but they dared not move, gritting their teeth to endure.

To the people of the regions, the Inner Guard was like an imperial envoy.

Not to mention the person in front of him, who was a First Rank expert and one of the ten leaders of the Inner Guard, a true big shot.

In addition to safeguarding the capital, the Inner Guard had another duty: to investigate and seize the assets of officials who committed crimes.

In recent years, the Empress, bypassing the cabinet, had directly instructed the Inner Guard to suppress her political opponents, causing two major purges, involving countless officials.

The current Inner Guard was so powerful that even the cabinet ministers had to fear them.

Zhongzhou City was a provincial capital, and the head of the City Guard was of no small rank, but in the face of an Inner Guard leader, he did not dare to breathe loudly.

This time, the Empress had sent three Inner Guard leaders to Zhongzhou, showing the importance she placed on the Four Seas Bank.

...

When Xing Kun saw Lin Liang enter the city, he showed no reaction.

When he saw Chen Shilin and Old Wu, he still showed no reaction.

It was only when he saw the carriage with the Cao family's emblem that his expression changed, a hint of wariness appearing in his eyes.

He sensed that inside the carriage sat an extremely formidable expert.

At such a sensitive time, what was the Cao family's intention in sending such a powerful expert to Zhongzhou City?

Among the nine great families, three were particularly noteworthy. People from these families often acted recklessly and unpredictably.

The Cao family was one of them. Cao Yiyi, for example, had done many outrageous things.

Thinking of this, Xing Kun's heart stirred.

Inside the carriage, there was another person, whose cultivation was so low it could be ignored.

Anyone who could share a carriage with a First Rank expert must not be an ordinary person.

"Could it be that Cao Yiyi is inside the carriage?"

If it was her, there was no need to worry too much.

Although Cao Yiyi acted recklessly, she had her limits and would never provoke the offspring of major powers.

It was possible that she just wanted to come to Zhongzhou City to see the excitement.

The current Jiangzhou City was a mix of fish and dragons, and it was normal for her to bring a First Rank expert with her.

To be safe, Xing Kun called over a subordinate and had him report the matter to Lord Zhuang.

They were led by Lord Zhuang on this mission.

After a while, Xing Kun saw three riders appear on the nearby road.

Instantly, his gaze locked onto the man and two women on horseback.

Especially the leading man, whose true essence was like burning flames, causing his eyes to sting.

"How terrifying!"

Xing Kun was somewhat shaken. He had never seen a Second Rank martial artist with such powerful true essence.

Even the chief of the Academy would pale in comparison.

The strongest fire attribute true essence he had seen was that of the Fifth Prince, who cultivated the supreme divine skill, "Great Sun True Fire."

However, compared to the person in front of him, it was like a firefly compared to the moon.

"What supreme skill is he cultivating?"

Xing Kun thought through all the known supreme fire attribute skills in his mind, feeling a deep shock.

This person, barely in his twenties, had cultivated a supreme skill to such a level, not much different from the top few on the list of prodigies.

What power did he come from?

"Could it be one of those four places?"

Xing Kun's eyes narrowed.

Those four legendary places had always been hidden from the world, never interfering in secular affairs.

However, once a successor appeared, they would stir up the world.

The last time was over twenty years ago, when a disciple from one of the holy places caused the military god of the Great Zhou to be imprisoned, the previous emperor to be assassinated, and the ten great families to become nine, with several divine realm experts falling...

It was also from then on that the Great Zhou began to decline.

Thinking of this, a deep-seated killing intent arose in Xing Kun's heart.

His benefactor was the former military god of the Great Zhou, Duke Wu'an.

He came from a humble background, and it was thanks to Duke Wu'an that he achieved his current status.

During his time under Duke Wu'an, the Great Zhou was at its peak, its power spreading far and wide. No neighboring power dared to invade the Great Zhou.

After Duke Wu'an's departure, the previous emperor's death, and the destruction of the Wu family...

A series of events caused the Great Zhou to decline rapidly over the past twenty years.

Now, even a small nomadic tribe dared to invade the borders.

The once mighty Great Zhou had fallen to such a state.

Xing Kun had witnessed the entire process of the Great Zhou's decline, feeling deep pain and helplessness.

In his view, the root cause of all this was the successor of the holy place.

However, now that person had achieved the divine realm, and he could not touch him in the slightest.

At this moment, seeing another suspected successor of the holy place, his killing intent could not be suppressed.

A voice in his mind screamed, "Kill him before he grows stronger, to prevent him from causing chaos in the world!"

...

Gu Yang had not yet entered the city gate when he felt a疯狂的杀意锁定他，给他带来了巨大的压力。

这股杀意显然来自一位一品强者。

“什么情况？他的目标不应该钱曦云吗？”

他感到情况不对，那位一品强者似乎是在针对他。

这也不是上次林家派来的那位一品啊？

Gu Yang really couldn't recall when he had offended such a powerful First Rank expert, causing such intense killing intent.

At this moment, he had no time to think much, gripping the knife in his hand, focusing all his attention on the First Rank expert on the city gate tower, ready to defend against a sudden attack.

Facing a First Rank expert, he couldn't afford to be careless.

The expert on the tower did not immediately attack, seemingly testing his patience.

Meanwhile, Qian Xiyun and Lily seemed oblivious to the tension, dismounting their horses at the city gate and leading them inside.

Gu Yang had no choice but to follow them, leading his horse as well.

...

The Cao family's carriage suddenly stopped.

Inside the carriage were Cao Yiyi and Ru Qin.

Ru Qin looked towards the city gate tower and said with a sigh, "The royal family truly has a wealth of strong hands. Even a randomly dispatched First Rank expert has such strength."

The royal family and the court were the places with the most First Rank experts in the world.

Just the Inner Guard alone had over a dozen First Rank experts, more than any of the nine great families or the six major sects.

This was the reason the royal family could maintain its rule.

Cao Yiyi lifted the curtain and looked out, asking, "Has he arrived?"

Ru Qin, seeing her like this, said with a hint of pity, "A First Rank expert from the Inner Guard on the city gate tower has already discovered him. Strangely, this First Rank expert harbors intense killing intent towards him, as if they have a blood feud."

After a pause, she asked, "Do you want me to save him?"

Cao Yiyi gritted her teeth and said, "Why save him? I wish he would die immediately, and it would be best to tear him apart to satisfy my hatred."

"Alright, then I won't save him."

Cao Yiyi's eyes were fixed on the city gate, her hand gripping the curtain, her knuckles turning white.

...

"There's killing intent!"

On the other side, Chen Shilin also sensed the killing intent. His true essence instantly reacted, his hand gripping the sword hilt, emitting a formidable aura.

Old Wu, however, was completely unaware of the tension. He stared intently at the city gate, his heart filled with shock.

How could this be?

So far, he had met Gu Yang three times.

The first time was in Tianshui City, where Gu Yang was only a Sixth Rank cultivator.

The second time was in Pingjun City half a month later, where Gu Yang had become a Third Rank cultivator, defeating three Second Rank experts with a single strike.

This was already enough to surprise him.

A few days later, he heard that Gu Yang had reached the Second Rank and defeated the prodigy Liu Zhe.

This was barely understandable.

But now, just a month after Pingjun City, Gu Yang was already at the peak of the Second Rank, his true essence incredibly powerful.

The last time, he had already noticed that Gu Yang was likely cultivating the lost Shen family skill, "Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance," but he didn't reveal it, considering it a major matter.

The "Nine Heavens Phoenix Dance" was notoriously difficult to cultivate. Throughout history, many talented members of the Shen family had failed to reach the First Rank with this skill.

The Gu Yang in front of him was already at the peak of the Second Rank, just one step away from the First Rank.

The key was that a month ago, he was clearly only a Third Rank cultivator.

Breaking through to the Second Rank in a month was acceptable, but how did he reach the peak of the Second Rank in just a month?

Old Wu even began to doubt his own eyes.

PS: Second update, requesting monthly votes. The next update will be before 8 PM.