Chapter 90

One

The result of the enraged nature was sheer terror.

A mountain that had been perfectly fine just moments ago had now completely collapsed. A sudden landslide had occurred.

Although it was still deep in the night and darkness had descended, making it feel less severe, once the sun rose, the gruesome scene would be even more apparent.

Swish!

At that moment, a man suddenly appeared in the torrential rain.

The man looked around with a cold, sunken gaze. Everywhere he looked was covered in rocks and piles of dirt.

In the next instant, a very satisfied smile appeared on the man's face.

"What a satisfying collapse."

The mysterious man was none other than Liu Xinyun, who had led the escort team and left Guanbiao.

Surprisingly, he had disguised Wang San as himself using the highest-quality mask provided by Haowen, and had been secretly following Xu Zhongguang all along.

The reason he had taken on such a laborious task was simple.

'As I expected, while my intervention can change minor historical flows, such a massive event cannot be altered.'

Indeed, Liu Xinyun had foreseen that the so-called 'Buyang Landslide' would occur today.

In another future, You Jinxiang, backed by the Nine Dragon Hall, had been in charge of this escort mission. Due to the Buyang Landslide, the Baiyun Escort Agency suffered enormous damage.

Without the continuous support of the Nine Dragon Hall, the damage would have been so severe that they would not have been able to recover.

Even though Liu Xinyun had ranked first in the Guanbiao exam, he had handed the first escort mission to the Nine Dragon Hall for this very reason.

By destroying the two attack teams of the Nine Dragon Hall without touching them, he could eliminate their suspicion of him, making it a win-win situation.

'...Then, shall I start now?'

Liu Xinyun began to carry out another purpose for his presence here.

Swish!

Suddenly, a burst of dark mana erupted from his entire body.

'There it is.'

The dark mana that had spread to his eyes revealed several colored light beams in his field of vision.

Among them, the light beam that guided Liu Xinyun's steps was the green light beam emitted by the corpses of Hu Zhongguang and Ma Daoying.

Judging by the color of the light emitted by the deceased, both martial artists seemed to have been at the peak of their prowess in life.

Crack.

Despite the ground still trembling from the aftermath of the landslide, making it difficult to stand, Liu Xinyun moved with incredibly light steps.

This was because he had reached the Huajing realm, and his lightness technique had also been greatly enhanced.

'Even peak martial artists are helpless in the face of sudden natural disasters. Well, it's a blessing for me.'

Liu Xinyun extended his hand towards the green light beam and activated the Corpse Qi Extraction skill.

Then, numerous system messages appeared before his eyes.

[Beginning to absorb the qi of the deceased.]

[Absorbed a large amount of corrupted mana.]

[Due to the level adjustment of the skill 'Corpse Qi Extraction,' the player has absorbed a large amount of dark mana.]

[The skill 'Dark Mana Heart' has reached rank SS.]

[The dark mana accumulated in 'Dark Mana Heart' has reached the 5th circle.]

[The seal on the new skill 'Lich Mastery (SS+)' has been lifted.]

[The seal on the new skill 'Bone Storm (SS+)' has been lifted.]

[Absorbed 365 days' worth of inner energy from 'Xueying Heart Method.']

[Absorbed 365 days' worth of inner energy from 'Hunying Qi Gong.']

'Hmm.'

Despite the good news of his dark mana finally reaching the 5th circle and obtaining a powerful mage summon, Liu Xinyun's expression was somewhat troubled.

'Why aren't these treated as monsters?'

Although the corrupted mana from the corpses was absorbed, it did not proceed as it had when he obtained the Basilisk or the Dryad Queen.

After some thought, he came to a conclusion.

'Tsk! If they die before the power of grace can be exerted, they cannot be obtained as monsters.'

Although he could not hide his regret, as the advantages of monsters over ordinary martial artist skeletons were significant, he soon calmed himself.

'While not as good as the Huajing skeletons obtained in Xuewu Valley, a peak-level skeleton will definitely provide a significant boost in strength. Once this is over, I'll quietly turn them into skeletons.'

With this, all the secondary tasks were completed. Now, he only needed to retrieve the most important item.

"Plunder. Target: Dryad Queen. Skill: Deadly Spine."

Liu Xinyun spread the vines of the Deadly Spine into the ground.

Swish!

The vines quickly moved towards the place where Xu Zhongguang's corpse was buried.

Although the corpse was buried very deep, making it difficult to control, Liu Xinyun did not give up and focused intently on the movements of the tentacles.

'I found it!'

Finally, he found what he was looking for.

A short while later, the tentacle broke through the ground.

The tentacle was holding a small chest, which contained the late Princess Chao Hui's legacy, the imperial escort item.

Liu Xinyun, holding the chest, slightly curled his lips.

'In my previous life, You Jinxiang survived miraculously and held the escort item, allowing him to narrowly escape the imperial wrath. ...But what about this time?'

Anticipating the massive storm that would hit Zhejiang Province, Liu Xinyun disappeared.

Two

The next day.

Everyone in Zhejiang Province was in a state of great confusion. This was due to a shocking piece of news that flew in as soon as the sun rose.

The mountain in Buyang had collapsed, and the Nine Dragon Hall's escort team had been caught in it.

The Nine Dragon Hall, realizing the situation too late, urgently dispatched a rescue team, but it was futile.

The rain was pouring down as if there was a hole in the sky, and the earth and rocks kept falling just as progress was being made, leaving them with no solution.

Given the scale of the landslide, it was impossible for even the martial arts experts to have survived, and everyone mourned.

However, their emotions soon shifted from sorrow to fear. When the news that the late Princess Chao Hui's legacy had disappeared reached the emperor, he erupted in anger.

The emperor, known for his benevolence, was so furious that he shouted, causing the civil and military officials present to tremble and remain speechless.

-This is not just any matter; it involves moving items for the imperial family! If the severity of the matter had been understood and preparations made, would they have chosen a collapsing mountain as their route? To dare bury Hui'er again in the earth! I will never forgive this! A thorough investigation will be conducted, and if even a grain of human error is found, no one will be spared!

After his outburst, the emperor took immediate action.

He dispatched 2,000 selected Jin Yi Wei, led by Qinglong Jian Liu Ziliang, to Zhejiang Province.

The Jin Yi Wei were the emperor's direct bodyguards and secret police.

They had the extralegal authority to dispose of anyone they deemed an enemy of the emperor.

In other words, the emperor was considering erasing the Nine Dragon Hall from the map.

Although the government and the martial arts world had declared non-aggression, matters involving the imperial family, like this one, were beyond even the Martial Arts Alliance's jurisdiction.

Yan Chianshi urgently sent a message to the Blood Sect's headquarters, but the response was a cold order to not involve the sect and to resolve the matter with his own strength.

Thus, Yan Chianshi halted all the Nine Dragon Hall's ongoing activities and focused all personnel on digging out the debris in Buyang.

A few days passed.

Liu Ziliang and the Jin Yi Wei arrived in Zhejiang Province.

Unexpectedly, their first destination was not the Nine Dragon Hall. Qinglong Jian Liu Ziliang headed straight for the Censorate.

"Everyone, step back."

"Yes, sir!"

At Liu Ziliang's low command, the Jin Yi Wei outside the office disappeared.

Thus, only Jang Wiso and Liu Ziliang remained in the Censorate's office.

The silence that had filled the room was broken by Liu Ziliang.

"…Wiso, you've lost a lot of weight."

As he said, Jang Wiso was emaciated from worry over his daughter.

However, Liu Ziliang was addressing him as a close friend, not as a criminal.

In fact, although they walked different paths as a martial artist and a civil servant, they had been close friends since childhood, studying together in the same neighborhood.

"…I'm ashamed to show you this state after so long."

Jang Wiso spoke with a face full of sorrow.

'Sigh! What could have happened?'

Seeing his friend, he could only sigh deeply.

"The Nine Dragon Hall obtained the escort mission despite not ranking first in the Guanbiao exam. Normally, you would never have allowed it. What's going on?"

"…"

Jang Wiso could not answer.

Then, Liu Ziliang, after confirming that no one was around by emitting his aura, cautiously asked,

"Did you really… receive a favor from the Nine Dragon Hall in exchange for the escort mission?"

Liu Ziliang could not and did not want to believe it. The Jang Wiso he knew was the most incorruptible and upright person.

Because of his unyielding principles, his friend, despite his outstanding abilities, had remained at the level of a censor.

'Please, say it's not true.'

Liu Ziliang silently pleaded with his friend.

"…"

Jang Wiso could not say anything again.

Seeing this, a sad light appeared in Liu Ziliang's eyes.

"…The emperor has given us seven days. If we don't find the princess's legacy within that time, not only the Nine Dragon Hall but you will not be spared."

After pronouncing this death sentence to his friend, Liu Ziliang weakly stood up and left the room.

'I'm sorry.'

Watching his friend's lonely back, Jang Wiso bowed his head in despair.

Jang Wiso wanted to reveal everything to him.

-You must bear everything and enter the grave. Then, I will ensure your daughter's safety.

He was in a position where he could only accept the threat from Yan Chianshi, who had come to him as soon as the incident broke.

'To save my daughter, this is the only way.'

The desperate man sighed deeply.

Just then,

-Do you want to get your daughter back?

"…!"

An unknown voice began to ring in Jang Wiso's ears.

He was startled and tried to ask who it was, but no sound came out of his mouth for some reason.

It was as if all the sounds in the room had disappeared.

Then, the mysterious voice spoke again.

-Do you want to get your daughter back?

'…Who are you?'

Jang Wiso thought it might be the Nine Dragon Hall playing tricks on him but shook his head.

The Nine Dragon Hall's spies, who had always been present, had all withdrawn when the Jin Yi Wei entered the Censorate.

After much thought, Jang Wiso nodded.

At that moment,

Swish!

A human figure suddenly rose from the shadow in the room.

'That, that's!'

Jang Wiso's eyes widened in shock as the identity of the mysterious person was revealed.

-To get your daughter back and bring down the Nine Dragon Hall, follow my instructions from now on.

Liu Xinyun, who had finally revealed himself, began to give Jang Wiso a series of instructions.

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