Great Mang Dynasty’s King City had a population of seventy thousand. The residences of the common people were normally made from clay bricks or volcanic rock.

Even though the weight of bricks made from volcanic ash wouldn’t be very heavy, convenient for transport, moreover the bricks filled with fine holes, naturally warm during the winter and cool during the summer, they would normally either be an earth yellow or grayish black color, only emphasizing practicality, not really all that elegant. This was especially the case with the volcanic ash that gets swept over from the northern monsoon season. If we were talking about a clean and beautiful magnificent city, there was naturally no way this could compare to Yunqin’s Central Continent City.

Only, Great Mang’s late emperor attached great importance to etiquette and education. If we exaggerated a bit, we could say that he founded the country through scholarly culture, almost entirely different from Yunqin Empire’s style.

That was why Great Mang King City’s total private schools and academies, despite not being as numerous as Central Continent City, the concentration density might not be much different. Central Continent City was also a city filled with the disciples and heirs of officials and rich merchants, a place where civil and martial skills were trained, but if it was any other Yunqin great city with many people, the number of private schools and academies would be far inferior to Great Mang King City.

Great Mang King City’s eastern district was a place where markets and merchants gathered. This place had a private school called Easthill Academy.

This private school looked no different from other private schools, but only the true influential figures in Great Mang Imperial City knew that the inner courtyard here was precisely where Great Mang’s Hidden Fortune Institution was located.

Hidden Fortune Institution withdrew a large amount of secret funding from Great Mang Imperial City each month, used to purchase, bribe, scare, threaten, punish, extort confessions, and other unscrupulous methods. From the royal court above to ordinary peddlers and carriers below, the marketplace and gangs, brothels and tearooms… there were countless eyes and ears arranged, all of this for the sake of finding clues of Yunqin spies.

This structure that existed outside Great Mang’s royal court and law, from many aspects, seemed like something Great Mang’s officials couldn’t bear. However, during these years, during Yunqin and Great Mang’s war, on a deeper level, it had always been one between Yunqin’s cultivators and Purgatory Mountain. If Purgatory Mountain believed that there was value in keeping this structure, then there was precisely value in keeping this structure.

Lu Qiming was the head of this Hidden Fortune Institution.

His eyes were naturally gray colored. Since he had already managed Hidden Fortune Institution for many years, his hair already became even more gray than his eyes, his forehead already covered in blade-like wrinkles.

From his Soul Expert level cultivation when he first entered Hidden Fortune Institution until now, he already became a State Master level cultivator who was the one closest to Sacred Expert level in Great Mang King City.

In a situation where there were many things that needed to be taken care of, having this type of cultivation could only mean that he was indeed quite the outstanding individual.

In reality, during these years, the number of Yunqin spies who died because of Hidden Fortune Institution was quite high.

Only, this gray eyed, gray haired elder wasn’t all that worried for his own safety.

His identity was extremely confidential to begin with. Moreover, the number of Yunqin cultivators who could escape Hidden Fortune Institution and enter Great Mang King City were extremely few to begin with. On top of all of this, the Yunqin cultivator who could kill him had to at least be a Sacred Expert.

Sacred Experts were too powerful, their presence too extraordinary, so it was hard for them to hide their traces to begin with.

Meanwhile, they were also various powers’ most precious resource, there was no way they would be sent into Great Mang King City to throw their lives away.

That was why he felt like he would remain in this position for a long time, respect and authority accompanying him until he died of old age.

Only, he didn’t realize that this age already changed.

This day, he sat in a study in the rear courtyard of Easthill Academy, at his side a charcoal stove cooking some tea water.

The tea water in the iron pot on the charcoal stove gradually came to a boil.

The teapot began to release the first sisi sounds.

At the same time, he seemed to have heard some abnormal voices in the skies beyond his roof.

When he raised his head, the moment he inwardly sensed something was off, the entire house already completely exploded.

Amidst endless dust and shattered tiles, an indigo longsword descended like lightning!

Lu Qiming’s heart was filled with biting cold chilliness. However, before he had time to think, he held his breath. A dark red short spear shot out from beneath the desk in front of him. In the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint, it fiercely struck against the indigo blue longsword.

A great explosion sounded.

It was as if two invisible giant bells collided in this study.

The indigo blue longsword flew out. Then, the chains connected to this indigo blue longsword instead suddenly surged with flames, wrapping around Lu Qiming’s body.

Lu Qiming’s body released clear smoke, a miserable scream was released.

In this instant, an ordinary feathered arrow shot through his right eye with absolute precision, planting itself deeply into his brain.

…

Yuan Haofang was currently examining the Autumn Mountain Army.

Autumn Mountain Town was a large town to Great Mang’s southeast. In these parts, training martial skills was the norm, so the soldiers that were recruited here were all extremely valiant. As early as when Great Mang’s late emperor started his campaign, the Autumn Mountain Army formed from Autumn Mountain Town disciples were Great Mang’s most valiant elite forces. Within this Autumn Mountain, there was a Great Tree Alley that was only a hundred meters long, yet produced seven first rank generals, this place was also called General Alley.

Yuan Haofang was one of Great Mang’s Seven Army Commanders.

He was also a Great Mang soldier who came from Autumn Mountain Town.

That was why Autumn Mountain Army that was known to possess the greatest combat force in all of Great Mang was equivalent to an army of his very own disciples.

However, while he was facing this army, this upright and robust Great Mang commander’s face slowly became pale.

He saw a bit of faint yellow radiance appear from within the white clouds in the sky.

He thought of what this was.

He also realized a shift in this age.

However, there wasn’t anything he could do to change the ultimate result.

The entire Autumn Mountain Army reacted. Many cultivators began to rush towards their commander.

However, a black line descended.

It was as if a dark night suddenly descended.

No one knew the trajectory of this dark night. When they saw the dark night descend, this dark night already completely swallowed Yuan Haofang.

The sword in Yuan Haofang’s hands pointed towards the sky. However, a giant hole instead appeared in his chest.

…

Great Mang Hidden Fortune Institution’s head Lu Qiming died.

Great Mang Seven Army Commander Yuan Haofang died.

Great Mang Internal Affairs Sector’s Qi Lianyu, Pang Wen, and Du Guhong died.

Great Mang’s Heavenly Prison caught on fire, the army provisions completely burned down.

Within Great Mang King City’s Military Intelligence Department.

Two Great Mang officials continuously trembled.

“Just what does Lin Xi wish to do exactly?”

After receiving the news that the military’s largest provisions and material storages was burned down, a thick bearded official couldn’t help but look at the other aged official, saying with a trembling voice, “Yunqin Emperor has already publicly declared Green Luan Academy the enemy. He isn’t killing Yunqin Emperor’s people, what is he instead coming to Great Mang for, why is he carrying out assassinations everywhere?! Could it be that he isn’t scared that our Great Mang’s rage will once again spur a great offensive on South Tomb Province?”

Even though the aged official’s heart was also extremely shaken, he still retained great deduction abilities.

“Yunqin’s people killing Yunqin people wouldn’t be able to seize the hearts of the people. However, by killing our Great Mang’s people, it can win over the people’s hearts. Lin Xi is a war hero within the hearts of Yunqin’s people to begin with. By not dealing with Yunqin people, instead coming to assassinate our Great Mang’s people, it will even further remind everyone what he and Green Luan Academy have done for Yunqin, what they are doing for Yunqin.” This aged Great Mang military intelligence official paused for a moment, his breathing a bit difficult as he continued, “What is he scared of… The ones he has killed are all those that can contribute to an attack on their south. The high ranking officers who can lead armies have already been slaughtered to a certain extent. With their abilities, there is even a chance of assassinating the emperor, so why are they not instead directly assassinating the emperor? That is because they aren’t crossing over this line… It is because even they understand extremely clearly that if a country’s monarch has been assassinated by them, when their country has completely lost all face, then regardless, a war would immediately begin.”

The thick bearded official stared blankly for a moment. With a vacant and scared voice that didn’t even seem like his own, he asked, “Then what can we do right now? Are we supposed to just wait until we are completely massacred by them?”

“There is indeed nothing we can do, we can only crane our neck and wait for execution.” The aged official said in distress. “We can only wait for some of our Great Mang’s Sacred Experts to show some of their intentions… We can only wait on Purgatory Mountain.”

…

During this year’s spring, Lin Xi and some of his companions unleashed a series of vicious assassinations in Great Mang, mainly dealing with those who had killed many Yunqin cultivators, or those who might be able to help quickly launch a war against Yunqin.

Great Mang’s cultivators couldn’t keep up with the Divine Wooden Flying Crane’s height and speed.

When five or six instances of known assassinations happened, the only thing these Great Mang cultivators were sure of was that Lin Xi was currently active in Great Mang King City’s southeastern parts.

It was because Big Black’s traces appeared there.

However, in all of Great Mang, apart from a single person, no one knew about Lin Xi’s true whereabouts.

This person was Zhang Ping who currently grasped a Great Elder Scepter.

In this spring day, every single Great Mang important figure’s death was related to him. It was because the list of names to be assassinated was something he drafted up to begin with.

When he arrived in Great Mang, he was only a spy whose status was even beneath that of Hua Jiyue. However now, he was already the most successful spy that had infiltrated Great Mang since Yunqin was established.

The Purgatory Mountain Great Elder Scepter had extremely precious gemstones embedded within it. This type of gemstone was something Purgatory Mountain obtained many years ago from Sky Devil Prison Plains. As long as a bit of soul force was infused, tremendous power could be produced. The Great Elder robe he wore that was lined with red inside, the outside black colored, was also made from an extremely precious material. With just a bit of soul force, it could produce surging black smoke.

Right now, the Purgatory Mountain Great Elder robed, Great Elder Scepter wielding Zhang Ping was currently standing on a Thousand Devil Nest slope.

Before him was an expanse of Devil Eye Flowers that covered the mountains and plains, blooming in great magnificence.

Within a range of several dozen li around him, there wasn’t a single Great Mang cultivator to be seen.

This was all because of a single order from him.

It was because he already had this type of authority.

He stood there expressionlessly amidst the clusters of flowers, completely entranced, looking at the scepter in his hands, at the profound runes on this scepter.

In the past, he had deeply engraved every single rune on this scepter into his memory, because this scepter’s power possessed fatal allure towards the past him. He wanted to create a similar scepter, to have a powerful soul weapon like it.

However now, when he obtained this type of scepter, there wasn’t a trace of joy to be found on his cold and rigid face.

The sky gradually dimmed.

His fingers gradually tightened, releasing a light golden metal grinding sound.

He was waiting for Lin Xi’s arrival.