son, don't mess around

In the main hall.

With Lin Jiangnian's arrival, the atmosphere inside the hall underwent a dramatic change.

After confirming that the kite was unharmed, Lin Jiangnian stepped forward and looked up at the familiar 'old friend' in front of him!
At this moment, the once most powerful eunuch of the Great Ning Dynasty reappeared in everyone's sight.

No one expected that he would hide it so well.

His clever escape trick fooled everyone!

Everyone present was kept in the dark.

What a good plan!

Faced with Lin Jiangnian's questioning, Chen Zhao, whose face had remained expressionless, suddenly had a sharp glint in his eyes.

"He's dead?!"

Chen Zhao's tone was low.

In an instant, a sharp aura swept over us.

Lin Jiangnian remained calm, and the Xuan Yang Heart Sutra within his body automatically activated, dissolving the invisible aura.

He stood there, meeting Chen Zhao's gaze, a faint smile on his face.

"died."

The concise words caused Chen Zhao's face to darken suddenly.

Immediately, that fierce aura became even stronger. Inside the hall, a gale suddenly arose, and a terrifying, howling atmosphere filled the space.

"Qiang!"

Realizing something was wrong, Liu Su suddenly drew her sword, her gaze serious and wary.

Zhiyuan took a step forward silently and appeared behind Lin Jiangnian. She didn't say a word, but her eyes were equally cautious.

Facing this terrifying pressure, Lin Jiangnian seemed completely at ease. He remained standing, hands behind his back, unfazed even as Mount Tai pressed down on him. He calmly gazed at the seemingly 'magnificent' figure before him: "I didn't realize you two were such close brothers?"

"Who would have thought that the once all-powerful chief eunuch of the Great Ning Dynasty was actually the brother of the leader of the Heavenly God Sect?"

"You have really fooled me terribly!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao, who had been exuding an aura of power, seemed to realize something. His strong aura dissipated, and he regained his composure. He turned around and his gaze fell on a beautiful figure in red beside him.

Liu Su stood calmly to the side, her gaze slightly lowered as she looked at the light sword in her hand, its blade sharp. When she noticed Chen Zhao's gaze falling upon her, she stared at the figure before her, whose aura bore a striking resemblance to the sect leader, and felt a sense of disorientation.

Who would have thought?
No one could have imagined it.

"It's you!"

Chen Zhao stared at Liu Su, his voice hoarse.

"it's me."

Liu Su's beautiful eyes remained calm, and she showed no fear in the face of Chen Zhao's imposing aura.

If there is anyone in the world who could discover this secret, it would only be Liu Su, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly God Sect.

After the death of the leader of the Heavenly God Sect, Liu Su returned to the sect's headquarters. While purging dissidents and reorganizing the sect, she inadvertently learned of this shocking secret.

So she rushed back to the capital and secretly told Lin Jiangnian the news.

At first, Liu Su wasn't sure either. She found some clues among the cult leader's belongings, which led to this speculation. But she couldn't determine the connection between the two, nor did she understand their relationship.

After all, during the ambush of the Heavenly God Cult leader six months ago, Lin Jiangnian was almost certain that Chen Zhao was indeed the leader. To confirm his suspicions, Lin Jiangnian even sent someone to investigate, confirming that the leader was indeed a dead eunuch…

But until tonight, until now, with Chen Zhao's appearance, all the secrets have been revealed once again.

Chen Zhao is definitely not the leader!
"Chen Zhao is the brother of the leader of the Heavenly God Sect?"

Of all those in the hall, none was more shocked by this news than Li Cining.

He looked up at Chen Zhao with some surprise. He was naturally aware of the existence of the Heavenly God Sect, although it posed little threat to the imperial court. However, the sect's leader was quite famous.

Rumor has it that this person is elusive, always hiding behind a black robe and bronze mask, and his martial arts skills are unfathomable.

Such unruly and dangerous individuals were naturally a target of the imperial court's vigilance. The Celestial God Cult had always been within the court's crackdown scope. When the late emperor was still alive, he ordered the Secret Astronomical Bureau to eradicate this heretical cult.

But now, it turns out that Chen Zhao and the leader of the Heavenly God Cult are brothers?!
How could this not shock Li Cining?

No wonder the Heavenly God Sect has repeatedly managed to evade the imperial court's encirclement and suppression.

Wasn't the Secret Observatory under Chen Zhao's control back then?

In his line of sight, Chen Zhao's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes were more gloomy and filled with a sharper gaze than before.

He looked at Lin Jiangnian again, his voice growing lower and hoarse: "You killed him?"

"Yes."

Lin Jiangnian nodded.

Clearly, Chen Zhao was unaware of the cult leader's death.

For the past year, he had been hiding in the deep palace, losing access to the intelligence of the Secret Observatory, which greatly weakened his control over external affairs, let alone the leader of the Heavenly God Sect in Linzhou.

A sharp killing intent flashed by. In that instant, Lin Jiangnian felt as if he were being stared at by some ferocious beast, his scalp tingling and his back turning cold.

His internal energy surged frantically in a defensive manner, resisting the killing intent. Lin Jiangnian's breathing became erratic for a moment, then returned to calm. He looked at Chen Zhao and said calmly, "You two brothers are truly difficult to kill!"

"He is, and so are you!"

No one would have guessed that Chen Zhao and the cult leader were brothers.

They're even twins!

This is also the secret that has misled Lin Jiangnian for more than a year.

No one could have imagined that there was such a relationship between the two!
A year ago, on the night of the Third Prince's coup, a mysterious man in black broke into the palace and fought with the Eldest Princess.

Afterwards, the eldest princess was seriously injured.

The whereabouts of the mysterious man in black remain unknown.

At that time, Lin Jiangnian had suspected that the mysterious man in black might be Chen Zhao.

After all, there are only so many experts in the world; no expert will appear out of nowhere. Judging from all the signs, the man in black is very likely Chen Zhao, who has been hiding the deepest secrets.

Until six months ago, the cult leader ordered the hunt for Liu Su, who was ambushed and killed by Lin Jiangnian.

Ultimately, the cult leader died at the hands of Lin Jiangnian.

After the cult leader's bronze mask was removed, a face exactly like Chen Zhao's was revealed.

It was at that time that Lin Jiangnian confirmed that Chen Zhao was the leader of the cult.

Even though many doubts remained, and even though Lin Jiangnian still harbored suspicions at that time, the sight of someone with a face exactly like Chen Zhao's, equally unfathomable martial arts skills, and even... the same dead eunuch!
It's hard to doubt that the two are not the same person!

Until Liu Su suddenly returned to the capital, the news she brought back resolved Lin Jiangnian's biggest doubt.

Why did he keep feeling something was off... If Chen Zhao was the leader, how did he, as the oldest eunuch in the palace, manage to escape from the palace and take control of the Heavenly God Sect?
From a timeline perspective, the two don't match.

But what if Chen Zhao and the cult leader were twins, with identical appearances? In that case, all the previous doubts would be resolved.

The two have similar appearances, similar temperaments, and even the same extremely high level of martial arts talent.

Therefore, the two are extremely similar.

But it wasn't just one person.

All of this tonight was a trap set by Lin Jiangnian! The purpose of this trap was to force the person in the shadows to reveal themselves.

As expected, the person who showed up tonight was Chen Zhao.

He was so eager to kill Li Cining that he fell into the trap that Lin Jiangnian had carefully prepared for him.

This completely confirmed Lin Jiangnian's guess.

"What is your purpose?"

At this moment, Lin Jiangnian stared at Chen Zhao.

Although it has been confirmed that Chen Zhao and the cult leader are brothers, what exactly are their purposes?
What conspiracy is being plotted behind the scenes?
One became a powerful eunuch who held immense influence in the court, while the other became a thorn in the side of the imperial court... This clearly doesn't make sense.

However, Chen Zhao did not answer Lin Jiangnian's question.

Upon learning of the cult leader's death, a hint of bewilderment, or perhaps sorrow, flickered in Chen Zhao's cloudy eyes. He stood there, looking rather forlorn after the powerful aura dissipated.

Like an old man in his twilight years!

Until Lin Jiangnian's words made him slowly raise his head again, and his gaze fell on Lin Jiangnian once more.

An unprecedented killing intent surged forth.

"He's dead!"

"You will be buried with him!"

"All of you will be buried with him!"

A cold, hoarse voice rang out, accompanied by an overwhelming killing intent.

In an instant, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed.

The next second, Chen Zhao's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

At that very moment, Zhiyuan suddenly took a step forward and stood in front of Lin Jiangnian.

"not good!"

Lin Jiangnian suddenly realized something, and his expression changed.

wrong!

He didn't want to kill himself!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a fierce wind swept through the hall.

Chen Zhao vanished from his spot, his figure blurring as he suddenly lunged towards Li Cining inside the main hall.

Make a sound in the east and attack in the west!

The person he really wanted to kill was Li Cining!
After Lin Jiangnian and the others appeared, Chen Zhao realized that something was wrong.

We were outmaneuvered tonight!

His identity has also been exposed.

Although he didn't take anyone in the hall seriously, he wanted to kill Li Cining first to avoid any unforeseen complications!

With Li Cining's death and the passing of the Emperor of Daming, the court is bound to descend into chaos.

At that time, everything will be settled.

He'll deal with the remaining three after he takes care of Li Cining!

At this moment, Chen Zhao's eyes were filled with a deep and fierce aura, brimming with an unprecedented killing intent.

Tonight, everyone here will die!
Just as Li Cining was caught off guard and suddenly closed in, Liu Su, who had been watching his movements closely, also made her move in an instant.

As a holy maiden of the Heavenly God Sect, Liu Su anticipated Chen Zhao's movements.

Just like the cult leader, he is a treacherous and cunning person!
Liu Su swayed in the swift movement, raising her sword to block Li Cining. The cold light in her hand shone like the moon, bursting forth with a powerful chill as she attempted to block Chen Zhao's attack.

"Boom!"

The instant the cold light collided with Chen Zhao's overwhelming momentum, a violent explosion resounded, sweeping away everything around them.

An invisible airflow barrier formed around Liu Su, blocking all the momentum from the outside.

But in the next second, this invisible airflow collapsed with a roar.

Immediately, a powerful aura surged in.

"Crack!"

The longsword in Liu Su's hand broke.

The next second, she was sent flying backward.

"boom!"

He stumbled back five or six steps, his back slamming heavily against the wall before he regained his balance.

The violent collision caused Liu Su's face to turn pale instantly, her breathing to become disordered, and a look of pain to appear on her face.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked down at the broken sword in her hand and her once slender hands trembling slightly.

powerful!
too strong!
The martial arts prowess of Chen Zhao before her exceeded her expectations.

Chen Zhao is stronger than the leader was six months ago!
At least a first-grade Grandmaster!

Even...stronger!
At this moment, a deep sense of apprehension welled up in Liu Su's eyes.

This brief exchange almost cost her her life!

The difference in strength is too obvious!

At the level of top masters, even the smallest difference becomes an insurmountable chasm.

That's a difference in absolute strength!
She had already suffered serious injuries in the very first exchange. The impact had made her internal organs tremble.

Especially my back, it's burning with pain!
But she didn't even have time to think; her thoughts lingered for only a moment. Chen Zhao, who was in her line of sight, moved again!

Liu Su only briefly stopped him before Chen Zhao launched another attack on Li Cining behind him!

At this moment, Li Cining also realized that Chen Zhao's target was him. He had already gotten up and retreated to hide behind the screen.

However, he did not know any martial arts, so he naturally could not avoid Chen Zhao's attack.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Zhao was already in front of him. With a sudden flick of his sleeve, a powerful killing intent swept out with a strong wind. The once tall and sturdy screen collapsed with a crash, turning into ruins that scattered everywhere.

Behind the screen, Li Cining's gaze was focused, her eyes filled with apprehension.

He is not afraid of death!

But he cannot die at Chen Zhao's hands.

But he couldn't change the situation. When Chen Zhao's gaze fell upon him, Li Cining felt a chill run down his spine and was unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as Chen Zhao rushed in at lightning speed.

"boom!"

"call out!"

The moment Chen Zhao approached, two auras attacked from the left and right.

Liu Su's brief moment of blocking Chen Zhao's sudden attack gave Lin Jiangnian and Zhiyuan a chance to react.

Then, the two quickly followed up and attacked at the same time.

"Humph!"

Chen Zhao snorted coldly, then suddenly flicked his sleeve, unleashing a powerful aura.

"boom!"

The terrifying aura spread, making Lin Jiangnian's body seem to stiffen. He frantically activated the Xuan Yang Heart Technique within his body, barely managing to block the attack.

Even so, he was still forced back several steps by this terrifying aura.

Once she regained her footing, her face was still pale.

His body was churning violently, almost making him vomit!
The strength gap is too big!
That one blow almost cost him his life!

Even though his martial arts skills have improved by leaps and bounds over the past year, it's as if he's cheating!
But Lin Jiangnian has only just touched the threshold of the second rank. Looking at the world, he can be considered a prodigy, a top expert!
However, compared to the truly top expert in the world right in front of him, he is still a whole realm below.

The gap between them cannot be bridged by any external force. Faced with an absolute difference in strength, everything else is just fancy.

monster!

They're all monsters!

No one expected that after killing one cult leader, there would also be a Chen Zhao!
These two brothers, who appeared out of nowhere, are more outrageous and terrifying than the other!
In order to kill the cult leader, Lin Jiangnian laid a trap, even mobilizing a large number of soldiers and experts from the Prince of Lin's mansion to surround and kill him.

But tonight, it would be almost impossible for the three of them alone to intercept and kill Chen Zhao, whose martial arts are even stronger than the sect leader's!

Realizing this, Lin Jiangnian suddenly looked up at Li Cining beside him and said irritably.

"Where are your people?"

"If you don't make a move, we'll all die here tonight!"

"..." (End of this chapter)