May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

Yuncheng, the residence of the Third Prince.

This is a rather luxurious mansion, with pavilions, towers, carved beams and painted rafters.

The guards were extremely tight; you could see a guard almost every ten steps, and there were many top-notch martial artists stationed here.

This is arguably the safest place in Yuncheng.

In the garden, a middle-aged man dressed in splendid clothes is admiring the flowers.

He was truly extraordinary in appearance, physique, and demeanor.

Standing beside him was his most trusted confidant, Lu Maode.

"Your Highness, I have something to report," Lu Maode said.

"explain."

"This is a list of martial artists below the Innate Realm who have made a name for themselves this year. Among them, our most outstanding martial artists are: the Bald Monk, the Mad Taoist, the Drunken Scholar, and the Night Emperor. In particular, the Night Emperor is currently the most renowned top-tier expert of the First Rank in Yun City."

Lu Maode handed over the list with both hands.

"Oh? Night Emperor? That title is indeed interesting. Pass on my order to reward the above-mentioned warriors handsomely. With a formidable enemy at hand, and their lives at stake, we cannot be stingy. Go and carry out this matter."

"Your Highness, this night the Emperor..."

"What's wrong? Are you having trouble?" The Third Prince glanced at the other person.

"I wouldn't dare. We can contact the other martial artists, but this Night Emperor is like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace. No one has ever seen his true face, nor do we know if he is male or female. I am not confident that I can find him."

"Oh, so you're saying this Night Emperor is quite mysterious. Well, it's understandable that such a person has a peculiar personality. Remember, give the order that no one should provoke the Night Emperor and not search for any information about him. Since he doesn't want the world to know about him, I, Your Highness, will grant his wish."

"But wouldn't a mysterious and powerful individual, who is also uncontrollable, pose a threat to us?"

"Mao De, you've been with me for so many years, but you still haven't learned anything. If a top expert like him really wants to do something to us, can we defend ourselves?"

Now that he's willing to help us kill the warriors under King Chen's command, that's enough to show his attitude: he's a friend, not an enemy. In fact, the stronger a person is, the less they want to be restrained.

Besides, there are countless martial artists in the world; how many can we truly control? Human strength is finite; trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust.

"Maode, water that is too clear has no fish, and a person who is too discerning has no followers. Remember this saying."

"Yes, Your Highness. I am foolish and thank Your Highness for your guidance. I will take my leave now."

After Lu Maode left, the Third Prince sighed deeply.

He knew his own situation best. The northern barbarians were stirring, having repeatedly invaded Chu's borders. Their ruler was ambitious and had repeatedly declared his intention to march south and destroy Chu.

Most of Chu's elite troops had been transferred to Beiguan, and Emperor Xiangqing had assigned him 50,000 elite warriors to quell the bandits, which was the limit of his power.

But he knew that to quell the rebellion, his 50,000 elite troops were only enough to protect themselves, not enough to suppress the enemy.

King Chen is a skilled military leader, and now he controls three populous prefectures—Xuezhou, Liangzhou, and Suzhou—as well as the four cities of Chongzhou. In just two years, he has already shown signs of rivaling the State of Chu.

"Now is the time when we need capable people. Moving against Ye Tianzi is a small matter, but losing the trust of all martial artists is a big one. How can I destroy my own Great Wall?"

"The State of Chu must not cause any more trouble, or it will truly perish!"

……

Outside the city, at the camp of King Chen.

At this moment, a withered and aged corpse lay on the ground.

Chen Tianwang, the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect, and other high-ranking members were frowning as they looked at the corpses on the ground.

"Grand Preceptor, look at this Night Emperor, what is his background? He actually beat someone like this, it looks like demonic methods. Could it be that some famous demonic cultivator has joined the Chu Kingdom?" King Chen looked at the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect and asked.

At this moment, the Blood Lotus Sect leader had even greater doubts than Chen Tianwang.

Judging from the palm prints on this mummified corpse and its withered, aged skin, it looks as if its life essence had been drained out while it was still alive.

This is very similar to the core secret technique of his Blood Lotus Sect, the Life-Destroying Palm.

Could this Night Emperor actually be a member of my Blood Lotus Sect? And a high-ranking one at that, because ordinary members aren't qualified to practice the Life-Destroying Palm.

Originally, the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect didn't want to answer, but this concerned the Heavenly King, so he couldn't hide it and had to report the facts:

"Your Majesty, the Night Emperor's attack methods are somewhat similar to those of the higher-ups in my Blood Lotus Sect, but we cannot be completely certain yet. I need to investigate further."

King Chen nodded and said:

"Grand Preceptor, this Night Emperor poses a great threat to our martial artists. We must find a way to eliminate him. If the investigation reveals that he is indeed a high-ranking member of your sect, Grand Preceptor, you must also make the difficult decision. I think you have no objection, do you?"

"Your Majesty, if it is true that the leaders of my sect have defected to the State of Chu, then it is my dereliction of duty as the sect leader, and I, as the sect leader, will personally clean up the mess."

The leader of the Blood Lotus Cult secretly instructed his deputy to investigate the matter.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the deputy returned and quietly reported to the Blood Lotus Sect leader.

After hearing the report, the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect bowed to Chen Tianwang, who was discussing military affairs with his generals, and said:

"Your Majesty, I have ascertained the identity of this Night Emperor. It is true that a high-ranking member of our sect has been out of contact for over two years, and coincidentally, he is the leader of the Cloud City branch. Therefore, I believe this Night Emperor must be Li Xiao, the leader of our Cloud City branch!"

"Since he has betrayed my Blood Lotus Sect, I, as the sect leader, must take action to eliminate this traitor and rid the Heavenly King of this scourge."

Chen Tianwang waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned, and said:

"You can decide these things yourself. I only care about the results. This Night Emperor poses a serious threat to the lives of our experts and must be eliminated."

"You must handle this quickly! I don't want the morale of our warriors to be severely damaged by this Night Emperor! This matter is entirely entrusted to the Grand Preceptor. I will arrange for my warriors to actively cooperate with the Grand Preceptor's actions!"

"We obey the Heavenly King's decree! Long live the Heavenly King!"

……

In Cloud City, there was an unremarkable mansion.

This is the mansion where Li Heng currently resides.

At this moment, Li Heng was sitting upright in the center of the bed in the room when he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Alas, I failed again. The Innate Realm is indeed not so easy to break through. Moreover, the Blood Lotus Sect's quick success method can only help me cultivate to the first grade. If I want to cultivate to the Innate Grandmaster Realm, it seems I will have to find another method." Li Heng sighed.

Throughout the year, Li Heng attempted to break through to the Innate Grandmaster realm multiple times, but each attempt ended in failure.

Although Li Heng is now an invincible being in the first-grade realm.

However, this world is not only home to first-rank experts. Above them are grandmasters, great grandmasters, and the ethereal Celestial Realm.

He always felt a sense of crisis; if he encountered a grandmaster next time he made a move, things would be unpredictable.

Moreover, he understood that his killing of several top-tier experts of the first rank over the past year must have attracted their attention, and he might even be on their kill list.

Only by breaking through to become a Grandmaster-level martial artist could he have the confidence to continue running rampant here.

He planned to refrain from taking any action for the time being, and instead secretly observe the opposing martial artists to see if any of them, at the Grandmaster level, were hiding their true strength to lure him into a trap.

If that's true, then it confirms his suspicion that he has aroused the other party's murderous intent. He must lie low and never make a move again until he breaks through to the Grandmaster level!