Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The Imperial City, the headquarters of the Garrison Command.

The night was as dark as ink, and the iron guardrails on the eaves made a soft, rustling sound in the breeze, as if someone was whispering in the shadows.

Ling Xuance had a thin face, slightly graying temples, and narrow, dagger-like eyes. At this moment, he was sitting behind his desk, one hand resting on the open secret report, the other slowly turning the white jade thumb ring on his thumb—a habitual gesture he made when thinking, known to everyone in the Zhenfu Division.

He governed the Zhenfu Division for fifty years, rising from a centurion to a commander, handling more cases of extermination and execution than the memorials reviewed by the six ministers. Some said his eyes could see through people's hearts, while others said his heart was no longer made of flesh and blood.

Three secret reports were spread out on the table in front of him—

A report from Shen Jinghong, a commander of ten thousand households in Guangling Prefecture in the west, was written in neat handwriting and detailed in every aspect. A battle report copied from the Embroidered Uniform Guard was only a few lines long, but every word was alarming. An independent intelligence report from the Xuanjingtai was written in coded language that only the imperial palace could decipher.

Three secret reports all point to the same name.

Ling Xuance rolled the name on his tongue, then spoke:

"Summon Iron Face."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable chill. The captain on guard outside responded and left, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor for a long time.

A short while later, the door was pushed open.

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark, close-fitting outfit strode in, his steps steady and his landing silent. He had a square face and never smiled. There was an old scar between his eyebrows, slashing diagonally down from his forehead, stopping just short of his right eye—if that cut had been a third deeper back then, he would have been dead.

He was one of the four leaders of the Zhenfu Division, the Iron-Faced Commander of the Xuanzi Hall. His code name, "Xuanpan," was said to be able to stop children from crying at night in the thirteen western prefectures, but very few people had ever seen his true face.

Iron Face did not bow upon entering; he simply stood still, his gaze fixed on the secret report on Ling Xuance's desk.

Ling Xuance didn't waste any words and directly pushed the three secret reports over: "Li Chenzhou. He forcibly killed Qingxuan Zhenren, a Grandmaster Level 3, at the foot of Qingmu Peak."

Iron Face picked up the secret report and quickly flipped through it, the scar between his brows twisting slightly as his gaze moved. He didn't speak, but Ling Xuance knew he had heard him.

"The Grandmaster Level 5 old monster, whom the Green Wood Sword Sect had kept hidden for decades, has broken out of seclusion."

Ling Xuance stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, his back to the iron mask, and spoke in a calm voice as if he were talking about something insignificant, "He killed Qingxuan in front of the Fifth Rank, and then left with injuries. The Azure Dragon Society, what a grand scheme."

The stern-faced man put down the confidential report and spoke for the first time: "Injured?"

"The secret report didn't go into details." Ling Xuance turned around, a glint of cunning flashing in his narrow eyes. "But to be able to kill someone in front of a fifth-level Grandmaster and escape unscathed, this person... is no ordinary person. His techniques, movements, and on-the-spot judgment are not what an ordinary third-level Grandmaster should possess."

Iron Face nodded without saying a word.

Ling Xuance walked up to him and said, "The Zhenfu Division and the Embroidered Uniform Guard each manage their own affairs. Zhao Chengying of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already sent his men, so we don't need to get involved in their schemes."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Your mission is singular—infiltrate the West and secretly investigate the Azure Dragon Society. The key is to uncover every single clue about Li Chenzhou's background, mentors, and past experiences."

Iron Face listened with his head bowed, his face remaining completely still.

"And those above him."

Ling Xuance pointed a finger into the air. "Since the Azure Dragon Society can send someone like Li Chenzhou, there must be even stronger figures in charge. Who they are, what their cultivation level is, and whether they have shown their faces in the west—these are more important than Li Chenzhou himself."

Iron Face raised his head, his voice steady: "Understood. Investigate only the Green Dragon Society, and don't cause any unnecessary trouble."

Ling Xuance looked at him and said, "By the way, the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent Feng Manlou."

Iron Face's brow twitched slightly.

"That's an expert at weaving nets." Ling Xuance walked back behind his desk, sat down, picked up his teacup, but didn't drink; he just stared at the tea leaves floating in the cup.

"You and he will inevitably run into each other in the west. Each of you should investigate your own cases. There's no need to join forces or clash. The Garrison Command has its own methods."

He took a sip of tea and said, "There is a commander in the Pingyang County Town Pacification Division named Dongfang Weiwo. He is the second son of the Weeping Blood Marquis, Dongfang Wudi."

The iron-faced man's eyes finally showed a slight change.

"His identity is sensitive, so keep an eye on him, but don't touch him." Ling Xuance put down his teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice. "The Azure Dragon Society originated in Pingyang County, and he happened to be working there—it's probably not a coincidence."

With an iron face and clasped hands, his black sleeves whipped up a gust of wind: "Your subordinate obeys."

His figure disappeared outside the door.

Ling Xuance picked up the secret report again, his gaze fixed on the three words "Li Chenzhou" for a long time.

Outside the window, the metal brakes started beeping again.

Meanwhile, the lights inside the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office remained on all night.

Commander Zhao Chengying stood with his hands behind his back before the map, a huge silk scroll about ten feet square, densely marked with vermilion ink depicting mountains, rivers, prefectures, counties, and passes. His gaze fell on the vast western region, his brow slightly furrowed.

Standing behind him was a man named Feng Manlou, a Xuanzi Assistant Inspector.

His face was so ordinary that he looked like any other passerby on the street, someone you could easily disappear into a crowd.

He was of average height and build, dressed neither in new nor old clothes, and his features were neither ugly nor handsome. Only his eyes occasionally flashed with a sharp light, as if he were calculating something, or as if he were weaving something.

His name, "Mysterious Spider," describes his skill in weaving webs.

Zhao Chengying turned around and looked at Feng Manlou, speaking slowly and deliberately: "The Zhenfu Division has already made a move; Ling Xuance has sent Iron Face."

Feng Manlou bowed slightly, awaiting the next installment.

"Iron Face excels at frontal assaults; it's a good weapon in a head-on clash." Zhao Chengying paced back and forth, his brocade robes and jade belt shimmering slightly in the candlelight. "But we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, won't compete with him for this. Your mission is—to secretly investigate the organizational structure of the Azure Dragon Society."

Feng Manlou raised his head, and the candlelight reflected in his ordinary eyes, like two lamps lit in the dark night.

Zhao Chengying walked up to him, her gaze fixed on his face: "There must be someone even more important above Li Chenzhou. Those people never show their faces, not even their names have appeared in the outside world. But a power cannot be without a supreme decision-maker—we need to dig these people out."

He paused, then emphasized, "Even if we can't uncover their identities, we must confirm whether they truly exist."

Feng Manlou finally spoke, his voice low but clear: "Understood. Investigate only the Azure Dragon Society, nothing else."

Zhao Chengying nodded in satisfaction, patted his shoulder with a light touch, and said, "Go. Be careful not to clash with the Zhenfu Division. Each side should investigate its own area and keep to themselves."

Feng Manlou bowed respectfully, then turned and left. His steps were light, like a cat walking on a velvet carpet.

"The Mysterious Spider..." Zhao Chengying murmured to himself, turning back to look at the map. "Can this net trap the Azure Dragon Society?"

Almost at the same moment, Ling Xuance, in his capacity as the commander of the Zhenfu Division, sent an urgent secret report to the imperial palace.

The secret report was sealed with sealing wax, stamped with the seal of the Zhenfu Division, and sent to the imperial city by express courier, directly presented to the Xuanjingtai desk.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was established first, followed by the Garrison Command. Their jurisdictions often overlapped, and neither could unilaterally determine the final status of a regional power without the intervention of the Suspended Mirror Platform. In the more than one hundred years of the Xuantian Dynasty, only one person had the authority to make decisions regarding matters concerning Grandmaster-level forces.

The Imperial Study.

Night had fallen, and the flickering candlelight cast the shadows of the bookshelves full of scrolls onto the wall, like rows of silent guards.

Qin Muzhi sat behind the imperial desk, holding the secret report presented by the Xuanjingtai.

This emperor, who had ruled the Xuantian Dynasty for decades, was over a hundred years old, yet he appeared to be only in his early forties. His face was like jade, his eyes deep-set, and his aura was extremely restrained—sitting there, he was like an ancient sword hidden in its sheath. When unsheathed, it was as warm and smooth as jade; once drawn, it was as powerful as thunder.

Standing before the desk was Cao Zhengchun, the Admiral of the Suspended Mirror Platform. He stood with his hands at his sides, his back ramrod straight, and his old eyes, beneath his white eyebrows, were half-closed, as if he were asleep. But everyone present knew that this seemingly unremarkable old eunuch was one of the most terrifying experts in the Xuan Tian Dynasty.

Qin Muzhi put down the secret report and chuckled softly.

The laughter was neither warm nor cold, but carried a condescending and playful tone.

"Ha. The Azure Dragon Society, the Underworld. A Netherworld Palace has appeared in the south, and a Heavenly God Cult has appeared in the north."

He leaned back on the dragon throne, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrests, his tone tinged with amusement—or perhaps excitement at the appearance of prey: "In this great golden age, all sorts of demons and monsters have emerged."

Cao Zhengchun bowed slightly, his voice sharp but not harsh, just right: "Your Majesty is wise. The fact that these forces emerged at almost the same time is no coincidence. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Zhenfu Division have each sent people to the west to secretly investigate the Azure Dragon Society. In the east, south, and north, the Xuanjingtai has also set up sentries to closely monitor the movements of the Underworld, the Netherworld Palace, and the Heavenly God Sect."

Qin Muzhi nodded slightly, shifting his gaze from the secret report to the flickering candlelight.

"The Great Golden Age is coming." His voice suddenly turned deep. "The ancestor sent a message the other day, saying that there are still more than three years to go. In these three years, the waters of the world will only become more and more turbid."

Cao Zhengchun didn't speak, but simply bent his waist even deeper.

Qin Muzhi stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the window. Then he spoke:

"The five major powers in the west have been entrenched for a century. The rise of the Azure Dragon Society to break the balance may not necessarily be a bad thing."

He turned around, his gaze falling on Cao Zhengchun's face, his deep eyes devoid of any smile:

"Tell the Suspended Mirror Platform to keep a close watch on them. As long as these forces don't cross the imperial court's bottom line—don't kill imperial officials, don't occupy imperial government offices, and don't collude with foreign enemies—don't alarm them for now."

Cao Zhengchun raised his eyelids, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his old eyes: "This old servant has remembered."

"But if it is found that any of them are in cahoots with barbarians or foreign forces..." Qin Muzhi paused, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but the smile was as cold as the winter wind, "No need to ask for permission, just take action."

Cao Zhengchun bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching his knees: "This old servant obeys the decree."

Qin Muzhi sat back on the dragon throne, picked up another document from the imperial desk, and casually said, "In this golden age, a little muddy water doesn't matter. But if there's a snake in the muddy water trying to bite—"

He opened the folded book without looking up, his tone as indifferent as if he were simply saying that the weather was nice today:

"Then let's tear up the snake and its hole together."

On the same night, in Pingyang County.

In a side room in the backyard of the Zhenfu Division's branch office, a young captain sat under the lamp, holding a newly delivered secret letter in his hand.

The candlelight flickered, casting an inconspicuous shadow on his profile.

This letter was not an official document. The envelope was unsigned and unmarked, except for a tiny drawing on the seal—a half-open lotus flower. Only he, the sole decipherer of the entire Pingyang prefecture, could understand this mark.

He opened the secret letter and read it line by line.

Li Chenzhou. Qingmu Peak. Qingxuan Zhenren was killed. The Fifth Ancestor emerged from seclusion but failed to leave behind any traces.

He had already seen these messages in the official documents, but this letter contained some things that were not in the official documents—the internal reaction of the Green Wood Sword Sect, the movements of the surrounding forces, and a place name that had been altered and then rewritten.

The letter ended with a line of code that only he could understand.

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes.

His breathing was steady, his face calm, as if he had just taken a nap under the lamp. But deep within his consciousness, a semi-transparent screen of light slowly emerged, its pale blue glow illuminating every corner of his mind.

Several lines of text were jumping on it:

Li Chenzhou slays Qingxuan Zhenren, the leader of the Qingmu Sword Sect. Gains: 80 energy points.

Current energy level: 115 million.

He opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Adding the energy value previously obtained by the underworld, the total amount has now firmly exceeded one million.

One million five hundred thousand.

He silently recited the number in his mind, his finger unconsciously drawing a circle on the table.

Dongfang Weiwo stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. The night breeze, carrying the chill of early autumn, blew in, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead.

He looked up at the dark night sky.

The lights in the thousands of homes in Pingyang County were gradually going out, one after another, as if someone were blowing out rows of candles from the sky. But some people were destined to have a sleepless night.

The Green Dragon Society.

The imperial court sent people to investigate.

He stretched out his right hand, his five fingers slowly clenching in the air, as if he had grasped something.

"interesting."