Inside the vast, empty hall, a profound silence reigned. Only the air itself, as if frozen in time, seemed to flow slowly around them.
No one knew how long had passed before a sound finally came from the lofty seat high above.
Just a single, short word—yet it carried with it an overwhelming majesty, as if descended from the very heavens themselves.
“Summon!”
That single word landed heavily upon the woman below, carrying with it a weight that made it impossible to harbor even a single thought of refusal.
Outside the palace gates, a biting, frigid wind howled and swept across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Lu Xuan’s dark black robe flapped loudly in the gale as he stood there like a statue carved from stone.
This feeling?
Lu Xuan raised his gaze toward the towering palace gates before him, his eyes filled with caution and wariness.
This was a feeling—one that made even him, a martial artist at the Divine Mansion Realm, feel a deep, unsettling dread.
This was the very first time since Lu Xuan had begun cultivating martial arts that he’d ever felt such a powerful urge to flee a thousand miles away without a second thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly, a faint purple glimmer radiating from his pupils, as if he were weighing something in his mind.
Given the level of his movement technique, A Step Away, if he were to activate it immediately—
Lu Xuan could break free from the shackles of the Divine Mansion Realm’s Heavenly Earth power, treading through the void as if it were solid ground. With a single step, he could cross mountains and rivers, vanishing instantly thousands of miles away.
After this thought flashed through his mind, Lu Xuan’s taut nerves eased somewhat. The wariness that had been gnawing at him was finally suppressed.
Suddenly!
The palace gates before Lu Xuan began to slowly open. When they were fully wide, the space beyond revealed—aside from the palace guards standing stiffly at attention on both sides, clad in pitch-black armor—not a single other soul.
At that moment, Mei Qingyu, who had been standing silently behind Lu Xuan, wore a faint, perfectly measured smile as she spoke softly.
“Commander Lu, please!”
Stepping through the palace gates, Lu Xuan began to see more figures around him.
Within the palace, layers upon layers of grand halls were arranged in orderly fashion. Roughly every few hundred meters, dozens of palace guards stood in neat formations. Among these guards, there were no small number of martial artists at the Blood Refining Realm.
Martial artists who would hold considerable status in an entire prefecture—here in the palace, they were merely tasked with guarding the gates.
Under Mei Qingyu’s guidance, Lu Xuan passed through a corridor between two palaces.
Suddenly, five or six figures appeared ahead of them, standing shoulder to shoulder in a lazy, casual manner, making no move to step aside. Their eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Lu Xuan and his group.
Mei Qingyu’s expression shifted instantly. Her previously calm, placid eyes flashed with a razor-sharp killing intent, so fierce it was palpable.
Though this startling murderous aura was fleeting and extremely well concealed, it did not escape Lu Xuan’s perception.
A faint, knowing smile tugged at the corners of Lu Xuan’s mouth.
He mused silently: it seemed someone was using these people as a front to cause him trouble.
The group that appeared before them were all men dressed in the ceremonial robes of palace eunuchs.
The eunuch in the lead looked to be around thirty years old, wearing a deep crimson robe so richly colored it resembled a blooming rose. The collar and cuffs of the robe were embroidered with fine, dark patterns that glistened faintly in the daylight.
The eunuch’s complexion carried an unnaturally soft, feminine pallor, pale and lustreless. His face was thin, his features harsh, and his brows and eyes radiated a sinister, baleful air.
He curled the corner of his mouth into a half-smirk, then spoke in a shrill, mocking tone.
“Oh my, if it isn’t Lady Qingyu?”
“What’s this? Lady Qingyu isn’t on duty at the Plum Blossom Hall—what brings you here?”
“You Plum Blossom Guards sure are idle, aren’t you?”
“How envious we of the Inner Attendant Bureau are!”
Hearing this, Mei Qingyu’s face went deathly pale, then flushed with a surge of furious anger. The killing intent in her eyes was no longer concealed in the slightest—it burst forth like a physical force, and a layer of icy cold aura seemed to shroud her entire being.
“Wei Wuji, get out of my way this instant! Do you people from the Inner Attendant Bureau want to die?”
At these words, the eunuch named Wei Wuji not only refused to back down—he even took a step forward. His eyes narrowed, gleaming with a bloodthirsty light, fixed upon Mei Qingyu like a ravenous demon waiting to devour its prey.
The venom in Wei Wuji’s gaze was so deep it seemed as though they shared an irreconcilable hatred—as if he wished nothing more than to destroy her on the spot.
The air around them grew thick, frozen by the mutual animosity in their stares. The atmosphere was taut, like a bowstring about to snap.
Wei Wuji had always harbored a deep, burning hatred for the Plum Blossom Guards, and Mei Qingyu in particular was like a thorn in his side, a bone in his throat. He longed to drink her blood and devour her flesh to quell the rage in his heart.
Ever since those damned Plum Blossom Guards had appeared, the Inner Attendant Bureau had been plunged into an abyss.
During the late Emperor’s reign, the Inner Attendant Bureau had held most of the power within the palace. But now, the bulk of that authority had been ruthlessly seized by the Plum Blossom Guards. The affairs they used to handle, the martial resources they used to allocate—all had fallen into the Plum Blossom Guards’ hands.
Naturally, the Inner Attendant Bureau’s salaries and treatment had shrunk considerably as well.
The Inner Attendant Bureau placed the blame for all of this squarely on the Plum Blossom Guards.
After all, the one truly wielding the power and making the final decisions? They wouldn’t dare harbor even the slightest resentment toward that person, even if given ten thousand times the courage.
So of course, you pick the softest persimmon to squeeze. The Plum Blossom Guards were their best target for venting their frustrations, bar none.
And this Mei Qingyu happened to share a life-or-death grudge with Wei Wuji.
An incident a few years ago had nearly cost him his life. In the end, it was only his old ancestor—the Grand Steward of the Inner Attendant Bureau—who had stepped in to save his miserable hide.
“Hehehe…” Wei Wuji let out a strange, shrill laugh, his eyes filled with mockery. Slowly, he shifted his gaze past Mei Qingyu and looked behind her.
“What’s wrong, Mei Qingyu? What are you planning to do? Have I stumbled upon something I’m not supposed to see?”
As he spoke, Wei Wuji deliberately drew out his words, a malicious grin spreading across his face, as if he had uncovered some damning secret.
Then, he raised his right hand and pointed at Lu Xuan, asking in that same shrill, sarcastic tone: “And who’s the man behind you?”
The moment the words left his mouth, a flicker of something unreadable passed through Wei Wuji’s eyes—as if he were harboring some hidden scheme.
His meeting with Mei Qingyu today was no coincidence. From the very moment Mei Qingyu had entered the capital, he had already received his old ancestor’s orders.
It seemed his old ancestor, along with several other families, had taken a keen interest in this Lu Xuan. He had been tasked with probing this Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard.
Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard?
Such a young lad—looked to be in his twenties—yet he was the Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard!
A figure of this stature—even his own old ancestor would have to step forward and offer a greeting upon meeting him.
One had to know that the position of Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard had always been reserved only for martial artists at Grand Completion of the External Gang Grandmaster Realm or above.
Could this beardless brat really be one of those ancient monsters at Grandmaster level?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Wei Wuji simply could not accept this earth-shattering fact.
His mind raced, the more he thought, the more confused he became. His brow furrowed tightly, as if tied in a knot. His piercing gaze swept over Lu Xuan from head to toe several times, desperately trying to find something extraordinary about him.
Had he misjudged the person?
As soon as Wei Wuji spat out those words, a flash of realization crossed Mei Qingyu’s eyes.
She was no fool—serving as a Fourth-Rank Plum Blossom Guard deep within the palace required a sharp mind.
So this damned eunuch was here to test Commander Lu!
“How dare you!”
“Wei Wuji, you’re asking for death!”
“His Majesty has decreed that Deputy Commander Lu Xuan of the Black Bird Guard is to be received at the palace. You eunuch dare to block his way!”
Mei Qingyu’s brows shot up in fury. Her sharp shout rang out like a thunderclap on a clear day.
Right on the heels of her cry came the piercing ring of a drawn blade. With a flash of blinding cold light—
At some point, a longsword had appeared in Mei Qingyu’s right hand.
The blade glinted with icy light, as if forged from a thousand years of frozen cold, radiating a bone-chilling aura.
At the same time, Mei Qingyu’s aura underwent a drastic transformation. The presence of a Minor Achievement Inner Qi martial artist surged forth like a breached dam, sweeping outward from her body.
In an instant, a gale-force wind howled, sending the robes of everyone present flapping wildly.
“Hmph!”
Wei Wuji remained utterly composed, showing no concern whatsoever.
Then, with a sudden focus of his own aura, he too released the presence of an Inner Qi martial artist.
In that moment, an invisible force expanded from him, clashing head-on with Mei Qingyu’s formidable aura.
Though Wei Wuji’s Inner Qi presence was somewhat inferior to Mei Qingyu’s, the gap wasn’t particularly vast.
“Mei Qingyu, don’t forget—anyone entering the inner palace is subject to questioning by us of the Inner Attendant Bureau!”
“Don’t think your Plum Blossom Guards can monopolize everything in the palace.”
“As long as we of the Inner Attendant Bureau exist, your Plum Blossom Guards don’t get the final say!”
“You—!”
Mei Qingyu could hardly believe what she was hearing. She stared at Wei Wuji as if he were a complete imbecile.
She had assumed that once she revealed Lu Xuan’s identity, Wei Wuji would show some restraint and step aside.
But never in her wildest dreams had she expected this fool to be so utterly reckless with his own life.
He was merely a petty Third-Rank Inner Attendant, who usually threw his weight around the palace by riding on that old monster’s coattails.
But Lu Xuan—as Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard—was a figure of immense stature! And Wei Wuji still had the audacity to try and interrogate him?
“Mei Qingyu, you’d better produce His Majesty’s decree. Otherwise, step aside nicely for us.”
“I simply refuse to believe that this beardless brat could possibly be the Deputy Commander of the Black Bird Guard.”
“Hehehe…”
“Could it be that this boy is just some little toy you keep around for amusement, Mei Qingyu?”
“Tsk, tsk—Mei Qingyu, you’ve got some nerve, secretly sneaking a strange man into the palace!”
“Once I report this to my old ancestor, you and this wild man can await His Majesty’s judgment.”
“According to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, this little bastard’s entire family would be executed!”
Seeing Mei Qingyu’s face twisted in utter frustration, as if she’d swallowed bitter gall, Wei Wuji felt a surge of elation wash over him like a tidal wave.
In that moment, he even directed his fury toward Lu Xuan, completely forgetting his old ancestor’s repeated warnings to act with caution.
The moment those venomous, vicious words left Wei Wuji’s mouth, it was like throwing a boulder into a calm pond.
Everyone present had their expressions change in an instant. Even the four men behind him from the Inner Attendant Bureau looked utterly shocked.
For a time, the scene fell into an eerie, deathly silence, so quiet that not even a whisper could be heard—as if the very air had frozen.
Only Wei Wuji continued to laugh wantonly, his cackles jarringly loud in the stillness. He remained blissfully unaware of the shifting atmosphere around him, lost in his own triumphant mood.
Damn!
This useless piece of trash!
A fool who can’t do anything right!
In a hidden corner deep within the shadowy corridor of the palace, an old man was concealed. His form blended almost completely with the darkness—unless one deliberately searched for him up close, his presence was utterly undetectable.
But in the very next second, the old man seemed to sense something. His squinting eyes suddenly flew wide open, filled with disbelief as he stared at Lu Xuan not far away.
The space around Lu Xuan was beginning to ripple with strange, eerie waves of distortion, like a calm lake disturbed by a massive stone, spreading outward in rings.
This damned thing!
Within Lu Xuan’s eyes, profound purple light blazed brilliantly, like two burning violet stars—yet they were cold, devoid of even a trace of human warmth.
His gaze swept over everyone before him, a look that seemed to come from the deepest hell, carrying an all-extinguishing chill.
Everyone present felt an invisible, overwhelming pressure from the heavens and earth bearing down on them. Their legs grew weak, their breathing labored.
At this point, even the dullest person could clearly sense how terrifying Lu Xuan truly was.
The anger radiating from Lu Xuan was almost tangible, a suffocating darkness that chilled the soul.
“Commander Lu…”
At some point, Mei Qingyu had quietly turned around. Her face was pale as death, utterly drained of color. Her lips trembled slightly, her eyes filled with panic and desperation.
Wei Wuji was a member of the Inner Attendant Bureau. If Lu Xuan took matters into his own hands and attacked him, the consequences would be unthinkable.
But before Mei Qingyu could even finish her sentence—
It was as if Wei Wuji had encountered something horrifying.
In that instant, his eyes filled with utter terror and despair. Then, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air—
Wei Wuji’s face, eerily feminine and sinister just moments before, began to split apart, blood gushing forth.
In the span of a single breath, his body could no longer withstand that destructive force.
Right before everyone’s eyes—he exploded.
A thick, lurid mist of blood burst into the air, spreading wantonly through the space. The pungent stench of blood filled the surroundings, nauseatingly thick.
The old man who had been hidden in the shadows of the corner suddenly appeared before the crowd.
“Stop!”
The old man’s face was frozen in shock. He simply couldn’t believe that Lu Xuan would act with such ruthless decisiveness.
