Just then, amid the storm’s ruckus, a discordant beat sounded.0 Thud… Thud‑thud‑thud. The rhythm rolled in from the south, swelling to a thunder of hooves.0 Raindrops on the ground quivered as though drummed from below.0 It was cavalry. The culprits were the 8,000 armored riders of the Flying Bear Army.0 Li Yuan had heard them once before. In this wilderness, only that elite cavalry could muster such numbers and momentum. The name he’d learned later from Cui Huayin, along with a trove of trivia about the Emperor’s habits and quirks.0 Swish, swish, swish!0 Li Yuan stilled his mind. In a blink, his sparrows scattered across the ground, eyes shut, ears sealed. No more spying. Where the Flying Bear Army rode, Lu Xuanxian might be near.0 He didn’t fear the grand general; in fact, he longed for a proper bout to force a breakthrough. But timing was everything, and patience was his strong suit. While Lu Xuanxian was present, any snooping would be useless, not to mention give away the game.0 He stirred his shadow blood. His body grew translucent in the rain. His fully mastered Phantom Body let him bend light and sound. Even the raindrops slid off and vanished into the soil behind him. Lying there, he listened not to any single spot but to the whole storm. No one noticed him at all.0 The Flying Bear Army split formation by the riverside. From their ranks emerged three multi‑tiered palanquins. Curtains lifted on two, and out stepped two men in brocade.0 It was Shu Shiyuan and Liu Tie, envoys from the governor of Ocean Province. They walked into the rain, turned, and bowed to the third palanquin.0 “Your Majesty,” they said, “we take our leave. We await the day you grace Bright Moon Prefecture with your presence.”0 The curtain of the palanquin lifted just a finger’s breadth. Inside sat a man of commanding presence, smiling as he spoke: “However far you escort a guest, you still must part. Tell your governor that I’m very pleased with Miss Xie Wei. She is destined to become my Great Zhou Empress.”0 Shu Shiyuan and Liu Tie bowed once more, then slipped into the waiting boat. Oars dipped, and the vessel glided away. On the bank eight thousand Flying Bear Army stood motionless, rain clattering against their mirror‑bright armor.0 The Emperor glanced at the proud general on his crimson warhorse. Without prompting, Lu Xuanxian remarked, “Our watcher isn’t peeping anymore.”0 “Who is he, exactly?” the Emperor asked.0 “A man in no way beneath me,” Lu Xuanxian replied.0 The Emperor lowered the curtain. The palanquin lurched forward; the Flying Bear Army wheeled as one and thundered back the way they had come.0 Near Gemhill County, Lu Xuanxian suddenly grunted. He flickered, and a sparrow overhead burst like a popped berry.0 “Your Majesty, look,” he called.0 The Emperor lifted the curtain, eyed the drifting feathers, and said, “Leave one alive. I’d like a chat.”0 Lu Xuanxian rode out, quickly snagged another inquisitive bird, and presented it. The Emperor took the sparrow in one hand, his gaze razor‑sharp.0 “You dabble in undying husk arts,” he told it. “That makes you unwelcome in the Five Elements Alliance and the Buddhist-Daoist factions. Serve me instead. I’ll elevate you to the position of a duke, next to Lu Xuanxian and Zhao Gutong.”0 The bird stared back. Through its eyes Li Yuan saw 1,155~2,800 floating above the Emperor’s head, different from every earlier reading.0 That’s the third stand‑in already, he thought. With so many decoys, finding the real one won’t be easy.1 He had let Lu Xuanxian catch this sparrow on purpose. This was to give the impression that he cared only about whatever they were doing near Gemhill County, not about the guests the Emperor received.0 Li Yuan made the bird peck lightly. The Emperor, quick on the uptake, produced ink and paper. The sparrow dipped its beak and scratched the words, I’ll think it over.0 The Emperor studied the wobbly script, then burst out laughing. “Bring a golden cage! Leave the door forever open, and anyone who harms this bird dies on the spot!”0 Putting on a show of heartfelt sincerity, he added, “Silks and delicacies await this sparrow. When you visit in person, sir, the seat at my left will be yours!”0 Zhao Gutong murmured, “That gentleman won’t come so easily.”0 Yet a few days later, Lu Xuanxian discovered the watcher was gone. Everyone reached the same tidy conclusion. The mysterious man was weighing the offer and had stopped spying to show goodwill.0 Even the skeptical Zhao Gutong admitted, “Your Majesty’s magnanimity wins every heart.”0 In truth, Li Yuan had simply slipped away. His eyes and ears now watched from north of the Eternal Rest River, high above a forest path. He drifted along unhurriedly.0 About six kilometers away, a troop of 300 cavalry thundered forward, dust rising, and stag‑crested helmets marking them as retainers of a powerful clan. They clustered around two figures at the lead and raced north.0 Each rider showed a reading of about 110, the numbers knitting together overhead into a shifting total of 5,000~6,000.0 Of the two leaders, one registered as a normal sixth rank, the other a normal fifth‑rank. Such a force could rule the Silkfloss Province, unless they met a fifth rank powerhouse wielding one of Li Yuan’s custom weapons, or worse, a genuine fourth rank master.0 Shu Shiyuan and Liu Tie rode in silence, faces taut, the shock of what they’d witnessed in Gemhill County still burning in their eyes. The spectacle had surpassed every expectation their governor had set.0 After years of turmoil, it appeared the Great Zhou would finally return to the Emperor’s grasp, and a marriage tie would seal the bargain. Once the Xie Clan produced an empress, their fortunes would be lashed to the throne. How could the two envoys not be elated?0 A shrill whinny snapped them back.0 The stag‑helmed cavalry halted, blades raised toward a lone boulder that blocked the road. Upon it sat a masked stranger in a straw hat, utterly at ease.0 Behind the mask, a pair of calm pupils studied them.0 Though a fifth rank martial artist, Liu Tie reined in, cupped his fists, and began politely, “Honored sir—”0 “Who are you?” A rasping, icy voice cut him short.0 Liu Tie smiled. “We were hired by the Xinghe Guild to escort—”0 He never finished. The man lifted one finger. In the sky rings of clear ripples overlapped, fused, and crystallized into an impossibly long, soundless blade. With a flick, he slashed.0 Blood drained from Liu Tie’s face. “Form up!”0 The 300 riders brandished blades; a translucent giant of force seemed to rise above them.0 Liu Tie flung a spirit hammer skyward to join their counter‑slash.0 The man in the hat, Li Yuan, felt nothing at the sight. He pressed down. The opposing power withered like rotten wood, torn apart. The cavalry’s morale crashed; the hammer spun off dim and lifeless.1 Li Yuan’s finger traced farther. Everything it pointed at crumbled.0 Liu Tie stared upward, certain the sky itself was falling. This was no duel; it was domination. Since when did Silkfloss Province hide experts of this caliber?0 “Senior, stay your hand. Please!” Shu Shiyuan shouted.0 The blade halted, hanging above them. Sunlight streamed through the roaring yet motionless qi, shattering into golden butterflies that drifted across ashen faces.0 Swallowing terror, Shu Shiyuan called out, “W-we serve the Xie Clan, the ruling clan of Ocean Province! Our mission is confidential; forgive us, Senior!”0 His knuckles whitened on the reins, heart drumming, palms slick. He gaped at the gilded blade overhead. What power could do this?0 A thought struck him. Trembling, he produced a token and held it high. “Our credentials, please look!”0 A long breath of stillness.0 Then, the masked man replied in a mild tone, “Go.”.0 Relief crashed through the troop. Liu Tie glanced down; half the hair over his shoulder had been sliced clean. One heartbeat slower and it would have been his head.0 When they’d ridden a safe distance, Liu Tie bowed from the saddle. “You have my thanks.”0 Shu Shiyuan waved weakly. “You’re fifth rank and well‑traveled. Any idea who that was?”0 Liu Tie shook his head.0 “Fourth rank strength?”0 New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet “Then it’s sheer luck he bears no grudge against our lord, or we’d be corpses.”0 “Indeed, thank Heaven.”0 The three hundred riders vanished in a haze of dust.0 In their wake, the straw‑hat man stepped from the boulder, beckoned, and the severed lock of hair drifted into his fingers.0 Snipping it quietly had never been realistic; this was cleaner and far more convenient.1