“Dong dong dong dong…”
Drums thundered across Martial League, shaking rooftops and spearing through the night. The intruder alarm blared to life. Disciples and guards flooded the grounds in a panic, scattering like ants across the compound.
Scarlet District Mistress swept her tongue across her lips, savoring the rising fear.
“Mortals love putting up pointless resistance.”
A deafening “BOOM!” tore through the courtyard. The sentries who had managed to escape her for a heartbeat suddenly split open, their torsos carved diagonally as if by an invisible blade. They collapsed before they even understood how they died.
“Demon! The Demon’s here!!”
“Quick! Get the League Master!”
The crowd broke apart at once, panic rippling through the League. Like startled sparrows, they fled in every direction. Not a single soul even thought to stand against her.
Scarlet District Mistress frowned, her mood soured. She stepped into the open pit and strolled toward the central tower, her gait unhurried.
A sharp “Swish!” sliced the air. Several elders hurled themselves down from above, their palms striking toward her back in a desperate ambush.
“Splat!”
They erupted mid-air. Blood and light fanned out as their bodies were hurled away, carved with terrifying saber marks from head to waist. Scarlet District Mistress never even turned. She simply continued forward in silence.
Blooms of blood detonated around her like grotesque fireworks.
Calm and assured, she advanced into the heart of Martial League. Humans always hid their precious cores at the center. She had seen it countless times.
“Hurry, run!!”
More than a dozen men charged her, wielding heavy weapons. Hammers. Sickles. Axes. Their eyes blazed with grim resolve, each step a vow to buy their comrades even a breath more time.
It changed nothing.
BAM!!
They burst apart the moment they entered her reach, bodies flung across the courtyard. Deep saber wounds tore through armor, bone, and hope alike.
“Splat splat splat splat!!”
Corpses rained down around her. Some slammed through wooden doors, others shattered stone pillars. Blood sprayed across the walls in wild arcs, marking her slow, effortless advance.
Scarlet District Mistress advanced toward the center of the complex, her steps steady and unhurried. In all the Northern Lands, none could stand before her.
Not the Shangyang Family.
Not Ashoka Manor.
Here, she walked as an absolute force.
A sudden shout snapped through the air.
“Hang on!”
A black shadow flickered into existence before her.
CLANG!!!
A streak of saber light carved across the air. The figure was hurled back as if struck by a bolt from the heavens. It crashed to the ground, skidding in a long arc, its heels digging trenches into the dirt as it fought to regain balance.
“PUU!”
Blood spilled from its lips as a hand clutched at its chest.
“Scarlet District Mistress!” Ye Moling steadied himself, humiliation burning across his face. She had cut him down without a word, sending him flying like a stray leaf. But beneath his frustration, shock crept in. His Qi and blood were still trembling from the force of her strike.
“…It’s you.” Scarlet District Mistress did not even slow her pace. “Move aside, or I’ll kill you as well.”
“You’re just slaughtering everyone like this. How does this help our investigation!?” Ye Moling protested, utterly baffled.
“Why does that matter? It’ll be easier to investigate once they’re all ghosts,” she replied, her tone flat. Then her gaze sharpened. “Besides, do I need you to teach me what to do?”
A chill crept up Ye Moling’s spine. He swallowed his next words. Her strength had far surpassed anything he anticipated. Even if his talents lay in indirect combat, being swatted aside by someone supposedly on his level was mortifying.
“I dare not. I only wish to remind District Mistress that if you strike too wildly, you may end up with nothing… hitting the grass and scaring the snake,” he said quietly, forcing down his anger.
Scarlet District Mistress halted mid-step.
Seeing her pause, Ye Moling pressed on. “Also, District Mistress’ methods are too loud. Even if we do uncover clues now, the culprit will notice and disappear. Investigating will become far more difficult then.”
“Then you tell me what I should be doing now.” Scarlet District Mistress’ gaze darkened, pressure rolling off her like a tightening storm.
“After investigating this place, we go to the Intelligence Agency of the Northern Lands. We gather every resource and ally we can,” Ye Moling answered quickly.
He understood well who he was speaking to. Scarlet District Mistress had clawed her way out of the Scarlet Dragon Tribulation, snatching a shard from a battlefield crowded with competing factions. Anyone who survived that struggle carried hidden layers of strength, and she was no exception.
“As for this place, my Ashoka Manor has placed moles here as well,” Ye Moling continued, his tone grave. “I’ve received a reliable lead from them… I fear the Shangyang Family is involved.”
“Shangyang Family…” Scarlet District Mistress’ expression tightened, her gaze growing solemn.
…………
Under the veil of night, Lu Sheng rode slowly atop his horse, a manual held open in one hand. Zhang Wuya had gifted it to him. A Strength Proficiency technique. Far too basic for who he had become, yet even the simplest scroll might hide a thread worth pulling.
He had begun collecting every martial manual he could find, hoping that sheer density of knowledge might quicken the incubation phase his body was trapped in.
The appearance of Scarlet District Mistress and Ye Moling weighed heavily on him. He could already tell he was barely on par with Ye Moling. As for the Scarlet District Mistress… the gulf between them was even wider.
If his transformation did not accelerate, then even Shangyang Jiuli would not be able to shield him should his identity be uncovered.
‘But this bottleneck can’t be shattered by normal means…’ His body remained dormant, cocooned in its strange incubation. For now, he had to rely on inner Qi alone to stand against either Scarlet District Mistress or Ye Moling.
‘My greatest hope is Yin Crane Web. As for Yin Qi…’ His Yin Qi had long since run dry, yet Yin Crane Web allowed him to siphon inner Qi from formidable opponents.
Lu Sheng’s brows tightened, shadows gathering in his expression.
‘If none of this works, then the only remaining shortcut…’ His thoughts drifted to the map of treasured herbs Li Shunxi left behind.
‘Once I settle everyone, I need to begin collecting those herbs as quickly as possible.’ Scarlet District Mistress’ investigation might take time, but his own clock ticked much faster.
A restless frustration crept into his chest.
Flap flap flap flap..
Wings beat overhead. Xu Chui galloped up behind him, breath quickening.
“Sect Master, a letter for you.” He extended a tightly rolled red memo. One glance told Lu Sheng it had arrived tied to the leg of a messenger pigeon.
Lu Sheng accepted it, unrolled it, scanned the message once. Without hesitation, he crushed the memo in his palm and ignited it. The paper curled, darkened, and crumbled into drifting ash within seconds.
The memo was from the umbrella girl. Scarlet District Mistress had arrived at Martial League.
“Speed up!” Lu Sheng urged, his voice clipped with urgency.
Zhong Yunxiu rode up beside him, confusion knitting her brows.
“Sect Master, did something happen?”
Lu Sheng nodded, his expression grave.
“Martial League is under heavy assault. Experts from Scarlet District and Ashoka Manor have forced their way in. By now, I fear that…”
Zhong Yunxiu froze, her face draining of color. Several heartbeats passed before she managed to respond, her fists tightening as the meaning settled in. She never suspected that Lu Sheng had drawn Ashoka Manor there; in truth, ever since the mole was exposed, Martial League had already been living on borrowed time.
Zhang Wuya and the others hurried closer.
“The League’s under assault?!” Their senses were sharp; Lu Sheng had not bothered to conceal his words.
“What’re you so scared for! Our people are with us anyway. Whoever stayed behind is either a spy or stubborn. Let them die. Martial League had no business dragging things out like this. I, Guan Nian, am done with these days of hiding!” Guan Nian hurled his water bag to the ground, fury crackling off him.
“You wouldn’t understand… you wouldn’t understand…” Zhang Wuya’s eyes went unfocused. Several Divine Prime elders steadied him and apologized softly for his state.
Zhong Yunxiu turned pale as parchment. After a long silence, she forced herself to speak.
“Sect Master Lu… what exactly is happening inside the League? How severe are the losses?”
Lu Sheng let out a bitter smile and shook his head.
“Ashoka Manor’s Deputy Manor Lord Ye Moling and Scarlet District Mistress attacked in person…” He left the sentence hanging. The conclusion needed no words.
Zhong Yunxiu swayed slightly, then walked back to the ox cart in a daze.
Only Guan Nian remained. He dismissed his men, allowing them space to absorb the news.
“We used that base for over a decade. And now it’s all boiling away just like that.” A cold laugh slipped from him. “Those old fogeys who spent their days blaming us, cursing us… look at them now. They finally got what they wanted, didn’t they?”
He paused for a moment, then raised his head and studied Lu Sheng carefully.
“Sect Master Lu, I know you’re not helping us out of goodwill alone. It’s true we mishandled Li Shunxi’s matter. But now Martial League is on the brink of collapse. After clearing things up with Zhong Yunxiu, I heard her say you have a way to determine if there are spies among us?”
“Yes, I do,” Lu Sheng replied with a nod. “But the person being tested must deactivate their black membrane.”
“Deactivate the black membrane…” Guan Nian’s expression twitched. The black membrane was their lifeline. To willingly remove it was to place their survival entirely in another’s hands.
“I… need some time to think about it.”
Lu Sheng made no effort to pressure him. He simply kept his calm, mild expression as Guan Nian turned and walked slowly back toward the ox cart. Their brief rest was ending; it was time to resume the journey.
By the next day, the group finally reached a new valley.
A towering white waterfall roared down from the cliffs, feeding a vast expanse of rivers, forests, and stone-strewn banks beyond it. The valley nestled between rocky shores and dense woodland, encircled by colossal, ancient trees that formed a natural wall.
Lu Sheng had long sent men ahead to construct simple wooden huts. After bringing the Martial League survivors here, he ordered the retrieval of grain, meat, and vegetables hidden in nearby caves. Once that was done, he passed all logistical matters to Zhang Wuya.
Throughout their journey, Lu Sheng had conversed extensively with Zhang Wuya’s team. Though he failed to sway every Divine Prime expert, three of them had finally agreed to side with him after wavering for days.
They were gentle souls, focused on martial research and alchemy, disinclined toward conflict.
And it was precisely that kind of talent Lu Sheng most needed now.
Once the Martial League survivors were settled, Lu Sheng no longer felt the need to rush. The entire League now relied on him and the Crimson Whale Sect for their daily survival. Sooner or later, everything valuable they possessed would fall naturally into his hands.
What mattered now was shortening his incubation phase. And the only method he could think of involved pills.
Potent pills that could force the body to accelerate its internal workings, speeding metabolism and pushing the incubation process forward. They often came with side effects, but Lu Sheng felt no fear of them. After cultivating Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi through multiple life force techniques, he was certain his lifespan already far exceeded that of ordinary men.
After returning to the sect, he went straight to his study. From a hidden drawer behind the bookshelves, he retrieved Li Shunxi’s map of treasured herbs and laid it out once again beneath the lamplight.
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