Chapter 421: There is an Assassin

Of course, Chi Xingxun quickly realized it was impossible to send a message from inside the Azure Flame Forbidden Land.

He continued to roar and bellow, "AAAAAAAGH! My finger is gone for good!"

After such a long delay, the Azure Flame Sect disciple must have already escaped through the secret passage. Even if he got his finger back, it couldn’t be reattached. He had truly become the nine-fingered Young City Lord.

’I’ll be mocked by everyone after returning to the Cyan Sword Great Empire. The most infuriating part is that I’ll even be laughed at by that oaf, Yan Mu!’

"I’ll kill that Azure Flame Sect disciple! I’ll kill his entire family!"

Seething with rage, Chi Xingxun finally barked, "What are you all standing around for?! Go and see if you can blast open that secret passage!"

The message left by Commander Ke had mentioned the secret passage.

The five Blood Sword Guards were speechless. ’If even Commander Ke couldn’t blast it open, we certainly can’t.’ But they had to try regardless.

Then, Chi Xingxun glared at the stone door of the Azure Flame Secret Chamber...

’My Azure Flame Sect treasures! This is infuriating!’

’My Red Patterned Storage Ring, my Azure Flame Array Plate, my Azure Flame Order, my two pages of the Nine Palace Array Map... When I get out, I will destroy everything related to that Azure Flame Sect disciple.’

’And I will take his women.’

Commander Ke’s message had also stated that the Azure Flame Sect disciple must have shattered the Young City Lord’s Storage Ring. Otherwise, without the final page of the Nine Palace Array Map, there was no way the disciple could have been faster than them.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The five Blood Sword Guards unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, but to no avail. They couldn’t break the stone slab of the secret passage.

Eventually, Chi Xingxun grew tired of cursing. There was nothing he could do.

He had no choice but to turn back and charge into the 9th Floor’s Barrier, plunging into a terrifying Illusion Realm of slaughter.

Inside the Illusory Battlefield, he cursed endlessly. "If I had the Azure Flame Array Plate, this exit Illusion Realm wouldn’t be this difficult! I could have adjusted it to its weakest setting! Dammit!"

Chi Xingxun didn’t know...

...that if one obtained the *Azure Flame Treasure Manual*, it described a method to use the Azure Flame Array Plate to completely bypass any Barrier Illusion Realm.

But he didn’t have it. The method Chi Xingxun knew for controlling the Azure Flame Array Plate came only from notes left behind by a group of Azure Flame Sect experts who had died two hundred years ago. Red Sword City had never obtained the complete method for controlling the Azure Flame Forbidden Land.

Nevertheless, both Commander Ke and Chi Xingxun were terrifyingly powerful.

Lu Chao could easily suppress Zheng Liling and Zeng Quan.

However, when facing Chi Xingxun, who was only one minor layer stronger than Zheng Liling, Lu Chao had been forced to fight for his life. Zheng Liling merely had a Star Saint Bone, while Chi Xingxun possessed a Moon Earth Bone—the difference was simply immense.

...

Meanwhile, Chang Yuan and his party had located the members of the Dragon Flame Academy.

They recounted the events at the Azure Flame Sect to Sun Shijin and the other core members of the Dragon Flame Academy, leaving Sun Shijin’s face a mask of shock and lingering fear.

’Lu Chao’s trip into the Forbidden Land was simply too terrifying and perilous.’

Suddenly, Fan Jinhua stepped forward and asked, "Junior Brother Chang Yuan, you said the Young City Lord of Red Sword and Commander Ke won’t be able to get out anytime soon. If that’s the case, could our entire Dragon Flame Academy launch a joint attack and kill the Red Sword Guards outside the Forbidden Land?"

At his words, Luo Wendeng and the others trembled as their fighting spirit erupted.

But Chang Yuan immediately shook his head, pouring cold water on the idea.

"Since Brother Lu Chao didn’t make any plans for that, you all shouldn’t act rashly."

"Even though there are only about twenty Red Sword Guards, every single one of them is at the Peak Realm. There’s also a Vice Commander who is certainly at the Creation Realm. And the most terrifying part... is their Destiny Bone suppression."

At Chang Yuan’s words, the crowd’s jaws dropped, and they finally gave up on the idea.

’Destiny Bone suppression... Fucking hell.’

It was so damn unfair. Sun Shijin and the others knew all too well how terrifying that power was. If Lu Chao hadn’t been able to break it, their army of hundreds of thousands at Zhengyang Mountain in the Great Wu Empire would have been completely wiped out by Mo Jing alone.

"Let’s go. We need to hurry back to the Dragon Flame Kingdom," Sun Shijin finally said with a wave of his hand. They bypassed the Azure Flame Sect and continued on their journey.

...

「One day later...」

Nan Zhuiming, who was on his way to the Dragon Flame Royal Capital, received a message from a carrier pigeon.

’It’s from Zeng Quan and Zheng Liling...’

Nan Zhuiming took the message from the pigeon, and his pupils constricted as he read the note inside. He muttered blankly, "What the hell? What does ’the situation has changed’ mean? Why postpone the assassination? And what are these Cyan Sword and Red Sword Cities?"

He had no idea what Red Sword City was; Mo Jing hadn’t told him about it either.

His brow furrowed tightly.

Finally, Nan Zhuiming grit his teeth and muttered, "They want me to notify Lord Mo Jing at once? Fine, I’ll send the message and see."

And so, Nan Zhuiming wrote a letter and released a carrier pigeon.

Zeng Quan and Zheng Liling were unable to contact Mo Jing, but he and Lu Dingtian could, using the carrier pigeons Mo Jing had left for them.

「A few more days passed in the blink of an eye...」

Nan Zhuiming finally reached the Dragon Flame Kingdom and secretly infiltrated the Dragon Flame Royal Capital. He didn’t immediately attempt the assassination, however. Heeding Zeng Quan’s advice, he decided to wait for Mo Jing’s reply before proceeding.

Nan Zhuiming should have arrived later than Lu Chao...

...after all, he was coming from the Great Wu Empire, but Lu Chao had been delayed for a considerable time in the Azure Flame Forbidden Land.

Furthermore, because Zheng Liling had to arrange a route back to the Dragon Flame Kingdom for Zheng Zhuhe and the others, Nan Zhuiming had split off to travel there alone, planning to rendezvous with them later.

And so, Nan Zhuiming could only wait.

After two more days of waiting, Mo Jing’s carrier pigeon finally returned.

Nan Zhuiming’s entire body trembled as he read the letter.

*Proceed with the assassination of the Dragon Flame King. Afterward, immediately head to your battlefield in the Nanye Dynasty and kill Fan Changcun. He didn’t attack our Young Master Yan Mu but instead turned back unexpectedly.*

*But he engaged one of our small detachments, and his military tactics are too formidable. He must die.*

These were the first few lines. Nan Zhuiming understood, of course. If Fan Changcun wasn’t killed, Yan Mu wouldn’t be able to secure an impressive victory.

*Zeng Quan and the others did a fine job. They have rendered a great service.*

*I will personally lead the experts from Yan Soul City to the Azure Flame Sect to deal with the people from Red Sword City.*

*Notify Zeng Quan at once to wait for me near the Azure Flame Sect.*

The final lines of Mo Jing’s letter left Nan Zhuiming completely stunned.

’Damn it! After all this, I’m not the one who rendered a great service? Zeng Quan just passes along a single message and suddenly *he’s* the one getting praised by Lord Mo Jing?’

’That bastard!’

Nan Zhuiming clutched the letter, his expression one of explosive frustration. He still didn’t know that Zheng Liling was already dead. He frantically put the letter away, his chilling gaze turning toward the Dragon Flame Palace.

’I can’t let Zeng Quan and his group steal my standing. This assassination has to be flawless.’

With that thought, Nan Zhuiming left his hiding place and strode toward the Dragon Flame Palace.

...

At that moment in the Dragon Flame Palace, the Dragon Flame King was in the middle of a meeting.

He was discussing the war with the Nanye Dynasty and the impending invasion by the Cyan Sword Great Empire.

Suddenly... THUD! THUD! THUD!

The sound of heavy footsteps suddenly rang out. Nan Zhuiming had arrived, charging straight into the hall.

Instantly, countless eyes went wide as shouts erupted, "Assassin! There’s an assassin!"