Chapter 213 - 212: A Frame-Up

Chapter 213: Chapter 212: A Frame-Up

"The culprit is intimately familiar with Qianqing Palace, and those within the Imperial Palace with such knowledge can be counted on one hand. Moreover, the thief is a master of some stealth skill—it isn’t one I recognize, but it bears some similarities to the Dragon Storage Skill and the Stealth Technique. Furthermore, the thief has an inside man in the palace. It can’t be a coincidence that they infiltrated Qianqing Palace so soon after Your Majesty departed. We should see results if we investigate along these lines."

Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang, worthy of his title as the number one Divine Constable of a hundred years ago, quickly reached several conclusions and pointed out a few lines of investigation.

Emperor Xia immediately had the Imperial Guard and the Shadow Guard coordinate and begin investigating these leads.

Then, at Emperor Xia’s request, Sun Wuyang went to the Inner Treasury and the National Treasury to continue searching for clues. He soon reached another conclusion: the one who plundered the Inner Treasury and the National Treasury was likely the same person, or the same group of people, who had robbed Qianqing Palace.

As for Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang’s investigation, Xia Wuyang—who had countless small animals in the Imperial Palace acting as his spies—naturally learned of it immediately. He didn’t even need the Shadow Guard Chief, Zheng Zhicang, to pass on the information.

When he received the news, Xia Wuyang was enjoying the tender embrace of Su Ling’er and didn’t pay it much mind.

’The Imperial Guard are my men, the Shadow Guard are my men, and with so many small animals as my spies, what is there to fear?’

’Even if the investigation does uncover something, I can just take care of it before it’s reported to Emperor Xia.’

Besides, with Xia Wuyang’s methods, aided by a Companion Talent like the Mental Force Field, most of the traces left behind were intentional. Trying to track them back to him would be harder than ascending to the heavens.

’Still, this old Divine Constable has some real skill. Some of the things he’s deduced weren’t traces I left intentionally. I have no idea how he figured them out.’

’I can’t underestimate the people of this world. Even with my Companion Talent, I have to be careful.’

At this very moment, Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang was still investigating in the Inner Treasury and the National Treasury.

After another meticulous inspection, Sun Wuyang stated with renewed certainty, "Although the methods, techniques, and approaches... are all different, a full examination reveals that this was a deliberate deception by the thief. His methods are extremely clever, but there are still quite a few places where similarities naturally emerge."

"However, to steal so many resources and treasures while leaving behind only a few scattered clues with similar methods... the thief’s skill is simply astonishing. I’ve been a Chief Constable for many years and have never encountered a thief whose work is so clean. If not for the time crunch and the sheer volume of items stolen so quickly, I fear that with a little more time, they wouldn’t have left a single trace."

At this, Sun Wuyang couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath, shaken by the thief’s methods.

What terrified him most was that the thief had stolen so many resources and treasures from so many different places in such a short time, yet had not left the slightest trace of their aura. It was almost unbelievable.

Furthermore, how the thief managed to plunder and carry away so many resources and treasures in such a short time was another point that baffled him.

Although Storage Spiritual Artifacts exist in the Fallen Dragon Land, their space is limited. Even a Top Level Storage Spiritual Artifact couldn’t possibly hold so many resources and treasures.

’Could it be that they have multiple Storage Spiritual Artifacts and made several trips in a short time?’

Baffled, Sun Wuyang could only continue his investigation in search of more clues.

Meanwhile, Xia Wuyang, the one behind it all, saw his power steadily increase amidst his life of debauchery. Unbeknownst to anyone, his Spiritual Power had once again broken through a small bottleneck.

points!

This time, his epiphany was not about anything else, but the Upper River Scripture.

Ever since obtaining the Upper River Scripture, he had been constantly studying it. With his exceptionally high Comprehension and understanding, his progress had been quite smooth.

However, with the boost from the epiphany, the Upper River Scripture, which would have originally taken some time to fully grasp, was now thoroughly comprehended in just a few short hours.

’As expected of a Top Level Spiritual Technique. Even just the Upper Part is exquisitely profound. It’s also quite compatible with my Dragon Tiger Fist; there’s no conflict between them.’

’In my future cultivation, it can also assist my Dragon Tiger Fist and help temper my body even more effectively.’

’If I could evolve the Dragon Tiger Fist to the level of a Spiritual Technique, my Body Refining Cultivation could keep advancing.’ Xia Wuyang was already considering this possibility.

Thanks to this epiphany, Xia Wuyang had now completely fathomed the upper half of the River Scripture, which naturally included the method to break through to the True Monarch Realm.

’Once my Cultivation reaches Super Grade Perfection and I’ve cleansed all impurities, I can use my Extraordinary Spiritual Power to condense a True Qi Seed and smoothly step into the True Monarch Realm.’

’The time is drawing closer. It won’t be long now.’

But just then, in the course of their investigation into the thief, the Divine Capture Sect suddenly found an important clue.

Decades ago, Elder Qing Yin of the Xuan Nu Palace had ventured deep into a desert in the Northern Lands where she met the Thief Saint. The two reportedly got along very well and even spent some time together.

Not only that, but this same Elder Qing Yin had also supposedly killed several masters from the Tunneling Sect and obtained the secret manual for the Stealth Technique from them.

The rumors spread with vivid detail, even including some of Elder Qing Yin’s secret information, and were accepted as credible by many.

The Divine Capture Sect treated this information like a priceless treasure. The Chief Constable immediately petitioned Emperor Xia for permission to arrest Yun Liyue and force Elder Qing Yin to show herself.

However, as soon as the report was submitted, Celestial Eye Sun Wuyang objected. Based on his observations, the timing of this news was too coincidental. He feared it was a deliberate misdirection, or even a plot to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

For reasons unknown, Emperor Xia did not heed Sun Wuyang’s advice and prepared to issue an edict to capture Yun Liyue and compel Elder Qing Yin to come out and offer an explanation.

But just then, the Shadow Guard delivered a report. Their investigation revealed that the clues had been fabricated, and it was highly likely the work of the Xuan Nu Palace itself.

If their assessment was correct, this was the Xuan Nu Palace’s attempt at framing someone and killing with a borrowed knife. With concrete evidence, the Divine Capture Sect could no longer keep targeting Yun Liyue and had to abandon their plan to arrest her.

Although the investigation had revealed it to be a setup and they were no longer targeting Yun Liyue, some of the Divine Constables within the Divine Capture Sect began to have other ideas.

In a secluded courtyard near the Imperial Palace, several Divine Constables were gathered.

A burly, fierce-faced Divine Constable greedily stared at a portrait of Yun Liyue while wiping his Nine-Ring Saber. "If you ask me, we should just go and grab that Yun Liyue. Even if this was all a frame job by the Xuan Nu Palace, she and that master of hers are definitely suspicious. We might get some useful clues out of her after a little harsh interrogation."

This was Soul-breaking Saber Zhao Gang, a First Grade Late Stage Grandmaster. He was a ruthless character who had been famous in the Divine Capture Sect for years, known for his greed, lechery, and arrogant behavior.