Zhou Yan's pupils constricted slightly.
He recognized who this uninvited guest was.
From Luoyan City to Qingya Academy, this young spearman's portrait, physical build, martial arts style, personality, and habits had long since been compiled into a thick dossier.
It had been distributed to every secret agent and stronghold leader.
Zhou Yan even remembered the annotation on the first page of the dossier:
“This person's temperament is unpredictable; do not associate closely with him, only observe from afar.”
The question was...
How had he found this place?
Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Yan's mind in an instant.
He was Zhizhou Tower's manager in Jiangbei Circuit.
He knew better than anyone just how well-hidden this stronghold was.
The entrance was concealed beneath the altar of the Water God Temple.
Outside the temple, scouts disguised as beggars and peddlers took turns standing watch all year round.
Hidden sentries were stationed along all three paths leading to the river bend.
Even if someone accidentally noticed something unusual about the Water God Temple, it was impossible to bypass the hidden sentries on all three roads at once and slip into the temple.
Yet this young man before him had walked right in.
Silently, as if stepping into an empty room.
“Impressive skills, Young Hero Chen.
“This hidden chamber has stayed concealed for nine years. Neither the government nor the martial world has ever found it.
“Yet within mere days of arriving here, Young Hero Chen managed to locate it.
“I cannot help but admire you.”
He paused slightly, his experienced eyes looking Chen Zui up and down.
“However, this old man would like to ask: how did you find this place, Young Hero Chen?
“Has a traitor emerged within our tower, or were my subordinates not cautious enough?”
The corner of Chen Zui's mouth curved slightly.
“No comment.”
Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, his face flushing with irritation.
For people of Zhizhou Tower, this feeling of being kept in the dark was more agonizing than anything else.
Chen Zui let out a laugh.
“You people of Zhizhou Tower have manipulated me from behind the scenes for months, treating me like a chess piece to be moved at will. Now, it's time you gave me an explanation.”
The moment these words were spoken, the seven or eight people in the stone chamber changed color simultaneously.
Zhou Yan waved his hand, signaling everyone not to act rashly.
He looked at Chen Zui, his eyes—long accustomed to assessing situations—rapidly weighing the odds.
“Since you know this is a branch of Zhizhou Tower, Young Hero Chen, you surely know that we never engage in direct conflict with others.
“We are merely men of the brush who gather information; brandishing blades and spears is not our line of work.
“If you have questions to ask, Young Hero, you could have come openly and aboveboard. Why barge in just to intimidate people?”
Hearing this, Chen Zui planted his long spear on the ground, the spear butt striking the blue bricks with a dull thud.
“Openly and aboveboard?
“When your Zhizhou Tower manipulated me from the shadows like a chess piece, did you ever give me a word of notice?
“And you still have the nerve to bring up the words ‘openly and aboveboard’ to me?”
Zhou Yan fell silent for a moment.
He had to admit that he had no retort for this.
At the same time...
A secret door on the side of the stone chamber slid open silently.
Behind the secret door was a corridor only wide enough for one person to pass through.
From deep within the corridor came the sound of orderly, steady footsteps.
The footsteps drew closer, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the exit of the secret door.
Twelve figures filed out from the secret door.
Twelve men, twelve identical sets of black martial attire, twelve identical goose-quill sabers hanging at their waists.
Their breathing was long and even, and their footsteps made virtually no sound as they touched the ground.
The qi of these twelve men spread through the stone chamber in an instant, weaving the room's aura into a tight, airtight net.
Twelve Second Rank martial artists.
Once they took their positions, they remained motionless, their gazes locking onto Chen Zui in unison.
The tension on Zhou Yan's face relaxed slightly.
These twelve stewards were not his personal private soldiers, but guards dispatched by Zhizhou Tower's main headquarters to the Gunzhou stronghold.
Every single one of them was a handpicked expert.
Individually, they might not be a match for Grandmaster figures like Cao Zhengchun, but when attacking together, even a peak Wind-Riding Realm Grandmaster would find it difficult to gain the upper hand.
“Young Hero Chen.”
Zhou Yan's voice regained its previous composure.
“There is no deep-seated enmity between us. If you have something to say, we can sit down and talk it over slowly.
“With your strength alone against twelve Second Rank stewards, this is likely not a wise move.”
Chen Zui's gaze swept over the twelve black-clad men.
Yet there was not the slightest ripple in his eyes.
He slowly raised the long spear in his hand. The black qi roiling along the spear shaft surged violently, dimming the lamplight in half the stone chamber.
“Twelve Second Ranks?”
The curve of his lips rose a bit higher.
“I wonder if you can withstand a breath of sword qi from Sword Saint Liu?”
Zhou Yan frowned.
He did not understand what Chen Zui meant.
But he quickly understood.
In the next second, the aura around Chen Zui climbed abruptly.
Mountain-Viewing Realm internal energy surged from his dantian like a breached river dam, pouring through his meridians into his arms, then rushing along the spear shaft straight to the spearhead.
At the same time, that azure sword intent slumbering in his Quchi point suddenly awakened.
Like a swimming fish, it shot through his Large Intestine Channel of Hand-Yangming into the spear shaft, fusing with his Mountain-Viewing Realm internal energy.
Sword intent and spear intent, azure sword radiance and black spear qi, intertwined into a vortex at the spear tip.
All the oil lamps in the stone chamber were extinguished simultaneously at this moment.
Zhou Yan's expression changed drastically.
Although he did not practice martial arts, he had already deduced the origin of that sword intent from Chen Zui's words!
That was the sword qi of Sword Saint Liu Yinsheng!
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Liu Yinsheng would gift such a strand of sword qi to this young spearman.
Even less could he imagine that after obtaining such a precious strand of sword qi, this young man would be so utterly reckless and wasteful as to unleash it against their humble stronghold!
“Strike!”
Zhou Yan practically roared the command.
The twelve black-clad men drew their blades simultaneously!
The sound of twelve goose-quill sabers leaving their scabbards merged into a clap of thunder!
Twelve arcs of blade light slashed toward Chen Zui from twelve directions!
Their coordination was flawless, each blade's momentum complementing the others and completely sealing off all of Chen Zui's possible retreat paths.
Yet Chen Zui did not retreat at all.
He stepped forward and thrust his spear straight out.
There were no flourishes or variations in this thrust—only the simplest, most direct forward strike.
Yet wrapped around his spear tip was no ordinary Mountain-Viewing Realm internal energy, but a strand of sword qi belonging to Sword Saint Liu Yinsheng.
That was the sword intent of one who stood at the pinnacle of the world's Way of the Sword.
Even a single breath of it was enough to crush any defense in the Second Rank.
Azure and black light exploded at the spear tip.
All twelve goose-quill sabers snapped in unison.
Blade fragments flew through the air, reflecting flashes of azure and black radiance.
The twelve black-clad men flew backward simultaneously, slamming heavily into the walls of the stone chamber and shattering the blue bricks into spiderweb fractures.
The skin between their thumbs and index fingers tore open, blood dripping down their fingers, and several had their wrists twisted at unnatural angles.
One spear thrust, twelve men defeated.
The moment Liu Yinsheng's breath of sword qi fully erupted from the spearhead, Chen Zui felt as though the long spear in his hand had transformed into a greatsword capable of crushing everything in the world.
As the sword qi dispersed into the air of the stone chamber, the faint azure glow on Chen Zui's right arm slowly receded beneath his skin.
He withdrew his long spear, bringing the spear butt down onto the blue bricks once more.
Looking past the broken blade shards scattered across the floor and the sprawling black-clad men, his gaze fell upon Zhou Yan.
“Consider this spear strike a return gift for the past month of your Zhizhou Tower's scheming.”
He hoisted the long spear, resting the shaft across his shoulder, and walked toward the exit of the stone chamber.
As he reached the stone steps, his steps paused slightly, and without looking back, he tossed out a final remark.
“I know you people weren't involved in the plots against me.
“However, go back and tell your Tower Master.
“I call this: courtesy demands reciprocity.”
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