Volume 6 - 564: The Invisible Hand

[V6C94 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

Who was their enemy?

Qianye naturally had no answer to this question. Song Zining pondered for a while and said, “If, for some reason, I require a more powerful fighting power, can I ask Nighteye? Her combat strength will definitely be helpful.”

“Absolutely not,” Qianye replied decisively.

Song Zining’s expression was just as before. It was as though this refusal wasn’t a matter worth mentioning. “Very well, I understand. I was asking just in case.”

“Don’t hesitate to call me if you need help. It’ll be very dangerous if Nighteye’s identity is revealed.”

“I’m afraid it’ll be dangerous all the same.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem as long as we find a good opportunity and act efficiently.”

The biggest problem for Qianye while fighting in the empire was that he couldn’t use powerful moves like Life Plunder. The Shot of Inception, on the other hand, wasn’t quite discernible in terms of aura. But even so, he would still need to weigh things carefully before using it. Yellow Springs and Red Scorpion specialized in concealment and assassination arts. Even though there might be changes in their style on the battlefield, they had never abandoned these skills.

Song Zining only laughed. “Let’s play it by ear. Okay, I’ll be leaving now; any longer and those two will become curious.”

“We’re not at the level where we can grab their attention, are we?” Qianye asked, puzzled.

“Our combat strength is naturally not enough, but an isolating barrier popping up in their perception range is a different matter. They might actually spare us an extra glance. Naturally, they won’t pay us much attention as long as we aren’t involved in spying, intelligence, or matters related to the imperial court.”

Qianye could no longer feel that vague fluctuation after Song Zining’s departure. It would seem the latter’s guess was quite close to the mark.

Meanwhile, Song Zining exhaled deeply after leaving Qianye’s tent and rubbed his temples. His expression was still mild and gentle, but his indifferent eyes gave away some of his worries.

Song Zining had recovered from his uncharacteristic state of anxiety following Qianye’s reminder. After that, he thought a bit deeper about this matter. The schools of divination in the empire could be counted on one’s hands—they were even rarer than high-ranking champions.

The person behind the curtains had utilized this fact to set him up. This method was simply too vile. Unless… they had scried Qianye first and actually failed! It would seem that they had figured something out along the way and wanted to produce an opening.

The night was calm. Qianye didn’t cultivate that night and only went on with comprehending the memory fragments from the River of Blood. With increased understanding of this inherited knowledge, his utilization of blood energy also improved.

The focus of this study at the moment was how to withdraw and hide his blood energy, and it so happened that there was knowledge in the inheritance pertaining to this. These methods were used by the vampires of ancient times to approach their prey and hide from powerful predators.

The secret arts he had obtained from the inheritance were similar to Bloodline Concealment. After cultivating it to the end, he would be able to control his blood energies at a deeper level and even disguise his blood core. But on the other hand, perhaps due to their era, these techniques weren’t as detailed as Bloodline Concealment. They were slightly inferior in terms of technical skill.

But after comparing the two, Qianye felt that the inheritance from the River of Blood was clearly more powerful. If he could even hide his blood core, what else could be used to detect the presence of his blood energy? Bloodline Concealment, on the other hand, seemed to be making up for its lack of power with finesse.

Bloodline Concealment might be better at his current stage, but it might not be able to hide all of his blood energy after he had advanced to the Marquis or Duke ranks. The inherited secret art would be quite useful at that time.

Qianye tried using a secret art to retract his blood energy but discovered that only the ones on the surface were drawn into the depths of his vessels; that was all he could muster. But the effects were better when the two were used together.

He pondered back and forth but decided to use only Bloodline Concealment in front of Zhang Boqian. It hadn’t been too long since their last meeting—if it was effective back then, it should be effective this time, too.

The night went by in this manner.

At dawn the next day, the Evernight Continent was still shrouded in darkness when the desolate bugle resounded throughout the base and woke the entire camp from their deep sleep. Soon, several blares of different lengths emerged, summoning the generals of each barracks to the command center.

Close to a hundred command vehicles rushed toward the central camp. These vehicles had emblems of the imperial army or the aristocratic clans painted on them in a display of glory.

There were several from the Zhao clan who would receive rewards today, but only Qianye was on the command vehicle with Duke You, while the others followed behind in a single car. As for Zhao Jundu, he had his own private car and guard squad.

Qianye felt numerous fiery gazes upon him when he boarded the vehicle.

The Zhao clan motorcade thus drove out of the barracks and toward the command center. He encountered numerous aristocratic and military convoys along the way. From this, he was able to see the difference between them. Most of the aristocratic motorcades weren’t nearly as big as the Zhao clan’s, and some of the smaller ones only had one car. This signified that none of their people were qualified for awards. As such, only their clan lord or captain had come to attend the ceremony. Upon seeing the Zhao clan motorcade, most of the other vehicles slowed down and moved to the side in a display of courtesy.

Zhao Xuanji smiled while stroking his beard. “Qianye, their etiquette wasn’t because of this duke’s rank or out of consideration for the Zhao clan’s power. It mostly stems from the Swallow Cloud Zhao clan’s contributions in this war. You also have a share in this.”

An inexplicable sensation slowly arose in Qianye’s heart as he looked at the cars giving way to them.

The majestic gates of the command center were already in sight when a motorcade rushed out from a branch road. This convoy had no intention of stopping and didn’t even reduce their speed when passing by. They even sped up in order to get ahead of the Zhao clan.

Even Qianye was somewhat upset, to speak nothing of the Zhao clan warriors.

That motorcade belonged to the Everpeace Bai Clan.

The Bai clan’s position had always been behind the Zhao clan, but everyone knew they were never satisfied and had been trying hard every year to surpass the latter. But overall, there weren’t any other outstanding young descendants apart from Bai Aotu.

They did have Bai Longjia. Due to his steady mindset, the major characters of the clan believed that he might be able to mature slowly. In the eyes of the Zhao clan, however, he was just about at the level of Zhao Junhong and even slightly inferior to Zhao Yuying. There was no way he could catch up to geniuses like Zhao Jundu and Qianye.

The Zhao and Bai clans had never been harmonious, and this time, they had planted the seeds of new hostility during the bloody battle. Even though it was said that the enmity under the Iron Curtain would remain therein, the smell of gunpowder between the two clans only seemed to grow more and more intense each day.

Internal strife was naturally impossible during the battle at Giant’s Repose. But, all this time, the two families who held adjacent war zones had been competing—intentionally or otherwise—in military contributions. Bai Aotu killing Julio at the last moment of the castle assault was also to establish dominance before Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan.

That being the case, how could the Zhao clan be willing to make way for the Bai clan’s motorcade?

The road toward the command center wasn’t very wide and could barely accommodate two convoys traveling side by side. With the two sides striving to get ahead, the collisions between the two motorcades grew in frequency, and the people gradually lost control of their temper.

At this time, a jeep rushed up from behind and drove alongside Zhao Xuanji’s vehicle. The other car window was lowered to reveal an old, kind-looking face with half-greyed hair. The elder smiled with great sincerity upon seeing Zhao Xuanji and greeted with narrowed eyes, “Brother Xuanji, long time no see.”

Zhao Xuanji reciprocated in a similar tone, “Brother Songnian, didn’t we just meet at Duke Ding’s birthday last year?”

A wisp of green flashed past Bai Songnian’s face. “Is that so? Oh my, my age is getting the best of my memory. I even forgot about that. How have you been doing?”

“Just as before, not that great but not so bad, either. It’s good enough if I don’t get angered to death by the younger generation.”

“Which of the youngsters is giving Brother Xuanji a headache? Don’t tell me it’s that lass Yuying, haha!” Bai Songnian laughed heartily, then added, “Speaking of which, Yuying isn’t young anymore. Won’t you think about my suggestion? My family’s Longzhan has made great progress in recent years and might barely be considered a match for Yuying.”

It was Zhao Xuanji’s turn to wear a darkened expression. “No rush, Yuying has a bright future ahead of her.”

“The future needs time to come. After all, Yuying is still a bit young. Not to mention her, even our Bai Aotu has encountered so much wind and rain. If not for her good fortune, she might’ve fallen halfway.”

Bai Songnian’s insinuating words flaunted Bai Aotu’s success while hinting that the Zhao clan’s geniuses might fall halfway. It could be considered rather malicious.

The words struck Zhao Xuanji’s nerve. The Zhao clan was too proud during the bloody battle and lost numerous young descendants due to their lack of preparation. There was no telling how many more would have died if not for Zhao Jundu and Qianye’s incomparable momentum. And the Bai clan was clearly one of the perpetrators.

Zhao Xuanji’s expression was unsightly. He clearly knew that Bai Songnian was deliberately provoking him, but there was nothing he could do in this verbal spar.

The Zhao clan had produced numerous talents with more than just one divine champion in every generation. However, it just so happened that the current thirty-year-old generation was slightly weaker than the rest. There really wasn’t anyone they could bring out to compete against Bai Aotu. Zhao Jundu’s absolute combat strength might not catch up to Bai Aotu, either—at least before he reaches the divine champion realm.

Zhao Xuanji snorted and said responded slowly, “The younger generation have their own fate. There’s really no need for us, old people, to worry. That being said, why is Brother Songnian in such a rush?”

Bai Songnian said with a smile, “It’s of course for the rewards. I hope to get there early and grab a good seat so that I can watch all the talented kids from every family. Oh right, Brother Xuanji, is the kid beside you that Qianye who’s so famous recently?”

Seeing Bai Songnian glancing at himself, Qianye said with a bow, “I am indeed Qianye.”

Bai Songnian sized him up from head to toe with eyes as sharp as needles, hoping to see through him. However, Qianye had long since prepared for this—the origin power in his body surged with a trace of void energy and locked Bai Songnian’s gaze outside of his body. The latter’s perception couldn’t even gain an inch of ground.