Nightfall. Qianye was seated quietly in an isolated room, slowly and quietly refining his origin power.

All of a sudden, he opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning flickered through his blue pupils. He shot to his feet and crashed right through the wall, tearing a hole through the sturdy brick structure as though it were paper mush. At the moment of his exit, Qianye stretched out his right hand and several threads of blood shot out from his fingertips. These strings penetrated several walls to his front and into a certain room, aiming for the heart of a certain elder inside!

The old man reacted swiftly, immediately shooting out two wisps of black and white energy, which transformed into countless small shields dancing around him. The aegis was extremely sturdy and agile. Very likely a peerless technique. Before the sanguineous threads, however, the barriers were penetrated like paper. Numerous red threads passed through unhindered and arrived before the old man!

The elder gasped in astonishment, his face pale. With how fast the threads were coming for him, there was really no way he could evade.

These blood threads were peerlessly sharp, almost invincible, and could shoot through origin defenses. The only fate for its victim was death.

Several floating leaves danced about around the old man. The moment these leaves appeared, the threads slowed down abruptly and began to waver, almost as though they had lost their target. A folding fan appeared during this short period and, with a strike and a spin, entangled the bloody threads to one side.

At this point, Qianye crashed through the wall with a dull thud. His expression turned cold upon seeing the old man, and he raised his right hand to pull back on the sanguineous threads. The strings on the folding fan tightened abruptly, crushing the fan out of shape amidst cringe-worthy sounds.

It was at this time that a fist shot toward Qianye’s side. This attack had just appeared when the scenery began to twist and warp, seemingly drawing Qianye into its trajectory. This went to show how powerful this blow was.

Qianye knew that the old man would escape if he were to retreat. Hence, instead of retreating, he unleashed a roar and met the incoming fist with a brutal punch of his own!

Everything began floating upward at the moment of impact, almost as though there was no gravity in the room.

Qianye took three steps back, almost backing out of the room in the process. He managed to find his footing, but his left hand was trembling slightly, and he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood—a mix of bright red and gold—burst into flames as soon as it hit the floor which surged all the way to the roof. The blaze came swiftly and died out just as fast, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Ji Tianqing materialized out of nowhere. Although she didn’t move backward, her figure was distorted and her external appearance was changing constantly. Her face looked like a mixture of many different countenances. She gasped in astonishment and moved to cover up her face, but this small movement made the trembling of her right hand even more obvious.

Song Zining appeared from the side, looking at his deformed folding fan with a pained expression.

Only at this point did the materials floating in the room fall to the ground and broke down into dust.

With a muffled bang, Qianye struck East Peak firmly into the wooden floor. Although the edge wasn’t pointed at him, the old man didn’t dare to turn and flee at this point. He drew his black crystal sword and aimed it at Qianye from afar.

Qianye didn’t even spare the sword a glance, almost as though this divine weapon capable of contending against the Cold Moon’s Embrace was nothing. A cruel smile appeared on his face as he scanned the old man’s neck, causing the latter to break out in cold sweat.

Just a short moment of confrontation and the old man could no longer remain calm. He brandished the black crystal sword, saying, “This sword will find its mark!” Two streams of black and white energy shot out from his nostrils and danced around the blade. Everyone in the room felt as though they had been locked onto. Wherever the old man’s gaze landed, they would feel a slight pricking pain.

Qianye, however, remained unfazed. He only sneered as East Peak grew heavier in his hands.

The old man grew increasingly pale. Just as he was at his limits, Song Zining finally caught his breath and slapped out. Thousands of leaves showered down, pressing on the black and white shield and black crystal sword.

During this deadlock, East Peak trembled and unleashed a draconic hum as it prepared for a slash. However, Qianye felt his vision blur as Ji Tianqing stepped in between him and his target. She was still covering her face as she stood in the path of his potential attack. There was no way Qianye could truly slash at Ji Tianqing, so he had no choice but to retract the pressure from his sword.

“What are you two doing? Why are you stopping me from killing this old thing?” Qianye was furious.

Song Zining was just about to speak when he was overcome by a bout of intense coughing. He couldn’t speak for a moment and only pointed at Ji Tianqing. The latter was still covering her face, her silhouette in constant distortion. She simply decided to turn away and ignore Song Zining.

Seeing the old man edging back, Qianye said coldly, “Rui Xiang! If you dare take another step, even they can’t save your life!”

The old man was livid. “Y-You don’t have that...”

But he just couldn’t utter the words “you don’t have that ability”. The short confrontation just now was enough for him to understand that Qianye wasn’t bluffing about killing him.

Song Zining finally stopped coughing and said with a bitter smile, “Do you still remember what I said about intelligence arriving at night? He’s the one bringing information.”

“That means this is a cooperation?” Qianye’s voice was filled with mockery. “He had captured you back then and nearly made you lose your life. Now you want to work with him?”

Song Zining replied, “That was back then. The situation right now is totally different, and there’s value in working together.”

Qianye’s gaze was incisive, but Song Zining met it with calm determination. In the end, Qianye averted his gaze and glanced toward Ji Tianqing. The latter was standing in a corner, almost as though she was unrelated. She had already lowered her hands to reveal an unassuming countenance—one Qianye had never seen before.

Qianye’s eyes landed on Song Zining after scanning the room. “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone to block the gates of Tidehark.”

Song Zining sighed. “Don’t get angry first, sit down, we can talk this over slowly.” He reached out to pat Qianye’s shoulder out of habit, but the latter leaned back and evaded the gesture.

Song Zining’s hands froze mid-air. He then reached for the door, saying, “Let’s head next door, this building is ruined.”

The journey to the conference room next door wasn’t that far, but it felt like several years to Rui Xiang. He was already drenched in sweat and his breathing was heavy. Every step he took seemed arduous, accompanied by countless wisps of black and white energy.

Qianye wasn’t doing much. It was just that his gaze was fixated on the man’s back.

Only after entering the conference room did he heave a sigh of relief. He couldn’t help but glance at Qianye, his eyes full of shock and puzzlement. He was at a disadvantage against Qianye a while ago, but he could still attack and retreat at will. How did he become so terrifying in such a short span of time?

The four duly took their seats. Intentionally or otherwise, Ji Tianqing and Song Zining positioned themselves between Qianye and Rui Xiang.

“Qianye, this is how matters stand. You know the circumstances right now are quite delicate and largely different from before. Let me explain the general situation to you.”

Song Zining hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted by Qianye’s cold voice. “Get to the point.”

Song Zining was startled. As smooth as he was, he couldn’t find a good way to put things into words at the moment.

At this point, Ji Tianqing suddenly reached out and grabbed Qianye’s hand. The two had had close contact before, but that was in battle. The present situation was actually a first. Surprised, Qianye made to pull back his hand, but Ji Tianqing strengthened her grip on him. She didn’t use that much force, but her stance was abnormally firm.

Qianye was somewhat puzzled, but he let her do as she wished because he didn’t want to fall out. It was just that the bloody threads flickering on his fingertips could no longer be shot out since he couldn’t just pierce Ji Tianqing’s hands.

She was only grabbing one of his hands at this point. Qianye’s other hand spread out slightly as strings of blood bore out from his fingertips. Ji Tianqing’s body moved slightly. Although the movement was small, Qianye was also an expert creeping into the master level in martial arts. He immediately noticed that she was about to grab his other hand as well. It was just that this action would put them in a hugging position.

Tensing up, Qianye immediately extinguished the sanguineous threads and allowed Ji Tianqing to sit straight once more. Even when she was back in her seat, she still shot Qianye a mysterious glance.

Ji Tianqing’s countenance was never the same, and Qianye still had no idea what she looked like. Perhaps her real appearance was among the dozens of changing faces from just now, but she had covered it up. Hence, Qianye made no effort to guess her thoughts and merely pushed the issue to the back of his mind.

Rui Xiang felt greatly relieved upon seeing Qianye calm down. He was sweating and weak, greatly disconcerted by the feeling of impending death.

Song Zining weighed his words and said, “Qianye, this battle is extremely important. The most key issue is Luo Bingfeng. It can be said that the outcome of this battle hinges on whether we can restrain him. It just so happened that Rui Xiang has a common objective and can work with us. I was the captured one. Even I have managed to set aside this hatred, so why can’t you?”

Qianye sneered, “You were the captured one, but I was out there risking my neck. Now you tell me that you’ve made up?”

Song Zining shook his head. “I don’t want to, but the greater picture is important.”

“The greater picture? Tell me, what kind of greater picture?”

Song Zining laughed wryly as he cast a glance at Ji Tianqing, but the latter merely turned away without looking at him. Feeling helpless, he could only explain things himself, “Qianye, the Great Maelstrom isn’t just related to the potential of the empire’s younger generation of elites, but there are also numerous rare materials inside. So much so that it’s been rumored that the secrets of void traversal are hidden inside. Sending these people into the Great Maelstrom is highly beneficial to the next ten years of the empire’s reign.”

“So, this is the empire’s bigger picture.”

“Yes.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

For a moment, Song Zining had no words to reply.