Capital, dueling grounds.

“Hah! Hyah!”

Under the blazing sun, Yuanhui trained nonstop. Every punch came with a faint sonic boom, every kick stamped a deep footprint into the ground. His will moved, his body followed.

After finishing his fists, he gripped a practice Falling Star sword and moved on to sword drills, using Chi to fuel his strength. His sword style was his alone.

What Nanlun had told him a few days ago had already been confirmed from his hometown. The news kept looping in his head, as if it were happening right in front of him.

He still couldn’t believe Wuyan Ze was the one pulling the strings. He’d always known Wuyan Ze wasn’t a good person, but why go out of his way to target him? He couldn’t figure it out. He just couldn’t.

Right then, the power of the Falling Star sword in his body started buzzing. Under Yuanhui’s shock, the sword slowly began to grow larger.

After being nourished for half a month, the Falling Star sword’s weight suddenly felt much lighter.

Yuanhui got a little excited. He sent the greatsword flying up, then drove it straight down into the ground.

“Falling Star Sword Art—Pill-Shattering Cleave!”

He locked onto a boulder in the distance and shot forward. The blast of force was overwhelming. Yuanhui’s body blurred and in almost an instant he was already upon that massive rock. In a heartbeat, his sword came down.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed from the boulder. The next moment, Yuanhui lightly called out, “Detonate.”

Boom!

The boulder exploded with a roar. A rock as big as a thatched cottage blew apart in an instant.

“That’s insane, Brother Yuanhui!”

“Haha, no wonder the young lady values you. This is way too strong for someone your age!”

The disciples watching from the side cried out in shock, all stunned speechless. How was this the power of a mere early-stage Nine Hearts? Even a peak Nine Hearts might not have that kind of destructive force.

Yuanhui took a deep breath. His body wasn’t as drained and weak as he’d expected, just a bit tired. The move’s power hadn’t gone up by much, but the side effects were almost gone. He could now use it three or four times in a row without issue.

“Brother Yuanhui, you’re seriously amazing.” Dong Haijun handed him a towel and praised him.

Yuanhui took the towel with a cool expression and wiped his sweat. His face visibly relaxed.

“If you didn’t slack off, you wouldn’t be any weaker than me.”

“Hey, you’re joking again. That’s pure talent difference, okay?”

That said, Dong Haijun really hadn’t been training much lately. As the head of a small pavilion, he had to handle every little daily task in the place.

“Oh, right… Brother Yuanhui, someone from the Main Pavilion is here. They’re waiting in your study.” Dong Haijun hesitated, then spoke.

Someone from the Main Pavilion? Yuanhui narrowed his eyes, answered once, and headed straight for the study.

He’d never offended anyone in his life. And if he had… could it be that wild girl from the opening ceremony was here to give him some order and screw him over?

…

At the same time, Wu Luotian had just reached the entrance of the training grounds when he ran into a man in gray cloth. It was the Immortal Emperor’s attendant, Moyu.

“Greetings, my lord.”

In terms of status, Moyu was a rank above Wu Luotian. So even as a branch family member, Wu Luotian still had to salute.

“Wu Luotian, the medicinal herbs you turned in two days ago were insufficient. By lord’s command, you’re to head to Heavenly Snow Mountain and gather the first thirty healing herbs listed in the Hundred Herbs Manual, ten bundles of each. You are to depart at once. No mistakes allowed.”

Moyu’s tone was icy, carrying a natural arrogance. He tossed out a token, then turned to leave.

“You want a branch member like me to go alone into the snow mountain to gather healing herbs?”

Wu Luotian scanned the letter, saw the royal seal, and knew it really was a decree from the Sacred Emperor.

“My lord, someone’s trying to get you killed,” Wu Zitong said immediately. He saw the trap at a glance.

He hadn’t fully believed what Nanlun had said before. But when Wu Yuetian saw this letter, he couldn’t help but accept it—could Wuyan Ze really intend to eliminate him?

“Heh, how amusing. I’d like to see what tricks he thinks he can pull.”

Wu Zitong grabbed Wu Luotian’s arm and shouted.

“My lord, you can’t go. This is clearly a setup. You’ll be walking into the trap, and you’ll die for sure!”

Wu Luotian gave Wu Zitong a long look, then patted his shoulder.

“This time I have to go, whether I want to or not. If I go, someone is bound to stir up trouble in the middle of it. If I can clear things up, there’s still a chance I live. But if I dare defy the order, Wuyan Ze can charge me with disobedience and throw me into the Imperial City’s dungeon. Then I’ll have even less chance of making it out alive.”

“My lord… no. You should run. Leave this branch family behind. Then you won’t have to worry about any of this.”

Hearing Wu Luotian’s reasoning only made him more anxious. The idea of helping the clan chief escape flashed stronger in Wu Zitong’s mind.

“Zitong, you’ve always been cautious. Even you’re panicking now? If I run, what happens to all of you? If I flee, Wuyan Ze will definitely take it out on you. And he’ll slap me with a charge of desertion. The entire branch will be exterminated.”

Wu Luotian couldn’t help but sigh. This time, there really was no choice.

“Clan Chief, you should still go. Don’t worry about us. Wuyan Ze won’t do anything to us.”

Wu Zitong’s face was clouded with worry and simmering anger.

“No. I won’t abandon my own family.” Wu Luotian shook his head. “Everyone here is my family. I won’t toss you aside.”

“Clan Chief…”

“Relax. I, Wu Luotian, won’t fall to my own so‑called brother.”

“Clan Chief, let me bring a few more brothers to go with you!” Wu Zitong added quickly.

“No, I’ll go alone… But Zitong, go prepare eighteen spirit swords forged from top‑grade spirit stones for me. I want the strength to break through the Boundless peak in a short time.”

Wu Luotian waved his hand, sending Wu Zitong off to prepare weapons. He himself returned to his room and took out his healing pills and the rest.

If Wuyan Ze had really set a snare for him, he would not be afraid.

But he had to be fully prepared. Last time, he’d let his guard down and almost lost his life.

“Whoever tried to take me out—I’ll shatter your schemes one by one.”

On the road to the snow mountain, a warhorse clad in white holy armor thundered along the cliffs.

A hardened man in battle gear rode it, eighteen spirit swords strapped to his back. His expression was grave, his gaze sharp as the scenery blurred past on both sides.

This man was the Wu clan chief, Wu Luotian.

He knew this trip to the snow mountain was fraught with danger. He didn’t dare relax for a second. With high‑grade recovery pills and top‑notch spirit swords at his side, his energy, spirit, and will were all at their peak.

“Hyah!”

The warhorse neighed and pushed to its top speed, racing toward the mountain.

Whoosh!

A bowstring twanged. The horse under Wu Luotian screamed and pitched forward, crashing to the ground. Wu Luotian’s face didn’t change. As he tumbled down the horse’s back, he rolled across the ground, planted both hands, and came up in a half‑crouch—like a tiger coiled to strike, fully ready to fight.

“Not bad.”

A voice sounded. It was Moyu, the Immortal Emperor’s attendant who had delivered his orders earlier.

Beside him stood a golden‑haired archer, already reaching into his quiver for a crystal arrow. He was the one who had shot down Wu Luotian’s mount.

“May I ask why my lord had my mount killed?”

Wu Luotian rose, face unchanged, his tone icy, stripped of all emotion.

“The weather’s been getting colder. Animals near Heavenly Snow Mountain are getting scarce. I came out to hunt a few beasts. Just happened to hit that one.”

Moyu’s lips curled in a cold smile as he spoke lazily. The archer at his side was already aiming another arrow straight at Wu Luotian.

“Then will my lord be compensating me with another horse?”

Wu Luotian’s hand rested lightly on the spirit sword at his waist, forged as a single piece. The air between them grew razor‑sharp.

“I can. But I think only giving you a horse exactly like that one would show enough sincerity.”

Moyu’s tone suddenly dropped, turning harsh.

“How about this, Mister Wu… you go down and keep your horse company.”

It happened in a blink. The crystal arrow flashed off the bowstring, heading straight for Wu Luotian’s forehead.

But Wu Luotian had been ready. His face didn’t twitch. Sword light flared. Just as the arrow reached him, his blade swept down and split the crystal arrow cleanly in two.

Moyu wasn’t surprised at all. That shot was only meant to draw his attention, not to kill.

The next instant, several blue beams suddenly stabbed up from the ground under Wu Luotian’s feet. With sharp reflexes, he sprang into the air, flipped backward several meters. A heartbeat later, two dark‑skinned men burst up out of the earth, each gripping two black long blades, grinning coldly as they slashed at him.

“Two peak Nine Hearts?”

Wu Luotian had barely landed when the two black‑skinned killers were already on top of him, putting everything into their strikes, intent on cutting him down.

As soon as his feet touched the snow, Wu Luotian raised a sword in each hand and blocked, stopping both killers’ attacks at once. He then burst backward, retreating fast. Both killers were no weaker than him. In fact, they faintly pressed him down.

“Are these the only ones… or are there more?”

Wu Luotian didn’t dare relax. Two killers had already been hiding underground. In this snow‑covered terrain, there could easily be others.

In this crisis, he was still confident he could withstand the two of them. But if more enemies appeared, it would be very hard to avoid disaster.

Swish—!

Another blue flash streaked past his eyes. Wu Luotian instinctively tilted his head. A shallow cut opened on his cheek. The arrow had almost pierced straight through his left eye.

“That was close.”

He cursed inwardly. Good thing he’d kept part of his attention on the archer. Otherwise, that last arrow really might’ve taken his life.

“So you’re not just a little stronger… you’ve grown a lot.”

Moyu shook his head in feigned helplessness. If Wu Luotian hadn’t dodged that arrow, he’d already be cleaning up and heading home.

“The next arrow will definitely hit.”

The archer spoke firmly. He had his own pride.

Wu Luotian was pinned down by the two killers and couldn’t break off to kill the archer first.

He hesitated. Should he use the eighteen swords to deliver a killing blow to these two? The situation wasn’t clear. There might still be hidden enemies around.

A trump card couldn’t be used lightly. Use it too soon, and you hand your enemies the chance to take your life.

Crash!

All of a sudden, two more masked killers burst out of the ground behind Wu Luotian, daggers stabbing toward his back.

Clang! Clang!

Sword light flashed in a whirl. Wu Luotian spun like a lotus in bloom, knocking both daggers aside, then pivoted through the air to slip past the killing strikes from the other two.

“You useless trash, and you’re struggling this hard to kill a Nine Hearts?”

Moyu’s voice was cold. After all this time, the four hidden killers still hadn’t landed a single successful ambush. They might be suppressing Wu Luotian, but it didn’t feel like they had any real advantage.

On the contrary, the man they’d pinned down at the start now seemed to be edging toward a counterattack.