Bam!
The wooden door was suddenly slamd open, and two figures in black clothing and black masks swiftly rushed in, followed by the sound of objects rolling and falling.
"Sire." The two quickly exited, cupped their fists, and said, "No one inside, valuables have been cleared out, they must have left not long ago."
"Contact the local magistrate’s office imdiately and search for !" said the figure with the golden line mask coldly.
"Yes!"
The surrounding black masks responded loudly in unison.
Cheng Hui slowly walked out of the alley.
In recent days, he had been excluding nas one by one from the list.
Now, he had finally eliminated so individuals and made a subtle discovery.
’You Shifei, thirty years ago, the entire family was executed for colluding with a secret cult.
Only he survived due to hiding and fleeing, thus avoiding disaster.
Later investigations proved that the case against the You family was a setup and false charge. However, the case was settled, and the Spirit Court’s authority was immutable, so the truth was suppressed.’
’This man was born with hatred towards the court and has committed several notorious bloody cris. He is currently ranked twenty-seventh on the blacklist, known as the Flying Bat, with unknown strength.’
Cheng Hui went over all the target’s information in his mind.
He beca more and more convinced that this You Shifei was very likely one of the selected subjects of the Celestial Maiden back then.
Especially recently, this Flying Bat’s power had beco increasingly formidable.
He had successively defeated the Golden Wing Pavilion experts tracking him.
Since joining the Western Sect, the strength of the Golden Wing Pavilion had diminished quite a bit, but through Cheng Hui’s efforts,
the Spirit Emissaries had regained their number to five. Though fewer than before, these five Spirit Emissaries were all blessed by the Spiritual Veins and were much more formidable one-on-one compared to the previous Spiritual Veins.
And yet, even so, one of the Spirit Emissaries went missing in mid-last month while chasing the Flying Bat, with no trace of where he went.
"It seems this You Shifei must have obtained secret treasures.... indeed a unique specin, splendid technique...."
The Spirit Emissary was killed, but Cheng Hui not only felt no regret, he felt only joy.
This ant that his lengthy investigation was finally about to yield results.
Since last ti, being fooled by the Golden Ring, the secret treasure had beco a knot in his heart that he couldn’t remove.
And now, he finally saw the dawn of unraveling that knot.
"Sire, should we continue the pursuit?" asked an Eagle Level expert beside him in a low voice.
"No need, since it has been verified there is an issue with this person, report the situation to the Western Sect and let the respected individuals above decide. We will continue to investigate the remaining candidates."
Out of one hundred and twenty-four nas, more than half have been cleared, and now one You Shifei has erged.
The rest should soon follow.....
*
*
*
The year 1187, April.
The White Ten Sect retreated fully from the Great Spirit.
The Western Italian Pope once again dispatched missionary teams to the Great Capital to et with the Spirit Emperor.
Hoping to be allowed to legally preach within the Great Spirit’s territory and establish churches.
Given the Great Spirit’s religious freedom and freedom of belief.
The missionaries also attempted to persuade the Spirit Emperor and the royal family face-to-face to join the faith and establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the West Yi to settle the previous small-scale friction misunderstandings that occurred at Citong.
The Spirit Emperor responded: "If you wish for us to make peace and conclude matters of peace, your Pope and various nobility should co to et without hesitation."
The Pope’s envoys returned angrily.
In May, the Western Yi announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Great Spirit.
In late May, the Great Spirit dispatched a fleet from Linzhou Port to embark towards the Western Yi.
Inland, synchronized troop mobilization was launched for the fourth invasion of An Nan.
May 27.
Citong Port.
The sky was filled with dense, overcast clouds, as if they were close at hand, within reach.
In the bay, nurous ships of varying sizes bobbed and swayed with the waves.
The sails had already been lowered, and the sailors hurriedly covered the cargo with oilcloth and fur to ward off the rain.
At the port, the laborers unloading the half-finished cargo, so sped up their work.
Others deliberately slowed down, waiting to coerce the rchants into paying more.
The district near the port in Citong, belonging to the inner ring.
The inner ring was not all newly-priced, expensive hos. Many old and dilapidated houses still stood among them.
These mostly housed service workers, as they were near the many bustling areas of the inner ring, making it convenient for quick commutes.
Within this area, known as the Green Date district, comprised of old and small subdivisions.
At this mont, in a teahouse ford from the rging of two storefronts, lodious and sweet sounds of a harp were continuously emanating.
A black-furred old cat lay lazily at the entrance of the teahouse, listening to the music and yawning.
The aroma of tea, human voices, the black cat, the harp, and in the distance, the swaying ships in the harbor with the wind.
Altogether ford a scene as harmonious as an oil painting.
The teahouse sign was round, inscribed with: Cotton Cloud Residence.
Inside, six rows of six, tables and chairs were orderly arranged. Sporadically, there were so people seated for tea.
The gentle and crisp sound of the harp cald the mood of those drinking tea inside.
At a table near the street in the tea house, a group of people were speaking in hushed tones, carefully discussing current political events.
In the Great Spirit, freedom of speech is allowed as long as it doesn’t beco extre or radical, so no one really cares what you say.
Such scenes are common in Citong Port.
"...I don’t think it’s appropriate. The way our Great Spirit treats the West Yi Kingdom’s religion, now even proactively dispatching troops to conquer their lands, isn’t it too arrogant and conceited? Aren’t we afraid of other countries uniting against us?"
The speaker, a middle-aged man in a dark blue robe, wore tortoiseshell glasses, exuding a cultured air, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, speaking with a rather indignant tone.
"Brother Yanzhi, who has long studied in the academy, might not know the crux of the matter. This actually involves the fundantals of our Great Spirit’s national religion."
Another person, with delicate features and in their twenties, held a white fan, their long hair elegantly tied with a jade ring, embodying the charming deanor of a gentleman much admired by well-bred young ladies.
"Isn’t our Great Spirit’s national religion Buddhism? Are the Buddhist teachings really so domineering?" the bespectacled man asked with a displeased frown.
"Not quite. When it cos down to it, Buddhism is actually the second national religion." A tall and burly man, putting down his teacup, interjected.
"Brother Jingrong, given your position at the religious office, you would know better than us." A woman at the table agreed.
The man known as Jingrong, with a square face, distinct rugged features, narrow eyes, and knotted muscles, exuded an imposing presence even while seated.
This was Zhang Ying, also known as Zhang Rongfang, who, after tiring from daily cultivation, ca down the mountain to drink tea at leisure.
In the past six months, he often ca to have tea and gradually found a few like-minded companions who enjoyed boasting just as he did.
The four of them, all well-versed in various matters, found great camaraderie with each other.
Apart from Zhang Rongfang, the others were Zhao Yanzhi, Ouyang Shuyi, and Fang Wuxue.
The four t over several months, initially with Zhao Yanzhi and Ouyang Shuyi boasting wildly in the Cotton Cloud Residence, drawing in nearby listeners to join their conversation.
Zhang Rongfang and Fang Wuxue later joined in, standing out as a rare few who could hold their own in debates with the two.
Thus, the four ford a bond.
"Speaking of the national religion," the burly man Zhang Rongfang, alias Zhang Jingrong, recalled reading historical materials.
"Before the Great Spirit was established, the majority of the Spirit People actually believed in the Spirit Flying Church."
"Spirit Flying Church? I’ve co across it in historical records. Was it really the national religion?" Ouyang Shuyi wondered aloud.
"Indeed," Zhang Rongfang nodded, "Though much of Spirit Flying Church’s doctrines no longer align with Great Spirit’s rule, their core teachings still greatly influence all Spirit People."
"I recall Spirit Flying Church venerates a deity nad Spirit Flying Heaven?" Zhao Yanzhi inquired.
"Exactly," Zhang Rongfang nodded. "The core teaching of Spirit Flying Church is that among all things, only Spirit People are endowed with divine spirituality, designated to govern the world.
This world, universe, and all creatures were born from Spirit Flying Heaven.
Since the Spirit People are the only ones granted spirituality by Spirit Flying Heaven, it logically follows that
the world and all things rightfully belong to Spirit Flying Heaven and should be ruled by Spirit People."
"Hiss...this doctrine...now it cos back to ," Ouyang Shuyi slapped the table.
"Spirit Flying Church, Spirit Flying Church, doesn’t it also go by the na Flying Sect?"
"Yes," Zhang Rongfang agreed. "In the eyes of traditional Spirit Flying Church followers, the entire world naturally belongs to Spirit People.
Within the Great Spirit is their domain, and beyond its borders, all lands in flux also belong to them.
Hence, when they go to war, it’s not called war but reclaiming what is rightfully theirs. To them, this is only natural."
"Tsk, tsk, beyond the Great Spirit, all is already theirs, just awaiting reclamation? Such doctrine is truly domineering..." Fang Wuxue sighed.
"So Spirit People nobles consider themselves superior to all other races because they believe they are masters of all things?" Ouyang Shuyi sighed.
"Be careful with your words," Zhang Rongfang sternly reminded.
When he first encountered such teachings, he felt at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Spirit Flying Church has long declined, and the Great Spirit royal family primarily regards Buddhism and Daoism as national religions.
However, judging by their ongoing territorial conquests, the Great Spirit royal family still seems deeply influenced by Spirit Flying Church’s doctrines.
"Alright, alright, this topic’s only getting more complicated, let’s change it. How do you see the Jade Sea Gang, which has recently gained fa in Citong?" Ouyang Shuyi clapped their hands.
"What’s there to say? They’re just thugs bullying n and won in the marketplace." Zhao Yanzhi dismissed them.
"If they were rely bullies in the marketplace, they wouldn’t have reached this point, where even the governnt seems unable to deal with them," Fang Wuxue shook their head.
The four of them never discussed identities nor pried into personal information about each other.
But through their conversations, they could generally discern the realms each occupied in daily life.
"The Jade Sea Gang is not just an ordinary gang; it’s best to avoid conflicts with them," Fang Wuxue advised.
Though she was a woman and strikingly beautiful, her personality was straightforward, decisive, and clearly had not weak martial skills judging by her physique.
"Brother Wu Xue’s words are wise," Zhang Rongfang also nodded in agreent.
He knew well the influential powers behind those like the magistrate of Citong, and the fact that they also took the Jade Sea Gang seriously indicated deeper forces were at play.
He only wished to lay low and cultivate steadily, not wanting unnecessary trouble.
As half a year had passed, he already understood the relationship between life points and the limits of grades.
Every ten life points allowed breaking through another grade.
Currently, his life points had reached as much as 78.
Nearly twice what they were when he first arrived in Citong.
Now, with relentless stamina, recovery, and spirit, even several consecutive days of sleeplessness bore no effect.
The Iron Cloth technique he initially practiced had also reached the sixth level of breaking through limits, strong enough to withhold full-force attacks from sixth-grade experts without injury.
Ordinary weapons, unless they were Divine Weapons, high-powered firearms, or crossbow arrows below sixth grade, could be dismissed.
Additionally, another reason Zhang Rongfang wasn’t keen on ddling was quite crucial.
After reaching 78 life points, he faintly sensed a premonition.
It seed that once life points surpassed 100, it would lead to so kind of significant breakthrough.
This premonition was so strong that he was tempted to put all fifteen remaining attributes directly into life points.
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