“Boom!”

A thunderous crash rang out, deafening enough to jolt everyone awake at once from their trance in the sacred music, and at the very same moment, the tamed hawks overhead promptly withdrew.

In that instant, everyone present skilled in martial arts could tell at once—that sound had unmistakably struck against bone, and the force behind it was surely enough to shatter bone entirely.

Though the beam of light had been dim, everything could now be seen clearly.

There, part of the stone wall had been shattered by some unknown force, revealing a hidden chamber concealed within—another cavern entirely. And everyone else was still seated exactly where they’d been, as if nothing at all had happened during that darkness just moments before.

The Prince of Nanzhao stared, dumbfounded, his face gradually shifting to one of terror. How could this be?

That cavern held all the secrets of the Ancient Music Cavern—it held all the secrets of that totem as well!

What exactly had just happened?

What had shattered that wall?

For a moment, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, and the Second Beast Young Master looked even more stunned than the Prince of Nanzhao. Just moments ago, in the darkness, he’d been absolutely certain he’d pinpointed Jun Beiyue’s presence—he’d been certain his kick had landed squarely on Jun Beiyue’s body!

So why, at this very moment, was Jun Beiyue sitting perfectly composed directly across from him, exactly as he’d been when they first took their seats, robes draped elegantly, radiating that same unspoken authority without even trying?

“This… this… Medicine Clan leader, what exactly is going on here?” The Prince of Nanzhao’s mind had gone utterly blank, never having imagined something like this could happen—this place was as sacred as a temple itself!

The Medicine Clan leader looked equally dazed, taking a moment to recover. “Indeed, how could this…”

Jun Beiyue didn’t so much as glance at the Second Beast Young Master, saying instead with utmost seriousness, “King of Nanzhao, where has the merfolk clan leader gone?”

At these words, everyone finally noticed that someone was missing—the merfolk clan leader, who had been sitting right beside Jun Beiyue, had vanished!

The Prince of Nanzhao was struck utterly dumbfounded. The Medicine Clan leader slapped his own thigh hard. “This is bad!”

With that, he rose at once and hurried toward the hidden chamber. The Second Beast Young Master’s face had gone ashen, having no idea at all what had actually happened in the darkness—he’d somehow ended up kicking the merfolk clan leader instead!

The merfolk clan leader was an extremely rare individual—though ranked third among the Three Clans, his strength was absolutely nothing to be underestimated!

But there was no time to dwell on it further. He rushed to catch up with the Medicine Clan leader and the beastfolk clan leader. Jun Beiyue glanced at Situ Haonan, and the two of them followed close behind as well.

Whatever tricks the Second Beast Young Master had pulled, they’d never have fooled Jun Beiyue—let alone Situ Haonan. The two of them were far more skilled than the Second Beast Young Master at pinpointing someone’s location by presence alone in darkness.

Now that the secret had been kicked wide open, how could they possibly resist going to see it for themselves?

The last to recover was the Prince of Nanzhao. There was no stopping them now—all he could do was hurry after them himself.

Amid the rubble in front of the cavern, the merfolk clan leader was badly injured, blood seeping from five of his seven facial orifices. Had Situ Haonan not absorbed much of the impact for him, he likely wouldn’t even have been able to stand right now.

Though dim, Jun Beiyue immediately spotted the hidden chamber—all three walls covered entirely in musical notation, all recorded using the ancient gu-style methods, abbreviated notation and gongche notation intermingled. Jun Beiyue could only recognize the shapes, not the actual notes, and worse, he’d only glimpsed part of it, not the whole.

He needed to find some way to see it all clearly—ideally, some way to get Ziqing over here. This was the secret the Second Beast Young Master had deliberately kicked open, his goal unmistakably to kill two birds with one stone: uncover the secret and eliminate Jun Beiyue in the same stroke.

Whether it was the Second Beast Young Master, Jun Beiyue, or Situ Haonan, even the beastfolk clan leader and Medicine Clan leader were deeply curious about the massive array of symbols covering the walls.

The three clan leaders had no idea what secret lay here either, but none of them showed any curiosity about the three stone walls at all—they were all far too focused on the merfolk clan leader’s condition.

The Medicine Clan leader personally helped the merfolk patriarch to his feet. Before the merfolk clan leader had even fully recovered, the Prince of Nanzhao was already upon him, and though he tried to restrain himself, his fury broke through regardless. “What exactly happened here! Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?”

The merfolk clan leader, still somewhat dazed, snapped back to full alertness at this outburst. “Your Majesty, this old servant has been wronged! Someone just kicked me, and I have no idea what happened—Your Majesty, this old servant has been wronged, this old servant nearly lost his life!”

At these words, everyone fell silent at once. The Second Beast Young Master rubbed his nose and quietly retreated behind the beastfolk clan leader.

The Prince of Nanzhao and the three clan leaders were the ones meant to represent all of Nanzhao’s people in listening to the sacred music and praying for blessings—there had been no need at all for the Second Beast Young Master to accompany them. He’d only been granted special permission after repeatedly begging his father.

Now, if Jun Beiyue turned his suspicion toward him, the consequences would be… utterly unthinkable.

“There couldn’t possibly have been anyone else here!” The Prince of Nanzhao was furious, but not so blinded by rage that he’d lost his reasoning entirely. These words made it clear enough—he was saying the culprit had to be among the very people present.

Not to mention that committing any violence during the sacred music was absolutely forbidden—and this kick had landed with such precision that it had directly exposed the true Ancient Music Cavern.

Whoever the culprit was, they had to know a great deal about the secrets of the Ancient Music Cavern, and they had undoubtedly come specifically for it.

A sharp gleam flashed through the Prince of Nanzhao’s eyes—he’d finally realized someone had designs on the Ancient Music Cavern, which meant, in other words, someone had designs on the Isolated Isle.

His gaze swept over everyone present one by one. No one spoke. The Prince of Nanzhao didn’t say it outright, but everyone understood perfectly well, an unspoken understanding passing between them all.

The merfolk clan leader, too, watched everyone with equally cold eyes, wanting to know exactly who had been ruthless enough to risk his life just to force open the true entrance to the Ancient Music Cavern.

No one made a sound. The silence was heavy enough that the Prince of Nanzhao found himself scrutinizing everyone present, weighing them one by one.

At last, the Prince of Nanzhao’s gaze settled on Jun Beiyue. It had to be admitted—Jun Beiyue was, without question, the most suspicious among them.

The three clan leaders were essentially beyond suspicion—though they didn’t know much, they belonged to clans that had served the royal family for generations, safeguarding the secret of the Isolated Isle, and would never do such a thing. With his trust in the three clan leaders secured, the Prince of Nanzhao immediately dismissed the Second Beast Young Master from suspicion too, leaving only Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan.

Jun Beiyue had seen that totem before and knew it was forbidden—so among this group, Jun Beiyue was, without a doubt, the most suspicious.

Chu Feiyan still refused to admit the totem was hers to this day—could it be that Jun Beiyue…

As for Prince Yao, the Prince of Nanzhao had always felt a mixture of respect and admiration, but also constant wariness—this man had cunning, deep calculation, patience, and ambition too. Once the right opportunity arose, would he really be content letting Da Zhou forever guard Nanzhao’s northern gate on Nanzhao’s behalf?

By now, the sacred music had gradually faded away. The Prince of Nanzhao let out a quiet breath, then said, in an almost emotionless tone, “Medicine Clan leader, take everyone else away. Prince Yao, you stay behind.”

Leave? How could that possibly happen?

Jun Beiyue didn’t move. With a single glance, Situ Haonan immediately cried out, “Merfolk clan leader, look at what’s on your robe!”