That stretch of snow-covered mountains on the horizon was perpetually shrouded in howling wind and snow. The wind and snow danced wildly, yet the mountains remained silent, with faint white vapor occasionally spiraling straight up, connecting with the roaring wind caverns at the sky’s edge.

Though it was now midsummer, the snow on the mountain peaks hadn’t melted. A long row of faint footprints meandered downward, then were covered by fresh snow shaken loose from clothing.

Scattered at the foot of the mountain were some small villages, formed by refugees who had gradually gathered at the mountain’s base over the years. This mountain with its “divine mysteries” was a place ordinary people dared not approach, thus it provided much shelter to people who gradually settled into villages.

The villagers heard a great commotion of unusual sounds coming from the mountain that morning, which greatly puzzled them. For so many years, they had only been able to see faint, ghostly shadows coming and going like immortals on the mountain, never such clamor.

Had the immortals on the mountain come down?

The villagers couldn’t help but put on clothes to look. Walking to their windows and gazing toward the snow mountain, all of them couldn’t help but open their mouths with an “ah” sound, their eyes filled with terror.

That terror was forever written in their eyes, never to be erased again.

Wind whistled past, and fresh snow fluttered down under the midsummer sun.

…

Seven or eight hours later, several figures flashed and Murong Zhen appeared at the village entrance.

There were naturally many routes into the snow mountain. Going through the village was the most conspicuous and unsafe route, generally only chosen by the mountain people when they needed to transport large items and would slip in and out quietly at night.

He wanted to lure Gong Yin into the snow mountain, so naturally he was unwilling to reveal the secret paths of the snow mountain.

However, today’s small village was particularly strange – deathly silent, with a faint, odd smell drifting through the village.

Murong Zhen and his companions, having been pursued and killed all along, were so exhausted and pained that they had lost their acute senses. They quickly swept across the village rooftops. One subordinate, severely wounded, tilted his body while flying and broke through a thatched hut’s roof. Expecting the villagers below to surely question and curse, there was still no sound. This person found it strange and couldn’t help but look down through the broken hole.

At this glance, his entire body went cold.

Below the roof, that family of three was crowded at the window, eyes staring and mouths agape, bodies rigid. Their faces still retained expressions of terror, but their breathing had long since stopped.

The faint frost color between the corpses’ brows was precisely the mark of the snow mountain people’s handiwork.

Murong Zhen also saw this scene and was shocked. He quickly circled the entire small village, breaking through all the roofs he passed, finally confirming that all the people in the village were dead.

This change greatly shocked him – the people of the snow mountain regarded all living beings as ants and didn’t deign to strike at civilians. What was happening now?

On the village ground were deep cart tracks and many strange footprints, as if many people and objects had passed through.

Those footprints – some deep on one side and shallow on the other, some with only one side, some with a human footprint on one side and actually a claw print on the other.

There were also many extremely faint human footprints, indicating extremely accomplished lightness skills.

Murong Zhen stared at those footprints and suddenly thought of Xu Pingran’s “extreme plan” over all these years.

The ambitious Xu Pingran had used the snow mountain’s geographical advantages and resources to train the mountain’s new disciples in an almost extreme limit-challenging manner for years. During her management of the snow mountain, the number of disciples entering the mountain had increased tenfold, but after her layers of harsh training and trials, the disciples who ultimately entered the inner sect were less than a third of those from thirty years ago. There were also a large number of disciples who disappeared or died midway, with no one knowing where they had gone.

Now, these people…

Murong Zhen had a bad feeling in his heart, yet still didn’t dare believe that Xu Pingran, who had always kept a low profile on the mountain and never descended even one step, would actually come down.

Having been pursued all along, he didn’t know about the State Preceptor’s ascension to the throne.

Having reached the mountain entrance with no way to retreat, he gritted his teeth and led his remaining subordinates into the mountain. The moment he stepped into the snow mountain, a streak of blue mist shot from his hand straight toward the snow mountain’s peak.

This was notification of “approaching enemy.”

The snow mountain was serene in snow vapor and mist.

Another flash of figures, and Gong Yin appeared in the village, looking down at those traces.

He examined them extremely carefully, then said: “Prepare ink and brush.”

Behind him, several capable men immediately produced specially made ink and brushes ready for immediate use.

“Xu Pingran has already descended the mountain, taking almost all the snow mountain’s elite with her,” Gong Yin said, looking down at the prints. “Count fifty snow mountain secret crossbow carts…”

The Spider Web agents looked at those prints, counting over and over, seeing only about five.

“The rest were carried on shoulders.” Gong Yin pointed to several particularly deep footprints.

Everyone suddenly understood. Someone asked: “How much do these carts weigh?”

“Three thousand pounds, detachable, but Xu Pingran transported them in complete form.” Gong Yin said indifferently. “Record this.”

His subordinates wrote frantically, expressions shocked – carrying three thousand pounds on shoulders for long distances? What kind of strongmen were these? Having one or two such strongmen wouldn’t be strange, but having dozens?

“These carts can be disassembled into three units. The three units can operate in rotation – one attacking, one defending, one charging. Extremely fast speed, equipped with both snow projectiles and thunder projectiles. The bottom compartment has a one-foot square space, normally used for ammunition, but beware – at certain times it can be used to hold people.”

“So small, how could it hold people?” someone objected.

Gong Yin glanced at him indifferently. “Cut off your limbs, and it can.”

That person shuddered, wanting to make a joke, but suddenly felt this didn’t seem like a joke and couldn’t help shuddering again.

“People are divided into seven types.” Gong Yin continued, then waved his hand. “You few, go pursue Murong Zhen. Try to keep him away from these track areas.”

Several Spider Web agents went at his command, entering the snow mountain area while carefully not disturbing the traces on the ground.

The remaining people were contemplating what their master’s earlier statement “people are divided into seven types” meant. People are just people – where do the categories come from?

Thus no one noticed that Gong Yin’s hand gesture was slightly stiff.

“First type, sword people.” Gong Yin focused intently on the ground traces, slightly bending down and examining all the way, while the Spider Web agent responsible for recording behind him dared not miss a single word.

“This type should have sword qi buried in their bodies, causing extremely fast walking speed, with radiating traces around their footprints on all sides.” Gong Yin said. “They don’t need to strike – just by entering a certain area, people nearby will die.”

Everyone gasped.

“Wouldn’t that make them invincible under heaven?” someone said in shock.

“Swords used too much will also break and become crude.” Gong Yin’s expression seemed unconcerned. “The sharper they are, the faster they’re consumed, the quicker they die. It’s just that when such people first appear, they will definitely kill fiercely, dealing extreme damage to morale. These will be Xu Pingran’s vanguard death warriors. Tell her to be careful.”

“Yes.”

“Second type,” Gong Yin slowly bent down again to examine a trace that was half footprint, half claw mark. A trace of disgust flashed across his brow, as if seeing the most nauseating thing in the world.

“Beast breed.” he said indifferently. “Should belong to human-beast bloodline. After all these years, with countless failures, Xu Pingran must have found beast breeds that can coexist with human bloodlines. This kind of beast breed’s ferocity and speed must be first under heaven, and completely without humanity. Once they strike, they will definitely fight to the death. Moreover, human-beast blood fusion might cause some unexpected changes.”

The Spider Web agents recorded everything.

Gong Yin didn’t straighten up, maintaining that somewhat odd posture as he continued examining.

On the snow mountain, Murong Zhen sensed that someone had already entered the snow mountain behind him, so he ran even faster. He hadn’t thought that the real target was still behind, slowly studying the traces of Xu Pingran’s mountain descent.

“Third type,” Gong Yin said slowly. “Grass people.”

On the ground was a patch of shallow traces that didn’t look like footprints, but rather like a grass brush had been dragged across.

“These snow mountain special troops’ names are all quite interesting,” a Spider Web agent laughed. “Sword people, beasts, grass people.”

Everyone chuckled. Gong Yin was a cold but not indifferent master. The Spider Web agents revered him like a god, yet weren’t as silent as winter cicadas.

“Because these can no longer be considered human.” Gong Yin said calmly. “For instance, this type – to pursue speed and lightness, many bones were removed from the human body. They might not be able to stand, might not even be able to walk, but can appear anywhere in various bizarre postures. Such as in the one-foot square ammunition box beneath a crossbow cart.”

Everyone suddenly felt all their bones aching sharply, as if being carved out by sharp blades.

“Perverts!” someone cursed angrily.

“These bizarre troop types, when first deployed on a battlefield, will definitely catch people completely off guard.”

The Spider Web agents silently looked at their master, suddenly understanding why he could have killed Murong Zhen earlier but preferred not to heal his wounds and exhaust his energy to keep trailing the opponent.

What he wanted was precisely for Murong Zhen to be pursued to desperation with no way out, forced to return to the snow mountain. Murong Zhen’s mountain entry and Xu Pingran’s mountain descent would both necessarily choose to pass through the village’s main road, and would necessarily kill all villagers to silence them. By following all the way here, he aimed for this moment – to report the most important military intelligence to the Imperial Capital battlefield.

Gong Yin continued bending forward. His long hair cascaded down, a crystalline silver-white color in the sunlight.

Since that day of the pond ambush, when he drew needles from the water, his black hair had completely turned silver-white, like eternal moonlight illuminating the dark night.

The Spider Web agents suddenly all silently looked back toward the Imperial Capital.

He abandoned rivers, mountains, and imperial throne for you. He endured human suffering for you. He fought the world’s heroes for you. He grew white hair early for you.

Queen, do you know?

…

Gong Yin walked all the way, slowly observing, explaining the general characteristics of all seven types of altered humans, then sealed a letter with fire wax and handed it to a Spider Web agent to immediately send back to the Imperial Capital.

Gong Yin had long arranged secret contacts along this route that no one could imagine, ensuring the letter could be delivered extremely quickly and safely.

“Master,” one Spider Web agent asked in confusion, “though you analyzed most of Xu’s strength for the queen, you don’t seem to have told her the solutions.”

Gong Yin seemed still studying the prints on the ground, waving his hand to signal everyone to move forward. Only after everyone had walked past him did he say indifferently: “She no longer needs me to support her step by step. From now on, victory and defeat, right and wrong, are her own affairs.”

The Spider Web agents nodded with deep understanding, but didn’t hear the hidden desolation in these words.

Gong Yin slowly stood up.

With everyone in front of him, his rising posture now revealed a trace of difficulty. His posture seemed particularly stiff. After maintaining a half-squatting position too long, his knees and waist, as well as the elbow braced on his leg, all made subtle creaking sounds that sounded like aging joints.

He stood up very slowly, but once risen, still stood perfectly straight.

“Pop.” A point of silver light suddenly sprang from his elbow. He casually caught it.

It was an extremely small bit of silver substance, glittering in his slightly sweaty palm.

The elbow skin cut by the silver light seeped a faint trace of fresh blood, pale red, then the wound immediately congealed, as if there wasn’t much blood left in his body either.

Before the Spider Web agents sensed something wrong and turned around, he had already lowered his sleeve and looked up at the snow mist that forever wreathed the mountain peak.

“Let’s go. To do our final task.”

…