The previous day, late at night, only two people remained in the room.

After listening to Changling explain the ins and outs of applying the gold needles, Ye Qi suppressed the urge to scratch her and said, “You knew someone was going to ambush you from behind and you still took it head-on?”

“You were the one who said to use their plan against them to turn the tables,” Changling circulated a small circulation of energy, finally clearing away the numb and tingling sensation throughout her body. “The Nanhua Gold Needles have the miraculous effect of suppressing poison and protecting the heart. At that time, I’d already heard Xu Laifeng’s footsteps, so I simply played dead to put their minds at ease.”

“You don’t listen when you should, but at times like this you know how to ‘apply what you’ve learned’…” Ye Qi rubbed his brow with great exasperation. “But speaking of which, in that situation, how did you know the Jiaye Master Uncle lying on the ground was someone else in disguise?”

“Master couldn’t possibly lose.” Changling stated matter-of-factly, “Even ten Scholar Xues combined couldn’t beat my master, so the person lying on the ground wasn’t Master.”

Ye Qi: “…”

What was this about—reasoning that sounded straightforward yet arrogant, presumptuous yet quite logical?

“However, when that person’s Fire Poison Palm struck my back, I always felt something wasn’t quite right,” Changling asked. “Earlier when you fought him in the kitchen, you were nearly burned to death by the fire he controlled, right…”

Ye Qi corrected, “I was superior to him by a margin. He fled in defeat.”

“One controls water, one controls fire. The power lies in the water and fire themselves, using force against force…” Changling reviewed the internal energy flow of that palm strike, then suddenly said, “I think he also practices the Myriad Flowers Manual.”

Ye Qi looked at her in surprise, “Could that be?”

“The possibility is very high.” For someone like Changling whose martial arts senses were exceptionally keen, distinguishing internal cultivation methods was far easier than reading people’s hearts. “When you fought him, didn’t you notice?”

With her reminder, Ye Qi reviewed the various moves from that day, “Now that you mention it, I really hadn’t thought much about it… His opening stance and the Myriad Flowers Manual are indeed remarkably similar…”

Changling also found it incomprehensible, “The Myriad Flowers Manual was what we obtained from Yanling Village. How did this person come to practice it?”

Ye Qi stood up and slowly began to pace. Numerous fragmented clues flashed through his mind. When he reached the window, he suddenly raised his head, “How could I not have thought of it? So it was him.”

“Who?”

“Jing Wuwei’s son.” Ye Qi turned around. “Jing Can.”

This name was quite unexpectedly startling.

“If Xu Laifeng could secretly memorize the Myriad Flowers Manual, what’s surprising about Jing Wuwei obtaining it?” Ye Qi thought while analyzing, “With his cunning and treachery, if he obtained the manual, naturally the first thing would be to send it to Jing Can…”

Changling understood the implication, “Even if Jing Wuwei sent someone to deliver the manual to Jing Can, with his qualifications, how could he comprehend its essentials in such a short time?”

“In your eyes, who isn’t mediocre in qualification?” Ye Qi glanced at her. “This Jing Can has always liked to associate with evil demons and heretics. He’s taken quite a few fallen ‘demon lords’ as masters. Three years ago at the martial competition, his ability to defeat Wang Xun couldn’t be said to rely entirely on underhanded methods… This time when the court suppressed the Jing Family, they say when Fu Yangui went to kill him, it was a group of suspected demon cult followers who covered his escape…”

“Broken Branch Hand, Fire Poison Palm—no wonder he also knew that set of combat techniques from the old military camp… My brother’s longevity lock was most likely stolen by them back then, and they turned around and used it to play tricks and frighten people…”

Ye Qi sighed inwardly, “It was my oversight. I didn’t expect they would dare to directly move against Academician Mo…”

“It seems he’s extremely skilled in the art of disguise. I wonder who he impersonated and what purpose he has for infiltrating Xiaoyao Valley…”

Ye Qi poured a cup of water, saw it was somewhat hot, and set it down again. “Jing Wuwei has always been ambitiously scheming to ascend the throne himself. Jing Can naturally also sees himself as half a crown prince. Just when great achievement was within reach, Shen Yao pulled the rug out from under him. How could he be willing to accept that?”

“You mean… he intends revenge?”

Ye Qi smiled, “Do you remember the carrier pigeon message I sent back then?”

Changling of course remembered, “You very wickedly wrote ‘The one who harmed me is Fu Yangui.’ I thought he would privately go after the one surnamed Fu.”

“Prime Minister Fu isn’t someone who can be tripped up… The Jing Family was crushed overnight. Fu Yangui can be said to have cut off all possibility of a comeback. For Jing Can, his greatest bargaining chip is none other than that evidence of the Shen Family’s dirty dealings—if he wants to choose the right opportunity to make it public, both shaking the Shen Family’s regime and turning the public’s fury to his own use, the most suitable location is precisely this Central Plains martial arts assembly. But the prerequisite is that he must find a backer with sufficient ability. After all, the Jing Family was also one of the traitors from eleven years ago. Jing Can absolutely cannot show his true face.”

Changling: “So he chose Xiaoyao Sect?”

Ye Qi gave a slight nod and handed her the water that had cooled, “If we look at it this way, Xiaoyao Sect organizing the martial arts assembly wasn’t coincidental. Mingyue Zhou was most likely also recruited by them. Mm, this is the prelude to making this affair as big as possible…”

“What should we do next?”

Seeing her cautious and prudent expression, he couldn’t help but reach out to smooth the furrow between her brows, “After saying all this, I thought you understood… Originally we were running east and west searching for evidence. Now someone has painstakingly done the work for us—we should be delighted. Tomorrow… just watch the show. When he thinks victory is in his grasp, you only need to do two things.”

“Which two things?”

Ye Qi revealed a slight smile and raised his index finger, “First, go on stage and publicly tear off his mask before everyone.”

Jing Can’s face turned from pale to purple. He stared fixedly at the sword in her hand, blade like autumn frost, his lips trembling, “Who are you?”

Changling was startled—so he actually hadn’t guessed her identity.

“Back when you were a scout, didn’t you always say your eyesight was excellent?” The corner of Changling’s mouth lifted slightly. “Who I am—can you still not tell?”

His scouting days were over ten years ago… Did she think that by holding a deceased person’s sword and speaking in such a tone, she could frighten him into revealing his identity?

“She’s a running dog sent by the Eastern Xia court to settle accounts with us!” Jing Can picked up the long blade that had fallen to the ground. Not caring that his true appearance was exposed, he pointed directly at Changling, “All disciples, heed my command! Capture her immediately!”

The moment his word “capture” fell, from all directions along the shore, numerous figures came floating over. These people were all Xiaoyao Sect disciples who had previously appeared on the competition platform. Any one of them casually was a master with exceptional skills who could crush Kunlun or Taixu. Now that they all charged together like this, it immediately gave people an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Xu Laifeng, Tianhun, and Tianpo all instinctively clenched their fists. In the next moment, the entire world inexplicably wrapped itself in a solemn killing intent. Before those people in midair could land, fierce sword energy had already transformed into countless rays of light, as if attacking viciously from every direction—completely unavoidable. Yet Changling had merely drawn a single sword stroke. The might of one sword was enough to shatter people’s hearts and souls!

Accompanied by continuous screams, the Xiaoyao Sect disciples fell into the lake like leaves blown by wind, some unconscious, some dead. When the high-splashing water droplets fell back down, Changling sheathed her sword. The overwhelming sword energy suddenly dissipated, but the oppressive feeling spread heavily.

The vast lakeside was momentarily utterly silent.

It was as if lips and tongues had been shocked dry by this scene.

The ninth level technique of the Shimo True Scripture—in a hundred years, only one person had mastered it.

Back then, in just a few short years, the Hero’s Tomb appeared in the jianghu. Those who received it did not survive; those who witnessed it feared it for life.

In the ten years after Yue Changling’s “death,” even if new martial arts practitioners heard the saying “encounter this technique, become a tomb on the spot,” most laughed it off as exaggeration, treating it as legendary tales—but today, everyone present, whether they had seen it, hadn’t seen it, or had never heard of it, all felt as if treading on thin ice.

Only Ye Qi, although this was the first time he’d seen her execute the Hero’s Tomb, and also the first time he’d seen her so sharp and exposed, was as if ten thousand zhang of radiance converged entirely upon her.

No one knew how much time passed before a barely perceptible trembling voice came from the crowd, “The Muling Sword… Shimo Divine Technique… She, she is…”

Second Young Master Yue, Yue Changling.

“Impossible… you can’t be him…” Jing Can’s Daoist robe had been shattered into tatters by the shockwave. He half-propped himself up, mouth full of blood, and roared at her, “Yue Changling died long ago… Moreover, you’re a woman… you can’t possibly be him!”

Changling glanced at him coolly, “Young Master Jing, since you’ve helped me reveal everything the Yue Family encountered, and at death’s door you still don’t forget to emphasize my identity—it’s truly been hard on you… Only…”

When she said “only,” her tone dropped slightly, “Only your father Jing Wuwei backstabbed my elder brother back then. After joining hands with Shen Yao, he pinned the blame on Wei Xingyun and relentlessly pursued his Yue Family Army forces… As I was once a general of the Yue Family, I absolutely cannot fail to seek justice for my former subordinates.”

As soon as this voice emerged, not only the several elders on the Martial Alliance platform, but Chi Zishan, Lu Tianlan, Jiang Fangyao, and others were all dumbstruck—this, this was clearly Second Young Master Yue’s voice!

Even after eleven years, even though it had long become blurred and indistinct in memory, when this voice suddenly rang out, even old acquaintances who had only met once—some felt their hair stand on end, some felt their hearts pound violently, and even more stood there rooted to the spot with mouths agape, unable to tell whether they felt surprise or shock.

Even Xu Laifeng was completely dumbfounded, his mind filled with phrases like “I actually fought with Yue Changling,” “My martial arts have reached such a realm,” “Second Young Master Yue sees me as a formidable opponent.”

Mingyue Zhou was stunned like a wooden chicken, momentarily unable to reconcile this woman who had tied his heart with the protagonist of the bedtime stories he’d heard as a youth.

Jing Can stared at her with eyes about to split.

Early last month, when he heard that Fu Yangui had been assassinated, he infiltrated Jinling City, originally intending to see that “sister” he’d never met. Who knew that while tracking them, he inadvertently overheard them mention the folding fan and realized she was someone from Marquis He’s camp. His tracks were exposed, and this woman relentlessly pursued him. When they fought, both used the combat boxing and palm techniques once practiced in the old Yue Family military camp. Afterward, he investigated deeply and pried out from Yanling Village residents that she carried a Yue Family token, so he judged she must have countless connections to the Yue Family.

He had even once speculated whether Yue Changsheng might have an unknown sister.

Of course, in truth he hadn’t guessed wrong… Only, through a thousand calculations, he never calculated that Yue Changling was a woman.

If he had known earlier that she was Yue Changling, forget slapping her once—even if he stabbed her ten or eight times, he wouldn’t doubt Second Young Master’s ability to resurrect on the spot.

One wrong move loses the entire game.

“Good, good. No wonder in just half a year, our Jing Family’s ten years of operations turned to nothing. So it’s because you’ve returned.” Jing Can shakily stood up. Looking at everything around him, he suddenly revealed a strange smile. “But do you think they’ll submit to you? No. Even if they all shout about avenging the Yue Family, when you’re truly alive, they’ll be afraid again… Yes, everyone fears you—fears your martial arts, fears your arrogance, and even more fears you being alive… That’s why back then so many people schemed to make you perish! Hahahaha, you don’t believe me? Ask them yourself, Wei Shaoxuan…” As he spoke, his gaze suddenly fell on Wei Shaoxuan. “Your Wei Family has always revered the Yue Family as supreme, haven’t you? Now that Yue Changling has returned… shouldn’t you present all of Western Xia with both hands?”

Wei Shaoxuan’s eyes trembled, but he said nothing.

Ye Qi knew Jing Can intended to shake people’s hearts and immediately said, “Young Master Jing, you’ve just performed one act of ‘a scholar dies for his confidant.’ What now—seeing the play can’t continue, you want to change to another act of ‘possessing a jade is itself a crime’?”

Jing Can was about to continue his “bewitching words” when the next moment his throat caught and he could no longer make a sound.

His mute acupoint had actually been sealed!

“Xu Laifeng, could you help me out and drag him to the shore?”

Changling adjusted her sleeves, as if too lazy to even expend the effort to kick Jing Can. Hearing her call his name, Xu Laifeng smiled with pride, “No problem, no problem. It’s just a small favor. We’ll chat more later.”

With that, his hand gripped Jing Can’s shoulder and he swept toward the shore.

Before Jing Can could react, Xu Laifeng mercilessly threw his entire body onto the ground. Then they heard Changling say, “Wang Xun, I’ll leave him to you to deal with.”

Wang Xun trembled slightly.

From the moment Jing Can’s true face was revealed, he had already been eager to rush onto the platform to kill him. But immediately after came even more earth-shattering developments. Indifferent as he was, he couldn’t possibly remain unmoved.

If she truly was Yue Changling, Jing Can should rightfully die at her hands.

But he hadn’t expected that she would actually give this opportunity to him.

So she had always remembered.

Wang Xun smoothly raised his long spear and without hesitation stepped forward, thrusting it into Jing Can’s heart.

When he witnessed with his own eyes that Jing Can had breathed his last, he pressed one hand against his other slightly trembling fist and respectfully bowed toward that person on the platform.

“Thank you… Second Young Master Yue.”

Changling merely gave a slight nod, turning to face forward again. The first thing she met was Ye Qi’s smiling eyes.

Last night, he said she only needed to do two things. The first—going on stage—could be considered accomplished. As for the second… he had said…

“Everyone, today is the martial arts assembly. Since we’re selecting an Alliance Leader, the competition naturally cannot be interrupted…” Changling held her sword before her chest, her brow slightly raised. “I wonder if there are any other heroes who wish to come up and test their skills against Yue?”

Author’s Note:

Mm, if Sister Ling is at the top of the martial arts food chain, Young Marquis is probably at the top of the intelligence food chain.

Who do you want to cheer for today?