In the Grand Minister’s Manor stood the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower.

This was a restricted area within the manor, guarded even more stringently than the Shadow Prison. Su Muyu had barely stepped within ten zhang of the Tower when an arrow struck the ground before him. The arrow landed with tremendous force, kicking up a cloud of dust, and buried itself halfway into the earth.

Such a powerful arrow would have cleaved an ordinary person in half had it struck them.

Su Muyu lifted his head slightly. As expected, the Shadow Sect harbored masters unknown to them. Before they had infiltrated the Shadow Sect, the Water Official had warned them that while the Sect’s apparent strength seemed unthreatening and no match for the Dark River, this could well be an intentionally crafted illusion. Within the Shadow Sect likely lurked many first-class masters.

On the third floor of the Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower, a figure lowered his bow and spoke in a deep voice: “Who is this person? He detected me.”

“Unknown. If he were from within the sect, he wouldn’t dare trespass here,” a guard frowned and asked, “What is he doing?”

They watched as Su Muyu stepped forward and grasped the arrow’s tail, pulling it from the earth in one smooth motion. He raised his head, narrowing his eyes.

“Get down!” the archer above shouted.

The nearby guards immediately threw themselves to the ground.

Su Muyu gripped the arrow and spun it once in place, then hurled it skyward. The arrow flew with thunderous force, no less powerful than when it had been launched from a bow.

“Some skill there.” The archer nocked another arrow and fired. The two arrows collided mid-air—Su Muyu’s arrow split in half, while the archer’s continued its deadly course toward him, carrying lethal intent unlike the previous warning shot.

“Fall!” Su Muyu shouted, leaping upward and cleaving the incoming arrow in two with his sword.

“An intruder! Signal the Sect Master. Everyone else, stop him!” the archer commanded sharply.

“Yes sir!” Seven swordsmen leaped down from the Tower and charged toward Su Muyu as a signal flare burst in the sky.

Outside the Grand Minister’s Manor.

Su Changhe looked up: “It seems our Family Head has begun his move.”

“Since the Family Head has acted, I, Su Zhetian, should follow suit.” Beside Su Changhe, the Su family swordsman Su Zhetian drew his blade and stepped forward.

“Great Elder, we missed our chance to draw swords at Nine Heavens City, but this time, let us two clear the path,” Su Changfeng also drew his sword and followed.

“Stand back, all of you!” A tall figure wielding a Mo dao descended, cleaving the manor’s gate to splinters.

“Mu Ciling!” Su Zhetian leaped backward, his sword flashing to deflect the flying debris.

“Hahahaha! You Shadow Sect rabble, come out and face your death!” Mu Ciling roared with laughter.

In the Discussion Hall of the Grand Minister’s Manor.

Luo Tianxiang burst in: “Dark River forces led by a red-robed swordsman have broken through!”

“Report! The signal flare has gone up at Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower—someone has breached it!” Another Shadow Guard arrived.

“Sect Master! The Water Official and a woman skilled in disguise have raided the prison! Su Muyu has already escaped the Shadow Prison!” Yet another guard rushed in immediately after.

“They’re simultaneously attacking Prince Lang Ya and the Grand Minister’s Manor—what’s their aim?” Luo Tianxiang asked, puzzled.

“The attack on Feng Xiao Temple is likely a feint, while this assault on our Shadow Sect is their true, long-planned objective.” Yi Bu clenched his fists. “Deploy all manor forces against them, and notify the Three Elders to head to Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower.”

“Why the Tower?” Luo Tianxiang asked.

“Because what the Dark River truly fears isn’t the Shadow Sect’s martial might, but that we hold all their secrets. If they destroy the records in the Tower, they can completely conceal their tracks and establish a truly new Dark River.” Yi Bu sighed softly. “This time, we lost the gamble.”

“You bet they would submit to threats for the sake of freedom, but you didn’t understand that throughout their journey, it was precisely because they never feared threats that they drew ever closer to freedom.” A white-robed man appeared before Yi Bu. “I warned you long ago, Sect Master Yi.”

“Compared to them, you were indeed the better trading partner, but what could I do? They held the Sleeping Dragon Sword.” Yi Bu gripped his sword hilt.

“I advised you from the first day Su Muyu came to the manor that we should have killed him,” the white-robed man turned, his pale face bearing a cold smile—it was none other than the former Mu family head, Mu Zizhi.

“By that logic, if you had killed them directly at the Naming Ceremony back then, none of today’s troubles would exist,” Yi Bu retorted.

“Indeed. Today, let me complete what was left unfinished then.” Mu Zizhi walked out slowly. “Kill Su Changhe, reclaim the Sleeping Dragon Sword, and with me leading the Dark River, we can make a new deal, Sect Master Yi.”

Outside Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower.

Su Muyu was entangled in combat with the seven swordsmen, growing increasingly astonished as the fight progressed. Any one of these seven possessed skills matching that of Crow, yet since entering Tianqi City, the Shadow Sect had given him the impression that Crow was second only to Sect Master Yi Bu. And the archer on the third floor was clearly even more powerful than Crow.

“To think such exquisite swordplay exists in this world.” The archer watched with mounting amazement, drawing his bowstring taut but unable to find an opening to lose his arrow despite watching Su Muyu intently.

As Su Muyu fought the swordsmen, he kept aware of the archer above. But this slight distraction allowed one swordsman to find a gap in his defense, scoring a cut across his sleeve.

“Now!” The archer instantly released his arrow, which screamed through the air toward Su Muyu.

Su Muyu smiled, suddenly changing his sword stance and forcing his immediate opponent to retreat. The arrow pierced straight through that swordsman’s chest instead.

The earlier opening had been deliberately created by Su Muyu! He had used the archer’s arrow to break the sword formation that had contained him for so long. With only six of the original seven remaining, the formation became full of holes. Su Muyu’s sword flashed repeatedly, forcing the swordsmen to fall back.

“This grows more interesting.” The archer fired three arrows in quick succession, temporarily forcing Su Muyu back, then leaped down from the third floor. “Tell me your name.”

“Dark River, Su Muyu,” Su Muyu declared. “And yours?”

“Shadow Sect, Xie Zaiye.” The archer twirled his bow lightly. “I’ve heard of you—the Umbrella Ghost.”