At the Imperial Observatory, a white-haired man in Daoist robes rose to his feet.

“Master,” the Daoist priests seated around him bowed their heads in unison.

“That was quite a long nap.” The man lightly shook his horsetail whisk and yawned, taking one step forward to cross beyond the Star Pavilion, and with another step, he was outside the Imperial Observatory.

“Where are you headed, Imperial Advisor?” a young Daoist attendant at the gate asked softly.

“To visit an old friend.” The Imperial Advisor flicked his whisk once more and vanished.

The young attendant rubbed his eyes: “The Imperial Advisor remains as mysterious as ever.”

At the western edge of Tianqi City lay a place of absolute silence in the night—the location of the imperial tombs.

The greatest imperial tomb in all the realm.

The Northern Li Imperial Mausoleum.

Though the mausoleum was guarded by the Imperial Army and overseen by the five most powerful supervisors of the previous dynasty, with common folk giving it a wide berth of three li, Qi Tianchen appeared directly before it. Before him stood a figure in a black cloak.

It was the same person who had met Su Muyu in the Shadow Prison.

“So it’s the Imperial Advisor,” the figure said in a deep voice.

“I had a dream last night about Eunuch Zhuqing. On a whim, I came to seek you out for a game of chess,” the Imperial Advisor said with a slight bow and smile.

So this was Eunuch Zhuqing, chief of the previous dynasty’s Five Supervisors, once the palace’s greatest warrior and Tianqi City’s most powerful figure. Throughout Northern Li’s history, to balance court politics, enormous power was granted to the eunuch faction, leading to the Eunuch Rebellion several generations ago. To prevent such occurrences, subsequent emperors decreed that upon their death, their Five Supervisors must guard their tomb, never leaving without cause. Despite Zhuqing’s unmatched martial arts and authority among recent generations of supervisors, he couldn’t escape this fate. Since Emperor Tai’an’s passing, he had remained at the mausoleum—or so it appeared to outsiders.

Eunuch Zhuqing smiled, touching the jade ring on his finger: “The Imperial Advisor certainly knows how to pick his moments.”

“I’m not only good at picking moments, but also at stalling for time,” the Imperial Advisor replied with his usual faint smile.

“Pity that while the Imperial Advisor has his dreams, Zhuqing lacks such refined interests tonight.” Eunuch Zhuqing stepped forward.

“According to the ancestral decree, tomb-guarding eunuchs may not leave the mausoleum by even half a step, yet Eunuch Zhuqing has just taken another step,” the Imperial Advisor raised his whisk, pointing behind Zhuqing, “not counting those seventy, eighty, ninety, hundred steps…”

“Some things lose their meaning when stated too plainly,” Eunuch Zhuqing said gravely.

“Indeed. Some things lose their meaning when stated too plainly.” The Imperial Advisor nodded, still not retreating a single step.

“It seems the Imperial Advisor is determined to stop me today.” Eunuch Zhuqing lifted his head slightly.

The Imperial Advisor pulled out a sugar cake from his robes and took a bite: “Not necessarily. I truly just want to play chess.”

“If we were to fight, all of Tianqi City would tremble,” Eunuch Zhuqing sighed softly.

“Not since Bai Li Dongjun and Ye Ding’s battle atop the Imperial City has Tianqi City seen such excitement,” the Imperial Advisor said, munching on his sugar cake. “Or rather, some excitement occurs at night and ends by dawn, unseen by many.”

Eunuch Zhuqing took half a step back, his right hand lifting slightly, seeming torn between returning to the mausoleum and charging forward.

The Imperial Advisor finished his sugar cake and tapped his foot lightly on the ground, slowly forming the pattern of the Eight Trigrams.

“If Master Li hadn’t struck my head that year, I would truly fight the Imperial Advisor today.” Eunuch Zhuqing sighed, lowering his right hand and turning around. “I wonder if Master Li foresaw this, or if he simply wanted to bully me.”

“Don’t overthink it—he just wanted to bully you.” The Imperial Advisor patted Eunuch Zhuqing’s shoulder. “Playing chess with me will be more interesting.”

At the Grand Minister’s Manor, Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower.

Xie Zaiye loosed three more arrows. Now only ten zhang separated him from Su Muyu, and his arrows reached their target almost as soon as the bowstring sang.

Su Muyu parried with his sword, but the arrows’ force was overwhelming. Each impact sent shockwaves through his sword hand, forcing him to abandon offense for defense and retreat repeatedly. Though he had encountered many legendary swordsmen and blade masters in his life, such formidable archers were typically found only on battlefields. This was his first encounter with one.

“Not bad. Without these six providing support, I alone couldn’t kill you.” Xie Zaiye drew seven arrows from his quiver, nocked them, and aimed at Su Muyu. “But this Seven Stars Chain technique, you definitely cannot survive.”

“Seven Stars Chain?” Su Muyu froze.

“The very shot that took the Tower King’s life at the Battle of Louluo City! Seven Stars Chain is wasted on a mere Dark River assassin!” Xie Zaiye shouted and released his bowstring.

The six swordsmen surrounding Su Muyu scattered at his cry. Su Muyu hurriedly deflected the first arrow but was thrown back seven steps. Another arrow arrived immediately after, and though he blocked it, he felt his qi churning violently—this arrow’s force was nearly double the first!

Could it be that each of the seven arrows would be seven times stronger?

By the third arrow, Su Muyu had confirmed his theory, but he heard a crisp crack—his sword had developed a notch. One more arrow would shatter it completely, leaving him defenseless against the final three arrows and certain death.

At this moment, Su Muyu suddenly stood still, twirling his sword slowly, changing his stance.

Very slowly, very gently.

He traced a circle.

Forming the Eight Trigrams.

Then he “guided” the fourth arrow away—not blocking or deflecting it, but letting it flow along his sword’s path.

“This is…” Xie Zaiye frowned. “Taiji Sword?”

Su Muyu drew another deep breath and met the fifth arrow. This proved more difficult than the last, but he still successfully “guided” it away.

“An assassin, using the world’s slowest and gentlest sword technique.” Xie Zaiye said, puzzled.

When the sixth arrow came, Su Muyu tried to repeat his previous success, but his sword finally shattered upon contact. In a panic, he abandoned the broken blade and dodged sideways—the arrow only grazed his shoulder.

But the seventh arrow remained.

At that moment, Su Muyu leaped into the air.

A paper umbrella appeared as if from nowhere.

Su Muyu grabbed its handle and swept it downward. The umbrella collided with the final arrow with a thunderous “bang,” blooming like a flower. Seventeen blades shot forth, completely neutralizing the arrow’s force and rushing toward Xie Zaiye!