In an instant, the sky and earth changed color. In the space of a single breath, the entire horizon seemed as though something had blotted out the sun and moon.

Dark and pressing — a terrifying column of figures.

“Heavens, they can fly!” What Feng Jiu’er meant by flying was, of course, not that they were truly airborne — but that every single one of them had their arms spread wide, as though they had wings.

They moved across rooftops and treetops, sweeping past with a speed that was simply frightening.

Propelled by the rushing air currents and their own mastery of lightness technique, the two forces combined to carry them along faster than any actual bat.

A crowd of people — at least twenty or thirty — moving in such a formation. Terrifying.

Mu Mu and Feng Jiu’er immediately readied themselves for battle. But to their surprise, every single one of those figures swept across the rooftops without stopping — not one of them had any intention of pausing.

Their target was not the two of them.

Mu Mu and Jiu’er exchanged a glance. In the blink of an eye, the figures had vanished entirely without a trace — a testament to their extraordinary speed.

After a moment of silence, Mu Mu’s expression turned grave. “Let’s go and see.”

“Right.” Feng Jiu’er was already thinking the same thing.

In broad daylight, beneath the very shadow of the imperial city — for a group like this to appear was no good omen, no matter who their target might be.

The two of them lightly touched their feet to the ground and immediately gave chase in the direction those figures had gone, moving at a rapid pace.

“Your lightness technique is better than I anticipated.” Mu Mu glanced down at the young woman moving at his side, a quiet warmth hidden in his eyes.

“Still a hundred thousand leagues behind yours.” Feng Jiu’er drew a deep breath and kept moving, genuinely a little disgruntled.

She had been working so hard — yet compared to him and the Ninth Imperial Uncle, those truly formidable fighters, the gap was still vast.

Take right now: she was pushing herself to her absolute limit just to move at this speed, while Mu Mu looked as though he was strolling, yet he was faster and steadier than her all the same.

He even had attention to spare to watch her, while she — if she tried the same, she’d likely miss a step and plunge right off the edge.

And then there was the matter of how fast he was moving, yet he was perfectly composed, not the slightest flush on his face, not even a hint of labored breathing. She, on the other hand, had nearly lost her footing the moment she opened her mouth to speak.

“You are improving rapidly. To have come this far in such a short time of training — you are genuinely one in ten thousand.”

Mu Mu was not one to praise people without reason — that much Feng Jiu’er at least knew.

Fine. She could only blame the fact that she had not been training for very long. If she kept this up, perhaps someday she truly would be able to stand at their level.

At the very least — to truly keep pace with them.

Ahead, the mist was heavy. Though it was already broad daylight and had been light for some time, the air ahead seemed blanketed by a thick layer of haze. It was impossible to make out what lay beneath it.

Feng Jiu’er was about to press forward when Mu Mu suddenly grabbed her by the arm.

Jiu’er lost her balance and was yanked back sharply, colliding solidly against his chest with a thud — nearly stunning her completely.

“What are you—”

“A powerful fighter.” Mu Mu’s expression was grave. He tossed her up onto a rooftop and said in a low voice, “Don’t run off. Wait for me here.”

With that, he shot forward in a single burst — clearly faster than the pace they had been traveling.

Jiu’er steadied herself and looked at his figure disappearing into the mist in an instant. She understood at once: whoever awaited him in there was going to be no easy opponent.

The gravity on Mu Mu’s face said everything.

Though having her stay put and behave herself — that was probably not something she was capable of.

She was wearing her Heavenly Silkworm garment anyway. What was there to fear?

She swept along the rooftop and had taken only a few steps when she sensed that the mist ahead had changed.

Without warning, another tremendous force surged into being — and when the two powers clashed, heaven and earth shuddered.

That was Mu Mu — crossing blades with whoever was in there. What unnerved Jiu’er was that Mu Mu had called upon his deepest reserves of inner power.

He always kept his true strength carefully concealed. He would not tap into it unless there was absolutely no other choice.

And now — all ten tenths of it were in use.

Jiu’er had just started moving forward when, with a thunderous boom, a violent palm force erupted outward from the battle at the heart of the mist. Feng Jiu’er’s pupils constricted; she immediately leapt back.

One crack after another — the roof where she had been standing moments ago, and the treetops surrounding it, were swept by the force of that palm. Trees with trunks this thick — several of them in a row — were snapped clean in two at the middle.

Feng Jiu’er sucked in a sharp breath. She lifted her hand and wiped the back of it across her forehead — sure enough, it came away cold with sweat.

She stared at the broken branches and felt her heart still pounding.

It was a good thing she had pulled back in time. If she hadn’t, her own waist might well have fared the same as those tree trunks — split in two by that palm force.

What a terrifying palm strike.

The mist ahead had thinned considerably. The two entangled forces of inner power gradually quieted, and she could even see those black-clad figures — like bats — sweeping away one by one, departing in all directions.

That powerful fighter had left.

Jiu’er moved quickly to meet them and found Mu Mu standing on the ground. Behind him, a group of people she could not quite see were clustered together, shielding someone — while Mu Mu alone stood before all of them. It was clear that the exchange just now had been between him and the other fighter.

“How are you? Are you injured?” Jiu’er dropped down beside him. Seeing that his face had gone somewhat pale, she grew even more uneasy.

Someone as formidable as Mu Mu had still taken damage — just what kind of person was this, with such overwhelming power?

“I’m fine. He is injured as well.” Mu Mu said, with a rare hint of wounded pride.

Feng Jiu’er caught it and her feelings grew complicated. This was the first time she had ever seen a trace of something so childlike and petulant flicker across the brow of the ever-composed, ever-distant Mu Mu.

So this man was not truly without feeling after all — even he had moments of temper.

Mu Mu reined his emotions in quickly and returned to the calm, steady man he always was.

“The First Assassin of the Bei Mu nation — Jue Yan.” He raised a hand and wiped away the thin trail of blood that had slipped from the corner of his lips.

He cast a cold glance in the direction Jue Yan had retreated before saying, “Go and look at him. He appears to be badly wounded.”

“Him?” Jiu’er was still turning over the matter of Jue Yan when his words drew her attention. She turned to look—

And the sight startled her.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!” The person being shielded by the guards, now lying on the ground, had a sword through his chest, blood flowing freely.

If not Zhan Yuheng, who else?

What truly alarmed Jiu’er was that his attendants were about to lift him and carry him back for treatment — which was no different from ending his life.

“Don’t touch him!” Jiu’er moved quickly, pushing aside the guard who had been about to help Zhan Yuheng up. “Do not move him. You will worsen his injury.”

The guards looked at each other, and none dared to move again.

Qing Yun, nearly frantic with panic, said, “Miss Jiu’er, we need to bring His Highness back for the imperial physicians to treat him! His Highness has been run through the chest by Jue Yan’s sword. He is in critical condition — if the imperial physicians don’t treat him, his chances of survival are slim!”