Those towering figures who once graced the grand hall, those hands that seemed to easily decide the life and death, glory and shame of tens of thousands, actually trembled slightly when picking up that piece of paper.
Every word was familiar to them.
Because the letter was written by a hidden spy, a shadow without a past, nor a future. Their handwriting bore no distinctive features, because features meant clarity, meant being recognized.
Recognition would mean death.
Their hands could emulate the handwriting of anyone under heaven, but now, those with different faces, different ages, different experiences in life, had written characters, each stroke, each corner, soft, upright, elegant, all soaked in blood.
The pervasive murderous aura emanated from the distant desolate Great Desert, piercing through thousands of miles, quietly blooming in the redwood tower lit by scented candles, still fierce, still deadly, as if tinged with the chill of the Northern Desert.
"Wang Anfeng of the Divine Martial Mansion passed Xiong City by twenty thousand miles." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelFɪre.net
"He appeared in Jiqu Country, a Fourth Rank assassin suddenly attacked him among the populace, took one sword strike, killed with Palm Power, coughing blood, no civilian casualties, unimpeded, drank tea and left, the city lord escorted him seven miles outside the city, dared not retreat."
"And encountered an ambush outside the forest."
"On this day, five hundred Xiongnu Tribal armored soldiers, along with one valiant general, died outside the city."
"The waves of Red River stained with blood, stench persisted for several days, renamed Red River, amidst heaven and earth phenomena, like fiery clouds, visible to tens of thousands over 180 miles."
"Master of Divine Martial left the Western Regions."
"There were formations by former noble clans from East State blocking his way."
"Master of Divine Martial did not draw his sword, struck across with the sword scabbard, shattered mountain rocks for ten miles."
"Faces of the crowd pale, retreated."
"Mansion Master passed..."
"... obstruction..., slashed them all."
"Retreated, not killed."
"Those blocking the path ahead, slashed... "
Heaven Capital City · Imperial Palace.
Li QiWu laid down the letter in hand.
On it, those teary and bloodless spies wrote names on the letter, transitioning from the son of Wang Tiance, to Wang Anfeng, and then to Divine Martial Wang Anfeng, now merely two simple characters, Mansion Master.
Mansion Master had traversed thirty thousand miles of Western Regions, passing through seventeen countries.
Retreated not killed.
Those not retreating were all slain.
No one was able to block...
Xun Qiong raised his head, water moistened his throat, instead felt somewhat prickly.
In pursuit all the way, his martial arts were not particularly strong, by now already exhausted, it can be said, if not for the heavy obstruction that the Master of Divine Martial faced, constantly people fearlessly blocking him, he would have lost his trail.
Yet now, with his strength, he could manage to barely follow behind, never intercepted.
But what is the Mansion Master aiming to do?
Not afraid of being discovered by the King of Dichi?
He had also hesitated and been curious before, but now understood, knowing it made his heart feel a shade of schadenfreude.
What good would knowing do for the Xiongnu? Master of Divine Martial always followed behind, the King of Dichi never had time or space for maneuvering, only fear and oppression, escalating fear and oppression, feelings that press increasingly heavily over time.
Often, such fear could break one's spirit even more than a life-and-death situation.
Just thinking of a peerless martial artist followed closely behind, swallowing every attempt to stop, like sinking into a swamp, without a trace, anyone would despair.
He suddenly recalled, through psychological pressure, making the opponent gradually lose will and stamina, along with one's strength difficult to exert. This was the battle tactic Xiongnu's Iron Cavalry excelled in, mimicking wolves hunting on the grasslands.
The Khan King of Xiongnu, in the end, fell into the Xiongnu's battle tactic, utterly exhausted, poorly looking.
Unknown what will the Mansion Master face next, what decision will he make?
By now no one dared to stand in front of the Mansion Master, right?
Xun Qiong actually had grown fatigued, yet fortunately, perhaps the weight of these pieces of information was too great, overwhelming enough that anyone who witnessed would remain shocked, he persisted along the route, despite exhaustion, surprisingly not encountering combat.
As he mused, his heart on the contrary felt somewhat joyful, momentarily did not feel tired, sitting at a roadside restaurant table, wolfing down meat pie and meat soup with abandon, thinking of the Mansion Master's meals during these few days.
Even top-level masters surely could not do without eating and drinking, right?
At that moment, he overheard an enthusiastic conversation from nearby:
"Have you heard? Have you heard?"
"Thirty-six major sects seem to be gathering ahead, intending to stop him."
"What? Do not joke about this, it is no small matter!"
"Who's joking? Among the top ten sword sects, Stellar Sword Sect, Liaolan Sword Sect, Goshawk Sword of Huohe Mountain all have elite disciples appearing, along with other disciples, hehe, surely some master or elder from these sects who couldn't sit still planned to intervene."
"Everyone knows, the Mansion Master moves against the Xiongnu, but such action sweeps over our Western Regions Jianghu? Someone viewing this unfavorably, is indeed natural."
Xun Qiong's expression suddenly hardened, then before his thoughts could fully engage, his body had already chosen, jumped up, striding forward, saying: