Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 255 - 252: Spy?

Chapter 255: Chapter 252: Spy?

"How could it be so fast?"

The beautiful woman dared not make any further moves, lowering her head to glance at the sword edge against her neck, her heart filled with immense shock. Ye Xuan’s sword had been much faster than hers, and moreover, he had defeated her merely using the scabbard. Such strength, even if placed within the inner house of Xuanbing Mansion, would absolutely be among the ranks of top experts.

Disciples of Xuanbing Mansion were divided into two levels, those of the inner house and the outer house. Only by passing through numerous tests could one qualify to become a disciple of the inner house, and the beautiful woman herself was an inner house disciple.

"Stop! If you dare harm a single hair on Senior Sister Zhuo Qian, you’re dead!"

Seeing Ye Xuan place his sword against the beautiful woman’s neck, the other disciples of Xuanbing Mansion also began to shout.

"I’m sorry."

Ye Xuan’s response was somewhat unexpected. He withdrew the Spiritual Edge Sword, half the blade returning to its sheath, and then cupped his hands towards the beautiful woman in front of him, "It was all a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?"

Zhuo Qian looked at Ye Xuan with a mix of belief and doubt.

"I am here to find someone. It was just that your sect’s disciples attacked me without any explanation, and I was forced to defend myself. For any offense just now, I ask for your forgiveness." Ye Xuan was here to find Nangong Yao after all; he did not want to create any unnecessary conflicts with these Xuanbing Mansion disciples, so he took the initiative to apologize and took a step back in his approach.

"Is what he’s saying true?"

Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Zhuo Qian turned to look at the few disciples who were guarding the mountain previously.

"Uh... He said he was looking for Junior Sister Nangong Yao, and we thought he came to cause trouble. Senior Sister Zhuo, you know, in the Beichen Domain, there are too many people pursuing Junior Sister Nangong..." The mountain-guarding disciple said with a troubled expression.

"Who are you? Among the young talents pursuing Junior Sister Nangong, I don’t seem to recall seeing you before?" Zhuo Qian obviously thought of Ye Xuan as one of Nangong Yao’s suitors. Someone like Ye Xuan fighting at the gate was a first.

"My name is Ye Xuan. Everything will be clear once I see her."

Ye Xuan hadn’t expected Nangong Yao to be so popular, and from the other party’s tone, it seemed like the entire Beichen Domain was lining up to pursue Nangong Yao. When did that girl become so attractive?

"Ye Xuan? I remember now, you’re the person that Junior Sister Nangong can’t stop thinking about."

Zhuo Qian’s eyes lit up, and then a peculiar glint flashed in her eyes. There was no need for much doubt about someone impersonating him; even within Xuanbing Mansion, not many knew of Ye Xuan’s existence.

"I have a good relationship with Junior Sister Nangong, so I’ve heard about you."

Zhuo Qian narrowed her eyes and smiled, "I heard you are from the Tiannan Region, and it’s really hard to believe that such a figure could come from such a small place."

"You flatter me."

Ye Xuan sighed with relief; finally, he had encountered someone he could somewhat communicate with. However, when his gaze caught the expressions of the other disciples, he noticed many of them showing somewhat strange looks, which puzzled him.

"Ye Xuan, if you are a friend of Junior Sister Nangong, then you are also my friend. Come on, I will take you to see her now."

"Thank you very much."

Seeing Zhuo Qian’s change in attitude, becoming quite friendly, Ye Xuan internally sighed with relief, grateful that someone knowledgeable had appeared and the misunderstanding was finally resolved.

This woman was not only beautiful but also seemed to be quite nice. That girl Yaoer sure knew how to make friends.

Ye Xuan and Zhuo Qian entered Xuanbing Mansion, walking side by side, and soon found many topics in common as they disappeared into the depths of Xuanbing Mansion.

...

"It’s hard to believe that Senior Sister Zhuo Qian just said she and Junior Sister Nangong get along well; it’s surprising to hear such things from her mouth," a disciple of Xuanbing Mansion remarked with wonder after the two had completely faded from sight.

"Yeah, to say within the sect, although Junior Sister Nangong is extremely well-liked, it is well-known that Senior Sister Zhuo and Junior Sister Nangong have always had deep conflicts. How come she suddenly spoke such strange words in front of that guy today?"

"Who knows, it’s none of our business anyway. Speaking of which, that kid has some real skill, splitting open the Green Lotus Formation with a single stroke. If he had really decided to kill just now, we would probably all have been in danger."

Discussions arose, but as the disciples dispersed, the commotion soon settled down.

"Ye Xuan, I didn’t expect you to be listed in the Battle List at not even twenty years old. Within the inner house of our Xuanbing Mansion, there are only two people ranked in the Battle List. Although you are from the Tiannan Region, your talent is already considered first-rate in the Beichen Domain."

Zhuo Qian seemed quite happy to chat with Ye Xuan, her face always adorned with a gentle, shallow smile, as if touched by a breath of spring.

While walking and talking, the two had already reached the grounds of the inner court.

However, after a few exchanges, Ye Xuan noticed that Zhuo Qian seemed to be deliberately creating topics of conversation, and there was a hint of intentional flattery, which confused him somewhat. Even if she had a good relationship with Nangong Yao, it seemed unnecessary to go to such lengths, right?

"When things go awry, there’s usually a demon at play," thought Ye Xuan, who was always sensitive to his surroundings, especially since this was their first meeting. He felt her enthusiasm was a bit over the top.

Despite harboring such thoughts, he did not show it and simply became more vigilant.

"The Battle List is just a ranking of fighters from the extreme martial combat arena, and while it has some authority, I don’t believe the real top young masters would pay much attention to it," Ye Xuan doubted that one Battle List could encompass all the masters of the Chaotic Sea Domain; after all, the Battle List only had thirty-six names, and there are far more than thousands of top martial artists in the Chaotic Sea Domain.

"What you say does make sense," Zhuo Qian replied, still smiling gently, "Although many martial artists pay attention to the Battle List, in fact, more people focus not on it, but on the Master List created by Heavenly Mechanism Tower, which is older and involves more masters compared to the Battle List."

"Heavenly Mechanism Tower, Master List?"

Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly; he knew about Heavenly Mechanism Tower, one of the top fifteen Fourth Grade powers of the Chaotic Sea Domain, a rather mysterious force renowned for gathering information and having numerous strong followers. It was on top of the hierarchy among the fifteen great powers, even stronger than Xuanbing Mansion.

"The Master List, as the name suggests, only includes masters of the Martial Sect level. It ranks five hundred people, and according to Heavenly Mechanism Tower, these are the five hundred most formidable Masters," Zhuo Qian explained.

"A five-hundred-person Master List? Heavenly Mechanism Tower really is imposing."

Ye Xuan couldn’t help but express his astonishment; a Battle List that only ranked thirty-six people was already no small feat, so what a sight it must be for the Master List that ranks five hundred?

"The Master List encompasses all the Martial Sect Masters of the Chaotic Sea Domain, and the rankings are precise. The head of my Xuanbing Mansion is ranked ninth," Zhuo Qian said with a smile, "With your talent, Brother Ye, entering the Master List should just be a matter of time."

"Perhaps."

Ye Xuan neither agreed nor disagreed; even if the Master List ranked as many as five hundred people, climbing onto it was no easy feat, and for Ye Xuan to break in at the four or five hundredth position would not be very meaningful, especially since with his current strength, it would be difficult to even achieve that rank.

As Ye Xuan was pondering, they had reached a martial arts training square, where many disciples with strong auras were practicing their Martial Arts. At that moment, Zhuo Qian’s always-present gentle smile vanished from her face, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes as she suddenly revealed half a dagger from her sleeve, thrusting it fiercely towards Ye Xuan’s back.

The moment the dagger was thrust, a sinister smile crossed Zhuo Qian’s face.

But just as the dagger was about to pierce Ye Xuan’s back, two fingers suddenly clamped down on the sparkling cold blade, its sharp edge unable to advance even a fraction of an inch.

"How is that possible?"

Zhuo Qian’s face changed dramatically; she hadn’t expected Ye Xuan to react so quickly and detect her sneak attack under these circumstances.

How did he find out?

Bang!

A surge of powerful energy transmitted from the dagger caused Zhuo Qian’s wrist to ache fiercely, forcing her to let go of the dagger as she retreated rapidly.

Ye Xuan snatched the dagger away and then flung it to the side, where it firmly embedded into the trunk of a nearby tree.

"I have no grudge with you, and yet you seek to kill me upon our first meeting; you seem to have a particularly cruel heart," said Ye Xuan, having been aware of Zhuo Qian’s murderous intent the moment it emerged, not to mention he had been on his guard all along. Zhuo Qian was not a trained assassin, and thus she was unlikely to hurt him.

If it were someone else, perhaps her attack would have been successful.

But still, Ye Xuan found it strange. With no prior connection to Xuanbing Mansion, why would Zhuo Qian attempt to kill him? It was utterly baffling.

"You need not understand, for the dead need not comprehend anything," said Zhuo Qian coldly, a failed attack leaving her expression exceptionally frosty as she added with a cold laugh.

"Dead? Do you think you can kill me?" Ye Xuan frowned slightly.

"I alone certainly can’t, but we are in the inner court; there’s no need for me to take action."

A sly look crossed Zhuo Qian’s face, followed by her striking her own chest with a palm, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She then let out a strange laugh before calling out to the martial arts square, "People, an Evil Wind Cave Heaven spy has infiltrated our midst!"

Her words spread, and Ye Xuan’s face changed abruptly, cursing inwardly at the viciousness of the woman, resorting to such despicable means to deal with him!

But before Ye Xuan could act, over a dozen figures shot out from the martial arts square. These people, all inner court disciples of Xuanbing Mansion, had the strongest among them boasting strength perhaps no less than that of Sima Nan, maybe even stronger—with the might of the Battle List, they now surrounded Ye Xuan on all sides.