Chapter 106: Life Is Like a Play, Everything Depends on Acting Skills

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At the peak of a mountain…

Zhou Shu pointed his saber at the ground. Several meters away, the black-robed figure stood there, his chest stained with blood.

“Who exactly are you?” the black-robed figure said hoarsely.

“Why don’t you tell me first?” Zhou Shu laughed coldly.

He was seriously suspecting that this black-robed man was Zhu Chuanfeng’s helper.

Otherwise, why would such an expert suddenly appear in the forest near the capital?

Moreover, this fellow wanted to assassinate Yin Wuyou earlier!

If he was someone from Great Xia, why would he assassinate Yin Wuyou?

Zhou Shu wanted to capture or kill this black-robed man, but his cultivation was extremely high.

He had used all of his abilities and had even used a technique that would injure both sides. Only then did he manage to injure the black-robed man.

Even so, he was almost injured.

The eighth level of the Golden Bell Shield Technique was unable to completely block his opponent’s attack. If Zhou Shu hadn’t reacted quickly and used the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form to attack his opponent’s consciousness, causing his attack to deviate slightly, he would have been injured already.

Zhou Shu understood that with his current cultivation, injuring the black-robed man was his limit. Killing him would be very difficult.

It was nigh impossible to capture him alive.

The black-robed man’s entire face was covered in his black robe, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes. He stared at Zhou Shu for a long time before saying coldly, “We will meet again!”

Then the black-robed man disappeared on the spot with a puff of black smoke.

Zhou Shu didn’t see clearly how this fellow disappeared!

You won’t be leaving so easily the next time we meet.

He thought that the high-level martial artists of this world had all sorts of strange abilities. These people couldn’t be underestimated.

After confirming that the black-robe person had already disappeared, Zhou Shu quickly disappeared from where he stood with a flash.

Not long after he left, several figures appeared at the mountain peak. Among them were the Divine Constable Bureau’s Grand Commander Ma Fengzhang and Yin Wuyou.

Zhu Chuanfeng was already dead, so Ma Fengzhang naturally didn’t have to guard against him coming into contact with Great Wei’s diplomatic envoys. Thus, he was able to come and assist Yin Wuyou.

“Two experts had indeed fought here,” Ma Fengzhang said in a low voice. “It seems that their cultivation levels are not below mine.”

They were both third-rank martial artists, but there was a huge gap between Ma Fengzhang’s and Yin Wuyou’s strength.

Yin Wuyou was only a beginner third-rank martial artist, while Ma Fengzhang was already at the peak of the third rank and only one step away from the second rank of the Martial Dao.

If their cultivation was not weaker than his, didn’t this mean that the weakest among them was at the peak of the third rank?

Maybe even second rank?

They didn’t suspect that these experts were first-rank martial artists. It wasn’t so easy to encounter first-rank martial artists.

“Commander Ma, I stabbed the mysterious expert previously. Would this affect his strength?” Yin Wuyou said worriedly. She was extremely vexed now. Why did she stab him?

Ma Fengzhang knew who the mysterious expert Yin Wuyou was talking about was. This person had helped Great Xia several times, so Ma Fengzhang was very curious about who he was.

“I don’t know.” Ma Fengzhang shook his head. “But from the looks of it, the victor wasn’t decided. They left separately in the end.”

“Then, can we find this senior? I wish to apologize to him,” Yin Wuyou said.

Ma Fengzhang shook his head without saying anything.

Previously, Yin Wuyou and the others were able to catch up to this person, so this person must have deliberately left traces.

But now, the other party had left no traces at all. How was he to track him?

If such an expert was unwilling to be tracked, then no one would be able to catch up to him.

Ma Fengzhang didn’t expect that it wasn’t that Zhou Shu deliberately left traces but that he didn’t have full control of his own strength yet.

After the battle with the black-robed man, Zhou Shu was much more familiar with his own strength.

Paying a little extra attention, he had already erased all his traces.

“Your Highness, since this person is unwilling to reveal his identity, we shouldn’t push him too hard.”

Ma Fengzhang pondered, “As for the black-robed man who assassinated you, Your Highness, I wonder what his background is?”

Ma Fengzhang carefully observed the traces of the battle. One side used a saber, and the saber intent was obviously the same as the saber intent in the capital’s Saber Cave, except that it was many times stronger.

The other party used a sword, but the sword intent had already dissipated. It was as if the other party had done it intentionally. From the traces of the scene, it was impossible to determine the other party’s identity.

Of course, the other party might also be an expert that he didn’t know about.

After all, there were countless experts in the world. Even he, Ma Fengzhang, couldn’t possibly know all of them.

“Hmph, he took advantage of the situation to try to attack me. If he dares to come again, I will personally capture him!” Yin Wuyou harrumphed. If her attention hadn’t been on the mysterious expert, how could she have been so easily ambushed?

Speaking of which, she also felt a little embarrassed. She was a third-rank Grandmaster and was almost ambushed!

Even if the other party’s cultivation was higher than her, it was still embarrassing.

She couldn’t wait for the other party to assassinate her again. That way, she could win a round.

“This person might be related to Great Wei’s diplomatic envoys. But there’s only one third-rank Grandmaster in the Great Wei’s diplomatic mission team. He doesn’t seem like the person who assassinated you, Your Highness…” Ma Fengzhang continued.

A middle-aged man who came with Ma Fengzhang and Yin Wuyou suddenly said, “Perhaps there are other experts hidden in the Great Wei’s diplomatic mission team.”

He was the deputy general of the Fiend Eradication Army. This time, he was the one leading the team to cooperate with the Divine Constable Bureau.

“That’s possible.” Ma Fengzhang nodded. “Great Wei’s diplomatic mission team came with ill intentions. But so what if there’s a third-rank Grandmaster hiding among them after they enter the city tomorrow?

“In the imperial capital of Great Xia, the dragons have to be coiled, and the tigers have to lie low!”

Ma Fengzhang’s eyes shone brightly.

He was truly enraged. Assassinating the princess of Great Xia in the imperial capital? How many years had it been since such a thing had happened?!

Luckily, nothing happened to the princess. Otherwise, as the Divine Constable Bureau’s commander, even if he died ten thousand times, he wouldn’t be able to escape the blame!

“Your Highness, Zhu Chuanfeng has already been killed, but there are still many things that need to be dealt with. I must return to the capital immediately to report. Please return to the capital as well, Your Highness.” Ma Fengzhang cupped his hands.

Ma Fengzhang didn’t dare to leave Yin Wuyou alone in the wilderness before finding out the black-robed man’s identity.

“Let’s go.” Yin Wuyou waved her hand. She also wanted to return to the Forging Division to see if Zhou Shu had returned.

Although the mysterious expert had said that Zhou Shu was fine, she still needed to see him to feel at ease.

1

…

In the 0th Workshop, the moment Zhou Shu returned, he immediately took off his clothes and threw them into the smelting furnace.

Speaking of which, if he didn’t become the superintendent of the workshop, he wouldn’t even be able to change his clothes.

Pretending to be mysterious is a little troublesome…

I wonder who that fellow is. He is really not weak. To be able to kill him, I will need to reach perfection in the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and improve my Heavenly Saber Art as well. I feel that fellow held back just now.

Although he had injured the black-robed man, it was because the black-robed man hadn’t expected him to be protected by the Golden Bell Shield Technique. In terms of true strength, the black-robed man was perhaps a bit stronger than Zhou Shu.

Furthermore, he had some strange abilities. If they really fought to the death, it was hard to say who would win.

At the time, neither Zhou Shu nor the black-robed man wanted to fight for too long, which was why they had ended the battle so quickly.

They both knew that with their strength, if they really wanted to decide a life and death battle, it wasn’t something that could be done in a short period of time. At that time, Ma Fengzhang and the others would definitely have arrived.

It’s a pity that the Breakthrough Pill can only be eaten once. It’s useless to eat more—

Zhou Shu’s gaze naturally fell on the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber he had brought back.

The blade had been broken into countless pieces. What Zhou Shu had brought back was only the hilt.

Using standard weapons to fight against experts was still somewhat disadvantageous.

I only gave out one Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber, the one in Yin Wuyou’s hands.

Zhou Shu’s gaze shifted to the wooden chest beside the furnace.

Inside were all the Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers that he had forged recently.

The saber in Yin Wuyou’s hand was unlikely to fall into Zhu Chuanfeng’s hands. Where did Zhu Chuanfeng get this saber from then?

Zhou Shu looked hesitant.

Actually, it was very simple to confirm.

He knew exactly how many Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers he had forged himself. As long as he counted the number of Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers in this box, he would know if there were any missing.

There was no problem with the safety of the Forging Division’s workshops. If a thief could get in this place so easily, then how could Great Xia’s weapons be kept secret?

Therefore, it was almost impossible for outsiders to steal weapons from here.

Even though Zhu Chuanfeng was a Grand Craftsman, he had never been to the 0th Workshop before. Even if he had come, he wouldn’t have had the chance to obtain Zhou Shu’s weapon.

…. Unless someone had given it to him.

There weren’t many people in the 0th Workshop. Each and every one of them had completed the forging task with Zhou Shu before. They could be considered friends who had gone through thick and thin together.

Zhou Shu really didn’t want to doubt any of them!

Just as Zhou Shu was staring blankly at the box, Zhang Yibei’s report came from outside. “Superintendent, the Grand Minister is here.”

Yin Wuyou is here? Zhou Shu’s lips curled up slightly when he thought about what Yin Wuyou had done outside the city.

Although he knew Yin Wuyou might not have been worried about him because of personal feelings, it still felt good to have someone care about him.

He threw the hilt into the box and walked to the front yard.

Yin Wuyou came alone. When she saw Zhou Shu, she was clearly relieved.

“How did you come back?” Yin Wuyou asked bluntly.

“I walked back.” Zhou Shu knew what Yin Wuyou meant, but he still feigned ignorance.

“Nonsense!” Yin Wuyou couldn’t help saying. She looked around and waved her hand to get the other Forging Apprentices to leave. Then she said, “I’m asking you how you escaped from Zhu Chuanfeng!”

“Oh, that. A masked man saved me and took Zhu Chuanfeng away,” Zhou Shu said.

“In that case, why didn’t we meet you?” Yin Wuyou asked.

Actually, Zhou Shu also knew that there were many loopholes in this matter. But fortunately, he could push all the fault to the mysterious expert.

“I don’t know if the masked man was trying to save me or torture me. He left me in the deep mountains and forests. It wasn’t easy for me to walk back. My clothes were all torn.” Zhou Shu spread his hands. “I wanted to report to the Divine Constable Bureau. But after thinking about it, I decided to come back and change my clothes first…”

Yin Wuyou frowned and stared at Zhou Shu.

Zhou Shu calmly met her gaze. Yes, a feast for the eyes…

After a long while, Yin Wuyou nodded. “It’s good that you’re fine. Don’t run around in the next few days. There might be an important mission assigned to you.”

After Yin Wuyou finished speaking, she walked out.

She had just taken two steps when she suddenly turned around. Then a beam of light shot toward Zhou Shu.

Swoosh!

The tip of the saber was only one millimeter away from Zhou Shu’s throat.

Yin Wuyou held the hilt of her sword firmly in the air.

An expression of fear and panic appeared on Zhou Shu’s face.

“G-Grand Minister—” Zhou Shu’s voice was trembling slightly. He had perfectly portrayed a frightened Forging Apprentice.

He gave himself nine points for his acting!

Yin Wuyou narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Shu for a while.

Swoosh!

With a flick of her wrist, she returned her sword to its sheath.

“It’s nothing,” Yin Wuyou said lightly and left…

Zhou Shu was just about to say something to her back when his expression suddenly changed slightly. Then without any hesitation, he turned around and rushed into the backyard.

After rushing into his room in the backyard, Zhou Shu directly shut the door and windows.

After doing all of this, a faint golden light appeared on his body.

Not only that, but the muscles all over his body swelled and contracted as he breathed, then they swelled and contracted again and again, as if all the cells in his body were breathing.

[You receive a reward of two years of cultivation because the Huben Saber you forged effectively completed a kill!]

…

[The Spring Embroidered Saber you forged effectively completed a kill. The Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form Technique has improved by 30%!]

…

[The Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber you forged effectively completed a kill. The Heavenly Saber Art has improved by 5%!]

…

[The Horse Slaying Saber you forged effectively completed a kill. The Golden Bell Shield Technique has improved by 10%!]

…

In an instant, countless messages flashed past his eyes.

The Legendary Armament Canon automatically appeared, and the pages flipped. The Huben Saber, Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber, Horse Slaying Saber, and Spring Embroidered Saber kept flashing.

Several different types of power surged into his body at the same time. Zhou Shu felt as if his body had been reborn, then torn apart.

He could clearly sense that he was constantly becoming stronger. His aura erupted uncontrollably, and a tornado-like cyclone formed around his body.

Crack!

All of the wooden objects in the room were shattered at almost the same time before being pulverized by the tornado.

If Zhou Shu hadn’t been controlling it with all his might, this tornado might have even broken through the wall. If that had happened, the commotion would have been even greater.

If Yin Wuyou saw this scene, he would be completely exposed.

Fortunately, he was just a little bit away from being exposed.

However, it was really difficult. He was just that close.. Acting was also a skill.

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