"Everyone, take care of yourselves."
Chen Fenglei took the private elevator down again; a car from Beehive was waiting in the basement.
Nobody knew that the Chief Steward of Phoenix Palace had been here.
The Chief Steward of Phoenix Palace shouldn’t be here, much less on the territory of New Star, the largest assassin organization.
After Chen Fenglei left, the maid beside Tuoba Zhiyin indignantly said, "Palace Master, they were too rude. Should we..."
"Ridiculous. Who is he? Whom does he represent? If you kill him, we won’t survive, and neither will this place..." Tuoba Zhiyin looked at the plain girl beside her and continued, "No matter how strong an individual is, they can’t contend with the state machinery."
"Yes," the maid said unwillingly, "I was just upset because he was disrespectful to you, Palace Master."
"Being angry is useless," Tuoba Zhiyin declared. "We are like chamber pots—useful occasionally, but when unnecessary, we are a shame to keep around, needing constant effort to hide away."
"Once they replace us with modern toilets, chamber pots lose their value. Then, it’s time for them to discard you, whether they smash and bury you or leave you to fend for yourself... Our fate was never in our hands."
The maid remained silent.
Wasn’t this the truth of their fate?
They came knocking, and you had no choice but to comply...
Doing poorly was even worse.
"Moreover, Chen Fenglei is not that easy to kill. Have you ever seen him fight? Or do we have any intelligence documents in our archives about him fighting anyone?"
"But wasn’t it said that his abilities are mediocre... only securing favor through flattering skills..."
"Rumors are just that, rumors. The position of Chief Steward isn’t just for anyone. Especially since he has served two Kings..."
Tuoba Zhiyin, with a deep glance, warned, "Remember, never speak such foolish words again, and don’t show any hostility in front of him. You overreacted just now."
"Yes, I, Hong Nuan, acknowledge my fault."
"Well, it’s a common reaction, you can’t be blamed. I’m saying these things for your own good." Tuoba Zhiyin turned and asked the maid, "Where is Xie Pianxian?"
"In the Recovery Cabin," the maid responded.
Tuoba Zhiyin nodded and walked towards the underground section of the clubhouse.
In the Recovery Cabin, steam filled the air and a beautifully handsome man with his upper body bare lay silently inside.
His eyes were tightly closed, as if deep in sleep.
The cabin emitted a crisp notification sound, indicating that a treatment session had ended.
The cabin door adjusted from a reclining to a standing position, and the person inside also changed from lying down to standing.
The cabin door opened, and Xie Pianxian stepped out.
Tuoba Zhiyin, looking at his entire body drenched in sweat, flicked her finger lightly, tossing a white robe towards him.
Xie Pianxian caught the robe and put it on, then said to Tuoba Zhiyin, "Sister."
"Are you feeling better?" Tuoba Zhiyin asked.
Despite bearing the surnames "Xie" and "Tuoba,"
no one knew that they were actually siblings.
Both were orphans, adopted by the same person, living together day and night, sharing deep emotional bonds.
Of course, Tuoba Zhiyin, as the master of the Wuyou Palace, had an extremely secretive identity.
And Xie Pianxian, a top assassin in the world, was elusive, with few ever glimpsing his true form.
"I’m okay," Xie Pianxian shook his head slightly, his handsome face bearing a sense of pitiable beauty due to his injuries. "Tang Fei’s strength is unfathomable."
Tuoba Zhiyin raised her eyebrows, asking, "Isn’t he just as expected?"
"Absolutely not," Xie Pianxian said with utter certainty.
"What realm then? Small Grandmaster? That can’t be right. Shen Xinglan is a once-in-a-generation genius, hailed as the top young talent of our era... and it was only recently that he has taken his first step into the Grandmaster Realm. How can Tang Fei be compared to Shen Xinglan?"
Xie Pianxian paused for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Do you remember? Two years ago, I told you I saw the threshold, but I didn’t know how to step through it..."
"A half-step Grandmaster, then an epiphany overnight—that is the Grandmaster Realm."
"Yes. I am confident in my own strength, I trust my sword."
"Your swordsmanship is subtle, and your movement technique is elusive. If you truly battled for life, you might have a chance to overpower a small Grandmaster," Tuoba Zhiyin commented truthfully.
"But in facing Tang Fei, I felt as if there was nowhere to exert my strength."
"His swordsmanship resembles our Interrupting Flow style, all tricky and sinister. He doesn’t have a movement technique, but his body is immensely agile."
"He can always avoid vital points and quickly find the best spot to counterattack... Moreover, he can anticipate my predictions, always staying one step ahead."
Tuoba Zhiyin nodded, saying, "I know, he comes from the Old Land, having fought with mutant beasts since young... The movement technique he practiced then is what he uses now. No classical Cultivation Technique can compare to real experience."
"Also, his battle with Shen Qingping from the Shen Family, that jungle warfare map remains a classic example at the Imperial First Military Academy; every new student must study it... If you take him seriously enough, you should have studied it before carrying out your mission."