"This letter was sent by the Fine Rain Tower."
Zuo Qiuyang spotted the swallow emblem at the bottom left corner of the letter and abruptly stood up, his body seething with murderous intent once more.
Shang Wu narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and glanced over.
Zuo Qiuyang, his face twisted with ferocity, immediately crouched down and covered his head.
"Master, it seems he knows something about the Fine Rain Tower."
"Understanding their intentions and movements would be advantageous for our mission."
Li Mo reasoned with his master, appealing to both logic and emotion.
He then waved at Zuo Qiuyang, signaling him to come closer and read the letter together—since he couldn’t decipher it himself.
Zuo Qiuyang took the letter and began reading aloud:
"Have the three of you kept up with your training?"
"With the world in turmoil, you brothers remain holed up in Huai Mountain Town, engaging in petty banditry. How will you ever rise to prominence? Now that the Endless Trials have begun, why not seize this opportunity to emerge and join the Fine Rain Tower? At least then you’ll have backing."
"Though I am but a humble elder brother, I have recently advanced further in the Observation Divine Realm and secured the position of 'Human Butcher' within the Fine Rain Tower."
At this point, Zuo Qiuyang’s voice trembled, his emotions surging violently.
He was certain—the sender of this letter was the very man who had murdered their master.
The thought of his enemy being so close filled him with rage.
"I know you’re furious, but hold it in for now."
Li Mo gestured for him to finish reading the letter first.
Zuo Qiuyang took several deep breaths before continuing:
"Recently, I received word that the traitor we killed years ago had a disciple who also learned some of our tower’s techniques."
"Anyone who dares to steal our martial arts must be purged. Kill him, then meet me at the usual place."
"The main tower plans to establish a branch in Purple Sun Prefecture. If you succeed in this task, I’ll put in a good word for you with the branch leader. Securing a favorable position won’t be an issue."
The letter revealed much.
Li Mo and the others fell into contemplative silence.
"The Fine Rain Tower is setting up a branch in Purple Sun Prefecture?"
No wonder they chose this location for the Endless Trials—recruiting locally, it seemed.
But Purple Sun Prefecture lay on the fringes of the Eastern Wasteland Domain, far from prosperous lands and even farther from the stormy conflicts of the so-called Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Why would the profit-driven Fine Rain Tower establish a foothold here?
"Hosting the Endless Trials is one thing, but extending their influence into Purple Sun Prefecture?"
Shang Wu’s willow-leaf brows shot up in anger. "If I find that branch leader, I’ll beat the shit out of him."
Allowing a hostile force to operate so close was crossing a line for the Qingyuan Sect.
No sect would tolerate an assassin organization setting up shop near their territory.
But the Fine Rain Tower was elusive, with spies everywhere—like a slippery turd. Even the combined efforts of the Great Yu Dynasty and several supreme sects had failed to eradicate them.
Destroy one stronghold, and another would sprout soon after, their members never fully wiped out.
"Finding the Fine Rain Tower’s branch won’t be easy."
Xiao Qin mused as he picked up three iron swallow tokens from the ground.
Zuo Qiuyang eyed the tokens with mild confusion.
These "Hallfront Swallows" were forged through special methods.
Once the Endless Trials began, they would absorb a trace of their owner’s internal energy.
If the owner died, the token would shatter.
Yet these were intact.
Could it be because the Huai Mountain Trio had perished by their own internal energy?
"Could we... pose as the Huai Mountain Trio and infiltrate the Fine Rain Tower?"
"Our numbers match, assuming Brother Zuo joins us."
Xiao Qin, ever dutiful, was committed to completing the sect’s mission.
Zuo Qiuyang shook his head.
"I’ve trained in the Lifeless Blade technique. I can’t hide my identity from the Fine Rain Tower."
Hearing this, Li Mo glanced sideways at the young girl beside him, his gaze probing.
Hey, young lady—ever considered becoming an emotionless assassin?
Zuo Qiuyang added, "It’s too risky. Those three were clearly close to the Laughing Buddha. If we meet him, our disguises will be exposed."
"Unless... we kill the Laughing Buddha! Then no one will know we’re imposters."
His eyes gleamed, as if he’d found his chance for vengeance.
The target was in the Observation Divine Realm—only by joining forces with these Qingyuan Sect disciples could they stand a chance.
"Pleasure doing business."
Helping Zuo Qiuyang exact revenge was an investment, and it aligned with their mission.
The next challenge was locating the elusive "Laughing Buddha."
"I’ll search the city, but it may take time. The man is exceedingly cautious."
Zuo Qiuyang had already been gathering information on his way to Purple Sun Prefecture, yet he still knew little.
"Instead of hunting him down, why not let him come to us?"
Li Mo stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"If we excel in the Endless Trials under the guise of the Huai Mountain Trio, we might draw him out."
Zuo Qiuyang’s eyes widened in realization.
This Qingyuan Sect disciple’s cunning was impressive.
Why hadn’t he thought of that?
"Now’s the time to restore Jade Cluster Peak’s glory."
"Call me if you run into a fight you can’t win."
Shang Wu, satisfied that her disciple’s intellect matched hers, decided to spare herself the mental effort.
He’d handle the planning; she’d handle the punching.
"Wait—how do we identify the other participants in the Endless Trials?" Xiao Qin pointed out the flaw.
"Reopen this relay station. I’ll handle the rest."
Li Mo checked the map.
This was the nearest relay station to Purple Sun Prefecture’s city gates.
Meaning—most travelers would pass through here.
All he had to do was use his Heaven’s Eye to scan them...
Zuo Qiuyang and Xiao Qin were curious but didn’t press further. If Li Mo had a plan, they’d trust it.
They set about cleaning up the scene.
Li Mo snapped his fingers, releasing his internal energy.
Instantly, the corpses on the ground burned to white ash.
Ying Bing frowned slightly, displeased by the floating soot. With a wave of her hand, rosy clouds gathered the ashes and scattered them into the backyard flowerbed—contributing to nature’s cycle.
"Their internal energy..."
Zuo Qiuyang’s pupils trembled.
He’d considered himself exceptional among his peers, rarely meeting a match in the same realm.
But this pair of youths, just by unleashing their energy, left him awestruck.
Was this the caliber of Qingyuan Sect’s geniuses?
Why are you two so practiced at disposing of bodies?
Seriously, even teamwork in cremation?
Xiao Qin straightened the furniture, then scratched his head.
"Did we forget something?"
"Nah, what could we have missed?"
Li Mo glanced around.
Everything was ash. Nothing left to overlook.
Absolutely no oversights.
Meanwhile, at the heart of Purple Sun Prefecture’s city.
The prefectural hall buzzed with activity as representatives from various sects toasted and feasted.
"By the way, where are those Qingyuan Sect folks? They still haven’t arrived."
"Honestly, it's their own business at the foot of the mountain, yet they’re making us handle it."
"Ah, with Shang Wu leading the team, what can you expect?"
The disciples from other sects murmured among themselves.
"Sigh, the peace of Purple Sun Prefecture now rests in your hands."
Prefecture Lord Cui’s eyes flickered as he stood up to toast the assembly.
"You flatter us, Prefecture Lord Cui."
"Upholding justice is our duty, after all."