This was the Sword Qi that Zhao Xing had left behind when he left Ten Suns Cave Heaven in the 20th year of Jingxin, and he might not have preserved all of Yang An’s Dao!
Even so, it still instantly killed a Fourth-Rank like Jin Hou!
It’s not that Jin Hou was weak, but that Yang An, this Sword Cultivator, was too strong.
"If Yang An hadn’t died in the High-Grade battle, he should have been the top Sword Immortal in Pinghai State..." Zhao Xing thought to himself.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how Yang An had died, nor had any way to warn him.
The years the Middle-Grade conflict in the Ping Man War began had been moved up by three years, so all he could do was hope that Yang An’s fate had also shifted.
Otherwise, it would be a pity; after all, Yang An had some connection to him, but not enough to put Zhao Xing’s life in danger.
Carrying Chen Shijie’s fate was almost fatal! Carrying Yang An’s fate, especially in an environment like the Ping Man War, Mr. Zhao simply couldn’t bear it.
"Hm?" Zhao Xing suddenly saw a map and his expression changed, "A defense map of the East Sea, including cloud paths, patrol routes, and secret military encampments... What do these red circles marked with the big snake text mean? Although it’s not complete, this is, well, this is just too exaggerated."
Seeing this defense map, Zhao Xing immediately understood why Princess You Ruo had spent years purging the opposition and still hadn’t cleaned up thoroughly.
Cloud path defenses, military deployments – these weren’t issues with just one place like Chongming Prefecture or the Purple Cloud Islands; the problem lay with the upper echelons of the entire Eastern Sea Army.
There was only Prince Liang who could do this.
As long as Princess You Ruo didn’t turn her sword on her own dear uncle, there was no way to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Self-investigation? Even if the Yin God patrols the seas and conducts the questioning, the ultimate system of the Yin God is still human governance!
Take Zhao Xing for example, if a civilian under the jurisdiction of Twin Islands were killed by his subordinate, Tao Anchun, even if the murder occurred in front of the divine temple in Twin County, the report would first go to four people: the Chief of Justice of Twin County, the County Magistrate Sun Shizhao, the Deputy Magistrate of Twin County, and the divine temple chief priest.
But these four, all hoping for promotions from Zhao Xing, would definitely communicate with him first.
Even if one of them were upright and decided to report this minor civilian death to Prefecture City, bypassing the chain of command.
At Prefecture City, sorry, but the case would still get sent back to the county level for handling, because Zhao Xing had connections in Prefecture City too.
He could absolutely cover up for Tao Anchun if he wanted to.
In Twin County, Zhao Xing could be said to be all-powerful, except that stirring trouble in Prefecture City could be problematic.
Of course, the crime couldn’t be too big; things like treason and massacre of a city were beyond even Mr. Zhao’s ability to cover up.
But Prince Liang Ji Mingxian, who is also the Great Marshal of Ping Man and the Lord of Pinghai State, could do it! He could simply make deployments in the name of integration, allowing some enemies to slip in. With the power network of Prince Liang’s Party cultivated over hundreds of years, such tasks were easily accomplished.
"No wonder the old witch has no time to quarrel anymore."
"Emperor Jing focuses on the Ping Man War, prioritizing it above all else, with everything else to be put aside and dealt with afterwards."
"Moreover, this might well be the result of Emperor Jing’s indulgence." Zhao Xing shook his head.
He continued to use the Heavenly Eye Skill scanning around and soon saw a snake-shaped Jade Pendant in the Dantian area of a corpse, which made Zhao Xing feel uneasy.
The Heavenly Eye Skill didn’t reveal anything special, so Zhao Xing switched to another Spell.
Viewing with the Qi Observation Method, his eight Ten Thousand Skill Avatars could use both the Heavenly Eye Skill and the Dayan Qi Observation Skill, though their power was somewhat reduced.
After switching to the Dayan Qi Observation Skill, Zhao Xing was startled. He saw that the Jade Pendant bore a black stripe with a red tail, and a snake with a flat head and slender body within the pendant, swallowing grey, white, green, and red colors.
"Earthworm Snakes Swallowing Fortune, this is the Stealing Fortune Technique!"
"Stored within are disordered fortunes, all stolen from Great Zhou’s fortune."
Acquiring the Stealing Fortune Technique was a part of Zhao Xing’s plans.
He hadn’t expected to come across it today.
"I mustn’t touch it; touching it would bring big trouble." Zhao Xing’s gaze flickered with thought, yet he stayed in place without moving.
In Jiujiang Cave Heaven, his true self also saw the fortune level drop temporarily from Extending-Five to Extending-Four on the panel.
This confirmed his guess.
"It would bring big trouble; I can’t touch this thing."
He still had to serve as an official in Great Zhou; learning the Stealing Fortune Technique at this time would be self-destructive for his future prospects.
Moreover, the Stealing Fortune Technique on this person was not high-level and probably came with a price.
"I shouldn’t even know about it, let alone take it." Zhao Xing narrowed his eyes and stepped back a few paces.
Jin Hou was alive, infiltrating for sabotage; dead, he still had a role to play!
If the techniques on him were to be seized by some official and discover this Stealing Fortune Technique.
How many could resist such temptation?
You can resist the temptation of money and beauty, but after using the Stealing Fortune Technique, the improvements in strength, lifespan, and fortune... who among the officials could withstand that?
"In recent years, I’ve killed not a few from the heretical sects that use the Stealing Fortune Technique, who knows how many have ended up in the hands of Great Zhou’s officials... Those let in, dead or alive, are made full use of."
"If I dare to take this Jade Pendant, I would immediately be subject to inspection."
"Fortunately, I just scanned it with the Heavenly Eye Skill and Qi Observation Skill, without touching it at all. All this is recorded by the Mirage Pearl."
He turned his gaze from Jin Hou’s body and simply stood vigil quietly.
The battle ended quickly, leaving no one to escape, but also no survivors.
These practitioners of evil techniques, seeing capture was imminent, decisively chose to commit suicide, completely annihilating both body and spirit.