Chapter 962 - Shrouded in Mystery

The moment the black-cloaked figure pulled out the compass, Lu Liang and Ruan Ying exchanged a glance and subtly shifted their stance, secretly readying their weapons. If their master's presence was detected, they would attack without hesitation.

Their actions naturally did not escape the attention of the two newcomers.

Little did they know, someone had already circled the grand hall when they stepped into the ancient castle, planting dozens of array flags into the ground.

One of the assassins pulled out a broken spiritual talisman and pressed it onto the compass. The talisman carried a faint trace of Liu Wuxie's aura, allowing them to pinpoint his exact location.

As the compass needle spun wildly, the two assassins' faces darkened.

"Liu Wuxie is nearby!" bellowed the assassin holding onto the compass. He quickly stowed the compass away and began to scan the surroundings.

Liu Wuxie hadn’t expected them to locate him so quickly. As expected, the Black Plume Pavilion's methods were endless; it was no wonder their missions rarely failed.

As long as they had a slight trace of the target's aura, they could track them to the ends of the world. The moment they were targeted by the Black Plume Pavilion, hiding was never a viable solution; their only option was retaliating.

Otherwise, the assassins would eventually find their prey no matter where they hid.

Lu Liang and Ruan Ying drew their swords in unison, pointing them toward the two newcomers.

"You two dare betray the Black Plume Pavilion? Don't you know the consequences?" barked the taller man.

"You should worry about yourself first," Lu Liang sneered, lunging forward with his sword.

Ruan Ying followed closely behind, targeting the shorter assassin.

In an instant, the four clashed, weapons flashing violently. Hidden deep in the shadows, Liu Wuxie silently observed the battle. He wasn't in a hurry to act as he wanted to have a precise gauge of their strength.

He could step in the moment Lu Liang and Ruan Ying struggled to hold their ground. Though he didn't like the Black Plume Pavilion's assassins, he couldn't deny that Lu Liang and Ruan Ying still were useful to him.

Without their protection, he wouldn't have been able to go into seclusion in peace. They had successfully kept other cultivators at bay.

Clashes of weapons echoed throughout the hall as the two newcomers gritted their teeth in rage.

"How dare you two defy the Black Plume Pavilion! Die!" roared the taller assassin, pulling out a strange device from his robes.

If ignited, the Black Plume Pavilion would sense it immediately. Even if they couldn't send any messages, a signal alone would be enough to warn the Black Plume Pavilion.

"Stop him! Don't let him alert the pavilion!" Lu Liang roared and fought with his life on the line.

Ruan Ying also realized the gravity of the situation. She abandoned her opponent and turned to the taller assassin.

If the device were activated, the Black Plume Pavilion would immediately learn of their betrayal, endangering their master. Even at this moment, Liu Wuxie was still their priority.

Just as the device was about to ignite, a cold light flashed—and the device froze over in a shell of ice.

The two assassins' faces turned grim. They knew there was an expert lurking in the shadows.

The device became useless the moment it was encased in ice. When they snapped their gazes toward the entrance, they saw a figure approaching.

"Liu Wuxie!"

The two assassins sheathed their swords and retreated to the side, looking at Liu Wuxie in horror.

Lu Liang and Ruan Ying fell back swiftly, positioning themselves beside Liu Wuxie to guard against any sudden attacks.

"Liu Wuxie, how did you make them betray the Black Plume Pavilion?" roared the taller assassin, demanding answers.

There was no way he had done it with mere charisma. Every assassin from the Black Plume Pavilion was raised from a young age and trained to be a killing machine, having their emotions stripped.

Every assassin had to leave a wisp of their primordial spirit with the Black Plume Pavilion before leaving as a form of insurance. This meant the pavilion could efficiently execute their assassins by crushing their primordial spirit if they wanted.

Death awaited those who dared to betray the pavilion. Threats and charisma alone could never sway assassins trained to embrace death without fear.

While it was undeniable that Liu Wuxie was charismatic, he couldn't make their assassins betray the pavilion with just that. They knew there was something deeper at work.

"Take your masks off. We should be acquainted," Liu Wuxie said calmly.

He had recognized them by their eyes earlier. There was a high possibility that these two had been lurking around him.

The two black-cloaked men exchanged a cold glance before pulling off their masks. There was no room left for retreat now that they had run into each other. They had no reason to leave if they couldn't kill Liu Wuxie.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"It's you! How interesting," Liu Wuxie commented with a devilish smile.

The taller man turned out to be Qiu Zhengyi, a disciple of the Sky Feather Sect who had joined the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy in the same cohort as Liu Wuxie.

The shorter man’s face also seemed familiar, though Liu Wuxie couldn’t quite place him.

Even so, it was clear he, too, was an academy disciple.

Suspicion bloomed in Liu Wuxie's mind.

Could the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy truly be the mastermind? Was it really a coincidence that three of their assassins were disciples of the academy?

Even if the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy wasn't the mastermind, the upper echelons likely knew about the pavilion.

"I'm impressed with how much you've grown in just over a year," Qiu Zhengyi said in a low voice.

During the recruitment test, Liu Wuxie had outshone everyone with his performance, even standouts like Ma Tianming and Zhao Chao.

It wasn’t that Qiu Zhengyi lacked talent compared to Ning Hai; he had simply chosen to keep a low profile.

For them, securing entry into the academy was enough; placement didn’t matter.

Qiu Zhengyi was one of the few people Liu Wuxie had taken note of during the recruitment test, someone who had intentionally kept himself hidden.

Someone like that often had the greatest ambitions.

Now, everything was clear. He had been an assassin of the Black Plume Pavilion all along, keeping a low profile to avoid drawing attention.

"How many assassins are there in the academy aside from you two?" Liu Wuxie asked.

The fact that they had reached the Quasi-Earth Profound Realm in a year spoke to their extraordinary talent. They weren't on the same level as Ning Hai. Even if Ning Hai were alive, he would have still struggled at the low levels of the Spirit Profound Realm, and Qiu Zhengyi had surpassed him.

The Black Plume Pavilion had clearly invested considerable resources in him.

"I'll tell that to your grave," Qiu Zhengyi retorted, pointing his sword at Liu Wuxie.

That was the Black Plume Pavilion's secret. He didn't know the numbers. Even if he did, he wouldn't tell Liu Wuxie.

"Since that's the case, I can only force you to reveal the information."

Liu Wuxie planned to convert them into his devotees to gather more information.

Qiu Zhengyi turned to Lu Liang and Ruan Ying. "Are you two considering betraying the pavilion?"

He was under the impression that Liu Wuxie was threatening them, unaware that their loyalty had shifted from deep within.

Lu Liang lunged forward with his sword as he shouted, "Enough talk. Let's fight!"

"You two take on the shorter one. Qiu Zhengyi is mine," Liu Wuxie instructed.

He left the shorter assassin to the two as an uneasy feeling stirred in his heart about that man. Though that man wasn't a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, he had an aloof air to him.

The battle broke out as Liu Wuxie charged forward, appearing before Qiu Zhengyi in an instant and striking with his palm.

His combat strength had undergone a drastic transformation after reaching the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm, and his cultivation was tempered. His strike contained countless profundities, and this was the result of learning the Great Dragon Aspect Art.

The Great Dragon Aspect Art itself contained countless profundities, and Liu Wuxie had extracted its essence and infused it into his strike.

A curtain of palm prints appeared in the air, weaving into a screen that trapped Qiu Zhengyi in place.

He didn't use the Spatial Dao Art as he intended to gauge his combat strength.

"Liu Wuxie, I admit that you're strong. But I'll show you what true power means!" Qiu Zhengyi roared.

A terrifying outburst of aura swept out from Qiu Zhengyi, releasing his full strength at the Quasi-Earth Profound Realm.

"You hid your actual cultivation during the recruitment test, didn't you?" Liu Wuxie asked coldly.

He was confident that Qiu Zhengyi had hidden his cultivation during the recruitment test, maintaining it at the low levels of the True Profound Realm. He might have already been at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm during the recruitment test.

"You're right. I was already at the Quasi-Spirit Profound Realm back then, and you only secured first rank by sheer luck," Qiu Zhengyi replied.

He believed that Liu Wuxie had secured first place only because many others had concealed their true strength during the recruitment test. However, no one was aware that Liu Wuxie had also concealed his true strength.

"The Black Plume Pavilion sent you into the academy, right?" Liu Wuxie probed further.

While it might seem like an ordinary question, he wanted to verify his speculation. He had suspected that the academy might be a cradle for the pavilion.

Qiu Zhengyi’s words had indicated that the Black Plume Pavilion had planted them in the academy by carefully concealing their true strength. The whole situation felt deeply unnatural.

"A dead man doesn't need to know that much," Qiu Zhengyi snapped.

He swung his sword to knock Liu Wuxie's palm prints away, and his sword aura shot toward the latter.

Liu Wuxie still didn't summon the Heretic Blade and chose to fight with his bare hands.

Meanwhile, Lu Liang and Ruan Ying fought with seamless coordination, leaving no opening for their opponent to exploit.

"This is impossible! How can you be so strong when you're only at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm?!" Qiu Zhengyi growled.

He was losing his patience as the battle dragged on. His strikes had gotten much faster.