Chapter 246 – The Ghost Street Judge, Layer Upon Layer of Traps, Breaking Free - Part 3

Back in the city stronghold of the Holy Tree Temple, Li Yuan returned to his residence, where Cui Huayin and Yao Jue were training hard, determined to break through from seventh to sixth rank. He also roused his daughter, still snoozing in bed, took her by the hand, and headed for the street.

All around them, hidden experts from the Holy Tree Temple trailed behind, ostensibly there to protect Li Yuan...but also to keep a close eye on him.

“Morning, Master Li!”

“Out for a stroll?”

Many greeted him. Li Yuan responded with easy smiles, then ducked into a lively breakfast shop with a sign reading Culinary Delights. The place was crowded with local folk, all of whom lived within the first gate of the palace grounds and therefore had no trouble making a comfortable living.

They looked up as Li Yuan entered, some hurriedly scooting aside to create more space.

“Master Li, good morning!”

Li Yuan guided Sheng'er to a seat.

Almost at once, someone remarked, “Master Li, your daughter is going to grow up to be quite the beauty.”

Sheng'er blushed at the praise, her snow-white cheeks turning pink.

Smiling, Li Yuan ordered some local specialties—spirit blossom pancakes and hundred-mushroom buns—along with a basket of soup dumplings. He chatted easily with his daughter as they waited.

When the food arrived, Sheng'er ate happily. “Papa, this is so delicious. Next time, I want these again.”

Li Yuan glanced at her plate; it was the soup dumplings. Around the Holy Tree Temple, these dumplings were distinctive. Their secret filling used fresh blossoms and herbs grown on-site, adding a unique, floral sweetness.

“Of course,” he laughed. “We live here now, so you can have them as often as you want.”

He spoke casually, making sure everyone nearby could hear. Sheng'er, still young, didn’t think much of it; she just kept nibbling. Her eyes—painted on by Yan Yu herself—couldn’t actually see, yet blinked as if alive. In truth, she perceived the world through her long black hair, as the crow hidden within gave her myriad

eyes

.

Li Yuan raised his hand. “Boss! Another basket of soup dumplings, please!”

“Coming right up!” the waiter called back from across the shop.

Soon, a steaming basket arrived. Li Yuan brought his chopsticks together and inhaled the savory aroma with an appreciative, “Smells great!”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Over the next few days, Li Yuan and Sheng'er showed up at nearly the same time each morning, always going out to enjoy breakfast together on the bustling street—a routine that never changed.

Meanwhile, within the Holy Tree Temple’s third gate, scorching yang energy radiated from a patch of the meat field, shining like a burning sun. Standing at its edge was none other than Temple Master Qing Hancheng. Swirling around him, thick clouds of bloody mist poured into his body from every direction, generating a mighty vitality that left onlookers awestruck.

At Qing Hancheng’s back stood the patriarch of the Cui Clan, Cui Wuji, who was reporting recent developments—chiefly, Li Yuan’s daily activities.

When Cui Wuji finished, Qing Hancheng fell silent for a moment. “We’ve already wronged Zhu Ban. We can’t mistreat Li Yuan on top of that. Treat him well. Make sure he doesn’t feel watched. When the time is right, invite him to live here in the third gate proper.”

“As you wish, Temple Master,” Cui Wuji said, “it was the Jing Clan who ran amok, and Zhua Ban who acted rashly.”

Qing Hancheng sighed. “I share some blame too...” He stopped, as if he had more to say, then merely waved a hand. “Whatever Li Yuan wants, give it to him. A weaponsmith like him is too important for us to lose.”

“Yes, Temple Master.”

“We’ve recently acquired 150 kg of fine blood crystal marrow. Since Master Gong isn’t around, you can offer it to Li Yuan.”

With that, Cui Wuji departed. Once alone, Qing Hancheng doubled over in a fit of violent coughs. Clutching his chest, he slumped into a seat, then gripped his head as if in agony, releasing a low, tormented roar, “Stop talking...just stop! I’m sick of it! Enough!”

In that secret chamber—built in the heart of a fourth rank meat field—no one could hear his outburst.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Deep into the night, Li Yuan slipped on a cloak and a mask before stepping outside his courtyard. The Holy Tree Temple had stationed disciples at every corner, patrolling back and forth. They weren’t spying on him so much as guarding against anyone who might try to harm him; any disturbance would bring a flare of signal fire, summoning sixth or even fifth rank experts in support.

Because Li Yuan still hadn’t moved into the third gate, the leadership felt compelled to assign extra security. Their auras overlapped in thick layers around the courtyard, yet none of them noticed as Li Yuan passed right through. He was like a breeze of shadow without the slightest trace of presence.

During this time, Li Yuan had found various ways to increase his capabilities—if not his depth, then his breadth. With plenty of wealth, resources, and status at his disposal, he’d quietly acquired a pair of sixth rank skills. The first was Hidden Breath, which he’d bought through Ouyang Da for 210 taels of blood gold. The second was Concealment that he got through Wang Linji for 200 taels of blood gold.

He glanced at the entries in his skill list.

「

Hidden Breath:

Allows one’s shadow-blood to flow in an internal, compressed cycle, masking every hint of aura.

」

「

Concealment:

Lets the shadow blood flow in a special pattern at the skin’s surface, briefly creating a lightless zone. Even if illuminated, the user appears only as a dark silhouette.

」

Normally these two skills couldn’t be used at the same time; blood couldn’t be circulated in two ways simultaneously. Yet once he’d maxed both skills out, Li Yuan discovered a workaround—Hidden Breath for his internal flow, Concealment for the outer surface. Through enough practice, he pulled it off.

And so, invisible to both sense and sight, he casually strolled away while the patrolling seventh rank disciples remained oblivious.

He made his way to a hidden room within the Black Cloaks base, where their leader, Wang Heran, greeted him in person, presenting him with a newly arrived message...and a large cage.

Inside that cage lay a living sixth rank demon dog—an ebony kinghound. Compared to ebony marquis, it was smaller, closer to a regular guard dog in size, though its muscles felt as hard as forged steel, cold and unyielding. Its jaws were lined with a row of terrifying needle-sharp teeth.

With a nervous swallow, Wang Heran said, “Master, don’t underestimate its size. This one weighs about 500 kg, and the cost was 1,600 taels of blood gold.”

Li Yuan nodded. The prices of demonic beasts weren’t hard to calculate. It was two and a half times the value of their butchered meat. If the creature was wounded or crippled, the cost might drop somewhat, but rarely below double the raw meat price. 500 kg of sixth rank demonic beast meat alone would be worth around 666 taels in blood gold, so 1,600 wasn’t unreasonable.

“Grrr...!” Though drugged into a semi-stupor, the hound still snarled savagely, its murderous aura making Wang Heran’s legs weak.

Li Yuan cast it a quick glance, noting the 320~860 above its head—impressive, stronger than his nephew Yan Mu had been. He then advanced, activating his own sixth rank beast taming skill, Gold Luo Canine Training—perfectly suited for dogs.

The ebony kinghound bared its fangs, but as Li Yuan rested a hand on its skull, a mysterious bond began to form between them.

Over an hour later, the once-ferocious hound was wagging its tail.

Li Yuan observed its status and realized his own combat power shifted from 2,600~3,350 to 2,603~3,359 whenever he stood close, the result of receiving one percent of the ebony kinghound’s strength—a familiar effect from earlier times.

Yet there was something new. The ebony kinghound’s combat power also rose, from 320~860 to 346~894, as if it had gained one percent of Li Yuan’s power in return. That hadn’t happened with the seventh rank demonic beasts he tamed.

Stepping back beyond the range of their connection, Li Yuan’s combat power returned to 2,600~3,350.

After some testing, he sat down and casually snapped off the cage’s lock. Fishing out an antidote, he fed it to the ebony kinghound.

Then he turned to Wang Heran. “It’s all good. There’s no danger now.”

Wang Heran watched anxiously. A single bite from that thing could snap his neck. Moments later, however, the hound was sprawled docilely at Li Yuan’s feet.

Satisfied, Li Yuan picked up a box from the table and withdrew two letters.

The first was from Tang Nian, in the far-off Cloudpeak Province. She wrote that the place was indeed remote and desolate—an absolute backwater. She’d created a second sixth rank puppet, and with funding from the Windfall Group and help from Xue Ning behind the scenes, she had become unstoppable in the region. Various seemingly unrelated factions were cropping up, all interconnected under the surface.

Li Yuan finished reading and set the letter aside, then composed his reply. It consisted of a single directive. That was to investigate the ghost domains in Cloudpeak Province—however remote, gather locations and basic info, but don’t go in too deeply.

After some thought, he wrote a second letter addressed to Pang Yuanhua, his sworn younger sister, who’d lived in his household for years. It was time for her to be of use. Li Yuan’s request was straightforward. He wanted her to look into the ancient ghost street in Cloudpeak Province. He included ten copper pendants and a pair of human-skin manacles with her letter. Pang Yuanhua had become bound to him through their long history; he trusted her wholeheartedly.

“Make sure these get sent off safely,” Li Yuan told Wang Heran, handing over the letters. “And ensure no one knows who sent them.”

“Don’t worry, Master,” Wang Heran said, bowing. “I’ll handle it discreetly.”

Yawning, Li Yuan returned to his residence. Finding Cui Huayin had locked her door for the night, he wandered instead to stay with Yao Jue.