Chapter 1 Night Falls

Night had fallen, and everything was shrouded in darkness.

Xu Jingming quietly appeared in a remote corner of the Prince Qi estate, wearing a bronze mask. He silently observed his surroundings, only areas with light were somewhat visible.

"I need to find out where Miss Fei is being held first," Xu Jingming thought, immediately using his mind power to probe the area.

Mind power was gentle and invisible, spreading out silently, reaching a hundred meters.

There were techniques to using mind power. It could be unleashed violently, impacting an enemy’s consciousness. It could also be used gently, making it difficult for the enemy to detect. It could even influence and control people’s minds.

The numerous techniques of mind power recorded in the *Yuanchu Star Conjecture: Light* were incredibly profound, arguably the highest-level techniques that cosmic humans at the Starspace lifeform stage could master. Unless the opponent's mind power was strong enough, it was difficult to detect.

"It's snowing?"

Xu Jingming noticed snowflakes falling sparsely in the darkness.

Sensing his surroundings within a hundred meters, Xu Jingming silently moved through the Prince Qi estate.

Xu Jingming had reviewed the Prince Qi estate's layout in the records of the Blood Rain Guard's Southern Division’s "Judicial Department" when he joined. He had reviewed the layouts of several estates, including those of Prince Yan, Prince Qi, and Prince Liang.

"It's snowing," a guard said, looking up at the sky. "I still have three hours to stand guard! If the snow gets heavier, I'll suffer tonight."

In the Prince Qi estate, there were patrolling guards, stationary guards, and even some hidden sentries.

The stationary guards had to stand there, even if it rained or snowed!

"If my strength reached the Second Class realm, I could lie in a house, eating and drinking well. Why suffer like this?" the guard thought when suddenly, a shadow flashed from behind. The guard felt a force strike the back of his head, and his eyes went black as he collapsed.

Xu Jingming carried the guard into a nearby house and closed the door.

"Hmm?" The guard groggily woke up to find himself lying on the ground, a masked figure in green staring at him.

"What happened to me?" the guard asked in terror. He felt that he couldn't move anything except his head.

"You just can't move temporarily," Xu Jingming said. "Answer my questions honestly, or you'll never move again."

"I'll talk, I'll talk," the guard said immediately. "I'll say anything. Please don't kill me."

How could he dare shout for help?

He would probably be killed the moment he shouted!

"Where is Miss Fei, whom Prince Qi captured today, being held?" Xu Jingming asked.

"In the main hall," the guard replied quickly. "The prince is hosting a banquet for Miss Fei tonight in the main hall."

"A banquet for Miss Fei?" Xu Jingming asked, surprised.

"Many people in the estate know about the banquet for Miss Fei," the guard said immediately.

"Very well," Xu Jingming nodded slightly. He pressed down on the back of the guard's head, sending a wave of power through him, causing the guard to fall unconscious again!

A master with cellular control knew very well how to temporarily paralyze someone and how to make them faint.

"Sleep for a few hours," Xu Jingming said, glancing at the guard before walking out and closing the door.

He then found another guard stationed in a remote location and questioned him, receiving the same answer. Many people in the Prince Qi estate knew that the prince was hosting a banquet for Miss Fei.

"He's really hosting a banquet for Miss Fei. What is Prince Qi thinking?" Xu Jingming wondered, quietly making his way to the main hall. Relying on the mind power that covered a hundred-meter radius, he was able to silently avoid the guards.

That was why he came alone. With the estate's defenses, the more people there were, the easier it would be to be exposed.

"The main hall." Xu Jingming quickly spotted the brightly lit main hall.

Inside the main hall.

Thick candles were extravagantly lit, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime.

"Miss Fei, how is the food at my Prince Qi estate? Does it suit your taste?" Prince Qi sat in the main seat, smiling as he looked at Fei Xinlan sitting below.

The more polite Prince Qi was, the more nervous Fei Xinlan became.

Recently, she had experienced a lot. Her brother, Fei Qing, had died, her father was missing, and some hostile forces were becoming restless. Fortunately, Dean Ming was there to deter them, allowing her to live cautiously in the martial arts academy, but she could feel many of her fellow disciples distancing themselves from her.

In the past, she always had someone to rely on.

Even when traveling from Lanyue City to the capital, she had her father and many guards with her.

But now, she had no one to rely on!

"Your Highness forcibly brought me here just to host a banquet for me?" Fei Xinlan asked.

"Hahaha."

Prince Qi smiled. "Miss Fei, I have prepared many gifts for you. Starting tonight, I will let you savor them one by one."

"What do you want to do?" Fei Xinlan asked, feeling uneasy. "Kill me if you want to."

"Kill? If I really wanted to kill you, I could have sent a few people to quietly eliminate you at the Imperial Martial Arts Academy today," Prince Qi said, looking at Fei Xinlan with a drunken gaze. "You're Fei Qing's sister; how could I bear to kill you so casually?"

"Killing you like that would be too easy on you," Prince Qi said with a cold smile. "Fei Qing died quickly and painlessly—too easy on him. If I want revenge, I can only take it out on you."

"Revenge?" Fei Xinlan was taken aback.

"Our current Emperor was able to seize the throne thanks to Fei Qing. He was the greatest contributor," Prince Qi gritted his teeth and said. "Fei Qing ruined everything for me—my children, my generals, everything! Now, I'm just a leisurely prince, confined to the capital and unable to leave. It's all thanks to your brother!"

"You're still a prince! You still have so many people serving you!" Fei Xinlan retorted.

"That's just the Emperor trying to show his magnanimity," Prince Qi scoffed. "Does he dare let me leave the capital? He won't. He'll only confine me and monitor my every move."

"I hate it, I hate it! If Fei Qing hadn't schemed for the Emperor, how could we have failed? When I learned that you and your father were coming to the capital from your hometown, I leaked the information to the Black Lotus Sect. What a pity, the Black Lotus Sect was useless! Their ambush failed."

"The ambush the day before we arrived in the capital—was that because of you?" Fei Xinlan asked, shocked.

That time was very dangerous. Fortunately, Wang Jiuyan arrived with reinforcements at the critical moment! If they had been any slower, the entire group would have been finished.

"But you still survived."

Prince Qi nodded. "It's good that you survived. I can vent my anger more thoroughly. Mr. Yu, tonight, I'll have to trouble you to use your knife skills to carve a 'Nightmare Portrait' on Miss Fei's body. This will be my first gift to her!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Besides Prince Qi and Fei Xinlan, there were two other people sitting in the hall, one on each side of Prince Qi.

One was an old man with white hair, the renowned expert Liu Yunchen, who was also Prince Qi's master.

The other was a black-clad man, who was blind! He wore a saber at his waist and emanated an evil, terrifying aura. He was Yu Tianxing, a mysterious expert recently recruited by Prince Qi.

"Miss Fei, don't worry," the blind man in black said. "Although I'm blind, my mind's eye is open! I won't ruin Miss Fei's body."

Fei Xinlan's face turned pale.

Carve a Nightmare Portrait on her body with a knife?

"White skin and a Nightmare Portrait—it's a beautiful thought." Prince Qi looked at Fei Xinlan. "Miss Fei must be looking forward to it. Don't worry, there will be a second, a third, many more gifts waiting for you. In the days to come, you'll be a rare source of amusement for me."

Fei Xinlan couldn't help but shiver, her eyes filled with despair.

Prince Qi was a madman!

"Hmm?"

The white-haired old man, who had been calmly eating and drinking, and the blind man in black simultaneously turned serious and looked towards the entrance of the hall.

The fact that these two experts both looked outside the hall startled Prince Qi.

"I've been discovered after all! My mind power is indeed average," a voice sounded. At the same time, a blurry figure charged into the main hall. The guards stationed at the entrance roared and tried to stop him.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

All six guards fell to the ground, each with a bloody hole in their forehead.

"Assassin!" the other guards in the hall exclaimed.

"Assassin!"

"Protect His Highness!"

These guards were all Third-Rate experts, and their loud voices instantly echoed throughout the estate, making the night-shrouded estate seem to awaken. Some guards who had already gone to bed were startled awake and immediately scrambled to their feet.

Only a few guards were on patrol or on duty; most were having dinner or resting. But the appearance of the assassin made everyone in the Prince Qi estate afraid to be negligent.

"Protect His Highness!" Guards from all directions frantically rushed toward the main hall, the source of the commotion.

Inside the main hall, the maids were terrified and hid in the corners. Prince Qi calmly watched the masked figure in green in the hall, still not panicking. He was surrounded by numerous personal guards, and he also had Grandmaster Liu and Mr. Yu, two top-notch experts.

"Your Highness, don't worry. Leave this person to me." The blind man in black moved instantly, his mind sense able to completely lock onto Xu Jingming. In an instant, he transformed into a blurry black shadow, charging straight at Xu Jingming, with a terrifying flash of his saber!

The saber light carried an evil aura and influenced people's minds, enveloping Xu Jingming as if a nightmare had descended.

"Fine saber technique!" Prince Qi praised.

*Poof.*

The blind man in black stopped, standing frozen in place. There was a bloody hole in his forehead. With a thud, he fell to the ground, no longer breathing, his blood staining the ground red.

This scene silenced the entire main hall.

Top-notch expert Mr. Yu? Killed in one move?

Xu Jingming's spear seemed not to have moved. He glanced at the blind man in black and said, "This person probably just reached the top-notch realm. No wonder he couldn't even withstand one of my moves."

After consuming the Ice Flower Spirit Liquid, Xu Jingming was in peak condition, his combat strength increased by nearly 50 times! This was much stronger than those who had just entered the top-notch realm with a combat strength increase of around 20 times! Combined with the spear techniques from *Light,* his attacks were extremely fast.

"That spear technique!" The white-haired old man, Liu Yunchen, widened his eyes. He had clearly seen the scene just now. The masked assassin's spear moved visibly faster than the blind man in black. The blind man in black's saber technique was laughable in the face of such speed.

"The enemy is strong. Protect His Highness and leave quickly!" The white-haired old man moved like a ghost, appearing in front of Prince Qi.

"Grandmaster Liu, be careful!"

Prince Qi's face turned pale. After saying that, he immediately fled through the side door under the protection of his personal guards. Prince Qi had reached the Third-Rate realm, after all, so he was quite fast when running. Those personal guards were all Second-Rate experts, but at the moment, they were focused on protecting Prince Qi and didn't try to attack Xu Jingming.

"Mr. Yu was a top-notch expert. He was killed in one move? Wouldn't we be courting death if we went up against him?" These personal guards were also somewhat afraid and quickly protected Prince Qi as he fled.

The maids also followed behind, fleeing outside.

However, the white-haired old man blocked Xu Jingming's path and said, "To be able to kill Yu Tianxing in one move, you are no ordinary person. Who exactly are you?"

"A dead man doesn't need to ask," Xu Jingming said as his spear reached the white-haired old man.

*Clang!*

Liu Yunchen's sword light flashed, blocking the terrifying spear.

*Roar!*

The spear shadows flashed continuously, tearing through the air and creating a piercing sound. Liu Yunchen's movement technique combined with his sword technique, making him like a swimming dragon between the heavens and earth. But Xu Jingming was like a terrifying light! A light that crushed everything!

In the blink of an eye, seven consecutive spear strikes! The seventh spear had already pierced through Liu Yunchen's chest.

"How is this possible?" Liu Yunchen lowered his head and looked at his chest. The spear had pierced through his heart, shattering it completely!

"Sigh."

Xu Jingming pulled out his spear, and blood splattered. The white-haired Liu Yunchen fell weakly, becoming a corpse as well.

On the other side, Prince Qi was fleeing under the protection of his guards when he encountered a large group of guards rushing over.

"Protect His Highness!"

"Protect His Highness!"

These guards protected him on all sides.

The Prince Qi estate was large, but for Second-Rate experts, it only took a moment. Three or four hundred guards had rushed to Prince Qi's side.

With a large group of guards holding shields and other guards holding crossbows, layers of guards protected the prince. Only then did Prince Qi feel safe.

"My Prince Qi estate has a thousand Third-Rate experts. Now that Dean Ming is dead, any expert in the entire capital will surely die when faced with an encirclement by a thousand Third-Rate experts," Prince Qi said confidently.

A thousand Third-Rate experts were far from enough to compete for the throne.

But to deal with an assassin?

"Your Highness, Senior Liu is dead," a guard reported.

"Dead?" Prince Qi's expression changed. That Yu Tianxing was a newly recruited top-notch expert, but he was still much inferior to Liu Yunchen. Liu Yunchen was also the person he trusted the most. Whether he was going to brothels or flower boats in the capital or dealing with various figures, he would always ask Grandmaster Liu to accompany him.

"Kill that assassin for me!" Prince Qi pointed toward the main hall, his face twisted.

Carrying Fei Xinlan, Xu Jingming left through the side door of the main hall. Using his mind power, he chose the nearest house.

"Stay here first," Xu Jingming said.

"You are…"

Fei Xinlan looked at Xu Jingming uncertainly.

From the moment Xu Jingming appeared in the main hall, Fei Xinlan felt that his figure was very familiar! His voice also sounded very much like her Brother Jing! But this assassin's eyes seemed different from Brother Jing's, and his spear techniques were too exaggeratedly strong!

Killing Mr. Yu in one move and then instantly killing Liu Yunchen—could Brother Jing have such strength?

"Can't recognize me?" Xu Jingming removed his mask.

Having experienced training in the mysterious land, especially the hundred years of training on the sixth planet, Xu Jingming had undergone a complete transformation. His eyes were much sharper than before, and his presence was much more imposing.

That was why Fei Xinlan hadn't dared to recognize him immediately.

"Brother Jing!" When Fei Xinlan saw Xu Jingming remove his mask, the tense string in her heart snapped, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

Her brother had died, her father was missing, and she had been captured.

Fei Xinlan felt that her future was bleak.

Finally…

Brother Jing had come!

"Don't cry," Xu Jingming comforted her.