In the side hall of Yang's estate, when Guan Ya heard that someone wished to see her, her eyes lit up. Since Shé Lingxi, every guest who had come to seek an audience outside Yang's estate had been a teammate. So she immediately said, "Lead them to the side hall." A maidservant promptly departed. Guan Ya turned to the three women in the room and beamed, "Yuan Shi has arrived." The Master of Zhishi Palace set down her scroll, Xiao Yuan ceased her meditation, and She Lingxi stepped forward with eager strides. The four women drifted gracefully, forming a group and heading to the side hall. A few minutes later, the maidservant brought two more guests. Upon seeing the middle-aged eunuch with white hair at his temples and a sturdy build, the four women expressed a moment of disappointment. Yet Guan Ya noticed the corpse draped in the hall and the small trumpet hanging at his waist. "Yuan Shi?" Guan Ya asked tentatively. The corpse removed the trumpet and raised it high, imitating the manner of Yin Yao, the Princess, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been one day since I last saw you—how has each of you been?" Guan Ya, seeing him unwilling to grow close to her before Xiao Yuan and the Palace Master, gave him a sharp glance and coldly remarked, "The Emperor has three thousand beautiful consorts in his palace. Why does he still need us, these frail and ordinary ones, to miss him when he goes out to the teahouses?" The Yin Shi remained composed, "I was merely going out to gather materials and broaden my horizons." "How did the gathering go?" asked the Palace Master, Zhi Sha, calmly. "Lingxi, close the door, so everyone can listen to the Emperor's findings." Ever since I mentioned my visit to the teahouses, everyone has treated me coldly... Zhang Yuanqing said, "Let each of you briefly outline your main and side quests." After a few exchanges, Zhang Yuanqing learned Guan Ya's main quest: to help the Yang family gain the Emperor's trust. Her side quest: to find the Emperor, who had been scattered among the common people. This quest had been activated the day before yesterday, when the Zheng family rebelled and the Emperor fled the palace. The main quest of the Lady of the Stopping-Death Palace remains unchanged, and the side quest "Protect the Emperor for 72 Hours" has already been completed. The current side quest is now "Identify the spies stationed within the capital by the Northern Dynasty." Xie Lingxi's quest progress has stalled—neither the main nor the side quests have changed. Xiao Yuan is in the same situation. After listening to this, Zhang Yuanqing sighed and said, "Miss Guan, I hope you can write a letter to the frontline and ask Fu Qingyang whether there is any possibility of changing allegiances." With members belonging to different factions and conflicting with one another, no progress can be made without a shift in allegiance. Upon hearing this, Guan turned to Xiao Yuan. The latter replied, "I have already visited Linxia." She immediately relayed Fu Qingyang's response to Zhang Yuanqing. The Magician, having surrendered to the Southern Dynasty and announced his loyalty to Fu Qingyang, has thus changed his allegiance. The key now is to communicate this widely—yes, he needs to have sufficient credibility. Fu Qingyang is the supreme commander of the Southern Dynasty's garrison forces, and he has the I could issue an imperial edict, declaring Lady Wan, Lady Ya, and Princess Wang to have switched allegiance and announce it to the entire realm—though I’ll have to proceed at my own pace. Zhang Yuanqing gathered his thoughts and said, "I understand." "Now, let’s talk about the quest. I’ll first share my recent experiences." After he finished, Xiao Yuan, Guan Ya, Xie Lingxi, and the Master of Zhishi Palace began to recount their own experiences and observations during this period. Upon hearing about Guan Ya’s operation of setting up a notice board outside the shop, Red Chicken Brother complained, "Didn’t you consider that some of your team members might not be able to read traditional Chinese characters?" The Master of Zhishi Palace chuckled, "Besides you, everyone else reads well." You blanket, Red Chicken Brother could only mutter it in his heart. Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow and said in contemplation, "Fu Qingyang's side can hold out for at most fifteen days, and at the very least seven days. Two days have already passed. In the worst scenario, the frontline armies will retreat back to the capital within five days. Before that happens, we must firmly control the capital so that we can unite and face the Northern Dynasty's forces together." Hong Ji-guo sighed, "We don't have much time left. Yuan Shi plans to make his appearance during the heavenly sacrifice ceremony, exposing Zheng family's conspiracy and making everyone aware that Zheng has rebelled." Guan Ya's expression changed slightly. "No way!" "Why not?" Everyone turned to her. Guan Ya spoke with a serious demeanor, "The Southern Dynasty's final five thousand elite troops are all stationed at the front lines. The only elite forces remaining in the capital are the city garrison and the Imperial City Bureau. The city garrison has thirty thousand troops, of whom twenty thousand are currently under Zheng's control. The Imperial City Bureau has eight thousand soldiers, more than half of whom are from Zheng's family. If you publicly expose Zheng's conspiracy during the heavenly sacrifice ceremony, you'll be Don't forget—you're a weak ruler. Once the Zheng family rises in rebellion, besides the Yang family and the imperial relatives who'll support you, most of the powerful nobles will remain neutral, and the common people might even back the Zheng family. "And there's the Grand Master, a top-tier master, backing the Zheng family. The Grand Master enjoys strong prestige among the common people..." These words chilled the atmosphere in the room. Hong Ji-guo stepped forward with a formal tone: "Then what do we do?" Zhang Yuanqing sat rigidly, raising his small microphone. "The celestial sacrifice ceremony must be conducted by me to quell the unrest and gain some public goodwill. As Gu Ya-sister said, we can initially refrain from exposing the Zheng family's rebellion—adopting a strategy of surrounding the enemy while leaving room, gradually pushing them into a corner, which would be far more difficult to manage later. Even if we ultimately succeed in suppressing the rebellion, the heart of the capital will suffer significant damage. When the northern dynasty's army arrives, we'll surely lose. Honestly, this quest isn't going to be easy..." The Master of the Zhishi Palace furrowed her brow: "But once you appear publicly, you lose your way Zhang Yuanqing remained silent for a few seconds: "It seems we'll have to find a safe refuge." Guaya shook her head: "There's no such place within the realm! If you return to the palace, you'll be setting yourself up for capture. If you take shelter at the Yang family, the court officials won't agree—how could the emperor live in a minister's home? Moreover, if the Zheng family decides to take bold action and gathers elite forces to besiege the Yang family, with their strong influence, the Yang family will surely be wiped out. And since you haven't exposed the Zheng family's rebellion, they'll face no resistance when mobilizing the city defense forces and the Imperial City Guard." Xie Lingxi and Xiao Yuan also actively joined the discussion, their brows growing increasingly furrowed as they delved deeper—feeling the challenge of the realm to be exceptionally high, and struggling to devise a clear strategy. Zhang Yuanqing quickly outlined the key steps of the plan: winning public support, calming the Zheng family, securing an absolutely safe haven before ascending to the position of Master, and building up strength to counter the Zheng family. As for the specific methods to advance each step, however, he had not yet decided. "There's simply not enough information," Zhang Yuanqing pressed her brow. "Miss Guan, when is the celestial sacrifice ceremony taking place?" Guan replied, "The ceremony has faced opposition from the court officials. Yesterday, the ministers blocked the central hall, delivering passionate protests and accusations. However, by evening, the opposition was finally subdued. Yang—my father—told me that, barring any unforeseen developments, it will take place within two days." Yang was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, second only to Zheng Wenhan in power, with authority over major political matters. He had access to the most up-to-date information. "Tomorrow and the day after," Zhang Yuanqing pressed her brow, echoing Red Chicken's words, "we don't have much time left." Suddenly, in the spacious side hall, a streak of starlight rose. Within the light, a woman dressed in a Tai Chi robe materialized, her eyes fixed and unblinking upon the gathered group. Red Chicken was startled, instinctively stepping back, registering a mild stress response to the woman's appearance. The expressionless corpse swiftly raised a small horn, "Be alert—this is one of the Master's disciples." As he spoke, the woman in a Daoist robe removed a silk pouch from her waist and drew out a square, black cloth. With a rustle, she unfolded it. The square cloth vanished instantly, and outside the pavilion, a curtain fell, blocking out the sunlight and plunging the hall into dimness. Then, the woman in the Daoist robe stepped into the night, disappearing from view. "Be on guard for an attack," Zhang Yuanqing said, holding the horn. "Lingxi and Xiaoyuan, come close to me—open the guild warehouse and retrieve defensive supplies." She promptly complied. Xiaoyuan produced a clay jar, quickly lifted the lid, and immediately a continuous hum filled the air. Thick clouds of blackness surged out of the jar, with dense swarms of insects converging on the group from all sides, rushing and colliding with them. The insects in the left-front area seemed to have encountered an invisible barrier, falling and halting in place. Seeing this, Hongji Brother directed a surge of flame from his palm, compressing it into a long, high-temperature spear, and advanced The flaming lance was grasped by a porcelain-white hand, and a surging wave of yin qi erupted from the palm, instantly extinguishing the flames. The yin qi spread, freezing Red Chicken Brother's arms and shoulders, causing his garments to crystallize with a layer of frost. A woman in a Taoist robe materialized and kicked him squarely in the chest. Red Chicken Brother was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through tables and chairs. At that moment, the empty pupils of the Taoist woman began to reveal the figure of the Master of Zhishā Palace. The Master's pupils transformed into spirals, and she hummed a soft, ethereal song—her melody seemed to possess a soothing power, lulling everyone present into a drowsy state. The Taoist woman grew quiet, her eyelids trembling, and seemed on the verge of falling asleep. Suddenly, a face of dark green and black emerged from her own, fierce and distorted, emitting a piercing scream. The Master of Zhishā Palace swiftly pressed her temple, as though struck by a bullet—her head throbbed with intense pain, and the song vanished instantly. This was no mere mental assault by a spirit mage; it was a raw, unrefined The ethereal woman's face sank back as the robe-clad maiden drove her blade through the palace master's chest, the tip piercing through her back, spilling blood. The palace master completely ignored this fatal blow to the heart, her right hand having donned a silk glove at an unseen moment, and with her palm now as sharp as a blade, she returned the assault by piercing the maiden's chest. Red Luan, the star official, possessed greater vitality and healing power than even her peer, the night-wanderer deity, making her immune to the strategy of exchanging wounds. At the level of sovereign, blood itself equaled life essence. The two parties separated decisively. "Boom!" A surge of flame erupted, the Red Rooster blazing like a torch, charging straight at the robe-clad maiden. At the same time, the shadow corpse Zhang Yuanqing emerged from behind the palace master, joining the Red Rooster in close, swift attacks on the maiden. Thud, thud, thud... Their exchanges of punches and kicks sent out powerful gusts of energy, shaking the doorframe violently. Unable to withstand the combined assault, the robe-clad maiden dissolved into starlight, and then the night-wanderer concealed herself. At this moment, the insect swarm inside the hall was scattered and heavily damaged by the combat among several fighters, no longer able to conduct its continuous, sweeping search of the enemy. The cloaked woman seized the opportunity to approach the young circle, raising her short dagger and stabbing it toward her chest. Guan Ya, dressed in a heavy, flowing gown, moved like a hare in flight, executing a high kick that struck the woman's wrist; her ankle slipped through the hilt, yet no solid impact was felt. Illusion? Guan Ya was startled—though she was a scout and her perception skill was particularly effective against illusions, under the pressure of the opponent's superior level, she had still been deceived. "Pff!" The sound of the blade piercing flesh reached her ears, as the tip of the dagger emerged from Guan Ya's chest. The cloaked woman now appeared behind Guan Ya. Guan Ya's eyes narrowed slightly, remaining still, and then thrust her finger backward. The sharp force of the sword's energy instantly pierced through the cloaked woman's abdomen. She countered with a backward elbow, pushing her off, then pressed one hand to her chest while the other extended her finger, channeling a burst of sword energy that emitted a After observing his teammates under attack from the rear, Hong Jiguo immediately knelt on one knee, placing both palms flat on the ground. Two streams of flame danced across the surface, encircling the three women and forming a solid wall of fire. Guan Ya extracted the life essence vial and administered the injection while continuously monitoring the flames. At that moment, she sensed a disturbance in the flames on her left—seeming as though someone had leapt toward her. Without hesitation, she turned and launched a stream of sword energy toward the right. "Pff!" The sword energy pierced through flesh, spilling blood, and revealed a woman in a robe standing on the right side. The earlier disturbance in the flames had been a magical illusion. Having just fought through the battle, Guan Ya now understood the condition of the woman in the robe: her face was expressionless, her pupils scattered, clearly under control or inherently lacking in intelligence. Such an opponent lacked adaptability, displayed a monotonous and repetitive fighting style. The earlier use of illusion to misdirect had been a deliberate tactic—now, she would surely employ the same strategy again. This was precisely the hallmark of a scout's professional competence. Xie Lingxi finally found the item in the guild's warehouse and quickly retrieved it, declaring with a knight's voice: "By the honor of a knight, no teleportation techniques shall be used in this battle." The bronze medal in her hand flashed with a golden light, establishing an invisible rule that effectively barred teleportation. Then, the nun reached out from the void and plucked a sword orb glowing with a white light. Huh? The inventory?! Everyone was momentarily stunned by this sight.