Pei Xuanjing vaguely remembered that in his previous life simulations, he had not interacted with Lawlessness or the Six Gates. They seemed to be two parallel lines that never intersected.
Now, with Lawlessness appearing at the Justice Hall, Pei Xuanjing knew for sure that his early challenge to the Justice Hall had caused a deviation.
According to the trajectory of his life simulations, he should be in secluded cultivation on Shenxiao Mountain. Only after Zhao Baiyangs successful killing of the dragon and the succession of the new emperor, would Pei Xuanjing descend from the mountain, once the True Martial Sect's formation research was successful.
By then, with the changes that had occurred in Tiandu, Six Gates and even the entire imperial court of Great Ming had shifted their attention to the new emperor and the Mire Sect, neglecting Pei Xuanjing.
However, with Pei Xuanjing's early descent, Tiandu was quiet. Thus, the Six Gates chose to appear at this time, aiming to capture this Remnant of Shenxiao, who had disgraced the entire Great Ming imperial court.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, the exit of the mighty chief capturer of Six Gates from Tiandu was undoubtedly lowering the city'S guard, making it easier for Zhao Baiyang's plan to be implemented.
According to the continuous news provided by Bai Xiaosheng, Pei Xuanjing could roughly estimate the timing of Zhao Baiyang's actions, which would probably occur in the next few days.
Pei Xuanjing even guessed that if someone was following him, they would probably strike at the same time he arrived at the Justice Hall.
"What do you mean!" Lawlessness frowned and asked.
At his level, he could discern that when Pei Xuanjing said these words, he seemed to be earnest.
This, indeed, gave Lawlessness a bad premonition.
"Nothing. Just feeling a bit annoyed." Pei Xuanjing shrugged, feeling irritated that he had unintentionally aided Zhao Baiyang.
With that in mind, he no longer felt like covering for Zhao Baiyang and asked, "Has the chief capturer been focusing too much on me lately and ignoring the actions of the Mire Sect?"
In Pei Xuanjing's view, with the keen insight of the Six Gates, they should not ignore the activities of the Mire Sect.
It must be due to his recent actions that they had been negligent, overlooking the operations of the Mire Sect.
"Hmm? The Mire Sect." Lawlessness frowned and fell into thought. He asked the people behind him, "Has there been any strange movements in the Mire Sect recently?"
Just as Pei Xuanjing mentioned, they had concentrated all their attention on Pei Xuanjing recently and temporarily set aside other matters.
Lawlessness did not see any problem in this before, but now that Pei Xuanjing mentioned it, he could not help but care.
After all, what Pei Xuanjing talked about was not something trivial, it was about Tiandu.
Tiandu and the Mire Sect.
If these two words were linked together, with the instincts that Lawlessness formed over the yea] he had to take it seriously.
"Sir!" Suddenly, a gold badge capturer behind him seemed to recall something and whispered, "Not long ago, many of our spies in the Mire Sect were purged. Some were sent to remote places to carry out some inexplicable tasks."
Indeed!
The Mire Sect did have some major operation.
Lawlessness realized this and suddenly looked at Pei Xuanjing, commanding, "What exactly is the Mire Sect up to? Tell me!"
All the martial artists at the scene were bewildered, even Ma Wuji of the Justice Hall, who had quietly invited the Six Gates, was at a loss.
They did not understand why the situation had suddenly shifted in such a way.
They all expected that the Six Gates, known for their domineering nature, would inevitably clash with Pei Xuanjing, a notorious criminal who had been on the Great Ming imperial court wanted list for several years.
The moment they meet, it would be like a volcanic eruption, a dramatic showdown of heavenly thunder and earthly fire.
Yet, the scenario everyone was expecting did not happen as anticipated.
With just a few words from Pei Xuanjing, the well-renowned Lawlessness was suddenly in a fluster, inquiring about the Mire Sect.
Were the Mire Sect involved in this?
But both sides involved, whether it was the Six Gates or Pei Xuanjing, didn't seem to have any connection with the Mire Sect, but only harbored enmity towards it, right?
Pei Xuanjing, looking at the anxious Lawlessness, calmly asked, "Why should I tell the Chief Capturer about the Mire Sect's affairs?"
So, it does involve the Mire Sect. Some of the more knowledgeable masters at the scene suddenly began to piece together the recent rumours.
"You really do Imow!" Lawlessness's resonant voice echoed. He loudly said to Pei Xuanjing, "Tell us the Mire Sect's plan, and I'll let you go today."
"Hahahaha…" Pei Xuanjing suddenly burst into laughter as if he had heard something hilarious.
He sneered at Lawlessness, "Spare my life, with just you?"
Lawlessness's expression turned cold. The plot which the Mire Sect possibly pulled in Tiandu was something he couldn't control. This made him furious. In addition, Pei Xuanjing's lack of cooperation enraged him further.
Since he became the Chief Capturer of the Six Gates, no one had dared to scorn him like this. Not even the emperor would humiliate him so.
"Since you refuse to toast, then don't blame me for not showing mercy." Lawlessness, filled with anger, made his move..
Clang!
A fist shot out, the intense killing aura barreling towards him.
Having grown from a downcast soldier's son to a chief capturer of the Six Gates, Lawlessness has gone through countless battles. His horrifying killing aura has nearly materialized.
In that instant when he made his move, his figure almost disappeared, being replaced by a domineering blast of fist wind.
Faced with this domineering and fierce fist force, Pei Xuanjing was not afraid. His fingers came together, he turned his hand into a palm, condensed countless purplish-blue thunders, and then slapped out with it.
The overwhelming momentum abruptly burst out as Pei Xuanjing's profound True Qi circulated, setting off gusty winds around him.
The vast and enormous palm seal, carrying endless purplish-blue thunder, seemed to morph into millions of palm seals, enveloping Lawlessness.
Simultaneously, the Innate Thunder Gang Qi was operating, with a purplish-blue protective divine light covering his body,
The dominant fist force collided with the vast and enormous palm seal, the terrifying gusts of wind, like raging rivers, surging and sweeping in all directions.
With the collision at the center of the two people as the focus, the stone slabs on Long Street exploded and flew apart. All the martial artists who were watching from a distance were utterly horrified.
They couldn't figure out why the first exchange of blows between these two would cause such a situation.
Meanwhile, the figure of Zhao Baiyang, leader of the Mire Sect and one of the causes of Pei Xuanjing and Lawlessness's anger , also appeared in Tiandu at the same time that they began to cross hands.
Zhao Baiyang was still dressed in white, looking refined and elegant.
At this moment, he was standing in a pavilion, his gaze lead to no other place than the Martial Academy.
After that night's assassination, the Martial Academy suffered heavy casualties.
Even though the Emperor later sent people to repair the academy, the master experts originally in it, after learning that they were only used to catch attention, didn't want to stay and left one after another.
Since then, the once bustling Martial Academy returned to its desolate and vacant state.
However, many young martial artists still loitered in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of any distinctive features of the Martial Academy that had once hosted the renowned Slayer Taoist, Pei Xuanjing.
"Pei Xuanjing." Zhao Baiyang looked at the distant Martial Academy with indifference and couldn't help but think of Pei Xuanjing again.
"Has any news come?" he suddenly asked aloud.
"Master, today's flying eagle hasn't returned. But according to the message from yesterday's flying eagle, Pei Xuanjing is now less than a hundred miles away from Justice Hall. If there are no accidents, he should arrive at Justice Hall today," Yu Yiyao, standing by, said softly.
They had been following Pei Xuanjing and observing his movements all the time, relaying updates every day via a flying eagle.
"Good!" Zhao Baiyang nodded.
"It'S just a Pei Xuanjing, why make such a fuss?", suddenly a voice full of disdain sounded from behind the two.
It turned out that there were others on the pavilion, The man who spoke wore a black brocade robe, with an ordinary face.
This man was the lord of the underworld, the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, who had been invited by Zhao Baiyang. Of course, his appearance was not his true face, clearly changed by a face-changing skill.
"Heh heh." Zhao Baiyang chuckled, not taking the Ghost Emperor's words to heart.
Knowing the Ghost Emperor's animosity towards Pei Xuanjing, he was aware that the former detested the latter, wishing to kill him as soon as possible.
However, in Zhao Baiyang's view, the people of the underworld probably had not recently fought Pei Xuanjing and were unaware of how vastly his strength had changed.
Indeed, had Zhao Baiyang not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have dared to imagine the astonishing speed at which Pei Xuanjing's strength had progressed, it was simply beyond belief.
How could the people of the underworld know such a thing?
Despite that, Zhao Baiyang had no intentions of revealing Pei Xuanjing's current strength to the Ghost Emperor.
While the two were working together, it was only due to mutual benefit, not because of any close relationship between them.
As a matter of fact, the animosity between the two of them was probably just as intense as that between each of them and Pei Xuanjing.
Hence, Zhao Baiyang deliberately withheld information about Pei Xuanjing, hoping to see the latter give the Ghost Emperor a good tumble.
"I heard that this Pei Xuanjing emerged not long ago, but in a short period of over a decade, he has made a big name for himself. Many experts have been killed by him. It has indeed aroused great curiosity in me," said a middle-aged man in grey next to the Ghost Emperor.
Having come out of seclusion only recently, he found that he was almost growing calluses from hearing the name Pei Xuanjing so often, which prompted him to look into the other party's background.
Upon investigation, he found a veritable killing star, who had upset both the martial world and political arena. Clearly, Pei Xuanjing had risen by stepping over the bodies of countless experts.
In his view, Pei Xuanjing had indeed joined the wrong sect. He should not be a disciple of the Shenxiao Sect, but should belong to the branch of Holy Sect Seven Killings. Zhao Baiyang glanced at the middle-aged man and said, "Master will meet him one day."
"Heh heh, I am very much looking forward to it," the middle-aged man laughed.
The man, who called himself a master, was indeed of surprisingly high status. He was none other than Xue Wuheng, the sect master of the Sky Demon Sect, who was ranked among the top martial arts practitioners by Bai Xiaosheng.
Ever since the Slayer Taoist killed the Demonic Cult leader with thunderous momentum, the Demonic Cult had splintered and everyone went their own way, making it difficult to unite..
In the nearly six hundred years since the founding of the Great Ming, practitioners of the Demonic Way had always been low-key, seldom seen in the realm of martial arts.
No one saw it coming that Zhao Baiyang managed to invite the leader of the Sky Demon Sect out of his seclusion to partake in his plan.
To think that the leader of the Sky Demon Sect had been considered the strongest in the Demonic Way in the past six hundred years, boasting talents comparable to the original Demonic Cult's leader, and potentially the most likely candidate to unite the disparate branches of the Demonic Way and rise as the leader of the Demonic Cult once again.
Having abandoned his duties in the Demonic Cult for the moment, could it mean that he had suppressed the individuals within the Demonic Way and was preparing to announce to the world that the Demonic Cult was making a comeback in the realm of martial arts?
Regardless, just his presence here today shows how much effort Zhao Baiyang has put into this plan.
Zhao Baiyang himself, the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, and the Sky Demon Sect's leader Xue Wuheng, these three individuals are all supreme powerhouses atop the Supreme List, each capable of causing significant disruptions in the martial world with simple actions.
The influence caused by the gathering of these three, even the True Martial Sect who are currently seen as the most powerful force in the realm of martial arts, would not dare to take lightly.
"I'm afraid you won't have a chance to meet him." The Ghost Emperor of Fengdu's voice echoed inappropriately.
"Oh?" Xue Wuheng raised an eyebrow, only to hear the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu coldly say: "Because this time, I will personally take action to kill him in Tiandu!"
"Hehe." Sky Demon Sect's leader Xue Wuheng gave a faint smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Zhao Baiyang did the same with a smile.
"Hehe!" The Ghost Emperor of Fengdu saw the reactions of the two and was furious inside, but chose not to vent his anger, only responding with a cold snort.
At the same time, his hatred for Pei Xuanjing intensified – were it not for him, he would not be made fun of by these two.
Flap…
A messenger eagle flew past in the sky, attracting the attention of everyone present.
However, none of the three supreme individuals reacted. Yu Yiyao reached out her hand and grasped the messenger eagle with her True Qi, bringing it into her palm.
She took a bamboo tube the thickness of a thumb from the eagle's leg and set the messenger eagle free. She then took out the message from the bamboo tube and unfolded it.
"Pei has ascended Justice Hall…" Yu Yiyao quickly read the message aloud.
Then she turned to Zhao Baiyang and said: "Master, Pei Xuanjing has ascended Justice Hall. He alone was able to easily defeat the nine first-grade masters including the Master of Justice Hall, Ma Wuji."
"As expected." Zhao Baiyang didn't seem surprised by this result, he nodded and asked: "What about Lawlessness, was he there?"
The fact that Pei Xuanjing could easily defeat Ma Wuji came as no surprise to Zhao Baiyang. Having fought against him before, he knew exactly how powerful Pei Xuanjing was.
What he cared more about was whether his source of information was correct.
Had the head of the Six Gates already been drawn out by the news of Pei Xuanjing's appearance to personally come to Justice Hall to arrest the offender?
If Lawlessness didn't show up, it meant his plan had been unsuccessful.
Indeed, even though Ma Wuji and others had thought to invite the people from Six Gates, the motivation behind this thought was partly facilitated by Zhao Baiyang.
Upon confirming that Pei Xuanjing would go to Justice Hall, he began to plot behind the scenes to attract Lawlessness away from Tiandu.
As for the head of the Six Gates whose strength was unfathomable, even Zhao Baiyang was unclear about his capabilities. He had been renowned longer than Zhao himself.
By the time Zhao Baiyang rose to power, Lawlessness had already assumed the position of head of the Six Gates, serving in that capacity ever since and rarely leaving.
According to the information in Zhao Baiyang•s possession, Lawlessness's strength was, if anything, stronger than theirs. He thought, if it was not for the imperial court rules, Lawlessness would definitely qualify to be on the Supreme List.
In their plan to execute the dragon in Tiandu, Lawlessness was one of the biggest obstacles. This time, if they could divert him from Tiandu by hoodwinking him, it would greatly alleviate the hindrance to their plan.
"Hehe, thank you very much this time, Brother Pei." Zhao Baiyang thought to himself.
He soon put this idea aside and instructed Yu Yiyao: "Now, issue a command to all of our people to begin to converge on the Imperial City. In two hours, they should break into the Imperial City and kill the emperor."
"Yes!" Yu Yiyao was about to leave the scene upon receiving the order.
'Wait!"
As she was about to leave, she was halted by the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, who looked at Zhao Baiyang with scepticism and asked: "Now it's noon, and we'll take action in two hours. Shouldn't we wait until nightfall?"
As the saying goes, the highest winds blow on the darkest nights, which are perfect for committing illicit acts.
Underworld assassins often choose to act at night, as daylight makes it hard to conceal one's identity and would easily attract attention from others.
"Hehe." Zhao Baiyang chuckled lightly and asked: "Considering the current situation, do you think we have a chance to get close to the Imperial City tonight?"
He thought that perhaps the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu's prolonged seclusion had caused rust in his thinking.
This was Tiandu, the core capital area of the Great Ming Empire.
At nightfall, all streets within several miles of the Imperial City would be under curfew. Except for patrol soldiers in groups, no common people were allowed to approach.
Any curfew violators approaching the Imperial City would be executed on the spot if they didn't heed the warning.
So, they could only take advantage of daylight, when their people could mingle with the commoners and approach the Imperial City.
If they were to wait until nightfall, they would need to confront innumerable soldiers directly, charging in under a shower of arrows, inevitably resulting in heavy losses.
"Uh…" The Ghost Emperor of Fengdu was taken aback after hearing Zhao Baiyang's explanation.
Obviously, he hadn't considered that. He wasn't afraid of a shower of arrows, but his subordinates might not be able to withstand it.
"Hehe, in that case, let's command our forces to get ready!" Xue Wuheng, the leader of the Sky Demon Sect, intervened to ease the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu's embarrassment.
Although he had been thinking the same way just now, he hadn't actually voiced it out and thus had managed to save face.
At this critical moment of implementing the plan, Zhao Baiyang naturally would not intentionally face off against the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu. He thought for a moment, and said to Yu Yiyao: "Order everyone to get ready to approach the Imperial City. Wait for the soldiers to change shifts and wait for an hour after they have left their posts before acting on my command."
They just needed to wait for the soldiers to change shifts and return to the large camp in the suburbs of the city. It would take a considerable amount of time for those soldiers to return once they had launched their attack.
"Yes!" Yu Yiyao left to carry out the order..