Chapter 564: The Invisible Hand (1/2)

[V6C94 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

Who was their enemy?

Qianye naturally had no answer to this question. Song Zining pondered for a while and said, “If, for some reason, I require a more powerful fighting power, can I ask Nighteye? Her combat strength will definitely be helpful.”

“Absolutely not,” Qianye replied decisively.

Song Zining’s expression was just as before. It was as though this refusal wasn’t a matter worth mentioning. “Very well, I understand. I was asking just in case.”

“Don’t hesitate to call me if you need help. It’ll be very dangerous if Nighteye’s identity is revealed.”

“I’m afraid it’ll be dangerous all the same.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem as long as we find a good opportunity and act efficiently.”

The biggest problem for Qianye while fighting in the empire was that he couldn’t use powerful moves like Life Plunder. The Shot of Inception, on the other hand, wasn’t quite discernible in terms of aura. But even so, he would still need to weigh things carefully before using it. Yellow Springs and Red Scorpion specialized in concealment and assassination arts. Even though there might be changes in their style on the battlefield, they had never abandoned these skills.

Song Zining only laughed. “Let’s play it by ear. Okay, I’ll be leaving now; any longer and those two will become curious.”

“We’re not at the level where we can grab their attention, are we?” Qianye asked, puzzled.

“Our combat strength is naturally not enough, but an isolating barrier popping up in their perception range is a different matter. They might actually spare us an extra glance. Naturally, they won’t pay us much attention as long as we aren’t involved in spying, intelligence, or matters related to the imperial court.”

Qianye could no longer feel that vague fluctuation after Song Zining’s departure. It would seem the latter’s guess was quite close to the mark.

Meanwhile, Song Zining exhaled deeply after leaving Qianye’s tent and rubbed his temples. His expression was still mild and gentle, but his indifferent eyes gave away some of his worries.

Song Zining had recovered from his uncharacteristic state of anxiety following Qianye’s reminder. After that, he thought a bit deeper about this matter. The schools of divination in the empire could be counted on one’s hands—they were even rarer than high-ranking champions.

The person behind the curtains had utilized this fact to set him up. This method was simply too vile. Unless… they had scried Qianye first and actually failed! It would seem that they had figured something out along the way and wanted to produce an opening.

The night was calm. Qianye didn’t cultivate that night and only went on with comprehending the memory fragments from the River of Blood. With increased understanding of this inherited knowledge, his utilization of blood energy also improved.

The focus of this study at the moment was how to withdraw and hide his blood energy, and it so happened that there was knowledge in the inheritance pertaining to this. These methods were used by the vampires of ancient times to approach their prey and hide from powerful predators.

The secret arts he had obtained from the inheritance were similar to Bloodline Concealment. After cultivating it to the end, he would be able to control his blood energies at a deeper level and even disguise his blood core. But on the other hand, perhaps due to their era, these techniques weren’t as detailed as Bloodline Concealment. They were slightly inferior in terms of technical skill.

But after comparing the two, Qianye felt that the inheritance from the River of Blood was clearly more powerful. If he could even hide his blood core, what else could be used to detect the presence of his blood energy? Bloodline Concealment, on the other hand, seemed to be making up for its lack of power with finesse.

Bloodline Concealment might be better at his current stage, but it might not be able to hide all of his blood energy after he had advanced to the Marquis or Duke ranks. The inherited secret art would be quite useful at that time.

Qianye tried using a secret art to retract his blood energy but discovered that only the ones on the surface were drawn into the depths of his vessels; that was all he could muster. But the effects were better when the two were used together.

He pondered back and forth but decided to use only Bloodline Concealment in front of Zhang Boqian. It hadn’t been too long since their last meeting—if it was effective back then, it should be effective this time, too.

The night went by in this manner.

At dawn the next day, the Evernight Continent was still shrouded in darkness when the desolate bugle resounded throughout the base and woke the entire camp from their deep sleep. Soon, several blares of different lengths emerged, summoning the generals of each barracks to the command center.

Close to a hundred command vehicles rushed toward the central camp. These vehicles had emblems of the imperial army or the aristocratic clans painted on them in a display of glory.

There were several from the Zhao clan who would receive rewards today, but only Qianye was on the command vehicle with Duke You, while the others followed behind in a single car. As for Zhao Jundu, he had his own private car and guard squad.

Qianye felt numerous fiery gazes upon him when he boarded the vehicle.