Chen Yan was also very clear about what Zhou Jinyun was thinking.
"Think harder."
Seated at the stone table, the handsome young man in plain white daoist robes spoke slowly.
Yet the aura he exuded and the expression in his eyes carried absolutely no youthful vigor.
On the contrary, he seemed entirely like some old monster.
Zhou Jinyun was silent for a moment.
This chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower, hailed by the world as possessing "the talent to ascend to immortality," was naturally quite intelligent.
To avoid alerting their target, aside from Mirage Palace's Grand Elders, only a very few people knew that Shen Chuan was already dead.
Even the elders of Return-Into-Emptiness Pavilion were unaware of this.
This time, Zhou Jinyun had used Weaving Dreams Tower's secret illusion techniques to manipulate Protector Huang and the other two disciples' memories to come here, precisely to investigate this matter.
She had originally thought this trip might be a wasted effort, that Elder Zheng might simply have wanted to fulfill an agreement.
Who could have predicted something like this would happen?
At the Kang Mansion, she had stayed close to Protector Huang and the two disciples the entire time; she was very certain the Kang Mansion Massacre was absolutely not carried out by Protector Huang and his group.
Then who could it be?
Zhou Jinyun fixed her gaze on the young cultivator living in the Listening to the Waves Pavilion south of the city.
Highly suspicious.
But he was merely a Body Forging Realm cultivator; there must be a true culprit behind the scenes.
Perhaps by continuing to lie low in the shadows, she could uncover more.
It wasn't until today at the Kang Mansion, when she overheard Chen Yan's conversation with "Kang Keyang," that Zhou Jinyun finally had her epiphany.
So in those seemingly insignificant moments, there had been so many details embedded.
After that, the first emotion Zhou Jinyun felt toward Chen Yan was a childish jealousy.
She envied Chen Yan's mind; clearly the same age as her, yet he could notice so many details she had completely overlooked.
Then, after she saw spiritual energy emerge from the tips of Chen Yan's fingers, this childish jealousy quickly transformed into relief.
From the perspective of a great power of the upper three realms, everything made perfect sense now.
If the "young" senior in plain white daoist robes before her was connected to Elder Zheng and Shen Chuan...
No, his actions so far completely defied logic.
But how did he know about the secret affairs Mirage Palace had sealed off?
Perhaps this senior of the upper three realms also had some connections with the sect's Grand Elders?
Zhou Jinyun could only speculate this way.
But thinking it over, she also relaxed a little.
"Senior..."
Zhou Jinyun bowed again, but the moment she started to speak, Chen Yan raised a hand to cut her off.
"So, do you want to hear my conditions?"
Chen Yan said calmly.
"Please, Senior, speak."
Zhou Jinyun said with utmost respect.
This chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower, only fourteen years old this year, naturally had her pride.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have just been so bold as to "offend" the unidentified upper three realms great power before her.
But now, she was finally truly and completely convinced.
"The conditions are simple. Marrow Cleansing Pills, I want three bottles."
Chen Yan raised three fingers and said.
"...Marrow Cleansing Pills?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinyun was slightly startled.
She hadn't expected the upper three realms senior before her to propose such an ordinary condition.
Marrow Cleansing Pills were a special kind of pill taken by Body Forging Realm cultivators, capable of greatly accelerating their cultivation speed.
Especially effective for those Body Forging Realm cultivators with relatively average talent.
Of course, talent was still the most important prerequisite.
"Senior, what do you need Marrow Cleansing Pills for..."
Zhou Jinyun looked somewhat puzzled.
Chen Yan said nothing, merely lifting his eyes to glance at Su Hongzhen beside him.
"But three bottles seems like quite a lot..."
Zhou Jinyun said.
"He has poor talent."
Chen Yan said slowly.
"Huh?"
Su Hongzhen, who had been utterly confused since the beginning, finally understood the first sentence of their conversation:
"Big brother, so my talent is really that bad?"
"...Yeah."
Chen Yan nodded.
"But didn't you say..."
"Shut up and go cultivate."
"Oh."
Zhou Jinyun watched the interaction between these two "brothers," thought it over for a moment, then nodded:
"This junior understands. I beg Senior to wait a few days; I will naturally present the Marrow Cleansing Pills."
Even though she still didn't understand why a great power of the upper three realms would make such an inexplicable request for Marrow Cleansing Pills.
But Zhou Jinyun also knew she shouldn't pry too much; she just had to comply.
"Well then, that's enough for today."
Chen Yan said calmly.
"Yes, Senior. This junior will take her leave now."
Zhou Jinyun bowed.
Chen Yan just lightly nodded in response.
Then Zhou Jinyun, a Martial Spring Realm cultivator, flickered and vanished from the courtyard.
"Huh? Where did she go?"
Su Hongzhen asked, confused.
...
Great Yu Dynasty, Ningjing City.
In front of the imperial palace, six thousand heavy infantrymen, clad in heavy armor and wielding shields and long halberds, stood in perfect formation outside the palace grounds.
The style of their armor and the color of their linings revealed their identity—
The personal troops of Lord Jing'an of Weizhou Prefecture.
Shwoosh! Shwoosh!
The sound of orderly footsteps rang out as the six thousand heavy infantrymen standing outside the imperial city simultaneously took two large steps to either side, then turned to face the center.
A grim, murderous atmosphere pervaded the area outside the palace.
Then, the sound of horse hooves rang out.
An old man in splendid armor, his hair gray, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, and his expression stern without needing to show anger, rode a warhorse at the very front, followed by several generals behind him.
Great Yu's Lord Jing'an, Li Chengyuan.
Lord Jing'an's Southern Court army had swept through everything in its path, and in an extremely short time, had completely routed Ningjing City's Imperial Guard, successfully entering Great Yu's capital.
And now, even Great Yu's imperial palace was entirely under his control.
Li Chengyuan rode his horse slowly to the foot of the imperial city wall, then dismounted and stood before the vermilion lacquered gate.
Two of his subordinates helped push open the main gate of the imperial city, and Li Chengyuan slowly stepped inside.
Inside the palace gate, guards were still standing at attention on both sides.
Li Chengyuan continued walking forward, heading toward the palace built upon white marble bricks.
Behind him followed his most trusted generals.
"Greetings, Lord!"
Suddenly, as Li Chengyuan passed by, a guard shouted out.
Li Chengyuan's footsteps paused briefly. He glanced twice in the guard's direction, then gave a faint smile and continued walking forward.
But the general who had been following behind him did not continue forward with him.
That general stopped in front of the guard. First, he glared fiercely at him, then kicked him:
"You brat, do you have any brains?"
The guard, knocked to the ground, was completely bewildered, having no idea what he had done wrong.
Then, thunderous shouts rang out across the imperial city:
"Greetings, Sovereign!"