Losing a supreme elder was a big deal to any faction in the world. The Heavenly Sword Palace was no exception.
Even though the battle between Yun Lintian and Jian Xu was short, the commotion was not small. Any top practitioner could perceive it and even know the outcome.
Therefore, the Star Gazing Palace and the Azure Palace didn't hesitate to move their spies. As long as Yun Lintian appeared in the vicinity, he would be reported instantly.
"It seems I have been going away for too long. These people have already forgotten about my existence." Qing Xiaoting smiled faintly. It was a smile that hid a cold killing intent behind it.
Yun Lintian and the others felt a chill running down their spines while looking at her smile.
Yun Lintian thought a person with an aloof status like her wouldn't bother to do anything by herself, but it didn't seem to be the case. He remembered how she dealt with the man who tried to enter his room the last time. Qing Xiaoting didn't hesitate to kill him despite she could let him go. This said a lot about how different between her and other ancestor-level characters.
"You take a good rest first." Qing Xiaoting said and vanished from the place.
Yun Lintian turned to Jian Feng and asked. "Do you have a map of the Central Continent, Brother Jian?"
"I do." Jian Feng responded and handed a jade slip to Yun Lintian.
"Thank you." Yun Lintian took the slip and read the contents inside, preparing for his next move.
***
In a plum blossom garden, two middle-aged men were playing chess while leisurely sipping a spirit tea.
"It's not peaceful recently." The middle-aged man with a smiling face said while moving his chess piece. He was the founder of the Star Gazing Palace, Xing Tengfei.
"It depends on how you define the word peaceful." Another middle-aged man with sharp eyebrows said. His face could be described as heroic and filled with a sense of majesty. With a glance, anyone would view him as a high-ranking person. He was the founder of the Azure Palace, Weilan Jian.
He moved the chess piece and chuckled. "This move of yours is not good."
Xing Tengfei glanced at the chessboard and nodded gently. "It's indeed a bad move… But it serves a purpose well."
As he spoke, he moved another chess piece to turn the tide.
Weilan Jian's brows raised slightly. He smiled and said. "When you need to kill it, you have to kill it thoroughly. Do not give any chance to make a counterattack."
Pah!
Weilan Jian put the bishop adjacent to Xing Tengfei's knight and forced the latter to sacrifice it if he didn't want to get checkmated.
Xing Tengfei's pupils shrank as he stared at Weilan Jian's move for a long time. He sighed and said. "It's really my fault this time. I shouldn't have sent my knight out."
Weilan Jian took a sip of tea and said with a smile. "At least you get some results."
Xing Tengfei shook his head slightly. "I have underestimated the opponent greatly this time. Even if I didn't lose my knight, it could change the trajectory of this game entirely."
The smile on Weilan Jian's face didn't fade in the slightest as he said. "It's not your fault. There will always be a new chess piece that appears on the board, and this time, this wild chess piece happens to give us so many surprises."
He paused for a moment and chuckled. "In the end, a chess piece will always be a chess piece. It is the fact that cannot be changed."
Suddenly, Xing Tengfei received a message from someone and said. "Qing Xiaoting finally makes a move."
"Nothing to be surprised." Weilan Jian put the teacup down and said. "She has been looking for the sword's owner, and this person has appeared in front of her. It's understandable that she wants to pave the way for him."
"Speaking of this, this Yun Lintian is really strange. It's like he has just popped out of nowhere and risen prominently. Through the investigations, he's likely to be related to Yun Wushuang. Could it be he was the trump card she left behind?" Xing Tengfei crossed his hands together and said in doubt.
Weilan Jian didn't deny his opinion directly as he said. "There's a chance, but unlikely. You know how she left back then. It's almost impossible for her to arrange anything like this under our noses."
Xing Tengfei nodded slowly. Back then, Yun Wushuang was ambushed by the two of them and escaped with the silver of her life. Even though she made a preparation for her Misty Cloud Palace, it was impossible for her to prepare this Yun Lintian behind their backs.
He thought for a moment and said. "Let me look at him."
Following that, starboard appeared in the air above his head. It was a starry sky filled with countless stars, similar to Xing Renshu's Fate Swallowing Star Map.
Xing Tengfei's face turned solemn as his aura rose. The stars on the board began to move chaotically and increased their intensity as time passed.
"Puff!" All of a sudden, Xing Tengfei's face turned pale, and he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. A trace of fear appeared in the depth of his eyes as he said solemnly. "He cannot be left alive."
A rare frown appeared on Weilan Jian's face. He, of course, knew how accurate Xing Tengfei's Star Gazing Divination Art was. This was the first time he saw him suffer a backlash for using it.
"What did you see?" He asked with a serious expression.
Xing Tengfei took a deep breath and uttered. "A pair of giant hands… It can crush anything into pieces."
The frown on Weilan Jian's face grew deeper. "A pair of giant hands? What does it mean?"
Xing Tengfei shook his head. "I have no idea. I only know that we will definitely get crushed by it."
A strange light flashed through Weilan Jian's eyes. No one knew what he was thinking…