Time flowed by. There was still a day before the competition between the Variant Immortal School and the Divine Fusion School.
The Imperial Capital seemed to be calm during this period of time, but in reality, after Tianzhao County Governor sent over the dao seed as evidence, a storm was about to descend.
Hence, under the calm before this storm, the atmosphere in the Imperial Capital was unpredictable.
Everyone was observing.
They were observing the Human Emperor and the Variant Immortal School.
Regardless of whether it was in the Imperial Academy or outside the Imperial Academy, the Variant Immortal School was in a storm. Moreover, because the tower was sealed, the liveliness of the past seemed to have disappeared instantly and returned to its previous silent appearance.
Those who cultivated Variant Immortal School art were also suffering, not daring to reveal their identities in the outside world.
On the surface, the various forces seemed to be waiting for the decree of the Human Emperor.
One could imagine that the moment this decree was passed down, there was a high likelihood of a drastic decline for the Variant Immortal School, with its resurgence potential collapsing, perhaps even worse than its previous decline.
At least in the past, the decline could be attributed to being phased out by the times. But now, they were suspected to be involved in the extraction of the souls of millions of humans for cultivation, and the entire human populace was paying attention to this…
If they were really linked to this case, this would be the greatest sin in the human race.
Moreover, the evidence seemed to be conclusive.
It was only when the agreed date for the competition between the Divine Fusion School and the Variant Immortal School arrived that the Human Emperor's decree that everyone was waiting for rang out from the palace.
"The seal of the Variant Immortal School is temporarily lifted. You are allowed to discuss the Dao with the Divine Fusion School to prove yourself!"
This decree surprised many people but at the same time, it was also within their expectations.
The Variant Immortal School had existed since the establishment of the Imperial Academy. Throughout history, countless human cultivators had cultivated the Variant Immortal School art.
Although it declined later on, over the long ages, it had formed countless connections with various human factions, and there were many sentiments and bonds unknown to outsiders.
One could imagine that behind this decree was a multifaceted power play, which was an affair beneath the surface and not something ordinary individuals could comprehend.
In short, the Variant Immortal School had burned the sentiments they had accumulated since its establishment, to exchange for an opportunity.
An opportunity to prove its innocence.
Hence, the day before the Dao Discussion, at dusk, the gate of the white tower of the Variant Immortal School was slowly pushed open. The school head of the Variant Immortal School, who had been locked inside, appeared.
During this half a month, his gaze had clearly become more aged. At this moment, he stood there and looked at the paths of the Imperial Academy in silence.
And the students within the academy, upon noticing this scene, all kept their distance, each with a complex expression, some with disgust, some with emotion, some with anger, and some with hesitation.
The emotions differed depending on the individuals.
After a while, the school head turned around and sat in the main hall of the Variant Immortal School's white tower, waiting silently.
Time passed little by little, but no students from the Variant Immortal School appeared.
The school head's gaze slowly dimmed, but in the depths, a fire of unwillingness was burning.
At the same time, outside the academy, dusk passed, night fell, and the cold wind howled across the land, like poetry, like weeping, like lamentation.
It blew from the ancient city walls in the distance, attempting to stir up patches of dust invaded by snow, but ultimately only managed to evoke its chill, dispersing it into the thoughts of the people in the capital.
Like an ancient poet, narrating the history of heaven and earth with melancholic verses, yet also resembling an indifferent bystander, silently recording the rise and fall of the world.
And at this moment, in the deep night of the cold wind, a figure as dark as ink blended into the verses, its vague silhouette outlined in the wind, swiftly approaching a residence not far from the eldest prince's mansion.
The night concealed the figure and the cold wind concealed its breath, letting the figure appear silently in the courtyard of this residence.
It was Xu Qing, who had rushed back to the Imperial City.
He stood there and sensed his surroundings.
Although Xu Qing had used his divine technique to see a corner of the black-robed man's life, this corner only showed the altar and the other party worshiping the sky.
As for the man's appearance, he couldn't see it.
He only knew that the man was definitely one of the True Words' people. And through the soul search on the two people before, there seemed to be an employer as well.
Of course, it was also possible that the word employer was used to mystify things.
"Also, under the indirect integration through the soul threads, not only did the anomalous substances emitted by the hidden divine sense inside the image of that black robed man give me a sense of familiarity, even the cold snort itself sounded familiar…"
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and pushed open the door of the house, walking in.
The house was pitch-black.
However, in his eyes, everything was clear.
The interior of the house was very simple, with only a wooden bed, a table, and a chair.
On the table was an extinguished oil lantern.
Xu Qing closed his eyes. Coupled with the soul searching and divine technique, he had locked onto this house. As he closed his eyes, he seemed to have returned to this place a month ago.
The black-robed man sat there with three Variant Immortal School disciples standing opposite him.
As he fiddled with the fire of the oil lantern, his voice echoed.
No one saw his appearance.
After a long time, Xu Qing opened his eyes and walked to the place where the black-robed man had sat back then. He then lifted his hand and waved it, causing the oil lantern in front of him to glow again.
Amidst the flickering light, Xu Qing lifted his hand and gently fiddled with the fire. The power of the Purple Moon in his body spread out, forming anomalous substances that belonged to him. They followed his finger and fused into the oil lantern.
Gradually, the fire in the oil lantern flickered violently, and its material gradually began to be influenced, until finally, there appeared a hint of vitality.
This was also the power of a god.
Anomalous substances could invade all things, but they could also produce life. This was also the reason why many new races had appeared in the Wanggu Continent after the fragmented-
face arrived.
Similarly, it was also the core reason for the appearance of the forbidden zones.
For example, back then, the forbidden zone in the scavenger campsite was caused by the activation of a zither.
Now, Xu Qing was also using this method. He wanted to give life to this oil lantern.
In this house, no one had seen the face of the black-robed man, but… this oil lantern had seen him.
This technique was not something ordinary people could master. Just like the manipulation of the passage of time or special abilities of mighty figures that could simulate such things, what Xu Qing wanted to do now could only be accomplished by a god.
After a long time, the swaying of the fire became increasingly intense. As for the lantern, it began to melt and split. Tentacles grew out from it and slowly swayed. In fact, facial features slowly emerged on it, as though it had grown a face.
However, it was clearly extremely unstable. At this moment, other than trembling, cracks appeared on it.
Xu Qing's finger paused as he calmly spoke.
"Reveal… the appearance of the black-robed man you saw a month ago!"
As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, the oil lantern trembled violently all over, as if to it, Xu Qing's voice was the highest command, so it disregarded everything and released its energy.
At the next instant, the oil lantern rapidly melted but its flames soared. After the oil lantern completely disappeared, the remaining flames rose and… a face appeared.
A pale, ordinary, and strange aged face.
Xu Qing had never seen this face before.
At this moment, as the flame flickered, the face became increasingly distinct. Only after it was completely revealed did the fire gradually dim, as if it had released everything, and the life activated by a god's power also blossomed with the sparks of existence.
It began to perish.
However, its meaning was extremely important to Xu Qing. Xu Qing involuntarily leaned forward a little and stared fixedly at the face that emerged in the flames.
What he was looking at was the eyes of this face!
Those eyes reflected four figures!
What was revealed by the oil lantern was the scene from a month ago. These four figures were different from what Xu Qing had seen when he did soul searches.
From his soul searches and divine technique, there were clearly only three students from the Variant Immortal School here.
However, it seemed that including the black-robed man, there were five people here that day, not four.
There was another person here as well.
However, the three students from the Variant Immortal School couldn't see this person's existence. Only the black-robed man could see it.
It was also because of this that Xu Qing indirectly saw it with this unbelievable technique.
That additional figure, dressed in a white robe with a mask of the Imperial Academy on their face, appeared unfamiliar at first glance. However, the aura emanating from the eyes revealed a familiarity that triggered a sudden urge of murderous intent within Xu Qing.
This gaze reminded him of the school head of the Divine Fusion School he had seen when he first entered Imperial Academy.
At that time, he had his doubts about this.
Now, combined with that familiar cold snort and the aura in the eyes of the revealed figure, an answer emerged in his mind.
"The leader of the Divine Fusion School is… Bai Xiaozhuo!"
Xu Qing muttered to himself before waving his hand gently. The flames dissipated in front of him. After the house turned pitch-
black again, he calmly spoke.
"After watching for so long, it's time to reveal yourself."
Xu Qing's voice echoed in the quiet house. A few breaths later, a hoarse voice rang out from a corner of the house.
"As expected of Region Lord Xu. Not only did you find this place, but you also have such methods… It's truly astonishing."
As he spoke, a black-robed man who viewed exactly the same as the person Xu Qing saw, emerged from the void and emerged in the room.
Xu Qing turned his head.
"You're not that person."
He calmly spoke. The aura and feeling of the person in front of him were different from the black-robed man.
"I'm indeed not, but I might be in the future."
The black-robed man positioned on the spot and observed Xu Qing carefully. As for his face, it was a blur.
He was looking at Xu Qing very seriously and Xu Qing was also observing him.
A while later, the black-robed man lifted his right hand and a jade token flew out, landing in front of Xu Qing.
"The employer is the Seventh Prince. Here is all the evidence. I've already helped you gather it completely. How to proceed with it is for you to decide."
With that, he turned and walked out, his figure gradually becoming blurry.
When Xu Qing heard this, killing intent rose in his heart. However, he didn't look at the jade token. Instead, he viewed at the black-robed man's gradually disappearing figure. Besides speculating on this person's identity, he suddenly spoke.
"If you have time, go back and see Ning Yan."
As soon as Xu Qing spoke, the blurry black-robed man's figure seemed to tremble slightly. He turned his head and glanced at Xu Qing before completely dissipating.
