6: Chapter 6: The Target is Lingyin Temple; the Embroidered Uniform Guards Arrive

A System notification rang in Xia Jin's mind without any warning.

"Hmm?" Xia Jin's fingers, which were flipping through the pages, stopped.

Lingyin Temple?

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes instantly.

"It seems my previous guess was correct; every time I encounter a keyword, it triggers the System to issue a corresponding mission."

Xia Jin closed the booklet in his hand and gently placed it back on top of the pile of files. He looked up at Commander Qin Hu, who was standing to the side.

"Commander Qin Hu!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Commander Qin Hu bowed immediately.

"I have roughly looked through these booklets. Lingyin Temple, which is mentioned here... perhaps there is some issue with it."

Commander Qin Hu's gaze tightened, and he asked tentatively, "Does Your Highness mean...?"

"Immediately assemble your most trusted men. They must be elite, and the number need not be large. Tonight, accompany me out of the city."

Commander Qin Hu's spirit lifted, and he cupped his hands without hesitation, "Yes! This subordinate will go select the men immediately. I guarantee they will be the best of the best within the Imperial Guard!"

...

Moonlight shone through the thin clouds onto the ground below, vaguely revealing the full appearance of Lingyin Temple.

At this moment, inside a side hall of the temple, dozens of Ming Cult members were gathered together, their gazes all fixed on the figure at the very center.

"Protector Yang, why must we hole up in this broken temple and drink the northwest wind?" A burly man with a ferocious face spoke up first, his voice clearly tinged with dissatisfaction. "Facing these mud bodhisattvas every day, my mouth is about to go bland!"

"Exactly, Boss Yang!" Another thin, sharp-featured man chimed in. "The Great Xia Dynasty capital is full of wealthy families! With our brothers' abilities, finding a few rich households to stay in would be easy, wouldn't it? That's better than being here!"

"That's right! Even if we can't make big moves, going to a manor outside the city to find some fun would be fine! These days, it's just too boring!" Sounds of dissatisfaction rose one after another. These Ming Cult members, accustomed to living on the edge of a blade, truly could not endure this restraint.

The man called "Protector Yang" stood with his back to the crowd. The scabbardless, thick-backed blade on his back glimmered with a dark light under the dim firelight.

Hearing this, he slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

His cold gaze instantly quieted the voices in the hall.

"You want to go out?" Protector Yang's voice was not loud, but it rang clearly in everyone's ears. "Fine, whoever thinks their life is too long can leave right now. The temple gate is not locked. Go 'have fun' wherever you want, it's up to you."

A cruel smile appeared on his face. "However, let me make this clear: once you go out, whether you live or die is on you. I, Broken Mountain Blade, will absolutely not stop you."

Broken Mountain Blade added coldly, "The order to take temporary refuge here was given personally by Left Emissary Pei. If you have questions or the guts, go ask him yourself."

The three words "Left Emissary Pei" were like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of the restless cult members, instantly silencing them.

No one dared to provoke that Ming Cult Left Emissary, who was as elusive as a Dragon and possessed heaven-defying means.

Seeing that he had brought the situation under control, Broken Mountain Blade turned back around and looked outside the hall, wondering what he was thinking.

At this time, a boy who looked only thirteen or fourteen years old quietly crept up to his side. He tugged at Broken Mountain Blade's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Yang... have we really stopped all our work just because... that Prince has come to the capital?"

The boy's name was Ah Qi, an orphan Broken Mountain Blade had accidentally saved while out one time. Later, he kept him by his side. Nominally, he was a Ming Cult member, but in reality, Broken Mountain Blade treated him with the affection of a nephew. Only he dared to ask Broken Mountain Blade questions.

Broken Mountain Blade looked down at Ah Qi. The cold, hard lines on his face softened slightly, but he still did not explain, merely nodding almost imperceptibly.

In the depths of his gaze toward the capital, a flash of deep dread appeared.

Stepping across Langya Mountain, slaying a Great Grandmaster with a sword... that Prince Jin is definitely not someone ordinary people can rival.

...

"Is this Lingyin Temple?" Xia Jin looked at the closed temple gate not far ahead and asked indifferently.

"That's correct, Your Highness. Ahead is Lingyin Temple!" Commander Qin Hu nodded, but his gaze fell on a faint figure on a withered tree to the left of the temple gate.

"Alright, then let's begin!" Xia Jin waved his hand.

"Whoosh—Pop!"

A sharp whistling arrow pierced the night sky, followed by a short warning whistle, but it stopped abruptly in an instant!

"Not good! There are..." A cult member responsible for the sentry duty outside the temple only had time to let out half a cry before it was replaced by the muffled sound of a Sharp Weapon slashing his throat.

Inside Lingyin Temple, the Ming Cult members' expressions changed drastically. They grabbed their weapons one after another and stood up, looking around vigilantly.

"Who goes there?!"

Just as the chaos began, the long-neglected gate of Lingyin Temple was smashed open by a tremendous force!

Amidst the flying wood splinters, more than ten black shadows poured in like fish. These people were wearing flying fish robes, holding an Embroidered Spring Blade, and the lowest among them had the cultivation of the first level of the Innate Realm!

"It's the Imperial Guard! Kill!" The Ming Cult members were shocked and furious. Relying on their numbers, they fiercely rushed forward.

However, the gap in strength was exposed at this moment. Most of these Ming Cult members only had the cultivation of the fifth or sixth level of the Acquired Realm; how could they be opponents of these elite Imperial Guard? The Imperial Guard advanced and retreated with order, coordinating tacitly. Often, within three to five moves, a Ming Cult member would fall.

A slaughter, it was almost a one-sided slaughter!

Broken Mountain Blade's eyes turned cold. He drew the long blade from his back, forced back two surrounding Imperial Guard with one swing, then grabbed the still-dazed Ah Qi, and roared, "Follow me closely! Break out!"

He quickly scanned his surroundings and found that only the direction to the side and rear seemed to have fewer, slightly weaker Imperial Guard. He immediately decided to break out in that direction.

However, before he could start, a low voice with a hint of mockery came from the direction of the front courtyard gate:

"Broken Mountain Blade! I didn't expect that you, one of the twelve Protectors of the Ming Cult, were still alive!"

"This voice, could it be...?" Broken Mountain Blade seemed to have thought of something and looked up sharply toward the gate.

Outside the kicked-open gate, a man wearing a black Dragon robe was sitting on a rattan chair, and on his two sides stood two people respectively.

The one on the right was none other than the Imperial Guard Commander who had just spoken—Commander Qin Hu.

As for the one on the left, although Broken Mountain Blade did not recognize him, his effeminate aura gave Broken Mountain Blade an even more dangerous feeling than Commander Qin Hu.

As for the figure sitting on the rattan chair in the middle, wearing a black Dragon robe, capable of making Commander Qin Hu stand respectfully to the side, and capable of having such experts guard him... in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there was only that one person.

Broken Mountain Blade's heart sank to the bottom, and his scalp tingled.

Prince Jin, Xia Jin!

He actually came in person!