160: The net begins to close.

Jun Xiaoyao leaned against the cold jade couch, his fingertips idly toying with the jade pendant at his waist, his gaze fixed on the secret report transmitted back by The Net within the water mirror.

Inside the mirror, the Marshal of the Unruly was leading several Men in Black assassins, weaving through the rainy alleys of Luoyang; the puddles on the bluestone slabs reflected the patterns of their tattooed faces, shimmering with a cold light in the night.

"Young Lord, the Luoyang branch of The Net has already taken down three strongholds of the Golden Blade School; as you instructed, captives were left alive."

Zhao Gao stepped out from the shadows and placed a ledger on the jade table, "This is the resource inventory for this month; the medicinal herbs and Ore 'borrowed' from the noble families have been stored, and the quantities of mysterious iron and snow lotus are sufficient to support the next summoning."

Jun Xiaoyao raised his eyes, a cold glint flashing in his pupils: "What about the Sect Leader of the Golden Blade School?"

"As per the Young Lord's wishes, his cultivation was crippled, and he was thrown to The Unruly to be used as target practice," Zhao Gao replied, bowing.

"He could not understand until his death how merely snatching a piece of iron Ore targeted by Beyond Heaven could bring about such a fatal disaster."

Jun Xiaoyao chuckled softly, tossing the jade pendant up and catching it again: "Stones blocking the path must naturally be kicked aside."

He tapped his fingertip on the water mirror, and the image switched to the training ground of The Net—the Marshal of the Unruly was personally training the newly joined assassins; the bone whip lashed against the wooden stakes, and the splinters flying about were mixed with the muffled groans of the recruits.

"How are things on the Marshal of the Unruly's side?"

"Reporting to the Young Lord, The Unruly have expanded to three hundred men, each one an expert capable of taking on ten."

Zhao Gao opened the ledger and pointed to one of the pages, "The Marshal of the Unruly says that recently, many Sects in the Jianghu have been investigating the background of The Net; should we have them restrain themselves?"

"Restrain?"

Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow, took the ledger, and flipped through it casually, "Let them investigate all they want. The Net is a blade hidden in the shadows; the more mysterious it is, the more people will fear it."

He suddenly changed the subject, "Is there any news about the 'seven star begonia' I asked you to investigate last time?"

Zhao Gao's gaze sharpened, and he quickly replied: "I have found it. It is a unique poison of 'Medicine King Valley', and it has appeared on the black market three times recently; the buyers were all from the 'Qingyun Sect'. They are also secretly contacting various major Schools, seemingly plotting something."

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertip heavily on the words "Qingyun Sect": "It's these fellows who fancy themselves as prestigious and righteous Sects again."

He rose and walked to the front of the summoning array, where the Spirit Stone at the core of the Formation was emitting a faint light, "It seems it is time to add more fuel to the fire."

"Who does the Young Lord wish to summon?"

Zhao Gao asked, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.

Jun Xiaoyao gazed at the energy circulating in the Formation and said slowly: "This time, I want someone who can stir up the winds and clouds."

He flicked his finger, and three High-Grade Spirit Stones fell into the eye of the Formation, "The scope is limited to 'peerless intelligence, skilled in layout', and the Realm must be at least Grandmaster Realm."

The Formation suddenly lit up, runes surging like a tide, weaving into a curtain of light in the air.

The System notification sound rang in his mind: [Matching qualified characters... Locking onto the world of "the smiling, proud wanderer"... Character: Lin Pingzhi, Realm: Late Grandmaster Realm, Martial Skill: Evil-Ward Sword Technique, Heart-Destroying Palm...]

"Lin Pingzhi?"

Jun Xiaoyao's lips curled into a playful smile, "A suitable candidate indeed."

A slender figure gradually emerged from the curtain of light, dressed in white stained with blood, with a touch of sinister gloom between his brows; it was Lin Pingzhi after having learned the Evil-Ward Sword Technique.

His movement was extremely fast when he landed, his toes touching the ground without a sound; his gaze toward Jun Xiaoyao held vigilance, but his pupils shrank instantly the moment he touched upon the jade pendant at Jun Xiaoyao's waist—the three characters "Beyond Heaven" engraved on that jade pendant actually caused the True Qi within his body to tremble slightly.

"Subordinate Lin Pingzhi greets the Young Lord."

Although his heart was filled with shock and doubt, years of endurance allowed him to instantly conceal his emotions; as he bowed in salute, the sword tassel in his sleeve swayed gently, revealing half of a sharp short sword.

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the introduction on the panel and said leisurely: "I heard you hate hypocrites the most?"

Lin Pingzhi raised his eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them: "Yes."

"That is perfect."

Jun Xiaoyao tossed a token to him, "The people of the Qingyun Sect have been very active recently; take this and go make their lives miserable. Remember, do not kill them; I want them to be ruined and disgraced."

Lin Pingzhi caught the token, his fingertips tracing the patterns on it, and suddenly smiled; that smile carried a bone-chilling coldness: "Rest assured, Young Lord; dealing with these sanctimonious fellows is what I do best."

Zhao Gao added from the side: "The Net will cooperate with your actions; if you need manpower or intelligence, just send a message at any time."

Lin Pingzhi nodded, his clothes fluttering as he turned, and his figure quickly merged into the night outside the hall, leaving only a cold, clear sentence: "Within three days, there will definitely be a result."

Jun Xiaoyao watched the direction where he disappeared and said to Zhao Gao: "Have the Marshal of the Unruly send some people to follow him; don't let him get carried away."

"Yes."

Zhao Gao acknowledged and handed over another secret report, "By the way, Young Lord, the 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion' has sent word saying they want to make a deal with Beyond Heaven—they are willing to trade three 'teleportation talismans' for the 'mysterious ice jade' in our possession."

Jun Xiaoyao took the secret report, his fingertip tracing the three characters "Heavenly Secret Pavilion": "They certainly know how to pick their timing. Tell them the mysterious ice jade can be given, but they must add one 'Afterlife Post'."

Zhao Gao hesitated slightly: "The 'Afterlife Post' is a forbidden item; the Heavenly Secret Pavilion may not be willing..."

"They will be willing."

Jun Xiaoyao interrupted him, his gaze falling back to the water mirror—in the mirror, the Marshal of the Unruly was handing a blood-stained token to his subordinate, the three characters "The Unruly" on the token particularly striking in the firelight, "After all, compared to the mysterious ice jade, they fear The Net showing up at their door even more."

The light from the water mirror shone on Jun Xiaoyao's face, half bright and half dark.

The rain outside the hall was still falling, and the assassins of The Net were weaving through the rain curtain like ghosts, dragging one marked target after another into the darkness.

And the candlelight of Beyond Heaven burned quietly, as if all the disputes in this world were nothing more than a play in the eyes of the idle man on the couch.

Zhao Gao looked at the Young Lord's calm profile and suddenly understood—the reason Beyond Heaven was feared was never because of how sharp The Net was, but because this Young Lord behind the scenes could always precisely grasp the Achilles' heel of every faction; in a calm and composed manner, he had already laid out a trap that would doom the other party beyond salvation.

Deep in the rainy alley, the Marshal of the Unruly put away his bone whip, looked at the remnants of the Golden Blade School curled up on the ground, and said coldly to the members of The Unruly behind him: "Clean it up thoroughly; do not dirty the Young Lord's land."

The Men in Black responded in unison and efficiently dragged away the corpses; the rainwater washed over the stone slabs, quickly erasing all traces, as if nothing had ever happened here.

Only the swaying lantern at the entrance of the alley kept shaking in the wind, like an eye peering at its prey.

And at this moment inside the Beyond Heaven hall, Jun Xiaoyao had already lain back down on the cold jade couch, closing his eyes to rest, with a faint, elusive smile lingering on his lips.

For the next summoning, what kind of character should he choose?

Perhaps, it should be the turn of those high and mighty royal clansmen.