258: Burning Heaven Palace sneak attack

On the cold jade seat deep within the underground palace, Jun Xiaoyao lightly tapped the armrest with his fingertip, his gaze fixed on the “The Net Expansion Progress” section of the crystal panel—the red progress bar had just passed thirty percent.

The “The Unruly Faction” icon next to it was flickering faintly. Zhao Gao quietly entered, holding a black wooden tray. On the tray lay a night-luminescent pearl the size of a pigeon egg, with a finely rolled strip of paper tucked inside.

“Young Lord, news from Marshal of the Unruly: the Fentian Palace in the Western Regions wants to annex our medicinal herb stronghold in Black Wind Stockade.”

Zhao Gao placed the night-luminescent pearl next to the panel; the light it emitted perfectly illuminated the words on the paper. “The Palace Master of Fentian Palace, Immortal Master Lie Yan, is said to have reached the Middle Celestial Realm. His palm technique possesses fire attributes, specifically countering our The Net's Profound Ice Art.”

Jun Xiaoyao did not look up, lightly tapping the panel with his fingertip to bring up Immortal Master Lie Yan's profile page: [Realm: Middle Celestial Realm] [Martial Skill: Heaven Burning Palm (Major Achievement)] [Sphere of Influence: Three thousand li in the Western Regions, controlling half of the medicinal herb circulation]. He suddenly chuckled, “They want to steal my things?”

“Marshal of the Unruly asked if he should take three hundred of The Unruly to ‘visit’ them?” Zhao Gao asked, bowing, the tray held steadily in his palm.

“No need.” Jun Xiaoyao raised his hand, and the crystal panel suddenly displayed a summoning interface. The cursor hovered over the “Random Summon” button. “The Net isn't fully trained yet; let's find a ‘coach’ to practice with first.” He pressed the button, and the panel instantly lit up with golden patterns. A pillar of light descended from the dome of the underground palace, enveloping the central summoning array.

The sound of metal clashing emanated from the pillar of light, gradually coalescing into a figure—dressed in dark Xuan-colored tight-fitting clothes, with an ancient long saber hanging at his waist, its scabbard inlaid with seven bronze stars, a resolute face, and eyes as sharp as an eagle's. As the light dispersed, the newcomer knelt on one knee, cupping his fists: “Subordinate Fu Hongxue, greets Young Lord.”

[Summon Successful]

[Character: Fu Hongxue (from the Bright Moon Blade of the Horizon world)]

[Realm: Late Stage Great Grandmaster]

[Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques:]

1. Sword Drawing Technique (Perfection) — Draws the saber as fast as lightning, capable of instantly severing targets within three zhang.

2. Heaven and Earth Intertwined Ode (Major Achievement) — An internal breathing circulation method that can quickly restore stamina.

3. Extinction Cross Saber (Minor Achievement) — A domineering saber move, specifically targeting weaknesses in enemy formations.

[Loyalty: 88%]

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the introduction on the panel, his fingertip tracing the words “Extinction Cross Saber”: “Guard Fu, I hear your saber is very fast?”

Fu Hongxue looked up, his gaze calm: “Whether it's fast or not depends on who it's against.”

“Good then.” Jun Xiaoyao brought up the map of Black Wind Stockade and drew a circle around the location of the medicinal herb warehouse. “The Fentian Palace people will launch a sneak attack tonight at midnight. Take your saber and go practice.” He paused, then added, “Don't kill them; leave them alive to interrogate them about their medicinal herb channels.”

Just as Fu Hongxue assented, the crystal panel suddenly displayed a prompt: [Marshal of the Unruly requests connection]. After connecting, Marshal of the Unruly's voice, tinged with a smile, came from the crystal: “Young Lord, we just intercepted a secret letter from Fentian Palace. They not only want to seize the medicinal herbs but also intend to destroy our communication array eye while they're at it.”

“Communication array eye?” Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. That was crucial for The Net to contact its various sub-factions, hidden in a cave behind Black Wind Stockade.

“This subordinate has already ordered The Unruly to guard the cave, but...” Marshal of the Unruly's voice deepened, “The enemy brought twenty Initial Heaven Human Realm deathsworn, and this subordinate only has five Heaven Human Realm practitioners here.”

Jun Xiaoyao looked at Fu Hongxue, who had already stood up, rotating his saber hilt half a turn in his palm, the scabbard making a soft scraping sound against the ground. “Guard Fu,” Jun Xiaoyao said, “besides the medicinal herb warehouse, add the cave in the back mountain.”

A glint of sharpness flashed in Fu Hongxue's eyes: “One saber, one person, is that enough?”

“If not, add more.” Jun Xiaoyao opened a hidden compartment in the underground palace and took out a token engraved with the character “ sky” (Heaven). “Take this, and The Net's people will cooperate with you.”

Fu Hongxue took the token, and as he turned, his saber scabbard stirred a gust of wind, disappearing into the entrance of the underground passage. Zhao Gao watched his retreating figure and whispered, “Young Lord, assigning Guard Fu such a dangerous task right after he arrived, wouldn't it...”

“His saber needs to be sharpened with blood.” Jun Xiaoyao leaned back against the cold jade seat. On the crystal panel, the light spot representing Black Wind Stockade began to flicker, and the gray dots representing The Net were converging towards the medicinal herb warehouse and the cave. “By the way, mark Fentian Palace's medicinal herb channels on the map. When Fu Hongxue returns, it's time for our ‘return visit’.”

The light of the night-luminescent pearl illuminated Jun Xiaoyao's profile, half bright and half dark. Zhao Gao looked at the slowly rising “Beyond Heaven Reputation” value on the panel and suddenly understood.

The Young Lord never showed his face, yet he always managed to weave The Net's web tighter and tighter—just like now, before Fu Hongxue's saber had even left its scabbard, Fentian Palace's fate was already inscribed in The Net's patterns.

As midnight struck, a saber light streaked across the night sky of Black Wind Stockade, as fast as a meteor.

Fu Hongxue's saber was drawn for the first time in a The Net mission. The afterimages of the Extinction Cross Saber formed a cross under the moonlight, visible in the real-time footage sent by The Unruly.

The weapons of the twenty deathsworn fell to the ground one after another, each with a shallow saber wound on their shoulder.

Just enough to disable their internal energy circulation.

Fu Hongxue knelt on one knee in front of the cave, holding a leader who had been knocked unconscious by his saber scabbard. He spoke into the communication crystal: “Young Lord, the live captive has been secured, and the communication array eye is intact.”

On the crystal panel, Fu Hongxue's loyalty jumped to 92%, and a new prompt appeared next to it: [Unlock Fu Hongxue's exclusive mission: Level Fentian Palace's Sub-faction].

Jun Xiaoyao lightly tapped the panel with his fingertip, accepting the mission, his gaze falling on the words “Beyond Heaven”—the golden light of those three words brightened further, as if plated with a sharp edge by Fu Hongxue's saber light.

Zhao Gao brought over the freshly warmed ginseng tea. Seeing the Young Lord staring at the summoning array, where the light was even more intense than before, he could vaguely discern the outline of the next figure. “Young Lord, who will be summoned next?”

Jun Xiaoyao didn't answer, merely raising his hand to display the real-time footage of Black Wind Stockade on the panel: Fu Hongxue was using his saber scabbard to poke Fentian Palace's flag.

Behind him, The Net members were tallying the captured medicinal herbs, and The Unruly's torches illuminated the night sky in a fiery red. He suddenly chuckled, tapping the summoning array with his fingertip: “No rush, let the saber drink some more blood.”

The light of the night-luminescent pearl washed over the crystal panel, clearly reflecting the words “Chapter 258”—at the end of this chapter, Fu Hongxue's saber was stuck in a crevice in the cave.

The bronze stars on the saber hilt glittered in the firelight, as if stamping a burning mark on the expansion of Beyond Heaven.