After Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue finished their probing, they moved on to discuss matters related to the current deal.

For the most part, however, Chen Yi had already learned of the situation from Liu Lang.

Or had gleaned it from eavesdropping on the Hidden Guard.

Among the new information, only two things concerned Chen Yi.

The first was news about the other financier.

Although Black Tooth was vague, the few scraps of information he let slip made it easy to deduce that the person was likely a local from Shu State.

Probably a member of one of the great Noble Families.

This aligned with Chen Yi’s earlier speculation. However, with so little information available, he couldn’t be certain which family the person was from.

After all, there were many families in Shu State on good terms with the Xiao Family, but even more who were their enemies.

Until that person’s identity was exposed, it would be difficult to deduce who they were from such fragmented clues.

The second piece of news concerned the members of the Evil Demonic Dao who were participating in this deal.

Besides Liu Lang, there were four other Middle Third-Grade Martial Artists.

There were also rumored to be two Upper Third-Grade Martial Arts Powerhouses.

However, Black Tooth didn’t elaborate, nor did he reveal their identities.

Another person worth mentioning was Lady Tiger Lou Yuxue.

During their conversation, Chen Yi had focused most of his attention on her.

Beyond her identity as a Hidden Guard, he was more focused on memorizing her features so he could determine her public-facing identity.

To be honest, of all the Hidden Guards he knew, Lady Tiger and Simurgh Phoenix were the two he knew the least about.

He didn’t even know what their mission was in Shu State.

He was, at the very least, curious.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Black Tooth and Lady Tiger rose to leave.

"Wait here a moment," Black Tooth said. "Once everyone else has arrived, I will summon you to discuss our next steps."

"Brother Liu~" Lady Tiger cooed. "See you in a bit~"

With that, they departed through an opening that appeared in the wall behind them, not the way they had originally entered.

Once the wall of the room sealed shut, Liu Lang grinned. "That Black Tooth is damn cautious, building so many secret passages."

He paused, glanced at the opposite wall, and added, "I’ll bet there’s one on that side, too."

Chen Yi glanced over and remarked nonchalantly, "That’s the outer wall of the Spring Rain Building."

"..."

Liu Lang thought for a moment, then scratched his head and muttered a few words under his breath.

It was something along the lines of how he couldn’t stand people who liked to overthink things.

Chen Yi paid him no mind, simply sitting quietly in his chair and contemplating what was to come.

Based on the information he had gathered, the ones responsible for "burning the summer grain of the Three Towns" were likely Hidden Guard members stationed in the Three Towns.

Specifically, the Hidden Guards under the command of Ge the Third.

Lady Tiger was responsible for liaising with Black Tooth, acting as an intermediary.

Gray Wolf Xiao Dongchen, on the other hand, was pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

This division of labor made it clear that while all three were Silver Banner Officers, Xiao Dongchen carried more weight.

The fact that Simurgh Phoenix Cui Qingwu had acted on Xiao Dongchen’s behalf to frame Liu Jing and implicate the Xiao Family further supported this conclusion.

From this, he could confirm that while the Hidden Guard aimed to throw Shu State into chaos, they were more concerned with the Xiao Family, the great banner of the state.

In other words, as long as chaos erupted within the Xiao Family, Shu State was sure to follow.

Therefore, throwing the Xiao Family into disarray was a shortcut to achieving their mission’s objective.

Compared to that, his own importance as a "fledgling" took a backseat.

However, the Hidden Guard was only one party involved in the plot to "burn the summer grain of the Three Towns," and it was the party he had the most information on.

At least for the moment, the three Hidden Guards could be moved to the back of his mind.

His top priority now was to figure out the identities of all the Evil Demons involved, as well as that of the "financier."

As Chen Yi was pondering these things, Liu Lang’s gaze suddenly snapped to the right, the direction from which Black Tooth and Lady Tiger had come.

"A real powerhouse just arrived."

"Hm?"

Seeing Chen Yi look over, Liu Lang grinned and said, "It’s an Upper Third-Grade expert, but his aura is only average. His Technique Realm probably isn’t that high."

Of course, he was comparing the newcomer to the likes of Xiao Jinghong and his master, Sword Ghost.

He himself, of course, would stand no chance against an Upper Third-Grade expert.

The words had barely left his mouth when a sinister voice suddenly echoed through the private room:

"I was wondering who was speaking with such bravado. Ah, it’s the ’Sword Madman,’ Liu Lang."

A surging aura descended upon the private room along with the voice.

But there was something strange about the aura; it seemed vast and boundless, yet it felt somewhat unfocused.

"All show and no substance" would not be an exaggeration.

Liu Lang sneered. "Minor Achievement in Fist Intent? You’d best not embarrass yourself with that, old-timer."

As he spoke, a domineering and razor-sharp Sword Intent erupted from his body.

Its edge was utterly exposed.

The moment it manifested, it cleaved the surging pressure in the room in two.

Though Chen Yi said nothing, he withstood the pressure as well, slowly raising his hand to rap a knuckle on the table.

THUD.

A muffled sound.

It was as if a majestic mountain had descended, crushing the presence that had been split in two.

Faintly, it was as if a colossal RUMBLE echoed in the ears of all who were paying attention to the private room.

"Hm?"

"This is..."

"A mountain... the Fist Dao... at Great Success!"

Even Liu Lang was stunned, staring at Chen Yi in utter disbelief. "You... Your Punch..."

He had always thought Chen Yi specialized in the Medical Dao. Even if he had dabbled in the Martial Arts, he couldn’t have been that strong.

Who would have thought he’d achieved Great Success in the Fist Dao?

’Dammit, did this mysterious Boss Chen start his Cultivation in the womb?’

’The Medical Dao and the Fist Dao... Minor Success in one, Great Success in the other.’

’Two separate Daos, both requiring immense time and effort, had been mastered by a young man about his own age.’

The Medical Dao was universally acknowledged in the Jianghu as being incredibly difficult to master; its practitioners were far fewer in number than Martial Arts Powerhouses.

Otherwise, Black Tooth and Lady Tiger wouldn’t have been so accommodating earlier after learning that Chen Yi was a Medical Saint Hand.

Chen Yi naturally heard the surprised gasps from the surrounding rooms.

He simply lifted his head slightly, glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Upper Third-Grade expert who had just acted, and said coolly,

"Such a fuss over nothing."

The very same words he had used when he revealed his Medical Dao.

"You!?"

The Upper Third-Grade powerhouse, who had just lost face, grew furious from the humiliation. But just as he was about to strike again, he heard Black Tooth say, his voice tinged with delight,

"Elder Demon Fang, stay your hand."

"Not only has Brother Liu achieved Great Success in the Fist Dao, but he is also a Medical Saint Hand. He is the guarantee for our entire deal."

"If you make a move and anger him, don’t come crying to me when you get injured later. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Hearing this, not only was Elder Demon Fang, who had been about to attack, left stunned, but the others were even more shocked than before.

Even Lady Tiger Lou Yuxue couldn’t help but praise him. "Brother Liu, you are truly terrifying."

"To have achieved Minor Success in the Medical Dao is one thing, but you’ve also cultivated the Fist Dao to Great Success. This little lady is thoroughly impressed~"

The other listeners were likely Middle Third-Grade Martial Artists, their strength not even a match for Liu Lang’s, let alone Chen Yi, who cultivated both the Medical and Martial Daos.

For a moment, all the surrounding private rooms fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Chen Yi frowned slightly and tapped the table, feigning impatience. "Black Tooth, my time is short. Let’s begin."

Black Tooth certainly wasn’t going to refuse. His tone was even friendlier than before.

"Just a moment, Brother Liu. I’m on it."

A series of rustling sounds followed, evidently from Black Tooth contacting the various parties.

Seeing this, Chen Yi said nothing more.

Beside him, however, Liu Lang gave him a thumbs-up. "O—uh... Brother Liu, you’re amazing."

"I thought you only focused on the Medical Dao and weren’t an expert in the Martial Arts. I never expected you to have such a powerful Fist Dao up your sleeve."

Chen Yi shot him a look and snorted, half in jest. "If you weren’t so incompetent, would I have needed to step in?"

Liu Lang’s smile froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

’If this weren’t the wrong time and place, he would have insisted on testing Chen Yi’s Martial Arts, no matter what.’

’But a thought was just a thought. He knew that the stronger Chen Yi was, the more advantageous it would be for what they had to do next.’

’In any case, he had already boarded Hundred Herbs Hall’s pirate ship. He had no choice but to see this through to the end.’

「Not long after.」

A short man dressed in black entered, bowed respectfully, placed two black iron masks on the table, and left.

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. "Is this really necessary?"

After all the posturing and talking, many of them had already revealed telling details. Putting on masks now felt a bit like burying their heads in the sand.

More importantly, of course, if everyone was wearing a mask, it would be harder for him to identify the members of the Evil Demonic Dao.

Liu Lang glanced at him, picked up the two masks, and handed one over as he put the other one on himself.

"It’s a rule of the Bright Moon Building. Before a mission, only the organizer knows everyone’s identity."

"As for guessing or recognizing anyone else, that’s all up to individual skill."

Chen Yi grunted, took the mask, and put it on. "What about you?" he asked casually.

Elder Demon Fang had already recognized him as the "Sword Madman" and announced it to everyone.

Obviously, Liu Lang couldn’t hide his identity anymore.

"I am who I am and I’m not afraid to show it," Liu Lang said nonchalantly. "What’s there to fear?"

In truth, his reason for not hiding his identity was quite simple.

’In his view, with him and Boss Chen here to stir up trouble, this deal was bound to fail.’

’Besides, with Boss Chen around afterward, he wouldn’t have to worry about being hunted down by the Xiao Family.’

’Hiding his identity was completely unnecessary.’

’After all, if Black Tooth and the others found out that he and Boss Chen had secretly sabotaged the deal, he wouldn’t be able to escape the Bright Moon Building’s hunters even if he did hide.’

’He just hoped Boss Chen could be a bit more subtle about it.’

’Being hunted by the Bright Moon Building was no laughing matter.’

Chen Yi, of course, was unaware of Liu Lang’s devil-may-care reasoning, but he couldn’t help feeling a measure of admiration.

It was the kind of admiration one felt for a man of the Jianghu who kept his word and was open and honorable.

’Perhaps if an opportunity arose in the future, he would have to give Liu Lang some kind of reward.’

’He wouldn’t let Liu Lang’s help go unrewarded.’

「Not long after.」

After putting on their masks, Chen Yi and Liu Lang were led by a man in black into the depths of the Spring Rain Building.

Judging by his sense of direction, they were in a hidden space between the inner walls of the Spring Rain Building.

He had no idea what method Black Tooth and the others had used to construct such a spacious private room that was completely invisible from the outside.

When he arrived, several people wearing black iron masks were already seated inside.

They were of all shapes and sizes, both men and women.

Most of them were sizing up Chen Yi and Liu Lang, though their gazes ultimately lingered longer on Chen Yi.

After all, with the long blade hanging at his waist, Liu Lang was all too easy to recognize.

Chen Yi, of course, was sizing them up in return. He could make a reasonable guess as to which ones were Elder Demon Fang, Lady Tiger, and Black Tooth.

But after a sweeping glance, his expression remained unchanged, though inwardly he began to laugh.

’Well, well. An unexpected acquaintance.’