Opportunity and risk appeared at the same time.
Most people thought of the opportunity, but Zhou Yi thought quite the opposite.
The King of the Azure Heaven clearly had no good intentions, yet ordinary people would willingly take risks for divine power.
To acquire the supreme divine power and to ascend to the Innate level within ten years would make one a Grandmaster of the generation.
"Doesn't this plot feel somewhat familiar?"
Zhou Yi shrugged his shoulders, knowing he was neither the son of some exalted hermit nor did he have any deep vendettas waiting to be avenged from his ancestors. Compared to a protagonist of fate, he was more like a minor villain tormenting people to scrape together silver.
"So, getting my hands on a Telepathic Secret Technique without cost, I'm already quite content!"
Zhou Yi carried a bucket into the No. 2 armor prison, where the King of Yellow Heaven was imprisoned.
The layout of the cells was similar, with the King of Yellow Heaven shackled to the torture rack, his hair disheveled, and his Taoist robe stained with dark red blood.
His arms were twisted like noodles, broken in who knows how many places. All ten fingers had been chopped off, leaving only bare palms.
"Your Majesty, please enjoy your meal."
Zhou Yi used the Telepathic Secret Technique, and sure enough, the guards clad in Mysterious Armor at the door showed no response.
The King of Yellow Heaven was momentarily startled, then continued to slurp his meal as if nothing was amiss, and telepathically inquired.
"Who are you? Are you here to save me?"
"No."
Zhou Yi's mind raced, and he replied, "Please ascend to heaven, Your Majesty!"
"I should have realized earlier that those noble families are nothing but grass on the top of a wall, swaying with the east wind when it's strong, and with the west when it blows..." muttered the King of Yellow Heaven to himself.
Zhou Yi frowned slightly and did not continue to deceive him.
After delivering the meal, he went to seek Warden Zheng and claimed to have caught a cold, asking for a month or two of leave.
"You, you're like an old turtle!"
Warden Zheng waved his hand, not making things difficult for Zhou Yi.
...
Spring Breeze Building.
Singing and dancing, women with flushed, alluring sleeves.
The place was already packed before evening, as today was the day to determine the Oiran.
The brothel pushed out courtesans in groups of ten or twenty, taking turns showcasing their talents in music, chess, dance, painting, calligraphy, and poetry. Every ten days, two or three were eliminated until the final Oiran was decided.
This round of selections was far more profitable than what the courtesans could earn from grooming.
For the sake of supporting their favorites, wealthy merchants threw money without a second thought, spending countless sums on just one song.
"Miss Nongyu's zither skills are unparalleled! Reward!"
A fat man with ten jade rings on his hands flung a stack of silver notes with a flick of his wrist.
"The poetry created by Miss Lianxiang has spread throughout Divine Capital, surpassing most scholars, and deserves to be ranked first!"
The speaker was a scholar who could not afford to scatter money like the fat man, so he called friends and schoolmates for support, making quite a scene.
"What nonsense poetry! It's been said before that Lianxiang bought those from outside with money."
"Don't recklessly slander and tarnish one's reputation; my father is a judge in the capital. Dare to slander again, and you'll be arrested!"
"You dare to be arrogant with your little judge position, my Young Lord is from Marquis of Weiyuan's residence; come and try to arrest me if you dare!"
"Vulgar!"
"Useless!"
"..."
In Divine Capital, the seat of Fengyang Country, even throwing a brick one could hit a sixth-grade official; a mere judge truly wasn't much. But once they started quarreling with the nobility, there would immediately be scholars to support them, and the crowd became tumultuous.
Seeing the dispute escalating, the old madam of the brothel could hardly keep her eyes open for laughing.
At the feet of the Emperor, nothing serious could happen. Shills mingling in the crowd on both sides would guide the conversation, and eventually, the outcome would fall on the competition for the Oiran.
Having aroused such a fierce contest, they stood to earn at least tens of thousands of silver!
Second-floor private room.
Facing the stage downstairs was an open wall, providing a clear view of the courtesans' performances, and when tired, one could lower the brocade curtain to enjoy tea and conversation with the girls.
Zhou Yi half-reclined on the soft couch, embraced by beauties on both sides, pouring wine and offering dishes.
Every now and then, he would tell a joke from his previous life, making the two girls with easy laughs burst into crisp cackles.
Then, recounting a tragic love story, the girls empathized as if they shared his sentiments, shedding tearful streams.
"This is what true fortune looks like!"
Zhou Yi indulged in fragrant company, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Having requested paid sick leave from the Sky Prison, Zhou Yi removed his aged makeup, adopting a youthful and handsome appearance and stayed at the Spring Breeze Building for over half a month.
The Art of Disguise made it easier to turn a young face old, but very challenging to do the reverse.
Under the influence of the gift of Everlasting Immortality, Zhou Yi stopped aging once he became an adult. All Zhou Yi needed to do was slightly change his skin color, facial features, and voice. Even if Zhang Zhou were to be reborn, he wouldn't recognize him.
The other prison guards at the Sky Prison rarely remembered what Zhou Yi looked like when he was young.
"I'm like a ghost, an immortal ghost wandering around in this mundane world!"
Zhou Yi swirled his wine cup and murmured, "Empires or Imperial Clans, civil servants or military officers, generations of prodigies or powers that dominated the court, they are all but fleeting clouds!"
Since the King of Yellow Heaven had conspired with the southern noble families, the Sky Prison had become a powder keg. It was best to wait until the turmoil had passed before returning.
Crash!
A loud sound followed by women's screams interrupted Zhou Yi's thoughts.
"I have plenty of silver, and I can sleep with whomever I want. Do you look down on me?"
The man who spoke was short and fat, yet possessed surprising strength. With one slap, he smashed a table and scolded while gripping the madam's neck.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Unable to speak, the madam felt as if her neck was about to break.
"Where did this bumpkin come from, daring to cause a commotion at the Spring Breeze Building!" Before the words even finished, a figure had already reached them, the blade aiming straight for the fat man's neck without any intention of holding back.
"We are the Twin Giants of the Northern Mo, not some bumpkins."
The short, fat man released the madam and bounced up from the ground like a rubber ball. Twirling in the air, he deflected the blade with his rotund body and crashed into the swordsman with full force.
Bang! Bang!
After successive loud crashes, the swordsman slammed into the wall and slowly slid down.
Spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, mixed with pieces of innards, he twitched twice and then fell silent.
The old madam turned pale with fear, trembling uncontrollably. The swordsman was a hidden patron of the establishment, tough as nails. He couldn't last even one round and she didn't dare refuse to sell anymore.
"Nongyu, why aren't you attending to this great master already?"
"Hahahaha!"
The stocky, plump man burst into hearty laughter, grabbed Nongyu by the clothes, and after a few bounding leaps he had taken him away.
The waitstaff of the Spring Breeze Building skillfully removed the corpse of the sword-wielding assassin, cleaned the bloodstains, replaced the tables and benches with new ones, as if nothing had happened at all.
A moment later.
The guests resumed their lively merriment, continuing to play music and dance.
"How many top-notch experts has that been?"
Zhou Yi had been mingling in the Spring Breeze Building, and in half a month's time had seen numerous first-rate experts, some of whose depths were unfathomable and were very likely top-tier masters of the spinal cleansing realm.
News spread fastest in brothels and taverns, and the very next day after the King of the Azure Heaven was imprisoned, people were already discussing it.
Fifteen years ago, the King of the Azure Heaven was just an ordinary disciple of the Great River Gang with mediocre martial arts talent.
While escorting a shipment by boat, he accidentally fished out a divine martial arts heritage from the river, and in just ten years he broke through to become an innate grandmaster. If not for encountering the great marshal Li Wu, no one in Fengyang Country could have stopped him, and he could have at least secured half of the kingdom!
Rumors spread with incredible swiftness, evidently amplified by someone's deliberate instigation.
Men of the martial world had no interest in rebellion or becoming kings, but they couldn't resist the lure of divine martial arts, and experts from all over Fengyang Country flocked to the Divine Capital.
"The noble families, all should be executed!"
Zhou Yi shook his head lightly and ate the grapes that the girl had peeled for him.
...
That night.
The stars and moon were obscured, black clouds covered the sky.
The Dali Temple suddenly caught fire, which spread rapidly to a dozen or so pavilions.
The inferno burned the sky dark red, and the personnel from the City Patrol Division were powerless to do anything.
The Dali Temple contained numerous important archives, and the Prefect of the Dali Temple immediately issued an order to call on the Imperial Guards from the heavenly prison for assistance. The heavenly prison was right next to the Dali Temple, and once the head of the Imperial Guards received the order, he immediately sent troops to extinguish the fire.
Shortly after the Imperial Guards left, dozens of figures appeared outside the heavenly prison.
Tall and short, fat and thin, each with a bizarre appearance.
Monks and Taoists, all with faces that clearly showed merciless ferocity.
The heavenly prison gate was made of refined steel, and the walls were a full zhang thick, which even innate grandmasters couldn't blast open.
"When will the gate open?"
"Almost in half a moment."
"Hehehe, Big-head ghost, didn't you say only fools would come here?"
"You big dumb bears, you are the fools!"
"A nest of ghosts. Once the business here is done, I'll send you to see the King of Hell."
"..."
Just as they were talking, a loud noise came from the front.
Boom!
The heavenly prison gate collapsed under the impact—not because the refined steel door broke, but because gunpowder had blasted the gate's hinges from the inside.
The prison wardens were dumbfounded, and the Mysterious Armor troops began to form their ranks.
"Kill!"
A loud cry sounded, and dozens of figures rushed through the prison gate at lightning speed.
"How dare you! The heavenly prison is sacrosanct, those who assault...."
The Mysterious Armor commander couldn't finish his sentence before a flying needle, a hidden weapon, pierced through the armor, shredding his heart to pieces.
Hundreds of Mysterious Armor cavalry could kill a spinal cleansing expert with a charge, but on foot in close combat, it turned into a one-sided slaughter.
What's more, among those attacking at night, there was more than one top-tier expert.
"Haha... kill to our heart's content!"
The stocky, plump man's weapon was two copper hammers, each hammerhead the size of a human head, smashing wildly upon entering the cells. Wardens fell wounded or dead by just a graze, and in moments, more than twenty were killed under his hammers.
Red and white smeared the hammerheads; he licked them with his tongue, killing even more ferociously after that.
The stocky, plump man was the first to reach Cell A1, swinging his hammer down and shattering the cell's bars.
"King of the Azure Heaven, I'm here to save you!"
"You two bears from the Northern Deserts..."
The King of the Azure Heaven slowly raised his head, his disheveled hair revealing a face that was masculine and handsome.
"You're not the King of the Azure Heaven?"
The stocky, plump man had not seen the King of the Azure Heaven before, but he had heard that the Martial Alliance Leader of South River was an old man with a face full of wrinkles.
Suddenly feeling a tremor in his heart, his eyes filled with horror, he trembled, "You're the God of Slaughter, Li Wu!"
"You bears aren't completely stupid."
Li Wu gave a light shake, and the chains binding his limbs spontaneously unlocked.
"I don't care who you are, you're going to die!"
The stocky, plump man spoke fiercely, but as he threw his copper hammers, he himself turned and ran like a bouncing ball.
"I heard you like to watch dogs eating people. Tomorrow I will find hunting dogs to see how many they can feed on."
Li Wu's figure flashed, appearing instantly behind the stocky, plump man, flicking his fingers consecutively. Invisible jolts of True Qi shattered the limbs and brushed past lightly, sealing all the acupoints around the body with Innate True Qi.
The several experts standing outside the cells, upon seeing Li Wu, reacted as if they had seen a ghost.
"Retreat!"
"It's a trap!"
But it was already too late. As Li Wu passed by them, they fell to the ground, breathless.
"Li Wu, you are ruthless!"
The speaker had white hair and wore a blue Taoist robe fluttering without wind, obviously a cultivator deeply versed in Inner Qi.
Li Wu spoke slowly, "As of today, all the true disciples and secular followers of the Heaven One Temple of South River and Jinguang Temple will be dealt with for the crime of conspiring to rebel!"
"Amitabha!"
The monk held a spade, his golden True Qi radiating from his body, as if a living Vajra had appeared.
"There's no escape, let's go together!"
The Impermanent Ghost's hands were black as ink, emitting a foul, pungent odor of poison, moving through the cells like a wraith.
"Below the Innate, all are ants!"
Li Wu's hands suddenly produced a green longsword. Driven by Innate True Qi, it moved agilely in the air, cutting the Impermanent Ghost in two.
The Taoist priest and the monk didn't even survive a few moves before they too fell to the flying sword!
The remaining martial artists lost all will to resist, throwing down their weapons and kneeling to beg for mercy…