Heaven Origin Sect did not restrict where its disciples could go.
They were free to come and go as they pleased.
However, entering certain pavilions required a demonstration of strength.
This was also a way to motivate disciples to cultivate diligently.
The Sword Testing Platform was a special location among them—all disciples could come here to spar and compete.
Of course, if someone lost face by being defeated in public, they had no one else to blame.
The massive stone platform, nearly a hundred meters wide, glowed faintly under the moonlight.
Back then, the Tianyuan Patriarch had specifically traveled overseas to find a White Jade Mountain, refining it into this Sword Testing Platform so that disciples could spar to their hearts’ content.
Legend had it that on the day of its completion, it even attracted Heavenly Thunder.
After being tempered by lightning, the entire platform became even sturdier.
Even martial artists at the Divine Martial Realm could only leave shallow marks on its surface.
Now, under the silent night sky, a figure arrived at this place and stopped at the base of the platform.
From the bushes behind, three figures stared intently at him.
“Boss Sun, why isn’t he moving?”
“He’s obviously waiting for someone. Keep quiet and don’t make a sound. Did you bring the Thunderfire Pellets I told you to get? Later, after they meet, I’ll go first. If I can’t handle it, create a disturbance immediately and lure the people from the Game of Swords Pavilion out.”
“Yes!”
Sun Yao had come to catch the spy, but he wasn’t a reckless brute.
The situation was unclear.
What if the contact was extremely strong?
That would be an obvious suicide mission.
So he made what he thought was a thorough preparation: he brought a sword and a defensive artifact.
Both the sword and the defensive artifact were crafted by Artifact Refining Grandmaster Pang from the Imperial Capital.
His family had spent a fortune to buy them before he entered Heaven Origin Sect.
Additionally, if he couldn’t handle it, he would cause a commotion and let the Game of Swords Pavilion deal with it.
Then he could at least claim credit for the investigation, and entering the Outer Sect should be no problem.
Of course, all of this was based on one premise… that Lin An didn’t know he was being followed, and that the figure beside the Sword Testing Platform really was Lin An.
In truth, Sun Yao was more inclined to believe Lin An knew nothing.
It wasn’t like he had Mind Reading—how could he possibly know Sun Yao wanted him dead?
Impossible.
The moon climbed past the treetops, and the time arrived at midnight.
Just as the three were feeling exhausted from their tense nerves, a gentle breeze blew past.
The scene before them made them widen their eyes in shock.
At some point, a graceful figure had appeared beside “Lin An.”
Under the bright moonlight, a pink silk dress danced lightly in the wind, her slender figure faintly visible within.
Her waist-length hair reflected a glossy black sheen.
The woman wore a veil, with only a pair of cold, indifferent eyes exposed.
“B-Boss Sun, this…”
“Forget the details—man or woman, it’s all the same. Act according to the situation!”
With that, Sun Yao lowered his posture and circled around from the side.
The remaining two stared intently at the scene, soon noticing something wrong.
“That’s not right. Why isn’t that Lin An moving at all?”
“I don’t know. He looks like a… a… puppet?”
Realizing what this meant, their spines chilled and they exchanged glances.
But by then, Sun Yao had already launched a sneak attack from behind the woman.
He didn’t shout anything like “Die, demon!”
Instead, he drew his longsword and, with all his strength, thrust straight for the woman’s back.
However, just as the sword tip was about to hit, an extremely displeased sound reached his ears.
“Tch…”
The next moment, blood splattered.
Sun Yao watched in disbelief as his hand holding the sword was severed by an Invisible Blade that fell from the sky.
At the same time, the “Lin An” in front of the woman was also split in two.
What made his eyes nearly burst with rage was… this “Lin An” was fake!
It was a Paper Talisman Doll!
Damn it!
Trapped!
His reaction was quick enough.
Enduring the searing pain, he tried to activate the defensive artifact, but then he realized his body couldn’t move—it was frozen.
“It’s you…”
After uttering those last two words in disbelief, his consciousness sank into darkness.
A crackling sound burst on the ground.
Sun Yao’s frozen body shattered into pieces, turning into mist that dissipated into the air.
All of this happened within three breaths.
By the time the two lackeys reacted, the woman was already in front of them.
“We—we don’t know anything—”
Their voices were cut off in their throats.
The last thing they saw was their own spinning bodies—headless ones.
Watching all of this from a distance, Lin An felt his scalp crawl.
So brutal…
His guess was right.
This colleague really wanted to kill him!
That paper doll was sliced in half without a moment’s hesitation.
There was nothing more to say.
He turned around and activated the Light Body Talisman.
Using every ounce of strength he had, he scurried back to his dwelling.
Shutting the door, he leaned against it, gasping for air.
“Hah… hah… That woman, what does she want? Is she insane?”
Of course, Lin An had left the note.
Based on his understanding of Sun Yao and the hostility Sun Yao held toward him, there was a high probability he wouldn’t report it and would instead come to watch him.
So he used Sun Yao to probe the Hidden Agent’s background.
But the most critical issue was that he himself had to show up; otherwise, Sun Yao wouldn’t have followed.
Fortunately, he had obtained a Low-Grade Paper Doll from a previous mission.
In the pitch dark, as long as he dressed the paper doll, no one would notice it wasn’t him unless they got close.
He himself trailed far behind, playing the role of “The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind.”
But whether it was the mantis or the oriole, neither was a match for the hunter.
Clearly, the Hidden Agent was the hunter, and he was now just a lucky oriole that had escaped.
‘Damn, what do I do now?’
He never imagined that the greatest threat to him right now was an ally from his own faction.
While the one who had given him so much help was an enemy from the opposing side.
Truly, the world was unpredictable.
Where are you? Why haven’t you come yet?
“Sss…”
The artifact at his heart sent a signal, making Lin An suck in a breath of cold air.
He quickly sent the prepared excuse.
I’ve been spotted.
I just used a paper doll to lure them away.
I can’t make it tonight.
After a long pause, the other side replied, Fine.
Have the paper doll come to the Sword Testing Platform.
I’ll take care of it.
We’ll talk about meeting later.
Okay.
The opponent’s smooth follow-up made Lin An’s eyelids twitch.
He hated dealing with smart enemies the most.
“Hoo…”
He let out a long breath, but he wasn’t completely relieved yet.
He had tricked her with that story to buy some time—however long he could.
But there was another problem on Gu Yingge’s side.
If that woman went to ask Gu Yingge, then he’d be exposed in an instant!
Lin An paced back and forth in the room and quickly made a rather risky decision.
A long night meant many troubles.
He would go find Gu Yingge now!
The Hidden Agent’s decisive and ruthless methods left Lin An with zero sense of security.
At this point, he didn’t care about what was reasonable or whether the timing was appropriate or what excuse he would use once he arrived.
He just wanted to find Gu Yingge as fast as possible and make her promise not to tell anyone that he had been telling her stories lately.
As for how to get her to agree… telling her stories?
Maybe…