Chapter 697: Stirring Up Trouble

Zu'an felt the other party's aura lock onto him, as if a single wrong word would result in his demise. He grumbled internally, "So, being powerful makes you special, huh?"

He quickly deflated, though; being powerful truly was impressive, and at present, he had no means of resistance.

He bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have not found any information regarding the Demon Sect Master."

The emperor snorted in displeasure, "Then what's the point of having you infiltrate the Demon Sect?"

Zu'an was quite annoyed; the emperor was simply too impatient. "Your Majesty," he replied, "although your subject has not found information on the Demon Sect Master, I have uncovered a secret stronghold of the Demon Sect in the capital."

This was something he and Yun Jianyue had discussed. Although Yun Jianyue was unaware of his mission to infiltrate the sect on the emperor's orders, she didn't mind providing him with a significant achievement. After all, from her perspective, Zu'an had encountered considerable trouble helping her, and such a credit would serve as an additional layer of protection.

As for the secret stronghold, it was undoubtedly a pre-arranged sacrifice.

"Oh?" The emperor's expression softened slightly. "Well done. Later, you will take a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards as their envoy to dismantle that stronghold."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zu'an bowed, thinking how profound the emperor's cunning was. He was sending Zu'an to raid the stronghold based on Zu'an's own intelligence; if it turned out to be an empty site, the emperor would likely grow suspicious.

"Too bad you think you're on the second layer, but I'm on the fifth." He had long anticipated this. That stronghold actually contained numerous Demon Sect members, including several mid to high-ranking individuals. Naturally, all these individuals were opposed to Yun Jianyue, and she didn't mind using the emperor's blade to eliminate her rivals.

What a bunch of old schemers!

While grumbling about the emperor, Zu'an also sighed about Yun Jianyue. She appeared as ethereal and otherworldly as a celestial fairy, yet her methods were extremely ruthless and underhanded.

He really had to be extra careful when dealing with these people in the future, lest he be sold out and still be counting their money for them.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, then feigned a casual question. "By the way, I hear you had a conflict with the Prince of Qi's heir? Do you know what a grave crime it is to offend a high-ranking court official?"

"Your subject is wrongly accused!" Zu'an quickly exclaimed. "It wasn't my intention to offend him; rather, he conspired to harm me."

With that, he briefly explained the Prince of Qi's heir's scheme.

"Zhao Zhi's methods certainly resemble his father's, but he's still a bit too naive," the emperor sneered, though his gaze towards Zu'an held much approval. "I didn't expect you to see through all this and even make him suffer such a great loss. Truly, you are a teachable young man."

Seeing his barely contained smile, Zu'an knew the emperor was probably thrilled. After all, he had been locked in fierce struggles with the Prince of Qi for years and had never seen the Prince of Qi's side suffer such a significant loss.

Seizing the opportunity while the emperor was in a good mood, he intentionally put on a troubled expression and said, "Unfortunately, I've now completely alienated the Prince of Qi's faction. If the Prince of Qi seeks revenge next, I'll truly be doomed."

"Don't worry," the emperor said, looking pleased. "Given the Prince of Qi's nature, he most likely won't deal with you directly but will manipulate others. You were able to handle even Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu; how could anyone else possibly harm you?" He thought to himself that he had underestimated this fellow before, and looking at the current developments, even if he couldn't complete the task of giving the fake manual to the Prince of Qi, he could still be incredibly useful.

These days, this "troublemaker" had truly vexed the Prince of Qi's faction.

Zu'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the emperor hadn't explicitly guaranteed anything, he knew the emperor would certainly not stand by and let the Prince of Qi personally deal with him.

His deliberate and ostentatious opposition to the Prince of Qi's faction these days, aside from being compelled, was largely a performance for the emperor.

Only by proving his capabilities and his irreconcilable enmity with the Prince of Qi would the emperor fully trust him and be willing to protect him, rather than treating him as a disposable pawn.

"By the way, what was with that large water ball that suddenly appeared?" the emperor asked, feigning casualness.

Zu'an's heart tensed. The incident had just occurred, yet the emperor knew all the details so clearly. The intelligence gathering ability of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was truly formidable.

Fortunately, he was prepared!

He immediately let out a sound of surprise and feigned an expression of astonishment, saying, "I thought it was Your Majesty's hidden experts secretly protecting me."

The emperor's breath hitched. He made a sound of acknowledgment and offered no explanation, as if he truly had sent people to protect Zu'an.

At the same time, he pondered inwardly, "Which faction's experts were helping him? The Chu family? But Chu Zhongtian's current cultivation is only at the eighth rank; how could he have the ability to help him? Could there be other forces involved that I don't know about?"

As emperor, he disliked such uncertainty, but knowing that pressing further wouldn't yield results, he changed the subject and asked, "Why did Yu Yanluo invite you into her carriage?"

He didn't ask why Yu Yanluo would help Zu'an, as she had interceded for him once before, so he was aware of Zu'an saving her.

Zu'an noticed a hint of jealousy in his eyes. He thought, "Yu Yanluo certainly has many admirers. The other admirers are one thing, but this fiercest one needs careful handling; otherwise, who knows what he might do if consumed by jealousy?"

He hastily explained, "Perhaps because I saved her in Brightmoon City back then, she treats me like a junior."

Hearing this explanation, the emperor's furrowed brows relaxed. "Treating you as a junior, that's good. By the way, why has your cultivation improved so rapidly, to the point that even Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu couldn't defeat you? Is it because of the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*?"

Zu'an's heart clenched; he sensed a fleeting killing intent from the emperor.

He knew the secret manual he had presented to the emperor definitely didn't have such an effect, so the emperor was probably already suspicious about the manual's authenticity.

Indeed, serving a ruler is like accompanying a tiger.

Fortunately, Zu'an was prepared. "Your Majesty," he replied, "had it not been for Madam Yu's subordinates assisting me, I would likely have been killed by Han Fengqiu. As for the Prince of Qi's heir, I mainly relied on the 'Sunflower Phantom' dodging technique taught to me by Old Man Mi to contend with him."

"No matter how miraculous a movement technique is, it has its limits," the emperor snorted, clearly disbelieving his explanation. "Unless your cultivation has already reached the seventh rank, how could you possibly contend with them?"

Zu'an could only say with a troubled expression, "Your Majesty is truly wise. Actually, Old Man Mi tried to possess my body back then, but for some unknown reason, he failed and perished. However, a portion of his power remained in my body, which is why my progress has been so rapid."

The emperor had an "I knew it" expression. "Just as I thought," he said. "I actually suspected long ago that you possessed Little Mi's cultivation."

Zu'an respectfully said, "Your Majesty is sagacious!"

But he thought to himself, "If you knew the truth, you'd probably be so embarrassed you'd want to crawl into a hole."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. "You may withdraw," he said. "Remember to investigate the Demon Sect's stronghold."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After Zu'an left the Imperial Study, he immediately found a place to change into the uniform of a Gold Rank XI Embroidered Uniform Guard. Then, he led the already assembled and ready Embroidered Uniform Guards towards the secret stronghold.

Seeing the Embroidered Uniform Guards burst in, the people inside the stronghold were all greatly alarmed. They had been secretly sold out by Yun Jianyue, so their reactions showed no flaw whatsoever.

A fierce conflict then erupted. This stronghold had no shortage of Demon Sect experts, yet Zu'an didn't even make a move. The Silver and Bronze Rank Embroidered Uniform Guards under his command jointly suppressed the entire stronghold.

He was secretly astonished; the formation coordination of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was truly formidable, especially the Soul-Hooking Chains, which made it impossible for even experts to defend against.

After bringing the captives back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's prison, Zu'an finally breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor should no longer be suspicious of him.

After leaving the palace, he easily returned home. The moment he reached his door, he froze.

There seemed to be signs of an intruder!

Yet the intruder hadn't destroyed the courtyard's defensive array. Could their cultivation be incredibly high?

Having just fought a peak ninth-rank expert, he was now bold due to his skill. He didn't shrink back; instead, he stealthily crept inside.

Inside the house, a man and a woman were sitting and chatting. The man had red lips and white teeth, looking even more delicate than a woman, while the woman was peerlessly beautiful.

At this moment, the young man said, "Sister, that brother-in-law of yours is particularly dishonest. You really need to be more careful."

The beautiful woman asked in surprise, "Did he bully you?"

The young man's face flushed slightly as he quickly said, "No, no. It's just that he's been flirting around outside, not even bothering to be discreet when I'm present."

The beautiful woman's delicate brows also furrowed. "That guy is fine in other aspects," she said, "but in this regard, he's truly outrageous!"

A wave of anger welled up within her, thinking that her best friend had also been taken to bed by him.

Anger value from Chu Chuyan: 233,233,233.