Mo Yuntian's office reeked of ozone and burnt parchment. Lin Hao's artificial irises tracked the fracture lines spreading across the crystal window—thermal stress thresholds breached by incoming ordnance. Qin Yu's laughter echoed faintly from distant dormitories, clashing with the metallic tang of imminent violence.
12:03 – Interception
The flaming arrow pierced through sound barriers before shattering glass. Molten shards embedded themselves in cedar bookshelves, igniting forbidden scrolls detailing soul-branding techniques. Lin Hao's adrenal glands surged as Sigil Brand energy dispersed—the psychic shackles disintegrating like overcooked spider silk.
"Persistent pests." Mo's frostbreathing mask fogged with rage. His gloved hand traced emergency runes, summoning ice barriers that melted instantly under the arrow's residual heat.
12:05 – Evasion
Lin Hao's combat boots ground quartz dust into the carpet. Tomb-honed instincts overrode civilian-grade motion limiters—his elbow shattered the doorframe while fleeing. Fracture patterns mirrored those from Yang Chengji's skull during last winter's assassination.
"Run little rabbit." Mo's laughter crackled through damaged vocal processors. "The warren has no exits."
12:07 – Pursuit
Security drones swarmed like metallic wasps. Lin Hao's retinal overlay mapped their patrol gaps—2.3 seconds between northeastern quadrant rotations. He vaulted over a holographic statue of the Blind Swordsman, its stone eyes weeping data-stream tears.
Qin Yu's voice crackled through a stolen comms channel. "Third floor lavatory—clean exit path!"
12:09 – Revelation
The second arrow struck concrete with volcanic fury. Lei Meng emerged from smoke shadows, his linen-wrapped longbow humming with residual thermal energy. Lin Hao's olfactory sensors detected cordite and fresh feces—the archer had literally shit himself during combat prep.
"Move!" Lei Meng's tremor-suppressed arm shoved Lin Hao toward service elevators. "Sigil resonance dampeners active for 47 seconds!"
12:11 – Interrogation
Security forces swarmed Mo's office. The frost mage reassembled his persona like shattered porcelain—posture relaxing, voice adopting pedagogical warmth. "Merely testing new cryomancy arrays." His gloved hand gestured at smoldering scrolls. "Thermal regulation requires refinement."
The squad captain's neural implant blinked amber—doubt protocols activated but overridden by Mo's instructor clearance codes.
12:13 – Regroup
Dormitory air buzzed with counterfeit normalcy. Qin Yu tossed glowberries to Fourprestige's avian shadow perched on the windowsill. Gu Yunle dissected security feeds showing Lei Meng's bathroom escape route—toilet paper trailing from his boot like absurdist banners.
"Third arrow's trajectory originated from faculty housing." Gu's data spikes projected thermal signatures—a hulking figure evaporating into steam vents.
12:15 – Speculation
Lin Hao's cycle eyes analyzed Lei Meng's weapon. The linen wrapping concealed nano-carbon tendons capable of firing anti-tank rounds—technology surpassing Tianyan Academy's arsenal. Yet the archer's bladder control suggested amateur combatant.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Decoy." Lin Hao muttered, watching Lei Meng scrub feces from his pants. "The real shooter's still hidden."
Fourprestige's shadow darkened. Thunder Phoenix combat logs replayed two-year-old forest ambush data—identical arrowhead fractures, matching plasma burn patterns.
12:17 – Preparation
Mo's surveillance runes materialized as frost patterns on dorm windows. Lin Hao's artificial breath fogged the glass, sketching temporary counter-runes. His neural feed synchronized escape protocols:
Black Ice Citadel infiltration path: 89% mapped
Sigil Brand resonance frequency: 666.013 Hz
Thunder Phoenix activation threshold: 11 minutes
The board reset.
Shadowed Ambitions
The dormitory reeked of fermented glowberries and nervous sweat. Lin Hao's artificial irises tracked micro-tremors in the floorboards—Qin Yu's restless foot tapping at 3.2Hz. Lei Meng's linen-wrapped longbow leaned against the wall, its nano-carbon tendons humming with residual thermal energy.
20:17 – Dissembling
"Just theoretical discussions about phantom runes." Lin Hao's vocal modulator smoothed panic harmonics. His fingers traced the bedframe's alloy surface, counting stress fractures matching Yang Chengji's skull patterns.
Qin Yu tossed another glowberry. The fruit's bioluminescent juice splattered across Fourprestige's shadow perched on the windowsill. "Old Mo's lectures always smell like freezer burn."
20:19 – Revelation
Lei Meng's bathroom return carried traces of copper sulfate and fresh feces. Lin Hao's olfactory sensors dissected the chemical cocktail—blood neutralizer mixed with laxatives. The archer's tremor-suppressed hands clenched around stolen security codes.
Fourprestige's quantum link projected thermal scans:
Yang Zhe's corpse temperature: -12°C
Third Prince Yan Hongyi's biometrics: 89% cybernetic augmentation
Ming Palace security rotation: 47 second blind spot
20:21 – Analysis
Lin Hao's retinal overlay reconstructed palace schematics. The Eastern Pavilion's chessboard glowed with residual psionic energy—black vortex patterns matching Void Devourer Technique signatures. Tomb instincts screamed warnings:
Third Prince's "illness": 87% probability fabricated
Ming Palace surveillance gaps: 2.3 second window
Sigil Brand resonance frequency: 666.013Hz ±0.5%
20:23 – Confrontation
Yan Hongyi's wheelchair creaked with theatrical frailty. His silk gloves concealed nano-filament blades capable of severing spinal cords. Yang Zhe's final chess piece—a king carved from obsidian—sweated condensation onto the jade board.
"Another flawed strategy." Yang Zhe's wrinkled finger trembled against the captured rook. His carotid artery pulsed at 110bpm—subconscious fear metrics.
20:25 – Termination
The Third Prince's wheelchair hydraulics hissed. Black energy vortices erupted from his palms, molecular bonds in Yang Zhe's cells unraveling like overcooked DNA. The tutor's skin desiccated into parchment within 0.7 seconds—a human grape becoming raisin.
Mo Yuntian's frost armor crackled with involuntary fear discharge. "The surveillance systems..."
Yan Hongyi's augmented larynx emitted 40Hz subsonics. "Already looped." His wheelchair tracks crushed Yang Zhe's desiccated finger bones into calcium powder.
20:27 – Revelation
Fourprestige's shadow darkened through palace walls. Lin Hao's cycle eyes decrypted stolen data streams:
Thunder Phoenix plasma reserves: 89%
Black Ice Citadel defense grid: 32% compromised
Sigil Brand production logs: 14,892 successful implantations
20:29 – Preparation
Lei Meng's bathroom mirror fogged with counterfeit steam. His trembling hands injected blood neutralizer into thigh muscles. The linen-wrapped longbow's hidden compartment contained three micro-dart syringes—antidote prototypes stolen from Mo's lab.
Qin Yu's laughter echoed through dormitory halls. "Third Prince's wheelchair? Bet it's got rocket boosters!"
20:31 – Infiltration
Lin Hao's neural feed synchronized assassination protocols:
Void Devourer Technique energy signature: 89% match
Palace guard rotation: 38 second window
Escape route contamination risk: 62%
Fourprestige's talons scraped the windowsill, etching counter-surveillance runes into titanium alloy.
20:33 – Execution
Mo Yuntian's frostbreathing mask vented nitrogen clouds across Yang Zhe's remains. "The Void energy residuals..."
Yan Hongyi's wheelchair transformed—hydraulic pistons elongating into combat stilts. His silk robes fell away to reveal blackened neural ports glowing with stolen life force. "Dispose of him through the incinerator chutes."
20:35 – Revelation
Lei Meng's stolen security codes unlocked sewage maintenance tunnels. The stench of rotting political ambitions filled Lin Hao's olfactory sensors—decomposing flesh mixed with industrial solvents.
Fourprestige's shadow elongated. Thunder Phoenix combat logs replayed the Third Prince's energy signature—98.7% match with Blind Swordsman's last recorded battle aura.
