The earth-shattering explosion echoing from deep underground didn't merely shake the northern sector of the capital; it fell like a sledgehammer upon the hearts of every citizen of Thang Long.
The grand prison of the Six Gates! The symbol of the law and the Imperial Court's majesty, the place known as having "an entrance but no exit"—how could such a horrific self-detonation occur there? This was no longer an ordinary act of silencing a witness. It was a blatant provocation, a heaven-shaking slap to the face of the Six Gates, Tao Chinh, and the entire Great Viet Imperial Court!
Instantly, blaring alarm horns resounded everywhere. Patrols of the Imperial Guards and soldiers from the Five Wards Military Command surged forward like a tide, locking down the entire area. The capital plunged into a state of chaos and terror.
Yet while everyone, Tao Chinh included, was captivated by the seismic tremor at the grand prison, Tran Kien—the sole individual who saw through the truth behind the curtain—darted through the dark night like a phantom.
He didn't run toward the grand prison. He sped in the exact opposite direction.
The Imperial Palace!
Marquis Vinh An! You truly are an old fox far more cunning than I anticipated! Tran Kien gritted his teeth, channeling the Primordial Chaos Qi within his body to its absolute limit, transforming his figure into a streak of black lightning.
The stratagem of "Making a Feint to the East while Attacking in the West"! The entire assault on the grand prison, the whole play to silence the witness, and even the sacrifice of a Foundation Establishment deathsworn—all of it was merely a smokescreen! A terrifyingly costly and ruthless diversion, yet unimaginably effective! Its purpose was to draw all the attention of the Six Gates, Duke Dingguo's Estate, and the capital toward the prison. Thus leaving his hands free to execute his true, fatal chess move.
To abduct, or assassinate, Trinh Lam Vy right inside the Imperial Palace!
Tran Kien felt his heart being squeezed by an invisible hand. He had been overly confident in his own schemes, underestimating the sheer ruthlessness and decisiveness of Marquis Vinh An. He had unwittingly become a pawn in a far grander chessboard of the enemy.
Lam Vy, you absolutely must not let anything happen to you!
The Imperial Palace at night boasted towering walls and deep moats, guarded with impenetrable vigilance. But tonight, the atmosphere was somewhat bizarre. The external chaos seemed to have rippled inward. The patrolling Imperial Guards moved with greater haste, their attention entirely drawn toward the north of the city, where black smoke billowed into the sky.
Possessing no token of passage, Tran Kien could not enter through the main gates. Clinging to the towering walls like a gecko, his frame as weightless as a falling leaf, he soundlessly bypassed the stringent patrols. His mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation base and the skills of an assassin allowed him to achieve what no one could possibly imagine.
He had once heard Trinh Cong mention that upon entering the palace, Lam Vy was arranged by the Emperor to reside in a remote palace in the eastern sector, named the Palace of Gathered Elegance (Trữ Tú Cung).
When Tran Kien stealthily approached the vicinity of the Palace of Gathered Elegance, his pupils abruptly contracted.
He caught the pungent stench of fresh blood.
And he saw them: the eunuchs and palace maids stationed outside had collapsed to the ground, each bearing a vibrant streak of crimson across their throats. They had been killed in a single strike!
Tran Kien's heart plummeted to the abyss. Abandoning all concealment, his body rocketed inside like a loosed arrow.
BOOM!
He shattered the doors, storming into the main hall. The scene within caused his eyes to burn blood-red.
Over ten masked assassins clad in black had encircled two figures. One was Trinh Cong. The loyal elderly protector had somehow managed to enter the palace; now, his entire body was bathed in blood, one of his arms completely severed. Yet he stood resolute, using his own body as a shield for the person behind him.
And the person behind him was Lam Vy.
She no longer possessed her usual vivacious and mischievous demeanor. Adorned in magnificent palace robes, her beautiful face was ashen, drained of all blood. Her large, round eyes brimmed with terror yet shone with absolute stubbornness. Clutched in her hand was a golden phoenix hairpin, prepared to end her own life at a moment's notice.
"Trinh Cong, you truly are a loyal hound," the leader, an assassin at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, sneered. "But did you actually think you could protect her? Obediently hand over the Young Lady, and I can grant you an intact corpse!"
"You... in your dreams!" Trinh Cong roared, though his body tottered on the verge of collapse.
At that exact moment, Tran Kien arrived.
"You beasts!"
He let out a beast-like roar. All the fury, guilt, and anxiety within his heart transmuted in this instant into an overwhelming, sky-piercing killing intent.
He wasted no breath on idle words. The matte-black saber was already in his grasp.
Saber Intent — A Thousand Hammers, A Hundred Refinements!
He held back nothing. His mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation erupted. A golden streak of saber intent, bearing the will of tempering and the wrath of the Dragon Veins, materialized into a black dragon. With a heaven-shaking roar, it plunged straight into the horde of assassins.
"Watch out!" the leader shrieked in horror. Never could he have anticipated an expert suddenly appearing here.
But it was too late. Tran Kien's Saber Intent, after two years of bitter cultivation and being tempered by Dragon Qi, was unfathomably terrifying.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The black dragon tore into the pack of wolves. Saber light flashed, and sword shadows gleamed. Fresh blood sprayed wildly into the air. The Qi Condensation stage assassins, facing a single strike from Tran Kien, possessed not a shred of strength to resist and fell one after another.
In the span of a few breaths, of the dozen or so assassins, only the leader remained.
"You... who are you?!" he stared at Tran Kien in horror, his eyes brimming with disbelief.
"Who I am is of no concern to you," Tran Kien spoke, his voice as cold as the ice of the netherworld. Step by step, he advanced. "You only need to know that today, all of you must die!"
He afforded him no opportunity. He raised his saber once more.
But right at that moment, the clear, resonant chime of a temple bell suddenly drifted over from afar. This bell chime seemed to possess a bizarre, magical power, slightly pacifying Tran Kien's towering killing intent.
Following the chime, an aged, benevolent, yet supremely authoritative voice echoed throughout the Imperial Palace.
"Amitabha. Almsgiver, within the solemnity of the imperial palace, please stay your hand."
A figure clad in a golden kasaya, grasping a Zen staff, had appeared at the doorway at some unknown point. The elderly monk had snow-white hair and beard and a benevolent countenance, yet the aura radiating from him was unfathomably deep.
The Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace, Abbot of the imperial temple, and one of the most powerful experts of the Great Viet imperial clan!
The chessboard of the Imperial Capital seemed to have welcomed yet another new player.