Chapter 732 - 445: Cicada Song and Bloody Dew

After Zhu Cheng left, Duan Rong spent the entire day staying in the other courtyard, looking at the data.

Ruyi was constantly guarding him from not far away, occasionally bringing him fresh tea, but Duan Rong seemed to enter a kind of "flow" state, where everything around him seemed nonexistent except for the data in front of him.

With this state, he kept watching until late at night, when the slanted moon sank in the west.

Ruyi, who had accompanied him all day, was now beginning to yawn uncontrollably.

Duan Rong finally raised his head and moved his stiff neck. He picked up the cup of light tea nearby, took a couple of sips to moisten his throat, and glanced at Ruyi in the distance, who had just yawned and still had sleepy tears in her eyes.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "What? Are you sleepy?"

Ruyi replied, "No, Sir, I’m not sleepy..."

Before Ruyi could finish speaking, her expression changed, and Duan Rong also furrowed his brow and turned his head to look outside the room.

"Ding!"

"Ding! Ding!"

Outside the other courtyard, in the quiet night, the sound of clashing iron suddenly echoed, indicating that someone was in a fight.

Duan Rong leaped up immediately, standing at the door as he landed.

"Stay here, don’t move!"

After instructing Ruyi, Duan Rong dashed out.

"Sir, be careful!" Ruyi said worriedly, but Duan Rong was no longer inside.

By this time, the sounds of fighting outside the courtyard had ceased. When Duan Rong heard the sounds, he had already released his Divine Sense.

The intruder was wearing a night suit and had already been injured by Chou Luan within just two moves.

As Duan Rong darted out, that person had already retreated. Under the cover of his Divine Sense, he saw a dark figure, clutching his shoulder, dash over the wall.

Good Lightweight Skill!

As his Divine Sense focused, Duan Rong penetrated the black cloth covering the person’s face.

"It’s him!"

Seeing the person’s face, Duan Rong was immediately shocked. The intruder was actually the waiter from the Taihe Building.

"This Divine Cloud Prefecture is indeed full of hidden talents!"

Duan Rong walked to the entrance of the other courtyard.

Outside, on the open ground, Chou Luan was standing there with a short saber in his hand. Though the smell of alcohol was strong on him, he stood very steadily, with his brows full of menace.

Not far from Chou Luan, a saber was lying on the ground, and a distinct pool of blood was visible beside it.

Duan Rong glanced at Chou Luan, and Chou Luan also looked at Duan Rong.

The two exchanged a look but didn’t speak. Duan Rong walked over directly, picked up the saber next to the blood, and under the faint light of a lantern hanging at the courtyard’s entrance, recognized it as a standard Mo Saber.

The standard Mo Saber is the official saber of the Ministry of Justice.

Duan Rong frowned, looking at the cold blade illuminated by the flicker of light in his hand, and thought to himself, "Reading the Artifact Spirit."

In the eerie night, a set of data appeared before Duan Rong.

Artifact: Standard Mo Saber

Artifact Spirit Tier: Tier Seven

Devouring Requirements: Host’s Spiritual Power Level Seven (Satisfied)

Devouring Effect: Flying Cloud Saber Technique Fourth Level

Looking at the data panel floating before him, Duan Rong clicked his tongue slightly. "Indeed, the True Qi Realm Fourth Level, I really underestimated you!"

In truth, when he scanned that person’s departing body technique with his Divine Sense earlier, Duan Rong had already vaguely guessed his realm, but he hadn’t used his Divine Sense to penetrate the person’s Dantian to investigate his actual realm.

A master of the True Qi Realm Fourth Level, working as a waiter in Taihe Building, was really underselling himself!

Thinking so, Duan Rong cast a heavy glance at Chou Luan, who wasn’t far away. The intruder was also at the True Qi Realm Fourth Level. Although his cultivation technique leaned more towards Lightweight Skill, it was still genuinely at the True Qi Realm Fourth Level. Yet such a master couldn’t withstand two moves under Chou Luan and was injured.

This shows that Chou Luan’s cultivation is probably not far from the True Qi Realm Great Perfection.

It’s known that Ximen Kankan and Xiao Yu still haven’t reached the True Qi Realm Great Perfection and are trapped in the Tower Forest.

The Micro and Perfection realms beyond the Fourth Level have nothing to do with the density or strength of True Qi within the Dantian; it’s a skill of employing True Qi, belonging to the realm of Spiritual Power.

Therefore, even though Duan Rong had checked Chou Luan’s Dantian during their face-to-face meeting, he only knew his Inner Power Cultivation and didn’t know about his progress in the Micro or Perfection realm.

At this time, Zhu Zhengfu and the butler Zhu Yu were approaching from beside the bamboo forest at the courtyard’s other end. The lantern Zhu Yu held in his hand swayed like a firefly flickering in the night.

Duan Rong glanced at their figures over there, then lowered his head to look at the Mo Saber in his hand, focusing quietly, "Devour!"

With his current cultivation, he naturally had no interest in martial arts at the True Qi Realm level, but he was somewhat curious about that waiter from the Taihe Building; there might be some information in the Artifact Spirit.

By the time the data panel in front of him dissipated, Zhu Zhengfu had already reached the courtyard entrance, the dim light casting a shadow on his somber face.

All around the courtyard, Zhu Zhengfu had arranged for defense, but he had issued strict orders not to allow those guards to approach the courtyard, lest Duan Rong’s whereabouts be exposed.

Earlier, the guards had reported to him upon hearing the sounds of fighting, prompting him to head to the courtyard.

Zhu Zhengfu glanced at Chou Luan and asked, "Who was it?"

Chou Luan remained silent, simply shaking his head.

Duan Rong handed the Mo Saber in his hand to Zhu Zhengfu.

Zhu Zhengfu took it and, under the light, focused his gaze, exclaiming, "Standard Mo Saber?! It’s the Ministry of Justice!?"

Zhu Zhengfu raised the Mo Saber to his eyes, using his fingertips to gently stroke the base of the blade where there were some tiny serial numbers.