Outside Of Time

Chapter 1634: I Want a Reward
Editor: Atlas Studios

This night caused quite a commotion in the entire Immortal Palace.

A disciple from the Thunder Punishment Palace had attempted to defect but was killed by the Fourth True Monarch at the teleportation array, raising doubts from that disciple’s master, Gongsun Qingmu.

Ultimately, the matter was confirmed after a secret message jade token was really found on the disciple.

However, in the eyes of the astute people, the incident was riddled with inconsistencies. Nevertheless, since the Fourth True Monarch had spoken, his status brought the matter to a close.

With the Young Lord’s wedding imminent and the Immortal Lord’s ruling period approaching, it was a consensus among everyone that minimizing major issues and trivializing minor ones was crucial.

No matter the circumstances, nothing was more important than these two events.

Even if there were doubts, they could be addressed after these two matters were settled.

There was no rush in the next half month.

Hence, an hour later, before dawn, the entire Immortal Palace returned to peace.

However, in the hearts of those outsiders, the storm created by this incident lingered for a long time.

Each of them was extraordinary, possessing sharp analytical skills and considerable cunning. Their identities and insights allowed them to clearly grasp the underlying causes and effects of the situation.

“Although the deacon from the Thunder Punishment Palace could have been deliberately disguised as Xie Lingzi, the possibility that he truly is Xie Lingzi is also quite high.”

“If he’s really Xie Lingzi, then tonight was a battle among him, Star Ring, and that mysterious person who spread the rumors!”

“Clearly, Star Ring suffered a significant loss!”

“He not only failed to kill Xie Lingzi but also had to personally acknowledge the disciple’s defection, solidifying this matter!”

“Xie Lingzi is quite skilled! That mysterious person is equally clever!”

“I wonder how Star Ring will respond next…”

Amidst the swirling undercurrents, within the True Monarch Hall, the figure of the Fourth True Monarch emerged from the void, expressionless as he walked into the high pavilion. There, in the howling night wind, he gazed far into the distance at the Junior Aurora Hall.

At this moment, the sky was sparse with moonlight, dark clouds enveloped the heavens, and the brilliance was swallowed by the night, making the world increasingly dark and indistinct.

Just like the Fourth True Monarch’s heart right now.

Tonight, he had lost.

For him, failure was already a rare occurrence, and such a significant defeat was something long forgotten and unfamiliar in his memory.

Hence, he stood there and silently looked at the Junior Aurora Hall. A dark glint gradually flickered in his eyes.

Time flowed by.

Perhaps it was because of the dark clouds, dawn arrived late.

Before dawn, Zhou Zhengli’s figure appeared behind the Fourth True Monarch and bowed.

“Zhong Chi stayed in the Junior Aurora Hall for the first half of the night. After that, he returned to his residence and didn’t go out again.”

“The Young Lord was in the Junior Aurora Hall the whole time. and the string music from the Hall of Hundred Flowers continued uninterrupted.”

“As for anyone else, unless they possess special means that can evade my perception, otherwise… no one should have left the Junior Aurora Hall before this.”

Zhou Zhengli spoke softly.

He naturally knew about Star Ring’s defeat and his old opponent’s counterattack. He was originally going to make a move together with Star Ring.

However, the other party was too confident and thought that he could resolve everything on his own. Hence, he didn’t let him accompany him. Instead, he asked him to wait outside the Junior Aurora Hall and observe closely.

‘I wonder if this is confidence or arrogance. Is he looking down on the other stars…’ Zhou Zhengli sneered inwardly.

Those who could become stars were never ordinary people.

“I indeed underestimated them.”

Star Ring suddenly spoke.

As soon as he said this, Zhou Zhengli’s pupils constricted. He knew Star Ring’s pride more clearly than others. To be able to make such a proud person admit his mistake… was very difficult.

At the same time, he could tell that the enemy who was hiding wasn’t as simple as he thought.

“However, I already know this person’s identity.”

Star Ring slowly spoke. As his voice rang out, the dark clouds in the sky collided, forming lightning. Accompanied by rumbling thunder, lightning illuminated the world.

It also made his blurry eyes become clearer.

“There’s just one thing. Although all the signs point to this person being the one who has been hiding, I won’t make the mistake of underestimating them again. So… I’m wondering if this might only be their first layer of identity.”

“The true mastermind might still be hidden in the dark.”

Star Ring’s voice echoed. The lightning in the world flashed and disappeared, and the world was once again enveloped by darkness.

Zhou Zhengli didn’t respond to this. He knew that what the other person was saying wasn’t meant for him, but rather for himself.

Hence, after some thought, he continued to talk about his harvest tonight.

“Apart from that, through my observation of Zhong Chi tonight and combining it with your previous judgment of his motives, I finally confirmed that there’s a high chance that your guess is true.”

“Zhong Chi’s goal should be to plant the Ordinance of Poison he has grasped in this space-time.”

“However, he isn’t trying to change history immediately. Instead, he is using this time period to allow his poison to accumulate the weight and depth of history.”

“Ultimately, he’s likely planning to intervene just before his host body’s fated death in the calamity, poisoning himself in advance.”

“This way, his Poison Ordinance will have karma and historical depth!”

“Regardless of whether this ripple in history impacts reality, it can still serve as the foundation for his Ordinance—and this foundation will manifest in history before even that of his master.”

Zhou Zhengli said softly.

“We just need to stop him at the critical moment.”

Star Ring calmly spoke.

Zhou Zhengli nodded, remaining silent. After appropriately revealing some brilliance, he took a few steps back, choosing to conceal his abilities once more.

At this moment, the sun finally broke through the black clouds, causing light to instantly cascade down. Hence… dawn arrived.

The sky was bright.

Amidst the light, Star Ring’s voice muttered.

“The side of order has rather few chess pieces…”

…

In the Junior Aurora Hall, Xu Qing had long picked up the chess pieces that had scattered on the ground and placed them on the chessboard again.

He arranged them according to their previous positions one by one, causing the chess game to not be over.

At that moment, after he put down the last chess piece, a delicate laugh rang out from behind him.

“Young Lord is wise.”

The voice was irresistibly seductive, captivating, and as it echoed by Xu Qing’s ears, the fox beauty, dressed in sheer silk, revealed her graceful, curvaceous figure. She stepped forward, sitting directly in front of Xu Qing.

Her snow-white skin, highlighted by the delicate fabric, became even more alluring. After sitting down, She raised Her slender jade-like fingers, gracefully picking up a chess piece between two of them and placing it on the board.

Then, She looked up, Her enchanting eyes filled with sultry allure, casting a mesmerizing glance at Xu Qing. As She did so, She teasingly licked Her red lips.

“Fourth True Monarch indeed set up a trap. I was injured and almost couldn’t return.”

“Moreover, there are actually spies outside the Junior Aurora Hall. I spent some effort to come silently.”

“So… I want a reward!”

As the fox beauty spoke, She pressed down on the chessboard with one hand and leaned Her upper body forward. Amidst the waves, she moved Her beautiful and coquettish face closer to Xu Qing.

She blew gently.

“Young Lord, can you reward me once?”

Xu Qing fell silent and lifted his head. His gaze shifted away from the chessboard. After meeting the fox beauty’s gaze, he calmly spoke.

“Have you taken a liking to my host’s body? If you’re not afraid that your soul will be destroyed by the Immortal Lord tomorrow, I can subconsciously avoid it for a day and give you a chance.”

The fox beauty was speechless for a moment. She originally thought that Xu Qing would reply like before but she didn’t expect his answer to be so tricky.

This caused her to be stunned for a moment.

She couldn’t help but curse the wooden man inwardly. After that, she moved back and flicked her hair.

Seeing that the other party was normal, Xu Qing calmly spoke.

“Your identity has been exposed tonight. Are you prepared to deal with it?”

“No!” The fox beauty snorted angrily.

Xu Qing lifted his hand and picked up the chess pieces on the chessboard one by one as he spoke calmly.

“I know you’ve thought about it long ago. In fact, it’s in line with your plan for me to let you go there tonight. So, I don’t care what you want, but let me remind you that the next target of Star Ring is definitely you!”

When the fox beauty heard this, she blinked.

“Young Master, are you concerned about me? Can you give me some pointers?”

Xu Qing kept the chessboard and casually spoke.

“It’s not suitable to look for Xie Lingzi today. Remember to go tomorrow. As for whether you can obtain the identity, it’s up to you.”

The fox beauty covered her mouth and laughed.

“Xu Qing, do you know that what I actually like the most is your intelligence?”

Xu Qing closed his eyes and didn’t speak again.

The fox beauty’s smile was still the same. She stretched her slender waist and revealed her beautiful curves before turning to leave.

Unknowingly, a day passed.

Xu Qing didn’t leave the Junior Aurora Hall. He was studying the sand of time he had obtained.

This item was incomparably profound but there were too few of them.

Hence, he had two choices.

One was to fuse it now.

The other choice…

“Using this sand as the foundation, I’ll create an even bigger space-time disturbance, and obtain more!”

Xu Qing gradually had an answer.

As for the external world, it was as though nothing had happened last night. It was still peaceful and people came and went without any abnormalities. In fact, the sensitivity of this matter even exceeded the rumors from before.

Hence, there were almost no discussions.

Everyone had an unspoken mutual understanding and didn’t mention it.

Just like that, the night came and went. The next morning, knocking sounds echoed through the residence of Gongsun Qingmu, the deacon of the Thunder Punishment Palace, who had lost his beloved disciple.

At the next instant, the door silently opened and a man in black with a blurry face walked in.

In the room, Gongsun Qingmu was expressionless. He coldly looked at the person in front of him and didn’t speak first.

After sizing up the surroundings, the black-clothed man smiled and spoke.

“Xie Lingzi, are you satisfied with the gift from the night before?”

Gongsun Qingmu calmly looked at the person in front of him. After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

“What do you want?”

“You’ve lost a disciple. It’s time for you to take in a disciple.”

The man in black smiled.

When Gongsun Qingmu heard this, his mind instantly fluctuated. He never expected that the other party wanted this!

“Identity?”

Gongsun fell silent and looked at the person in front of him before speaking again.

“Who exactly are you?”

The black-clothed man smiled but didn’t answer this question. Instead, he calmly spoke.

“Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that you need an ally during this period, and we… can continue to help each other. For example, we can help you complete an even larger rebellion against the palace.”

Gongsun fell silent.

After a while, he spoke in a low voice.

“I need to think about it.”

The man in black smiled and didn’t say anything else. His body retreated and gradually became blurry.

…

At the same time, similar words echoed in the guest hall in the south of the Immortal Palace.

“I will consider the True Monarch’s invitation.”

The daughter of the Nine Shores looked at the Fourth True Monarch in front of her and said softly.

When the Fourth True Monarch heard this, he was expressionless as he slowly spoke.

“The price you paid for your current identity isn’t small, right? Your goal is to follow the development of history with this identity and marry that Young Lord. From there, you can create karma with this Immortal Palace and become half the master of the Immortal Palace.”

“Of course, you might have a deeper motive, but no matter what, it doesn’t conflict with me.”

With that, he turned and walked out. However, when he reached the entrance of the hall, he stopped in his tracks. His back was facing the daughter of the Nine Shores.

“Only with this identity of yours can you legitimately disperse the Hundred Flowers Palace and all the songbirds within it, including that fox beauty.”

“After you disperse them, I will protect your path for you!”