Chapter 694: Stirring Up Trouble

Zu An felt the other's energy lock onto him, as if he would be eliminated at the slightest disagreement. He grumbled inwardly, "Is being powerful really that great?"

He quickly deflated, realizing that high cultivation *was* indeed impressive; at the very least, he couldn't resist at the moment.

He bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have not found any information about the cult leader."

The Emperor snorted in displeasure, "Then what's the point of sending you to infiltrate the cult?"

Zu An was quite annoyed, thinking the Emperor was too impatient. "Your Majesty," he replied, "although I haven't found information about the cult leader, I have located a secret cult stronghold in the capital."

This was something he and Yun Jianyue had planned. Although Yun Jianyue wasn't aware of his specific mission from the Emperor to infiltrate, she didn't mind giving him credit for this. From her perspective, Zu An had gotten into considerable trouble helping her, and such a merit would serve as an additional layer of protection.

As for the secret stronghold, it was definitely a pre-arranged sacrificial pawn.

"Oh?" The Emperor's expression softened slightly. "Well done. Later, you will take a team of Embroidered Uniform Guards to raid that stronghold in your capacity as an envoy."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zu An bowed, thinking how profound the Emperor's cunning was. He had provided the intelligence, and now he was being sent to make the arrest. If they only found an empty stronghold, the Emperor would most likely become suspicious.

"Too bad you think you're one step ahead, but I'm several," he mused. He had long anticipated this. That stronghold contained many cult members, including quite a few mid-to-high ranking figures, all of whom were opponents of Yun Jianyue. Yun Jianyue didn't mind using the Emperor's power to eliminate her rivals.

"They're all such cunning old foxes!"

While complaining about the Emperor, Zu An also mused about Yun Jianyue. She appeared as ethereal as a fairy from the clouds, yet her methods were incredibly ruthless.

He realized he truly needed to be extra cautious when dealing with these people in the future, or he'd be counting money for them even after being sold out.

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction, then casually asked, "By the way, I heard you had a conflict with the Crown Prince of Qi? Do you know what a grave crime it is to offend a high-ranking official?"

"Your Majesty, I've been wronged!" Zu An quickly exclaimed. "It wasn't my intention to offend him; rather, he plotted to harm me."

He then briefly described the Crown Prince of Qi's plan.

"Zhao Zhi's methods certainly resemble his father's true teachings, but unfortunately, he's still too green," the Emperor scoffed. However, his gaze towards Zu An was full of 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 talent."

Seeing the Emperor's suppressed smile, Zu An knew he was probably overjoyed. After all, the Emperor had been locked in a fierce struggle with the Prince of Qi for years and had never seen the Prince suffer such a significant loss.

Taking advantage of the Emperor's good mood, he deliberately said with a bitter expression, "Unfortunately, I've now completely offended the Prince of Qi's faction. If the Prince of Qi seeks revenge, I'll truly be doomed."

"Don't worry, given the Prince of Qi's personality, he'll most likely not confront you directly but manipulate others. If you can handle even Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu, how could anyone else possibly harm you?" The Emperor looked pleased, thinking he had underestimated this fellow. Looking at the current developments, even if Zu An couldn't complete the mission of giving the fake manual to the Prince of Qi, he could still play a huge role.

These past few days, this troublemaker had certainly made things difficult for the Prince of Qi's faction.

Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Emperor hadn't explicitly promised anything, he knew that the Emperor would definitely not stand by and let the Prince of Qi personally deal with him.

These past few days, his high-profile opposition to the Prince of Qi's faction was partly out of necessity, but a significant portion was also a deliberate show for the Emperor.

Only by proving his capabilities and his irreconcilable enmity with the Prince of Qi in front of the Emperor 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 that sudden large water ball about?" the Emperor asked as if casually.

Zu An's heart tightened. The incident had just happened, yet the Emperor knew all the details so clearly. The intelligence capability of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was truly formidable.

Luckily, he was prepared!

He immediately let out an "Ah!" and put on a surprised expression: "I thought Your Majesty had secretly sent a master to protect me."

The Emperor's breath hitched. He uttered an "Mm," and offered no explanation, as if he really had sent someone to protect him.

At the same time, he pondered inwardly, *Which faction's master is helping him?*

*The Chu clan? But Chu Zhongtian's cultivation is only eighth-rank; how could he have the ability to help him?*

*Could there be a force involved that I don't know about?*

As Emperor, he disliked such uncertainty, but knowing that pressing further would yield no results, he changed his question: "Why did Yu Yanluo invite you to her carriage?"

He didn't ask why Yu Yanluo would help Zu An, as Yu Yanluo had interceded for him last time, and he was aware of Zu An saving her.

Zu An noticed a hint of jealousy in the Emperor's eyes. He thought, *Yu Yanluo certainly has a lot of admirers. The others are manageable, but this most formidable one needs careful handling, otherwise, who knows what he might do if consumed by jealousy.*

He quickly explained, "Perhaps because I saved her back in Brightmoon City, she regards me as a junior."

Hearing this explanation, the Emperor's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. "Being treated as a junior is good," he mused. "By the way, why has your cultivation improved so rapidly, to the point where even Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu can't deal with you? Is it because of the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra'?"

Zu An's heart tightened as he felt a fleeting murderous intent from the Emperor.

He knew that the manual he had presented to the Emperor absolutely did not have such an effect, so the Emperor probably already harbored doubts about its authenticity.

Truly, serving a ruler was like accompanying a tiger.

Luckily, Zu An was prepared. "Your Majesty," he replied, "if it weren't for Madam Yu's subordinates, I would probably have been killed by Han Fengqiu. As for the Crown Prince of Qi, I mainly relied on the 'Sunflower Mirage' dodging technique taught by Old Man Mi to contend with him."

"No matter how miraculous a movement technique is, it has its limits," the Emperor snorted, clearly not believing his explanation. "If your cultivation hadn't already reached seventh-rank, how could you possibly contend with them?"

Zu An could only say with a troubled expression, "Your Majesty is wise. Actually, Old Man Mi originally tried to take over my body, but for some reason, he failed. He perished, but a part of his cultivation remained in my body, which is why my progress has been so rapid."

The Emperor had an "I knew it" expression. "As expected," he said, "I had long suspected that you possessed Old Mi's cultivation."

Zu An respectfully said, "Your Majesty is truly sagacious!"

But he thought to himself, *If you knew the truth, you'd probably be so embarrassed you'd want to crawl into a crack in the ground.*

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction. "You may withdraw. Remember to investigate the cult stronghold."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After Zu An left the imperial study, he immediately found a place to change into a Golden Token Eleven's uniform, then led the already prepared Embroidered Uniform Guards towards the secret stronghold.

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

A fierce conflict then broke out. The stronghold was not lacking in cult masters, but Zu An didn't even have to act; the Silver and Bronze Token Embroidered Uniform Guards under his command collectively suppressed the entire stronghold.

He was secretly alarmed. The Embroidered Uniform Guards' formation coordination was truly formidable, especially their Soul-Reaping Chains, which made it impossible for even masters to defend against.

After bringing the captives back to the Embroidered Uniform Guards' prison, Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief, confident that the Emperor should no longer suspect him.

After leaving the palace, he easily made his way back home. As soon as he reached the door, he froze.

There seemed to be signs of forced entry!

But the intruder hadn't damaged the courtyard's defensive formation. Could their cultivation be incredibly high?

Having just fought against a peak ninth-rank expert, he was now emboldened by his skill. He didn't retreat but stealthily slipped inside.

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

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 reddened slightly, and he quickly said, "No, no, it's just that he's been flirting around outside, and he doesn't even bother to hide it from me."

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

Thinking that even her best friend had been taken to bed by him, anger flared up in her heart.

Rage points from Chu Chuyan +233, +233, +233...

"Exactly!" the young man chimed in, stirring up trouble as if fearing the world wasn't chaotic enough. "Sister, he hasn't returned so late; could he be staying with some vixen? Earlier today, I saw him exchanging glances with that woman in the carriage. Maybe they already arranged to meet tonight."