That was his weakness. The manual has completely caught his attention.

All of his struggles and hard work was for Heaven G.o.d's Boundary.

After hearing that the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual had something to do with the Heaven G.o.d's Boundary, he suddenly had a renewed interest in the manual, and his heart began beating faster.

He immediately shook his head and recovered his wits.

If it really was true, that meant both the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Grand Ancestor and the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Swordsman were Enlightened Masters.

If they really were Enlightened Masters, they did not have to live in seclusion at all. No one would dare provoke them even if they were not in seclusion.

That was why this profound mystery of the Heaven G.o.d's Boundary would be no use to him in becoming an Enlightened Master even if it really was a mystery. What he had to do was still to follow his own path. He could not be distracted by other things.

As for other people's schemes and whether or not there were outsiders manipulating this whole rumor, he could not care that much about them. This was something the Emperor had to worry about. All he had to do was just manage his own matters.

His heart once again regained its peacefulness when he thought about that. He gave a small smile and said, "Seems like it really is quite an exquisite item. Is Elder Qin interested?"

Qin Jin waved his hand and chuckled. "I'm an old coot. What could I do even if I got the secret manual? Can I just abandon my current heart technique and cultivate another? I'm just making things difficult for myself then."

Chu Li said, "What Elder Qin said might not necessarily be true."

It was said that the older someone grew, the more they disliked being told that they were old. Besides, the manual had something to do with the Heaven G.o.d's Boundary as well. If he really managed to achieve the Heaven G.o.d's Boundary, his lifespan would increase by ten folds. How could Qin Jin not be interested!

Qin Jin said helplessly, "Yes, I cannot hide it from the centurion… But this old man is already very content to be able to recover his Martial Art and return to the Secret Guardians Hall. These are already the days I have wanted to live for the past few decades. As for the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual, of course I would want to obtain it. But I know my own limits, and it's absolutely impossible for me to have it!"

Chu Li said, "I predict that there will be no more peace once the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual appears. Find more people to investigate this. Are your planted agents still capable?"

Qin Jin nodded. "There are quite a few old fellas who haven't died yet."

He had lost his Martial Art but had not died. Those planted agents' Martial Art was not weak in the first place, they would not go down easily. Most of them were still alive and well if you did not count those who died by accidents.

"We are going to make a web," said Chu Li.

Qin Jin said slowly, "I understand!"

If one wanted to contribute to the Secret Guardians Hall, one would have to have their own connections and information network. One could only get ahead of others by using them along with the Secret Guardians Hall's common information network. Otherwise, it would be very hard to take the lead and render meritorious services just by relying on the news inside the Secret Guardians Hall.

Chu Li already became a centurion at such a young age. He naturally had to keep up his momentum, or else, he would be trampled over by his successors. He would not feel good about that. Qin Jin understood what Chu Li needed and had already made contacts from the shadows.

Chu Li said, "Piece together the information from the High Duke's Public Houses and the Jiang Chuan Alliance. I'll introduce you in two days."

"Yes," Qin Jin muttered.

Chu Li waved his hand. "Collect more information about the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Treasure Manual and see if you can take advantage of the hype."

"Yes." Qin Jin was reluctant to get involved in this. The water was too deep, and it would be very easy to suffer heavy casualties. However, he saw that the centurion was young and might not listen to others, so he decided it would be better not to say too much.

He watched as Qin Jin left. Yang Zongwen's voice rang from outside of the courtyard. "Centurion."

"Enter." Chu Li put down the teacup.

Yang Zongwen entered and fist saluted. "I have investigated the case regarding Autumn Wind Camp."

Chu Li raised his eyebrows. "It wasn't the work of Zhou Lingfeng?"

"It wasn't Zhou Lingfeng." Yang Zongwen shook his head. "It doesn't seem like it was done by a single person but by a certain a.s.sociation. It might have something to do with the grudges held between a.s.sociations."

"The entire camp was exterminated. Your explanation doesn't sound reasonable." Chu Li shook his head. "Autumn Wind Camp wasn't a big camp. Their enemies shouldn't be that strong."

"Yes," said Yang Zongwen. "According to the coroner's records, some of their causes of death were knife wounds, some were killed by swords, and some were even killed by palms and fists. The culprit's Martial Art was inconsistent. It should be an a.s.sociation."

Chu Li frowned. "An a.s.sociation…"

"There are already Innate Masters involved in this, so the High Duke's Public House would be responsible for this case," said Yang Zongwen. "It happened within the borders of the Ji Public House, so us from the Secret Guardians Hall can't interfere."

Chu Li muttered, "The Ji Public House…This really is troublesome."

The Ji Public House was located on the Ji Ren Road, neighboring the Ren Public House.

The relations.h.i.+p between the High Duke's Public Houses and the imperial courts had always been delicate. The imperial court could not simply interfere, or else they would be violating the ancestral laws. They could not do anything even if the High Duke's Public Houses decided to cripple someone's cultivation.

Yang Zongwen said, "Our people are unable to go there and see. That place is already controlled by the High Duke's Public House."

"Hm…" said Chu Li. "The distance is a thousand miles, correct?"

"Yes." Yang Zongwen nodded.

"I will go and look myself," said Chu Li.

Yang Zongwen said, "In that case, you have to be careful. The defenses there at the Ji Public House are extremely strict. They won't let anyone go near easily. Furthermore, the might of the Ji Public House is tyrannical. They're used to rule by force."

"I'll go myself. You guys continue keeping an eye on this case," said Chu Li.

"Yes," said Yang Zongwen.

He had faith in the centurion's profound Light-body Technique. If he went by himself, no one would be able to catch up with him.

　　——

The moon hung brightly in the sky, and the darkness of the night was thick and heavy. It was silent all around.

Chu Li stood in front of a desolate troupe.

It was a troupe which was exterminated just a few days ago, but it gave off the impression that it had been in ruins for over a hundred years. Traces of being burned by the fire were everywhere. The killers had torched the place after exterminating the troupe thoroughly.

It was a wildfire after all, so it was impossible that everything would be burnt clean. Corpses were still strewn about which led to the discovery of this ma.s.sacre. That was when the imperial

court had sent someone over to investigate.

How could the Secret Guardians Hall not have received any news about a case as huge as this one?

The Secret Guardians Hall had to shoulder two responsibilities. One was when the imperial court had no way of solving a case, and they had to intervene and find a breakthrough. The second was to examine the performance of the imperial court officers in the case and pull out any corrupted individuals.

Unfortunately, when it was confirmed that an Innate Master was involved in the case, it would have to be transferred immediately over to the High Duke's Public House. The imperial court could only view it as a reference and had no say in the case anymore. The Secret Guardians Hall was also unable to interfere.

The moonlight shone upon the earth like water. Chu Li observed his surroundings using the Omniscient Mirror. Nothing in a five-mile radius could escape his sight.

The troupe was completely empty, everything that could be a lead had been taken away.

Chu Li's figure disappeared in a flash and appeared under a large rock. He found the top half of a broken knife at the bottom of the rock.

He pressed forward lightly with his palm energy, and a short sword so sharp that could it cut steel like it was mud emerged.

Afterward, his body flickered ceaselessly. He went from the east, then to the west, and found a whole bunch of items.

They were all hidden in the earth, or above the trees, or around the corners. They were very eas to be discovered, but also very easy to overlook.

There were people from the High Duke's Public House guarding the area, but they did not take things to heart. After all, this was a barren land, so no one would come over here.

Chu Li took the pile of items he found and appeared in a forest far away. He began activating the All-Seeing Divine Power.

He picked up each of the items and put them down again.

He tried to maintain the All-Seeing Divine Power through it all and let out a sigh of exhaustion at the end.

There were more than twenty sc.r.a.ps of items, but he had only one of them held in his hand when he was finished. It was the top part of the broken knife.

He pondered and let out a thin smile. The owner of this broken knife was still alive. It was very possible that he was the killer!

He touched the short sword which could cut through metal as if it was mud and sighed quietly. The owner of the short sword was dead. It was apparent that owning divine weapons was fruitless and one's Martial Art was the most important weapon at the end of it all.