Outside Of Time

1631  Who Is the Pawn? Who Is Orchestrating the Game?

The night shimmered like flowing silver light, blanketing the Immortal Palace in its gentle glow.

Yet, it could not suppress the ethereal melodies and the sounds of laughter and song drifting from the Hundred Flowers Palace.

These beautiful melodies floated through the air, falling upon Zhong Chi's ears outside the Junior Aurora Hall, and reached inside, where Xu Qing sat, listening.

Xu Qing raised his head, his gaze settling on the figure standing just beyond the hall's entrance.

"Zhong Chi is acting a little strange…"

A hint of contemplation appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

Normally, this study companion would leave once night fell, unless specifically instructed otherwise. It was rare for him to stay so late without being asked, which made tonight's behavior unusual.

Xu Qing took out a chessboard and calmly spoke.

"Zhong Chi."

Zhong Chi immediately turned his head when he heard this and quickly walked a few steps closer to the hall's gate.

"Young Lord, I'm here."

"Come and play chess with me."

Xu Qing's gaze landed on the chessboard as he casually spoke.

"Alright."

Zhong Chi hurriedly nodded. When he ran to Xu Qing, Xu Qing took a piece and placed it on the chessboard.

The chess piece landed and the wind blew.

…

The cold wind in the night howled through the Thunder Punishment Palace.

In the wind, the middle-aged punishment enforcer quickened his pace.

"There's a high chance that my identity has been discovered by someone. Everything that happened today in Thunder Punishment Palace, combined with the information I just obtained about the movements of the three True Monarchs, fills me with a sense of urgency."

As he walked, his expression was calm but his thoughts were racing.

"It seems as if, if I don't act tonight, the opportunity will slip away forever."

"There's something strange about this…"

The middle-aged punishment enforcer narrowed his eyes, a dark gleam flashing within them.

 "Someone has set me up as bait, forcing me to act tonight."

"Because the information I have is indeed time-sensitive. If it's too late, its effect won't be enough to support the act of betraying the palace and the waves it will cause won't meet my needs."

"No matter how I look at it, tonight seems to be my last chance."

"And with those recent rumors…"

The middle-aged punishment enforcer fell into deep thought.

"The fisherman—is it the one who spread the rumors, or is it the person mentioned in those rumors?"

"If the latter is truly the Fourth True Monarch, then the aim would naturally be to fish out the former."

"But there's also the chance that the one spreading the rumors is the Fourth True Monarch as well. By doing so, he might confuse others, leading them to believe there's an opposing force at play."

"The moment people fall into that false assumption, bigger mistakes will inevitably follow."

At the thought of this, a cold glint flashed in the middle-aged punishment enforcer's eyes.

"But no matter what, since you schemed against me, Xie Lingzi, then…"

At the next instant, his thoughts were interrupted and he stopped in his tracks.

His expression instantly turned solemn as he lowered his head and bowed.

"Master."

In front of him, a person walked out from the darkness.

This person was an old man. He wore the Daoist robe of the Thunder Punishment Palace and exuded a dignified aura. After he walked out, his gaze landed on the middle-aged punishment enforcer and he slowly frowned.

"Why are you in such a hurry at this late hour?"

The middle-aged punishment enforcer's heart tightened. The person in front of him was none other than his host's master. Moreover, he was a deacon of the Thunder Punishment Palace and held a lot of power. Though usually indifferent towards him, the memory of this person's imposing presence remained strong.

Especially after a few past incidents, where it seemed that the other had begun to harbor suspicions about his true identity.

He had to be careful now.

At the thought of this, the middle-aged punishment enforcer spoke in a low voice.

"Master, this disciple has recently found that my yang energy is excessive. I plan to visit the Thunder Pool to gather some night thunder light in order to balance my thunder art."

When the old man heard this, his gaze was like lightning as it swept past the disciple in front of him.

Under his piercing gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, he confirmed that the disciple did indeed have an excess of Yang lightning in his body. Only then did he slightly nod, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

"Recently, there have been some rumors within the Immortal Palace, but since the Immortal Lord, the palace masters, and the elders have given no instructions, I have not investigated too deeply."

"As for you, if you come across any information, you may inform me."

With that, the old man's figure merged with the darkness, vanishing without a trace.

The middle-aged punishment enforcer lowered his head in acknowledgment and waited a moment longer before stepping away, gradually disappearing into the distance.

 It wasn't until his figure had completely vanished that the deacon reappeared in the darkness.

He stared into the distance with a deep gaze.

…

The gaze behind him made the middle-aged punishment enforcer feel a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the gaze dissipated.

This made him heave a sigh of relief inwardly and he walked faster and faster.

He had already grasped the conditions needed to activate the array formation.

Therefore, tonight, as long as he entered the teleportation array and successfully activated it, he would be able to transmit the news.

Using this matter as the foundation for the rebellion against the palace.

This was his path. He wanted to rebel against the palace here. Even if it violated history, as long as he succeeded, it didn't matter even if this history was a mirror image.

The broken Ordinance sword in his body would be nourished to an extremely great extent and begin to grow larger.

"However, the prerequisite is that I have to leave alive!"

As he pondered, he got closer and closer to the Thunder Pool.

As he got closer, a space-time fluctuation that could only be sensed by someone with the Space-Time Ordinance continued to strengthen intensely.

It was like a torch in the dark night.

It was reflected in Xu Qing's perception.

Xu Qing calmly placed the chess piece in his hand on the chessboard.

He didn't know what the Fourth True Monarch was going to do tonight but Li Mengtu's abnormality made him ponder.

In addition, he had been waiting for the Fourth True Monarch's reaction to the rumors for the past few days.

At this moment, such space-time fluctuations appeared…

Xu Qing suddenly spoke.

"Zhong Chi, have you encountered something? You seem uneasy."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Chi hesitated for a moment, then noticing the Young Lord's eyes briefly pass over him, he let out a bitter smile.

"As expected, I can't hide anything from you, my lord. Sigh… Yesterday, I confessed to Xiao Hui from the Spirit Grasping Palace. Although she didn't refuse outright, she said she needed time to consider it. Since then, I can't stop thinking about it."

Xu Qing smiled and waved his hand.

"Alright, since you have something on your mind, you don't need to continue playing chess. Go and invite the Fourth True Monarch, it is more interesting to play chess with the Fourth Senior Brother."

Zhong Chi hesitated a little, but didn't think too much about it because in his memory, the Young Lord had a good relationship with the Fourth True Monarch and they often played chess together in the past.

However, with the Aurora Immortal Lord's ruling period approaching, there was only one True Monarch left in the entire immortal palace. Hence, there were more things to do, so they couldn't play chess like before.

'This might be an opportunity… If I can get him to participate in destroying the Fourth True Monarch, it will be interesting.'

A thought flashed in Zhong Chi's mind and he showed his hesitation.

"What's wrong now?"

Xu Qing frowned.

"Young Lord, the True Monarch might not have time today…" Zhong Chi hurriedly spoke.

Zhong Chi's thoughts raced as he continued.

"Young Lord, I heard that the True Monarch is going to do something big tonight."

Xu Qing started.

"Who did you hear this from? What big thing?"

"Aren't there rumors among disciples recently? After that, there was news from the True Monarch's residence that the True Monarch is going to capture someone tonight."

Zhong Chi carefully organized his words.

When Xu Qing heard this, his smile slowly retracted and a hint of sharpness rose in his eyes. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Rumors are all illusory. How can you believe them! Moreover, the person who spreads the rumors is usually the one who benefits the most!"

"Especially when the rumor involves my Fourth Senior Brother."

"The Fourth Senior Brother is handling matters for the Immortal Palace, so it's inevitable that some people are dissatisfied and slandered him! I originally thought that everyone would just laugh it off, but I didn't expect them to still be discussing it!"

"Pass down my directive tomorrow. No more of these rumors are to spread within the Immortal Palace. Especially you—mind your own tongue!"

Xu Qing reprimanded.

Zhong Ling sighed inwardly. With his usual insight and understanding, he could easily tell that the person before him was genuinely thinking this way.

Hence, he understood that it was too difficult to use the Young Lord to ruin the Fourth True Monarch.

He hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Only then did Xu Qing's expression ease a little. His gaze swept past Zhong Chi as he calmly spoke.

"However, you're quite well-informed. Do you like to gather information so much?"

Zhong Chi was shocked and hurriedly spoke.

"I have to be comprehensive when doing things for the Young Lord!"

Xu Qing smiled when he heard that.

"Alright, you've followed me for many years, and I know your temperament well. You've indeed been working hard lately, and I see that your complexion has grown increasingly pale. Go and rest properly. As for Xiao Hui, I'll have someone lend you a hand with that tomorrow."

Zhong Chi put on a touched expression and bowed deeply. After that, he left regretfully.

Looking at Zhong Chi's departing view, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze in the direction of the Thunder Pool.

That was the area where the space-time fluctuation in his perception was becoming increasingly chaotic.

At that moment, in Xu Qing's eyes, these waves were like a monstrous sea of fire.

"Looks like this is the response the Fourth True Monarch gave me."

"Someone is changing history there."

"Then, should I go or not…"

"If I don't go, if the Fourth True Monarch successfully stops that person and maintains the order, it will be equivalent to one less stone in my hand."

Xu Qing glanced at the unfinished chess game.

He picked up a chess piece and placed it down.

The night wind outside howled even louder.

In a hidden chess game, someone… was also placing a piece.

The middle-aged punishment enforcer was speeding through the wind.

His speed became faster and faster until he flashed past the Thunder Pool and sped toward the teleportation array.

In an instant, he was already close.

However, the instant he entered the range of the array formation, the surroundings trembled, as though there was an invisible seal enveloping this place.

A chill instantly gushed out from his body and spread throughout his body in the blink of an eye, turning into a sharp killing intent that sealed his mind.

Accompanying it was a calm voice.

"Xie Lingzi, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

From the void, chains that represented order appeared out of thin air and enveloped the surroundings. In the center of these chains, the figure of the Fourth True Monarch was walking over step by step.

As he got closer, a terrifying pressure shook the heavens and the earth.

The iron chains shook and clanked.

These sounds were like the words of order in this world, stabilizing the turbulent space-time and causing everything that was out of order to return to its original path.

"Star Ring!"

The middle-aged punishment enforcer spoke in a low voice.

"Even if your Ordinance is similar to the Fourth True Monarch's, so what?!"

Almost at the moment the middle-aged punishment enforcer spoke, a sharp sword energy erupted from his body. A broken iron sword appeared behind him.

In that instant of appearance, an unparalleled killing intent surged forth.

At the same time, as the two acted, in the Thunder Punishment Palace, the master of the middle-aged punishment enforcer… the deacon's eyes flashed as he looked in the direction of the teleportation array.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he murmured softly, "Star Ring, you are fishing; little do you know, I am fishing for you!"