Castle of Black Iron

After leaving the spot of the assassination, Zhang Tie had been taken into a castle inside the city and was treated with tasty food and drinks. However, he was forbidden to leave under strict surveillance...

Starlight Castle was important for military affairs in Jinwu City. It was also a foothold of Jinwu Guards. As a result, it was under strict surveillance. The castle was covered with elite fighters and heavy machines. Those who were inside could barely break out by force if not a knight.

It would be a laughingstock if he fought his family members in another face in Jinwu City.

According to the status that Zhang Tie fabricated for himself, he was a vagrant warrior in Taixia Country who didn't belong to any sect. As he didn't care about his face, he just listened to the arrangement of Jinwu City and waited in the Starlight Castle for the big figures in Jinwu City.

He was in a parlor of Starlight Castle, which was briefly designed. It only had a map of Youzhou Province on the wall, some chairs, a table and a potted plant. As Zhang Tie was here, those who brought him in especially told someone to serve two plates of fruits on the table.

Two guards were standing at the door of the parlor. There was a small square window on the wall, which looked more like an embrasure. However, he could rightly see the Jinwu City from inside.

Standing at the window, Zhang Tie watched the Jinwu City as he waited for his family member.

'It was too coincidental this time. No wonder the side of Jinwu City would doubt about my motive. Even if I would doubt that it was a plot if someone coincidentally blocked the hidden weapons at the critical moment. '

Zhang Tie was clear that it was not a plot. The reason that he could save his dad at the critical moment lay in that Zhang family's meritorious deeds over these years were favored by the God. The God didn't want to see any tragedy of Zhang family anymore; therefore, Zhang Tie stopped the tragedy at the critical moment.

When Zhang Tie recalled that those poisonous needles almost touched his dad's body, he started to drool sweat all over due to fear.

Standing in the room, facing the breeze at the window, Zhang Tie's sweat was dried; however, his heart turned colder.

'My dad is just a castellan of Jinwu City, who has nothing to do with the outside world. Honestly, although it sounds improper, my dad's status and good temperament are not worth an assassination at all if not I am related to Jinwu Business Group. Therefore, the two killers must target at me.'

'Besides me and Jinwu Business Group, there would be no other target. If it targets at Jinwu Business Group, its influence is limited. Because my dad is almost not involved with the business of Jinwu Business Group. Comprehensively, it probably targets at me.'

'The animosity of killing my father is unforgivable. If the news that my dad was killed drifted into my ears, how could I keep traveling leisurely in the Earth-elements Realm? If I ignored it, how would the others in the world regard me? Being influenced by it, even Jinwu Business Group and the entire Huaiyuan Palace might feel shameful. If I come back to Taixia Country, as long as I reveal myself in the public, the opponent might set a plot to kill me.'

'The target of the culprit is to force me to appear in the public; meanwhile; he wants to give a blow to the growing reputation and influence of Jinwu Business Group and Huaiyuan Palace in Taixia Country.'

After thinking it through, Zhang Tie could almost comfirm immediately that the culprit of this assassination was the very one who set him up 4 years ago.

'Who's he among the nine chancellors of Taixia Country?'

After launching a strike, the two killers didn't think about leaving Jinwu City alive. The poison that they used to commit suicide was too destructive. In a split second, their corpses had turned into puddles of blood, leaving nothing at all. Therefore, Zhang Tie could not get any information from their minds.

'However, the culprit of this assination has not imagined that I could coincidentally prevent this assassination; additionally, I've touched one killer before he turned into a puddle of blood.'

'The culprit must have not imagined that I had mastered the essence of soul forbidden skill. Through a transient contact, I've already gained some intelligence from the killer's brain before it was melted by the poison.'

Zhang Tie read the killer's mind in sequence.

Through the transient contact, Zhang Tie knew that the two killers had already lived in the hotel outside Jinwu City for over 1 month, during which period they wandered near Jinwu City every day. Apparently, they were looking for business opportunities; actually, they were waiting for the order to launch an attack.

They didn't know who sent the order to them; neither did they have any contact in Jinwu City. The killer who launched an attack at first carried a portable small crystal remote-sensing communication device through which he could receive the order.

1 hour before the assassination, the killer received the brief order——east gate, in 1 hour...

After receiving the order, they destroyed the remote-sensing communication crystal. Then, they waited for Zhang Tie's dad near the east gate of Jinwu City. As was told, Zhang Tie's dad indeed appeared at the east gate in 1 hour.

The assassination then occurred.

After dating back a bit earlier, Zhang Tie knew that the two killers came from the Zhongzhou Province, one of the nine immortal provinces in Taixia Country. They didn't even have names; instead, they only had code names, 137 and 224. They came from a mysterious killers' organization. 3 months ago, they received the task dispatched by their organization, namely, the assassination of Zhang Ping, the castellan of Jinwu City in Youzhou Province.

They had a photo of Zhang Ping and his introduction, two wholly-new fabricated identities and an amount of expenditure. After receiving the task, the two killers had set for Jinwu City. After coming to Jinwu City, they had been waiting for the order.

The killers' organization was very terrifying and unimaginably strict. After receiving the task, the two people didn't contact any member of their organization anymore. It was their first task and the last one. In the killer's memory, Zhang Tie saw a gloomy face of a person, who was called Steward Qi. It was Steward Qi who assigned the task to them.

If that killer's brain was well preserved, Zhang Tie might be able to gain more information. However, soon after the image of Steward Qi appeared, the killer's brain tissue had been eroded by poison. Therefore, Zhang Tie was forced to exit his secret method of Bloody Soul Temple from the killer's memory.

Zhang Tie got two intelligence from the killer's mind. First, that killers' organization was in a base of Zhongzhou Province; second the gloomy long face of Steward Qi. Although being limited in clues, The image of the culprit who framed him 4 years ago became a bit clearer in the heavy mist. Zhang Tie finally caught the tail of the culprit.

...

When Zhang Tie was waiting inside the room quietly, he heard the familiar footsteps from the corridors in the outside.

Although the footsteps were still over 100 m away from Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie had already identified the arriver——Zhang Yang, his elder brother.

Out of imagination, Zhang Tie became slightly thrilled. After thinking about it for a second, he understood that his elder brother would catch any clue for sure based on his temperament.

Given the footsteps, Zhang Tie knew that Zhang Yang was accompanied by two knights, one of them had come to this room before, the other was a black iron knight, who didn't come from Huaiyuan Palace.

Given the frequency of the footsteps and relative positions, Zhang Tie knew that the knight who purposely fell one step behind Zhang Yang was Zhang Yang's bodyguard.

Hearing the footsteps approaching him, Zhang Tie sensed that Zhang Yang felt a great stress inside; at the same time, he let out a sigh inside.

If this accident didn't occur, Zhang Tie could continue to play hide-and-seek with his elder brother. However, now that it had happened, it was not necessary for him to cover his identity in front of his elder brother. Whatever, Zhang Tie believed in his elder brother. Additionally, Zhang Tie was preparing to establish a relationship with his elder brother in a new identity.

When he thought about this, although Zhang Tie was still standing at the window, he had recovered his original look.

...

"...The hidden weapon that the killer shot out towards castellan through his mouth should be fierce soul-eating needles. This secret method was irresistible. When one releases his battle qi, he could shoot this hidden weapon out of his mouth almost 10 times more powerful than that of its original power. Additionally, it could penetrate through protective battle qis below knight level. In a close distance, it is barely resisted. Even battle spirits might be harmed if they were not careful. The only shortcoming of this hidden weapon secret method is that its cultivator could only apply it one time in many days at the cost of his aura severely. After that killer failed it, he immediately committed suicide by taking poison. It seems that he has already known that he has lost the last opportunity. According to the autopsy, the poison black bones erosion powder had been buried beneath their teeth in advance. Those who commit suicide by taking this poison are all dauntless fighters..."

A person was reporting to Zhang Yang on the way here.

"Do you know which sect or which person is cultivating fierce soul-eating needle in Taixia Country?"

"This secret method has been lost for many years in Taixia Country..."

"However, that person blocked the fierce soul-eating needle by a handful of gold coins?"

"That person's hidden weapon skill is excellent. He's definitely a master-level hidden weapon powerhouse!"

"Two hidden weapon powerhouses appear at the same time. One wants to kill people; the other wants to save people. I really wonder about the reason!" Zhang Yang revealed a faint sneer.

After that, an unimaginable voice drifted into Zhang Yang's ears, which was not discovered by the two followers on his side.

"Elder brother, I'm the one who saved dad at the city gate. I've not imagined that it's you who came here. I'm in the room. You'd better come alone..."

Of course, Zhang Yang was sure that it was Zhang Tie's voice.

In a split second, a shocked look flashed across Zhang Yang's face. Closely after that, he recovered his face as he immediately stopped...