Castle of Black Iron

As Zhang Tie had arrived at the third prince's mansion and acquired the details about the daily life of Xuanyuan Wuji in his mansion, Zhang Tie would not leave here even if there was a lion on the road in front of him.

If he wanted to know the real battle strength of Xue Fucius, besides having a direct fight with him, Zhang Tie could also choose to observe or test him.

In a split second, Zhang Tie had worked out a method. It was time for Zhang Tie to show the power of his Great Wilderness Sutra.

There was only one animal in this world which could last over one hundred million years. It could always be found with people. It was cockroach who had a special name Xiao Qiang among Hua people.

Although cockroaches had wings like other insects, ordinary ones couldn't fly at all; instead, they could only glide. However, after the Catastrophe, as long as there were enough cockroaches, a few of them would experience a slight mutation. As a result, their flight ability would be strengthened as they could fly 300-500 m for a time. Additionally, the mutated ones were good at hiding themselves, which granted them greater viability. Some of them could even change their body colors or turn semi-transparent. Such mutated ones were called flying cockroaches. They were like special forces among cockroaches.

By applying the Great Wilderness Sutra, it only took Zhang Tie a few seconds to fetch some flying cockroaches after circling around the mansion for a while. After that, Zhang Tie applied a super hiding rune to those flying cockroaches so that they were hardly discovered. Then, the little black beetle led those flying cockroaches towards the residence of the third prince.

The residence of the third prince in the mansion was called Moonsviewing Pavilion. Everyone in the mansion knew that sometimes third prince would get off and view moons at midnight or deal with public affairs and documents in the Moonsviewing Pavilion. Therefore, the residence of Xue Fucius Guanlan Court was neighboring Moonsviewing Pavilion for the sake of the third prince.

Under the leadership of the little black beetle, some flying cockcroaches were flying across the tiled roofs and twigs. As they couldn't fly too long, they had to take a rest in each hundred of meters.

After using the leapfrogging tactic for a few times, Zhang Tie finally led some flying cockroaches to the periphery of Moonsviewing Pavilion.

The periphery of Moonsviewing Pavilion looked open. It was a bamboo wood 200 m away from Moonsviewing Pavilion, with an open grassland in between. They were connected with hollow, elegant corridors and a low, colorful parterre. In Zhang Tie's eyes, such a design was for the sake of assassination; especially in the evening, after Xuanyuan Wuji went to bed, if someone wanted to be close to Moonsviewing Pavilion, he had to pass such a distance in between. As a result, he had to expose himself especially to the powerhouses beside Xuanyuan Wuji.

There was only an accessible rockery between Guanlan Court and Moonsviewing Pavilion.

After arriving at the bamboo wood, Zhang Tie stopped. For the sake of safety, he silently drilled a cave on bamboo which had insects inside and had his little black beetle hide inside, only exposing its head to observe the situation over Moonsviewing Pavilion.

When Zhang Tie drilled inside the bamboo, those flying cockcroaches were all resting on bamboo leaves and ready for the coming task.

It was pitch-dark in Moonsviewing Pavilion. Xuanyuan Wuji appeared having fallen asleep. At this moment, at least two of the four Kingkongs would guard in Moonsviewing Pavilion. Xu Fucius's residence was also pitch-dark on one side.

Bamboo shadows began to sway on the ground by the hint of a breeze in the still night air.

Right now, Xiao Qiang special forces, go!

The first batch of two flying cockcroaches then bounced off the bamboo leaves at the same time as they extended their wings and glided in the nightscape with the help of the wind. They flew towards the Moonsviewing Pavilion and Guanlan Court, one after another dauntlessly.

Widening its eyes, the little black beetle hid in the bamboo as it observed the situation in Moonsviewing Pavilion and Guanlan Court.

The little black beetle was actually the best agent of Zhang Tie; however, as Zhang Tie had been used to it, if it was hurt, Zhang Tie would feel painful about that. Therefore, Zhang Tie fetched some cannon fodder to replace it. If these Xiao Qiang special forces were safe, it would not be late for him to use the little black beetle by then.

Under the gaze of Zhang Tie, the two flying cockcroaches soon flew over 100 m long in the night breeze. After a few seconds, when they were about 50 m away from Moonsviewing Pavilion and Guanlan Court, the two flying cockcroaches turned into ashes almost in 0.01 second as if they had flown into an invisible furnace, leaving two sparkles in the air. Closely after that, they had perished with the wind...

Zhang Tie was shocked inside.

It was a sage-level knight; no, it was a semi-sage knight. It was the strength of a semi-sage knight which was close to the realm. Zhang Tie had seen the same strength from the Sincerity Garden of Meng Shidao in Xuanyuan Hill.

There was a semi-sage knight beside Xuanyuan Wuji.

The moment the two flying cockcroaches perished, a shadow knight with sparkling triangle eyes in gloomy look and black robe appeared. After flying around Moonsviewing Pavilion as fast as a lightning bolt, the knight in black robe glanced around with gleaming eyes. After finding no abnormal situation, he disappeared again.

This shadow knight in black robe was Jiang Qianchou the grand elder of Jiang Clan of Heavenly Stars Pavilion, one of the four Kingkongs beside Xuanyuan Wuji.

Of course, the strength of semi-sage knight couldn't be executed by Jiang Qianchou. Nor could Xuanyuan Wuji and the four Kingkongs beside him would do that. That semi-sage knight must be Xue Fucius! As Zhang Tie thought, he fixated onto Guanlan Court which was in dark.

This person was a semi-sage knight beside Xuanyuan Wuji. Xue Fucius probably was a figure from the three top sects of Imperial Alliance who had changed his real name, look and identity. Besides protecting Xuanyuan Wuji, he was also responsible for communicating with Xuanyuan Wuji on behalf of the three top sects.

With the help of such a semi-sage knight, Xuanyuan Wuji even escaped from the chase of a sage-level knight.

After gaining such a discovery, it was unnecessary for Zhang Tie to investigate it any more. The little black beetle then came out of the bamboo hole and flew back to Zhang Tie's hotel while the remaining cockcroaches also flew away.

...

Over 20 minutes later, the little black beetle flew back to the room of that grand hotel on Floor 38 at the bank of Swordswashing Lake. After that, Zhang Tie appeared quietly. Standing by the window, he was watching the beautiful lake and mountains calmly.

What a competitor! Zhang Tie had not imagined that Xuanyuan Wuji could have such a great trump card in defense.

Zhang Tie was not afraid of Xue Fucius. In his opinion, Xue Fucius probably was one elder or deputy head of the three top sects who declared to enter secluded cultivation. It was normal for a knight to enter secluded cultivation for dozens of years in this stage. During this period, Xuanyuan Wuji favored him in the name of Talents' Pavilion, which didn't arouse people's doubt at all.

However, because of Xue Fucius, Zhang Tie's plan of assassination might alter.

Previously, Zhang Tie planned to kill Xuanyuan Wuji by a secret skill of Bloody Soul Sutra in this look and disappear. Given the current situation, it was almost impossible for him to kill Xuanyuan Wuji facing the protection of a semi-sage knight without using the ability of a divine dominator. However, as long as he revealed his ability of a divine dominator, even idiots would doubt him. As a result, Jinwu Palace, Iron-Dragon Sect and his relatives and friends would have endless troubles. That was not what Zhang Tie wanted.

'How could I kill Xuanyuan Wuji without arousing others' suspicion?'

Zhang Tie was thinking about it while squinting his eyes by the window. Only after a short while, a whim had occurred to his mind...

'I probably expose my ability of divine dominator if I kill Xuanyuan Wuji facing the protection of a semi-sage knight. If I don't want to arouse any suspicion, I have to be in an eye-catching place when Xuanyuan Wuji was killed. In this way, even if Xuanyuan Wuji was killed by me, nobody would doubt me. Of course, it's also not good if Lord Fairysea becomes the suspect. Perhaps Lord Fairysea doesn't care and has his way to prove his innocence; it's vile for me to do that. If I make him as a scapegoat soon after receiving his gift, it would be embarrassing for me to see Lord Fairysea later...'

'Therefore, the best moment to kill Xuanyuan Wuji is on the day of the duel in the Gobi Desert!'

'When my original being fights the sage-level knights of the three top sects on the Yinhai of Gobi Desert, I would seize the opportunity to kill Xuanyuan Wuji using my substitute.'

'I'd better die together with Xuanyuan Wuji.'

'I only need to alter the original plan a bit to make Han Zhengfang and his son and Heavens Reaching Church the scapegoat...'

'It seems that I should stay a few more days in Datang City and make a considerate plan!'

Zhang Tie gradually revealed an icy smile...