You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Di Hong City, within the underground secret chamber of a lavish mansion.

The chamber was simple and modest, with only a table, two chairs, and a candle burning with a faint blue flame on the table, which made the chamber even more dim and obscure.

A figure, shrouded in a black robe, sat quietly at the table, face also covered in black mist, unrecognizable.

"Creak—"

The door of the secret chamber slowly opened, and a man in a purple robe wearing an ice-sculpture mask walked in, then closed the door and approached the person in the black robe.

The man in the ice-sculpture mask spoke in a deep voice, "It's not time for our meeting yet, why do you seek me out in advance?"

The person in the black robe, sitting behind the desk, spoke in a slightly ethereal and unreal voice, "At the end of last year, our clan gave me an order, commanding me to prepare for the assassination of the Seventeenth Prince. Today, I commanded the strongest Death Soldier 'Earth Five' who is planted within the Prince Mansion to carry out the assassination."

"Assassinate the Seventeenth Prince?"

In the eyes of the man beneath the ice-sculpture mask, a trace of shock flickered.

He understood clearly what this meant.

Even for the Demon Clan, once within the territory of Great Yong, they would be entangled by sins, and successfully assassinating a prince would be a great sin, and Heavenly Punishment would come!

Not only would the assassin be obliterated by the Heavenly Punishment, but also the instigator, any accomplices, and anyone entangled in the cause and effect would also be burdened with great sins, and likewise face oblivion!

Those involved in causing the prince's death were almost sure to meet their demise.

By then, even if the Demon Clan instigators were far outside the borders of the Yong Realm, they would not dare to enter again, lest the Heavenly Punishment still descend.

Even if they tried to adjust and reduce the number of associates involved, a large number would still be implicated, and the price paid could not be small.

The man in purple clearly understood this point, so even now, just hearing the news, he didn't feel anything was amiss.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "It seems it has failed, what kind of strength does 'Earth Five' possess?"

"Comparable to the Fifth Layer of the Human Clan's Tianxia Building, with a reasonable expectation of winning three consecutive victories," the person in the black robe replied in a deep voice. "Even though she can't use the Heaven and Earth Law in Jingzhou, her strength would only drop by one layer, still reaching at least three consecutive victories on the Fourth Layer of the Tianxia Building—and she's extremely adept at sneak attacks and assassinations."

"With such strength, sacrificing her life for a sneak attack, how could she fail?"

The man in the purple robe said with disbelief, "Five years ago, the Seventeenth Prince's strength wasn't even at the Third Layer of the Tianxia Building, and progressing beyond the Third Layer, each advancement is a breakthrough of one's limits, making it harder and harder to improve. After the princes broke through the Four Symbols Heaven Barrier, five years have passed, most would still be at the Third Layer, right?"

He couldn't help saying, "Among the Human Clan in this era, beneath the Great Cultivator, the strongest, that Heart Sword Master, only reached two consecutive victories at the Fourth Layer of the Tianxia Building, but the Heart Sword Master probably couldn't have survived this kind of assassination, right? How did the Seventeenth Prince survive?"

"When I, Earth Net, devised the plan, I already overestimated the Seventeenth Prince," the person in the black robe said slowly. "During the discussion, we planned considering that he already possessed the strength of the Fourth Layer of the Tianxia Building."

"How could it fail?"

The man in the purple robe couldn't understand, "Given the disguises and patience of Earth Net assassins, and their extreme skill in assassination, they would not take action without great confidence. With meticulous preparation, even if he were close to the Fifth Layer of the Tianxia Building in strength, most would still fall to an assassination, right?"

A sneak attack was a completely different matter from a frontal battle.

Even if there was a significant gap in strength, one could still die from a sneak attack, let alone if their strength was comparable.

After a moment of silence, the black-robed person said, "'Earth Five' has been lurking since the establishment of the Seventeenth Prince's mansion and probably earned some trust. Maybe the Seventeenth Prince has some unknown means to save himself."

"Upon one failed strike, he will surely become more cautious."

The man in the purple robe said in a low voice, "The next assassination attempt, he will be more prepared to deal with it, or he might even deliberately set a trap."

After a long silence, the person in the black robe spoke, "I am wondering, could the Seventeenth Prince possess some special method to discern our Demon Clan's undercover agents? How many of our clan's hidden agents within Di Hong City has he uprooted in these years?"

"That's an aura concealed personally by the Demon Ancestor; even the Spirit Venerable 'Emperor Breath' from the Ancestor Hall can't detect it. How could the Seventeenth Prince possibly?" the man in the purple robe shook his head. "The hidden agents he has exposed were mostly connected to the Duanmu family in the past. As for the true hidden agents, how could he see through them?"

Silence fell in the secret chamber.

"There is still a chance to kill him."

The person in the black robe suddenly said, "However, this will depend on the actual strength of the Seventeenth Prince. If this time he survived merely by relying on some treasure, and his own strength is mediocre, there might still be a chance to kill him."

"Is there another way?" The man in the purple robe's eyes lit up.

"Would Earth Net lurk for so many years only to have such meager methods?" the black-robed person commented indifferently.

The man in purple nodded slightly, asking no further.

The more he knew, the more likely he would be affected by the great sins triggered by the Prince's death.

...

Tianmu Square, Prince Mansion.

"Your Highness is planning to challenge Tianxia Building?"

In the pavilion, Baili Fengzhi said in surprise, "Your Highness hasn't gone there in over five years, why the sudden interest today?"

Lin Yue gazed at the clear water of the lake, casually saying, "I didn't challenge before because my strength wasn't sufficient. I need to save up enough order arrows and, of course, get the best evaluation."

He looked at Baili Fengzhi and spoke, "By the way, what about the information you've been gathering for me?"

"It's all prepared for Your Highness."

Baili Fengzhi took out a scroll and handed it over, saying, "I gathered quite a lot in the previous years about accumulating order arrows from the first four layers of Tianxia Building, but these last two years, I could hardly find any more."