Chapter 242

The guards stood outside the palace, time passing slowly.

Their rigid postures finally showed a slight change—had it really taken this long?

The captain of the guards approached the door, knocked once, and subtly reminded them to wait for Tang Luo to come out.

They waited until the sun set behind the western hills.

Finding the situation suspicious, the guards pushed the door open—only to find the entire hall empty, as always.

The Mirror Master and the Queen, who should have been inside, were nowhere to be seen.

Only a sunken patch on the floor remained, its cause unknown…

Could it really have been that intense?

Yet no sound escaped—strange, even if it was that fierce.

Or perhaps, to suppress the sound, they had to exert such force, and the aftermath manifested in this way?

"Captain, could there be a secret passage here?" one guard couldn't help but ask.

"Probably not." The captain wasn't sure either.

This person was also considered one of Olianna's trusted aides—yet he had never heard of any secret passage.

After Olianna ascended the throne, she surely had every inch of this hall searched inside and out, confirming no hidden doors or secret passages existed.

With only one entrance and exit, how did the Mirror Master and Her Majesty the Queen vanish?

"They didn't elope, did they…?" someone whispered softly.

"Shut up!"

The captain barked the order, though his heart jolted—could they really have eloped?

As Olianna's guard, in the stillness of night, he had occasionally heard the Queen's soft humming from her chambers—her words filled only with longing for that Mirror Master.

The guard captain could clearly hear the Queen's yearning for that master.

Though such a description might be disrespectful, to him it felt like a starving beast about to devour its prey whole.

"Captain, what now?" one guard asked.

"For now, seal the news. Tomorrow, we'll summon Lord Lunadafu to discuss matters." The guard captain said.

"Huh, what's this?" a guard noticed some grayish-black powder near the throne.

It looked like ash left after something burned.

The guard captain stepped forward to investigate, his heart jolting again as he recalled how, after the former king Ludofu mysteriously vanished, Olianna took over and sent him to "clean up" the palace.

Back then, there had also been a similar puff of ash.

"Just ordinary dust." The guard captain swept the ash away, saying, "Scatter it. Today's affair stays confidential for now."

"Yes!"

Several guards acknowledged the order.

The next day, the Queen's hound, her steadfast supporter Lunadafu, entered the palace.

Disaster! The Queen has eloped with someone!

A few days later, vague news spread—Tausent had plunged into another round of conflict, though this time it was far milder than before.

Who would emerge victorious remained unknown, and how much they would gain was uncertain.

For Tang Luo, the gains from this mission were far from meager.

Slaying the source of evil had granted him a substantial amount of merit—more than he had anticipated.

The so-called "fishing law enforcement" was certainly not a deliberate lure to make ordinary people commit evil.

Rather, it was to make the wicked reveal themselves.

Either way, now he had "grain in hand, no panic in heart."

By convention, he set aside a portion, using the rest entirely to heal his wounds.

Adding the fragment of Li Xuanhuan's fate, Tang Luo's invulnerability limit rose again, reaching 1.8.

After completing the mission, the reward was also a quite decent skill.

Ghost Shadow Step

Transform into a ghostly shadow, dart forward instantly over a distance, ignoring most obstacles.

Level One: maximum dash distance 20 meters.

Level Two: maximum dash distance 40 meters.

Level Three: maximum dash distance 60 meters.

Note: Do not recklessly phase through walls unless you know what lies beyond.

Cooldown: Level One 1 hour, Level Two 30 minutes, Level Three 15 minutes.

At first glance, this skill resembles the "Wind Rush" ability Chu Zhongtian received after his first mission.

In reality, they are utterly different.

Wind Rush is a genuine, forceful charge—like ramming headfirst forward.

At Level Three, fierce winds surge around the body, adding a tearing, slicing effect, allowing it to function as an attack skill.

But Ghost Shadow Step, though called a dash, is actually arriving instantly at a desired "location" in a flash.

The speed is astonishing—nearly indistinguishable from teleportation.

Of course, if the distance is great, a slight delay is inevitable.

Moreover, becoming a ghostly shadow is not merely a dark blur streaking past.

The so-called "ghost shadow" essentially means vanishing without a trace—Tang Luo tested it: at Level One, dashing to maximum distance left only a fleeting, blurred afterimage between start and end points.

Rather than a dash, it's better described as a short-range teleportation skill.

Tang Luo still prefers it.

From now on, passing through walls will no longer consume merit power; the state of passing through walls in an instant is actually "untouchable," and its consumption is far greater than that of "inaudible" or "invisible."

As for the reminder in the notes not to pass through walls.

Tang Luo wouldn't care; for others, it might mean charging headfirst into the enemy's lair.

But for him, this situation could instead be called an unexpected joy.

As for the "stuck" situation, even without sight, blindly using the Ghost Shadow Step, at least the target location must have enough space to stand.

Otherwise, it cannot be used; Tang Luo has tested this before.

By now, Tang Luo has undergone a total of seven missions, reaching the state of fully maxed skills.

Among them, the mission where he encountered the Heavenly Hound yielded equipment as a reward, but from another God-Demon Walker, the current "Thousand Hands Cannot Block" exploded out.

It can also be considered one mission, one skill, quite average.

Compared to those blessed ones who directly received fate fragments as mission completion rewards, he is still far behind.

But Tang Luo has consumed quite a few fate fragments.

His equipment remains the same old few items, with no changes, except for an additional Xiao Li Flying Dagger.

Tang Luo plans to sell the healing glasses he has been wearing all along.

Having achieved Glazed Bone, healing has reached this extent; those glasses now help Tang Luo almost negligibly.

In battle, instead, one must deliberately protect these glasses, and the consumption can sometimes be even greater.

It would be better to sell them and exchange for some healing item.

These glasses, which can originally recite poetry, were "bought" by Tang Luo; now "selling" them, regardless of the healing item's effect, is definitely not a loss.

Know that the item exchanged when buying them was the broom of Aunt Shufen from the second mission world.

It's a no-cost transaction; no matter how, there's no loss.

Opening the chat app, Tang Luo said in the two Enlightenment groups: "Selling black-frame glasses, with invisibility and long-lasting +1 healing effect two skills, plus an Xiao Li Flying Dagger, with built-in recall skill, old rules, exchange for healing items."

The game trading group, the atmosphere of heavy internet addicts hits face-on.

As Tang Luo speaks, the originally quiet Enlightenment group starts to become lively.

Everyone comes out to greet; some God-Demon Walkers privately chatted with Tang Luo, asking for detailed circumstances.

Master Xuanzang's trading has always been honest to young and old; he directly asked clearly, and even the process of obtaining equipment information through face-to-face contact is not needed.

If one's heart is big enough, one can even directly mail it.

Non-God-Demon Walkers touching equipment will not produce any information.

Of course, as for now, only Tang Luo has such a big heart and has had such an idea.

After all, it's equipment; even if the effect is mediocre, he himself can't use it, but it's still a fortune.

The healing glasses quickly found a buyer; the other party said they would come offline tomorrow for face-to-face transaction, with no third party profiting from the price difference.

As for the Xiao Li Flying Dagger, someone privately chatted with Tang Luo asking: "Master, this flying dagger..."

The one who remarked is none other than Yunxiao Huan.

He is also someone who added Tang Luo as a friend.

"It's Li Huan who 'exploded' out." Tang Luo spoke bluntly.

There was no sound from that side; after a while, he recovered: "Is that so, then he is already..."

"Dead." Tang Luo obviously won't comfort people, nor could he comfort Yunxiao Huan; he is straightforward and quick-spoken.

After another period of silence, Yunxiao Huan replied: "Master, I want this flying dagger; I will prepare healing items as soon as possible."

"Eh, you don't want to duel me SOLO? Father-son match, life-or-death match are all okay." Tang Luo said.

"..."

Yunxiao Huan replied with a string of ellipses.

Tang Luo's words, he can't respond to!

Yunxiao Huan has considered that Li Huan's death was caused by Tang Luo himself.

There is a contract that cannot directly attack, but it's only a safeguard, not all-powerful; to secretly kill the opponent, there are still other ways.

Not to mention the distant, but nearby there is the matter of Huang Zhong and Hou Yi.

Hou Yi was almost killed by Huang Zhong's trap; if it weren't for Tang Luo happening to be there, he would probably have already breathed his last.

With a victim present, the martial world legend naturally has to react.

But Li Huan is already dead, no victim present, and Tang Luo's strength is so overwhelming; even if Yunxiao Huan wants to avenge Li Huan, he is willing but unable.

The martial world legend has created a relatively fair environment for its members.

But it's only relatively fair, and only in the real world.

It ensures that when disputes occur, there will be no powerful God-Demon Walker oppressing, the strong bullying the weak.

Matters in the mission world, the martial world legend cannot manage.

If a situation similar to Li Huan and Tang Luo occurs, where one dies in the mission world and is known by a friend.

Wanting to take revenge, it's fine; one can apply for a fair duel, to resolve the problem in as open and just a way as possible.

Besides this, the martial world legend cannot possibly do more for people.

Tang Xuanzang saying this so openly and casually shows he is clearly guiltless in heart and mind.

Yunxiao Huan either duels Tang Luo and goes down to accompany Li Huan.

Or, this matter is just dropped.

Two choices; Yunxiao Huan chose the second, after all, Li Huan is not his son; their friendship is not deep enough to be willing to die with Li Huan.

The idea of "retaining the green mountains, not worrying about lack of firewood," even Yunxiao Huan himself cannot say clearly whether he truly has it.

In short, first buy the flying dagger, enhancing strength is no mistake.