Chapter 570: 523 Reverse Investigation

After the explanation, some of the group understood, while others only half-understood, but all were very excited.

Regardless, although the process was long and the various inexplicable terms were mind-boggling, everyone could understand the final conclusion given.

The difficult problems were solved one by one, the plan had a clear direction, and this trip had been very fruitful!

Jiang Shenyi immediately asked, "This conclusion is very bold. Did you run any experiments?"

Only he could ask this. He and Tang Zhao were fellow disciples, and they were discussing it from the technical perspective of Talisman Sword Masters, so there was no issue with saying this; if others asked, it would have a tone of questioning.

Tang Zhao said very honestly, "I just analyzed it, I haven't experimented yet. One must make bold hypotheses and seek verification carefully. I plan to experiment in these two days, and I would like to ask Xing Wu and Xing Shisan to cooperate."

Both of these men were originally Sword Guests of Changfa Manor; Xing Wu was brought down from the mountain by Tang Zhao, and Xing Shisan had always been below, so they were already considered people brought into the Golden Crow circle. They would certainly be willing to cooperate with this experiment; not to mention there would be no threat to their lives, even if they risked death, they would be willing.

Life is precious, but freedom is even more valuable.

Golden Crow nodded and said, "This is very good. You should confirm this matter. If it can really be done, that will be a great thing. Two major events were decided as soon as we went up the mountain this time; this progress is not bad. By comparison, the challenge from Sunset Manor is nothing."

The two things it referred to were: one, discovering the location of the Wangliang and determining the direction for the final general offensive; and two, naturally, finding the hope to return freedom to all the sword slaves.

Compared to these two things, the matter regarding Sunset Manor was not worth mentioning.

When they originally set the plan for the challenge, one reason was to move up a level, to go to a place closer to the Wangliang to see if they could glimpse the Wangliang's flaws and scout out news of its destruction, or at least be able to teleport to a more core position when repairing the teleportation array. Another reason was to muddy the waters and create a huge commotion to see if they could catch any fish.

To put it bluntly, it was a strategy of beating the grass to startle the snake before entering the final sprint.

Now that they already knew where the snake was, did they still need to beat the grass?

Or should they just make do?

Tang Zhao said, "I think this battle with Sunset Manor should proceed. First, there are benefits to our manor moving up to the Second Ladder, which we already clarified before. Being able to set up a teleportation array nearby to facilitate our cause is one; being able to observe and even study how this system operates at close range is two. There is a force on the Second Tier that I value, and after going up, I can try to subdue them, which is three."

This force naturally referred to the Wangliang warriors. Tang Zhao still had the Token to control them, but he just hadn't had the chance to try it yet. If they could take root in the Second-tier Manor, they could give it a try.

"Furthermore, I have discovered that the Ghost Disaster occurs frequently on the First Ladder and Second Ladder, yet the Third Ladder is spared. It may be because the system does not have sufficient control over the Third Ladder, so the disaster rooted within the system cannot erode that place. Although staying on the Third Ladder is relatively safe, it is of no benefit to the grand plan. Let us strive to ascend one level."

Although Tang Zhao often used words like "feel," he was truly the leader of this team, and this was a team he had personally pulled together, bringing various forces together; he truly had the authority to have the final say. The decisions he made were effective even if Golden Crow opposed them, not to mention Golden Crow had no reason to oppose him, so it said, "Alright then. Let's fight. It couldn't be better to kick Sunset Manor out; I feel very annoyed just hearing that name."

In its words, it treated this Sword Fighting as a mere formality, and kicking out Sunset Manor was simply effortless.

They would definitely win.

Even though Tang Zhao had just relayed the rules for this battle, explicitly stating that there would be three duels—Manor Lord, Sword Guest, and Sword Hero—it did not shake everyone's confidence.

Or rather, their confidence was even greater.

These rules sounded very cruel, but when thought about carefully, they were very good; they were good because they favored the strong.

And everyone present was confident that their side was absolutely the strong one.

First, the Sword Hero Bureau—this was a guaranteed win, right? It only required one strong person, and this strong person could be Tang Zhao or someone else; in short, it was selecting the best of the best, and the foundation of Yunzhou was definitely stronger than a mere Sunset Manor. Even without bringing out the Gaoyuan Marquis to step into the arena himself, there were plenty of battle-hardened experts, and it didn't matter if they were new faces; they could just say they were external aid at the time. Anyway, everyone hired external aid, and calling for people was their specialty.

Then there was the Manor Lord duel...

Pfft.

Letting Golden Crow step into the arena—besides the Wangliang, who was qualified to be Golden Crow's opponent? Wu Shayu?

Wu Taoxin wouldn't do either.

As for the Sword Guest duel... it would be slightly more troublesome.

It wasn't about winning or losing, but that this competition format was too easy to get people killed. A bloody battle to the end was no empty talk; it was real bloodshed. Everyone wasn't afraid of bleeding since they came here, but to bleed and die for this arena, and to trade lives with the Sword Guests of Sunset Manor, always felt like a loss.

The benefit was that if there was an absolute powerhouse, they could sweep eight in a row.

Of course, sweeping eight was a relatively ideal situation, and such experts were not many. It was very normal for Sword Guests and even Sword Heroes to restrain each other; it wasn't simply that if I were stronger than you, had more Sword Essence, more Sword Technique, and more experience than you, I would win.

Even if one could win against seven people in a row and still have energy left, it was possible that the eighth person would just happen to restrain you, and you would die inexplicably.

Therefore, to be safe, one needed at least two great experts, and to be even safer... it would be better to have someone cushion the front.

If they were looking for people to cushion, and their own people wouldn't be cannon fodder, then the only choice was the people from Changfa Manor.

That old guy Xing Cang definitely couldn't escape. Tang Zhao had already forced him to step into the arena at Changfa Manor, and when the Abyss Envoy was present, he wouldn't be able to go back on his word even if he wanted to. As for the remaining White-haired Swordsmen, it would depend on the situation.

Xing Wu and Xing Shisan, who remained here, were already inclined toward their new master. If Tang Zhao's experiment succeeded and they escaped the suffering of the Sacrifice, they would surely be grateful and loyal, willing to die for this side, so it would be inappropriate to use them as cannon fodder. Instead, Xing Jiu, who remained on the mountain, might become an option if he couldn't escape Xing Cang's "regard."

But regardless, everyone was confident in their own side's strength, even without knowing the opponent's lineup, they were still confident.

Tang Zhao, however, said, "I actually think that the Sword Fighting should not be taken lightly. When I went to Sunset Manor this time, I saw Wu Shayu himself, and the feeling he gave me was that he was arrogant and had a violent temper. It didn't seem like he could be the person who proposed the first version of the two plans. Moreover, his health is worrying; he is already in his twilight years. In his state, it is unknown how many years he can last even with good care, so he shouldn't have actively provoked us and stepped into the arena himself. Although I don't have ten-tenths certainty, I feel—there is someone behind him."

At this time, Feng Zhilie asked, "Someone? Does 'someone' refer to a strategist or the mastermind?"

Tang Zhao said, "I lean toward the latter, but perhaps it is neither. There is one more point that I am concerned about: when I went in, the old guy was fiddling with a turtle, and when I took an extra look, he immediately put it away."

Hearing "turtle," Fang Weiran was the first to be alert: "A turtle? The Turtle Bandits?"

Tang Zhao said, "It's possible. It's also possible it's not. If one says it's the Turtle Bandits, it does fit. But we have already speculated that the Turtle Bandits are at Anxing Manor, and that Anxing Manor once invaded Sunset Manor; the two sides do not get along."

Jiang Shenyi said, "Perhaps that invasion by Anxing Manor already subdued Sunset Manor? Now Sunset Manor has become a lackey of the Turtle Bandits?"

Tang Zhao said, "It's possible... but I don't think so. We call them 'Turtle Bandits' as a derogatory term; in fact, the Former Wei enjoyed the Water Virtue, and their totem was the Black Tortoise. That handheld item should just be a turtle, not the Black Tortoise divine beast. So I am very puzzled. Plus, they mentioned that Sunset Manor is a 'vital path,' which I am also very concerned about, so I let Miss Ling stay there to help me keep an eye on Sunset Manor."

Hearing "Miss Ling," everyone present showed a blank expression. Only Golden Crow let out an "oh."

Tang Zhao smiled; the White Fox had gone up the mountain carrying a Disappearing Artifact. Bringing the artifact was just a precaution, but he hadn't expected it to actually be used.

The Disappearing Artifact was the first Sword Technique Tang Zhao had converted into a Rune Formula using his Glasses. With the help of the Glasses, the Disappearing Sword Technique had already been converted into a replicable Rune Formula; although it was still not as convenient to replicate as a Dharma Artifact, it already had a backup.

Before going up the mountain, Tang Zhao had made an agreement with Wei Zhangle that after going down the mountain, he would use Sole Awakening on him, which was a sword art that lifted the memory of disappearance for a single person. This agreement had nothing to do with what had disappeared, but only had to do with a sword art, so Wei Zhangle would not forget this matter, and the two of them could be considered to have bypassed the rules of disappearance.

Wei Zhangle had broken through to become a Sword Guest in these few days, and his sword art was powerful, allowing Tang Zhao to completely shake off the effects of the disappearance, but only he remembered the matter of Ling Baoyu; others did not remember, and only Golden Crow, because its realm was extremely high, could not be said to be completely unaffected by the sword art, and it also had a certain transcendence, so it still remembered a little.

Tang Zhao stopped mentioning Ling Baoyu; anyway, the intelligence on Ling Baoyu only needed to be given to him and had nothing to do with others, let alone saying more and affecting the disappearance effect.

Tang Zhao said sternly, "Senior Feng, I have a task for you."

Feng Zhilie was surprised; ever since he had been favored by Chi Mingjing, he had basically been pretending to be a little girl and acting cute, with nothing serious to do. Why did Tang Zhao think of him again?

Oh, before, Chi Mingjing had been mixed into the team, following Tang Zhao and the others up the mountain; now he should have followed Tu Fei into Changyi Manor, and since he didn't want him anymore, he had to start working again.

Tang Zhao said, "We need to trace back our source of intelligence. Investigate what hidden secrets there are in our Sword Fighting with Sunset Manor. Start investigating from the person who first revealed the manor ascension rules to us. I remember someone mentioned it at the banquet a few days ago, and that was when we paid attention. Starting from that person, investigate his network of relationships; who is the person behind him giving orders? Then, screen all the intelligence we have accidentally obtained about Sunset Manor these days to see which piece was leaked to us."

Feng Zhilie's expression was grave, and he said, "You suspect that this Sword Fighting agreement with Sunset Manor was a trap set by someone from the beginning? The Turtle Bandits? Or... Xing Cang?"

Tang Zhao said, "Both are possible, and don't limit it to these two sides; what if there are other hidden rivals? If it really is Xing Cang, he is not here now, and he cannot control the people from back then, so it should be easy to investigate."

He then said to Bai Zhi and Zisu, "The two ladies should cooperate. And Aqin, you also follow Senior Feng to investigate."

Aqin is simply omnipresent, her ability is useful, but she lacks any knowledge of intelligence gathering. Bai Zhi and Zisu, however, came out of the Jing'an Division; spying for intelligence is their profession. The two agreed, but felt a bit uneasy in their hearts: many intelligence reports had passed through their hands before, and they hadn't felt there were any problems at the time. Could it be that they had been set up without realizing it?

If that were the case, it would be truly embarrassing.

Fortunately, they all came out of Yunzhou together and are absolutely their own people; there is no problem with their loyalty. Tang Zhao would not doubt them.

It is merely a matter of ability.

Tang Zhao truly did not doubt them either. Although the two are professionals, they are young after all, and their strength is not yet sufficient; it is not surprising that they were schemed against without realizing it, which is why he had the more seasoned and experienced Feng Zhilie lead the investigation.

He said solemnly, "Perhaps the enemy is more cunning and has greater influence than we imagined, to the point that they had schemes from the very beginning, but it does not matter. No matter what happens, we can turn their own strategy against them. We are determined to win the battle at Sunset Manor."