Chapter 114: Chapter 73 The Martial World is vast; let us hope we never meet again! (Please subscribe and vote for the monthly ticket)_6
 

“A mere formality?” Qing Luan did not quite understand.

Cheng Guang nodded, “It’s just simple intelligence gathering, he has already collected it for me, I just need to take a stroll around that area when the time comes.”

Qing Luan pursed her red lips and let out a light laugh, “Looking at it this way, it seems pretty easy, the Princely Heir need not be troubled.”

Cheng Guang’s eyes remained steady, his gaze as calm as still water, flipping through the paper on the desk.

As he flipped through the pages, Cheng Guang stroked Bai Shuxuan’s jade-like face with one hand.

The paper was filled with writing.

Cheng Guang read carefully.

“Name: Yin Bojun, 23 years old, Great Wei Martial Academy third-year student, cultivation realm Fourth-grade Divine Realm, martial arts skill: Scorching Heaven Palm, mid-tier Divine Power.”

“Name: Bao Qifeng, 24 years old, Great Wei Martial Academy second-year student, cultivation realm Fifth-grade Prime God Realm, martial arts skill not detailed, rarely seen sparring with others.”

“Name: Ji Cunfu, 22 years old, Great Wei Martial Academy fifth-year student, cultivation realm Fourth-grade Divine Realm, martial arts skill: Roaring Wind Fist, mid-tier Divine Power.”

“…”

Cheng Guang leafed through the pages, most of the Great Wei Martial Academy students’ information was recorded on them.

Not only when they joined the Great Wei Martial Academy was noted, but also how many years they had been there.

In fact, many Divine Power rankings were also differentiated.

Very detailed.

Excessively so.

Even with such detail, there were still many whose martial arts column was marked unknown, and a casual mention of their rarity in sparring with others was made lightly.

Those with such descriptions, within the contingent of over a thousand from the Great Wei Martial Academy this time, numbered only about a dozen.

If Cheng Guang didn’t know about future events, even when he saw this omen, he would only wonder briefly why, in this day and age, there were still people who had never taken action.

He would wonder for a moment, then think no more of it.

After all, not every martial artist wishes to be aggressively competitive, hiding their trump cards.

It is quite common for students from the martial academy to deliberately avoid showing their hand before a sparring tournament.

In the past, Cheng Guang wouldn’t have found anything amiss, but now, having seen the information on the paper, he found things rather interesting.

If there were indeed people from the Black Robes within the Great Wei Martial Academy.

Could it be that the Black Robes were actually people from the Great Wei side?

Staging a game of a thief shouting to catch a thief.

Whether it was true or not, Cheng Guang still needed to verify further, to see among the students from the Great Zhou Martial Academy participating in the tournament, how many were marked with the unknown notation.

“Song Yunqi.”

Cheng Guang suddenly spoke.

In the pavilion, from a shadowy area, Song Yunqi’s figure appeared, looking at Cheng Guang respectfully and bowing, “Princely Heir.”

Cheng Guang’s gaze fell on Song Yunqi and he asked, “Does the Bureau of the Lamp have detailed information on the Great Zhou Martial Academy students participating in the martial arts tournament?”

Song Yunqi nodded, “Yes!”

Cheng Guang nodded slightly, “Bring a copy for me to review.”

Song Yunqi promptly nodded and acknowledged the command.

By rights, intelligence collected by the Bureau of the Lamp was not to be viewed by those from outside the department.

To access intelligence information, there are also various levels of clearance within the Bureau of the Lamp.

But then again, such rules might apply to others, but when it comes to the Princely Heir, they had to be adapted accordingly.

Song Yunqi was not a stickler for rules; when flexibility was needed, he would certainly adapt without the slightest hesitation.

After a short while.

Song Yunqi returned, holding a stack of paper that appeared to be all copied by hand.

Although the handwriting was messy, one could still make out the characters.

The ink on them was still not dry.

Cheng Guang’s gaze rested on Song Yunqi and he noticed that Song Yunqi’s hands were still trembling slightly.

As if he had done too much of some meticulous task.

Cheng Guang’s mouth curled into a slight smile, with a hint of amusement he said, “I seem to have put you to some trouble.”

Information from the Bureau of the Lamp was not to be shared with outsiders, even if Cheng Guang was the Princely Heir, certain matters could not be made public.

Song Yunqi’s copying of the information was partly a way to avoid responsibility while allowing Cheng Guang access to the data.

“`

Very flexible indeed.

Song Yunqi smiled, “To serve the Princely Heir is right.”

Having said that, Song Yunqi slowly stepped back, his figure once again disappearing into the shadows.

Cheng Guang’s gaze withdrew and fell upon the group that was about to participate in the Great Zhou Martial Academy’s combat trial.

The name of the first person from the Great Zhou Martial Academy immediately caught his eye.

With just one glance, Cheng Guang smiled.

“Qiao Songshan, a four-year student of the Great Zhou Martial Academy, at the Fourth-grade Divine Realm, mastering the Overlord Spear, with a high-quality Divine Power.”

“This simpleton is actually going to participate in the combat trials.”

“I said to myself, he has already returned to the Capital city these days, how could he resist coming to see me.”

“He must have been confined by the Shenyong Duke at home for seclusion and training.”

Cheng Guang chuckled helplessly as he set Qiao Songshan’s information aside and started to look through the other participants’ documents.

There were many students participating from the Great Zhou Martial Academy this time, most of them from prominent families, with only a few from humbler backgrounds.

Many students from humble families must struggle to stand out, and almost none can afford to hide their abilities.

However, Cheng Guang was surprised to find that the martial arts column for many of the Great Zhou students from humble backgrounds was marked with “unknown.”

On the side of the Great Zhou elites, there were also quite a few marked with the “unknown” tag.

The numbers were roughly equal.

Was this some kind of coincidence?

Cheng Guang spread out two stacks of paper, laying them flat on the desk, jotting down all the names of those participating in the martial trials from both Great Wei and Great Zhou, paying special attention to those marked with “unknown.”

A moment later.

Cheng Guang’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took a deep breath.

The number of people with ominous, secret martial arts from the Great Wei and Great Zhou Martial Academies was surprisingly consistent.

If those marked with “unknown” were possibly those cloaked figures…

That would mean…

These cloaked people do not belong exclusively to Great Wei, nor to Great Zhou, but to a third party?

Cheng Guang’s brow furrowed as he pondered, one hand slowly stroking Bai Shuxuan as if it were petting a cat, while the other gently pressed at the center of his forehead.

“If it’s a third party, who exactly are the powers behind them?”

“First, they set up Bai Shuxuan to lure me out of the city, then they attempted to assassinate me…”

“Next, they slaughter participants of the Great Zhou and Great Wei dynasties’ martial trials, sowing chaos between the two nations’ relations and situations.”

“To cause chaos in Great Zhou, they have resorted to unscrupulous means…”

“What exactly is their purpose in doing all this?”

One doubt after another surfaced in Cheng Guang’s mind.

It was as if a huge puzzle enshrouded him, surrounded by an impregnable darkness, leaving him at a loss.

After a long contemplation, Cheng Guang slowly exhaled.

He carefully gathered up the papers containing the information on the students from the various royal martial academies.

No rush for now.

Even if these cloaked figures had greater schemes in mind.

This time, it wasn’t targeting him.

He was just a passerby, an unintentional casualty, a salted fish caught in the fray.

If those cloaked individuals were too powerful, he would temporarily avoid their edge and not engage in straight conflict.

If those cloaked individuals were only so-so, with a Breaking Ban Pill in his possession, perhaps he could turn the tables and fish in troubled waters.

As Cheng Guang was in deep thought, the sound of horse hooves suddenly approached from outside the courtyard.

Clop clop clop.

These hoofbeats were slow and powerful, drawing closer and closer.

“Boss~”

A rough voice came from outside the courtyard.

It was Qiao Songshan.