Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

Inside the Zichen Palace, there was deathly silence.

Emperor Li Longji, seated on the dragon throne, his chest heaving violently with suppressed rage.

"Send word to the Bad Commander!"

The three words were almost squeezed out one by one, crushed between the teeth.

The chief eunuch Gao Lishi retreated in a panic.

A moment later, steady footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Not too fast, not too slow.

The intervals between each step were as if measured with a ruler, with no deviation whatsoever.

A tall figure in a black cloak walked in against the light, hiding his face in the shadows.

Only one eye was exposed, cloudy and aged, as if reflecting the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty over three hundred years.

He was not wearing the iconic bronze mask.

He never needed to do anything in front of this emperor.

"Your subject, Yuan Tiangang, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

His voice was hoarse and devoid of any emotion, yet it instantly halted Li Longji's raging fury.

The Bad Commander, Yuan Tiangang.

This name is the deepest shadow of the Tang Dynasty, and also its sharpest hidden blade.

"Yuan Tiangang!"

Li Longji suddenly sprang up from the dragon throne, his arm trembling from the exertion, pointing straight out of the hall.

"Did you see that?! My minister! In my very Chang'an! His entire family was slaughtered by a sorcerer in front of three thousand imperial guards!!"

"His face! The face of the Tang Dynasty! He's trampled into the mud!!"

The Bad Guy Commander bowed slightly, his voice remaining calm.

"Your Majesty, I have seen it."

"You saw him?!" Li Longji was on the verge of losing his mind. "I order you to kill him! Use all the power of the Bad People to tear him to pieces!!"

Yuan Tiangang remained silent.

He simply stood there quietly, his single, emotionless eye fixed on the furious king on the dragon throne.

That wasn't the look a subject would give when gazing up at their monarch.

It was an old man who had lived too long watching a... angry junior.

The air inside the hall seemed to thicken under this eerie gaze.

Li Longji's anger was gradually cooled by this silent gaze, and a chill ran from his tailbone to the top of his head.

"His Majesty."

Yuan Tiangang finally spoke.

"Cannot be killed."

"What did you say?!" Li Longji's anger, which he had just suppressed, exploded again.

"I say, we cannot kill him."

Yuan Tiangang repeated himself, his tone calm to the point of being almost cruel.

"Three thousand arrows turned to ashes before him."

"Your Majesty, this is not martial arts."

"This is magic."

His voice was even lower, each word like a cold iron nail driven into Li Longji's heart.

"Do you want me... to kill a god?"

The words "slaying gods" completely shattered the emperor's fury.

His body swayed violently, and he slumped back onto the dragon throne, his eyes filled with pure terror for the first time.

"Then...what should we do?!" he muttered absentmindedly. "Should we just let him do whatever he wants in Chang'an?!"

"Your Majesty, have you ever considered why he has come?" Yuan Tiangang asked in return.

Li Longji was taken aback.

"His killing of Li Linfu and Wang Weizhong both stemmed from the case of the Yang family of Hongnong," Yuan Tiangang said slowly. "These two were parasites on the country. That 'Master' was merely cleaning up the courtyard for His Majesty in advance."

"You mean, I should thank him?!" Li Longji found it utterly absurd.

"No."

Yuan Tiangang shook his head.

"What I mean is, we can look at it from a different perspective."

He raised his single eye, and a glint of insight into human nature flashed deep within its murky depths.

"According to my investigation, what appeared in the ruins of the Yang family that night was not a demon, but... an enemy from outer space."

"What?!" Li Longji's eyes widened suddenly.

"A power that doesn't belong to this world." Yuan Tiangang's voice carried a hint of seduction. "That Master Shen Mo was probably just passing through Chang'an by chance while searching for this item."

"His targets are the evils that harbor filth and the 'enemies from outer space'."

"The parasites of my Great Tang Dynasty just happened to run into his sword."

Li Longji's breathing became rapid.

He wasn't stupid; he instantly understood the chilling meaning behind Yuan Tiangang's words.

"you mean……"

"He is not our enemy," Yuan Tiangang said, each word ringing with conviction. "At least, not now."

"He is a sword."

"A sword of heaven hanging over the heads of all treacherous officials, beyond the control of imperial power...

"Your Majesty, what you need is not to provoke a god."

"Instead, it's about reaching a tacit understanding with him."

"Let this sword serve my Great Tang Dynasty!"

"Let him kill those we want to kill, but can't easily do so!"

Yuan Tiangang's words echoed in the main hall.

The rage and fear in Li Longji's eyes faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

He stared intently at Yuan Tiangang, as if he were seeing this old man who had protected the Li family's empire for hundreds of years for the first time.

"What...do you want to do?"

Yuan Tiangang bowed deeply.

"This matter will be handled by your subject. Your Majesty only needs to observe the situation."

"I will give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer within three days."

"Fine!" Li Longji slammed his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne. "I'll bet on you this once!"

Yuan Tiangang's figure silently blended into the shadows inside the hall and quietly disappeared.

Li Longji was left alone, sitting on the cold dragon throne, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

The Sword of Heavenly Dao?

He pondered those four words, his eyes thoughtful.

The sword is a good sword.

But if you can't hold a sword in your own hand, you must find a way to... destroy it!

---

Xinghuafang, a small courtyard.

The gloomy and eerie atmosphere of the palace was dispelled by a wisp of smoke and fire here.

Yang Yuhuan found a worn-out broom from somewhere and was carefully sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard.

Her movements were clumsy, but she was extremely earnest.

In the broken bowl in the corner of the yard, there was an unknown wild grass. She watered it with water, as if she were watering the hope of surviving a disaster.

Shen Mo sat by the stone table, not looking at the account books, but just quietly watching her.

The sunlight fell on her, casting a soft golden hue on her pale profile.

That frail figure stirred even the slightest ripple in his heart, which had been nearly extinguished by killing and honing his skills.

【trouble.】

This thought flashed through Shen Mo's mind.

But this time, there was no sigh.

"Master Daoist."

Yang Yuhuan stopped what she was doing, took a cup of freshly brewed coarse tea, and timidly walked up to him.

Are you...tired?

She asked softly, a hint of cautious worry in her clear eyes.

tired?

Shen Mo raised his head and looked into those eyes.

He had never thought about this question.

Since his transmigration, he has been running, getting stronger, and killing.

Exhaustion was an emotion he had long since abandoned.

But at this moment, being gazed upon by those eyes, he actually felt a trace of weariness... originating from the depths of his soul.

"Not tired."

He took the teacup and took a sip.

The bitter tea slid down my throat, leaving a faint aftertaste.

Yang Yuhuan said "Oh," lowered her head, and looked somewhat disappointed, yet also relieved.

Shen Mo looked at her and said one more thing.

"You won't need to do these things anymore."

Yang Yuhuan looked up abruptly, her eyes instantly reddening.

"Does the Taoist priest dislike Yang Guifei... for not doing a good job?"

"no."

Shen Mo looked into her eyes and said calmly.

"Your hands aren't for doing these things."

Yang Yuhuan was stunned.

She looked at the man in front of her, whose face, which was always as indifferent as ice, seemed to have... a hint of indescribable warmth.

Her nose stung with tears, and she quickly turned away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Shen Mo withdrew his gaze and turned it back to the black ledger.

His fingertips traced lines of names.

Finally, he stopped at the target he had already set his sights on yesterday.

Yang Guozhong

The moment his fingertips touched those three words.

Om-!

A sharp screech exploded violently deep within his mind!

That ancient mirror suddenly burst forth with a blinding crimson light!

On the mirror, there were no longer cold words, but rather a line of twisted bloody words, as if branded by a red-hot iron!

[WARNING: High concentration of 'otherworldly' energy detected within the residence of target 'Yang Guozhong'!]

[Energy Level Determination:]

【Danger!】

Shen Mo's pupils suddenly shrank to a point!