Chapter 137: Tidings

Originally, the situation involving Monroe and the Empress’s clan was already muddled enough. Now, the Bai family had joined in. Qian Ye didn’t know what they were plotting and had no intention of getting involved. However, he had just been hunted down for a thousand miles by Bai Kongzhao, and he wasn’t one to take insults lying down. These two teams from the Bai family would serve as a little interest on his revenge.

However, upon hearing that Bai Longjia was present, Qian Ye recalled Wei Po Tian’s words about him having detected blood qi within him, and his heart sank slightly. Although Qian Ye was now confident that he could conceal his condition with the Bing Fa Jue and the latent abilities of his bloodline, Bai Longjia had once spared him, so after some thought, Qian Ye decided to hold back and not escalate the situation further.

By his reckoning, he had been out on this hunting trip for quite some time, and he wondered how things were faring in Heiliu City. Determining the direction, Qian Ye steered clear of the Bai family’s battlefield and headed toward the Iron Curtain.

Not long after, Bai Longjia appeared at the scene. His aura was almost entirely internalized, and his temperament had shifted from the sharpness of a sword to a more profound and weighty presence, though his eyes still occasionally flashed with an electric light.

Though the area was close to the edge of the Iron Curtain, the incarnation of the Celestial Ghost could appear at any moment. With his profound cultivation, Bai Longjia stood calmly under the Iron Curtain, and the surrounding Bai family warriors looked at him with admiration and respect.

Bai Longjia inspected each corpse, even the most ordinary soldiers. After examining dozens of bodies, over an hour had passed. Finally, he stood before the captain who was embedded in a tree, silent for a long time.

The captain had long since died, his lifeless eyes open wide. After Qian Ye left, the last bit of strength he had mustered dissipated, and he could no longer support himself.

Bai Longjia pondered for a while, then slowly looked into the depths of the captain’s pupils, his eyes gradually lighting up with electricity. In those lifeless pupils, he saw a figure.

The figure was somewhat blurry, but it was clearly human, without the characteristics of the dark races. The person was quite young, with a tactical mask covering most of their face, but their features and posture still revealed a handsome essence.

Bai Longjia watched for a while, then shook his head silently. The perpetrator was extremely cautious, always wearing a mask. This blurry image provided little help.

After a moment of reflection, Bai Longjia asked, “Has Qian Bo returned yet?”

“Captain Qian is missing, and there are no traces or information about him at the scene.”

Bai Longjia coldly said, “He must have divulged all our secrets and fled in fear. Send out a warrant for his arrest.”

“Yes, sir!” the subordinate replied, then asked, “General Bai, have you found the culprit?”

Bai Longjia looked at the captain’s body embedded in the tree and said, “What use is it to find them? I cannot act here, and if you catch that person, it will only end in death. Unless my sister comes, we can only wait for the Iron Curtain to end.”

The subordinate was surprised at Bai Longjia’s high evaluation of the person. Hesitantly, he asked, “Shall we ask Miss Kongzhao to come?”

Bai Longjia let out a cold laugh, “Her? If she stopped making enemies for us, we’d be thankful.”

The subordinate lowered his head, not daring to say more. Seeing that Bai Longjia had no further instructions, he went to direct the soldiers to clean up the scene and handle the remains. Bai Longjia remained standing before the captain’s body, motionless for a long time.

Qian Ye had now left the Iron Curtain and entered human territory. His destination was a city with an airship base. The current region belonged to Tian Shui County, and the nearest major transportation hub was the county capital. Unexpectedly, he managed to buy a second-hand motorbike from a passing merchant caravan and sped towards the capital of Tian Shui County.

At this point, Qian Ye realized that he had slept for five full days. According to his survey in the valley, even if he hadn’t slept, he wouldn’t have made it in time to rescue the Ning Yuan Heavy Industries convoy. Besides, the convoy seemed to be a trap, and interfering might spoil Song Zining’s plans.

Soon, the walls of Tianhe County came into view. Though close to the Iron Curtain, the city’s defenses were relatively calm. Qian Ye did not immediately seek out the airship base but decided to first gather the latest news and replenish his supplies.

The matter of the Ning Yuan Heavy Industries convoy was suspicious. Even if it was a setup, Qian Ye couldn’t help but worry about Song Zining’s situation, especially since he didn’t know where Song was. Tian Shui County, being the closest major city, should have some news if anything significant had happened nearby.

Qian Ye hurried through a side street, and a small, unremarkable inn caught his eye.

Hunter’s Haven!

The sight instantly brought back many memories. For gathering information, Hunter’s Haven was undoubtedly one of the best places.

Qian Ye pushed open the door and walked in. The lobby, which also served as a rest area, was quite spacious. A dozen hunters sat around a few tables, drinking and chatting. Several of them were bandaged, having just returned from the wilderness.

Their conversation naturally revolved around the current Blood War, either boasting about their achievements or discussing the military merits they had just redeemed. The rewards for military merit in the Blood War were indeed generous and open to everyone, and it seemed these hunters had reaped a good harvest.

Unlike mercenaries and adventurers, hunters primarily targeted the dark races and were generally a level higher in combat strength.

As soon as Qian Ye entered, all eyes turned to him. Seeing such a strikingly handsome young man, a few of them whistled.

Ignoring them, Qian Ye walked to the counter and placed a set of vampire fangs on it. “I want to exchange these for supplies and the latest news.”

The sight of the vampire fangs caused a collective gasp. The hunters’ eyes were sharp, and they recognized that the fangs belonged to at least a Blood Knight, an opponent beyond the reach of ordinary hunters. Whoever could bring a set of Blood Knight fangs could easily deal with ten or more hunters in the inn.

The middle-aged man behind the counter subtly changed his expression and quietly tucked the fangs away. He gestured to an apprentice to fetch the goods and then asked, “What kind of news do you need?”

“The most important and the most recent.”

The man nodded and handed over a few sheets of paper.

At first glance, Qian Ye was stunned. The paper listed several recent major events, the most prominent being the Empire’s unexpected decision to publicly release the Blood War ranking list, updated monthly.

Even if Qian Ye was not sensitive, he knew that the publication of this list would cause a huge stir, and there was surely a deeper reason behind it.

Publicizing the records of the great clans and families meant that everyone could see the relative strengths of each. Even if the Blood War was limited to those below the rank of earl, a low ranking, despite any excuses, indicated a lack of future potential and shallow foundations.

This was no longer about power politics but the face and reputation of each noble family.

Reputation was crucial for the high-ranking families. It influenced the number and quality of those who would join them, and in the long run, affected the alliances and divisions of power among the families.

If a highly esteemed family underperformed, it would draw the attention of many with ill intentions. After all, a noble title, especially for the main branch, was not just a name but represented vast lands, infinite wealth, and influence in the court.

Especially for families with old grudges, they would not want to be overshadowed by their enemies.

In the hearts of the people, each noble family had a general ranking. Deviating significantly from this ranking would severely damage their reputation. Therefore, with the rankings now public, the great families could no longer hide their true strength. Even if they wanted to keep their best cards hidden, they needed to show enough achievements to maintain their status.

In such a situation, establishing dominance became a more viable strategy. As Zhao Yuying had told Qian Ye, the Zhao family aimed to establish their dominance in the Blood War to intimidate the lesser players.

Qian Ye continued reading, and the next page showed the current rankings, listing up to the hundredth place.

The list was surprising. The Song family was still at the top, but their points were only a few thousand ahead of the Bai family, equivalent to a few hundred soldiers. Among the top ten, four clans and the Imperial family were included, but the Zhang and Zhao families ranked lower, at seventh and ninth, respectively.

Qian Ye’s heart skipped a beat. He remembered the number of military merits he had submitted last time. It seemed that one-quarter of the Zhao family’s points were his contribution. Without them, the Zhao family might have fallen out of the top ten.

As one of the four great families, falling out of the top ten was unacceptable, even if they were laying low. What had happened to Zhao Jundu?

Among the noble families, the Kong family had risen unexpectedly to third place, followed closely by the Nan Gong family. Even someone like Qian Ye, who was unfamiliar with noble politics, sensed something was amiss. He didn’t know which family the hand that set the rules was targeting.

Qian Ye’s gaze sharpened, and he continued reading. He had no interest in the political intrigues of the upper echelons; submitting military merits under Zhao Yuying’s name was just to fulfill her wish, and he didn’t care about the Zhao family’s ranking.

The next sheet of paper immediately caught Qian Ye’s attention, as it was mostly about Heiliu City. News from a remote border town reaching here indicated that something significant had happened.

Upon reading the first line, Qian Ye took a deep breath—Song Zining was in Heiliu City!

Since the start of the Blood War, most battles between humans and dark races had been in the wilderness. The battle for Heiliu City was the first large-scale confrontation, and it was fiercely fought. The commanders—Demon Lord Lud and the Seventh Young Master of the Song family, Song Zining—were being increasingly scrutinized.

However, Qian Ye had no time to ponder why the Ning Yuan Heavy Industries convoy had been attacked while Song Zining was holding the city for over ten days. The next few messages filled him with suppressed anger: the results of the battles and the current balance of forces.