Chapter 67: Chapter 67
A thin, seemingly cheerful Inkwood official was speaking passionately to a group of officials gathered around him.
"Did you guys hear? Last night, a peerless powerhouse barged into the Heavenly Prison and rescued a prisoner!"
"Old man, stop boasting! The Silver Willow Heavenly Prison has stood for a millennium and held countless prisoners, many of noble status."
"No one has ever broken in and taken a prisoner away."
"Exactly. We know you are well-informed, but at least make your fabrications somewhat believable."
"Who does not know that besides the Imperial Palace, the Heavenly Prison is the most heavily guarded place in the capital?"
"That is right. I heard there are nearly two hands’ worth of Great Grandmaster experts in the Heavenly Prison. Rumor has it every single one is an existence not the slightest bit weaker than those on the Great Grandmaster Ranking."
Hearing his words, three officials who lived in the suburbs questioned him.
Because they lived far out, they had not felt anything unusual last night.
"Guys, the old man was not spouting nonsense just now."
A pot-bellied Inkwood official wearing a crimson robe embroidered with cloud-birds picked up where they left off.
"As you know, I live near the Heavenly Prison. You have no idea how tragic the battle above it was last night."
"Heavenly thunder filled the night sky, and sword qi crisscrossed the air. The shockwaves from the two peerless powerhouses’ clash ripped all the roof tiles off the surrounding buildings."
"I will not lie to you, this old man truly broadened his horizons today. To actually witness a massive battle between peerless powerhouses! When I pass away a hundred years from now, I can even brag about it to my ancestors."
"Indeed. I also witnessed the might of that black-robed guest last night."
Another official who had seen the battle stepped forward. "There is something you do not know."
"With a single sword strike, that black-robed guest carved an abyss straight through the Silver Willow capital!"
"You can go check near the Heavenly Prison. See if there is not a massive, bottomless crack, as smooth and neat as a sheer cliff face."
"I really wonder what kind of grand figure was locked up to make an expert of that caliber take such a massive risk," an official sighed.
"Gentlemen, this humble official actually knows about this matter."
A refined-looking Inkwood official stepped forward to clear up their confusion.
"This humble official once briefly crossed paths with Maren Veil, the legitimate daughter of the Veil Manor."
"Yesterday, the woman that black-robed guest took from the Heavenly Prison was precisely Maren Veil, the remnant of the Veil Manor who colluded with the Demonic Sect over a month ago."
Ignoring the idle chatter of these officials, Adam was about to head straight to his desk when one official’s words made him stop in his tracks.
"Alright, enough talk. The matter of the Veil Manor is a taboo subject, far more serious than the black-robed guest."
"Right now, the Night Watch Bureau is searching the entire capital for that black-robed guest."
"Although our Inkwood Academy is not within the search perimeter, if those Night Watch Envoys accidentally overhear us, a beating will be unavoidable."
"Also, the capital has been very unpeaceful lately. You should all focus on staying alive!"
An official named Lazlo scolded the gathered, gossiping officials.
"Old Lazlo, you are making a mountain out of a small thing. Silver Willow does not criminalize speech."
"We have been colleagues for years, we are just chatting, we will not lose our lives over it."
"Exactly, Old Lazlo. It is broad daylight. Stop trying to scare us!"
Some officials were dissatisfied with Lazlo’s intimidating words and complained.
Lazlo glanced at everyone present, then looked around. Signaling them to gather closer, he lowered his voice.
"There is something you do not know. That Oswin from our Inkwood Academy has joined forces with the South-Subduing King to rebel."
"Rebel!"
"Old Lazlo, you absolutely cannot spout such nonsense."
Some officials’ faces turned deathly pale, clearly frightened quite badly.
"Who is spouting nonsense? I have a distant relative who works as a groom in the South-Subduing King’s household. He wrote me a letter telling me to pack my valuables early."
"It is not just a rebellion! They have already broken through dozens of cities! The Silver Willow Imperial Family suppressed the news, which is why you do not know!"
Lazlo kept his voice extremely low, afraid irrelevant people would hear.
But Adam was already a Great Grandmaster. His hearing was inherently sharp, even over ten meters away, he heard every word crystal clearly.
Oswin has actually joined forces with the South-Subduing King? And broken through dozens of cities?
This news truly caught Adam by surprise.
However, this was good too.
Although he did not know the South-Subduing King’s character, Oswin was his close friend.
Oswin possessed a pure and innocent heart. Currently, the people of Silver Willow were living in absolute misery.
If this person could replace the current regime, perhaps it would be a blessing for the commoners.
Sitting beside his desk, putting aside what he had just heard, Adam picked up a scroll of historical records and immersed himself completely in reading.
The book recorded a mythological legend passed down among the common folk since ancient times.
Legend had it that during the Primordial Era, when heaven and earth first opened and primordial chaos first appeared, peerless demonic entities ran rampant, and innate spiritual energy was dense to the extreme.
Demons with bodies as massive as mountain ranges were countless.
Even more terrifying were the emperors among the demon race.
Once their Dharma Idols were unleashed, they could cover half the Primordial World.
At that time, the human race did not exist at all, until a demon entity with a human head and a snake’s body, Goddess Nuwa, was born in the Primordial Mountains.
Although Goddess Nuwa was of the demon race, she disliked slaughter and devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Dao deep within the Primordial Mountains.
In the early morning, she devoured the purple qi of the rising sun.
At night, she absorbed the starlight of the cosmos to temper her body.
Goddess Nuwa’s innate foundation was already top-tier.
Through such bitter cultivation, in merely a few hundred thousand years, she became one of the few supreme figures in the Primordial World.
