This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

The royal family of the Rising Sun Kingdom were fond of enjoying life, so the palace was built to be extremely magnificent. After Ye Ningshuang took over as regent, it was expanded once again, so it now occupies a vast area.

Among them, the Lieyang Gate, as the only way for officials to go to court, was naturally built to be magnificent and imposing.

On either side of the gate stood a row of guards clad in golden armor, their expressions solemn and their disciplined demeanor impeccable; they were the elite Imperial Guards directly under the command of the royal family.

It was already past Chenshi (7-9 AM), and all the civil and military officials had already entered the palace. Only one person arrived late, walking slowly. It was none other than the Imperial Preceptor, Sang Qiu.

The guards hurriedly stepped forward to salute, but Sang Qiu merely nodded indifferently.

The Empress Dowager has already set off for Sunset Plains, and the fact that he is attending court now is already a great honor for the young emperor.

It's common knowledge that the young emperor is dissatisfied with the Demon God Sect. He will be setting off soon, and he will surely take some action then, probably looking for a pretext.

Sang Qiu smiled coldly. He was just an ordinary mortal, and a puppet at that. If it weren't for the greater good, the throne would have been taken over long ago.

"Why are there so few guards here today compared to usual?" Sang Qiu paused in front of the Lieyang Gate and asked casually.

The Imperial Guard captain at the gate hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but last night an assassin attempted to assassinate the Emperor. After his defeat, he escaped and has not yet been captured. The commander has dispatched some of our men to search the palace."

Sang Qiu raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Oh? Is His Majesty injured? Have you found out who the assassin came from?"

He was confident that no one in the Rising Sun Kingdom would dare to lay a hand on the young emperor without his authorization, and that if he were to do so, the young emperor would have no chance of survival.

The captain said, "It is said that he is a warrior from the Cangyue Kingdom. Such actions are surely intended to demoralize our army. His intentions are truly despicable!"

Sang Qiu sneered: "My national teacher previously suggested that several divine envoys be sent to the palace for protection, but he refused no matter what. Otherwise, would a mere martial artist dare to enter the palace to assassinate someone?"

The Imperial Guard captain dared not respond and quickly lowered his head.

Who among those serving in the palace didn't know that the emperor and the imperial advisor were at odds, and that neither side was someone a mere captain could afford to offend?

Sang Qiu snorted softly, then flicked his sleeves and stepped into the Lieyang Gate.

Just after turning a corner, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he saw a young swordsman dressed in white blocking his way.

"So you're the Azure Moon Assassin? You've got some nerve!"

The white-clad swordsman remained silent, but his aura gradually intensified, and the sword in his hand trembled slightly, even emitting a faint, excited clang.

Sang Qiu suddenly smiled. This assassin wasn't there to assassinate the young emperor; he was clearly after him.

However, he didn't care about this; a worldly martial artist wasn't worth his attention.

The white-clad swordsman was none other than Wu Dang. He was eagerly anticipating this battle, but he wasn't very confident of winning. For some reason, he imitated Zheng Zhuang's attire, as if it made him appear more imposing.

As Wu Dang's aura grew stronger, Sang Qiu's eyes slowly revealed a look of vigilance, and a layer of black mist gradually appeared around his body.

"I never imagined that there would be a martial artist like you in the mortal world. You are truly a once-in-a-century talent. If I were to refine you into a puppet, you would be far better than those useless trash."

At that moment, Wu Dang suddenly drew his sword, a cold light flashing across the blade, and lunged at Sang Qiu. At the same time, dazzling golden light condensed at the tip of the sword.

"A sword's edge! Interesting!"

Sang Qiu chuckled and casually waved his hand. Instantly, a ball of black energy in front of him condensed into a giant, menacing python that charged forward.

Facing Sang Qiu's ferocious giant python, Wu Dang showed no fear and charged forward relentlessly.

"boom!"

The giant python's head collided violently with the tip of the sword, producing a loud bang.

Without pausing, the sword tip pierced through the giant python's body and went straight for Sang Qiu.

Upon seeing this, Sang Qiu quickly formed a hand seal, instantly conjuring a black shield in front of him, stopping Wu Dang's attack.

The jet-black shield was solid and heavy, and no matter how hard Wu Dang tried, he could not penetrate it even a fraction of an inch, and the situation became deadlocked for a moment.

"Heh! I underestimated you. You did have some skill to pierce a viper with a single sword strike, but that's all."

Ignoring Sang Qiu's taunts, Wu Dang suddenly leaned forward, and the sword light on the tip of his sword burst forth.

A golden light flashed, piercing straight through the shield and continuing its momentum toward Sang Qiu's face.

A hint of panic flashed across Sang Qiu's face, but after all, he was highly skilled and experienced in battle. He turned his head at the slightest distance and narrowly avoided the sword's edge.

Even so, the sword's edge still grazed his cheek, and blood seeped from the wound.

He laughed in fury, ignoring the wound on his face, and raised his right fist to smash it into Wu Dang's chest.

Seeing that there was no chance to swing his sword a second time, Wu Dang quickly sheathed his sword to his chest. In the blink of an eye, before he could even assume a defensive stance, Sang Qiu's fist had already slammed into the sword.

Wu Dang felt the force of the punch was like a mountain, and an indescribable force pressed down on him.

Fortunately, this sword was already extraordinary, and with his repeated breakthroughs and tempering, it did not break.

Even so, his entire body flew out like a rag doll and crashed heavily onto the city wall.

He fell uncontrollably to the ground, struggling to kneel with the aid of his sword, before suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

With just this one blow, he was already severely injured internally.

Sang Qiu withdrew his fist, and the wound on his face healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to normal in no time.

“You… are very good! It has been a long time since anyone has injured this national master, especially not by a martial artist. Even if you die, you have reason to be proud.”

Wu Dang gave a wry smile. This person's strength was indeed much higher than those divine messengers. Even with his almost full-force attack, he could only scratch him.

"Haha, so what if you're a martial artist? Quite a few demons have died by my sword."

Sang Qiu sneered: "So you must be the Sword Saint that's been rumored lately? You're really ignorant of your own limitations. How dare a mere mortal oppose my Demon God Sect!"

"Pah!" Wu Dang couldn't bear it any longer and spat out another mouthful of blood. "Evil heretics, everyone has the right to kill them!"

Sang Qiu's gaze turned cold upon hearing this, but he suddenly laughed again: "Those good-for-nothings are dead and that's that. I, your master, am determined to have your precious body. Once I capture you, I will make you wish you were dead!"

After saying that, snake scales began to appear on Sang Qiu's face, and two sharp teeth emerged from his mouth.

His hair moved without wind, transforming into green snakes with pairs of scarlet snake eyes that glared coldly at Wu Dang, their scarlet forked tongues constantly protruding as if ready to devour him at any moment.

His voice also began to grow hoarse, and he said in a sinister tone, "You've stalled for time enough, haven't you? If you have any more tricks up your sleeve, then hurry up and use them. It would be your honor to die in my half-demon form."