Chapter 62: Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea

Xing Tao’s identity tag is Martial Artist, and in the Qingliang Prefecture’s Star Gate, he plays the role of the Left Thousand-Household Commander of the Qingzhou Guard.

His entry token is the “Death Warrior’s Order”, a character-specific item similar to Liu Ling’er’s “Spring Breeze Delight” and Prince Huai’s “Imperial Brush.”

The Stellar Scar Gate describes the “Death Warrior’s Order” as follows:
“The Thousand-Household Commander fought in the southern frontier, living and eating with his soldiers, earning immense prestige. In times of crisis, with a single call, he can summon 500 elite Qingzhou warriors ready to sacrifice themselves.”

Aside from the Death Warrior’s Order, the Martial Artist identity possesses a powerful supernatural ability, emphasizing offense and combat.

These two abilities truly embody the title “Martial Artist.” Among the eleven players in this Star Gate, only two have military authority and can summon spirit guardians. This highlights the pivotal role of Xing Tao’s character within the court faction. When used effectively at a critical moment, it could turn the tide of the game.

Tonight, Guo Cai’er intends to maximize the Martial Artist’s potential. Before entering the Princess’s Tomb, she plans to thoroughly expose and eliminate the traitors in the court faction.

…

Outside the Chief Historian’s Residence.

Guo Cai’er hid in a shadowed spot, surrounded by soldiers who guarded her. Outsiders couldn’t approach, nor could they detect the presence of a woman here.

She observed and carefully sensed the situation within the residence.

Not far away, Xing Tao, clad in armor, issued instructions to three Hundred-Household Officers:
“Inform Li Yan that tonight’s banquet is under the control of the Qingzhou Guard. If he asks for details, simply tell him that my lord wishes to see who are friends and who are foes tonight.”

“Understood,” the officers replied in unison. One of them stepped forward and asked, “If Li Yan inquires about the identity of our lord, how should we respond?”

“No need to answer,” Xing Tao shook his head. “Follow my instructions and conduct a thorough inspection of the guests.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The three officers saluted, turned, and walked into the Chief Historian’s residence.

…

Inside the Residence.

Three hundred soldiers entered the premises, armored and armed with spears and steel blades. They turned the originally festive banquet of gratitude into utter chaos.

In ancient times, banquets followed specific procedures and designated venues. Tonight’s feast was held in the front courtyard of the Chief Historian’s residence, with tables spread across five smaller courtyards, each accommodating 40 to 50 guests.

The soldiers quickly blocked all exits, leaving no room for anyone to escape.

Simultaneously, the corridors and inner courtyards were surrounded by soldiers. These rough and fearless warriors didn’t care whether it was the Chief Historian’s residence. With one word from their superiors, they wouldn’t hesitate to slap the Chief Historian’s mother if necessary.

In a side courtyard, Tang Feng stared at the soldiers filing in and inwardly cried out:
“This is cheating! Summoning spirit guardians? And summoning this many? Damn it, why is it that I have to sleep with people just to progress in the game?! This isn’t fair!”

“Listen up, everyone!”

At the entrance, a commanding flag bearer officer shouted with a stern expression:
“From this moment on, no one may leave this courtyard or speak to one another without my orders. Violators will be executed on the spot.”

His voice echoed, and the faces of those attending the feast darkened.

After issuing the command, the flag bearer officer gestured to the soldiers nearby.

Over twenty soldiers stepped forward in unison, shouting, “Women, step forward!”

Hearing this, Tang Feng furrowed his brows, as if he had guessed what was coming, but remained calm—he currently appeared as a man.

The women attending the banquet, along with several maids serving the guests, exchanged confused glances but eventually stepped forward as ordered.

“Whoosh!”

The soldiers rushed forward, crudely and violently grabbing the women by their hair, forcing them to the ground. Using their strong arms, they tightened their grips around the women’s necks.

The soldiers had fierce expressions and said nothing of their purpose, leaving everyone confused. The women dragged out were now all struggling on the ground, gasping for air, while others looked on in bewilderment.

“Milord, what is the meaning of this?!”

“Milord, what law has my wife broken for her to be treated this way?”

“…!”

Several men stepped forward, trying to stop the soldiers’ violent actions.

“Slash! Slash!”
The officer in charge drew his blade, cutting down two men in an instant. His face twisted with fury as he roared, “Get back in line, or face execution on the spot!”

The two men who had been dining moments earlier now lay dead, their bodies still warm.
The surrounding crowd turned pale, trembling as they cursed the inhumanity of these soldiers, who killed without hesitation.

“Dear… dear husband!” cried a woman as she struggled for air, her legs thrashing against the ground, her tear-filled eyes fixed on her husband’s lifeless body.

Watching this, Tang Feng frowned deeply, his fists clenched in anger.
By now, he understood the situation. The soldiers were specifically targeting women, likely in an attempt to “find” him.

Liu Ling’er was dead, and the player who had taken her Identity tag to re-enter the game would undoubtedly still be playing a female role.

“Thank goodness for my quick thinking,” Tang Feng thought, relieved that he had used Ren Ye’s replication ability to change his appearance. Otherwise, he’d already be exposed by now.

[Ding~ Friendly Reminder: Your counterfeit Disguise Talisman is about to expire. Transformation time remaining: less than 15 minutes.]

A cold, detached voice echoed in Tang Feng’s ears.
Hearing this, his mind went blank, and he cursed inwardly, “What the hell?! Wasn’t the Disguise Talisman supposed to last for five days? Why is it expiring after less than two hours? What do you mean by counterfeit? Are you messing with me?!”

In an instant, Tang Feng’s nerves were on edge.

Less than 15 minutes. Just a quarter of an hour.

This is bad. Really bad.
The soldiers were already in the courtyard, and the entire area was surrounded. It was impossible to accomplish everything within 15 minutes. If his disguise wore off, he wouldn’t even need to be searched—they’d see through him immediately.

What… what should he do?

In another side courtyard, the harsh-faced woman stood in the lineup, sweat beading on her forehead.
She had witnessed firsthand how two women who had been dragged out struggled so violently that they enraged the officer and were executed on the spot.

She regretted attending this banquet impulsively. But it was too late for that now.

This harsh-faced woman was also a player. She realized she had two options:

Step forward and reveal her identity. But if the one commanding these soldiers was an infiltrator from the court faction, she’d be dead on the spot.
Use her supernatural abilities to try and escape. But with hundreds of soldiers surrounding the area, her chances of survival weren’t great.
What should she do?

For a moment, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

…

Inside the Hall of Washing Flowers.

Inspector Liu had already fled. Chief Historian Li Yan now faced a Hundred-Household Officer of the Qingzhou Guard alone.

“This is treason!” Li Yan bellowed furiously. “Who gave you the audacity to surround my estate?!”

The Hundred-Household Officer remained calm. “Milord, I am simply following orders. Please do not make this difficult for me.”

“Take your men and leave immediately!” Li Yan shouted, pointing at the officer’s nose. “Otherwise, I’ll summon troops from Qingliang Town to wipe out you scum!”

With that, Li Yan stormed toward the door.

“Clang!”
The officer half-drew his steel blade, his expression stoic. “Milord, please don’t make this difficult for me.”

“Insolence!” Li Yan froze for a moment, the veins on his neck bulging in anger. “You dare draw your weapon in front of me, the Chief Historian?!”

The officer met his gaze coldly. “My lord has decreed that tonight, he will see who is friend and who is foe.”

Their gazes locked.

Li Yan’s eyes turned icy as he sized up the officer, speaking curtly: “Get out.”

This time, the officer didn’t press further. He nodded and replied, “I will await your orders outside. Please do not attempt to leave alone. The courtyards are surrounded, and many of my men do not recognize your face. If you go out recklessly… I fear it may cause a disaster, one that I would not be able to explain to my lord.”

After saying that, the other person left.

Once the man was gone, Li Yan’s anger suddenly faded. He calmly looked around the thatched cottage before pulling out the Disc Command and diving into it with his consciousness.

At this moment, the information within the Disc Command had exploded.

“Damn it, who did this? I’m at the Chief Historian’s residence, and these soldiers are killing people.”

“Holy shit, someone can mobilize so many NPCs? This is unreasonable!”

“I think there’s a traitor in the faction trying to take us all down.”

“…!”

Li Yan quickly skimmed through the information before speaking up: “I am Li Yan.”

Instantly, the Disc Command went quiet.

“I am a player of the court faction. Tonight, I brought everyone together to confirm our teammates so we could gain an advantage in the princess’s tomb,” Li Yan continued.

The others didn’t respond, but they weren’t particularly surprised, as many had already suspected that Chief Historian Li Yan was likely a player, given that he had led many of the recent conflicts.

At this moment, everyone felt certain.

“The soldiers surrounding my residence are from the Qingzhou Left¹ Guard,” Li Yan said again. “Stop hiding it. The Left Thousand-Household of Qingzhou Guard must be a player! But now I suspect you are a traitor!”

Outside the Chief Historian’s residence, Guo Cai’er withdrew her consciousness from the Disc Command and immediately wrote down on a piece of paper: “Since you’ve revealed your identity, there’s no need to hide anymore. Just tell us your intentions.”

Xing Tao nodded and immediately responded using the Disc Command: “I am the Thousand-Household Commander of the Qingzhou Left Guard and also a player, but I am not a traitor. Liu Ling’er is dead, and the person who entered with her Identity tag must be a woman, and also from Prince Huai’s faction. Additionally, the Star Gate has reminded us that there is a Prince Huai spy in our faction, so… tonight, I need to capture these two people.”

“You catch your damn self!” Li Yan retorted angrily.

“???”
The others didn’t expect the Chief Historian to be so impolite. One person commented, “I think the Thousand-Household makes some sense…”

“Sense my ass. You’re as stupid as a pig,” Li Yan’s voice was filled with rage. “I’m setting up a no-threshold sow banquet, you get me? There’s definitely more than just Court Faction players in this yard—there are also people from the Opportunist Faction, and maybe even people from Prince Huai’s side. By doing it like this, you force all your people to show up. Isn’t that exposing all your trump cards?! I already told the butler to notify everyone that they could come to the thatched cottage and meet me privately. Why did you have to expose your own strength? With this kind of thinking, why even enter the Star Gate?”

“Lord Li is right!”

“That’s a reasonable point. I also think it’s better for everyone to meet privately.”

“…!”

In an instant, two people in the Disc Command started to support Li Yan.

Xing Tao glanced at the note that Guo Cai’er had written for him and spoke simply: “Every player has a different approach to breaking the deadlock. I insist on finding the traitor. Lord Li, just cooperate with me.”

“I’ll say it one more time, get your men to leave!” Li Yan said firmly.

“…Lord Li, the soldiers are under my command,” Xing Tao replied.

“You want to play it this way?” Li Yan said coldly. “Fine. Let me see if you’re a traitor.”

In the side courtyard, Tang Feng stared blankly as he withdrew his consciousness from the Disc Command. “Holy shit! Are the people on the same side turning on each other? This is getting interesting!”

[Ding~ Friendly reminder: Your disguise time is less than thirty seconds.]

A cold voice echoed, and Tang Feng immediately snapped back to reality, feeling his stress level rise to the extreme.

It was over. In thirty seconds, his disguise would be exposed…

Clenching his fists, Tang Feng sensed the Spring Breeze Delight and prepared to shout—Father, save me!