Chapter 690: In a Single Thought

Sorcerer!
In the blink of an eye, that pretentious sorcerer vanished right before Happy’s eyes! Startled, Happy quickly expanded his spiritual senses, but it was too late—there was no trace of that ethereal figure anywhere within his senses, except for the silver ingot left behind…
Faced with this astonishing scene, Happy realized he had encountered another extraordinary person!
Though he didn’t know the stranger’s identity, he must be the one assigned to guide him on this mission…
After all, this wasn’t a mission that ordinary people could undertake or handle. It required not only great courage and strength but also unwavering determination.
Despite several years of gaming experience, facing such a complex mission with so many mythic-level strongmen, Happy had to admit he felt somewhat shaken and uneasy.
But now…
“…The depth of fortune lies in a single thought, in a single thought.” Happy took a deep breath, repeating these words over and over. Suddenly, he felt his thoughts becoming clearer.
No matter what the mission was, no matter what awaited him in the future…
It made no difference.
Back in the Creation Realm, he had faced formidable enemies from the Mysterious Realm and the Life-and-Death Realm. In the Mysterious Realm, he had even killed theNinja King of the Liberation Realm. Now that he had reached the Liberation Realm, possessing five peerless martial arts and the gear that every martial artist dreamed of, there seemed no reason to be so cautious.
It was just a game…
Taking it too seriously, caring too much about gains and losses, and overemphasizing past experiences and feelings.
The threats and pressure posed by mythic strongmen like Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan in his past life continued into this one, making him feel constrained and uneasy for the first time while handling a mission.
“…At worst, I’ll die.”
Thinking of the Mu family’s unshakable position in the martial world of the Central Plains and his own top ranking on both the Dragon List and the Famous Masters List, he exhaled deeply. The sunset across the river no longer seemed so melancholic in his eyes.
…
Night fell, and the lights came on.
The riverside of Yangzhou City had always been the best place for nightlife. Here, many painted boats were adorned with beautifully antique lanterns, adding elegance and charm to the scene, along with a romantic atmosphere.
That day, a giant painted boat stood out, surrounded by a crowd of other boats like stars surrounding the moon on the river—a truly spectacular sight.
“What is this…”

As soon as Happy logged in, he saw this scene on the river and looked puzzled. All around, countless martial artists stood on the shore, holding their breath; faint sounds of a zither could be heard drifting from the river! “Brother, stand firm, or you’ll fall in,” someone nearby said cheerfully, pulling him back. Only then did Happy realize he had been pushed so close to the water that his toes were already touching the surface—there were simply too many people on the shore. “Thank you.” “Haha, you’re welcome.” The man had no idea who he was helping; it was a pitch-black night, but from his accent, he seemed to be from the north. “What are you all watching?” Happy couldn’t help asking. “Shi Qingxuan is playing the zither on the pleasure boat. All the famous people from the brothels in the area have gone there. It’s said that Shi Feixuan, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin… many masters are there too.” “…” In the darkness, the man seemed to be just a rumor-spreading player. Staring at the pleasure boat on the river, he instinctively explained, “During the day, someone saw the key to Lord Yang’s treasure vault unearthed. So many people speculate that it will appear within 24 hours at the latest. That’s why so many people have come here, almost crowding Yangzhou!” “I see.” Happy finally understood why there were so many people here. And by his guess, the commotion on the river tonight was probably also a sign that Lord Yang’s treasure vault was about to appear! However, he was quite interested in Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan being on the pleasure boat. Xu Ziling’s strength had already reached the peak of the Wuwei realm, almost on par with those in the Mythical realm… Kou Zhong was the same! But Shi Qingxuan, the daughter of Shi Zhixuan, rarely showed off her strength, and the related events in her past life were very different from those now. If that was the case, Happy really felt the urge to go up to the pleasure boat and see for himself. “Why don’t you go up?” “How? The area around the pleasure boat is full of masters from the Wuwei realm of the demonic sects and various sects, plus officials from the court. Countless people have fallen into the river…” As he spoke, Happy glanced at the river not far away and couldn’t help but laugh. His words were indeed a bit redundant. The pleasure boat wasn’t large enough to hold many people. If everyone on the shore went up, it would collapse long ago. It seemed that some strength was required to get on the boat. Splash…

A dark shadow emerged from the river surface, flying awkwardly over everyone’s heads before landing on the street not far away.
“What’s going on up there? Can you see clearly?”
Some people from the crowd by the shore rushed over.
Kai Xin had good hearing and heard their conversation clearly:
The man replied impatiently, panting heavily, “Damn it! Stop talking. We’re not even close to the big boat yet. Those smaller boats nearby can’t get through either. There are experts on every boat, and there are water ghosts in the water too. Luckily, I’m good at swimming… We escaped, but those guys are doomed! They swallowed a lot of water as soon as they crossed. I guess they’re already back at the Martial Temple…” He sounded quite pleased as he spoke.
The martial artists by the shore gasped in shock.
The boats were already far from the shore, and flying across would consume a lot of internal energy. Fighting on the river was too dangerous. If what this man said was true, with people lurking in the water as well, not many in the martial world could make it.
“It seems the First Rank Hall and Lingxiao Palace still have some plans…”
At that moment, Kai Xin suddenly caught some conversations that caught his attention among the crowd.
He frowned.
He quickly activated his keen senses, pinpointed the speakers, and followed their gaze to spot two groups of people…
A group of men and women wearing conical hats stood out sharply among the crowd!
However, Kai Xin couldn’t be sure who was leading the First Rank Hall’s group, or whether Bloodclothes was among them…
As for Lingxiao Palace, since this area was originally their territory, they didn’t need to hide like the people from the First Rank Hall and could defend their ground openly.
The leaders were Qin Yun, Qin Qing, along with the deputy palace master Haotian, Li Qing, as well as elders Shangguan Lian and Haidong Qing—along with a host of other experts, forming a truly impressive lineup.