Battle Through The Heavens : I Am The Thunder Emperor

Chapter 192: Space Mark

Under the pitch-black night sky, a shadow darted swiftly across the rooftops, moving nimbly through the gaps between the buildings. Even though the streets below were still bustling with people due to the Alchemist Tournament, the figure above vanished mysteriously into space at intervals. Anyone who might have noticed something unusual dismissed it as a trick of the mind—after all, space travel was a technique only Dou Zong experts could master, and the Jia Ma Empire hadn't seen a Dou Zong in many years.

Closely trailing the gray-robed figure, Mo Yu used the power of the Flash Void Shattering Thunder to teleport short distances through space. Despite the gray-robed person's vigilance, they remained unaware of being followed.

"Is this the place?" Mo Yu murmured quietly as he observed the gray-robed figure stopping at a secluded inn. Hiding in the shadows, he smirked, "So, this is where you're staying." With that, he disappeared again, reappearing on a nearby rooftop several meters away.

Landing silently on the roof, Mo Yu's brow suddenly furrowed. "Oh? It seems he's taken some precautions," Mo Yu remarked with interest. In front of him, a thin black thread stretched out, leading to two tiny black bells at either end.

"Too bad, it's just a minor trick," Mo Yu muttered. With a wave of his hand, a red lightning flame silently streaked through the air, reducing the two black bells to nothingness without a sound.

Just as Mo Yu was about to teleport into the room to investigate, several strong presences appeared nearby, causing him to pause.

"Someone's coming… and this familiar aura… it's them." Mo Yu whispered softly. He used the space power of the Flash Void Shattering Thunder to perfectly conceal his aura, then found a spot hidden from the naked eye and stayed out of sight.

As soon as Mo Yu hid, several figures silently appeared on the rooftop. It was none other than Fa Ma, Jia Lao, and the duo of Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong.

Seeing these four, Mo Yu wasn't surprised. The identity of the gray-robed figure had indeed caught the attention of the Jia Ma Empire's high-ranking officials, as well as Xiao Yan.

As the four arrived, the royal guardian Jia Lao suddenly narrowed his eyes, his gaze like a torch as he stared in Mo Yu's direction.

"What's wrong?" Fa Ma, noticing Jia Lao's unease, followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual. "Did you sense something?"

"Uh… nothing, maybe I'm just getting old and losing focus," Jia Lao frowned slightly, then shook his head with a light laugh. He felt a faint and obscure spatial fluctuation in that direction—something only a Dou Huang at the peak, just a step away from becoming a Dou Zong, could perceive.

But mastering space power was something only Dou Zong and above could do. The entire Jia Ma Empire had no one other than himself who was close to breaking through to Dou Zong, except perhaps Yun Shan, the previous leader of the Yun Lan Sect, who had been in seclusion for years.

Could it be that Yun Shan had broken through to Dou Zong?

Jia Lao shook his head. If Yun Shan had reached Dou Zong, he would have immediately announced it to the world rather than hiding in the imperial capital, sneaking around.

"Not bad for a peak Dou Huang. Almost got caught," Mo Yu thought to himself, his heart momentarily tightening as he sensed Jia Lao's gaze. Using space power to conceal his presence was one of the abilities Mo Yu had mastered after evolving the Flash Void Shattering Thunder.

Typically, no one below Dou Zong could detect Mo Yu's hidden aura. But Jia Lao, being a seasoned peak Dou Huang, had nearly sensed something amiss.

However, Mo Yu had no intention of revealing himself now. He still needed to seize the Royal Blood Fruit from the gray-robed figure, and he didn't want Fa Ma and the others to discover his presence.

"Alright, enough overthinking. Let's see what kind of demon this Cloud Mist Empire guy is," Hai Bodong chuckled, extending his dry, branch-like hand from his sleeve. A faint white mist swirled in his palm, and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.

With a light press of his hands, the white mist spread over the roof tiles, quickly expanding to cover the entire rooftop in a thin layer of frost.

"Ice Mirror!" Hai Bodong whispered. The white mist condensed rapidly into a thin layer of ice, covering the roof entirely.

"Reveal!" With another whisper, the frosted layer of ice became translucent, and an image of the room below appeared on the ice surface, as clear as a movie projection, displaying everything inside.

Seeing this, Mo Yu raised an eyebrow. He had to admit, Hai Bodong's ice control technique was indeed unique.

If he hadn't witnessed the techniques of many ice masters in his previous life, he might not have been able to pique Hai Bodong's interest with his knowledge.

As the Ice Mirror took shape, the four on the roof fell silent. Nearly half an hour passed before the door in the mirrored room finally moved, and a gray-robed figure slowly walked in.

The gray-robed youth entered the room but didn't do anything unusual. After closing the door, he casually washed up and then sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate.

After meditating for a while, the gray-robed youth suddenly took a red pill. Shortly after consuming the pill, his youthful face began to contort horribly, and his body grew taller. In just a few moments, the seventeen-year-old boy transformed into a cold-looking middle-aged man.

Seeing the middle-aged man, Mo Yu couldn't help but smile. The deputy leader of the Cloud Mist Empire's Alchemist Association, Yan Li, it really is you.

"Ah… it feels good to be back to my original form. At least I can now fully exert my strength," Yan Li said with a satisfied smile, feeling the surging power within his body.

Touching his face, Yan Li suddenly remembered something. He quickly walked over to the bed and pulled a black thread from behind the curtain.

On the rooftop, Mo Yu's brow twitched when he saw Yan Li pull the thread. As expected, the bell that had been attached to it had long since been reduced to ashes by the Vermilion Bird Burning Thunder.

As Yan Li discovered something was wrong, his loud shout echoed through the room, "Who's up there?"

"Move!" Jia Lao coldly sneered at the shout, his body disappearing instantly with a wave of his hand.

Following Jia Lao, Hai Bodong and the others also vanished from the rooftop in a gust of wind.

Seeing this, Mo Yu hesitated for a moment but suppressed his urge to act. As expected, even if Fa Ma and the others discovered the gray-robed man's identity, they wouldn't immediately kill him.

After all, if a participant in the Alchemist Tournament were to die at their hands, the reputation of the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Association would be utterly ruined.

So Mo Yu wasn't in a hurry. He could afford to wait and watch.

In the room, as Hai Bodong and the others attacked, Yan Li, who was only at the seven or eight-star Dou Ling level, was no match for them. In just a moment, he was sent flying, coughing up blood.

"Fa Ma, I knew it was you! I, Yan Li, wouldn't dare come to your Jia Ma Empire unless I was prepared to die. But if you kill me, your Alchemist Association will be finished too!" Yan Li growled viciously, wiping the blood from his mouth as he glared at his attackers.

Hearing this, the attacking figures paused, then reluctantly withdrew, reappearing at the table, glaring coldly at the slumped Yan Li.

"Fa Ma, so it is you!" Yan Li spat blood and sneered.

In the room, the air stirred gently as Hai Bodong and Fa Ma's figures appeared, their eyes coldly fixed on Yan Li.

Seeing that Fa Ma and the others hadn't dealt a fatal blow, Mo Yu, hidden in the shadows, thought to himself, as expected. Yan Li was the deputy leader of the Cloud Mist Empire's Alchemist Association—a position of considerable influence. If he dared to infiltrate the Jia Ma Empire alone, he must have a significant backup plan.

Fa Ma's face was dark, his murky eyes flashing with cold light.

After a moment of tense silence, Fa Ma finally exhaled and spoke in a frosty tone, "Fine, I won't kill you now. But if you think you can win the tournament, don't be so sure!"

"Hmph, that's none of your concern," Yan Li sneered, though he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then wait and see," Fa Ma's voice was cold as ice. With a wave of his sleeve, he turned and left the room, with Hai Bodong and Jia Lao following behind reluctantly.

"Old fool, you dare threaten me? Once I win the championship, the exposure will be too high for you to touch me," Yan Li muttered, his voice trembling slightly. After all, being watched by three Dou Huang experts was enough to make anyone nervous.

But Yan Li failed to notice that as fear clouded his mind, a strange space mark silently appeared on the back of his neck.

Seeing the mark successfully planted, Mo Yu, still hidden in the shadows, finally relaxed. His figure flickered as he quietly left the scene.

With that space mark, he could now track Yan Li's location in the imperial capital at all times.

And once the Alchemist Tournament was over, Yan Li's fate would be sealed.

(End of Chapter)

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