"Cloud Wave Palm?"

The young woman's eyes narrowed as she saw Su Xuan suddenly strike out at her, using the basic martial technique of the Floating Cloud Sect. She raised her small hand in response, preparing a counterattack.

After their palms met, Su Xuan lowered his hands and looked away from her.

She took two steps back, her pretty face filled with astonishment.

She felt a gentle force pass through her arms and spread throughout her body. It even materialized as a circular ripple on her clothes, resembling a Tai Chi pattern. This wasn't something the Cloud Wave Palm could do! It was like a modified version of it!

Moreover, after withstanding this gentle force, she felt as if Su Xuan's hand had caressed her entire body, and her face instantly flushed red.

"Qi Li gave me a copy of your Floating Cloud Sect's introductory mental cultivation technique, and I learned the Cloud Wave Palm from it," Su Xuan said indifferently. "But the technique felt too rudimentary, so I integrated some tricks from Ruyi Tai Chi into it. The results are quite satisfactory."

"Indeed, the results are impressive!" Xiao Chengyun, who had experienced Su Xuan's move before, chimed in. "It looks like a mid-level martial technique!"

"Was Ruyi Tai Chi taught to you by that peerless master?" the young woman inquired.

"What do you think?"

"I believe you."

She pressed her soft lips together. "If Sister Li even gave you the sect's introductory mental cultivation technique, I have no reason to doubt you."

"Shall we get back to business?" Su Xuan asked, looking up at the girl whose wariness belied her young age.

"Yes!" The girl, named Dai Zhuyue, nodded. "Just as you guessed, Sister Li and Brother Dongshan have been captured by Old Zhang and are currently imprisoned in the Floating Cloud Sect's dungeon. As for Sect Leader Qi, the Great Elder claims he ran away in fear of the Spirit-Taming Sect's retaliation, but how is that possible? The Floating Cloud Sect is Sect Leader Qi's home. How could he possibly flee?"

"Su Xuan, this is all too strange," Xiao Chengyun said gravely. "Not only has Sect Leader Qi disappeared, but Little Yue's father has vanished as well!"

After he spoke, his gaze shifted to Dai Zhuyue.

"Yes, my father is also missing," Dai Zhuyue said, her brow furrowing deeply. "After learning that Sect Leader Qi was gone, my father went looking for him, but he disappeared without a trace as well!"

"Your father and Sect Leader Qi were close, weren't they?" Su Xuan asked suddenly.

"Of course they were!" Dai Zhuyue exclaimed. "My father and Sect Leader Qi were life-and-death friends!"

"So, can we really assume that..." Su Xuan said, toying with a teacup on the table, "the Great Elder is using the conflict between the two sects as an opportunity to seize power? Has he taken control of both Sect Leader Qi and your father?"

"It's hard to say," Dai Zhuyue began. "The Great Elder is so old and has no children. What good would seizing power do him? He'd be better off just retiring comfortably within the sect!"

"The best way to figure everything out is to find Sect Leader Qi. He must know everything," Xiao Chengyun said.

"We'll never find him," Dai Zhuyue shook her head. "If he were that easy to find, my father wouldn't have disappeared, too."

"Then let's find Qi Li!" Su Xuan stood up and stretched his body. "She's Sect Leader Qi's daughter, and she's locked up in the dungeon. She must know something by now."

"But without the Great Elder's written order, no one can go to the dungeon to see Sister Li!" Dai Zhuyue said, looking up at Su Xuan.

"Isn't that what I'm for?" Su Xuan pointed to himself. "I committed a crime, didn't I? I beat up disciples from the Hall of Enforcement. Just lock me up in the dungeon! I'll find a way to get to Qi Li from there."

"This…"

Xiao Chengyun and Dai Zhuyue both stared, stunned by Su Xuan's uniquely audacious train of thought.

"There's one more thing," Su Xuan said, turning to Xiao Chengyun. "On his way back, your son brought a witness from a mysterious faction. Uncle Xiao, do you know where that witness is? That witness is crucial. They can prove that Qi Li didn't kill Yan Xiaosong!"

"I don't know," Xiao Chengyun shook his head. "I didn't even get a chance to see him!"

"Then we'll discuss it more once I'm in the dungeon!"

Su Xuan held out his hands. "Go on, take me to the dungeon now!"

"But Su Xuan…" Xiao Chengyun said worriedly, "even if you get into the dungeon, meet Qi Li, and learn that the Great Elder is scheming behind the scenes, what good will it do? The Great Elder already has control over the entire sect!"

"Don't worry about that for now," Su Xuan said. "I know what I'm doing. I won't waste my efforts."

"Alas!"

Xiao Chengyun sighed, refilled Su Xuan's teacup, and said, "Have a cup of tea before you go to the dungeon. The conditions there aren't very good..."

「...」

CLANG!

CLANG!

In the gloomy dungeon of the Floating Cloud Sect, the sound of chains scraping against the floor echoed.

Two Floating Cloud Sect disciples opened a cell door and pushed a person in unusual clothes inside.

"The conditions really are quite bad."

That person was Su Xuan.

His hands and feet were shackled. Standing in the cell, he surveyed his surroundings.

The Floating Cloud Sect's dungeon was set deep within the mountain, devoid of daylight. Only the oil lamps on the walls emitted a dim light. In Su Xuan's cell, there was no cotton bedding, only a cold stone slab for a bed. The air was thick with a musty, moldy smell, a stench even rats would likely avoid.

"Another unlucky one!"

Suddenly, a voice spoke from a corner of the cell.

It was a man in tattered clothes, covered in several wounds, sitting and leaning against the corner. He was so still that it was easy to overlook him when he wasn't speaking.

"What are you in for?"

Su Xuan's gaze swept over the man. Lifting the chains on his wrists, he sat down on the stone slab bed.

"I didn't do anything," the man responded coldly. "I was just unlucky. A couple of days ago, during the battle with your Floating Cloud Sect, I was captured alive."

"Huh?" Su Xuan's mouth fell open. "You're from the Spirit-Taming Sect?"

"Don't I look it?" The man raised his head and squinted at Su Xuan with his small eyes. "And who are you? What did you do?"

"Me?" Su Xuan smiled and replied mysteriously, "I'm from the world below the mountain. I wanted to woo the daughter of the Floating Cloud Sect's Leader and ended up getting locked up here."

"What?"

The man's eyes suddenly widened, and he looked like he was about to jump up from the floor in astonishment. "You came all the way up the mountain from the world below just to chase a girl? That's seriously impressive!"

"Average, I guess."

Su Xuan replied casually and began to figure out how to escape his cell and find Qi Li.

Before he came, Xiao Chengyun had already drawn him a map of the entire dungeon.

The dungeon had three levels, and Qi Li was likely on the third and most heavily guarded level.

"Sob, sob..."

"My fate is so cruel!"

The unfortunate Spirit-Taming Sect disciple suddenly began to cry.

Su Xuan glanced over at him and asked, "What are you crying about?"

"I'm crying for my woman, alright?!"

The man rubbed his eyes on his shoulder and said, "I was supposed to marry my woman next month, but now I'm about to die. The next time our sects go to war, I'll be hanged at the Floating Cloud Sect's main gate and beaten to death as a warning… sob, sob, sob..."

"In that case, you really should be crying," Su Xuan commented.

"You're not taking pleasure in my misfortune, are you?" the man choked back his sobs. "Do you believe I can escape from here tonight?"

Su Xuan gave the man a long, deep look. "I don't believe you."

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