Late at night, the sky whispered secrets to the bright moon, around which six azure great stars orbited in a perfect circle, bathing the azure expanse in white moonlight and blue starlight. The moon was a natural celestial body, but those six cerulean stars were the core components of the security system for the capital of the Xith Empire—the "Six Gods Citadel." Beneath the moonlight, deep within the Xith Imperial Palace, amidst a sparse grove of white flowers, the scent of wine and the shadows of beautiful women subtly drifted, punctuated by low laughter that rose and fell, mingling with the chillingly refreshing fragrance of the blossoms, painting a scene of profound, prosperous peace. Occasionally, two or three young men and women would sneak away from the crowd, linking arms and slipping into the tall grasses near the flower grove, or finding a secluded pavilion after slipping a few Star Alliance gold coins to a palace servant, allowing a hint of rosy, intimate atmosphere to permeate the air.

The high echelons of the noble houses of the Xith Empire were all gathered here.

All eyes were fixed upon an elder with golden hair and a long, silver-white beard, and the four noble ladies accompanying him.

The old man was clad in a pale violet brocade robe, topped with a triple crown, and he held a heavy scepter forged from starlight silver, exuding an imposing, (overlord) aura. The scepter in his hand was over two meters long, its thickest part nearly as broad as a grown man's thigh, and it was studded with more than a dozen enormous, silvery-white gems that dazzled with their brilliance.

Of the four noble ladies, the eldest was also dressed in a pale violet robe, embroidered with several species of colorful, mythical birds that Gu Xichen did not recognize. The eyes of every exotic bird were inlaid with large gemstones; as the woman shifted her weight even slightly, the eyes of these rare birds would flash, making her entire garment shimmer with radiance, just as captivating as the scepter in the old man's hand.

The other two younger women sat with grim expressions, positioned slightly behind the elder and the foremost lady. Although their robes were also purple, their shade was noticeably lighter than that of the elder and the first lady, the color hinting faintly at a blue-white undertone. The exotic birds embroidered on their robes were smaller than those on the first lady's garment, and the gems used for their eyes were smaller as well; furthermore, all the birds were depicted in profile, showing only one eye to the onlookers.

The final lady was the youngest, appearing barely eighteen or nineteen years old. She wore a pale gold robe that highlighted her delicate beauty and alluring figure, like a violet blooming in the night, releasing an irresistible charm that wafted from her like floral perfume. The woman's lower abdomen was slightly rounded, clearly indicating pregnancy. She carefully cupped her hands over her belly, instinctively leaning toward the elder as if seeking his protection; however, under the sidelong glances of the other three women, she strained to keep her body as far away from him as possible.

"Tartar. Xith, His Majesty the Emperor of the Xith Empire. And Empress Zordona.Meltro. The Left Imperial Consort, Karina. Zerserlos, and the Right Imperial Consort, Shirshiti. Lorrain."

Gu Xichen stood atop a tall flowering tree, lightly stroking the fist-sized white blossoms near him as he scrutinized the elder and the women below. Behind the group stood a painted screen; under the moonlight, the scene on the screen seemed to churn with wind and cloud, and one could almost hear the roar of wind whipping through pine tops.

Besides this painted screen, to the elder's left stood a massive, two-person-high water vessel carved from dark jade, featuring stylized four-sided mythical beasts. A faint wisp of white vapor could be seen coiling from the mouth of the vessel—the vessel was actively condensing the moonlight into the ultimate Yin and frigid True One Profound Water. This water, a post-natal essence, possessed a fierce, piercing nature, yet remained soft, ephemeral, and utterly unpredictable. It contained immense nascent power derived from subsequent creation, making it the supreme material for refining all water-aligned thunder arts, an excellent component for crafting water-based immortal artifacts, and the finest source of water for cultivating all manner of herbs.

To be able to automatically absorb the essence of heaven and earth to generate True One Profound Water—according to the memories of the True Lord of Great Yin, such a divine treasure was fiercely coveted even in the ancient eras. Yet, here, the Xith Royal Family used such a treasure merely as decoration, a mere artifact of refined elegance!

Aside from the screen and the water vessel, the other dozen or so ancient objects were purely mundane antiques—the kind of things one buys at exorbitant prices simply to hoard and gather dust when one has far too much money.

Perhaps to the nobles of these high-level civilizations, these antiques were priceless treasures, but to Gu Xichen, those dozen elegant objects were less than trash.

"Still, they are relics, and though useless to me, they are certainly valuable! Any single noble standing here probably possesses wealth that dwarfs that of the Earth Federation."

"To carve a path through thorns and brambles—the Earth Federation requires so much resource and capital to develop. Even a mountain of gold is built grain by grain."

With a sigh of contemplation, Gu Xichen lost all interest in the hypocritical, decadent social gathering of the Xith nobility. He immediately materialized, letting out a shout at the top of his lungs: "Hold up! Men stand to the left, women to the right, and anyone ambiguous stand in the middle!" His divine sense swept the venue, and Gu Xichen was astonished to discover the existence of eunuch servants within the Xith Empire; there were at least two hundred such servants among the staff present, making this classic robbery line surprisingly apt for the current situation.

The reception hall fell into absolute silence. The thousands of power players, standing at the apex of power and wealth in the Xith Empire, stared dumbly at Gu Xichen, who had suddenly appeared from the tree. After a full ten seconds, a figure resembling a palace steward suddenly leaped eight feet into the air, screaming hoarsely, "Assassin! Assassin! Protect His Majesty, protect His Majesty!"

Crash! All the officers in uniform rushed toward Tartar. Xith. The other nobles, both great and small, scattered like ducks stunned by lightning, emitting sharp, hysterical shrieks while their plump, clumsy bodies thrashed everywhere. Outside the flower grove, at least two kilometers from the reception area, great numbers of Imperial Guards charged toward the location, their heavy footfalls causing the entire grove to tremble.

"Gods, how did he get in?" A guard general, apparently responsible for the security of the evening's reception, drew his sidearm and decisively pulled the trigger against his own temple.

A massive silver scepter whistled through the air. Just as the brains of the self-executing guard general sprayed out, the silver scepter slammed heavily into his head, crushing it entirely into his chest cavity. Tartar. Xith, wielding the heavy scepter, cut a path through the panicked crowd and strode to within thirty meters of Gu Xichen. He roared in a low voice, "Malefactor, die... You—was it you who attacked Gosen and kidnapped Grinta?"

Tartar's voice was like the muffled thunder of a summer night, shaking the bodies of the terrified nobles scrambling nearby. Gu Xichen nodded nonchalantly, "It was!"

"Then die! The dignity of the Xith Imperial Family shall not be desecrated!" A blinding silver light erupted from Tartar's body. His skin, normally that of a common man, instantly turned a strange, deep silver. A sharp, piercing energy surged from him; visible threads of pale silver energy swept the ground like swords, leaving deep gouges in the earth. This Xith Emperor, rumored to have a short lifespan, was actually a peak Six-Star Awakened, and a remarkably rare one at that—a metal-element user.

Gu Xichen clicked his tongue in surprise, muttering his admiration, "A metal-element Awakened! Ducart would adore you!"

Whoosh! Tartar swung the scepter, weighing at least several hundred pounds, and leaped into the air, hurtling down toward Gu Xichen like a meteor.

Gu Xichen refused to meet Tartar head-on. Puddles of water-mist rose beneath his feet, and his form, like a phantom, left several afterimages as he effortlessly evaded Tartar's thunderous strike. With a tremendous crash, the flowering tree Gu Xichen had stood upon was utterly pulverized, and Tartar's blow carved a pit ten meters deep into the ground where it stood. The stiff, immobilized Tartar tumbled awkwardly into the pit, half his body sinking into the soft mud layer.

"That's mine!" Gu Xichen laughed, launching himself toward where Tartar's seat had been. The Azure Lotus Ring shot out a streak of green light, sweeping up the painted screen and the water vessel. Gu Xichen moved like lightning, plundering the dozen or so antiques nearby, and then, in a swift motion, tore a dozen large gems from Empress Zordona’s robe.

Zordona let out a shriek comparable to that of a world-class soprano from the Earth Federation, like a startled hen. Her ample bosom shook violently, and wave after wave of piercing, high-pitched cries directly provoked a chorus of similar shrieks from the surrounding nobles. The endless screaming echoed ceaselessly. The powerless Xith nobility clutched their heads and fled, while the Xith generals who possessed some fighting capability charged at Gu Xichen with bloodshot eyes, shouting about protecting His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and the two Imperial Consorts, disrupting the once peaceful night.

Bang! A muffled gunshot rang out. A Xith general, mid-swing with a sword aimed at Gu Xichen’s heart, spat blood and was blasted violently backward.

Bang! Another shot. A heavy sword in the hand of a Xith noble shattered, and the young, valiant noble staggered backward, clutching his fractured arm.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three gray-haired Xith Old Generals roared in anger as they were driven back by the powerful bullets. Various colored auras, unique to Awakened individuals, surged from their bodies, but even they could only retreat in frustration against Holm’s precise, tricky, and unreasonably powerful sniping.

Aooow! A scream tore through the air from the flank. Half a short sword flew miraculously for over ten meters, embedding itself squarely in the brow of the Xith Right Imperial Consort, Shirshiti. The short sword carried an extremely potent explosive energy; this force annihilated Shirshiti's brain in a fraction of a thousandth of a second. Blood-red and white matter erupted from her seven orifices, and in the blink of an eye, she was beyond saving. Even with the advanced medical technology of a five-star Star Alliance civilization, reviving a pulverized brain was impossible.

Everything was so perfect; everything was merely coincidence... That brave and loyal Xith noble swung his sword at Gu Xichen, Holm shot and broke his heavy sword, and the fractured blade, flying through the air for over ten meters, 'accidentally' struck and killed Shirshiti, who was frantically running around clutching her head.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.