Chapter 52: Golden Trait: Child of Destiny

Such a gaze, coupled with the suppression of Xiantian-realm internal energy, was enough to send chills down the spines of anyone whose strength fell short of Lei Zheng's.

Fortunately, Lei Zheng did not waste any time and spoke directly, "I don't care whom you are working for, but over the next few days, if anyone dares to cause any trouble for me, I will certainly not spare them!"

With that said, Lei Zheng took the lead and prepared to leave the courtyard.

"Move out!"

"We obey your command!"

As a general by background, Lei Zheng's management style was indeed much more decisive and stern.

After echoing his command, many breathed a sigh of relief. The gaze Lei Zheng had just cast indeed exerted immense psychological pressure upon them.

"Phew, that was truly terrifying!"

Sina, following closely behind Ye Liuyun, could not help patting his cheeks as if trying to snap himself awake. "I had only heard rumors before, but I never expected the Commander of the Northern Guard to have such an overwhelming aura!"

"Hmph! That's just because you're too weak."

Shi Sheng, standing nearby, shot Sina a disgruntled remark upon seeing his reaction. As a first-rate martial artist, Shi Sheng had also been affected by Lei Zheng's aura, but not nearly to the exaggerated extent of Sina.

"Just wait until I grow stronger and beat you to a pulp!"

"Chances are you'll never have that opportunity in this lifetime."

Shi Sheng looked completely indifferent, clearly not believing that Sina would ever surpass him in strength.

The bickering between Sina and Shi Sheng was nothing new, and Ye Liuyun had long since grown accustomed to it.

Upon leaving the Embroidered Uniform Guard compound, Ye Liuyun swung himself up into the saddle. "Alright, save your energy for the search."

At Ye Liuyun's words, Sina and Shi Sheng finally quieted down. They exchanged a glance, curled their lips in dissatisfaction, and similarly mounted their horses to follow.

...

The destination of this journey was somewhat far from the imperial city. Riding horses the entire way, it took nearly five days to finally approach the vicinity.

This was a relatively remote area, yet the surroundings were lush with green trees and the scenery was genuinely picturesque.

"My lord, what exactly are we here to find?"

Bored, Sina rode his horse closer to Ye Liuyun and asked out of curiosity. "We've been traveling for so many days. It feels like if we go any further, we'll practically be leaving the borders of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"Who knows?"

Ye Liuyun only knew that the objective of this trip was a spiritual weapon.

However, apart from that, what kind of spiritual weapon it actually was remained entirely unknown to Ye Liuyun.

Still, it did not matter. They would find out once they reached the location. Besides, whether they could actually find it at all remained a question.

"My lord, do you need me to go gather some intelligence from the others?"

Sina wanted to put his communication skills to use and chat with the other members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Ever since he began following Ye Liuyun, he had risen to the rank of a thousand-man commander. Even if his personal strength was mediocre, people would more or less give him some face given his position.

"No need."

Sina indeed had some talent when it came to gathering information. But the situation was different now; anyone qualified to know about the spiritual weapon held considerable backing and power, and those people could not be easily sweet-talked with a few casual words.

Rather than wasting time here, it was better to wait until they arrived at the destination.

"Understood!"

Hearing Ye Liuyun say this, Sina could only nod obediently and retreat back to his position. The moment he turned around, he caught the gloating expression on Shi Sheng's face.

"Well? I told you, a sharp tongue isn't useful all the time."

"Hah, do you have any better ideas then?"

Sina retorted with an irritated chuckle.

"Nope!"

Shi Sheng answered with utter self-assurance. Since even the lord had no ideas, how could he possibly have one?

"Then what are you blabbering about!"

...

Soon, the group of Embroidered Uniform Guards led by Northern Guard Commander Lei Zheng halted outside a small village nestled among the mountain forests.

From afar, the village appeared sparsely populated, consisting of only twenty households at most. Farmlands bordered the village, suggesting that the villagers farmed and sustained themselves independently.

Many of the villagers caught sight of the approaching cavalcade of horsemen, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and dread.

From beginning to end, Ye Liuyun merely stayed at the back of the crowd, observing in silence.

Before long, a white-haired, elderly figure leaning on a cane approached Lei Zheng.

"T-This esteemed lord, this old man is the village chief of Clear Water Village. May I ask what business brings you here?"

The village chief appeared exceedingly humble and cautious, terrified of doing anything to cause offense.

Seated high upon his horse, Lei Zheng swept his gaze across the village before speaking directly.

"Within half an hour, gather everyone in the village here."

Seeing that Lei Zheng brooked no argument, the village chief dared not refuse and hastily sent people to summon the villagers.

Before half an hour had even passed, all the villagers had been assembled.

Some had still been transplanting rice seedlings in the paddy fields, and they arrived with mud caked thickly on their feet, looking around with anxiety and panic.

Lei Zheng wasted no words. Once everyone was gathered, he spoke directly.

"Roughly half a month ago, a beam of red light flashed behind this mountain. Did any of you see it?"

"Seen it! We saw it!"

Hearing Lei Zheng's question, several people immediately nodded in assent. That was the spiritual radiance that accompanied the birth of a spiritual weapon.

"That light lasted for nearly half an hour, and all of us saw it."

In truth, this was not the first time these villagers had been asked this question. Before Lei Zheng, quite a few others had come looking into the matter. Some of those previous inquirers had even possessed violent tempers and killed a villager or two on the spot.

Consequently, the villagers answered with utmost promptness, not daring to conceal anything.

Listening to the villagers talking over one another, Lei Zheng could not help frowning. It seemed everyone had witnessed the light, yet none had seen any trace of a peculiar weapon.

"Quiet!"

Noticing Lei Zheng's displeasure, an Embroidered Uniform Guard stepped forward and shouted a reprimand.

The chaotic noise instantly died down, and the villagers' gazes turned even more terrified, fearing these men might resort to violence.

"Esteemed lord, the people of Clear Water Village have lived here all our lives, and we truly have never laid eyes on any strange weapons."

At this point, the village chief had no choice but to step forward and offer an explanation.

Lei Zheng did not reply, simply frowning in thought. The atmosphere at the scene instantly grew much quieter.

Ye Liuyun had initially been observing the villagers left and right out of sheer boredom, until his gaze caught a young man standing at the back of the crowd, keeping his head lowered as if deliberately trying to hide.

What was that?

"Target: Zhao Tian"

"Cultivation: None"

"Innate Traits: Vengeful (Cyan), Son of Destiny (Gold)"

"Vengeful (Cyan): Exceptionally vindictive by nature; one may not repay a kindness, but a grudge must always be settled."

"Son of Destiny (Gold): Endowed with immense innate luck, under the protection of heaven and earth!"