After a couple of hours of practice, the four of them sat inside a pavilion with food served in front of them.
Asuna asked, "Brother, how is the investigation going?"
Yun Feng replied, "We found their task station easily, but finding their main branch is proving difficult."
Asuna frowned. "The Nine-Reverse Palace is spread across continents—why are they afraid of Bai Yue's mother?"
Kanoru also found it strange. The Nine-Reverse Palace, an intercontinental force, likely had Divine Samurai, Great Warlocks, Great Blood Knights, Great Mages, and Great Priests. They might even have multiple experts in some of these realms.
Yun Feng explained, "The Nine-Reverse Palace isn't like a family or sect. Its members are loosely organized. They get paid for tasks and can leave anytime after taking an oath. The Great Warlocks of Nine-Reverse Palace won't protect their subordinates from the wrath of another Great Warlock if those subordinates caused the problem."
Kanoru nodded. "When is Bai Yue's mother coming?"
Yun Feng replied, "Any day now."
Asuna sighed. "Looks like we'll have to wait and see if Bai Yue's mother can find the main branch of Nine-Reverse Palace in Ren County."
Yun Feng smirked slightly. "We haven't found their main branch, but we did discover something interesting."
Asuna's eyes lit up with anticipation. "What?"
Yun Feng grinned playfully. "Guess."
Asuna scowled. "Brother!"
Kanoru's eyes turned thoughtful, which Asuna quickly noticed.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You guessed it."
Kanoru simply nodded and took a sip of his steaming tea.
Asuna pressed him. "Then tell me."
Kanoru smirked slightly and picked up a cookie, biting into it without answering.
Asuna grew increasingly annoyed as time passed. "Brother! Please, just tell me. I can't guess."
Suddenly, Mika spoke up, "Another force is also investigating the Nine-Reverse Palace."
Yun Feng raised a brow, feigning surprise. "Oh? How did you guess?"
Mika shrugged. "I overheard you talking with Yun Lan about it."
Yun Lan was the higher-ranked warlock working with Yun Feng. Both were from the Yun family, but Yun Feng was from the main branch, while Yun Lan belonged to a side branch.
Asuna's eyes widened. "She's right!"
Yun Feng shook his head slightly. "Not entirely. There are actually three different forces investigating the Nine-Reverse Palace."
Kanoru's eyes widened. Three? He had expected only two—one who posted the task and the Imperial Court. The Evergreen Sect was closely tied to the Imperial Court, as many princes and princesses who showed interest in alchemy were sometimes taught by Evergreen elders. Additionally, the sect's unique pills couldn't be refined by other forces without practicing their inheritance techniques.
Kanoru said, "Three? I thought it would be two."
Asuna asked, "Who are they?"
Yun Feng replied, "We only know one—the Imperial Court. We haven't identified the other two yet."
After a moment, he sighed. "They're very well hidden."
Asuna frowned. "One of the two is probably the one who posted the task. They're trying to erase their involvement. But what's the purpose of the third?"
Yun Feng shook his head. "That's what confuses me. I can't tell if they're connected to our incident or investigating the Nine-Reverse Palace for some other reason."
Kanoru took a final bite, then stood up.
"They're definitely connected," he said firmly. "If they weren't, they wouldn't be investigating the Nine-Reverse Palace only in Ren County."
Kanoru walked a short distance from the others and unsheathed his sword, holding it in his right hand. Closing his eyes, he focused on controlling the winds around him—both hot and cool. Slowly, he guided the currents, making them spin around his sword.
Under the scorching summer sun, the swirling winds began to heat up, and he soon felt a wave of heat radiating from his sword. As more and more wind gathered and spun around the blade, he compressed them, forcing the currents into the sword. His full attention was on his sword, making him unaware of the two guests entering the training ground.
One was Bai Yue, and the other bore a striking resemblance to her but appeared more mature. Their gazes fell on Kanoru.
Bai Yue said, "Mother, he is Kanoru."
Shui Xueling glanced at him and calmly remarked, "His sword is going to break."
The moment she spoke, a sharp blast echoed from Kanoru's direction as his sword exploded.
Startled, Kanoru's eyes snapped open, only to find himself shielded by an energy barrier protecting him from the shockwave and flying sword fragments. All that remained of his sword was the handle in his grip.
He heard Asuna's shout in concern, "Are you okay?" A moment later, he felt her hand on his arm, but his attention was fixed on the scattered fragments of his sword on the ground—it had shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Bai Yue reassured Asuna, "He's fine. My mother protected him."
Hearing this, Kanoru turned his gaze toward Bai Yue's mother and said, "Thank you."
To his surprise, Shui Xueling appeared ordinary, with no leaking aura to reveal her realm as a Great Warlock.
Asuna added, "Thank you."
Yun Feng respectfully bowed, "Greetings, Aunt."
Shui Xueling's eyes narrowed slightly. "I want to know everything you've learned about those who harmed my husband."
Yun Feng explained everything he knew.
Shui Xueling nodded coldly. "Capture the men from the two forces and bring them to me."
Yun Feng replied firmly, "Yes, Aunt."
She then turned to Kanoru, her sharp eyes glancing at the remnants of his sword.
"Your sword must be a family heirloom. You intend to reforge it with the fragments, don't you?"
Kanoru nodded, "Yes."
The sword was indeed the second heirloom of his family—passed down by his father after his marriage, as Kanoru was now an adult and the strongest member of their family.
Shui Xueling said evenly, "Then your sword will break again—it can't withstand your power. You need to forge it with Red Bronze from the Red River Desert."
Yun Feng nodded in agreement. "It's west of here—a week's journey by boat from Xin Town. I'll send some of my men."
Shui Xueling shook her head. "It's best if he goes himself. He's trying to comprehend nature—heat, and it will be easier to do so in the scorching desert. There's also Hua-shan Village nearby—it has the best blacksmiths."
Kanoru glanced at Asuna and silently nodded toward Bai Yue's mother in agreement.
After a bit more conversation, Kanoru gathered the sword fragments and returned to his room with Asuna.
Asuna sat on the bed and asked, "You want to go?"
Kanoru replied calmly, "Yes."
Asuna immediately decided, "Then I'll get ready—we'll leave tomorrow."
Kanoru shook his head slightly. "I can go alone."
Asuna's eyes narrowed. "No. I'm going with you."
Kanoru sighed softly. "You can spend time with your brother. I heard your second brother is also coming."
Asuna shrugged. "I can meet him later."
She sat firmly on the bed.
Kanoru, after changing into fresh clothes, turned toward her and said, "Then it'll be just the two of us. Mika can stay here."
Saying this, he lay down beside her, resting comfortably.