After a short period of silence, Ning Huang says,"Shen Lanyue's breakthrough is abnormal."
"Yes."
"You admit it?"
"Of course."
"Then explain it."
"No."
Her gaze snaps back to him. "No?"
Long Shenyu smiles, "You built your pride on discipline, talent, and the fact that your sect's rules made sense. Stronger foundation, better resources, harsher training, better inheritance. That is how geniuses rise. Then you met us, and suddenly the common norm started becoming suggestions."
She stares at him for a long moment.
Then she says, "You speak as though you understand my path."
"I understand pride."
"That is not the same thing."
"No," he says, smiling faintly. "Mine is worse."
That almost draws a laugh from her. Almost.
Instead she turns away and walks to the window.
Long Shenyu gives her three breaths of it. Outside, River Ridge City spreads beneath them in dark roofs, lanterns, and hidden killing intent. Somewhere in the Qin Family estate, men are certainly discussing how to test them again. Somewhere in the city, greedy families are dreaming of his sword. Somewhere beyond River Ridge, stronger powers are already being pulled into motion.
But inside this room, Ning Huang's voice is quieter.
"She was far behind me."
Long Shenyu says nothing.
Ning Huang continues, "Shen Lanyue. Mei Qingxue. Even if their talent is good, they should not rise that quickly. I have seen forbidden methods. I have seen elders force cultivation through pills, blood arts, lightning baptism, soul pressure. This is different. Their bodies are not collapsing. Their foundations are not cracked."
Long Shenyu walks up behind her.
"You sound angry."
"I am."
"At them?"
"No."
"At me?"
She pauses.
"At the situation."
He laughs softly. "That is a proud way to avoid saying yes."
She turns, but before she can answer, his arms slide around her from behind.
Ning Huang freezes.
It is not a battlefield restraint. Not a capture. Not even a forceful embrace. He simply draws her back against him, one arm around her waist, the other settling lightly over her shoulder, his chin near her hair. The movement is so natural that it takes her a moment to realize she has allowed it.
Then her whole body stiffens.
"Long Shenyu."
"Yes?"
"Release me."
"No."
Lightning flickers.
He only tightens his hold by a fraction.
"You are testing my patience."
"I know."
"You are enjoying this."
"Very much."
Her face begins to warm despite herself.
Ning Huang says coldly, "Do you treat all women this way?"
"No."
That answer is immediate enough that she stills.
He says, "Enemies get killed. Strangers get ignored. Women I do not care for do not get my time. My wives get my protection, my patience, and whatever part of the world they want. Women I pursue get honesty."
Her voice lowers. "And what do I get?"
His hand shifts slightly over her waist, warm and steady.
"My full honest attention before the idiots outside start dying again."
Ning Huang lets out a breath through her nose, half annoyance, half unwilling amusement.
"You speak of killing as though discussing rain."
"When clouds gather, rain falls."
"That is a terrible saying."
"I made it up just now."
"I can tell."
He laughs, and the sound is low near her ear. It makes her lightning flicker unevenly.
For a while, neither of them moves.
After a long pause, Ning Huang says, "You knew I would not truly attack."
"I knew you might."
"And still entered."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because if you truly wanted me gone, you would have attacked with your spear, not your fingers."
She closes her eyes for half a breath.
That, again, is too accurate.
She says, "You are unbearable."
Long Shenyu answers, "But handsome."
"You are not allowed to answer that yourself."
"Then say it for me."
"I will not."
"You thought it."
"I did not."
"You are lying."
This time she does elbow him. Not hard enough to injure. Hard enough to make a point.
He accepts it, still smiling.
Eventually, she says, "If anyone learns you entered my room like this—"
"They will envy me."
"They will die."
"Also possible."
She turns her head slightly. "You are not afraid of Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace?"
"No."
"My sect has Sage Rulers."
"I heard."
"We have elders who can erase cities like this."
"This city is small."
She frowns. "That was not the point."
He smiles against her hair. "I know."
His casual lack of reverence unsettles her more than arrogance would. Many people boast because they do not understand the height of a great sect. Long Shenyu speaks as if he understands it too well and still finds it insufficient.
Ning Huang says, "One day, that mouth will offend someone you cannot kill."
"Then I will cultivate until I can."
…
Qin Family Hall.
It is not a full clan assembly. Only the First Elder, Qin Roujian, a few high elders, several intelligence stewards, and Lu Jiangheng are present.
The hall is lit by sword-shaped jade lamps. On the central table lies a broken message jade, three cracked soul tablets, and a blood-stained strip of cloth recovered from the failed probe.
The mood is serious, but not panicked.
Qin Roujian sits at the head of the table with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His face is cold, but there is no despair in him. Three 7th layer Origin Core cultivators have died, but to the Qin Family, that is not enough to shake their foundation. It is a loss, yes, but one they can bear.
One elder says, "Three 7th layer Origin Cores dead in one night. The enemy moved cleanly."
Another elder frowns. "Too cleanly. No public battle, no witnesses, no corpse returned whole."
Qin Roujian answers, "That only means the killer is careful. It does not mean the killer is beyond us."
Lu Jiangheng remains seated to the side. His face is pale compared to before, but his expression is controlled.
Qin Roujian looks toward him and asks, "Envoy Lu, in your judgment, who killed them?"
Lu Jiangheng does not answer immediately. He thinks of Long Shenyu's sword, Mei Qingxue's hidden needles, Shen Lanyue's single strike against the Qin captain, and Ning Huang's silent presence.
He says, "The woman with the needles is possible. She conceals her aura well. The colder woman who crippled your captain is also possible. Long Shenyu himself is the greatest possibility."
One Qin elder asks, "What about the Heaven's Edict disciple?"
Lu Jiangheng's brow tightens.
He does not know who she is yet. He had noticed the Heaven's Edict robes, but not her exact identity. In his mind, she is dangerous because of her background, not because he understands who she truly is.
He says, "She did not act at the gate. She watched. If she intended to involve herself directly, she would have done so then."
Qin Roujian nods. "Then we do not touch her for now."
A younger high elder says, "If she is truly from Heaven's Edict, should we not report her presence?"
Lu Jiangheng's pride immediately rejects that. He does not want Verdant Edge to look as if it needs help from Heaven's Edict in a Lower Domain city. He also does not want outsiders learning that he was nearly killed by a supposed Origin Core cultivator.
He says sharply, "Not yet. We do not even know her name. Reporting uncertain information only invites ridicule."
Qin Roujian agrees for practical reasons. "Then we continue probing."
The plan forms there.
This time, the Qin Family will not send only their own people. They quietly contact several allied or dependent families with 9th layer Origin Core experts. These families are tempted by the rumored Heaven-rank weapon, afraid of Qin pressure, and eager to learn whether Long Shenyu's group is truly untouchable.
The Qin Family does not present the mission as an assassination. It is called "secret observation." That wording makes everyone feel safer.
Qin Roujian says, "They do not need to win. They do not even need to fight. They only need to see who moves."
Lu Jiangheng adds, "If Long Shenyu uses that sword again, record its aura. If the needle woman acts, record her method. If the cold woman acts, record her cultivation. Do not engage unless forced."
One of the stewards bows. "And if they are discovered?"
Qin Roujian's gaze turns cold.
"Then they were not skilled enough to be useful."
That night, a small group approaches the Three Ridges Spirit Inn.
They are not fools. They do not walk through the front gate or leap dramatically across rooftops. They use concealment talismans, sound-dampening seals, and narrow alley routes. Their leader is Wen Zhaoguang, a 9th layer Origin Core expert from the Wen Family's outer branch. With him are Huo Baixing, a fire-aspect 9th layer Origin Core from a minor Huo line, Qin Yunche from the Qin Family's killing hall, and several late Origin Core assistants.
Their intent is to surround the inn from a distance, test the formations, and use a reflection jade to capture aura traces.
Wen Zhaoguang whispers, "No one acts without my order. We are here to see, not to die."
Huo Baixing mutters, "That is what cowards say before losing opportunities."
Qin Yunche gives him a cold look. "And fools say that before becoming opportunities for others."
They split into three directions.
The moment Qin Yunche lands on the inn's eastern wall, he sees a woman sitting on the roof ridge.
Long Shenyin is there.
Her Black Sun Tyrant Spear lies across her knees. Her posture is lazy, almost bored. She is not hiding. She is not guarding in the normal sense. She is simply sitting there, as if the night itself belongs to her and these men have entered it without permission.
Qin Yunche freezes.
Long Shenyin looks at him and sneers.
"You took long enough."
He immediately realizes something is wrong and crushes a transmission jade hidden inside his sleeve.
A thin thread of light shoots backward into the night.
Long Shenyin sees it and does nothing.
Qin Yunche's eyes sharpen. "You let the message go?"
She stands, spear in hand.
"Of course. If I stop every rat from squeaking, how will the nest know it is dying?"
Then she moves.
The fight lasts only seconds.
Qin Yunche draws his sword and releases layered Verdant Severing Sword Qi. The sword light spreads in three crossing arcs meant to trap her movement. Against an ordinary Origin Core cultivator, it would be a killing net.
Long Shenyin does not dodge properly. She takes one step forward.
Her spear thrusts straight through the center of the sword net.
The Black Sun Tyrant Spear does not release a grand technique. It simply carries weight, momentum, and killing intent so condensed that the sword qi collapses around it. The spearhead pierces Qin Yunche's throat before his second breath finishes.
His eyes widen.
Long Shenyin says, "Too slow."
She pulls the spear free and turns.
Huo Baixing arrives with both palms burning. His fire Qi gathers into a furnace-shaped seal above his head.
"Blazing Furnace Crushing Palm!"
Long Shenyin's answer is a sideways sweep.
The spear shaft hits his wrists first. Both arms break. The sweep continues into his chest, caving in his ribs and sending him through the roof tiles. He falls into the courtyard below, already dead before he hits the ground.
Wen Zhaoguang sees this from the western side and immediately retreats.
That is the correct decision.
It still does not save him.
Long Shenyin's foot cracks the roof tile beneath her. Her body vanishes in a black blur. She appears behind Wen Zhaoguang before his concealment talisman can fully activate.
He turns, terrified. "Wait—"
The spear butt strikes the back of his head. His skull splits beneath the impact.
The remaining experts try to flee in different directions.
Long Shenyin kills them without changing expression.
One dies with a spearhead through the spine.
One has his dantian shattered by a casual kick before the spear pierces his heart.
One releases a poison mist, only for Long Shenyin to walk through it and crush his face with the end of her spear.
The final scout sees nothing but the spear shadow. His last message jade activates as he falls.
Only three words return to the Qin Family:
"Woman. Spear. Impossible."
Long Shenyin stands amid the quiet rooftop, looks at the corpses, and clicks her tongue.
"Not even worth warming up."
She does not clean the blood immediately. She leaves enough traces for those with skill to understand one thing: the killers did not fail because of poor planning. They failed because the gap was too large.