Little Sorcerer, Divine Doctor

In the streets of Biantang, the illumination isn't provided by ordinary lights but by Magic Lamps that won't extinguish for decades.

At night, several horses gallop through the streets, led by none other than Xuan Wuji and that mysterious figure who should have "ended himself" long ago.

Outside a serene residence, the courtyard deep and decorated opulently, the lanterns of the Crown Prince Mansion stretch like a dragon in the darkness, emitting an intimidating glow.

When Xuan Wuji and the mysterious figure met Second Prince Li Shao, he was savoring tea.

This man, touted as the First Rank among the Wuji Five Treasures, had facial features like a painting. Though he lacked Ye Beiming's delicate features and Xia Xu's unconsciously inviting charisma,

Li Shao's uniqueness lay in his perfect moderation, balancing Ye Beiming's refined grace with six parts of Xia Wenxu's presence.

With his royal upbringing since childhood, he shone like the most prestigious top-grade Purple Gold in any setting. Inside the gazebo, Li Shao himself handled the tea-making – boiling water, placing tea leaves, and washing them. Each movement was gracefully done, nearly impeccable.

"Second Prince, your servant deserves death, the Purple Gold Vein has been taken away," the mysterious figure knelt before Li Shao with a composed face.

In the presence of his elegant master, he dared not utter an extra word.

"What else?" Li Shao lifted the fragrant cup and blew on it.

"The smelting factory... has been destroyed, over a hundred mages… and millions of top-grade Purple Gold processed are unaccounted for," the moment the mysterious figure knew this news, he almost grated his teeth.

He had thought of ending it all, but remembering his family, he had no choice but to return to Tang Yuan with strong resolve.

He knew, should he dare defect, endless pursuits would await him.

"But do you know who did it?" Li Shao still maintained a calm demeanor, yet an undercurrent roiled in his eyes – those familiar with him knew this was a precursor to his fury.

After nearly a year of planning and acquiring the Purple Gold Vein at a high price from Emperor Hong City, along with over a hundred elite mages, everything had been going smoothly.

Neither Great Zhou nor Hou Qin had discovered their secret.

But just a few days ago, several pieces of terrible news arrived in succession.

The Great Zhou Army unexpectedly attacked the Purple Gold Vein; the smelting factory's hundred-plus mages were massacred, and the pools filled with Purple Gold Water ran red with blood.

All efforts were destroyed in one fell swoop overnight.

The most infuriating thing was that millions of top-grade Purple Gold disappeared overnight.

The casualties were heavy, and these were all elites under Li Shao.

"Your subordinate... doesn't know," the voice of the mysterious figure trembled with fear.

"Don't know... Captain Lin, please get up," Li Shao put down his cup.

In the cup, a flash of silver light passed.

"Although the subordinate doesn't know who destroyed the smelting factory, in this incident with the mine, a newly risen Hunting Corps named Sky Hunting Corps played a major role. They rescued those villagers, and your subordinate suspects, that the millions of top-grade Purple Gold that disappeared went into their pockets. The strength of this Hunting Corps is extraordinary. Their Commander is the former Great Zhou General Yun Canglang, and they also have a Summoner who can summon Commander-level Demon Beasts," attempted to clarify, the mysterious figure captivated and unable to discern how he had been surrounded by the Sky Hunting Corps.

"Yun Canglang? Weren't his hands crippled? Since when did Great Zhou possess a Summoner capable of invoking Commander-level Demon Beasts?" Li Shao's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

The decline of Great Zhou was well known, yet unexpectedly this time, it involved several of Great Zhou's powerhouses.

"I saw with my own eyes, Yun Canglang's hands were intact, his cultivation not at all inferior to before, and about that Summoner... she is young, but very cunning and tricky. Her name is Yanyun," the mysterious figure briefly described Yun Sheng's situation.

"Captain Lin, you have also worked hard these past few days," Li Shao's tone shifted as he raised the cup of tea he had prepared earlier, "This cup of tea is a reward for you."

Upon hearing this, the forehead of the mysterious person's underling immediately broke out into a cold sweat.

The tea of the Crown Prince...

Trembling, he took the cup of tea.

The tea shimmered with silver light, reflecting the bright moon in the sky.

"I am well aware of my capital offense, I only ask that Your Highness the Crown Prince, considering my years of loyal service, spare my wife and children," the mysterious person swallowed the tea in one gulp.

"Very good, Lin Xiaowei, you may leave now," Li Shao approached the underling of the mysterious person and raised his hand to pat Lin Xiaowei's shoulder.

Lin Xiaowei felt a chilling touch briefly stroke his shoulder.

The Crown Prince is actually not blaming him?

The underling of the mysterious person was ecstatic in his heart.

He hastily kowtowed in thanks and hurried to leave.

He had only taken three steps when his eyes suddenly widened.

He saw that his lower limbs quickly formed a layer of ice, which rapidly spread over his entire body, until even his hair and eyebrows were completely encased in ice.

With a "crack," the underling who was just thanking before turned into an ice sculpture.

The ice sculpture shattered into pieces and quickly melted into a pool of water.

This was... Xuan Wuji, the Young City Lord of Dihong City who had been sipping tea beside, felt his teacup tremble uncontrollably, a droplet of hot water splashed out.

The water splashed onto his hand, but he didn't feel it hot; instead, he felt as if a cold magic element surrounded him.

That pat just now... Xuan Wuji realized that what appeared to be an indifferent pat from Tang Yuan Li Shao, was actually a deadly one.

With Xuan Wuji's cultivation, he couldn't even discern at what moment Li Shao had injected a fatal ice magic element into Lin Xiaowei's body.

Worthy of the Wuji Five Treasures.

Rumors say Tang Yuan Li Shao excels in water element magic, killing invisibly. Seeing it today, he truly lives up to his reputation.

Xuan Wuji watched as a living soldier turned into a pool of water in just a few breaths, feeling incredibly shocked and frightened.

He coughed slightly and put down the teacup in his hand.

Speaking of which, the collaboration between Dihong City and Tang Yuan this time was conducted secretly, originally planning to make a significant profit from this event, but was disrupted by the unexpectedly intervening Sky Hunting Corps.

Xuan Wuji, unable to quell his frustration, saw that Yun Canglang had already returned to his original state. This time in Tang Yuan, Xuan Wuji wanted to ally with Second Prince Li Shao to devise a plan to deal with the people of Yun Residence.

Based on his understanding of Li Shao, although he seems benevolent, he is actually sinister and petty; with tens of thousands of catties of purple gold mine disappeared, he surely would not let it go easily.

*September 1st, new month, and seeking some votes for a sprint*"