Carry a knife but not an umbrella on a rainy night.

The capital city is huge in scale. Where there are high-ranking mansions with singing and music that last until dawn, there are also muddy old streets with sparse human habitation.

Youji Street on the north side of the Western Market is a livestock market. When it rains, sewage flows across the street, emitting a foul smell. Most of the people who walk here are bottom-level peddlers and porters, and most of the people living in the surrounding houses are from poor families.

It was late at night, and the rain became heavier.

Deep in a side alley of Youji Street, an oil lamp was lit. The dim yellow light illuminated the windows of the deserted courtyard.

A thin figure wearing a bamboo hat placed the oil lamp on the windowsill, took off the hat, and carefully observed the movements outside. The light illuminated a plain face, making him look like an ordinary man living here.

This man's name is Guo Yuanlong, but no one in the martial arts world knows his real name. Usually, they call him by his alias in the martial arts world—the Wingless Owl.

Just as Shang Jianli said, everyone has their own story. The only difference is that some people's stories are well-known, while others are unknown.

If Guo Yuanlong's life story were to be told in detail, it could be considered wonderful. He was born into a wealthy family in Yanzhou. Since he was a child, he was fond of gambling. After squandering all his family fortune, he "saw the error of his ways" and began to support himself by stealing.

Although he was a lousy gambler at the gambling table, in the "profession" of being a thief, Guo Yuanlong was truly gifted. By the age of seventeen or eighteen, he had become a well-known habitual thief in the local area. Because of his agile skills, he was taken a fancy to by a "senior" in the martial arts world and accepted as an apprentice.

After that, Guo Yuanlong's luck took a turn for the better. After learning some excellent lightness skills, he wandered among the major sects in Yanzhou, stealing martial arts secrets, weapons, and rare treasures, and he had never failed in his attempts.

Once, he took the risk of sneaking into Jieyun Palace in Yanshan. It wasn't that he really wanted to target Lu Jieyun, the overlord of Yanzhou. He simply wanted to sneak in and steal two useful martial arts secret books.

As a result, his luck was incredibly good. By sheer chance, he stumbled upon Lu Jieyun's secluded residence, and Lu Jieyun wasn't at home. He easily obtained a martial arts experience record without much effort.

Lu Jieyun's lightness skills and body techniques were unrivaled in the world. He had always been trying to break through his own limits. Whenever he had some insights, he would write them down casually and ponder over them slowly. Ordinary people might not be able to understand them even if they got hold of these records.

Guo Yuanlong considered himself to be quite talented. So far, he had only understood about 30% to 50% of what was recorded in the experience record. However, even so, his lightness skills were already outstanding. He could outmaneuver ordinary martial artists as easily as walking a dog. Thus, he became famous in the martial arts world and was known as the Thief King of Yanzhou, the "Wingless Owl."

In the minds of people in the martial arts world, stealing Lu Jieyun's martial arts experience record was already Guo Yuanlong's most remarkable achievement. In fact, that was not the case.

By the light of the candle, Guo Yuanlong took out an object from his arms, unfolded the black cloth wrapping it, and inside was a piece of golden paper.

The golden paper was not made of gold. Guo Yuanlong still didn't know its material. He only knew that it was extremely tough. It could be bent but not folded, and it was not afraid of fire, water, swords, or spears. It was invulnerable to all methods.

The golden paper was the size of a book page, and there were inscriptions and pictures on it. The content was of a dragon turtle with a dragon's head and a turtle's body carrying three high mountains. Under the dim yellow candlelight, the picture glistened with golden light, looking dreamy, and the pattern was like a living thing.

This piece of golden paper was discovered by Guo Yuanlong when he sneaked into the Yanwang's mansion and found it in a hidden compartment in the Yanwang's study. At first, seeing that it was indestructible, he thought it was an ordinary treasure. But after the Yanwang's mansion was burglarized, there was no response at all.

The Yanwang's reaction, combined with the特殊性 of the golden paper, immediately made Guo Yuanlong guess the true identity of this piece of golden paper—the "Minglong Tu"!

The "Minglong Tu" was first obtained by an ancient founding monarch. Therefore, since ancient times, there has been a saying that "whoever obtains the Minglong Tu will obtain the world." Throughout the dynasties, the "Minglong Tu" has been a highly prohibited item. Except for the emperor, no one dares to privately possess it.

For a vassal king to collect such an item is no different from privately possessing a "dragon robe and imperial seal." No wonder the Yanwang dealt with the theft in a low-key manner after losing the item.

After Guo Yuanlong obtained this piece of golden paper, his life ideal changed completely. He no longer paid attention to the mundane martial arts world. In his heart, there were only the three old monsters on the mountain and the higher pursuit of "immortality and ascending to immortality."

According to the rumors in the martial arts world, the "Minglong Tu" consists of nine pages in total, and each page records a supreme secret technique. In the previous dynasty, it was said that more than half of the pages had been collected. But after the dynasty was overthrown, the various warlords entered the capital to compete for it. The founding emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty only managed to recover one page, and the rest were all scattered in the marketplaces and the martial arts world.

Guo Yuanlong made many inquiries and learned that the page in his hand was the "Longxiang Tu" in the "Minglong Tu." It was rumored that those who learned it could obtain a divine power comparable to that of a dragon and an elephant.

Although the "Longxiang Tu" was far less famous than divine items like the "Changsheng Tu" and the "Yuhuo Tu," its overbearing effect of "shaking the power of immortals and Buddhas with mortal strength" still far exceeded all the martial arts secret books in the mundane world.

However, while the "Minglong Tu" had an overbearing effect, its threshold was also quite high. Because it was completely different from the martial arts secret books in the mundane world, after obtaining it, Guo Yuanlong had studied it for several years but only managed to get a glimpse of it and still couldn't truly master it.

The "Minglong Tu" was a secret technique for ascending to immortality. It was inevitable that the progress would be slow. Guo Yuanlong didn't rush either. While studying it, he was also searching for the whereabouts of the other pages of the "Minglong Tu."

Over the years, Guo Yuanlong had searched through the studies and inner chambers of noble families. He even took the risk of rummaging through the Sword Pavilion of Shuiyun Sword Pool, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

With no other leads, Guo Yuanlong came to the capital city. He wanted to search through the historical records in the "Yushige" to find clues. By the way, he also wanted to see if there was an opportunity to sneak into the imperial palace and search for the "Yugu Qilin Tu," the only page of the "Minglong Tu" whose whereabouts were known and which was treasured by the royal family of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Night is the working time for a "thief," and they usually don't sleep.

But today, Guo Yuanlong heard the abnormal rumor of "the Wingless Owl's ingenious theft of the penis" and sensed that something was wrong.

He had followed a pair of "male and female thieves" all afternoon but still hadn't figured out their background. For the sake of safety, he didn't go out to "work" and temporarily changed his residence to hide. Taking advantage of the tranquility of the night rain, he carefully studied the "Longxiang Tu" in his hand.

But not long after Guo Yuanlong started to ponder over it, his ears twitched, and he heard a soft sound coming from the alley not far away:

Whoosh—

The sound of a mechanism being triggered and a silver needle piercing through the air!

-----

Rumble—

A dull thunderclap resounded through the towering city under the rain curtain.

The raindrops were as big as soybeans, crashing onto the old tiles and making a crackling sound.

Yejing Hall held a single-edged sword and stuck close to the wall of the alley, slowly making his way towards the deserted courtyard in the depths.

Luo Ning walked in front and took off her hat to avoid any bumps that might alert their prey.

This place was not as desolate as Shuanggui Alley, but it was safer.

There was a butcher who sold dog meat living in the alley. There were more than a dozen meat dogs waiting to be slaughtered in the yard. As long as there was the slightest movement, it might cause the dogs to bark. Therefore, even the bird was left at the entrance of the alley.

The two of them used the sound of the rain to cover all their movements and slowly groped towards their target. When they were near the deserted courtyard, they vaguely saw a faint light in the pitch-black night sky.

Luo Ning focused her gaze and gently raised her slender hand, indicating the alley on the side of the courtyard.

Seeing this, Yejing Hall held his breath and turned towards the side of the courtyard, surrounding it from different directions to prevent the target from escaping.

However, despite their caution, they still underestimated the alertness of the "Wingless Owl."

Even though he had temporarily taken refuge here, the area around the deserted mansion had been carefully arranged, taking into account all the possible ways the enemy might approach.

Yejing Hall stuck close to the wall and turned into the side alley. He noticed a wooden stick leaning in the alley. Through the slight movement of the raindrops, he sensed the presence of a thin thread, which was clearly a trap.

After careful observation, Yejing Hall kept an eye on the wooden stick and tried to bypass the trap. Unexpectedly, as soon as he moved his foot, he heard a sound from below:

"Bang~"

The sound of the rope breaking under tension!

!

Yejing Hall didn't expect that the opponent had set up both an obvious and a hidden mechanism. His heart sank, and without hesitation, he leaped outward.

But the Wingless Owl was an experienced veteran. Based on the current environment, he had arranged the hidden weapons well, knowing how the approaching person would dodge.

The moment the thin thread snapped, several flying needles shot out from the darkness.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—

The targets of the hidden weapons were not where Yejing Hall was standing but several steps ahead and behind where he might move.

The moment Luo Ning heard the commotion, she already knew something was wrong. The soft sword slid into her hand, and she immediately moved behind Yejing Hall. The sword moves were as swift as the wind, cutting off the silver needles shooting through the rain.

Ding ding—

When Yejing Hall heard the sound of the silver needles piercing the air, his waist knife had already been unsheathed. He identified the position by the sound and swept his knife twice, clearly knocking down all the incoming hidden weapons.

But out of the corner of his eye, through the splashing raindrops, he saw an object approaching him silently without making any sound.

Yejing Hall was startled. It was too late to retract his knife, so he could only try his best to dodge and avoid the vital parts.

Unexpectedly, before he could move, a slender arm pressed on his shoulder and pulled him forcefully to the side, abruptly avoiding the hidden weapon that was so close.

After all, Luo Ning had more experience in the martial arts world. Her soft sword was like a peacock spreading its feathers, guarding her front tightly. After encountering the silent black needles that even she hadn't noticed, she knew that the young and inexperienced thief couldn't defend against them.

Although she had a lot of complaints about Yejing Hall taking advantage of her from time to time, when it came to life and death, Luo Ning didn't hesitate at all. She pulled Yejing Hall away with all her strength and swept away the invisible black needles shooting from the darkness with her three-foot sword.

Swoosh swoosh—

Ding—

In a hurry, a slight stinging pain came from her shoulder.

Luo Ning ignored it. She gently tapped her left shoulder to seal the acupoint, and at the same time, she leaped over the courtyard wall with her sword...