Chapter 12: Reporting Upward

"Young Master!" Ling Donglai greeted with a slight bow.

Although he had been implanted as Wang Yu's loyal supporter, Ling Donglai, an unparalleled grandmaster at the late Celestial stage, only nodded lightly when he saluted. He then directly stood behind Wang Yu, once again resuming the appearance of an ordinary person.

Yet now, within the main tent, no one dared to regard him as an ordinary man.

Everyone stole glances at Ling Donglai, finding it hard to believe that such a formidable expert was concealed beside their young master. Moreover, this master seemed to share the same allegiance to their young master as they did.

Especially Wang Tong, whose emotions fluctuated the most among them.

Unlike Tong Yuan and Zhao Yun, Wang Tong had witnessed other Celestial-level warriors. This person was none other than an elder of the Wang family, a figure of the same generation as Wang Yu’s grandfather.

After all, the Wang family of Wudu was one of the top noble houses dating back to the founding of the Great Cang Empire, hereditary dukes who had served for generations as Eastern Commanders guarding the town of Zhendong. Over several centuries, their foundation remained formidable.

Among them was one Celestial-level warrior.

However, when Ling Donglai made his move, Wang Tong felt an even more terrifying aura than from their family elder.

Such an existence—how could he simply follow their young master Wang Yu so easily?

"Uncle!" Wang Yu’s voice suddenly interrupted Wang Tong’s wandering thoughts.

"Greetings, Young Master!" Wang Tong replied respectfully, even bowing to Wang Yu mid-sentence.

Although Wang Yu was already a confirmed candidate for the young clan leader, in front of Wang Tong, he was still a junior.

By generation, Wang Tong was technically Wang Yu’s uncle; he had no need to show such deference, nor to bow so deliberately.

Yet, seeing Ling Donglai salute Wang Yu upon entering, Wang Tong felt it best not to make exceptions.

"Uncle, there’s no need for such formality; I am but a mere junior," Wang Yu said humbly, spreading his hands as if to soften the formality.

---

"Young Master, may I ask what you require?" Wang Tong ignored the modesty and moved on to the matter at hand.

Although Wang Yu insisted no need for ceremony, Wang Tong knew well that if he treated Wang Yu too casually and displeased the boy’s guardian, it could spell trouble.

"Tonight, besides the three hundred soldiers, six experts came. Three were slain by Mr. Ling, one was killed jointly by Uncle and Elder Tong, and the remaining two were captured by Mr. Ling. It’s still more than an hour until dawn. Uncle, perhaps you could see if you can extract any information?" Wang Yu spoke softly, gesturing toward a nearby tent.

"Rest assured, Young Master!" Wang Tong said, though inwardly he sighed. To reach grandmaster level required iron will. Could much be gleaned in just over an hour?

Stepping outside the tent, the black cavalry, though weary from the night’s battle, busily prepared the fallen for disposal. Corpses from both waves of enemies had been gathered for burning—over eight hundred in total.

Originally, there had been one hundred black cavalry guards; now only twenty remained. After the fierce night, eighty had been lost forever.

This was only on the road. If anyone in the capital truly targeted him, more troubles would surely come—he was to remain at the Great Cang Academy for three years.

"Greetings, Young Master!" Zhao Yun’s appearance abruptly broke Wang Yu’s reverie.

"Zi Long, have you questioned them all?"

"I interrogated the captured soldiers separately and learned they all came from the Imperial Guards," Zhao Yun reported.

Wang Yu had tasked Wang Tong with interrogating the two captured grandmasters, while Zhao Yun questioned the ordinary soldiers.

"Imperial Guards?" Hearing this, Wang Yu’s surprise deepened.

The Imperial Guards answered directly to the Cang Emperor of the Great Cang Empire, charged with protecting the palace and guarding the capital.

They rarely left the capital unless in critical moments. The last deployment was fifteen years prior when the Western Wu Empire invaded with millions. General Zhao Changfeng of the Western Command was defeated thrice; the emperor, furious, ordered the military god Chu Xizhao to lead 500,000 Imperial Guards alongside other forces to repel the enemy.

That the Imperial Guards were involved now greatly surprised Wang Yu and sparked his curiosity. Who could it be? In his memory, he had never provoked such a high-level figure!

"Young Master!" Soon, Wang Tong returned from his interrogation.

---

"I’m afraid I couldn’t extract much from these two in such a short time. However, during their questioning, I discovered these," Wang Tong said without waiting for Wang Yu to ask, carefully producing three tokens from his breast.

They were identity tokens. While their holders were insignificant to Wang Yu personally, anyone who could summon them posed a serious threat.

A flicker of astonishment crossed Wang Yu’s eyes as he took possession of the tokens.

"Burn them all along with the others!" Wang Yu said calmly, pointing to the nearby heaps of bodies.

Zhao Yun showed a trace of reluctance; after all, killing was no trivial matter, and such treatment was harsh. Wang Tong, however, was accustomed to such scenes and remained indifferent.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. Your forces have slain one Celestial-level warrior, four grandmasters, and one half-step Celestial, earning a total of 60 summoning points. Current summoning points stand at 175."

As the flames rose and the agonized screams faded, the system voice Wang Yu longed to hear began to sound.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing Task One: eliminating the assassins and surviving the current crisis. Reward: one divine-level summoning card."

The divine summoning card had finally arrived, and the notification eased some of Wang Yu’s worries. After all, the night's efforts had not been in vain.

"Young Master, should we report last night’s events to the family?" Wang Tong cautiously glanced at Ling Donglai behind Wang Yu before asking.

"Report it truthfully," Wang Yu decided after some thought.

Though the mastermind remained uncertain, the general scope was clear. The identity of the perpetrator troubled Wang Yu greatly; he needed the family’s support. Only the royal family could wield the Imperial Guards and exert such influence!

Upon hearing this, Wang Tong finally relaxed. Besides covertly protecting Wang Yu, he had to regularly report on his condition. With Ling Donglai present, he dared not report without Wang Yu’s permission.