Old Mi knew that there was no way he could bluff his way through this. He sighed. “Even if I had it over to you, there’s no way I’ll be spared. Aren’t you the one treating me like a child now?”

Wei Dan’s eyes narrowed. He walked forward. “Little Ying, it seems like you are begging for a fight.”

Old Mi scoffed. “Are you sure that you can win?”

He straightened up from his usual hunched-over posture, and his shriveled body suddenly seemed rather tall and imposing.

Zu An’s heart began to pound. He knew that the two of them were about to fight. Old Mi had always been a mystery in his eyes, and Wei Dan’s cultivation was terrifying as well. If he hadn’t set the room on fire the last time, Pei Mianman would have surely been caught by him, despite her meticulous preparations.

He didn’t know which one of these men would win if they fought.

Wei Dan laughed at Old Mi’s attempt at intimidation. “Little Ying, back when we were both serving as court eunuchs in the imperial palace, my cultivation was always the strongest, while yours was ranked second. I never expected your confidence to grow so much after all these years!”

Old Mi replied with a smile, “Cultivators strive to become fearless, and to always face challenges head on. How can we decide who will be the victor and who will bow in defeat without truly fighting?”

Wei Dan nodded. “Indeed. Your temperament seems to have changed considerably from before. No wonder you were able to deal with the rebels of the Chu clan so easily! One was at the seventh rank and one was at the sixth rank—neither of their cultivations could have been considered low.”

Old Mi’s eyes narrowed. “So, you even caught that.”

Wei Dan smiled. “Didn’t I tell you earlier that I’ve been investigating all those around Zu An? Once I had completed my investigation into the academy, the Chu clan was the next logical step. There were so many people in the Chu clan to look into, but you were kind enough to make a move yourself. If I still couldn’t find you after that, wouldn’t my whole life have been a waste?”

He paused for a moment, then said in a puzzled tone, “I’m honestly quite curious. Why would you take the risk of personally interfering in the affairs of the Chu clan? Is that kid Zu An that important to you? Why would you risk your own safety for him?”

Zu An had a strange look on his face. He was most confused about that as well. If someone were to ask him if Old Mi treated him well, then he would have to agree. The old man had given him a secret manual, and taught him a strong movement technique. However, his gaze had always given him the creeps, and there were other signs as well that made him feel as if the old man had ulterior motives.

But what was this objective?

His cultivation was low, and his background and social standing were insignificant. There was absolutely no reason for Old Mi to be plotting against him. As for the ‘Primordial Origin Sutra’, he had obtained it only after Old Mi had chosen to help him, so it couldn’t be the reason why.

There was no way Old Mi knew about the Keyboard. Does this old man like me…?

Zu An’s sphincter tightened as the thought popped into his mind.

“When one grows old, one naturally thinks about leaving a legacy behind,” Old Mi replied. “You know that people like you and me are doomed never to have heirs. You still have an adopted son, but I have nothing.”

“Ah, so you want him to carry on your legacy.” Wei Dan seemed satisfied with that answer. Eunuchs like themselves were all fond of adopting children of their own. He himself had taken in quite a few, but Old Mi didn’t have any. Such thoughts were commonplace. “What a pity. We used to be drinking buddies. Who knew that we would end up as mortal enemies?”

Old Mi sighed regretfully. “Indeed. Out of all those who entered the palace together with us, the two of us were still the closest. Now, we’re the only two left…”

He suddenly moved midway through his sentence. He appeared at Wei Dan’s side like a ghost, and thrust a finger towards his ribs. An exquisite sunflower appeared at his fingertip.

Zu An’s heart was pounding crazily. He recognized that movement technique—it was the Sunflower Phantasm! He thought he was moving quickly when he used the Sunflower Phantasm himself. However, compared to what he had just witnessed, he was a mere tractor going up against a Ferrari.

Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng had both died to this single finger. Back then, Old Mi had stood still, but he was clearly going all out this time. It was almost impossible to understand just how much more powerful this finger was right now, and just how powerful was the opponent he was facing.

However, despite Old Mi’s lightning-quick speed, Wei Dan seemed to have anticipated this attack. His left hand moved in a profoundly mysterious arc to meet the deadly finger.

*BOOM!*

A wave of heat spread out from the point of contact. All the trees within several zhang were instantly shattered, and the boulders, which had seemed firmly fixed to the ground, were launched far into the sky.

A boulder almost landed on Zu An’s feet. He stared at it, completely dumbfounded. The scale of this battle was just too great! It was completely beyond the imagination of regular cultivators!

He’d heard that higher-level cultivators could draw upon power strong enough to move heaven and earth. From what he’d just witnessed, it seemed like this was indeed the case.

The smoke dissipated, revealing the two combatants facing each other, several zhang apart. Old Mi frowned, and didn’t continue his attack. Clearly, his opponent’s reaction had been outside his expectations.

Wei Dan took out his handkerchief and coughed into it a few times, then laughed in a cruel manner. “Little Ying, Little Ying… It’s been so long. I didn’t expect you to still be so cunning. I almost fell for your tricks.”

Old Mi snorted. “Who can compare with you when it comes to cunning? You clearly anticipated my attack. Why are you still putting on such a careless demeanor to bait me in? If I hadn’t retreated in time, I might have fallen right into your trap.”

Zu An blinked. From the sound of it, they seemed to have exchanged a flurry of blows already.

But all I saw was him deflecting Old Mi’s finger with his fist!

Wei Dan smiled. “There was an official who said it best. If you want to be an honest official, you have to be even more cunning than a corrupt official. Against a treacherous man like you, I obviously need to keep a few tricks up my sleeves.”

Old Mi sighed. “It seems like you’ve already perfected your Stellar Palm. I’m truly envious of you.”

Wei Dan snorted. “Isn’t that the same with your Sunflower Finger? You came this close to poking a hole in me just now.”

After exchanging this single line of praise, the two of them fell silent. They were clearly assessing each other, intent on finding openings.

A moment passed, and Wei Dan suddenly began to cough.

Old Mi made his move at once, and the flowers in the distant garden seemed to move with him.

Countless petals fluttered around Old Mi, vaguely forming the shape of a sunflower. Zu An’s expression grew odd.

If a beautiful woman had displayed such a graceful move, it would have surely been considered stunning. However, seeing Old Mi perform this same move was enough to make anyone who saw it wish they were blind.

Wei Dan’s eyes narrowed as he saw the multitude of flower petals flying towards him. He threw his handkerchief forward to meet them.

The handkerchief—which was only a few inches across—suddenly grew in size. It quickly grew to several dozen zhang across, large enough to cover the entire courtyard.

Zu An’s eyes went round. He’d thought that this was just a handkerchief covered in spit and germs, but it was actually a magic weapon!

From the power it displayed, it was clearly not an ordinary item.

Something gnawed at him, however. If this handkerchief grew so much larger, then what about the spit and germs on that handkerchief? Would they enlarge as well?

If you were caught by that handkerchief, you’d die from disgust before it could strangle you to death.

The handkerchief suddenly flared open. Its surface was covered in specks of starlight, resembling a sea of stars.

The handkerchief began to spin quickly. The petals that Old Mi had launched were continuously sucked into the vortex of stars formed by the handkerchief.

In a flash, the handkerchief rolled up like a cocoon, wrapping Old Mi inside.

However, Old Mi was definitely not one to be trifled with. Soon, some sharp protrusions could be seen on the handkerchief’s surface. Old Mi was clearly using his Sunflower Finger to stab at the handkerchief, trying to break out.

Wei Dan didn’t dare act carelessly. He swung his hands about, shouting violently, “Stellar Palm!”

His hands glowed with specks of starlight. It seemed as though he were striking an invisible ball in front of him.

Spectral hands flickering with blue light appeared high up in midair, continuously striking Old Mi, who was still wrapped in the massive handkerchief.