"What are you all doing here?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind them. It was a master at the Zhiyi Boundary.

"We want to know if Ling Zhenfei is still inside," one of them said.

The person replied, "I'm in the house across the street. This area is within my surveillance zone, and Ling Zhenfei hasn't left the house."

"Now Hoshino Junka is missing, and Ling Zhenfei's door hasn't opened. Maybe by now, he's already escaped. If the person really got away, can you bear the responsibility?"

Hearing this, the master started to feel uneasy and walked over to the door to begin knocking.

"Mr. Ling, hurry up and open the door please."

The door suddenly opened, and Ling Zhenfei appeared in front of them, wearing pajamas.

"Are you guys out of your mind? Do you have to disturb me every time I try to sleep?"

Ling Zhenfei said angrily to the people at the door, looking very upset.

The people outside were very surprised and their faces were awkward, as if they'd been caught red-handed.

"Sorry, Mr. Ling, we've had a prisoner escape, so we're conducting a search of the entire manor."

"Yes, Mr. Ling, we received orders from above, really sorry about this."

Ling Zhenfei angrily said, "Last time you searched, this time you're searching again. How many prisoners does the Watanabe Family have on the loose? Fine, I won't stop you this time. Hurry up and search, so I can get back to sleep."

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll finish as soon as possible." With that, several people began searching the room.

This search was much more thorough than the last, but there was no one else in the room, so Ling Zhenfei was very at ease.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Ling. Please go back to resting, go back to resting."

Ling Zhenfei, feeling quite helpless, returned to his room: "How can I sleep like this?"

Grumbling, Ling Zhenfei eventually returned to his room to rest.

The search continued throughout the entire night. By the next morning, they were still searching but found nothing.

Watanabe Nagayumi was very angry but approached Ling Zhenfei early in the morning.

"Mr. Ling, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Ling Zhenfei said, "Go ahead, whatever it is, I have nothing to hide."

Watanabe Nagayumi asked, "When you were at the Ittō-ryū Hoshino Clan, did you feel anything strange?"

"What feeling?" Ling Zhenfei asked curiously.

Watanabe Nagayumi said, "The kind of feeling that someone was ascending with Northern Spiritual Energy."

Ling Zhenfei pondered for a moment, considering how he should respond. After thinking for a bit, he said, "To be honest, that night I did feel a change in the spiritual energy around."

"What change?" Watanabe Nagayumi asked.

Ling Zhenfei said, "That night I was trapped in the cell and felt some anomaly in the spiritual energy not far from the cell. Then, it felt like the energy was converging from all directions towards that spot."

"Exactly, that's it! It seems someone from Iga-ryu indeed ascended to Darwin."

Feigning great surprise, Ling Zhenfei said, "Really? So that's what ascension feels like? At first, I thought I was sensing it wrong, but it turns out it was real."

"No, it's true, it's true," Watanabe Nagayumi said thoughtfully.

Ling Zhenfei knew that saying this could buy Ittō-ryū a lot more time.

Watanabe Nagayumi would surely pass this news to Watanabe Kazushi. If Iga-ryu intended to attack Ittō-ryū, they would certainly have concerns, but how they would act on those concerns was uncertain.

"By the way, Mr. Ling, have you made up your mind? Are you ready to share that secret? The Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth is something truly rare and valuable. Sharing it can't harm you."

Watanabe Nagayumi began to persuade Ling Zhenfei, wanting him to divulge the secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth.

Ling Zhenfei thought for a while and said, "I've thought it through. I'll tell you the secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth today. But I have one condition, you must let me go immediately."

A trace of excitement appeared on Watanabe Nagayumi's face: "Of course, as long as you tell me the secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth, I'll let you go immediately."

Ling Zhenfei was taken aback and said, "Weren't you supposed to tell Mr. Watanabe Kazushi? Why are you telling me instead?"

Watanabe Nagayumi said, "Of course, for now, I hold the title of Clan Leader. Although my uncle's health has improved, the position of Clan Leader cannot be changed. I obviously need to be informed of such things."

"But what if you don't let me go, or if Watanabe Kazushi refuses to let me go, what then?"

Ling Zhenfei certainly wasn't naive. By now, he realized that the relationship between Watanabe Kazushi and Watanabe Nagayumi wasn't as harmonious as it appeared.

Watanabe Kazushi and Watanabe Nagayumi: one is the current Clan Leader, the other the previous one. It's unclear who really calls the shots now.

Watanabe Kazushi's authority had taken a significant hit, and the person with the most influence in the entire Iga-ryu was, of course, Watanabe Kazushi. So, it was still Watanabe Kazushi issuing orders.

If Watanabe Nagayumi could obtain the secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth and perhaps learn its contents, he might have the strength to contest, thereby regaining favor.

"Mr. Ling, I was the one who brought you from Huaxia, but you don't trust me now. However, you must trust me on this. If you tell me the secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth, I will let you go.

Once you leave, I can uncover the greatest secret of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cloth, and I certainly don't want to share it with others."

Ling Zhenfei thought for a bit and said, "But I'm still worried that Watanabe Kazushi won't let me off when the time comes."

Watanabe Nagayumi said, "How about this? I have an idea. What if tonight, in the dead of night, you tell me the secret and then leave immediately. I promise I won't pursue you."

Ling Zhenfei hesitated internally again, unsure whether he could trust Watanabe Nagayumi. This man was notoriously unreliable, having toyed with Ling Zhenfei several times.

But Ling Zhenfei now genuinely hoped Watanabe Nagayumi was telling the truth, as it would avoid a major confrontation, so why not take the chance?

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll see what happens tonight."

But at this moment, Watanabe Nagayumi said, "How do I know if what you're saying is true? Are you not going to trick me?"

Ling Zhenfei laughed: "From the moment you met me, has anything I said been unreliable? I don't have a habit of lying to offend others."

Perhaps believing Ling Zhenfei wouldn't lie, Watanabe Nagayumi surprisingly accepted it.

"Alright, then we've agreed. I'll handle the other matters." With these words, Watanabe Nagayumi left.

If he could leave tonight, there was one more important matter to attend to: getting Hoshino Junka out. Leaving Hoshino Junka alone at Watanabe Manor would be far too dangerous.

Hoshino Junka's strength wasn't particularly powerful, currently only in the late stage of the Mingmu Realm. Any master of the Zhiyi state could easily capture her.

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