There were always those who noticed Guanshengyuan's very special activities, like Zhou Rui. Zhou Rui had not been in contact with Ye Tao and his group for a long time. Since he began his independent revenge against the Dao Ming Sect, with his excellent skills and the set of stealth abilities developed through a combination of talent and training, he had successively killed as many as twenty-nine members of the Dao Ming Sect, the Eagle Hall, and Snake Eyes. And these twenty-nine people were all somewhat high-ranking and influential. In particular, the fact that he even assassinated Snake Eyes, a professional assassination organization, infuriated Sun Xiaofan. However, he himself almost died in one of Zhou Rui's assassinations. Fortunately, the timing and location were favorable, and with the desperate protection of a group of subordinates, he suffered only minor injuries, while Zhou Rui retreated unscathed. Sun Xiaofan knew the principle that "what goes around, comes around," and aside from stepping up protection, he didn't have many complaints.

Zhou Rui's initial target was Sun Xiaofan, but occasionally killing some important figures related to the Dao Ming Sect was also convenient. And now, he had followed Sun Xiaofan to Anqing again. Although he had only been in Anqing for a few days, after a little inquiry about the interesting people and things happening in Anqing recently, he immediately knew that Yuanyuan Garden and Guanshengyuan must both be Ye Tao's work. Having been by Ye Tao's side for many years, he had gained a considerable understanding of Ye Tao and Tan Weixin's fanciful ideas, as well as the basic principles contained within them. However, although he knew these things and knew that he could contact Ye Tao's group at any time, he did not expose his identity in front of the enemy or his friends, but continued to quietly, and alone, pursue his hunt.

Zhou Rui's situation was even more dangerous than that of Ye Tao and his group. Although he had achieved considerable results for quite some time, the Dao Ming Sect, the Eagle Hall, and Snake Eyes were not just sitting idle. They had also summarized their experiences and lessons from his various habits and methods and developed a set of countermeasures. After infiltrating Anqing, he almost stumbled into a trap set by the Eagle Hall and Snake Eyes during an assassination attempt against an official supported by the Dao Ming Sect. A fleeting glimpse of an Eagle Hall leader being somewhat careless while on guard made him suspect whether the official was really there. Zhou Rui lurked for another hour, and in that hour, he saw several sentries changing shifts. His keen ears caught a certain minor leader mentioning his name. Only then did he realize that the official he wanted to kill was indeed there, but there was also a highly elite group of people present. If he had barged in, he might not have survived. Even if he had escaped, he would have aroused the Anqing Garrison and forced them to search the entire city, forcing him to reveal his identity.

Zhou Rui never did meaningless things like making announcements before an assassination, and the fact that the Eagle Hall and Snake Eyes, guessing that Zhou Rui had already come to Anqing, had set up such a trap, at least showed that they had a considerable understanding of Zhou Rui's target selection patterns.

After observing Guanshengyuan slightly, Zhou Rui mingled with the crowd and retreated. He knew that the many elite warriors of the Special Operations Battalion who had disguised themselves and opened a store were definitely not doing it for fun, but he didn't want to figure out what specific task they were carrying out. However, he had considerable confidence in the abilities of the warriors he had trained. The Special Operations Battalion should have dispatched the elite of Squad A and Squad B this time. Among these people, there were several who could individually confront first- or second-rate martial artists and hold their own for a while. And when they gathered together, relying on advanced and precise weapons, their tacit cooperation, their adaptability to various terrains and environments, and many other skills, the combat power they displayed far exceeded their close combat power on the battlefield. After all, the Special Operations Battalion was never established for direct confrontation.

Wearing an ugly, round hood, Zhou Rui mingled with the many believers of the Dao Ming Sect, slowly heading towards the large square in front of the Nanshi Earth God Temple, where the grand Dharma Assembly that was about to begin was being prepared. Although it was called an Earth God Temple, it had long been taken over by the Dao Ming Sect and transformed in the Dao Ming Sect's style. The Dao Ming Sect was also a polytheistic trading system, and there was no problem in accommodating an old Earth God. Now, this Earth God Temple, which had been flourishing with incense for many years, had awkwardly become the most prosperous gathering place for believers of the Dao Ming Sect in the vicinity of Anqing.

The Anqing Garrison was also very anxious about the Dao Ming Sect's activities. Two teams of soldiers stood on both sides of the square, holding long spears, looking imposing. There were also some soldiers with sabers patrolling, occasionally chatting with the Dao Ming Sect's practitioners and Daoists, assisting in managing the crowd. These styles were also learned from Dongping. However, compared to the gentle and natural attitude of the city guards in many cities in Dongping when doing this kind of management and guidance, the attitude of the soldiers of the Anqing Garrison was much rougher and worse. This situation was also expected. In Dongping and Yunzhou, the lives of the common people were much better, and there were fewer poor and helpless people. Moreover, the soldiers in Dongping were mostly recruited, and many of them were from ordinary backgrounds. In many places, the city guards and the people they managed were all fellow villagers, so it was naturally easier to talk.

Zhou Rui's rustic attire did not attract the attention of the soldiers, and he quickly entered the square in front of the Earth God Temple in the crowd. Although he had arrived relatively late, he quickly squeezed to the front of the crowd, got a bowl of tea from a place distributing water, found a small place nearby, and sat on the ground like the poor and curious believers around him, waiting for the Dharma Assembly to begin.

Perhaps having become accustomed to the professional performance of the Yunzhou Governor's Office's department that specialized in organizing various activities, he found the harried appearance of the Daoists and Yushi in charge of this matter, and the practitioners responsible for running errands, to be somewhat disdainful. Near the high platform erected in the square, there were Dao Ming Sect people rushing back and forth everywhere, as well as many disciples of the Eagle Hall. But near the high platform, Zhou Rui also discovered many people from Snake Eyes. He had dealt with Snake Eyes too much, and he had met many of them before. Unlike the Eagle Hall, although Sun Xiaofan had gathered a lot of strength in various places and bought off many people, the core members of Snake Eyes were not too numerous. Those directly under Snake Eyes had to have some skills.

Looking around, Zhou Rui finally focused on a person who was currently between the high platform and the gate of the Earth God Temple. It was the official supported by the Dao Ming Sect that he had almost fallen into a trap while trying to assassinate. This guy was now a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although his official position was not very high, he was responsible for the instruments used by the Xiling Dynasty when organizing sacrifices, ancestral rites, military expeditions, and other ceremonies. He could be considered well-informed. At this moment, this guy was wearing a practitioner's robe and was instructing the Daoists on the final preparations. Zhou Rui was thinking about whether to find an opportunity to kill him to demonstrate to Snake Eyes and the Eagle Hall that he was aware of their trap. After struggling for a while, Zhou Rui gave up. There were many people he wanted to kill, but killing this low-ranking official would only show the Dao Ming Sect people: Your guess about me is correct. It would be better to let this person go and let them "reflect."

Then, he saw a guy coming out of the gate of the Earth God Temple. The man looked like he was in his sixties, but he was very energetic and walked with brisk steps. He was wearing a robe of the same style as those of the Dao Ming Sect's practitioners, Daoists, and Yushi, but it was black. Only the lapel and belt were bright yellow, which was the color most revered by the Dao Ming Sect.

Zhou Rui immediately felt that this was definitely a big fish. But then he saw Mo Leng following beside this person, and behind them were four Eagle Hall experts. Judging from Mo Leng's attitude towards the old man, although his gestures were polite and courteous, they also revealed a hint of disdain.

Mo Leng, now as the leader of the Eagle Hall, had greatly increased his status within the entire Dao Ming Sect system. This was thanks to the Yunzhou's well-organized bombing of the Dao Ming Sect's main altar in Hunyuan Hall. After that incident, when the Dao Ming Sect's high-level officials fled, it was Mo Leng who, with his tough methods, re-consolidated the scattered situation on the spot, organized the first-time rescue, and salvaged supplies, which minimized the Dao Ming Sect's losses. In this situation, Mo Leng naturally won the great favor and trust of countless followers and the middle level of the Dao Ming Sect. However, Mo Leng did not retaliate against the previous high-level officials for not valuing the Eagle Hall, and even tacitly approved Sun Xiaofan's formation of Snake Eyes in order to limit his power. Instead, he quickly welcomed back the high-level officials and continued to obey all arrangements in a very low-key manner. However, no one below the Pope would ever look at Mo Leng with the previous eyes, and Mo Leng unknowingly became the second most important figure in the current Dao Ming Sect, second only to the Pope. Even Snake Eyes, an organization whose strength had never been as good as the Eagle Hall, but which could originally sit on an equal footing with the Eagle Hall, now had to be responsible to Mo Leng.

Zhou Rui took a deep breath. It was really interesting that Mo Leng and the old man appeared together. Judging from Mo Leng's expression, the old man was certainly not the Pope of the Dao Ming Sect or anything like that, but he must also be a figure on one side, and should be one of the top five leaders. Just as Zhou Rui was considering the possibility of changing his target on the spot, he suddenly saw some acquaintances in the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" The people Zhou Rui saw were Cao Pojun and Gu Xi. He quietly stood up, squeezed to the side of the two people without making a sound, and asked softly. Cao Pojun, under the pseudonym Lei Jun, was a thorn in the Dao Ming Sect's side, and Gu Xi also had deep grievances with the Dao Ming Sect. Although they had disguised themselves and people who were not familiar with them would not recognize them, after all, if these two people were discovered here, it would be a terrible situation.