Zu An narrowed his eyes. This uprising was staged by Marshal Lozento and First Elder Pimosh. Since Pimosh’s envoy was here, he could eavesdrop on their conversation to find out why they had joined forces.

There was a moment of silence before Lozento said, “Let him enter.”

The doors of the sealed chamber opened and a figure draped in a black robe walked in. He was skinny compared to the other asuras, but the guards along the way still treated him with utmost respect.

That’s the robe of an asura priest. He doesn’t seem to be a righteous figure, Zu An thought.

The casually seated Lozento looked at the black-robed man and asked, “Why didn’t Pimosh come in person?”

The black-robed man replied, “The First Elder has other matters to attend to, so he sent me here to liaise with the marshal.”

Zu An was startled. It was a feminine voice, though her way of speaking sounded unnatural. She might have been trying to conceal her original voice. On top of that, she had a peculiar aura that suggested that she might not be an asura.

From the moment Zu An entered the City Lord Manor, he had already sensed a faint aura shrouding the place. If he had to describe it, it felt like a demonic aura. Asuras were already fiery-tempered, and the demonic aura only further stoked their bloodthirst.

Lozento was about to respond when he suddenly looked in Zu An’s direction and roared, “Who’s there?” He tossed his spear in Zu An’s direction.

Zu An hurriedly dodged the spear. It was good that he did, as the spear completely obliterated the place where he'd been hiding before. He was awed by Lozento’s strength, but at the same time, he was also perplexed to know how Lozento discovered him. Was I distracted and accidentally revealed my aura?

Lozento was surprised as well. He couldn’t believe that Zu An had dodged his attack so easily, especially when he had utilized 70% of his full prowess in the earlier spear throw. Not daring to underestimate his opponent, he stood up, conjured nine arms, and began to attack Zu An.

An asura’s strength was determined by their number of arms. The Asura King that Zu An had previously met in the Netherworld had nine arms as well.

Lozento sealed off the space around Zu An, determined to capture him alive. However, he quickly frowned when his nine arms failed to grab anything.

The black-robed woman was surprised. “He managed to escape?” She knew how strong Lozento was. Even First Elder Pimosh would have to go all out to withstand a simultaneous attack from his nine arms, but that mysterious man was able to escape so easily.

“It felt like he had momentarily phased out of this world,” Lozento said in astonishment. He had sealed off the space around Zu An earlier, but that wouldn’t do anything if the other party turned intangible. If not for him being confident in his judgment and the black-robed woman watching from the side, he would have thought that he was seeing things.

Zu An wiped off his cold sweat. That could have turned out disastrous if not for his new skill. Asuras were known to be warlike, and Lozento was the Asuras’ War God. His strength was likely to be on par with Emperor Jun's. On top of that, Iron City was his turf, and he had a huge asura army here. If a battle broke out here, it was only a matter of time before Zu An was worn down.

Zu An didn’t dare to infiltrate the City Lord Manor anymore, so there was no way for him to uncover Lozento and Pimosh’s scheme. That said, he did have a conjecture, and what he had to do next was to verify it. He hid outside the City Lord Manor and waited two hours until the black-robed woman secretly left via the back door.

She was extremely vigilant. She constantly scanned her surroundings to ensure that no one was tailing her, and she took huge detours, occasionally turning into a wisp of black smoke.

Of course, Zu An hadn’t camped outside the City Lord Manor just to let her throw him off. After the earlier precedent, he was more careful than ever. It was a relief the black-robed woman was nowhere as powerful as Lozento, so she didn’t notice him.

In the end, the woman arrived at a barracks outside the city. Zu An had learned from Princess Liuli earlier that this was where Lozento’s most elite Blood Sea Army was stationed.

Zu An was perplexed. Didn’t the black-robed woman just engage in secret negotiations with Lozento? What is she doing at the Blood Sea Army’s barracks? He turned intangible and infiltrated the barracks.

The black-robed woman entered a tent. Judging by its size and the guards stationed around it, it was likely the vice-commander’s tent.

“Did you accomplish the task I entrusted to you?”

“I’m almost done. What about what the First Elder promised me?”

A strong but hideous asura looked at the black-robed woman. Zu An could sense a powerful aura coming from that asura. The other party was only slightly weaker than Lozento.

“Rest assured. You’ll get everything you want once we resolve things at the Abyss of Eternal Night,” the black-robed woman calmly replied.

“If you are deceiving me, I’ll kill even the First Elder!” the vice-commander said grimly.

“Don’t worry. Lozento is too hot-headed and isn’t suited for schemes. The Blood Sea Army has to be under your command,” the black-robed woman consoled him.

“You know what I want isn’t the Blood Sea Army.”

“Of course. You’ll become the lord of one of the three cities.”

...

Zu An could guess what was going on based on their conversation. The black-robed woman was playing the role of a double agent—she had reached out to Lozento for a partnership, but at the same time, she was also colluding with Lozento’s aide. She was exploiting the vice-commander’s ambition to make him do things that Lozento didn’t want. It was hard to tell whether this was the black-robed woman’s intention or the First Elder’s ploy.

Politicking is inevitable, be it in the human society, the Celestial Court, or the Asura World. But I wonder what the Abyss of Eternal Night she mentioned is.

Zu An was tempted to subdue the black-robed woman and the vice-commander so he could bring them before Lozento. This could drive a wedge between Lozento and the First Elder, thus hindering their partnership.

Unfortunately, this was the barracks of the Asuras’ most elite Blood Sea Army. He had no choice but to give up on that notion. Instead, he waited for the black-robed woman to leave the barracks and followed her.

A while later, the black-robed woman suddenly stopped her footsteps and said, “How much longer do you intend to follow me?”

Zu An revealed himself in midair.

The black-robed woman frowned. “You’re the man who was at the City Lord Manor?” The mysterious figure whom even Lozento failed to capture.

Zu An was perplexed. “You aren’t afraid of me.”

The black-robed woman laughed. “Why should I be afraid of you?”

She had a pleasant voice that evoked sympathy from all men. Zu An realized that it was a high-level seduction skill, but he wouldn’t fall for such cheap tricks. The other party’s composure unnerved him, so he decided to go all out lest a mishap happen. He brought out a seven-colored divine light.

The black-robed woman immediately put up her guard, but the next moment, she murmured in a daze, “Big brother Zu?”