Chapter 822: Zong Ze and Gu Lang Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Sun Ningxiang watched as the two tall and well-proportioned men climbed the stone steps up to the Midnight Palace. One of the men was dressed in purple clothes with bamboo embroidery. The other man was dressed in a crimson half-armor that was full of scratches. The man in purple clothes had bushy eyebrows and looked extremely handsome. There was a ghost of a smile that played on his lips. The other man dressed in crimson half-armor had deep-set eyes and a grim face. However, the mole on the tip of his nose made the solemn man look obedient and an easy target. A smile appeared on Zuo Ming’s face, and he welcomed the man in purple and the man in crimson half-armor as he said, “Lord Gu Lang, Lord Zong Ze, Lord Bamboo Monarch, and Lord Chef Supreme are still in a meeting. If you don’t want to be bothered by the noise, I can lead you to the Night Words Pavilion to have some refreshments or to the training room next to the Night Rain Pavilion to wait for the competition to start.” When Gu Lang heard what Zuo Ming said, he bowed respectfully. Zong Ze nodded at Zuo Ming and cooly greeted him. Since his Master, the Bamboo Monarch, was still in a meeting and after he had peered around at the younger generation of the top factions, he thought to himself that he would be able to get a good look at the action from outside the palace. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 He was about to say that he would prefer to wait for the competition to begin when he heard Zong Ze say, “Senior Zuo Ming, please lead the way. Gu Lang and I can make use of the training room to spar for a bit.” Gu Lang and Zong Ze were old friends, and he knew Zong Ze well. Zong Ze had almost killed a Path Protector and was obsessive about fighting. If he sparred with Zong Ze in the training room and Zong Ze got too into it, Gu Lang might not be able to use any of his secret weapons during the Martial Arts Stage. He was about to reject Zong Ze when he felt Zong Ze’s hand land on his shoulder and Zong Ze’s eyes boring into his own with a wild gaze. “Don’t worry, Zong Ze. Master has given me some special training. He taught me how to control my emotions during battle. We’ll limit our sparring so as to not affect our performance during the competition. Let’s fight properly on the Martial Arts Stage,” said Zong Ze. Gu Lang shot a look of suspicion at Zong Ze. Gu Lang felt that Zong Ze’s assurance was unreliable when he saw the overwhelming wild look in Zong Ze’s eyes. But since Zong Ze had urged him repeatedly, Gu Lang could not say no. He decided to forget about watching the action and went with Zong Ze to the training room to spar for a few rounds. Zuo Ming led Zong Ze and Gu Lang through the Shadow Night Corridor that the other veteran factions and top factions were not allowed to access and brought them to the Night Words Pavilion. Sun Ningxiang noticed that Zuo Ming had turned back to look around. This made Sun Ningxiang raise her eyebrow in surprise. Zuo Ming was the Chief Guard’s right-hand man and did not hesitate in his actions. Since he turned back after leading Gu Lang and Zong Ze to the Night Words Pavilion, it meant that they were not the people that he had been waiting for. Although the people he was waiting for had yet to arrive, he could not ignore Gu Lang and Zong Ze’s status and knew that he had to attend to them. This meant that the people that Zuo Ming was actually waiting for had to be extremely influential. The Chief Guard was holding the Guard Ye Banquet because of her disciple, and there were rumors that the Moon Empress had also accepted a disciple. It was probable that Zuo Ming was actually waiting for his Young Lord and the Moon Empress’ disciple. Sun Ningxiang kept her gaze locked on Zuo Ming and realized that he had stopped sweeping the crowd once he spotted someone. When Sun Ningxiang hurriedly followed his gaze, her eyes landed on a man wearing a standard Spirit Guards mask. She saw the masked man shake his head lightly when he saw Zuo Ming looking at him. Zuo Ming turned back and went back to leading the way for Zong Ze and Gu Lang. Almost every person’s attention was on Gu Lang and Zong Ze. They were the apples of Lord Chef Supreme and Lord Bamboo Monarch’s eyes, and they were not seen publicly on a regular basis. Many women from the veteran factions and top factions leered after Gu Lang and Zong Ze. If not for their fear of offending such elite individuals, those women would have stampeded the two men. However, Sun Ningxiang was not paying attention to the two men at all. When she had noticed Zuo Ming’s actions, her gaze remained locked on Liu Jie and Lin Yuan. The people who could signal to Zuo Ming with only a shake of their head could only be Chief Guard Ye or Chief Guard Ye’s disciple. Zuo Ming was loyal to Chief Guard Ye and represented her will. Not even Chef Supreme or the Bamboo Monarch could order Zuo Ye around. Thus, after some thinking, Sun Ningxiang became certain of who the man wearing the standard Spirit Guards’ mask was. As for Lin Yuan, who was beside Liu Jie, Sun Ningxiang found his figure slightly familiar, and her gaze lingered on him. She was sure that Lin Yuan was not one of the younger generation members from the top factions but could not be certain of who he was. Since she could not ascertain who he was, Sun Ningxiang decided to disregard him and inhaled deeply as she started to climb the steps to the Midnight Palace. She steeled herself for the spectacle that she was about to create. With so many willpowers and laws applied to his body, Lin Yuan’s senses were exceptionally sharp. Hence, he had noticed Sun Ningxiang’s eyes on him. He smiled when she saw her and turned to say to Liu Jie, “Big Brother Liu, why don’t we stay outside the Midnight Palace before the Martial Arts Stage begins?” Liu Jie nodded and issued a curt agreement. He placed his hand on where the Creation Master crest usually was. Due to the Guard Ye Banquet and a request from Lin Yuan, Liu Jie had removed the Creation Master crest. From Liu Jie’s understanding of Lin Yuan, the latter was not one who liked to gawk.. Hence, he had to have his reasons for wanting to stay outside the Midnight Palace.