Lao Si arrived in front of the main house, where the "Object Driving Skill" was activated, and the hand of Spiritual Power entered the room, silently opening the latch.

    The entire process was faster than a professional thief''s, as smooth and flowing as clouds and water, and even his speed of movement was not affected in the slightest, as if someone inside the main house had conveniently opened the door for him.

    With a casual wave of his hand, the hand of Spiritual Power knocked out Si Qin, who was dozing off.

    Si Qin was sitting on a stool outside the study, her body swaying as if she was about to fall over.

    The hand of Spiritual Power caught her and gently placed her on the floor; Lao Si did not lay a hand on mortals.

    This wasn''t because Lao Si had a heart of kindness, but because he feared Gu Jia and the Sky Sea Sect.

    To kill a mortal with Spiritual Power, especially within Central Capital, would be to slap the face of the Sky Sea Sect, to slap the face of Gu Jia.

    For the sake of a mere maid, he wasn''t willing to risk being hunted down by Gu Jia.

    As for Li Shiming, Li Shiming was a Cultivator. Killing Li Shiming was merely a grudge between Cultivators, and the Sky Sea Sect would not interfere. However, there might be trouble from Gu Jia''s side.

    But the Hao Family had to retaliate. Ever since two Cultivators from the Hao Family were killed, the Hao Family''s reputation near Central Capital had been severely damaged due to their lack of action.

    Besides, the Hao Family had investigated the relationship between Li Shiming and Gu Jia. What Gu Jia valued was a living Li Shiming. If Li Shiming were dead, even if the investigation leads back to them, at most they would shed some blood and give some compensation. Stay updated through empire

    Lao Si arrived at the door of the study, and the hand of Spiritual Power entered once more.

    Contrary to expectations, Li Shiming was too weak, which gave him a new idea.

    He planned to assassinate using mortal means, not using any offensive Spiritual Power to minimize the chances of Gu Jia finding out.

    The "Object Driving Skill" was a special spell; as long as used carefully, it left very fine traces of Spiritual Power fluctuation that would dissipate quickly, leaving almost no evidence.

    Just as Lao Si''s hand of Spiritual Power was opening the latch, he sensed a weak fluctuation of Spiritual Power inside the study.

    Before he could determine what the fluctuation of Spiritual Power was, five Geng Metal Needles pierced through the wooden door of the study and hit him.

    Lao Si thought he had concealed himself with an "Invisibility Talisman," unseen by Li Shiming.

    However, under the infrared sensor, Lao Si''s thermal imaging was clearly exposed to Li Shiming''s eyes.

    The moment Lao Si had laid Si Qin on the ground, Li Shiming had already mobilized Spiritual Power and begun to activate the "Primary Geng Metal Talisman" in his hand.

    At a speed of one hundred twenty kilometers per hour, he traversed the city, reached the walls, propelled himself with two steps up the wall, and then lightly tapped on the top to leap over it.

    In times of peace, even the walls of Central Capital of Great Xia were not always well-defended everywhere.

    The area he chose was where the city guards were sparsest, a result of his numerous observations.

    Once outside Central Capital, he maintained top speed, heading straight for the Hao Family''s immortal cultivation residence.

    His mind was crystal clear; the assassination attempt by a Hao Family cultivator had set a deadly feud between them.

    Tonight, the Hao Family was probably awaiting the outcome of the assassination, never expecting him to take the initiative to come to them.

    Half an hour later, Li Shiming, who had never before sustained a full-speed run for so long, arrived near the location of the Hao''s Immortal Cultivation Family marked on the map.

    He released a drone and put on the goggles.

    As the drone took to the air, through his field of vision, he saw the Hao Family''s compound enclosed by walls.

    The Hao Family''s grounds weren''t large, comprising a circular structure with a two-story wooden building going around it.

    In the center of the Hao Family''s residence was a pond.

    Such an architectural form was exceedingly peculiar, and Li Shiming had never seen anything like it.

    Switching the drone to infrared thermal imaging mode revealed various figures.

    He counted them; there were a total of twenty-four people.

    Li Shiming showed no reaction; he found a spot facing the Hao Family''s main gate, more than five hundred meters away from it, nestled between two large trees and obscured by underbrush.

    He took out a monocular telescope that lacked night vision, infrared, or any such functions—it was purely mechanical.

    Nonetheless, this monocular could reach up to seventy times magnification, an extremely high capacity in the realm of telescopes.

    Moreover, his hands were exceptionally steady, allowing him to make the best use of the telescope without a tripod.

    The drone''s battery was depleting as he used the thermal imaging to analyze where the remaining four cultivators of the Hao Family were located.

    Across from the gate, inside the building, of the four figures, one sat in the middle at the back of the room, while the rest were positioned one on the left and two on the right.

    Li Shiming was eighty percent sure that these four figures were the Hao Family cultivators.