Strategic Planning

"The Emperor made an exception," Ye Simming explained. "Apparently, there are a few exceptional cases like your brothers, Yuan and Xinyu who crossed Spirit Realm 5 before turning 20. Red cards were issued to allow us to participate. After all these people are still below 20 years.

A jolt of surprise ran through Chujiu. She hadn't considered her own cultivation level. Glancing down at her hand, she remembered the lack of a red card. She thought to herself, 'doesn't that mean…'

'The array can't sense my cultivation level because of my space ring.'

A new thought struck Chujiu. If her space ring could bypass the array, then...

Her thoughts drifted to the five mysterious space rings of the Lin family. Her grandfather had mentioned the rings belonged to a legendary Armament master who died over ten thousand years ago. A spark of curiosity ignited within her.

Ye Simming patted her shoulder, "What are you thinking?"

"Those assassins," she breathed, "they must have red cards too!"

Ye Simming nodded, a glint of understanding in his eyes. "That explains it. But how did they get their hands on them?"

"Did the emperor gave them to these assassins? But why?", Chujiu know that emperor has targeted her but why would he want to deal with these aristocratic families?

She thought Song family is behind these assassins, how is the Royal family involved?

Are they both working together, but that doesn't make sense.

"Array Master", a calm voice resounded in the small space of the flying machine.

Bai Xinyu explained looking at the two people. 

"My father is an array master and I have all his cultivation manuals with me. So, I know a little."

The array master who developed the array of the royal hunting ground is a Sage level array master who left to higher continents, left keys to all his arrays with his disciple. He is the one who is currently managing the arrays of the Royal family.

He is also the one who created Red cards with the keys he has. And his name is Master Dai.

Both Chujiu and Ye Simming came to an understanding, so this Master Dai must have colluded with song family. 

"Did Song family offer him any benefits?", Ye Simming said thoughtfully.

"What could they offer to someone who is a powerful array master and is hired by the Royal family?", Chujiu muttered.

"Song Yin"

"What?", both Chujiu and Simming are shocked.

Bai Xinyu said calmly, "When I was roaming outside last year, I have seen your cousin brother Lin Qiang warning Master Dai in a corner of the alley to stop pestering Song Yin."

Chujiu turned her head dumbfounded to see Simming, "Isn't she engaged to my brother Qiang."

Damn it... this Song family is too much.

She heard her grandfather say that they actually did not like to get their eldest grandson engaged to someone from the song family. 

Lin Qiang is Eldest Uncle's son and he is being trained to become head of the family after Eldest uncle. Maybe after 3 decades, he will have to take charge of the entire Lin family.

They need a good matriarch, who is on par with her Eldest Aunt in both Character and Cultivation.

But due to some reason, they had to accept this engagement.

Ye Simming chimed in, "Oh I forgot, I have seen brother Qiang a few times with Song Yin in the Drunken Fairy Pavilion."

He smirked and continued, "Oh I never thought Bother Qiang has such bad eyes!".

He was kicked on the foot and heard a stern warning, "Not a single negative word on my brother!"

Though Chujiu had only interacted with Lin Qiang a few times, he is not an unwise person. There must be something fishy. She will have to find out, but she could only do so after getting out of here.

My poor brother must have been deceived by that vamp. Though she did not see Song Yin yet, after seeing the Song family for a while, she knows black chickens cannot lay good eggs.

"Okay, what should we do now?", Ye Simming asked. 

Chujiu glanced down and signaled them to focus on the ground.

The miniature flying machine buzzed through the twilight sky, weaving between the branches of ancient trees. Chujiu, at the helm, steered them with focused precision, her eyes scanning the terrain below. Beside her, Ye Simming and Bai Xianyu were observing tensely, their faces grim.

"Alright," Chujiu finally spoke, her voice low. "There are at least ten separate groups of these black-clad assassins searching the area. They seem to be well-coordinated, but not part of a single unit."

Ye Simming frowned. "ten groups, That's more than we anticipated."

She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "There is an invisibility function on my space ring. It can last for fifteen minutes."

Ye Simming's jaw dropped. "Fifteen minutes? That's incredible! But…" his voice trailed off, a mix of envy and frustration evident. Why did the Lin family have all the good things, he couldn't help but think.

Sensing his unspoken thoughts, Chujiu raised a hand. "Look, I know it might seem unfair, who asked my Lin family to be so awesome and powerful." she said cheekily, "You better cherish our friendship."

"But right now, let us focus on our mission. Here's the plan."

She outlined her strategy in detail. They would choose one of the smaller assassin groups, ideally one isolated from the others. Ye Simming and Xianyu, with their impressive skills, would engage them head-on. Meanwhile, Chujiu would activate her invisibility and attack from the shadows, eliminating them one by one.

"With your combined skills," Chujiu explained, "taking on a group of 10-15 assassins shouldn't be a problem. I'll be there to help take down any stragglers or deal with any unexpected dangers."

A tense silence followed. Ye Simming and Xianyu exchanged worried glances. They were grateful for Chujiu's resourcefulness, but the plan was risky.

"Are you sure about this, Chujiu?" Xianyu finally asked. "Fighting while invisible… what if you get hurt? We can't see you to protect you."