Strange Behavior and an Early Meeting with Serena Feng

The Black Riders are formidable on the battlefield, but when facing top martial artists or Prince Damien of Southlyn’s band of demonic followers, they don’t stand a chance.

Prince Nolan’s so-called advance ambush means pre-planting explosives on the mountain. When Prince Damien brings his men, everything will be blown up—and all the blame will fall on him.

This way, not just the Three Kingdoms and Nine Cities, but every major sect in the martial world will treat Prince Damien as their enemy. By then, he’ll truly be a rat in the street, hated by all.

Anyone who can attend the Martial Arts Conference is no minor figure—no sect can afford to lose their top experts.

Just a small martial arts gathering, yet it’s tangled up in power struggles between nations. Prince Nolan takes this year’s conference more seriously than ever.

He might not be able to seize control of the martial world’s power, but he absolutely won’t let it fall into the hands of Prince Damien or Princess Royal Evelyn.

Nolan trusts Ling Mo, but a hundred Black Riders still aren’t enough. To be safe, he also brings in Brandon Bu—the one impersonating Lance Quinn.

Representing Heaven’s First Consortium at the conference, Brandon Bu always appears as Lance Quinn. Even meeting Prince Nolan is no exception.

"Keep eyes on Moonvault Palace Sect. Assist the Black Riders with everything you’ve got." Prince Nolan’s orders were simple, but actually carrying them out was anything but easy. Brandon Bu, playing Lance Quinn, frowned behind his silver mask—fortunately, outsiders couldn’t see his expression.

"Tell Storm Cloud Bu: if this goes south, I’ll send Bella Qin straight back." Storm Cloud Bu’s mistakes have piled up lately, and Prince Nolan has no choice but to warn him.

Brandon Bu opened his mouth, but thought better of it and simply replied, "Understood."

The message had already reached Prince Nolan. He should know by now—Bella Qin and Sun Sihang are traveling together, already on their way to the Eastlyn capital.

Once they arrive in Eastlyn and settle at the Feng estate, it’ll be much harder for Prince Nolan to send anyone away.

After finishing the orders, Prince Nolan added, "Go see Serena Feng. Don’t risk giving yourself away."

It would be strange for Lance Quinn to arrive at Skyvault Fortress and not visit Serena Feng. Even if Nolan disliked Brandon Bu and Serena being alone together, he had no choice but to suggest it—he couldn’t let Serena get suspicious.

"Uh..." Brandon Bu instantly felt the pressure: Couldn’t he just skip it?

Prince Nolan shot him a cold look. Brandon Bu straightened up at once, putting on Lance Quinn’s trademark icy expression.

"Good. Go now—I’ll be watching from the shadows." Prince Nolan tightened the leash. Brandon Bu had the urge to turn and run, but the thought barely flickered before Nolan caught it: "Don’t make me repeat myself."

Whether you stick your neck out or hide, it’s the same blade. Brandon Bu gritted his teeth and accepted his fate, heading for Serena Feng’s room. Near her courtyard, he felt a chill down his spine and silently cursed: Prince Nolan, this isn’t my idea—I’m only doing this because you forced me!

...Tears...

Brandon Bu let out a silent sigh: This was even more exhausting than killing someone.

Forcing himself to focus, Brandon Bu gathered his scattered thoughts, every muscle tense. Behind the silver mask, his gaze was sharp and cold. He signaled secretly, asking Prince Nolan to help draw Ling Mo away so he could enter.

With his martial arts, he still couldn’t slip past Ling Mo and the Eighteen Riders unnoticed.

After an incense stick’s time, Brandon Bu got the signal and slipped into Serena Feng’s courtyard.

He wasn’t the real Lance Quinn, after all, so he didn’t dare barge in. He knocked lightly outside the door to get Serena Feng’s attention.

The Eighteen Riders weren’t as skilled as Brandon Bu, but they weren’t pushovers either. As soon as they heard a sound, they rushed over. Before a fight could break out, Serena Feng was already alerted.

"It’s me." Brandon Bu spoke from the shadows. Serena Feng called out suspiciously, "Lance?"

"Mm." Brandon Bu answered flatly, but inside he was a bundle of nerves.

If he couldn’t get past Serena Feng, and ruined Prince Nolan’s plans, he’d be in serious trouble.

"You all can go. There’s nothing to worry about." Once Serena Feng confirmed who it was, she told the Eighteen Riders to stand down.

"Yes." The Eighteen Riders swallowed their anger and retreated, glancing back at Lance Quinn every few steps—making no effort to hide their resentment.

They weren’t strangers to Lance Quinn. He’d embarrassed them more than once, sneaking into Serena Feng’s courtyard right in front of their faces.

Damn it! So what if you’re good at martial arts? A top fighter, yet always chasing after women—what a waste of talent.

Once the others left, Lance Quinn didn’t go inside. He stayed hidden in the darkness. When Serena Feng didn’t speak up, he finally forced himself to say, "I thought you wouldn’t come." Honestly, he’d hoped she wouldn’t—less pressure for him.

"I’m just here to watch the show—and take care of some business." Serena Feng replied with a smile, noticing Lance Quinn standing motionless in the shadows. She didn’t invite him in, either.

"Mm." Brandon Bu, playing Lance Quinn, nodded. After thinking for ages, he could only awkwardly remind her, "Things are messy right now. Be careful, and keep your guards close."

That should be proper enough—not suspicious to Serena Feng, and not likely to annoy Prince Nolan, right?

"Got it. I’ll be careful too. Those demonic followers have big plans, and you’re probably one of their assassination targets as well." Serena Feng pieced things together from Prince Nolan’s words and her own deductions, sensing Prince Damien’s intent.

Everyone up on Skyvault Mountain this time is someone Prince Damien wants dead. Skyvault Fortress itself might face total destruction.

Prince Damien’s plan is twofold: kill off a batch of top martial artists and rising stars, cutting off the sects’ pillars and fresh blood; and use this to intimidate smaller sects—if you don’t obey, you’re dead.

Brandon Bu nodded to show he understood. The two fell silent again. He’d been playing Lance Quinn with ease around others, but with Serena Feng, he still felt uneasy.

The main problem was Prince Nolan watching from the shadows. If he got too close, it was bad; if he kept his distance, Serena Feng might get suspicious. Balancing this was truly difficult.

"What’s wrong with you? You seem off today." Serena Feng eyed Lance Quinn, feeling something wasn’t right. But with some distance between them, she wondered if she was just overthinking it.

Brandon Bu stiffened, worried Serena Feng was onto him. He snapped to attention: "There’s just a lot going on lately. You know about the Liancity incident."

He looked up at the sky, showing a perfectly timed, weary smile—hoping to mislead Serena Feng into thinking his odd behavior was just stress from Liancity.

Serena Feng frowned slightly and asked again, "Need any help?"

"No need. I can handle it." His tone and manner were just like the real Lance Quinn—Brandon Bu had practiced for ages before Prince Nolan finally approved.

"Alright. I’ll be staying at Qiyun Villa for now. If you need me, come find me—I’ll tell the staff to let you through." Otherwise, every time Lance Quinn visited, the Eighteen Riders would be miserable, looking like they’d been crushed.

Brandon Bu declined Serena Feng’s offer, replying coldly, "Your guards need more training."

Serena Feng couldn’t argue with that. She knew unless it was someone like Zuo’an, even if the Eighteen Riders trained until they coughed blood, they’d never stop Lance Quinn.

Their first exchange was barely passable. Brandon Bu didn’t dare linger—he quickly found an excuse and slipped away.

Serena Feng watched Lance Quinn’s retreating figure, feeling more and more unsettled: "Am I overthinking? Why does Lance seem so strange today? Was Liancity really such a blow to him?"

Prince Nolan, listening in, felt something altogether different...

Sometimes, Serena Feng was truly sharp!