Naked Sword Art

Chapter 533: Spy’s Report

"Captain... Xiao Fang."

.

.

.

The Elders continued to murmur trying to understand what significance this new Captain had in this war, and where he might have come from.

However, the 3 veiled figures standing next to the Patriarch had a very different reaction.

"Brother..." the smallest one said quietly.

"No. It’s impossible," he quietly replied back to her, refusing to believe it was who they thought it was.

Facing the spy once more, the veiled man asked, "Tell us, what have you learned about this new Captain."

The spy began to inform them everything he learned about Xiao Fang since the war began, which wasn’t very much.

The only thing he knew was that he was currently engaged to Li Lian, he was also practicing the [ Illusory Body ] method, and that his presence was unremarkable. During the entirety of the battle, he remained in seclusion in his tent.

Slowly, the Elders in the room began to piece together what really happened, and why Li Lian initially faced the beast horde alone instead of hiding like the rest of Li Huxin’s army did.

"And what about his appearance, did you get a look at him?" the veiled woman standing next to the Patriarch asked.

"He’s tall, fairly built, long black hair, as for his face, I couldn’t see it very well because he was wearing a blindfold."

The veiled woman staggered half a step, her breath catching.

"It’s him," she whispered.

Her reaction did not escape Patriarch Song Zhenyuan.

"Do you know him?" he asked quietly.

For a moment, none of the three answered. Then the smallest of the veiled figures spoke, hands planting firmly on her hips as if bracing herself.

"We’ve heard of him," she said. "He’s... a Divine Swordsman."

Song Zhenyuan’s chest tightened.

"A Divine Swordsman," he murmured. "Why here... why now?"

Despite his effort to remain composed, his fingers trembled faintly against the armrest.

The Divine Sword Sect was no ordinary power. It was the strongest sword sect in the continent—feared by every other major sect in the country. If they were here, then how were they, an insignificant family clan, going to fight against them.

Seeing the Patriarch’s reaction, the young veiled girl scoffed.

"It’s not what you think," she said dismissively. "He may be a Divine Swordsman, but that one is useless."

Some of the tension drained from Song Zhenyuan’s posture.

"Useless?" he asked.

"Everyone knows it," she continued. "He’s a cripple. That’s why he wears a blindfold."

"...You’re saying he’s blind?" the Patriarch asked carefully.

Before she could answer, the veiled woman spoke.

"You’re wrong," she said calmly. "He’s not someone we can afford to look down on. He’s dangerous."

Song Zhenyuan’s brows knit together.

Beside her, the veiled man nodded. "My sister is right. My personal bias aside, underestimating him would be a mistake."

The youngest veiled girl frowned, clearly confused. The Xiao Fang she knew from rumors had always been described as worthless—so why were her elder siblings treating him like a threat?

"What should we do about him?" Song Zhenyuan asked at last. "Will others from the Divine Sword Sect intervene?"

"They won’t," the veiled man replied without hesitation. "Both the Chaos Sect and the Divine Sword Sect are forbidden from participating in wars beyond their provinces. That restriction is precisely why our involvement in this war can’t be known."

Song Zhenyuan leaned forward slowly.

"That explains why he remained hidden in his tent during the beast horde wave," he said. "If we can just avoid engaging him, he won’t be able to touch us."

Yet despite that logic, none of them felt reassured.

A single thought lingered in every mind.

’What if he’s the reason General Song Haiyan never returned?’

An unknown foe with Heavenly Realm battlepower wasn’t something they could just ignore.

Elsewhere in the tent, the elders continued questioning the spy—unaware that the most dangerous variable in this war had already been named.

"What about the beast horde?"

"There’s no way they could’ve stopped it."

"Tell us everything!"

They pressed the spy.

Wondering about the same thing, the veiled figures and Patriarch paid close attention to them as well.

"The Beast horde was dispersed..." The spy started. "A single ninth-tier cannibal abnormal beast appeared within the horde, it slaughtered indiscriminately. The beasts panicked. Our forces hidden among them were exposed. Then at that moment, Li Huxin’s army came down from the hills and slaughtered them all."

General Song Kuanglie took a step back.

"A 9th tier... cannibal abnormal beast," he muttered. "How could something like that appear there... Now of all times."

Song Zhenyuan closed his eyes for a brief moment.

When he opened them again, the confidence of earlier was gone.

"So," he said quietly, "Haiyan failed to break Li Huxin’s camp. The beast horde collapsed. And they gained a new captain."

No one contradicted him.

"They gained two," the spy added.

The pavilion stirred.

"Another captain?" an elder asked sharply.

The Demon Eye activated once more. Light spilled across the tent as a recording formed—this time showing the final moments of the Li Clan’s team assignment ceremony.

They watched in silence as Xun Wei stepped onto the platform and introduced herself.

"...I seek blood."

No one spoke as the recording continued.

For several long minutes, the elders were forced to witness the scene in full—Xun Wei standing unmoved while her chosen soldiers tortured a captured Song clansman. Flesh was torn. Bones broke. The man was kept alive with deliberate cruelty.

After Li Huxin’s army withdrew from the camp, the image flickered once—then faded completely.

The pavilion was plunged into silence.

Eventually, Patriarch Song Zhenyuan rose slowly to his feet.

"Remember her face," he said, voice cold and absolute. "That woman—Xun Wei. I want her alive."

His gaze swept across the elders.

"She will pay for what she has done. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Patriarch," they answered in unison.

Nothing remained of the earlier confidence. What they had witnessed had carved itself too deeply into their minds.

Without warning, the veiled man stepped forward, his presence pressing down on the room.

"Were you followed?" he asked.