The room door opened, and You Shan walked out. Chong Jingtian, who had already been waiting outside for a long time, immediately walked over and asked, "What's the situation?"
"It's no different from what he said." You Shan massaged her temples. "This guy is innocent."
Jiang Shumo, standing to the side, wasn't surprised. "It should be so. He is merely the person who discovered the body."
Without gaining anything, Chong Jingtian felt somewhat disappointed, but then he quickly asked, "What about those few Core Seeds?"
"None of them have any major issues either," You Shan said. "When they accepted their classes, I more or less sensed their mental bodies. I've come into contact with Su Chen the most times."
This was deliberately said for Jiang Shumo to hear, and he nodded.
"What's the situation now?" You Shan had already sensed the bio-magnetic fields of people moving frequently outside.
Chong Jingtian said in a heavy voice, "I've dispatched people to investigate. Shumo plans to use Wei Yufan and the others to fish."
"He..." You Shan's expression slightly changed. Looking at Jiang Shumo, she said, "You're taking too big of a risk!"
The word 'them' would inevitably include her student, Ming Lin.
"This is the simplest and most direct method; it just depends a bit on luck." Jiang Shumo spoke mildly. Right at this time, his wristband vibrated slightly. Opening it to take a look, his eyes couldn't help but narrow, making it impossible to read his joy or anger from his voice. "Su Chen was the first to take people outside. 'Wei Yufan... don't let anyone disturb him.'"
"He has no sense of responsibility at all!" Chong Jingtian couldn't help but coldly snort. "Issue a fatal direct order; make him go outside!"
Over the next few days, the Adjudication Court made quite large moves. Following the traces of Chu Xuan's behavior and movements, they began investigating every single node one by one.
Since Meng Qi was currently acting as a Core Seed, and openly had very little interaction with Chu Xuan after their battle, practically no one suspected him. He still led people to investigate traces of Evil God Cultists throughout Yingfeng.
There is no wall in this world that doesn't leak wind.
A week later, the news of Chu Xuan's death finally spread out, triggering a massive uproar.
In an instant, all various departments experienced turbulence. For a Core Seed to die within the interior of Yingfeng, dying right inside the Adjudication Court... this was something that had practically never happened before.
Meanwhile, the Adjudication Court's actions grew increasingly blatant. The several teams dispatched outside shuttled back and forth through various venues in Yingfeng.
"Here." Su Chen hid within the shadows at a street corner, looking at a six-story building not far away.
It was already nearing nightfall, and the external lights had been illuminated. A massive humanoid virtual projection was dancing passionately in a brilliant and resplendent display.
"Are you certain there's a problem with this place?"
Beside him, Yang Yan was somewhat hesitant. "There are indeed a few clues pointing here, but none of them are incredibly exact. I'm not certain either."
Su Chen cast a glance at him, feeling somewhat speechless, and could only say in a heavy voice: "It's better to kill by mistake than to let a threat go. Mobilize our people here and lock down the surroundings."
Yang Yan's eyelids twitched, and he couldn't help but say, "How about we investigate a bit more? This place is not simpleâ"
"What do you mean simple or not simple? Mobilize people!" Su Chen's voice was icy cold. Other people's suspicions were merely suspicions, but his suspicion served as supporting evidence.
This area was exactly the region where he had sensed the strongest reaction. If the method/thing capable of manipulating the Divine Blood was anywhere, there was a high probability it was right here.
They had already more or less thoroughly investigated every other venue within the region; basically, only this largest building remained. He had originally planned on using a relatively reasonable excuse to mobilize people, but who would have thought that when push came to shove, Yang Yan would actually cower.
Seeing Su Chen insist, Wu Yang quickly issued the mobilization order. The inquisitors scattered across various areas swiftly rushed over.
A few hours later, this place was heavily surrounded on all sides.
"Go, quickly go..." A hovercar had just landed at the entrance when the people inside saw inquisitors standing there like pairs of door gods. The complexion of the person in the backseat drastically changed, hurriedly urging the driver, but they were forcefully pressed down.
"Level-3 Inquisitor, Zhang Yunqing. Please step out of the vehicle." Zhang Yunqing's pretty face was apathetic as she presented her credentials.
"Among the Clouds, good name," Su Chen stood at the main entrance, looking up at the signboard. The security guards on both sides were shivering in fear.
Yang Yan cleared the path, and the inquisitors filed in. After a flurry of panic and commotion, practically everyone from the top floor to the bottom was brought under control.
Everyone had already been gathered in the main hall. Quite a few of them had disheveled clothing, their eyes dodging and evading.
There were also some whose expressions were furious, sharply shouting, "You people... do you know who I am!?"
"City Patrol Department, Level-4 City GuardâZhou Han." Beside him, Yang Yan's expression remained apathetic as he firmly pressed him down. "Do you know who we are?"
"You... you Adjudication Court people, what exactly are you trying to do?" Seeing the other party call out his identity in a single breath without caring in the slightest, Zhou Han knew this wasn't a small-scale operation. As he spoke, he was already putting up a fierce front while trembling within.
However, he suddenly saw Yang Yan stand up straight and look toward the entrance. The other inquisitors made the exact same movement.
Under everyone's gazes, a young man, surrounded and escorted by inquisitors from behind, walked in.
'It's him... Su Chen.' Zhou Han recognized the other party and couldn't help but shrink his neck back. This figure was Xia Hanshi's student, a Core Seed of the Adjudication Court, someone with an exalted and distinguished status.
"Your Excellency Su Chen, so it was youâ"
Someone from the detained crowd suddenly shouted out, a smile plastered over his face. He wanted to stand up, but was pressed back down by Yang Yan. "This is the manager, Zhou Jun," Zhang Yunqing whispered beside Su Chen.
"We're on the same side, we're all on the same side!" Zhou Jun shouted loudly.
Su Chen waved his hand to let him come over. Zhou Jun trotted over and said flatteringly, "Your Excellency Su Chen, I am from the Zhou Family. I have very good relationships with Wei Yufan, Zhong Ming, Ming Lin, and the others. My Third Uncle even ate a meal with you just a couple of days ago! We're all on the same side."
"Your Third Uncle? Zhou Kai?" Su Chen suddenly laughed. "Does he recognize you?"
"Uhâ" Zhou Jun smiled awkwardly. "We're relatives, of course he recognizes me."
He changed the subject and emphasized, "We have always strictly abided by Yingfeng's laws hereâ"
Before his voice could even finish dropping, Yang Yan handed over a packet of colored granules. "Ghost Lotus granules, a Level-3 contrabandâ"
"Uhâthese were brought in privately by guests; they have nothing to do with us," Zhou Jun hurriedly explained, lowering his voice. "Moreover, confiscating contraband should be the responsibility of the Supervision Department, right?"
"It is the responsibility of everyone in Yingfeng!" Yang Yan sternly rebuked in a heavy voice. If they couldn't discover anything else, they would have to rely on these contraband items to fob off the intricate connections backing this place.
"Yes, yesâ" Zhou Jun nodded his head profusely, standing to the side, not daring to move.
The inquisitors left here to watch over the detained personnel were only a small portion. The vast majority of people had already gone deep into various areas to investigate carefully.
The actions of these inquisitors were very fast. Not long after, they had rough results.
"You discovered absolutely nothing?" Yang Yan pressed repeatedly. "No hidden rooms or anything of the sort?"
"A rough sweep can only reach this degree, but we truly didn't discover any further clues," another inquisitor smiled bitterly. "We even used mental energy detection, but didn't find any hidden rooms or the like."
Hearing this, everyone's gazes inevitably fell upon Su Chen, only to see him sizing up their surroundings while leisurely strolling up the stairs. "I'll go take a look. You guys wait here."
"Waitâ"
Wu Yang frowned, instantly stepping forward to follow him. The resultâjust as he rounded the staircase corner, his expression changed to one of shock. Where did the person go? The corridor before his eyes was completely empty, without the slightest trace of Su Chen's figure.
"Old Wu, didn't I tell you to wait downstairs?" A voice suddenly traveled from behind him. Wu Yang's heart palpated, and he abruptly turned his head. Su Chen was actually standing right over there behind him, looking at him in confusion.
"I was worried about you..." Wu Yang subconsciously responded.
"I'm fine. You have to keep an eye on those people below. I did this on purpose." Su Chen gave an ambiguous, bluffing response.
Wu Yang's throat bobbed, and he walked downstairs in a slight trance.
'If I don't scare him a bit, people won't listen when I speak.' Su Chen secretly shook his head. Just using [Spatial Concealment] a moment ago had given Wu Yang quite the fright.
'It's quite suitable for sneak attacks, but I can only wait for others to approach me; I have no way to actively strike out.' Su Chen muttered to himself, continuing to head deeper inside.
Finding an empty room and carefully checking his surroundings, his body gradually vanished. Hiding within the spatial interstitial layer, posing as a "Believer of Black Buddha" couldn't be any safer.
'Hmm...' His pitch-black pupils looked incomparably demonic and eerie as Su Chen carefully sensed that faint, minute attractive force. 'It's indeed right here. The distance is very, very close, but exactly what place is it...?'
He changed his location several times in a row before finally forming a slight guess.
"The Adjudication Court possesses no law-enforcement authority within the cityâ"
"A special authorization from the Elder Councilâ"
"âWhat are you people trying to doâ"
Just at this moment, bustling, noisy commotions echoed from below. Su Chen raised an eyebrow and swiftly went downstairs.
In the first-floor main hall, two groups of forces were currently locked in a standoff. The newcomers were Supervision Guards, and their numbers were not low.
The guy leading the group stood face to face with Wu Yang, arguing until both their faces were flushed red.
'The connections tied to this place truly aren't small.' The moment Su Chen walked downstairs, he instantly drew the gazes of both parties.
"It's you..." The expression of the Supervision Guard leader slightly changed. Evidently, he knew who Su Chen was.
"Zhu Peng, one of the deputy directors of the Operations Division in the Supervision Department, a 3rd-tier professional..." Yang Yan swiftly stepped forward to introduce him in a low voice.
"Your Excellency Su Chen, even with special authorization from the Elder Council, your Adjudication Court cannot run amok so unscrupulously in Yingfeng, right? Searching for contraband is supposed to be our responsibility." Zhu Peng restrained his tone slightly, but he still fought for what he had to fight for.
"Therefore, if you haven't discovered anything else, please trouble yourselves to withdraw your forces."
Beside them, Zhou Jun let out a breath of relief. Yang Yan also whispered, "If this blows up into a massive dispute, it will be hard to wrap up."
Su Chen cast a glance at Zhu Peng. Casually swiping open his wristband, he found a contact. Upon connecting, he asked in a calm, flat voice, "The people from the Supervision Department are blocking me."
The responding voice was very quiet, practically inaudible to anyone else. Su Chen, however, took off his wristband and tossed it to Zhu Peng.
Zhu Peng caught it hesitantly. Pacing to the side with slight hesitation, he whispered, "I am Zhu Peng."
"I am Cheng Lang. Withdraw your forces."
An icy, apathetic voice echoed from within the wristband. Zhu Peng's expression drastically changed. Cheng Lang? The deputy head of the department?
"But this place..." He subconsciously wanted to say something, but discovered the other party had already severed the communication line. That voice indeed sounded very much like Cheng Lang. With fluctuating expressions, Zhu Peng looked toward Su Chen again.
He walked back over, handed the wristband back to Su Chen, and then turned away with an ugly expression. "Withdraw the forces. Pull back!"
The numerous Supervision Guards all froze in astonishment. Zhou Jun's face turned completely pallid, while Yang Yan wore an expression of amazement.
"Can you f*cking not understand my words!? We're leaving!" Zhu Peng shouted angrily, and the numerous Supervision Guards had no choice but to helplessly follow.
Watching the Supervision Guards depart, Yang Yan hesitantly asked, "Then what about us? Do we leave too?"
"?" Su Chen shook his head. "Clear out the main hall; escort all of them outside."
Yang Yan didn't understand why, but he still executed his orders. Very quickly, everyone was escorted outside, and the main hall was emptied.
"Old Wu, I'll have to trouble you. The central areaâsmash it through for me." Su Chen looked at Wu Yang.
"Underground?" Wu Yang was surprised before revealing a thoughtful expression, immediately vaulting forward.
Boom!
Scorching, blazing crimson fire erupted from Wu Yang's body. The surface of his skin cracked inch by inch, the fissures rapidly spreading across his entire body.
Golden-red liquid flames flowed within those fissures, emitting a molten, scorching luminescence. The steaming, sweltering heat waves caused the surrounding air to begin twisting and distorting. Escaping crimson flames converged above his head into a swirling cloud of fire.
The temperature of the main hall began to skyrocket. Beside them, Zhou Jun pleaded repeatedly, "I beg you to show mercy, please show mercy..."
Zhou Jun was dragged away. Su Chen looked up, unable to suppress a sigh of emotion. 'Upon reaching this tier, even a lower-class profession is extremely extraordinaryâ'
Everyone took steps backward. The boiling clouds of fire gradually retracted inwards, condensing into a massive fist of magma. Carrying a momentum that threatened to incinerate all worldly things into ashes, it viciously bombarded the floor of the main hall.
Bang!
Crushed rocks and dust instantly vaporized amidst the high temperatures. Steaming white fog interwove with the crimson light of the flames.
Rumble! Rumble!
Continuous roaring explosions traveled out from within the smoke and dust. Beside him, an inquisitor extended a hand; as wild winds howled, the smoke and dust completely dispersed.
Under the violent impact, the ground had already collapsed inward. The surface stone slabs had been melted into a dark-red liquid state by the high temperatures.
However, under Wu Yang's full-force attack, only a few cracks actually surfaced. Instead, this served as proof that something was profoundly wrong here.
"It's this hard...? There's something down below?" Sharp glints surged within Yang Yan's eyes. Swiftly stepping forward, he stood at the edge of the crack and looked down. Inside, it was pitch-black and unfathomably deep. All the inquisitors stood arranged in combat formation, ready for action.
"This... this... how could it be like this..." Zhou Jun's face was plastered with terror.
Yang Yan casually condensed a clump of fiercely bright white light and tossed it down through the crack. The inquisitors clustered all around held their breath in rapt attention. Even Wu Yang couldn't help but lower his head to take a look.
But right at this very moment, a gleam of cold light abruptly burst forth, striking out from behind Su Chen in a sneak attack.
"Careful!" Wu Yang abruptly raised his head, his eyelids wildly twitching.
Only to see three figures silently darting out from within the detained crowd outside the main hall, simultaneously charging to slaughter Su Chen.
At this moment, everyone's attention was fully drawn toward the massive crater in the center. This was the absolute perfect opportunity for a sneak attack!
However, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared. As crimson arcs of electricity shot outwards, the figure attacking from directly behind was sent flying backward at an even faster speed, madly spraying fresh blood.
The person attacking from the rear flank stabbed a dagger toward the dead center of Su Chen's back, yet it emitted a rhythmic clanging sound as if striking solid metal. The man was then struck backhandedly right on his spinal column by Su Chen. The sound of his bones fracturing was louder than his miserable wails as he was forcefully smashed horizontally onto the floor!
The final person merely slumped down, planting face-first stiffly right beneath Su Chen's feet, completely motionless as if falling into a deep slumber.
'So ferocious?' Wu Yang's eyelids twitched.
Only then did Yang Yan and the others notice the commotion behind them. They rapidly charged toward the figure who was sent flying backward, swiftly dragging him back. Their expressions looked as if they had seen a ghost.
"They're all 3rd-tier professionals. One has all their bones shattered, one was smashed to death on the spot, and one was left with a single breath of life." After executing his inspection, Yang Yan still felt it was somewhat unimaginable.
These three guys had been beaten to this state by Su Chen in a single, fleeting exchange. Was this the might of a dual top-tier class professional like the rumors claimed?
'Too weak.' Su Chen shook his head inwardly. Any one of these three was not weaker than Zhou Xian back then. Even stronger than Zhou Xian, in fact. Yet they still couldn't withstand a single strike from him.
However, his gaze returned to the cracks in the ground, and his expression grew restrained.
(End of this chapter)