Ye Yang pressed his lips together, scanning the area until he found Lu Xun. Lu Xun had already transformed back into his original form—a large yellow dog—and was circling the barrier, searching for weaknesses.
More than half of the people outside the barrier were strangers to Ye Yang. Many of the team members who had gone on the mission together that morning were now trapped inside.
Strange as it was, among so many people present, not a single one had ever seen this kind of barrier before, let alone knew its origin. They had tried every method—brute force, clever tricks, everything—but still couldn’t break it open.
The senior’s expression was grave: “If this continues, we might have no choice but to call in a powerful master.”
Shen Xiuyun suddenly said, “If only Senior Fu Ye were here.”
Ye Yang’s eyes lit up: “Right! Where did he go?” That legendary Fu Ye, though he looked like a villain and radiated intense killing intent, was undeniably powerful. Plus, given his years of dealing with rogue cultivators, he might even know the barrier’s weak points.
Shen Xiuyun shook his head helplessly: “Don’t even mention it. I found out later that last time, he was just passing through and happened to kill a rogue cultivator on a whim… He’s long since returned to Mount Qi.”
And even if they requested backup, they would definitely reach out to nearby cities, not send a message as far as Mount Qi.
Sighs echoed all around.
Suddenly, a massive shadow blotted out the sunlight. A terrifying aura swept through like a gale, forcing everyone on the ground to stagger and lower their heads, unable to look up.
Ye Yang and Shen Xiuyun braced each other and barely managed to stay upright when a thunderous roar exploded like a sudden clap of thunder: “A bunch of useless fools!”
The furious shout was fierce, but it wasn’t directed at the people on the ground. Ye Yang forced his head up slightly and finally saw—directly above them, a colossal beast was hurtling toward them.
This beast had the body of a horse, the face of a human, wings on its back, tiger stripes all over its body, and huge paws like a lion’s claws. It tore through the clouds like blades and was upon them in an instant.
This was the legendary lord of Luoyang City—Yingzhao!
“Boom—!” Yingzhao landed in front of the barrier. The ground shook violently, sending the team members who had just gotten back on their feet tumbling down again.
A shimmer of illusory light flowed, and the beast vanished, replaced by a man of astonishing presence. He had long, gray-white hair with ends that stuck up sharply, wild and untamed. Two saber-like eyebrows slanted toward his temples, and his brow was slightly furrowed.
True to his reputation as an upper-realm guardian deity who upheld peace through slaughter, Yingzhao was perpetually wreathed in killing intent. He commanded authority without needing to show anger. Just standing there made people afraid to approach, let alone look him in the eye.
Without a word, he simply swept his palm through the air. All the team members around the barrier were lifted uncontrollably into the air and came crashing down onto the distant grass, piling up in a heap.
Then, his hands transformed into lion claws. Dazzling streams of light flickered between them—before Ye Yang could even see clearly, those colors coalesced into an extremely long weapon.
The moment the weapon swung out, heaven and earth changed color. Bolts of lightning gathered toward it. The director’s face drastically altered: “Quick, everyone reinforce the barrier together!”
The ordinary people outside hadn’t dispersed yet. Yingzhao’s attack was too powerful. If it broke the barrier set up by YCG as well, there would be real trouble.
Ye Yang ran over to pour his demonic energy into reinforcing the barrier. As he worked, he glanced back. Golden and purple lightning flashes reflected dazzlingly in his eyes.
“Boom—!”
This was absolute power. No tricks needed, no weak points to find. With a single swing of his weapon, he shattered the barrier that so many of them had been powerless against.
The moment the barrier broke, the sounds that had been sealed inside became clear: “The rogue cultivator is gone!”
“After him—he’s escaped!”
The director had barely stabilized the barrier and hadn’t even exhaled before his tension spiked again: “He ran?! When?”
The team members who came rushing out were disheveled and grimy: “Right after we got in, he used some method to vanish. We didn’t even catch a glimpse of his face.”
“…” The director nearly fainted.
Come on, how could this rogue cultivator be so good at running away? They had locked down the entire area from the start. How did he manage to slip away right under their noses?
And what’s worse, he did it in front of the lord of Luoyang City! Did YCG have no face left to lose?!!!
Hearing this, Yingzhao strode directly into the area, swept his gaze around, and frowned even deeper: “Just one lowly rogue cultivator, and with so many of you, he still got away. Might as well shut down this so-called China Management Bureau right now.”
No one dared to respond—not even the director.
“Hmph.” Yingzhao couldn’t be bothered to say more. He raised one hand, turning it into a palm, ready to dig three feet into the ground. He didn’t care about anything else. Today, he was determined to catch that rogue cultivator and tear him limb from limb.
The director was beside himself with anxiety. That single strike had already destroyed half the mountain. If Yingzhao kept churning things up, the entire operations department would work overtime to death trying to restore everything and still wouldn’t be able to keep up!
“Father.”
Suddenly, a young, tender voice came from a corner. A small white figure dashed out and leaped directly onto Yingzhao’s shoulder.
Ye Yang focused his eyes—it was the little cub he had rescued.
“Father, that big brother saved me. I remember his scent!” A tiny paw pointed with precision, and everyone’s gaze collectively focused on Ye Yang.
Yingzhao nodded, tilting his head slightly toward Ye Yang in acknowledgment: “Thank you. I owe you a favor.”
He paused, then added: “You’re impressive. If you ever feel like leaving YCG, you’re welcome to come to me anytime.”
Ye Yang blinked, unsure how to respond.
Fortunately, Yingzhao didn’t need his answer.
The little cub, wrapped in a large palm with only its fuzzy head poking out, said, “Don’t be angry anymore, Father. I want to go home. Let’s go home first.”
Yingzhao’s fierce demeanor instantly softened. He took the cub and gently stroked its snow-white fur: “Alright, then we’ll go home. As for that rogue cultivator, we’ll find a chance to deal with him.”
When he looked up again, Yingzhao seemed like a different person: “One thing at a time. You rescued my child—I won’t forget this debt. But letting that rogue cultivator escape is your responsibility. Within three days, I want you to deliver him to Luoyang City, dead or alive.”
With that, he simply left.
The remaining people exchanged bewildered glances and stood rooted to the spot for a long while.
The director, having narrowly avoided a disaster, sighed in relief and plopped down on the ground. But then, thinking of the cunning rogue cultivator they had to catch within three days, his face took on an expression of utter despair.
After a long moment, he finally stood up, dusted off his pants, and began directing the team members to clean up the battlefield.
As everyone got moving, they immediately started chattering about what had just happened.
The team members each did their part—some using spells, some brute force, some specializing in the delicate work of eliminating subtle traces. Their hands never stopped, but neither did their mouths.
“The lord actually came in person. You can imagine how furious he is.”
“You all know how much Yingzhao dotes on his son. I would’ve found it strange if he hadn’t shown up.”
“Do you think the director foresaw this? Otherwise, why hadn’t he called for backup?”
“…You haven’t been in Dongzhou long, have you?”
“How did you know?”
“Everyone around Dongzhou knows that the thing our director hates most is asking for help. It’s no different from admitting he can’t handle things.”
Shen Xiuyun overheard their discussion and shook his head: “The director is indeed impressive—both in his own strength and his ability to coordinate us field agents. But… sometimes he’s just too stubborn.”
He leaned close to Ye Yang’s ear and whispered, “You know why the director doesn’t want to ask for backup? The operations director of the neighboring city is his unforgettable ex!”
Ye Yang raised an eyebrow: “That melodramatic?”
Despite usually being quite proper, Shen Xiuyun was no less gossipy than Li Chanyi when it came to this: “That goes back thirty years. That whole incident caused quite a stir back then. Ah, it’s a long story—I’ll give you all the details when we have time!”
Ye Yang shrugged and overheard someone behind him say, “I’m still a bit shaken. Yingzhao is terrifyingly powerful.”
“No kidding. Good thing we had that formidable presence here. Even though he has a bad temper and looks down on humans, the lord is still pretty righteous.”
“Really? I’m not so sure. If he were truly righteous, when Liu Chen escaped from prison, they wouldn’t have been so indifferent.”
“Exactly! Back then they just said that since he fled to the human realm, it was no longer their jurisdiction. When I went to Luoyang City’s enforcement team for some information, they wouldn’t give me anything—said it involved Luoyang City’s secrets?!”
“Doesn’t anyone think his little cub is really cute?”
“It is cute, but the lord held it too tight and stuffed it into his pocket right away. I didn’t even get a good look.”
“I still don’t understand why that rogue cultivator went through all that trouble to catch the cub.”
“Don’t try to figure out a rogue cultivator’s mind. If you could, you wouldn’t be normal either.”
“You asking for a beating?”
Shen Xiuyun’s usually calm, steady, and taciturn senior suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was extremely excited, with two rosy patches on his cheeks, and grabbed Shen Xiuyun by the collar, shaking him: “What a win today! I never thought I’d see Yingzhao’s true form in my lifetime. My life is complete!”
Shen Xiuyun’s vision went blurry from the shaking. He couldn’t bring himself to remind his senior that his impression with Yingzhao right now was far from favorable.
Not just him—of everyone present, Ye Yang was probably the only one Yingzhao deemed worthy of notice.
The senior suddenly turned to stare at Ye Yang: “Damn it, why wasn’t I the one who fell into that trap?”
Shen Xiuyun couldn’t hold back anymore: “Senior, wake up. If you had faced that rogue cultivator, you’d probably be in pieces.”
“You brat, how dare you talk to your senior like that now!”
Before Ye Yang could stop him, the senior chased Shen Xiuyun for nearly a kilometer. By the time the two returned, the battlefield was mostly cleaned up.
Aside from some damaged trees that couldn’t be fully restored to their original state in such a short time, there were no signs of fighting anywhere else.
Ye Yang: “So… we’re going back to school now?”
Shen Xiuyun patted the footprints on his belly and waved his hand: “You go ahead. I still have some things to do.”
After Ye Yang left, Shen Xiuyun returned to the YCG branch and went to Director Tu’s office.
“Director Tu, you wanted to see me?”
“Yes. I need you to take a look at this child.”
Shen Xiuyun looked down and met Li Chanyi’s wide, innocent eyes and a somewhat silly smile.
Leave a Reply