Or adorned in luxurious garments, or exuding a powerful aura, or emanating cold arrogance, nearly a thousand individuals, including the Cloud-Flying Pavilion’s Yun-level guests and those suspected by the Pavilion of being mysterious experts, stood there.
Luo Feng, amidst the crowd, gazed into the distance.
The Pavilion’s master was eagerly accompanying a towering, fierce-looking general. With Luo Feng’s ability to sense auras, he could determine that this general should be at the ninth stage of Cosmic level.
“The people are all here, General Shi Feng.” The Pavilion master quickly said.
“Hmph.” Shi Feng Zhan snorted, then cast a cold, piercing gaze over the crowd below.
“Shi Feng Zhan?” Luo Feng, among the crowd below, perked up his ears and inwardly rejoiced. He had been planning to find out what Shi Feng Zhan looked like, so he wouldn’t mistake his opponent later. Now he had the perfect chance to see him clearly.
“Who among you last night broke into the residence of the Chunyu family?” Shi Feng Zhan coldly roared.
A thousand individuals, all of no ordinary origin, remained silent below, none daring to speak.
Shi Feng Zhan, seated atop the wild beast ‘Azure-Scaled Dragon Serpent,’ scanned every person below. Suddenly, he pointed his finger toward a sinister-looking man cloaked in black robes and commanded, “Take that black-robed fellow away.”
“Yes!” Two deputies beside him replied.
“General!” The black-robed man’s face darkened as he shouted, “General, I come from the ‘Luan Yang Territory’…”
“Don’t waste words.” Shi Feng Zhan sneered, “Your strength, your attire—it leaves me no choice but to suspect you of being the one who broke into the Chunyu family. Hmm—take that tall, disheveled-haired guy too. And that frail, skinny one at the edge who looks like he’s about to die—take him as well.”
“You!”
“Him!”
“The one in the white robe.”
“The blue-haired one.”
Shi Feng Zhan pointed out dozens in succession. These dozens were all extremely powerful, mostly at the peak of Sky level, and even two at Cosmic level.
“And that black-haired young man—he’s strong enough too. Take him away.” Shi Feng Zhan pointed at Luo Feng, causing Luo Feng’s brows to furrow. In the Blood-Luo World, without instruments to detect strength, it was purely based on sensing ability. With Luo Feng concealing his consciousness and suppressing his aura to hide his true power, and deliberately emitting an aura resembling the peak of Stellar level, he had not expected to be identified.
“Alright, a total of fifty-eight. The real culprit is likely among them. Take them all away and lock them up!” Shi Feng Zhan waved his hand.
…
Luo Feng did not resist but was escorted back with the other fifty-seven. In terms of strength, Luo Feng was confident he could eliminate Shi Feng Zhan and his men—he had complete confidence, so he remained calm. There was no need for bloodshed in public unless absolutely necessary.
“What’s wrong with General Shi Feng? Is this how he catches criminals? Coming to our Cloud-Flying Pavilion, rounding up a group of guests, and just pointing fingers at whoever he dislikes—this is how he identifies criminals?”
“You fool! Shi Feng is from the Shi Feng Clan. The Chunyu Clan’s humiliation is something the Shi Feng Clan would be delighted about. How could they possibly take this seriously? If they were serious, they would have launched a full investigation last night instead of waiting until now. This is just a show. But those fifty-eight people are truly unfortunate.”
Inside the Cloud-Flying Pavilion, many people were murmuring in discussion.
…
Within the prison of General’s Mansion in Yan Gang City.
Luo Feng and the fifty-seven others were locked away in small groups in individual cells. These cells were constructed from special rocks of the Blood-Luo World—rocks capable of withstanding the energy of the cosmic origin and immense gravitational forces. Particularly selected for their hardness, they could resist the strongest attacks from Sky-level (Stellar-level) experts.
“This is terrible. I have a meeting with Lord Wang tomorrow. How am I supposed to handle this now?” In Luo Feng’s cell, there were six people total. One of them, a fat man dressed in luxurious clothes, shook his head and sighed loudly, so much so that people in surrounding cells could hear clearly.
“Big trouble, big trouble.” The fat man kept sighing.
“Shut up.”
“Stupid fatty, lower your voice.” A chorus of shouts rose from the other cells.
The fat man glanced outside, noticing the guards looking over, then loudly lamented again, “If I can’t meet Lord Wang, this business deal will fall through, and I’ll suffer huge losses! What rotten luck—this is pure misfortune falling from the sky!” After shouting twice, he finally stopped under the others’ scolding.
Luo Feng silently stood in the cell, watching everything unfold.
…
Meanwhile, among the prison guards, the leaders began whispering.
“Brothers, the General arresting these fifty-eight is purely for show. He hasn’t even interrogated them yet. And before this, he even sent his personal guards to tell us to conduct some questioning, then release some and keep a few locked up—just to make it look good!” One of the guard leaders whispered, “Did you hear that fat man shouting? He seems to be a businessman, and he’s in a hurry to meet someone. He’s ripe for a little ‘donation.'”
“Yeah, a good opportunity.”
“Anyway, it’s just for show. One less won’t make a difference.”
The leaders among the prison guards exchanged knowing grins and immediately issued orders: “Go, bring out that fat man who was shouting the loudest. We need to conduct a ‘thorough interrogation.'”
“Yes, sir.”
The guards immediately went to retrieve the fat man.
…
Inside the prison.
The fat man, leaning by the cell door, looked out and saw a group of soldiers approaching. A faint smile appeared on his face. One soldier shouted, “The commander’s orders—conduct a thorough interrogation. Take him away!” Then they opened the cell and moved to escort the fat man.
The fat man turned to the other five inside the cell and smiled, “Gentlemen, I’ll be leaving first. Don’t wait for me!”
With that, he leisurely departed with the soldiers.
Only moments later,
A soldier ran back and shouted, “The officers have already interrogated him. He’s been cleared of any suspicion and has been released. The remaining fifty-seven of you had better confess properly! If you don’t cooperate, you’ll rot in this prison!” With that, he turned and left immediately.
“The fat man left!”
“Confess properly? What does that mean—except to pay up?”
“I know. That fat man was shouting on purpose!”
“You just figured that out? You’re really slow.”
A cacophony of voices rose from the cells, while the distant leaders, hearing the murmurs, chuckled. Then they gave the order: “Bring them one by one. We need to conduct a ‘thorough interrogation’!”
…
Interrogation?
It was nothing more than paying a certain amount of money—depending on how much you were willing to offer! When it came to Luo Feng’s turn, he took out a purple blade-coin, immediately causing the guards’ eyes to gleam with excitement. Their attitude instantly became extremely friendly, and they quickly released Luo Feng.
…
During the day, Luo Feng leisurely exited the prison of the General’s Mansion, walking around its perimeter before heading out.
In the evening, as dusk fell.
After spending a long time alone, dining and drinking at a restaurant, Luo Feng finally left the establishment, blending into the crowd strolling through the streets of Yan Gang City.
“About time.”
“Last night, it was deep in the night when Chunyu Chong was captured. Then tonight, just as it turns dark, I’ll go after Shi Feng Zhan.” A glint of sharpness flashed in Luo Feng’s eyes. “I’m really looking forward to it… Blood-Luo Crystals? What exactly are they like, and what miraculous properties do they possess that even the Virtual Universe Company pays special attention to?”
Because he had been to the General’s Mansion during the day (and was imprisoned), Luo Feng was quite familiar with it.
“No wonder the Shi Feng Clan is called a nouveau riche family. The General’s Mansion—its level of security doesn’t even reach a tenth of the Chunyu Clan’s.” As Luo Feng walked through the General’s Mansion, he moved like a shadow in his own backyard, flickering in and out of sight as he mused, “I can barely sense three Cosmic-level experts here!”
Relying on his familiarity with cosmic fluctuations, he faintly detected three powerful auras.
One of them was very familiar to Luo Feng because he had sensed it during the day!
“It’s Shi Feng Zhan.” Luo Feng smiled.
Swish!
His figure blurred like a phantom, gliding past rockeries, crossing corridors, and finally arriving at the third floor of a luxurious palace within the General’s Mansion.
“Why is it so hard to break through to Domain level? My elder brother told me how to cultivate, and I’ve followed everything exactly, even done it well. Why can’t I pass this threshold? Hmph, my elder brother must be afraid that if I reach Domain level, I’ll threaten him.” Shi Feng Zhan, his chest bare and wearing only a long robe, ascended the stairs, his mind filled with troubling thoughts.
As he reached the third floor,
He casually lifted his head, preparing to head toward his meditation chamber, when suddenly his body froze. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the black-haired young man in loose robes standing on the third floor of the palace.
“You…” Shi Feng Zhan’s battle will instantly surged to its peak. He prepared to send out a mental transmission to call for reinforcements. Although shocked, Shi Feng Zhan still had some confidence—after all, he was a Yunxiao-level peak (Cosmic-level ninth stage) expert, and the opponent before him couldn’t be much stronger. If he could just stall for a moment, his elder brother ‘Shi Feng Xiong’ would arrive!
Whoosh!
Luo Feng, who had been standing by the distant window, instantly appeared before Shi Feng Zhan as if teleporting, his speed far surpassing that of a normal Cosmic-level ninth stage expert.
“Thud!” A palm strike, lightning-fast.
“No.” Shi Feng Zhan instantly produced a giant war blade from his hand, using it as a shield to desperately block.
But Luo Feng’s palm strike, like a dream, instantly pierced into his abdomen, then withdrew, while the shield only slowly arrived to block. Everything happened like a fleeting dream!
Shadow Seven-Slice Blade Technique—Ephemeral Bloom!
With Luo Feng’s current understanding of domains and laws… facing such a weak secret technique, especially one used by an expert who had barely grasped one or two layers of domain and had no mastery of laws at the Cosmic-level ninth stage, it was nothing more than a slaughter.
“I… I…” Shi Feng Zhan clutched his abdomen, a wound bleeding slowly from where Luo Feng’s palm strike had slashed.
“You… you…” Shi Feng Zhan stared at Luo Feng in terror.
His dantian had been destroyed!
Moreover, his soul was being suppressed by an incredibly powerful mental force, rendering him unable to emit even a trace of mental energy.
“Hello, General Shi Feng.” Luo Feng smiled at Shi Feng Zhan.
Shi Feng Zhan’s mind flashed with memories of the scene at the Cloud-Flying Pavilion. Yes, this black-haired young man before him was indeed one of the fifty-eight he had pointed out earlier!
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