Fang Qingxue had experienced defeat before, but never like this. She felt utterly bewildered. Just a few days ago, her defeat was attributed to her opponent's breakthrough. Now, after only three days, during which she herself had achieved a breakthrough, she was defeated again, and more decisively. It all felt absurd.
"You broke through, and I did too," Yang Feilong said, observing Fang Qingxue's dazed expression.
Fang Qingxue: "......"
Everyone else: "......"
"Are you even human? You broke through just days ago, and you broke through again in three days? Is having high talent an excuse to be so outrageously powerful?"
At this moment, Fang Qingxue finally understood Yang Feilong's earlier words. He hadn't feared her; he had merely been afraid of crushing her spirit.
Indeed, this duel had been a significant blow to her. Before this, she had always been victorious. But now, she had repeatedly stumbled against Yang Feilong. This had tempered her arrogance. She realized she wasn't invincible among her peers. Yang Feilong was several years younger than her, yet he completely outmatched her in strength.
...
Yang Feilong left without offering any consolation to Fang Qingxue. She knew Elder Fang would lecture her.
However, before leaving, Yang Feilong had a conversation with Elder Fang.
At noon, he had lunch with Qingqing outside the school.
"I'm leaving Dragon City today," Yang Feilong said.
"Sunday is just around the corner. Why are you leaving now?" Yang Qingqing's face was filled with reluctance.
"I have a case I need to handle," Yang Feilong explained.
"Is that so?" Yang Qingqing knew Yang Feilong had another identity as a divine constable. "Then be careful when you're on duty."
"Mmm, I know," Yang Feilong nodded. He wasn't just saying this to appease Yang Qingqing. When he had left the Chief Constabulary earlier, he had spoken with Elder Fang. He wanted to take on a mission, one that wasn't too high-level but not too low either.
So, Elder Fang assigned Yang Feilong a mission. Although the mission was given to Yang Feilong, Elder Fang didn't expect him to complete it in a short period. The target wasn't considered exceptionally strong, at least not compared to Yang Feilong's displayed capabilities. However, the mission itself was very difficult. After all, any target ranked high on the bounty board was not easy to deal with. Many weren't impossible to kill, but they were elusive, moving from place to place, making them impossible to track. Without tracking them, there was nothing that could be done.
This mission's target was someone with very formidable concealment skills!
Yang Feilong had accepted the mission, but he approached it with a "try my luck" attitude. If he could successfully locate the target, he would complete it. If not, there was nothing he could do.
This mission offered a high merit point reward, as it was an eight-star mission. If completed, the reward would be one hundred thousand merit points, in addition to the bounty. Furthermore, if Yang Feilong could complete this mission, his rank would be elevated, directly reaching the level of a two-star divine constable!
It was truly a win-win situation.
The mission had a long deadline; he just needed to complete it before anyone else did. This fugitive had been on the wanted list for a considerable time, but the case remained unresolved.
If he completed this mission, Yang Feilong's merit points would be comparable to Fang Qingxue's. Perhaps, before the final deadline arrived, he could actually surpass Fang Qingxue and claim the top spot when rewards were tallied at the end of the month!
...
About a hundred kilometers outside the capital.
An abandoned factory.
"You brats actually think you can surround me? You're courting death! You have no idea that I deliberately lured you here!" A pale-faced, young-looking man sneered at the seven or eight youngsters who had set up a trap around him. None of these youths had low cultivation; they were all at the Yuan Wu realm and Di Wu realm, with the strongest even reaching the late Di Wu realm.
They had set up the "Eight Desolations Eight Corners Formation," and relying on it, the combined attack power of these eight individuals reached the level of a mid-stage Tian Wu realm cultivator!
It was important to remember the vast difference between the Di Wu realm and the Tian Wu realm. Without the formation, eight people could at most contend with an early-stage Tian Wu realm cultivator. Now, relying on the formation, they had reached the mid-stage Tian Wu realm, which was already very impressive.
Yet, although they had trapped the pale-faced youth before them, their expressions were extremely grim!
"Pale Face Scholar, you won't shatter our resolve! Eight Desolations Eight Corners Formation, attack!" the leading youth said sternly.
"Attack!" the others shouted in unison.
Boom!
Instantly, the eight individuals unleashed their killing moves. Their attacks, fused through the Eight Desolations Eight Corners Formation, merged into a fearsome beam of light that blasted towards the Pale Face Scholar!
The Pale Face Scholar displayed a hint of playful amusement on his lips. Then, he waved the folding fan in his hand.
Rumble!
The seemingly ordinary folding fan was, in reality, a powerful weapon!
A beam of light shot out fiercely from the folding fan, colliding with the incoming light.
Instantly, the light shattered. Moreover, the Pale Face Scholar's figure vanished from his original position. He appeared in mid-air, treading on the void. He repeatedly waved his folding fan, unleashing waves of terrifying sharpness towards various points.
Crack!
The next moment, the Eight Desolations Eight Corners Formation, which connected the eight individuals, was shattered. With the formation broken, all eight suffered significant backlash.
The two weakest, like the Tang siblings, Tang Feng and Tang Ya, were both severely injured.
Yes, the Tang sect siblings were also here.
Over the past few months, both siblings had made significant progress in their cultivation. Both Tang Feng and Tang Ya had now broken through to the perfect Yuan Wu realm. This was the benefit of immersing themselves in the world; the speed of progress was much faster than solitary cultivation. Furthermore, with their mastery of hidden weapons, ordinary Di Wu realm cultivators were no match for them. However, the Pale Face Scholar's strength was too formidable, a full tier higher than the intelligence report had indicated.
He had reached the late Tian Wu realm!
"Damn it, we're done for!"
"So unwilling to accept this!"
At this moment, all eight were filled with regret. If they had known the Pale Face Scholar was this strong, and after receiving his intelligence, they should have disseminated the information. They hadn't anticipated that the Pale Face Scholar, appearing to be trapped, was actually deliberately entering the trap to ensnare them all.
But now, regret was useless!
Puchi!
A flash of blood, and the Pale Face Scholar, wielding his folding fan, instantly killed one person. A sinister grin spread across his face. Not a single person here would escape!