In a hidden corner of Center City, inside a solid and spacious underground structure, several suspended resonance nests hung aloft. Vigorous vines grew outward from the nests, spreading in all directions like an enveloping web.
Inside the central resonance nest, a resonator stood with limbs splayed wide. Tendrils and nodes connected to various points across his head and body. At that moment, he was projecting Wei Wusheng's every movement onto a light curtain spilling from the nest.
Several figures dressed in exquisite imported suits and wearing sunglasses stood before the brilliant glow, watching as Wei Wusheng hammered to death, one after another, every person who stepped forward to fight him in Moshen Temple.
The person in the center remarked, "His strength has increased again. It seems he truly can raise his power by killing opponents. No wonder they say he mastered the Tianshu Gang's secret technique. Judging by his current level, perhaps he really can meet our requirements."
Another voice chimed in, "From the biological field's feedback, he still falls short of our requirements for now. Fortunately, given time, he can continue to grow."
"Then give it to him."
"The tourists from that cruise ship probably can't satisfy him anymore. Perhaps those bounty hunters would make good targets?"
"Do we know their locations?"
"We're already looking into it. There will be results shortly."
"Move faster. The arena tournament runs until September. This month or so is the most suitable window for action."
Even as they spoke, one of the resonators suddenly showed a response and reported his discovery to one of the men.
After looking it over, the man said to the group, "The bounty hunter 'Left Bayonet' is hiding in a park in Shenwei District. Do we need to inform Wei Wusheng of his whereabouts?"
The man in the center answered, "Tell him. Let him decide for himself what to do."
On the light curtain before them, Wei Wusheng came to a halt. Evidently, he was reading the message they had transmitted. But after a moment, he suddenly raised his head, as though looking right toward them.
A resonator inside a resonance nest said, "Wei Wusheng sent us a message."
The leader frowned, his voice dropping low. "What does he want? Didn't we tell him not to message us unless it's an emergency?"
The resonator said, "He says he wants to know the whereabouts of a Wuyi student named Chen Chuan."
The leader asked, "A Wuyi student? Was he on the cruise ship as well?"
"Yes."
"Is there anything special about this student?"
"We checked. This person holds the status of a reserve enforcement officer with the Disposal Bureau and once defeated—"
Someone nearby cut in at that moment. "If that's the case, then this student has some real ability. From Wei Wusheng's actions, it's clear that every time he kills one of these high-value targets, his strength takes another leap. This is just as beneficial for us. We can indulge his wishes."
The leader said, "Then send this student's location to him."
The resonators went to work immediately. They already tracked the whereabouts of most people who had come off the cruise ship that day; a quick check of the records would reveal where many of them were.
Yet they soon discovered there had been no specific tracking data on this student before. According to the records, he spent most of his time staying inside the academy.
If he had kept hiding inside Wuyi Academy without ever stepping out, things truly would have been difficult.
However, they soon saw that today, this student had taken a Wuyi Academy passenger bus to the arena tournament venue. Furthermore, judging from the venue registration roster, he was likely to attend the matches in person over the coming period.
This was ordinary enough. Center City's arena tournament was something they themselves watched on occasion whenever they had a moment to slack off. The bouts these past two days had been especially thrilling, and even their hands were itching for action.
While the fights surrounding Wei Wusheng operated on a far higher level, the granular details were utterly impossible to follow. There was zero entertainment value; watching it only made one want to steer clear.
Having obtained Chen Chuan's exact whereabouts, they forwarded the details to Wei Wusheng.
On the screen, they saw Wei Wusheng set off once more after receiving the message. He hung his hammer back in place and strode out of the temple.
The leader spoke up again. "Pass him a word as well. We will give him our support, and he may do as he pleases, but the final step must proceed according to our wishes."
Within the projection, Wei Wusheng seemed to hear it, yet also seemed completely deaf to it. His advancing stride did not alter in the slightest.
***
Inside the Center City Disposal Bureau headquarters, within the resonance nest responsible for monitoring field signals, a resonator transmitted an alert: "We just intercepted a suspicious signal. It appears to have originated from Qingding."
"Mount Qingding?"
The squad captain overseeing the assignment turned grave. He knew every single passenger from the cruise ship. Du Geng on Mount Qingding was likewise one of Wei Wusheng's targets. He asked, "Can you confirm it?"
"Confirmed!"
"Can you pinpoint the exact location of the source?"
The resonator indicated that they could not. The other side had utilized unregulated field channels and may have routed through short-term relay hops via field organisms stationed outside Center City. There was no way to trace it down anytime soon.
Seeing that nothing could be determined here, the squad captain ordered immediately, "Have the personnel stationed near Mount Qingding head up the mountain right now to investigate the situation!"
In truth, they had previously offered to assign protectors to Du Geng, but Moshen Temple had stated they had no need for outsiders. Because the land around Mount Qingding belonged entirely to Moshen Temple, the bureau had only been able to station a handful of operatives nearby.
Deep down, they also knew those few men could never stop Wei Wusheng; at most, they could pass along word.
Very soon, however, they discovered that confirming the details on the ground was no longer necessary. Over a dozen photographs had been posted across various platforms, vividly displaying the current scene inside Moshen Temple.
***
Inside the arena venue, Chen Chuan sat in a tier of seats situated along the middle ring. This was the designated seating for Wuyi students—a privilege granted by the academy. Even if a student did not show up in person, the seat was left vacant rather than reassigned to someone else.
Upon arriving, he had run into Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin. However, their seats were not grouped with his; they were seated on the opposite side. By contrast, he and Tan Zhi were fairly close, separated by only a few dozen seats.
According to academy regulations, each person possessed an assigned seat that could not be casually swapped, meaning they could not huddle together. But with their boundary credentials allowing communication, it made little difference.
He had been cultivating continuously over this recent stretch, and coming out to watch the tournament served as a rare break. After watching for over an hour, he had already formed some opinions in his mind.
As for—
Right then, the atmosphere in the arena grew even more heated. Another pair of contestants stepped onto the stage, and one of them happened to be an acquaintance: Cao Rui, the external student he had met in the elevator that day.
Whether by coincidence or design, the partner paired with him was another student who had just been demoted to an external student this semester.
It was hard to say whether the two could coordinate with any real synergy. After all, they had probably only just begun getting used to each other, while their opponents were a team of wanted criminals released straight from prison.
Judging by their footwork, the two convicts were exceptionally seasoned and steady. Their faces showed no obvious emotion, yet a fierce brutality glinted deep in their eyes. At a glance, they were clearly vicious men forged through genuine, bloody slaughter.
In this match—or rather, this battle—only one side, and perhaps only one person, would walk away alive in the end.
While Chen Chuan watched, an unusually dense barrage of notifications suddenly chimed across the platform he was following. At the same time, a dispatch arrived from the Disposal Bureau.
The commotion caught his attention. A single glance was enough to draw his focus away from the bout unfolding on the stage.
The update showed that just an hour ago, Wei Wusheng had killed yet another target. This person had also been a passenger on the cruise ship, and one who counted as a major target.
*Du Geng?*
Was that the person discussed on the platform earlier?
After reading about him before, Chen Chuan had skimmed his background. Originally, he too had assumed Wei Wusheng would target this individual toward the later stages.
*Yet he made his move already?*
The discussion platform detonated as though a bomb had been dropped into it. Du Geng—whom the betting boards had ranked as the very last target Wei Wusheng would go after—had actually been killed by Wei Wusheng with such apparent ease?!
There had clearly been so many others waiting ahead of him, but this upset meant all the previous betting rankings had to be wiped clean and recalculated from scratch.
At the top of the discussion thread were photo after photo: Du Geng with his skull crushed, as well as the old temple keeper and several attendants, their bodies battered into unrecognizable pulp by a hammer.
Behind their boundary credentials, most viewers could not help but shudder at the sight.
Immediately following that came another question: Who would Wei Wusheng seek out next?
The crowd scrambled to rearrange their rankings and wagers. Aside from Du Geng, there was another notable figure named Dong Ze. He had once been a security team captain for the Ferris Wheel Company, but had been dismissed after being deemed negligent in his protection duties when Wei Wusheng killed Gong Zhanyi.
In terms of strength, he was probably not far off from Du Geng. Yet he had never hidden his whereabouts, which was why he had consistently been ranked ahead of Du Geng before. Now, the community overwhelmingly pushed him to the top as Wei Wusheng's next target.
As for Chen Chuan and the other Wuyi students, their rankings had already been relatively low, but this time they dropped even further, since Wei Wusheng seemed to have abandoned his prior pattern of action.
Yet before the clamor could even die down, another startling piece of news instantly seized everyone's attention. The bounty hunter Left Bayonet posted a message to the platform:
"I found him!"
Seeing this message, Chen Chuan's gaze shifted slightly. The man had posted only this single sentence without any other information. Still, Chen Chuan had no doubt that the Disposal Bureau would take action the moment they saw it.
He pondered for a moment. If Wei Wusheng were eliminated just like that, would it affect him?
The answer was no.
The obstacle in his heart was seeing this person dealt with, not how it was done. While doing it with his own hands would be ideal, even if someone else resolved it, that would be fine as well. He could still turn around and step past that obstacle.
Now, all that remained was to wait and see what came of it.
Chapter 337