Making a Name First

As he left, Su Yu naturally had no idea about any of this. He had even less idea that a certain someone really had been watching them the entire time. …… Returning to his residence, Su Yu quickly brought out his mask, put it on, and transmitted a message to the other white masks. "Move closer to the Great Xia Prefecture's prefectural city at once! Most of the Great Xia Prefecture's experts are away, and Marquis Xia has yet to return. Take this opportunity to distribute the Heaven Hunting sub-rankings to various targets, including descendants of Invincibles and students from powerful races!" "Xuan Jiu, you've arrived at the prefectural city?" "That's right!" "Nothing went wrong, did it?" "Cut the nonsense. If something had gone wrong, would you still be getting transmissions from me? Stop wasting words and hurry up. I want all one hundred and ninety sub-rankings in the hands of important figures as soon as possible. The guiding principle of our Heaven Hunting Pavilion is this: even if there's no chaos, stir up chaos for me! Do you hear me?" The several white masks were rendered speechless. He actually made a lot of sense. Before long, Huang Jiu replied, "All right. You're the leader here, Xuan Jiu, so we'll follow your lead. Our only worry is that we don't have enough manpower to handle too many tasks." "Doesn't matter. If we really don't have enough people, we'll transfer more white masks over. Why do those small, weak prefectures need so much manpower anyway? I'll submit a request to the higher-ups!" With that reassurance from Su Yu, the others had no objections. Since they had come here, everyone wanted to produce results. Right now, while white masks in other regions were still scurrying and hiding, their operations in the Great Xia Prefecture were already getting off the ground. That alone was proof of ability. …… After issuing instructions to the white masks, Su Yu quickly returned to his own business. Cultivating, casting his body. His fifty-eighth casting should be completed within the next two days. Before total chaos erupted, he hoped to complete all seventy-two castings. He had already met with Bai Feng and the others and talked things through. There was no need to speak with them too much, lest they draw unwanted attention. If something really came up, the identity of Bai Junsheng could also be put to use. …… Meanwhile, the white masks under Su Yu's command sprang into action. They converged toward the Great Xia Prefecture! …… Somewhere in the Human Realm. The four law enforcers, including Bai Yi, assembled. Besides the four of them, a faceless elder was also present. Slightly different from other elders, this faceless elder bore a golden insignia upon the upper part of his mask. That was the emblem of a Law Enforcement Elder! A Law Enforcement Elder typically signified a quasi-Invincible, or at least quasi-Invincible combat strength. This was a modest underground space. Beyond the personnel of the Four Divisions, there had actually been experts from the East and West Pavilions stationed across the Human Realm beforehand, gathering intelligence. Now, whether from the East and West Pavilions or the Four Divisions, all Heaven Hunting Pavilion experts in the Human Realm fell under the unified command of this Law Enforcement Elder. At this moment, Cai Yi of the Xuan Division spoke up promptly. "Elder, Xuan Jiu of the Xuan Division, who is taking charge of operations in the Great Xia Prefecture, has already begun accepting missions. He has completed contact with Bai Junsheng and Bai Feng of the Bai family." The Law Enforcement Elder stepped forward, glanced at some of the message logs displayed before Cai Yi, and gave a slight nod. "Not bad! I've heard of this Xuan Jiu. He completed a massive transaction in Xinghong Ancient City. He's quite a talent!" With that, he quickly instructed, "Keep a close eye on things, focusing primarily on the movements in the Great Xia, Great Qin, and Great Zhou Prefectures. Xuan Jiu and his group are merely our first wave of probing pawns. If they can firmly take root, that would be for the best!" "Understood!" Cai Yi promptly responded and briefly mentioned Xuan Jiu's request to search for Chen Yong. The Law Enforcement Elder nodded. "I will arrange for people from the East and West Pavilions to search. They've been searching for him from the beginning anyway." Continuing, he added, "Xuan Jiu was right about one thing: our objective is very simple—to create chaos. If there is none, we must make some! If there is no chaos, there will be no need for intelligence, no need for assassins, no need for protection, and no need to expend resources… Only chaos presents an opportunity for our Heaven Hunting Pavilion!" The Law Enforcement Elder was very satisfied and nodded. "Xuan Jiu grasps the core essence of our purpose. I hope everyone understands this truth! In addition, quickly establish ties with the All-Races Cult in the Human Realm. They are a force to be reckoned with as well!" "Understood!" A subordinate promptly took the order. The branch of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion in the Human Realm was about to be fully established. This time, the pavilion had invested immense power, with astronomical expenditures of manpower and material resources. They hoped not only to make a massive profit, but also to leave a profound mark in the history of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. …… Two days passed in a flash. Su Yu officially completed his fifty-eighth casting. As for the fifty-ninth, it would likely be difficult to finish in less than five days. Su Yu was in no rush. The final eruption would not happen overnight. By now, it was already the third day since he left Nanyuan. Right at this moment, a message came from Huang Jiu. "Xuan Jiu, I just received a mission to assassinate the descendant of an Invincible. Should we take it?" "Who?" "Assassinate Xia Huyou…" "Idiot!" Su Yu's tone turned foul as he berated, "You fool! Creating chaos doesn't mean courting death! We just established our presence in the Great Xia Prefecture, and you want to kill Xia Longwu's legitimate son? Do you have a death wish? Who issued the mission?" "A client I recruited." "Who, specifically?" "My client…" "I am the overseer here! When I ask who it is, you answer! Not only that, you must provide me with a list of all the clients you recruit from now on! Remember, in the Great Xia Prefecture, I am the boss, and my word is law! If you don't like it, get the hell out!" "……" Huang Jiu was struck speechless, while the other two white masks did not dare utter a sound. Xuan Jiu was exceedingly domineering! The Heaven Hunting Pavilion had allocated their quotas—Xuan Jiu personally held one hundred Heaven Hunting sub-rankings, while each of them held thirty—yet Xuan Jiu was actually demanding their client lists. Su Yu spoke again. "Did you hear me clearly?! I have no intention of letting your stupidity get me killed! The reason I survived in Xinghong Ancient City and have lived until now is caution and intellect, not sheer idiocy! If you don't want to die, do as I say!" The channel went quiet for a moment. After a pause, Huang Jiu spoke. "Fine, I'll give you the list. The person who issued the mission this time is a genius from the Great Zhou Prefecture who entered Nanyuan…" "Name!" "Zhou Hongbo!" Su Yu frowned. He knew Zhou Hongbo. Zhou Hongbo putting out a hit on Xia Huyou? What a load of rubbish! It wasn't that Zhou Hongbo was incapable of doing such a thing, but rather that he wouldn't be foolish enough to issue an assassination contract on Xia Huyou the moment he made contact with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. How could he dare post such a mission before even knowing whether the Heaven Hunting Pavilion was friend or foe? And under his real name, no less? Was he not afraid the Heaven Hunting Pavilion would sell the information and the Xia family would butcher him? Of course, from an ordinary perspective, it seemed plausible enough; the relations between the Great Zhou and Great Xia Prefectures were poor, so wanting Xia Huyou dead appeared entirely reasonable. Bullshit! Su Yu didn't believe it for a second. After some thought, he pulled out a voice transmission talisman and quickly keyed in a specific frequency. …… At that very moment, not far from Su Yu. Xia Huyou was still busy fawning over his fairy-like beauty. Startled for a fraction of a second, he quickly grinned and said, "Yu Xuan, what would you like to eat? I'll go buy it for you!" "No need!" Yu Xuan's reply was cold. This fat boy was terribly annoying. Of course, he was the crown prince of the Xia family after all, so she couldn't reject him too overtly. In truth, it wasn't a genuine rejection either, but rather a game of playing hard to get—this fatty seemed to have a penchant for precisely that sort of treatment. Sure enough, Xia Huyou put on a helpless expression. "All right then, I'll take my leave first. I'll come back this evening to accompany you for dinner." "Suit yourself!" Xia Huyou broke into a wide smile. "Great, then I'll be back tonight!" With that, he walked out with lingering reluctance. After walking a considerable distance, a voice transmission talisman appeared in his hand. He twirled it between his fingers, hesitating slightly. Who was it? Very few people knew his transmission frequency, and even fewer knew this particular talisman's. After a moment's consideration, he accepted the connection. Soon, a message came through. "Is the Heaven Yuan Qi I gave you still holding out?" "……" Xia Huyou froze in disbelief. Soon, he replied, "Where did you live when you first arrived at the academy?" "Yangxing Garden, Building 3, Room 609." "What was I doing the first time we met?" "Cleaning, and you wanted to charge me for it. I told you to get lost. Is that enough?" "Enough!" Xia Huyou was thoroughly shaken. Holy crap! Damn it all! You're really back! Aside from Su Yu himself, no one should have known these details. More importantly, he had replied instantly; unless the other party possessed all of Su Yu's memories, there was no way they could have known. Nowadays, practically no one remembered where Su Yu had lived when he first arrived. Nobody would pay attention to such trivial matters! "Where are you?" "Don't ask!" "Fine. So why are you looking for me? Tell me, did you run into trouble?" "No. I want to ask you something: did you hook up with Zhou Hongbo?" Xia Huyou paused, then quickly replied, "No. But earlier, the Great Xia Prefecture reached an agreement with several geniuses to lure and kill members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Anyone who gets a sub-ranking is allowed to post missions to assassinate members of the Xia family. Did you… catch wind of this?" Su Yu cursed under his breath. As expected. I knew it! Zhou Hongbo would never dare conspire with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion on Xia family territory to assassinate the Xia crown prince. If the pavilion sold him out, he would be completely finished. Su Yu had sensed that something was off, and facts proved that his brain was functioning properly. Of course, no need to boast about that. Su Yu quickly sent, "So whenever you head out right now, you have experts guarding you?" "Yes." "How many?" "Why are you asking in such detail? Don't tell me… you're coming to assassinate me? You aren't a member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion taking on missions, are you?" Xia Huyou was no fool; he quickly deduced the truth. Su Yu's sudden appearance and abrupt questions meant he was likely one of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's operatives who had arrived alongside them. "Bingo, but no prize for guessing right!" "……" Xia Huyou was speechless. He quickly transmitted, "Then be careful. Don't trust every member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. This time, our Great Xia Prefecture and the Great Ming Prefecture captured several living operatives. We're currently interrogating them, bribing them, and corrupting them. Once successful, they'll be used by us to bait and trap the rest of you, frame the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, and so forth. Don't just blindly accept missions!" "Oh?" Su Yu was taken aback. A thought struck him, and he swiftly asked, "Let me ask you: did the Great Xia Prefecture capture a white mask or an elder?" "No elders. Two white masks were caught. One was killed, and the other is currently being interrogated for information…" "Has he revealed his code name?" "Not yet, but soon!" Su Yu was inwardly alarmed. The Great Xia Prefecture worked fast indeed; they had already captured a live one. Could it be one of his subordinates? Di Shiba and Xuan Shiqi had been quiet throughout. Di Shiba was still relatively responsive, but Xuan Shiqi rarely spoke. Could he have been caught? He couldn't be certain! Su Yu didn't probe further, as even Xia Huyou didn't know the captive's identity. Before long, Su Yu asked, "Has anyone on your side obtained a Heaven Hunting sub-ranking? Or how about I give you one, and you issue some missions to me—like killing someone—to help me make a name for myself?" "Make a name for yourself?" Xia Huyou pondered for a moment, then transmitted, "You're among them, right… In that case… if you kill an ordinary target, people might suspect collusion! I think I get what you mean! How about this: get me a sub-ranking… Never mind, I'll figure out a way to get one myself. When the time comes, help me kill a few people. They're all from the Great Xia Prefecture, some even commanders of the Xia family. If you kill them, no one will ever suspect we worked together." "……" What the hell! "Kill commanders?" Su Yu quickly replied, "Don't go eliminating your own people just to suppress political rivals! Are you insane?" "Nonsense!" Xia Huyou grimaced and quickly replied, "They're not our own people. Some are spies planted by others, while some are outright members of the All-Races Cult. We've known about them all along, but we just haven't reeled in the net! Killing a few commanders in the Great Xia Prefecture will make you famous in no time!" "All right then!" Su Yu said no more on the matter. Xia Huyou quickly asked, "Are you in the Great Xia Prefecture right now?" "Yes!" "Where?" "Your home!" "Stop messing around…" Su Yu didn't reply to him. I'm not messing around; I really am in your home. If you don't believe it, that's your problem—the Great Xia Civilization Academy is your home too, isn't it? I can even see you! That fat bastard had indeed brought experts with him. Su Yu's resonance jade indicated that two Sun Moon experts were secretly protecting him. He was cautious enough. Establishing contact with Xia Huyou had been an absolute necessity. This was the Xia family's territory. Without coordinating with him, Su Yu might end up digging his own grave. …… Having touched base with Xia Huyou, Su Yu promptly replied to Huang Jiu. "Do not accept this mission. Xia Huyou won't be that easy to kill. Besides, he is currently in the Great Xia Prefecture. The person who posted this mission harbor ill intentions and may be trying to lure us into a trap. Huang Jiu, if you aren't afraid of dying, feel free to try it yourself!" "I didn't accept it; I wanted you to take it." Those were Huang Jiu's words. Su Yu thought to himself: Just for that line, I'll find a chance to beat you to death! Screw you! "Kill Zhou Hongbo and retrieve the sub-ranking. He has malicious motives!" "Is that appropriate?" "Entirely appropriate. It's not as if the Heaven Hunting Pavilion doesn't seek revenge. Kill anyone who tries to set us up! You execute the mission; since you can contact him, you can kill him!" "Fine, I'll listen to you!" "……" Su Yu took off his mask and paid him no further attention. Whether you can kill him or not is up to you. Still, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had to stir up some commotion; otherwise, nobody would know their capability and strength. I'm doing this for the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's own good! …… The following day, Su Yu received another message, this time from Di Shiba. "Xuan Jiu, there's another mission. A Shanhai commander in the Great Xia Prefecture's prefectural army wants us to assassinate several of his rivals, including both Shanhai and Lingyun cultivators. Should we take this mission?" "Could the client be bait?" "Hard to say!" "Where are you? Find an opportunity for us to meet and rendezvous. If the remuneration is right, we can consider it and look into the specifics!" "Meet in person?" The white masks were somewhat uneasy, fearing that one of them had already been captured. Meeting in person carried immense risk. "Let's meet first. The situation here in the Great Xia Prefecture is perilous, and it's difficult for individuals to carry out certain tasks alone. It's best if we meet. Of course, if we don't, that's fine too, but the situation must be thoroughly investigated. A Shanhai commander wouldn't betray his post so easily… Beware of a trap!" "I will!" "……" The group quickly communicated again, deciding to review the situation before taking on any missions. When it came to killing Xia Huyou, everyone had reservations. Killing a few deputy generals or commanders, on the other hand, didn't evoke nearly as much dread. Su Yu, meanwhile, reached out to Xia Huyou once more to inquire about the matter. Upon receiving confirmation that Xia Huyou had indeed arranged it, he knew everything was in order. He couldn't just kill indiscriminately; killing the wrong person would be troublesome! …… By the fifth day after returning to the Human Realm, Bai Junsheng was still stubbornly loitering around the Great Xia Prefecture, refusing to leave. Bai Feng had beaten Bai Junsheng up, but finding himself helpless against the scoundrel, he couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore and dumped him in Yangxing Garden to fend for himself. Naturally, it was all an act. An act to provide Su Yu with an excuse to stay. And on that very fifth night, inside the prefectural city of the Great Xia Prefecture, a deputy general of the prefectural army—a Shanhai expert—was assassinated within his private manor! The moment the news broke, it shook all quarters. The Human Realm had been turbulent of late. It wasn't as if nobody had died; plenty of commanders had fallen, and Chen Yong had slain quite a few in secret. Yet this time was different. This time, the victim was killed right inside the prefectural city, and he was an officer of the Great Xia Prefecture! Moreover, the assassin was not Chen Yong, but the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! Yes, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! This time, the Great Xia Prefecture possessed clear evidence pointing directly to the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! A white mask! The culprit was brazen to the extreme. Not only had he slain his target, but he had also left behind his personal mark—two massive characters written in the Lingua Franca: Xuan Jiu! Slain by Xuan Jiu of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! Daring and insolent, brazenly striking down a Shanhai expert within the city, right on the Xia family's territory! This individual had previously acted in Nanyuan as well, trading blows with a Sun Moon expert before promptly fleeing. Only a few days had passed since his entry into the Human Realm, and he already dared to infiltrate the Great Xia Prefecture's prefectural city and commit murder! Utterly lawless! On that day, the Dragon Martial Guards of the Great Xia Prefecture mobilized in force. Dozens of Shanhai experts and several Sun Moon cultivators unleashed their auras, blanketing the Great Xia Prefecture as they searched everywhere. If Xuan Jiu did not die, where would the dignity of the Great Xia Prefecture reside? …… Su Yu had already returned to his residence. He was completely calm! It had merely been a Shanhai third-stage fellow. With Su Yu's formidable stealth capabilities, the only person in the city who could possibly have detected him was Wan Tiansheng. And that old man had played completely deaf and blind. Consequently, Su Yu had finished off his target with a single stroke of his sword! A trivial matter! Yet this single act had thoroughly cemented the renown of Xuan Jiu. …… Inside his room, Su Yu was practicing his punches with grunts and exhales. In the neighboring room, someone was shouting furiously, "Outrageous! Lawless! The Dragon Martial Guards are truly useless nowadays, allowing this Xuan Jiu to murder someone right inside our prefectural city! Where is the Great Xia Prefecture's prestige?!" "If this Xuan Jiu isn't killed, since he dared to assassinate a Shanhai commander today, he might dare to kill anyone else tomorrow!" "He must be found and killed! Drag him to the All-Races Pit and chop off his head!" "……" Throughout the academy, students and instructors alike were filled with righteous indignation! How fierce the Great Xia Prefecture had been in the past, yet now, it was growing more and more cowardly. Bullied right to their faces! A general had been murdered! Dying in battle on the front lines was one thing, but falling to an assassination was intolerable. That operative from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had to die! …… A massive number of experts were deployed. Within the Civilization Academy, elder after elder was sent out as well. Not only that. While the students were boiling with outrage, an officer of the Great Xia Dragon Martial Guards stood before Yuan Qingdong's door and said in a heavy voice, "Vice Principal Yuan, we must trouble you to head out and conduct a search. There are very few Sun Moon experts remaining in the prefecture; many accompanied Marquis Xia and have yet to return! You are one of the few Sun Moon experts in the prefecture who are relatively unburdened. Chief Hu requests that you assist in scouring the region for Xuan Jiu's whereabouts!" Inside the room. Yuan Qingdong frowned, staying silent for a long moment before replying, "There are numerous students in the Civilization Academy, and several elders have already left. If I depart as well, the academy will be left vulnerable!" "With Old Bai present, nothing will happen. Old Bai is currently the strongest expert in our Great Xia Prefecture…" That white dragon! Yuan Qingdong cursed inwardly. Sending me to search? Word has it that this Xuan Jiu is formidable, having traded blows with a Sun Moon cultivator in Nanyuan without falling into a disadvantage. How dangerous would that be! "I…" Before he could refuse, the officer stated coldly, "Vice Principal, this is an order! A military order! You enjoy the prefecture's stipends, so you must serve the Great Xia Prefecture in its hour of need. In this time of crisis, do you intend to defy military orders?" "I…" Helpless! Yuan Qingdong cursed under his breath: Are you trying to get me killed? Just because I'm not one of your people, you don't care if I die, is that it? Cursing aside, the mission still had to be carried out. He dared not bear the responsibility of defying military orders—heads would roll for that. The military discipline of the Great Xia Prefecture was no laughing matter. "I understand. I will set out tomorrow to conduct the search…" "Orders must be executed the moment they are received! Lord Yuan is responsible for searching the northern defensive zone of the Great Xia Prefecture. Other sectors have been assigned to others!" "Understood!" Yuan Qingdong was swearing up a storm in his heart. Damn it all, setting me up, aren't you? The north… Is the north dangerous? He didn't know, but he had a distinct premonition that danger lurked there. …… Shortly after Yuan Qingdong departed, while Su Yu was still cultivating, Wan Tiansheng's voice suddenly resonated by his ear: "Go kill Yuan Qingdong. Of course, do not actually kill him; force him to call for reinforcements from the Quest Realm. Make him feel the crisis of imminent death, so that he draws out even more experts from the Quest Realm!" "……" Su Yu cursed under his breath as well! Do I work for you? You hand me a mission, but did you pay me? Assigning tasks without paying a single copper. Assassinating Yuan Qingdong… that was no minor mission. Attempting to kill a Sun Moon expert was extraordinarily difficult. On top of that, he was the descendant of an Invincible! Luring experts from the Quest Realm to arrive? Su Yu's mind stirred. Wan Tiansheng was intending to muddy the waters completely. …… Not long after Yuan Qingdong left, and shortly after Wan Tiansheng finished giving his instructions. Di Shiba suddenly sent a transmission to Su Yu. "Xuan Jiu, there's a major mission. Do we take it?" "Speak." "Assassinate Yuan Qingdong, Vice Principal of the Great Xia Civilization Academy, first-stage Sun Moon, and grandson of King Dayuan…" "Who posted it, and what's the reward?" "Wu Yuehua. She offers ten Earth Pills, along with an Earth weapon and a set of human Heaven-rank cultivation arts…" Su Yu was startled. "Wu Yuehua? Di Shiba, you entered the city? How did you manage to get in touch with Wu Yuehua?!" "I didn't enter the city. I ran into Wu Qi and gave her a new sub-ranking, and through her, I established contact with Wu Yuehua." "Di Shiba, you kept quiet, but you sure managed to contact a big shot!" Su Yu teased before quickly adding, "Decline! This mission is too massive. Killing a first-stage Sun Moon—do you think you're killing a Tengkong cultivator? We're not taking it!" "Xuan Jiu, you can battle Sun Moon cultivators. If the rest of us coordinate with you…" "Shut up. He's a descendant of King Dayuan, and his father is one of the heads of the Eight Great Families of the Quest Realm, the youngest son of King Dayuan. We cannot accept this mission; it's far too dangerous." Di Shiba was somewhat dissatisfied. "Xuan Jiu, if nothing else, we can consult the law enforcer. Yuan Qingdong is merely a third-generation descendant. If we reject even this, our connection with the Wu family might be severed!" "Di Shiba, in the Great Xia Prefecture, my word is final!" "But…" "If you insist, I'll ask Cai Yi. But… if you're counting on me, I won't accept! Slaying the descendant of an Invincible who is also in the Sun Moon Realm is far too perilous. I have no intention of throwing my life away for a single mission!" With that, Su Yu ignored him and immediately sent a message to Cai Yi. "Law Enforcer, we just received a mission in the Great Xia Prefecture, accepted by Di Shiba: to assassinate Yuan Qingdong. I don't wish to take this mission, but the client is from the Great Xia Prefecture's Wu family. Do we take it or not?" Cai Yi had already received the report and quickly replied, "Take it. The moment Yuan Qingdong dies, the Great Xia Prefecture will descend into total chaos!" "I lack the strength to kill him alone!" "No matter. I will personally come to assist you!" Cai Yi was coming in person? Su Yu's mind churned. Cai Yi was likely at the fifth or sixth stage of the Sun Moon Realm. If that fellow came… killing Yuan Qingdong would be all but guaranteed. The catch was that Wan Tiansheng's instruction was to spare Yuan Qingdong's life and let him call for aid. Never mind, forget about that for now. He could simply inform Wan Tiansheng later! "Since the Law Enforcer says so, we'll take the mission. However… I still feel it is too dangerous. If it provokes King Dayuan… it will bring catastrophic trouble!" "No matter. Currently, the Invincibles of all races are pressing close to the human East Rift Valley; those Invincibles won't be able to return anytime soon! Besides, Yuan Qingdong's branch isn't particularly favored by their Invincible ancestor, unlike Xia Huyou…" It seemed he realized he had let something slip. Su Yu, for his part, pretended not to notice. Both sides acted as though nothing had happened; evidently, Cai Yi had already known about the earlier mission to assassinate Xia Huyou. After a brief silence, Cai Yi quickly continued, "I will head over in person. Xuan Jiu, you have done exceedingly well. The name of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion is now known to everyone in the Great Xia Prefecture, and the recent distribution of sub-rankings has been swift, gradually integrating several core figures of the Great Xia Prefecture into our system…" "Thank you for the praise, Law Enforcer!" "You earned it through your merit, Xuan Jiu. If you handle things successfully this time, once you return to the All-Heavens Battlefield, you will have a good chance of being promoted to elder…" "The Law Enforcer is jesting. I am merely at the ninth stage of the Shanhai Realm!" Playing weak, while also playing strong. I'm merely Shanhai ninth-stage, but of course, I might also be in the Sun Moon Realm; none of you know my exact cultivation level anyway. …… His communication with Cai Yi concluded swiftly. The mission had been accepted. Su Yu chuckled. That old man Wan Tiansheng certainly had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Wu Yuehua had obtained a sub-ranking, which meant the two of them were in contact? That wouldn't do! Wu Yuehua—isn't she my prospective master's wife? Could she have had a change of heart? Su Yu pondered whether he should warn Teacher Liu. This was too dangerous. To be honest, Old Wan was somewhat handsome and far stronger than Liu Wenyan. Could Wu Yuehua have shifted her affections? "Complicated. Next time I see Teacher Liu, I must let him know so he stays alert and keeps an eye on things!" Women—truly best left unprovoked. Look at that: provoke too many, and you have to worry about them changing their minds. …… Because Cai Yi needed time to arrive in person, Su Yu was in no rush. He briefly relayed the instructions, arranging a rendezvous for two days later once a meeting place was confirmed. Not only Su Yu, but the other white masks were also required to show themselves and meet with Cai Yi. Evidently, operations in the Great Xia Prefecture had received serious attention, prompting this senior figure to rush over in person to assist. Otherwise, he wouldn't necessarily visit an ordinary prefecture. While Cai Yi was not an elder, he was directly subordinate to the Head of the Xuan Division as a Xuan Division law enforcer. His personal arrival was, in a sense, even more significant than that of an elder. So significant that Su Yu almost felt like asking Wan Tiansheng if they could just take him out. A time had been agreed upon, though the specific location was left undecided until Cai Yi arrived to confirm it. In the meantime, Su Yu continued his cultivation, proceeding with his physical castings. The fifty-ninth casting was only a matter of days away. He had also relayed the news to Wan Tiansheng. How the old man intended to arrange things was beyond Su Yu's knowledge, but Wan Tiansheng's intention was to keep Yuan Qingdong alive. If Wan Tiansheng refused to let him die, Cai Yi's arrival wouldn't change a thing. As for Su Yu, he would merely play along and put on a display of formidable combat strength. Naturally, just to be safe, Su Yu had to stay cautious. Wan Tiansheng was quite prone to setting people up! With fifty-eight castings completed, Su Yu's physical acupoint force had reached 450,000, and including the Yang Acupoints and other factors, it was around 500,000. At this level of strength, without consuming essence blood, he might not necessarily be able to overcome Yuan Qingdong. The man was, after all, the descendant of an Invincible, not an ordinary first-stage Sun Moon cultivator. He likely wasn't that weak. Weaker first-stage Sun Moon experts had around 300,000 acupoint force. Stronger ones typically had 400,000 to 500,000. Su Yu was currently among the stronger tier of first-stage Sun Moon experts, but there remained a gap between him and the very top. The absolute peak Sun Moon gods and demons might achieve 600,000 to 700,000 acupoint force—of course, excluding anomalies like Moduona, whom it was pointless to compare against. Feeling that his strength was still lacking, Su Yu cultivated relentlessly. His Heaven and Earth Profound Light was also being consumed at a ferocious rate. Once the fifty-ninth casting was completed, his strength would take another massive leap. At present, each completed casting boosted his strength by 40,000 to 50,000 acupoint force—a terrifying margin of enhancement. …… Two days later, Su Yu quietly slipped out of the Great Xia Prefectural City. A message arrived from Cai Yi: they would rendezvous at Beifeng City. Yuan Qingdong was not far from there either. All four white masks in the Great Xia Prefecture had to go. As for the white mask captured by the Xia family, he most likely was not one of Su Yu's subordinates; otherwise, there would have been some abnormality. On the Xia family's side, Xia Huyou had mentioned that the captive had yet to break. If one of their own had been captured and hadn't talked yet, they definitely would have alerted Su Yu and the others. Such were the perks of being a double agent: information flowed from both sides. He knew what the Heaven Hunting Pavilion knew, and he knew what the Great Xia Prefecture knew. Su Yu didn't pay too much mind to this mission; the risk wasn't excessively high. After observing outside Beifeng City for a considerable time, Su Yu finally headed toward the designated location. Simultaneously, the other white masks were also converging on the spot. …… Near the rendezvous point, on a small knoll, Cai Yi had already arrived. Instead of heading out into the open, he remained concealed in the area. He had to take precautions to prevent any of the white masks from turning traitor and leading to his capture or death. The Human Realm was far more perilous than anticipated. Over this period, white masks had been lost continuously, and even elders had perished, making the remaining white masks and elders far more vigilant. The Great Xia Prefecture was considered relatively good; over in the Great Qin Prefecture, you couldn't even meet a living soul. Military martial law! Over there, if you entered a city wearing a cloak, the Great Qin Prefecture would chop off your head the very next moment. As a result, the few white masks in the Great Qin Prefecture hadn't dared to make contact with anyone up to now. Across the thirty-six prefectures, very few had operations currently underway. Otherwise, Cai Yi wouldn't have placed so much importance on the Great Xia Prefecture.