Chapter 372 - 218: Hidden Dragon List 72

Chapter 372: Chapter 218: Hidden Dragon List 72

He felt a mix of shock, admiration, and surprise, but remembering the kind of villain they were dealing with also brought a measure of loathing and grimness.

The agent stared blankly for a long moment after hearing Su Xing’s assessment, then finally rasped,

"You mean to say it was Xie Yuan who was the main force?"

"Without Xie Yuan, she never would have been able to kill that assassin. At the very least, they contributed equally."

Su Xing stated with conviction.

The agent drew in a sharp breath.

"He can really hold his own against that young lady? In that case, his strength..."

Su Xing’s tone was complicated.

"The Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm."

The agent’s pupils shrank. Incredulous, he said,

"Lord Su, when you were tracking him last year... wasn’t he only at the External Training stage?"

As Su Xing’s direct subordinate, he was well aware of the report his superior had submitted. He had a vivid memory of the wanted criminal who had given his boss so much trouble, and he’d been keeping tabs on the case for a long time.

He just never imagined he’d have such a close brush with the man himself. That was why the agent had rushed to report it, prompting Su Xing to come to Wu River County immediately.

"That’s right."

Su Xing gazed at the surging waves of the Wu River, a perfect mirror for the turmoil in his heart.

Hearing this confirmation, the agent was momentarily stunned.

Two realm breakthroughs in under a year.

Even for a worldly agent of the Spring Rain Building, who had seen his share of prodigies in the capital and read through the dossiers of heroes from across the land, he could count on one hand the number of figures like this.

’He went from External Training to the Qi and Blood Second Transformation in less than a year. Give him another year, or three, or five, or ten...’

’Will the world see a second Xue Ming River?’

The more Su Xing thought about it, the more unsettled he became.

He said grimly,

"I’ll have to report this to the Building. We need to raise Xie Yuan’s threat level."

The agent asked tentatively,

"What do you mean by that?"

"We need to treat this with the utmost seriousness. The moment he’s located, we have to capture him! Otherwise, I’m afraid he’ll grow beyond our reach."

Su Xing said.

’Even the youngest Grandmaster Divine Catcher in the Spring Rain Building is worried about how fast Xie Yuan is growing?’

The agent was momentarily speechless, not expecting Su Xing to hold Xie Yuan in such high regard. But thinking back on what he’d just said, it started to make sense.

"Then you’ll..."

"We’ll have to raise his wanted level, of course. And... I have another idea..."

A glint flashed in Su Xing’s eyes as he made a silent vow. He couldn’t let Xie Yuan keep growing at this pace.

Seeing that Su Xing didn’t intend to elaborate, the agent hesitated for a moment before asking,

"But Lord Su, since Xie Yuan is close with that young lady—they have a bond of companionship—then..."

Su Xing’s expression darkened, and he snorted.

"So we just drop the investigation? Xie Yuan has killed officials more than once. Should we let him off the hook just because he has a powerful backer? No one has spoken to me about it, but even if they did... when a prince breaks the law, he faces the same punishment as a commoner!"

He spoke with such conviction that his subordinate listened with a solemn expression before cupping his fist and loudly assenting.

Su Xing said no more. He took a moment to compose himself, and after a long silence, he changed the subject and asked,

"Actually, before I came here, someone at the Building told me not to dig too deep into this Wu River case. You sensed there was more to it, and your instincts were sharp. You weren’t wrong."

"So tell me, what’s the situation with that estate?"

The agent listened, and understanding dawned on his face, followed by a wry smile.

"So there’s pressure coming from inside the Building, too? No wonder... I was the first to arrive on the scene. I saw at least a hundred bodies, all silenced. Over a hundred people... But on that very same day, people from the provincial government showed up and forced everyone to keep quiet."

"I tried to investigate on my own, but the estate had been burned to a crisp. It looked like a special team had come to clean up afterward, too. There was nothing left to find. Forgive my incompetence, but that’s all I know."

Su Xing’s expression grew heavy as he listened. He murmured,

"’Over a hundred people... and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. How many more innocent souls are there, submerged and unseen? Is it even possible to count them all?’"

He gazed into the bottomless Wu River, watching it grow wider and deeper as it flowed unceasingly to the southeast, its destination a mystery.

"I want you to keep investigating this."

Su Xing said calmly, his gaze fixed on the east.

The agent nodded firmly and cupped his fist.

"I won’t let you down, my lord."

Su Xing gave him a long, meaningful look.

"Rest assured, I’ll bear the pressure from the Building for you. The only thing is, I’m out in the open, so I can’t investigate personally. From now on, you’ll have to work hard at being a true secret agent—even toward our colleagues in the Building."

The agent broke into a bright smile.

"What are you talking about, Lord Su? I’ve never forgotten the oath I swore to the heavens the day I joined the Spring Rain Building."

Su Xing clapped him on the shoulder, saying no more.

’You and I haven’t forgotten. Many of our brothers haven’t forgotten.’

’But some people already have.’

...

"Sword Forms, begin!"

On the platform atop Ruyun Peak, Instructor Lv stood on a stone dais with his hands behind his back and shouted the command.

Through the light mist, a large group of Inner Sect Disciples from the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, all dressed in white, stood in orderly ranks. They moved through a unified sword form, their actions so synchronized it was a pleasure to watch.

When the Inner Sect Disciples practiced the Cloud Mountain Sword Form, there was naturally little variation between them. They were able to move as if with one mind.

Although, to Instructor Lv’s discerning eye, each person’s skill level and movements were still quite distinct. A thousand disciples, a thousand different faces.

His gaze drifted to the back rows of the formation. After watching for a few moments, he gave a slight nod. When the disciples finished a full run-through, he slowly announced,

"Sword Technique, begin!"

The disciples began in unison once more, executing the Cloud-Entering Sword Skill, a technique far more formidable than the Cloud Mountain Sword Form.

The hundred or so disciples managed to start in unison, but after just a few moves, slight differences slowly emerged. Some were faster, some slower, each moving at their own pace. Even a novice could tell it was different from before.

After all, the Cloud-Entering Sword Skill was already considered Middle Tier swordsmanship on Cloud Mountain. It was unlikely that every disciple still in the process of learning it had mastered its essentials.