Chapter 741 - 447: Crushing the Flower

Chapter 741: Chapter 447: Crushing the Flower

The wind rustled the overgrown grass and trees inside the lumber mill. The faint chirping of insects emanated from the weeds.

A few fireflies, glimmering faintly, took flight from the swaying blades of grass, flitting about erratically as they blinked in and out of sight.

Suddenly, a slender figure stumbled out from the tall grass.

It was Chen Xiaoyan, the one who had gone to the bathroom earlier. After emerging from the grass, she ran frantically toward the factory building in the distance.

The massive, two-meter-diameter Fireball Lin Li had created had already extinguished itself. The ground was charred black, and Wang Hao’s body was gone, leaving behind only a patch of pale ash.

"Wang Hao?!!!"

Chen Xiaoyan stared at the ashes on the ground, her eyes widening in utter disbelief.

Wang Hao, a Second Order High Rank Cultivator, had been turned to ash by Lin Li’s Fireball.

’How did it come to this? That... that man is actually a Peak Tier Two Cultivator!!!’

Chen Xiaoyan recalled the battle she had just witnessed while hiding in the grass. Her whole body trembled as terror rapidly spread through her heart.

’What do I do? Not only is Liu Menglong dead, but now Wang Hao is gone too. How am I going to explain this to my superiors?’

Chen Xiaoyan clutched her head, raking her fingers through her hair and messing it up completely.

She had originally thought she could use Wang Hao to avoid punishment for Liu Menglong’s death.

But now, even Wang Hao had been killed. If her superiors found out, she would be punished for multiple offenses. She’d be skinned alive, at the very least. She might even lose her life.

’I have to report what happened here to my superiors immediately. The sooner I report it, the better my chances of pleading for leniency. If I delay, I really could lose my life,’ Chen Xiaoyan muttered to herself after a moment of thought.

Then, she quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and opened her contacts.

Just as Chen Xiaoyan was about to report the situation to her superiors, there was a sudden SHLICK. Her movement to make the call stopped. Her hand went limp, and her phone fell to the ground.

Looking down, she saw the gleaming tip of a dagger protruding from her chest, right where her heart was.

Blood dripped onto her shoes. DRIP. DRIP.

"Gah..."

Her brightly lipsticked mouth fell slightly open, and blood trickled from the corner.

"Who?"

As her Life Force rapidly drained from her body, Chen Xiaoyan managed to choke out the word.

The man standing behind her spoke softly, "Thank you for helping me complete my mission."

"That voice is a little familiar... Huang Liu, is that you?" Chen Xiaoyan asked.

The man pulled out the dagger and gave her a push on the back. As she fell, Chen Xiaoyan staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

She struggled to turn over, her vision blurring as she looked at the man standing before her.

"Huang Liu, why? Why are you doing this to me?" Chen Xiaoyan, on the verge of death, questioned the man in a weak voice.

Li Ying looked at Chen Xiaoyan on the ground, blood gushing from the wound in her chest and staining most of her clothes red. He smiled faintly and said,

"Sorry, I lied to you. My real name isn’t Huang Liu. As for what it is, I’d rather not say."

"I really have you to thank for this. I’ll burn some paper money for you later, make sure you have a better time in the afterlife..."

"You..." Chen Xiaoyan opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but she no longer had the strength to get the words out.

"I’m leaving. Goodbye," Li Ying said, then turned and walked away.

Inside the dim, abandoned factory, a pile of dark ashes lay on the ground. Not far away, a woman with a fatal wound to her heart lay dying.

"RING, RING, RING..."

Suddenly, a phone began to ring, its sound piercing the silence of the factory.

Her consciousness fading, nearly dead, Chen Xiaoyan heard her phone ringing. She turned her head to look, wanting to reach for it, but it was too far away for her to grab.

The lit-up screen displayed the caller’s name... Zhu Daqi.

Zhu Daqi, who had finished his surveillance mission and returned home to rest, saw that it was getting late. He decided to call Chen Xiaoyan to ask about her progress, but after dialing, he waited for a long time with no answer.

’Strange, why isn’t Yan answering? Is she still busy?’

Wearing pajamas, Zhu Daqi sat in his living room, smoking a cigarette as he made the call. When no one picked up, he stopped dialing.

When the ringing finally stopped, the dying Chen Xiaoyan breathed her last.

「...」

With a solemn expression, Li Ying walked out of the main gate of the abandoned lumber mill.

Chen Xiaoyan hadn’t been the only one hiding in the shadows and witnessing the fight between Lin Li and Wang Hao. He, too, had seen everything.

’That Lin Li is actually a Peak Tier Two Cultivator. It’s truly unbelievable.’

If Li Ying hadn’t personally witnessed the battle between Lin Li and Wang Hao, and clearly felt the unreserved Peak Tier Two Spiritual Energy Wave that erupted from Lin Li when he unleashed his full power, he would never have believed that this young man in his early twenties was a Peak Tier Two Cultivator.

He took his phone from his pocket, opened his contacts, and stared at a particular number for a long time before finally pressing the dial button.

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP..."

After a few rings, the other party answered.

"Hello." A deep voice sounded, though it lacked its usual vigor.

"Chief, are you feeling unwell?" Li Ying asked with concern.

"Mm, I set the air conditioner too low a few days ago and caught a cold. But I’ve taken some medicine. I’m almost better now," said the chief of the Canglan Society’s intelligence department.

"You’re calling me now. Is there any new progress on the mission I assigned you?"

"..." Li Ying fell silent for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts before speaking. "Chief, what I’m about to tell you might be hard to accept, but I saw it with my own eyes. Please, let me explain in detail."

"Go on."

Li Ying then recounted in detail everything that had happened recently to his superior, placing special emphasis on how he used the Heilin Society members to probe Lin Li.

"Chief, that’s how it is. That young man named Lin Li, his true cultivation isn’t Second Order High Rank, but Peak Tier Two..."

The chief of the Canglan Society’s intelligence department was dumbfounded after hearing Li Ying’s report. If he didn’t know that Li Ying would never dare to lie to him, he would have started cursing him out.

’Are you kidding me? A young man in his early twenties with a Peak Tier Two cultivation? Does he take me for an idiot?’ The thought flashed through the chief’s mind. His brows furrowed, and he said to Li Ying,

"Li Ying, you’re not joking with me, are you?"

Li Ying had anticipated that his superior would ask this exact question after his report.

So, he replied in a firm and serious tone, "Chief, I have followed you for many years. You know me. I would not lie to you, nor would I dare."

Hearing this answer from his subordinate, most of the Canglan Society chief’s doubts dissipated. Still, he found it difficult to accept that a young man in his early twenties could possess a Peak Tier Two cultivation.

After all, he had cultivated for decades and was now fifty-two years old, yet he had only reached Second Order High Rank. The breakthrough to Peak Tier Two was nowhere in sight; he might never achieve it in his lifetime.

To be told now that a young man in his early twenties had already reached Peak Tier Two was not only shocking but also a huge blow to him.

"Haaa..."

Letting out a long breath to calm his turbulent emotions, the chief of the Canglan Society’s intelligence department pondered for a moment before speaking to Li Ying.

"You’ve worked hard. This mission is now over. Leave Rongcheng for now, find a place to rest for a while. I’ll contact you when there’s a new mission..."

"Yes, sir." Li Ying nodded and then ended the call with his superior.

He looked up at the bright, full moon hanging in the sky and muttered to himself.

’The mission is finally complete. Steward Zhang was the one who said he wanted to kill that young man, Lin Li.’

’Now that they know he has a Peak Tier Two cultivation, what will they do next?’

「...」