Chapter 62: Huasha Sect and Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Huasha Sect and Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion

"The Yanyue Sect!"

Chen Qiang’s gaze narrowed.

The Yanyue Sect was a major faction located in the Southwest, nestled right on the border between the Human and Demon Races. They were extremely powerful. However, daring to expand into the Daqian Jade Capital was a bit arrogant—it was like walking right into the tiger’s mouth.

"I’ve been investigating for the past few days and looked through some old case files. I found out that the Yanyue Sect has actually been in the Jade Capital for several years," Lu Ming explained.

The Dynasty strictly forbade the existence of religious sects, or at the very least, prohibited them from preaching within its borders. Allowing them to do so would destabilize the imperial rule, making them prime targets for severe crackdowns.

"It seems this matter is no small issue," Chen Qiang said, his expression grave. If the Demon Suppression Bureau had failed to notice something like this, it would be a severe dereliction of duty.

Lu Ming nodded. "I have a few leads on my end."

Chen Qiang’s eyes instantly lit up. "Tell me, quick."

Whether it was destroying a cult’s branch altar or capturing Ghost Fang, both were massive achievements. As long as they had leads, the Demon Suppression Bureau had more than enough manpower to handle it.

"The Yanyue Sect’s presence in the Zhen District is quite weak. Right now, they’re mostly operating outside the Third Ring," Lu Ming slowly elaborated. "Their recruitment targets are Martial Artists who have some level of strength but lack the backing of any major faction."

Lu Ming pulled out a map, listing all the Seventh Grade minor factions outside the Third Ring. He then circled a few of them with heavy emphasis.

"The Yaoyang Martial Arts Hall!" Chen Qiang spotted a somewhat familiar name.

"One of my informants was introduced by someone from the Yaoyang Martial Arts Hall and managed to make contact with the Yanyue Sect’s Zhen District branch," Lu Ming further shared.

That informant was naturally Wei Huisheng. After being interrogated by Lu Ming’s father-in-law, Wei Changgong, he had already confessed everything.

Chen Qiang couldn’t help but glance at the Lu Family father and son. The Yaoyang Martial Arts Hall was run by the Sun family—which happened to be Sunx Jin’s family. He couldn’t say whether this was a mere coincidence or if there was something else at play.

"I need to go back and report this."

Lu Ming nodded. "Of course."

The matter was of great importance and absolutely had to be reported to the higher-ups. Last night, he had only told the arriving experts from the Demon Suppression Bureau about Ghost Fang, completely omitting any mention of the Yanyue Sect.

WHOOSH. Chen Qiang immediately darted off to return to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Lu Yuan, however, stayed behind. He handed over the secret letters and papers he had found the previous night to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming opened them, took a quick glance, and immediately snapped them shut. "These things are no small deal. You really know what to grab, kid. You took the most important pieces."

Lu Yuan smiled. "You just made a big contribution. Don’t forget to share some of the benefits with me, and we’ll be good."

He hadn’t been able to discern much from the papers himself, and he certainly wasn’t skilled at solving cases. Handing them over to Old Lu was the best choice.

"You’re a lot richer than I am, kid," Lu Ming rolled his eyes. Last night, he had finally seen the boy in action—it was clean and decisive. Moreover, his combat prowess had far exceeded his expectations. If he didn’t see him every day, he would have doubted if this was even his son.

"Hehe, it’s just pocket change," Lu Yuan chuckled.

He had earned another five hundred today. Combined with what he had acquired last night and his previous savings, he now had over one thousand taels in silver notes on his person. Besides that, he also had thirty taels of Gold. He was truly wealthy now. If it wasn’t for the inappropriate setting, he would have pulled out a couple of silver notes right then and there to give to Old Lu.

Lu Yuan didn’t stay long at the Government Office and made his way back to the Demon Suppression Bureau. On the way, however, he stumbled upon an interesting scene: two Sect disciples were dueling in an arena at a street intersection. Both were Eighth Grade Martial Artists—one wielding a saber, the other a sword.

"The Huasha Sect’s Gale Saber is nothing special."

"The Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion’s Seven Star Sword is a complete mess!"

"Bullshit! You can say that I, Xue Ming, haven’t mastered it well, but you absolutely cannot say the Seven Star Sword is weak!"

"Yeah! How dare you insult the Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion—Senior Brother Xue, beat him to death!"

"Chop off his dog head!"

"It’s not certain who will be chopping whom! Senior Brother Zhen, cripple him!"

"Our Senior Brother Zhen is a top twenty expert in the Huasha Sect’s Outer Sect..."

The Jade Capital was the heart of the Daqian Dynasty, a central hub where the world’s treasures and resources converged. Because of this, almost all the major Sects established a stronghold in the city to facilitate the exchange of goods. Most of the Sect disciples present in the Jade Capital were recruited locally by the various deacons stationed there, while a small fraction came directly from the main headquarters. Naturally, when they bumped into each other, conflicts were bound to arise. Internal disputes were settled privately, while external grudges were resolved in the arena.

Today’s clash was between the disciples of two Fourth Grade factions: the Huasha Sect from Xizhou and the Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion from the Northeast. It didn’t take long for a victor to emerge on the stage—Zhen Zilong of the Huasha Sect claimed the win.

"Haha! I knew it, Senior Brother Zhen is stronger! Our Huasha Sect reigns supreme!"

"Our Senior Brother Zhen is a true elite of the Sect. What does that guy amount to?"

"The Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion lost! Hurry up and get lost!"

"That Xue guy is nothing more than this!"

"Hahaha..."

"You... you all..."

With the Huasha Sect victorious, its disciples stood tall, their chests puffed out in sheer arrogance. On the other hand, the losing members of the Purple Cloud Sword Pavilion hung their heads in dejection, their eyes filled with despair.

"Lu Yuan! What are you doing here?!" Suddenly, one person locked eyes on Lu Yuan, frowning.

"Am I not allowed to be here?" Lu Yuan turned his head and questioned.

"I... I didn’t say that," Cen Hui stuttered, though he quickly tilted his chin up in defiance. "You saw that, didn’t you? My loss means nothing. Our Huasha Sect has plenty of experts—incredibly formidable experts!"

"What does his strength have to do with you?" Lu Yuan asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You... I... We’re martial brothers! We belong to the same Sect!" Cen Hui retorted, brimming with self-righteous confidence. "Of course it has something to do with me! How could it not?"

"We’re both from the Daqian Dynasty too. Tell me, how much relation does that give us?" Lu Yuan rolled his eyes.

"You..." Cen Hui choked on his words, grinding his teeth. "Do you dare get on the arena and fight me again?"

"You’re not qualified." Lu Yuan shook his head.

"You... arrogant bastard!" Cen Hui seethed with fury.

"Have you figured out a way to break my Sword Momentum?" Lu Yuan asked.

"...No." Cen Hui shook his head.

"Then why the hell are we still talking?" Lu Yuan turned around and walked away. What a waste of time.

Cen Hui stood there, dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe the boy had just walked away, leaving him stammering in disbelief.

"Who was that?" Zhen Zilong asked as he leapt down from the stage.

"Lu Yuan! That’s the same Lu Yuan who recently had an epiphany and joined the Demon Suppression Bureau," Cen Hui hurriedly answered.

"Oh, so it’s him." Realization dawned on Zhen Zilong, but he quickly frowned. "He’s broken through to the Eighth Grade!"

"What? How is that possible?" Cen Hui was shocked. Just a few days ago, he was still in the Ninth Grade and hadn’t broken through yet. Now, in just a matter of days...

"I’m not mistaken." Zhen Zilong was absolutely certain, trusting his own eyes and judgment.

"This..." Cen Hui’s expression grew incredibly complicated. As expected, were they no longer on the same level? It was too fast! Was this truly the genius of an epiphany?

"Even so, he’s still no match for you, Senior Brother Zhen."

"Hehe," Zhen Zilong chuckled. Comparing someone who had just broken through to him, a veteran who had been in the Eighth Grade for two or three years? Was he praising the kid or insulting him? Still, an epiphany genius would definitely be worth fighting just to see what he was capable of.

"If the opportunity arises in the future, we’ll exchange a few moves."

"You would definitely win, Senior Brother!" Cen Hui immediately chimed in.

At the east gate of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

"Elder Wu, you’ve been in the Demon Suppression Bureau for many years. Do you happen to know which Saber Technique is the most formidable, the one with the strongest offensive power?" Lu Yuan asked. He was currently in need of an overwhelmingly lethal and destructive Saber Technique.