Not long after Ye Chen and Lin Shi and the others left Hui Feng City, the news reached Qu Xiao, who was recuperating at the Defense Camp in Hui Feng City.

"Commander Li, is this Lin Shi within the range of suspicion?" Qu Xiao asked.

"Reporting to the lady, Lin Shi has been with the Defense Army for three years and is fairly trustworthy. His squad consists of brave warriors and is considered the elite of Hui Feng City's Defense Army." In front of Qu Xiao, a middle-aged officer of the Defense Army with the surname Li responded.

Qu Xiao frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Is someone watching the City Lord's Mansion?"

"There has always been someone. If City Lord Wang Qing makes any move, news will be reported immediately." Commander Li showed some doubt and said, "Miss, although Wang Qing's performance as City Lord has not been extraordinary, it shouldn't be problematic, right?"

Qu Xiao said, "The Black Wind Village mountain bandits have been wreaking havoc within Hui Feng City's territory. It's understandable that the City Lord's Mansion can't handle the Black Wind Village bandits, but it's a significant issue if they can't even assess the bandits' strength. Moreover, the City Lord's Mansion even reported completely inaccurate information, which makes me suspect something is wrong with Wang Qing!"

Originally, Qu Xiao had no suspicions about Hui Feng City's City Lord, Wang Qing.

However, after her encounter with Ye Chen, she heard that the description of the bandits' strength in the mission scroll from the Cangxing Martial Arts Academy greatly differed from reality, which aroused her suspicion.

As per the management of Unrivaled County, the information in that mission scroll was reported by Hui Feng City to the Commandery Governor's Mansion, which lacked the manpower to handle it and entrusted the Cangxing Martial Arts Academy for assistance.

The source of that mission scroll's information was Hui Feng City's City Lord, Wang Qing.

"By the way, Miss, when Lin Shi and his group left the city, they invited a young man with a sword to accompany them. It seems that young man is not from Hui Feng City," Commander Li added.

Qu Xiao immediately thought of someone, Ye Chen!

Her expression instantly became extremely tense; it must be Ye Chen!

She had thought Ye Chen had returned to Cangxing City to report the mission, but now it seemed Ye Chen was still in Cangxing City!

At this moment.

There was a sound outside the room where Qu Xiao was.

"Report, Miss, City Lord Wang Qing is no longer at the City Lord's Mansion. Preliminary judgement indicates he left avoiding all surveillance about an hour ago!"

Upon hearing the report from her subordinate,

Qu Xiao could basically confirm that there must indeed be a problem with City Lord Wang Qing!

About an hour ago, in the deep dark, Wang Qing left sneakily, clearly guilty of a thief's heart!

Qu Xiao's expression tightened, and she immediately grabbed the long knife placed beside her and said, "Commander Li, gather all the available manpower and search outside the city!"

"Miss, leave this matter to me. Your injuries are severe; it's better for you to stay here and recuperate," Commander Li advised.

"I must go personally!" Qu Xiao's tone was extremely firm.

Ye Chen...may very well have already been caught in a conspiracy whirlpool, how could she rest assured to recuperate?!

......

Outside Hui Feng City.

Ye Chen, following Lin Shi's lead, pursued the Black Wind Village bandits with a squad of Defense Army soldiers, arriving at a rugged mountain road.

"Young sir, due to the rush earlier, I didn't have time to ask for your name. Please forgive me and kindly tell me so I can report back to the City Lord's Mansion after dealing with these bandits and give credit to you." Lin Shi said.

Ye Chen said lightly, "It's just a trivial matter, no need for credit. Eliminating these Black Wind Village bandits to rid the people of harm is what we cultivators should do."

"Young sir, your righteousness!" Lin Shi showed an expression of admiration.

Ye Chen chuckled inwardly and continued, "Commander Lin, you have also seen the formidable strength of these bandits infiltrating the city, yet you dared to lead such a squad to pursue outside the city. Such courage is also admirable."

Filled with righteous indignation, Lin Shi said, "These bandits murder recklessly and commit numerous heinous acts. Even if I were alone, I would still pursue them outside the city. Besides, to be honest, this incident has long been part of the City Lord's plan."

"Oh?" Ye Chen expressed doubt, "Please explain, Commander Lin."

"To be candid, the City Lord has spared no effort in trying to capture all these bandits in one sweep, spending considerable resources to finally get some clues.

The infiltration of the bandits into the city at midnight was also within the City Lord's expectations, which is why we were able to respond so quickly.

And by allowing these bandits to escape the siege was to follow the vine to get to the melon; in reality, it's to find and root out the Black Wind Village's current base camp.

Now, the City Lord should also be on the way and will arrive soon."

"Oh? As far as I know, the leader of the Black Wind Village is not weak. Does your Hui Feng City's City Lord really have the confidence to handle them?"

The scale of Hui Feng City is similar to Qingyun City.

The city lord of Qingyun City, Zhang Feng, only has a high-level True Essence Realm cultivation.

Of course, due to its geographic location, with Hui Feng City closer to the Demon Suppression Valley, the City Lord's Mansion and the Defense Army here are overall much stronger compared to Qingyun City.

But for Hui Feng City's City Lord to confront the powerful Black Wind Village bandits personally, that's a significant problem.

If he truly had the ability to predict the bandits' actions, the chaos caused by the Black Wind Village bandits would have been resolved long ago.

"The City Lord invited many powerful figures from outside, so it's not a major issue," Lin Shi explained.

Ye Chen said no more, his thoughts turning quickly, connecting it to the previous affairs of Zeng Ming and Qin Jing from Feiyang Martial Arts Academy.

Zeng Ming and Qin Jing, bringing a group of wealthy disciples, used Zhang Family Village as bait to ambush the bandits. This was done with the approval of Hui Feng City's City Lord.

But the bandits got word beforehand, turned the tables, and set a trap in Zhang Family Village, intending to eliminate Zeng Ming's group completely.

So, within Hui Feng City, the Black Wind Village bandits must have an insider!

Initially, Ye Chen only suspected something was wrong with Lin Shi.

Upon careful consideration, Lin Shi is merely someone at the preliminary level of the Elemental Wheel Realm, with a mediocre status in Hui Feng City.

And now, another one popped up — the City Lord of Hui Feng City...

Perhaps, that is the biggest protector of the Black Wind Village bandits!

It's even very possible that this City Lord is the Bandit Leader of Black Wind Village!

The truth will soon be revealed as soon as we meet the City Lord of Hui Feng City.

Because the power signature on that stone bead is very likely left by the Bandit Leader of Black Wind Village.

If the City Lord of Hui Feng City is really the Bandit Leader of Black Wind Village, the identical aura will easily reveal it!

A moment later.

A group of people arrived at the foot of a mountain.

By this time, the sky was already bright.

Lin Shi suggested stopping first to wait for their City Lord of Hui Feng City to join them.

Ye Chen said nothing, directly found a flat rock, sat on it, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his cultivation technique to adjust his state.

There might be a tough battle to fight later. Once the City Lord of Hui Feng City appears and is identified by his aura as the Bandit Leader of Black Wind Village, strike immediately for a surprise attack!

After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour.

The City Lord of Hui Feng City, Wang Qing, sporting a mustache, arrived at the mountain foot with a team of people exuding a strong aura.

Lin Shi immediately stepped forward, kneeling on one knee: "Greetings, City Lord."

Wang Qing nodded and said, "Well done."

"As long as we can eliminate the mountain bandits of Black Wind Village, it's all worth it," Lin Shi declared loudly, giving Wang Qing a meaningful look, then added, "My Lord, we have a young master assisting us in this chase of the bandits."

Wang Qing nodded and said, "I will thank him personally."

Next.

Lin Shi led Wang Qing towards Ye Chen, who was adjusting his state through cultivation.

Meanwhile.

Ye Chen had actually stopped circulating his cultivation technique.

He had already sensed that the aura of City Lord Wang Qing was identical to the power signature on the stone bead!

However, Ye Chen couldn't discern Wang Qing's strength because there was an extremely faint aura fluctuation on Wang Qing's body that masked his true power.

"Elder Qingyi, what is this guy's cultivation level?" Ye Chen quickly consulted Luo Qingyi.

If he could fight, he would.

If not, he would retreat first!

"Fifth Layer of the Primordial Embryo Realm, extremely powerful. To be honest, you have no chance in a frontal confrontation," Luo Qingyi's voice echoed in Ye Chen's mind.

Fifth Layer of the Primordial Embryo Realm?

Ye Chen's mind was put at ease!

A frontal battle wouldn't work, but who said he had to fight head-on?

Now that it was confirmed this guy was the Bandit Leader of Black Wind Village, he'd wait until Wang Qing got a bit closer, then strike directly for a surprise attack!

Ye Chen was confident in his ability to burst forth suddenly.

Once Wang Qing was dealt with, the rest were merely a disorderly crowd.

Lin Shi had only just entered the Elemental Wheel Realm anyway, and the people Wang Qing brought were all in the Elemental Wheel Realm.

Martial Artists of the Elemental Wheel Realm were no longer significant in Ye Chen's eyes!

Wang Qing, walking towards Ye Chen, had a smile on his face, one hand hidden in his sleeve, gathering power subtly, while feeling deeply puzzled.

A mere boy in the Sea of Qi Realm.

How had the Stabilizing Spirit Bead ended up in his hands?

It seems it wasn't this young man who killed his second and third brothers; there must be a formidable figure backing him!

Since that was the case.

He planned to kill this boy, retrieve the Stabilizing Spirit Bead, and make his escape, leaving Hui Feng City since his position as City Lord had become precarious, with the daughter of the Commandery Governor keeping a close watch on him!

To ensure a fatal blow without any mistakes.

Wang Qing chose to continue approaching Ye Chen, closing the distance to less than five meters.

At this moment, Ye Chen opened his eyes, looked at Wang Qing, and revealed a slight smile.

Wang Qing's face also showed a faint smile, and then his right hand, hidden within his sleeve, suddenly struck out, a massive Elemental Power Hand Seal projected towards Ye Chen.

Almost at the moment Wang Qing launched this strike, Ye Chen's figure vanished from his original spot!

The palm imprint from Wang Qing's strike smashed into the position where Ye Chen had been seated, creating a huge pit.

Ye Chen had already dashed to Wang Qing's left side.

Heaven-Ascending Step!

Spirit Wave Impact!

Stacked Wave Force!

Golden Extreme Sky-breaking Sword!

Ye Chen's four ultimate techniques erupted instantly!

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