Hearing this, Gu Chengyin frowned:
"Suspected?"
Yang Yifei nodded and continued,
"Yes, Junior Preceptor Gu. Although there is no conclusive evidence at present."
"But as the Chief Steward of the Internal Affairs Department, your status is highly respected. Therefore, Lord Wang suggested that Valley Master Lu and I report this to you."
Gu Chengyin turned to look at Wang Gangfeng and couldn't help but ask,
"Lord Wang, since when did the Chief Surveillance Bureau start meddling in these matters?"
Wang Gangfeng stood up, smiling as he replied,
"Junior Preceptor Gu, my current identity is not that of a Censor from the Chief Surveillance Bureau."
"Rather, I am a special envoy of the Grand Secretariat, acting on the orders of Grand Secretary Hu and Grand Secretary Yuan."
"You have a noble status and are deeply trusted by His Highness, and you happen to be inspecting the Azure Sword Sect right now."
"That is why I suggested that Alliance Leader Yang and Valley Master Lu report to you in person."
After hearing these words, Gu Chengyin finally understood.
To put it simply, because there was no conclusive evidence, it was difficult for this matter to gain the attention of the Grand Secretariat.
However, since it involved the Demon Race, Hu Juzheng and Yuan Zhengqing sent Wang Gangfeng over to investigate the situation.
Coincidentally, this happened right during Gu Chengyin's sect inspection.
The humble-born faction thought it over and simply let Wang Gangfeng pull the strings, having Yang and Lu report to Gu Chengyin.
After all, Gu Chengyin was the Chief Steward of the Internal Affairs Department; he could stick his nose into absolutely anything.
Naturally, any matter could be reported to him.
Furthermore, this could also be seen as a gesture of goodwill from the humble-born faction.
After all, Yang Yifei had said he was reporting the situation rather than just sharing information.
Although both involved receiving information, the underlying implications were vastly different.
After pondering for a moment, Gu Chengyin looked at Yang Yifei and signaled,
"Speak."
Having received Gu Chengyin's approval, Yang Yifei finally felt relieved.
He had been genuinely afraid that Gu Chengyin would refuse to even listen, which would have left him completely at a loss.
As long as Gu Chengyin was willing to listen, even if he did nothing afterward and only expressed a bit of support...
That alone would fill Yang Yifei and Lu Weilou with confidence and motivation.
After all, Gu Chengyin was a major figure from the Divine Capital.
For a big shot like him, even just a single sentence or a mere attitude could be worth decades of hard work.
Yang Yifei sat up straight and slowly began his report:
"Junior Preceptor Gu, in the recent faction wars, some extremely unusual masked individuals have appeared."
"These masked men are highly skilled and perform exceptionally well in the faction wars."
"However, their attire is extremely concealing, and their cultivation techniques are very strange, bearing no characteristics of any known sect."
No characteristics of any sect?
Gu Chengyin looked at Yang Yifei and asked very directly,
"Since you can't identify them, how do you know they are from the Demon Race?"
This question hit the nail on the head. Yang Yifei turned to look at Lu Weilou and raised his hand to gesture,
"I will have to ask Valley Master Lu to explain this."
Lu Weilou nodded, cupped his hands toward Gu Chengyin, and said respectfully,
"Junior Preceptor Gu."
His voice was deep and slightly hoarse.
"As for their masked disguises, Alliance Leader Yang and I didn't actually take it too seriously at first."
"Because in the faction wars, concealing one's identity is not unusual."
Gu Chengyin nodded slightly; he was well aware of this.
That was just how faction wars were.
A mixed bag of good and bad.
Everyone was thoroughly intertwined.
Your opponent could be a fellow disciple from your own sect.
And the person fighting alongside you could be your mortal enemy.
Therefore, some people chose to wear masks and disguises to avoid being spotted by their sworn enemies, who might then stab them in the back.
There were even those who did it for fun, loving nothing more than seeing the flushed, furious faces of their enemies when they realized their brother-in-arms was actually their nemesis.
However, these were ultimately isolated cases.
After all, most people participated in faction wars for fame and to prove themselves.
Not to play these scheming tricks.
Moreover, ever since the faction wars were introduced, the entire cultivation world could be described as:
A realm of vibrant vitality where all things competed, vividly unfolding before one's eyes.
Coupled with the spread of rumors regarding the Immortal Race, the young prodigies showed no signs of dejection; instead, they were brimming with fighting spirit and vigor.
This was exactly the tacit understanding between Emperor Luo and the major cultivation sects.
Provide a stage for them to fight, compete, and go all out.
As long as they didn't go around acting superior in front of mortals, they could cause as much of a ruckus as they pleased.
Lu Weilou paused, his gaze growing profound.
"But during a routine review of the faction wars, I found these masked men to be very strange."
"Normally, those who participate in the faction wars are either disciples of major sects or rogue cultivators."
This was true. Anyone who could enter the faction wars had at least some background.
There were rogue cultivators, but not many managed to distinguish themselves.
After all, they were ultimately far behind in terms of both resources and talent.
Therefore, it was basically the prodigies of the major sects who stole the show.
Lu Weilou's voice continued,
"These sect disciples come to participate in the faction wars mostly for fame."
"So even if they acquire a massive amount of battle merit, they won't use it to redeem personal rewards."
"They basically save it up to push for a higher rank on the faction leaderboards."
Gu Chengyin nodded slightly.
This involved the special mechanics of the faction wars.
Battle merit.
Every faction war would generate a vast amount of battle merit.
This battle merit could be exchanged for countless natural treasures, cultivation methods, and secret manuals.
The source was the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, which represented the foundation of the entire Great Luo Dynasty.
But those who truly had enough battle merit to redeem the top-tier rewards all had profound backgrounds.
They didn't lack these things at all.
In comparison, they valued their ranking on the faction leaderboards much more.
This was the glory that the entire younger generation dreamed of.
And if battle merit was redeemed, their ranking would subsequently drop.
So there were some who redeemed personal rewards, but they were generally rogue cultivators.
Or ordinary sect disciples who were out of favor and had mediocre talent.
They didn't care about rankings.
They only cared about what they could get in exchange.
It wasn't until this moment that Lu Weilou finally got to the main point, his tone turning solemn.
"But these masked men are different. They don't push for the leaderboards."
They don't push for the leaderboards?
Gu Chengyin's gaze narrowed slightly.
Lu Weilou's voice continued,
"As soon as they obtain battle merit, they immediately redeem it for a massive amount of rewards."
"And what they redeem are not top-tier cultivation methods, nor are they natural treasures."
"Instead, it's an enormous quantity of food."
Food.
An enormous quantity.
A thought instantly flashed through Gu Chengyin's mind, his eyes turning profound.
"Are you saying that they acquired a massive amount of battle merit, but only redeemed it for food?"
Lu Weilou nodded and said, "Besides food, there are also some daily necessities."
Gu Chengyin looked at him and asked again, "So these masked men are not using it for themselves."
Lu Weilou's eyes lit up. He nodded heavily and said,
"Junior Preceptor Gu is highly perceptive."
Gu Chengyin pondered rapidly in his heart.
Formidable strength, yet impossible to tell which sect they belonged to.
Able to obtain a massive amount of battle merit, yet not pushing for the faction leaderboards.
Not redeeming top-tier rewards either, but instead exchanging it for food and daily necessities.
Anyone could see that there was a problem here.
It was no wonder they had been targeted by Yang Yifei and Lu Weilou.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
