Time flew by, and two years had passed.
The world was still the same, without much change.
It was quiet in the Underworld, and the soul-fires hadn't been seen under the sunlight for a long time.
The Snowy Kingdom was also quiet. It seemed that even the brutal and bloodthirsty ice monsters needed a break after so many battles.
The soldiers and civilians of North County and the man guarding the wind and snow by himself finally had a year without any wars.
Nothing serious happened overseas. It was said that a godly ship from Penglai Island encountered the Chaotic Wind and sank when it was exploring the Secret Realm of Singing Spring, one of the three Huge Whirlpools. Though the ship luckily escaped from the Huge Whirlpool, it collided with an iceberg.
If a hero from the Alien Land hadn't crossed the ocean to rescue the ship, the godly ship would have sunk to the bottom of the cold ocean.
After this story was spread to Chaotian, many people dismissed it as a ridiculous lie. It was because nobody could understand the details of the story except for those Cultivation swordsmen above the Broken Sea State, such as what it meant when the hero crossed the ocean and how could a person rescue the divine boat that was as heavy as a mountain and a river?
This was a common occurrence, as people only believed what they wanted to believe.
Even now, some mortals still insisted that the Cultivation practitioners didn't exist in the world, for the same reason.
No matter whether people believed it or not, some things would happen eventually.
For instance, Haizhou City was about to welcome another Four-Seas Banquet hosted by Xiwang Sun.
At the same time, a meeting was being held in a secret office in the city.
This year's winter was coming to an end, and it didn't snow in Zhaoge City anymore. Haizhou was located by the West Ocean, with a warm climate that was as intoxicating as spring.
Looking at the indifferent faces of those Cultivation practitioners, Shi Fengchen suddenly felt like getting drunk and not thinking about these things anymore. However, he hadn't drunk alcohol for two years after he was transferred.
He was fully aware that if the Four-Seas Banquet wasn't going to be held in Haizhou City, the Pure Heaven Bureau and himself wouldn't be able to invite so many Cultivation practitioners, not to mention the disciples of the major sects.
"I've been promoted for two years."
Shi Fengchen said this while looking at the Cultivation practitioners, but his face didn't show any happiness.
Apart from two Cultivation practitioners of small sects who didn't know the inside story congratulated him, the other Cultivation practitioners didn't respond.
The Cultivation practitioners respected the Imperial Court, but they didn't care about the officials of the Imperial Court, even though Shi Fengchen was not a regular official.
Moreover, Shi Fengchen was promoted from the supervisor of Chaonan City to the deputy inspector of the Pure Heaven Bureau. Though it seemed like a promotion, many people knew the reason.
"As the deputy inspector, I'm responsible for investigating this case. If I can't catch those two demons this time, I'll be, I'm finished.
Shi Fengchen's eyes swept across the crowd, saying, "I indeed don't have much influence on your sects, but if I'm sure I'm doomed, I'll try my best to influence the Imperial Court's quota distribution."
Hearing this, the cultivators from the major sects like the Great Lake Sect remained calm, but the cultivators from the smaller sects were a little anxious.
The distribution of crystals and other Cultivation resources was decided by the imperial court, the Center Sect, the Green Mountain Sect, the Great Marsh, the West Ocean and other major Cultivation sects.
The crystal stones and other Cultivation resources were distributed by the Imperial Court, Zhongzhou School, Aoyama Sect, Ōzawa, West Ocean, and other major sects.
If Shi Fengchen wanted to make a big fuss before he stepped down, even if he only reduced the crystal stone supply by ten percent, it would have a great impact on these small sects.
A Cultivation practitioner of a small sect said with a bitter expression, "Master, if you have any orders, just tell us directly. There's no need to do this."
Shi Fengchen said, "My intention is very clear. The swordsmen of the Imperial Court are either guarding the center of Zhaoge City, or fighting against the swordsmen of the Snowy Kingdom in the Northern Army. Now the Pure Heaven Bureau is only an empty shell. We can't do anything to those two demons, so we have no choice but to ask for your help."
The Cultivation practitioner asked in surprise, "What are the origins of those two demons?"
"Nobody knows."
Shi Fengchen waved his hand, and a green light fell on the wall like a piece of white paper, on which appeared a dozen lines of words.
"The first one was in Shangzhou, where the two demonic swordsmen killed four people. After the investigation, they didn't even meet the four people, so they must have committed the murders randomly. Then, in Chaonan City, they killed four disciples of the Sect of Three and left some clues."
Shi Fengchen continued, "In the next two years, these two demons committed crimes one after another, killing more than seventy people in total, including innocent civilians and Cultivation practitioners. Most of the murders were done without a reason, like the first time they committed the murders, seeming to be done randomly. This shows how cruel they are."
Many people noticed the case in Chaonan City, and instinctively looked at an old man sitting in the middle of the room.
That old man had white hair and a profound energy; he was the elder of the Kunlun Sect, He Zhichong.
The Kunlun Sect, which had never participated in the Four-Seas Banquet, unexpectedly sent an elder here; it must have something to do with the case in Chaonan City.
He Zhichong didn't say anything. The Sect of Three was a vassal of the Kunlun Sect. If only a few low-level disciples had been killed, he wouldn't have shown up. However, the young master of the Sect of Three had suffered a lot because of this incident, and because of the grudge, he persuaded the sect master of the Sect of Three to ask for help from Kunlun, so He Zhichong had to come.
Someone asked, "What is the state of those two demons?"
Shi Fengchen said, "In the early autumn of last year, the Head Master of the Black Dragon Temple, Master Zhu Gui, was killed by a demon across the Aoyama. I'm afraid his opponent is already in the middle state of the Undefeated."
Hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the crowd varied.
The Head Master of the Black Dragon Temple, Zhu Gui, had a terrible reputation. He had cheated many wealthy merchants out of their money, even the money for the treatment of the poor. There was also a rumor that he had sexually abused women in private, committing all kinds of evil deeds. However, this master was an old friend of a royal concubine in the imperial palace, so the sects didn't want to interfere.
Hearing Shi Fengchen's words, they finally understood the reason for Master Zhu Gui's sudden death last year.
Shi Fengchen knew what the crowd was thinking about, so he stopped talking about this matter with a slight frown. "Those two demons have never killed anyone alive, so we don't have many clues," he said. "All we know is that one of them is tall and the other is short, a man and a woman. Their faces were covered with gray cloth, and they used flying swords. What do you think?"
But what could they think about these clues?
It was quiet.
"All in all, it has nothing to do with us."
The middle-aged man who spoke had a dark complexion. He was a Cultivation practitioner from Ōzawa, and his Daoist title was Zuo Yushi.
The crowd thought it was nonsense. Ōzawa practiced the Wind-Rain Magic, so it had nothing to do with them.
Zuo Yushi continued, "Since they used swords and used them so well, they must be Bulao Lin, the No-Mercy Sect, and the West Ocean."
Shi Fengchen shook his head and said, "Though the assassins of Bulao Lin are sinister and vicious, they wouldn't act so recklessly. As for the No-Mercy Sect …"
Though he didn't finish his sentence, the crowd understood what he meant.
The No-Mercy Sect had been suppressed by the West Ocean in recent years, so they didn't have the mood to stir up trouble in the world.
Normally, the No-Mercy Sect and the Western Sea Sword School were almost equal in strength, and the resources of the No-Mercy Sect were far superior to the West Ocean. Unfortunately, the West Ocean had a godly swordsman, so they couldn't do anything about it. As for the West Ocean … though no swordsmen of the West Ocean were present, this was Haizhou, a place with a great influence. Who would dare criticize the West Ocean?
Someone suddenly said, "Why doesn't anyone suspect the Aoyama Sect? The murder happened first in Shangzhou, and then in Chaonan City, which is the territory of the Aoyama Sect. "
The crowd was startled, thinking that this person was brave enough to suspect the Aoyama Sect.
They understood the reason after they saw who the person was.
That person was Zhu Jie, the younger brother of Zhu Gui, the Head Master of the Black Dragon Temple who had been killed. He was also a famous free-traveling practitioner in Zhongzhou, and it was said that he had a good relationship with the Western Sea Sword School.
Thinking of this, the crowd's gazes fell on an inconspicuous corner.
Two young men were sitting there.
The two of them wore the green sword robes. They hadn't spoken a word since the beginning, keeping a low profile.
The one with a calm expression was Yao Songshan, ranked eleventh on Liangwang Peak of the Aoyama Sect.
The younger disciple was Lin Yingliang, who was learning the sword work on Shiyue Peak. He was brought out by Yao Songshan to gain experience.
Yao Songshan looked in that direction, saying nothing, but the expression in his eyes was as sharp as a real sword.
Lin Yingliang couldn't help but ask Zhu Jie, "Do you have a death wish?"
…
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