A flash of panic passed through the boy’s eyes. He had just watched this guy—one move took out Senior Brother Jiao, another flipped Senior Sister Nie,
and then he even suppressed their master.
What he wanted to say was, “This is my phone. I have the right not to show you.”
But what came out instead was: “Pa... password is 9527.....”
Lu Ding tapped the phone, swiped open the messaging app.
As the chat history scrolled, the name “Yu Chen” jumped into his view.
The circle of Cultivators of Qi isn’t exactly small, but it’s not huge either.
This was Yunmeng—Lu Ding had always operated in Yunhai before.
But reading through the chat...
Lu Ding got the gist. This Yu Chen was a direct descendant of the Yu family, one of the only two male heirs.
At a Yunmeng Cultivators gathering, the still-dizzy Nie Qingfei had apparently met Yu Chen by chance.
Maybe it was his looks, or something else, but Yu Chen had been seriously taken with her.
At least, that’s what the chat log said.
After that, Yu Chen started dragging this “Xiao Liuzi” around to eat, drink, and party—and had him keep an eye on Nie Qingfei, make sure no other guys got close.
He was to report back immediately if anything happened.
Pretty much sums it up.
And just now, this Xiao Liuzi had been reporting to Yu Chen... and tried to sneak a photo of Lu Ding to send over.
Too bad he left the flash on. Dumb as hell.
So dumb Lu Ding couldn’t even be bothered to roast him.
Seeing Lu Ding had probably seen enough, Xiao Liuzi asked quietly, “C... can I go now?”
“Go? You secretly photographed a 749 Investigator on duty, and you want to go?”
“Sit tight. When the local Minshan City station gets here, you’re going in for a month. Memorize the Cultivators of Qi Management Code real good.”
No need to kill him—he was just trying to sneak a pic, barely even a full-fledged lackey.
Didn’t actually do anything evil, so some discipline should be enough.
Just as they were talking—speak of the devil, and he appears.
Tall as a mountain, with a gleaming bald head that reflected sunlight.
The newcomer was none other than the Station Chief of Minshan City’s 749 Bureau—Ren Tong.
“Hahahahahaha finally caught you guys! I’m Ren Tong, you must be the legendary duo—Lu Ding the Corpse-Shattering Taishui from Yunhai, and Bai Hemen the Pilgrim of Futuo!”
That was Lu Ding’s first impression of this Station Chief.
He stepped up to shake hands: “Chief Ren, nice to meet you.”
As for Bai Hemen—man of few words. A nod was his greeting.
When Ren Tong clasped Lu Ding’s hand, his eyes casually scanned the whole scene.
Noticing Nie Huasheng’s corpse split in two, he glanced at Lu Ding first, but finally settled his gaze on Bai Hemen.
Based on the intel, Lu Ding probably hadn’t done it.
If it were Lu Ding, it wouldn’t have stopped at just a decapitation. More likely Bai Hemen’s doing.
Thinking that, his eyes moved to where the Big Ghost in the Thatched Hut used to be.
Now there was just wreckage—and traces of devastation that stretched nearly a kilometer.
Seeing this, a clear expression of shock spread across Ren Tong’s face.
That must’ve been Lu Ding’s work.
According to Bureau records, whenever he acted, the collateral damage tended to be... significant.
But that was fine—this place was scheduled for demolition anyway.
As for the Nie Huasheng issue—
Ren Tong believed Lu Ding would explain.
Just as he thought that, Lu Ding spoke: “Chief Ren, let’s sync the bodycam footage later. That guy assaulted an Investigator.”
“Hahahahaha—sure thing, thank you, Investigator Lu, for supporting my work.”
Just one meeting, and Ren Tong’s favorability toward Lu Ding shot through the roof.
Coming out of the Advanced Training Facility basically made you a Special Agent.
If he showed you the bodycam, that was giving you face. If he didn’t, well, that was just protocol.
Since Lu Ding’s footage would be reviewed by HQ anyway,
showing it now just made Ren Tong’s job easier—saves a ton of red tape.
“Gotta work together, right? Now that you’re here, I’ll go handle the Thousand Corpses Honoring the King Formation?”
Ren Tong turned to the Investigators who had just arrived and ordered: “Maintain order and lock down the scene.”
Then he turned back to Lu Ding: “Investigator Lu, I’ll go with you. If anything comes up, I can help.”
“I know this area well—anything you need, just ask.”
“Also, your situation’s been causing a stir in Yunmeng lately.”
That caught Lu Ding’s interest.
His “situation” was basically just beating up Lan Mingli last time and asking him to hype things up.
Lu Ding asked, “How big of a stir are we talking?”
He was curious how Lan Mingli had pitched him.
It was normal for the folks at the funeral home not to know—but for the 749 Station Chief to know, that made sense.
“Right now, the bottom five spots on the Prodigy Ranking have stopped showing up. They know they can’t beat you.”
“Only the top few are still out and about, and they’ve put out the word.”
“That if you come to Yunmeng—any time, any place—you can name it. But there’s one condition......”
This thick-browed guy was even trying to be mysterious now.
Lu Ding played along, giving him the cue: “Oh? What’s the condition?”
“You’re not allowed to power up before releasing your slash hahahahahahaha”
Ren Tong cracked up as he spoke.
So they were all just afraid of his Path of Jinche, huh?
Well, fair enough—that was what made him famous. His signature move should be respected.
But if he had to power up just to fight them, that would honestly be embarrassing.
“First time I’ve heard of a duel where you’re not allowed to use certain techniques.”
Lu Ding followed up: “Don’t their rules say you’re not supposed to kill anyone?”
“Hahahahaha that’s true! That thing of yours goes off once and even someone in the Si Ming Realm can’t tank it—if it hit them, they’d be ruined hahahaha.”
Ren Tong laughed for no reason.
As ridiculous as it sounded,
he also felt that if this was about comparing skill and not a fight to the death, then yeah—maybe Lu Ding shouldn’t use that technique.
Not that he was siding against his fellow 749ers.
It was just... something about it felt unfair.
Once Lu Ding used that move, it really was like an adult beating up a kid.
Of course, that was all before seeing the aftermath on the ground.
Now that Ren Tong had seen that scorched, shattered terrain—
he was certain this wasn’t the result of Lu Ding’s famous slash.
They said no slashing.
But they didn’t say he couldn’t use this. Still ends up an adult beating a child.
Why’s the gap between people so freakin’ huge?
Ren Tong kept giving Lu Ding curious glances.
“It’s fine. I won’t use it.”
Lu Ding agreed—no need for the Path of Jinche. He had plenty of other tricks.
He was there to earn rewards off them.
Their little request wasn’t unreasonable—especially since that move was deadly.
Even a lighter hit would leave people missing arms or legs.