Hunting God Era

Chapter 185: Late and Gone

The next day, when Li Ye woke up and walked out of the bedroom, Pan Zhengyang was already sitting in his chair, and there were several extinguished cigarettes in the ashtray.

Pan Zhengyang turned to Li Ye and teased, "Lord Li, what a display of official power! The so-called 'gentleman's transformation' is truly that of the extortionist rebel king."

"Are you bored?"

Li Ye chuckled. "Coming here so early in the morning just to say this one sentence? Does the bureau chief have all that free time?"

"You're the bureau chief yourself, don't you know that?"

Pan Zhengyang smiled and continued, "You did a great job. The whole of Jianghuai received your video. So many people couldn't sleep at night and called me."

"What are you doing? Pleading for mercy?"

Li Ye picked up the coat hanging on the hanger and put it on. "You asked me to help you, you can't just stay here and try to smooth things over by yourself."

"I didn't say that. I was just a little impressed. I knew you were strong, but I didn't expect you to be stronger than I knew."

Pan Zhengyang said, "I came over early this morning just to tell you that you're getting a bit too big for your game now, and a lot of people are noticing you."

"I'll convey Director Wang's message: if you really feel something is wrong, stop immediately."

"The various aspects of sects and aristocratic families have actually exceeded the scope of what the extermination department can handle. Starting with you, you are the first case. We can only say that we will protect you to the death, but now you have become our own support. The support we can give you is limited, and you have to understand some things."

As he spoke, he gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Just like last year, I could protect you, but now, to say something I don't want to admit, you've actually done a better job than me."

"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. If all else fails, I'll go to the east or west bank of the river. But I still need to confirm, based on my understanding, the Five Realms won't appear in the human world, right?" Li Ye asked.

"do not know."

Pan Zhengyang shook his head: "But I haven't received any relevant information yet. In a sense, a fifth-realm martial artist can be considered to have truly 'ascended'."

Li Ye smiled confidently and said, "Then I will have few rivals in this world!"

The disinfection work is the same as before.

As a deputy director, he no longer coordinates affairs like the director. He is usually in charge of a few areas, but there are no other deputy directors, so Li Ye basically takes over all the demon affairs in Yangcheng.

Specifically, it means handling things that the disinfection staff cannot handle.

Besides being competent in combat, the most important point in training a deputy director is that while sanitation workers do not deal with martial artists, the deputy director must.

Although this standard has weakened in today's world, this was the original selection method.

No matter how much interest there is involved, when it's time to act, you absolutely cannot hesitate!

However, in Yangcheng, where Pan Zhengyang was stationed, there were no demons that he couldn't handle; he had basically dealt with them all. Li Ye looked at the reports and files for a while, and after confirming that there were no problems, he waited until noon.

Lu Zhao knocked on his door and said, "Director Li, it's ready."

"Let's go when we're ready."

Li Ye put his peaked cap on, straightened his clothes, and followed Lu Zhao into his car, arriving at the restaurant where they had dinner the previous night.

The head chef, who is also the owner, is already waiting at the door.

After what happened last night, they came again today. Either they've already dealt with the impact, or they're going to treat us to a meal to resolve the issue. But either way, he can't afford to offend someone like that, so he has no choice but to entertain them.

We must treat them with care.

In the same private room as last night, after Li Ye sat down, he said to Lu Zhao, who was sitting next to him, "Tell me, how many can come?"

Lu Zhao adjusted his glasses and said, "There are a total of eighteen martial arts forces in Yangcheng with warriors at the second level or above, including four forces with warriors at the third level. We removed two last night, so there are two left. My guess is that they are all here."

"Better so."

Li Ye smiled and said, "It would be such a pity if we didn't make it."

What's a pity?
It's a pity that there are fewer of them, and naturally, some will disappear.

"What time is the scheduled time?" Li Ye asked.

"It's exactly twelve o'clock."

Lu Zhao glanced at his wristwatch and said, "Forty minutes to go."

"I'm the host, and I've arrived quite early. Well then, I'll wait a bit."

Li Ye nodded and said, "Introduce yourself to your family. I'm quite interested in aristocratic families and sects. Also, tell me about the Salt Gang."

Since I have nothing better to do, and last night Lu Zhao said he had a grudge against the Salt Gang, I might as well ask him about it.

Lu Zhao had no hidden secrets and said, "Our family was originally a prominent family, in charge of Yuan Chu, which has been passed down since the Song Dynasty. Our ancestors served as officials in the Song Dynasty. However, during the Yuan Dynasty, our family did not like it, so we went into seclusion in Yuan Chu and stopped coming out of the world."

“We didn’t like the environment during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so we lived in seclusion. Later, when the Central Plains fell, we came out. Some of us died, but we were recognized by the Central Plains.”

“We are not a family that emerged after the cleanup thirty years ago. We have been active before that. However, cultivation also requires aptitude. Our family has declined. In my great-grandfather’s generation, we produced a fourth-level cultivator, but after that, we stopped.”

"My grandfather was at the third realm, my father was also at the third realm, and my brothers, sisters and relatives are also quite talented, but they are still cultivating. Everything was going well, and maybe we could slowly restore our family's reputation."

"But if you lack strength, occupying the Yuan Chu position is a crime."

"The Salt Gang had their eyes on this place. As soon as my great-grandfather's life came to an end, they rushed over without hesitation. In particular, my second uncle secretly communicated with the Salt Gang, opened the 'path' for them to come in, and drove us out."

As Lu Zhao spoke, a flash of resentment crossed his eyes. "My family has become too comfortable and lacks the means to do so. I had hoped to communicate with the higher-ups, but as I was going to serve in other Yuan Chu regions, my family members died one after another."

"I don't believe the Salt Gang wasn't involved in this. Without people, my aptitude isn't good enough, so I can only blend in with the elimination team. In the human world, sects won't easily take action, and in the elimination team, sects are even less likely to come over."

“Director Li, the higher-ups and the lower-ups are different. The higher-ups are wary of the disinfection efforts, or rather, they are wary of and respect China itself. The lower-ups are part of China, which is why they stand up to the disinfection efforts.”

"But with your arrival, things might change."

"Oh? Whether I change it or not is another matter."

Li Ye asked, "Isn't Director Wang also part of the Salt Gang? Doesn't the Salt Gang's behavior have any repercussions?"

"No, they were more like overseas students from a time when the community was weaker."

Lu Zhao said, "There are good and bad aspects. Sometimes it's out of necessity. Back then, Shenzhou was in ruins and even the official martial arts were not thriving. In order to revitalize martial arts, people had to enter sects and absorb the Five Elements Method. Only then could martial arts slowly rise again."

“Wang Ting is that kind of person. I don’t hate him. In fact, it was his arrangement that I joined the Disinfection Corps. However, Wang Ting himself is only an outer disciple of the Salt Gang, not a core member. Only by crossing the threshold of the fourth realm and reaching the fifth realm can one become a true disciple of the sect.”

These words startled Li Ye slightly.

He knew the sect was powerful, but he didn't expect it to be this powerful.

Are the Four Realms merely the outer gate?

Are the Five Realms the core?
That's indeed quite strong, especially for a major sect with such a deep foundation.

But as long as it doesn't come down, there's no problem.

He was not afraid of the normal four realms.

"The sect has a very deep foundation, so what about the aristocratic families?"

Li Ye asked, "Is it as powerful as a powerful aristocratic family or a sect?"

"It's hard to say."

Lu Zhao shook his head and said, "There are former noble families like mine who have fallen on hard times, there are noble families who have always been dedicated to the world, and there are noble families who live in seclusion but have connections with all the major sects, and whose members have all entered the sects." "The last type of noble family is either very strong or just average. The weaker ones are just talent selection sites for the sects, and they form noble families by relying on the sects' power."

"The strong ones occupy high positions in various sects, and after giving back to their families, they gradually form their own power and become powerful clans."

“They occupy more than one Primordial Realm. Some powerful ones, like sects, even move the Primordial Realm there, connect them together, and turn it into their own Ascension Realm.”

"Was migration still possible in the early Yuan Dynasty?"

Li Ye asked curiously, "Isn't that place just a rule-based demonic realm? Once it's cleared out, it will dissipate into a demonic realm in the human world."

"This is the common way of speaking in the upper realm, Director Li."

Lu Zhao said, "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but it's true that the Primordial Beginning can migrate and move, and it can also be combined with one's own Primordial Beginning. Each Primordial Beginning itself contains the Five Elements, and if they can be combined, it will enhance cultivation."

"As for wiping out Director Li, that's different from the Human Realm Demon Realm. The Human Realm Demon Realm only takes a few years or a decade to remove the pollution. The purges in the early Yuan Dynasty usually take a hundred years, and no one is willing to do that."

“Many people would prefer to keep it so that they can cultivate properly until the Primordial Chaos is completely drained. If they do it slowly, they can cultivate for a very long time.”

"The Primordial Realm you encountered last time would be a treasure trove if used for cultivation in the Three Realms. However, the authorities prefer to clear it out quickly, and I don't know why."

To prevent the Demon Realm from continuing to descend?

It’s hard to say.

The demon realm and monsters are well controlled in present-day China, unlike the chaos abroad.

Leaving some behind as a form of self-cultivation is not impossible, but the official response is extremely swift, giving the impression that there's no need for cultivation, only annihilation.

However, the sects did the opposite. They preferred to keep them alive and put a lot of effort into suppressing them, keeping the restless demons inside the Primordial Chaos at all times, but they were careful not to clean them up too quickly.

As far as Lu Zhao knew, some sects that obtained new Primordial Essence didn't even bother to eradicate the Pan Demon, letting it develop freely and simply keeping it under control. They would only deal with the Pan Demon according to the rules if they truly lacked a seed of Dharma.

However, for them, the Earthly Rank can still be cultivated, and they will not demand the Heavenly Rank.

Knock knock knock.
As they were talking, a knock came at the door, startling them both.

Lu Zhao glanced at the time, "11:40."

"come in."

Li Ye smiled and looked straight at the door of the private room. The door was pushed open, and five people walked in first.

All five people kept their heads down and moved forward cautiously, not daring to sit, but standing in front of the table. One of them was almost bent over as he spoke:

"Director Li, we've heard so much about you. We've come at your call. My name is Hu Anxia. From now on, I'll do whatever you say."

"Oh?"

Li Ye asked, "It's covered in blood, what happened?"

These five people, all covered in blood, came over without cleaning or wiping themselves off.

"We were outraged when we received your message last night, so we went to the Wu and Shi families. We've already resolved the issue, so please rest assured, we handled everything!"

As he spoke, he took out a stack of documents from his pocket, took two steps forward, bowed, and handed the documents over.

Li Ye knew what was inside without even looking at it.

It's simply a tally of the Wu and Shi families' assets, including the portion of the Demon Realm they control.

"I don't know if it's cleverness or boldness."

Li Ye glanced at Hu Anxia, ​​who was still offering the food, and chuckled: "Take it. What you get is yours. Sit down."

These words made the five people silently breathe a sigh of relief. After exchanging a subtle glance, they were all filled with the joy of having made the right bet.

Sure enough, his style of doing things was correct; this was indeed the style of the rebel leader.

They pledged their loyalty in advance, and the reward came immediately.

As for whether there will be retaliation in the future.
If the rebel leader helped them, that was a favor; if he didn't, that was their price to pay.

At least I don't have to die now.

The five men obediently sat down opposite Li Ye, not daring to utter a sound. They kept their eyes down, looking calm and collected, and appeared to be strictly following orders.

They made a very strong statement.

Five minutes later, people began to enter from outside the door. They were all representatives of the forces of second-realm martial artists, and also their leaders.

Upon seeing Hu Anxia and his group of five, they were all taken aback, but remained silent. Like the others, they sat down without speaking, as if waiting for Li Ye to give the order.

Li Ye wasn't in a hurry; he just kept looking at the time on his phone.

At this moment, there were fourteen people sitting at the table, all of whom were at the second level.

Two more companies haven't arrived yet.
At 11:50, the door was pushed open, and a graceful and elegant mature woman entered. After glancing at the seated martial artists, she looked at Li Ye, her brows furrowing slightly before she spoke:

"Director Li, I've heard so much about you. My name is Dai Ning."

This is a three-realm system.

Li Ye glanced at Lu Zhao, who then said, "Dai Ning of the Dai family in Yangcheng, is a master of the Kaiyuan Realm, proficient in palm techniques, and his element is 'wood'."

Li Ye extended his hand and said with a smile, "Sit down."

After Dai Ning sat down as instructed, she remained silent for a while. Seeing that Li Ye did not speak, she said:

"Director Li called us over, but we don't know what he needs our help with. We've always been happy to cooperate with Yangcheng Disinfection and Purification. If any safety regulations have been violated, we will definitely cooperate and comply."

"Not in a hurry."

Li Ye glanced at the time. "There's still one more place that hasn't arrived."

"settle down."

Lu Zhao said, "The patriarch is An Yiyang, who belongs to the Third Realm Earthly Element, and his element is also 'Wood'. The Earthly Element symbol is 'Wind'."

"It's all wind."

Li Ye was taken aback. "I've encountered quite a few martial artists who can control the wind."

"There are more elephant species produced in this area in the south."

Lu Zhao said, "It seems to be related to a regional-level Primordial Chaos."

Li Ye nodded thoughtfully, glanced at the time again, and seeing that it was exactly twelve o'clock, after waiting for several tens of seconds until it reached 12:01, he said, "Alright, I'll tell you what time."

boom!
Before he could finish speaking, the door was kicked open, and an arrogant young woman walked in. She first glanced around before her gaze locked onto Li Ye, who was in uniform, at the head of the room.

"You are it."

laugh!
Li Ye flung his hand, and the air transformed into a sharp cutting blade as his fingers moved. It stopped at the woman's neck, creating a slit and slicing her head open.

"It's time. I came so early not to make someone time it, but to make them late."

Ignoring the decapitated body, Li Ye addressed the crowd, saying, "Let's start the meeting."

(End of this chapter)