Chapter 765: Message from Fang Xiaoxiao

The resources he had obtained from hunting in the Rifts were slowly being depleted. Dragonbone Grass was used to strengthen his bones and muscles, Ironthread Vine to enhance his flexibility, Goldstone Flower to refine his flesh, Blood Jade Ginseng to nourish his Qi and Blood, and Red Dragon Fruit to stimulate his internal organs. Each resource had its specific use, and each use required repeated experimentation. Xu Wuyi was not in a hurry; he tested them one by one, figuring things out little by little.

By the middle of the month, he could clearly feel that his body was significantly stronger than when he first returned to Linjiang. This strength was not merely a numerical increase, but a deeper, more profound sensation. His muscles and bones were sturdier, his Qi and Blood more abundant, and his reflexes sharper. For a physical body already in the Grandmaster Realm to steadily advance even further was absolutely astonishing to the outside world.

However, along with his progress came a new problem—the consumption of his Power of Heart Image. Performing two thousand rounds of cultivation every day, combined with maintaining the operation of the rule “hard work will surely yield results,” took a massive toll on his Power of Heart Image. After each cultivation session, the Heart of Order in his sea of consciousness would dim significantly, requiring the better part of a day to slowly recover.

This meant that he could only cultivate this much each day, and no more. Otherwise, overexerting his Power of Heart Image would negatively impact his condition the following day. Xu Wuyi was not the type to rush for quick results; he knew that cultivation could not be hurried. Since he could only manage two thousand repetitions a day, he would stick to two thousand. As long as he persevered, the accumulation over time would eventually show results.

On the afternoon of January 14th, while he was in the Cultivation Room researching the usage of the next batch of resources, his personal terminal suddenly vibrated. The vibration pattern was unique—it was not an ordinary communication request, but an alert indicating Anna’s direct intervention.

“Grandmaster Xu Wuyi,” Anna’s voice rang in his ear, sounding more dynamic and human-like than before. “There is a message I believe you might be interested in, so I have pushed it directly to you.”

Xu Wuyi paused, stopping what he was doing. As a Grandmaster, many people wanted to contact him directly, but messages from strangers were automatically filtered out by Anna. Only those she deemed valuable would be forwarded to him.

“Whose message?”

“It is from Fang Xiaoxiao,” Anna replied. “A member of the Inspection Department’s Fourth Squad, and your teammate from when you were their captain. She sent a message through a special channel. I have already transcribed its contents into text for your review.”

Xu Wuyi’s eyes flickered slightly. Fang Xiaoxiao. She was the straightforward female squad member who never beat around the bush, the one who always charged at the very front of the Fourth Squad. Since leaving the Inspection Department, he had not contacted any of them. He was intentionally keeping his distance. His identity in the Inspection Department was confidential. Although many people might have already guessed it given his current fame, he felt he shouldn’t actively reach out to them since it had never been made public.

However, the fact that Fang Xiaoxiao had found a channel to leave him a message indicated that the situation was truly urgent. He opened the transcribed text from Anna and quickly skimmed through it. The message was lengthy. True to her character, Fang Xiaoxiao had written it in a rapid, rushing manner, afraid of missing any details. As Xu Wuyi read through it line by line, his expression gradually grew serious.

At the beginning of the message, Fang Xiaoxiao stated that she had already guessed Xu Wuyi was the former Captain Meng. This deduction was actually quite simple. After the news of Xu Wuyi’s advancement to Grandmaster spread, anyone paying attention only needed to align the timelines to discover the connection. Moreover, having worked in the Inspection Department for so many years, Fang Xiaoxiao certainly possessed that level of judgment.

She hadn’t wanted to disturb him, knowing that he had just advanced to Grandmaster and needed time to stabilize his Realm and handle his own affairs. But the situation this time was simply too urgent. Left with no other choice, she could only try to leave a message. The second half of the text detailed the trouble the Fourth Squad was currently facing.

After Xu Wuyi left, Zhou Bin had taken over as captain. He led the team to continue investigating cases, following the clues Xu Wuyi had left behind to trace the culprits, solving them one by one. Some of those clues had already been clarified during Xu Wuyi’s tenure, some he had casually left behind during interrogations, and some were new directions he had discovered from those cases. Zhou Bin and the others had investigated these clues for nearly a year, uncovering many issues and arresting quite a few people.

The Fourth Squad’s reputation within the Inspection Department grew louder and louder. But this time, they had hit a brick wall. Their investigation led them to a powerful figure in the Song family of Xingjing. The man’s name was Song Qingwu, one of the core figures of the Song family’s current generation. Song Qingwu himself was an Innate Martial Artist and held a high official status, occupying an important position in Xingjing.

Zhou Bin had taken Li Zhaowen to investigate, originally just intending to verify some clues, but unexpectedly, Song Qingwu’s reaction was extremely aggressive. He ordered his men to detain Zhou Bin and Li Zhaowen directly and took them to the Song family’s estate.

By the time Fang Xiaoxiao received the news, the two had been missing for over twelve hours. She tried to apply pressure through official channels, but the Song family’s network was too deep-rooted; the Inspection Department couldn’t make any headway at all. She had also considered leading people directly to the Song family’s estate to demand their release, but she knew that was impossible. The Song family was a top-tier Noble Family in Xingjing, boasting several Quasi-Grandmasters and even a Grandmaster watching over them. For a small squad like hers, charging in would be a suicide mission.

Completely out of options, she could only try to contact Xu Wuyi. At the end of the message, Fang Xiaoxiao wrote, “Captain Meng, I know I shouldn’t bother you, but I’m truly at my wit’s end.”