Chapter 190: Going All Out

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Going All Out

"Lu Yuan!" Su Wan rushed over. "Are you alright?"

"Lu Yuan!" "Lu Yuan!" "Boss!" Jianng Hongfei, Chen Qian, and Liu Zhi rushed in as well.

"I’m fine." Lu Yuan shook his head.

"Miss Su!" a middle-aged man greeted Su Wan with a bow. He was a member of the Su Family.

"Su Mu, he..." Su Wan looked at the gaping hole with concern.

"Don’t worry, the Fifth Young Master will be fine."

Lu Yuan turned to the middle-aged man. "Has the message been sent? A five-mile radius must be strictly searched!"

"It’s already been sent. Nearly half the forces from three nearby districts are converging here," the middle-aged man replied. The watchtowers in several districts could coordinate with each other in the event of a major incident.

Lu Yuan nodded, though he wasn’t optimistic. The underground environment was complex. The Yanyue Sect had been developing it for years; there was no telling how deep it went. They might even be connected to the Demon Race, like the Rat Demon from last night. Unless higher-tier experts intervened and activated parts of the grand formation... But a mere Sixth-Grade like Hua Ruye was obviously not worth the effort.

"Tie those people up and clean up the area," Lu Yuan said, looking at his subordinates.

"Yes, sir!" Jianng Hongfei, Liu Zhi, Chen Qian, and the others quickly sprang into action.

The personnel from the Imperial City Department who had arrived were doing the same. The Yanyue Sect had essentially been stripped of its power here. Some members had been killed, others were heavily injured or dead from the collateral damage of the battle, and the rest had fled with Meiniang. The only ones left were the guests and the actual brothel girls. The Human Puppets were all under Lu Yuan’s control.

Therefore, Lu Yuan decided to rest and leave the rest of the work to others. Discovering and destroying this stronghold was already a massive accomplishment. It was time to let everyone else put in some effort, allowing the Imperial City Department and the latecomers to share some of the glory.

"Junior Brother! Junior Brother!" Ge Yunfeng wept bitterly as he held a Human Puppet. It was his missing junior brother. Despite his drastically altered appearance, Ge Yunfeng still recognized him. They had shared the closest bond in the Sword Lodge.

"Are these..." The middle-aged man stared at the Human Puppets in astonishment. "Human Puppets! The Human Weapon Sect has actually colluded with the Yanyue Sect!"

"They’ve been in cahoots for a while. We’ve investigated quite a few Wood Puppets before," Lu Yuan chuckled.

Different departments within the Court did not share information. Because of this, their efficiency was significantly reduced.

It wasn’t long before the people from the Demon Suppression Bureau arrived. Quite a few showed up, including Qin Gang and Cao Cong.

"What happened here?" Cao Cong asked with a dark expression. His sword-like brows were furrowed, and he exuded an oppressive aura. With such a massive commotion, the Imperial City Department had mobilized the forces of three districts, and an entire building had been destroyed. Yet, as the leading force, the Demon Suppression Bureau was the last to arrive.

"Can’t you look for yourself?" Su Wan retorted. She wondered what the point of having eyes was if he was just going to ask questions the moment he opened his mouth. Worried about Su Mu, she was in no mood for pleasantries.

Cao Cong was left speechless. "Miss Su." He couldn’t afford to offend this little tyrant for the time being.

"Hmph!" Su Wan turned her head away.

Cao Cong felt embarrassed, his fists clenching beneath his sleeves.

"What happened?" Qin Gang walked up to Lu Yuan. He had to figure out the situation; otherwise, he wouldn’t even know how to report to his superiors.

"This Moon Washing Tower is a branch altar of the Yanyue Sect. Altar Master Hua Ruye and Mr. Fifth were here, luring and capturing Seventh-Grade Martial Artists to turn into Human Puppets," Lu Yuan reported quickly and concisely.

"Why didn’t you report such a major incident first?" Qin Gang frowned. Both Altar Master Hua Ruye and Mr. Fifth were big fish. They should have made thorough preparations and arrangements. It was truly unacceptable that they had let them escape.

"It happened suddenly. There was no time!" Lu Yuan simply said. He had been the one to let Su Mu strike first, and Hua Ruye’s target had been him.

"They haven’t been gone for long. Aren’t you going to chase them? Now is the best time for a capture. We especially need experts, Fifth Grade masters," Lu Yuan emphasized, looking at the two men.

"I’ll go take a look." Qin Gang’s expression shifted as he blurred into motion, leaping down the crater.

Cao Cong cast a sidelong glance at Lu Yuan and immediately unleashed his Divine Techniques. The greatest ability of the Fifth Grade Unity Realm was the Unity of Heaven and Man. In this state, one could easily perceive everything within several miles, both in the sky and underground. Of course, the Jade Capital’s environment was complex, with multiple grand formations overlapping. The detection effects of the Unity of Heaven and Man would be vastly weakened, leaving an unknown percentage of its original power. Judging by Cao Cong’s expression, the results were far from ideal.

CRASH! In the distance, Su Mu broke through the ground and emerged.

SWOOSH! Cao Cong blurred and quickly flew over, continuing to use his Divine Techniques to scan the area.

"She got away!" Su Mu returned, filled with regret and self-blame. The Seven Charming Sounds of the World was the Su Family’s opportunity to reach the First Grade!

"With so many experts in your family, it’s time to deploy them!" Lu Yuan reminded him. What was the point of the Su Family accumulating so many experts? When it was time to go all out, they had to give it everything they had!

"Right! I’ll return and report this immediately!" Su Mu’s eyes focused as he quickly used Qi Manipulation to fly back home.

"What did you say to Su Mu?" Su Wan approached and asked.

"Capture Hua Ruye," Lu Yuan transmitted his voice.

Su Wan looked at Lu Yuan. She realized he was truly doing everything he could for her. She wondered why he was helping her so much, why he was so invested, and what benefits he could possibly get. Was it merely to gain her and the Su Family’s friendship for future support? She believed in Lu Yuan’s talent; he could become a peerless expert entirely on his own.

Lu Yuan sheathed his Wind Thunder Saber. How much power had the Su Family accumulated over thousands of years? There might only be one Third Grade expert, but as for the Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade... As long as they dispatched a few more and went all out, capturing Hua Ruye shouldn’t be difficult. When that time came...

As Lu Yuan expected, Qin Gang and Cao Cong returned one after the other, both empty-handed, aside from capturing some ordinary disciples. Meiniang had also been caught and brought back. However, Hua Ruye and Mr. Fifth were nowhere to be seen. This made the operation far from perfect, perhaps even a failure.

The greatest achievement this time was destroying a branch altar of the Yanyue Sect and rescuing a dozen or so Human Puppets. The credit lay almost entirely with Lu Yuan. Everyone else had contributed very little. Cao Cong gave a few instructions to the rest of the Demon Suppression Bureau personnel and left with a dark scowl.

"How did you subdue these Human Puppets?" Qin Gang approached Lu Yuan.

"Zither Sound. I used Zither Sound to destroy the original commands in their Divine Souls," Lu Yuan replied. It was the truth—at least in part. However, he didn’t mention that he could control them. These were all locals of the Jade Capital; they all had family, friends, or fellow disciples. Controlling them would be of little use and might even invite trouble. Moreover, with his current strength, he didn’t really need them.

"I see." Qin Gang understood. Using sound to destroy soul commands was perfectly reasonable.

"You’ve made another great contribution, which means quite a few Contribution Points this time.

"It’ll likely cause quite a stir. Have your squad rest for another three days to avoid making others jealous."

"Alright," Lu Yuan nodded in agreement. A break was a break; it wasn’t like he enjoyed working anyway.

"By the way, how will these Human Puppets be handled?"

"Their souls are shattered, and their bodies have been severely damaged. They can’t be saved. We can only take them back and dispose of them," Qin Gang replied. They were experienced in this regard. These were combat weapons; they could no longer be considered human.

Lu Yuan sighed. "Try to let them go with some dignity."

"Mm. We’ll arrange for their families to see them one last time before disposal."

Afterward, Qin Gang left to deal with the Human Puppets.