Chapter 459 - 387: Those Near Vermilion Turn Red, Those Near Ink Turn Black
Chapter 459: Chapter 387: Those Near Vermilion Turn Red, Those Near Ink Turn Black
But for many, this was already a massive improvement.
It was beyond what could be described as mere talent.
Take Yang Shushan and Qu Yan, for example. They were both in the Divine Abyss Realm.
However, one had only 22.14% Origin Qi, while the other had 13.55%.
And that was the Origin Qi they had painstakingly cultivated over half their lives.
They knew better than anyone whether they could ever break through to the Heaven-Reaching Realm in this lifetime.
If they continued cultivating at such a slow pace,
even a hundred or two hundred years in seclusion might not be enough to break through to the Heaven-Reaching Realm.
And so, it had only been a few months since Lin Yi had broken through to the Divine Abyss Realm.
Yet his Origin Qi had already reached a shocking 58.77%. If he kept cultivating at this speed,
Lin Yi would probably break through again within a year.
However, Xiaoqi’s Origin Qi had already reached 88.97%. It was likely that Xiaoqi, not Lin Yi, would be the first to break through to the Heaven-Reaching Realm...
Dawn broke.
A ray of morning light pierced through the clouds.
As the land was bathed in dawn’s light, the darkness dissipated completely.
The entire Old District came back to life.
And the dangers hidden in the darkness quickly receded.
It was a little after nine in the morning.
Lin Yi and his group arrived in Qishan City.
The streets were bustling with a constant stream of traffic and people.
The roadside shops were opening one after another.
Pedestrians walked along the streets in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.
Others hurried along, walking alone toward their various destinations.
「Qishan City Public Security Bureau.」
As the convoy drove into the bureau’s courtyard,
the director and the captain themselves were seen running out of the building.
When Lin Yi and his entourage stepped out of their vehicles,
a fat middle-aged man came scurrying over, bowing and scraping.
"Oh my, you must be the Lord General, yes?"
"Ever since you called to say the Lord General would be gracing the Qishan Public Security Bureau with his presence, we haven’t dared to slack off for a moment. We’ve been waiting here all night!"
After he finished speaking, Lin Yi glanced at him.
"And you are?"
"Oh, look at me, where are my manners? Ahem, let me introduce myself. My surname is Wu, and my name is Wu Guo. I am the director of our Qishan City Public Security Bureau!"
"Oh, right! This is the bureau’s captain, Han Yang!"
Wu Guo pulled a man from beside him forward.
He was in his thirties and wore a brown leather jacket.
He also had on a pair of faded-looking jeans. His face was covered in stubble, and his hair was a bit of a mess.
He looked rather disheveled.
Even his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t had a proper rest in a long time.
Lin Yi nodded. "Director Wu, I trust you are already aware of our purpose here."
"We’ve come for the Blood Handprint!"
"Enough with the pleasantries. Our time is limited, so let’s get straight to the point."
Hearing this, Wu Guo was taken aback for a moment.
Then, he quickly nodded with a smile. "Yes, yes, of course!"
"However, Lord General, even when it comes to work, you must take care of your health, right?"
"The men have been traveling for most of the night. They must be tired and weary!"
"I’ve arranged breakfast for everyone in the cafeteria. Why don’t you all eat first? After you’ve had your fill, you can get some sleep. It won’t be too late to discuss the Blood Handprint matter after you’ve rested!"
Lin Yi glanced at Wu Guo.
Then he looked back at the men of the Right Guard behind him.
Although he himself didn’t feel tired—after all, his cultivation realm was on another level—
he could go without sleep for a night, or even for ten days to half a month, without any issue.
But the others couldn’t.
Lin Yi nodded. "Alright, let’s head straight to the cafeteria. We can discuss things while we eat."
"Ah? This... Yes, yes, good! We’ll go to the cafeteria and discuss it while we eat!"
And so, everyone followed Lin Yi toward the bureau’s cafeteria.
Just as Wu Guo had said, he had indeed made arrangements in advance.
The entire cafeteria was empty; even the kitchen staff were gone.
Inside the cafeteria, there were more than twenty tables.
Each table was laden with over a dozen dishes.
There was meat and wine—a magnificent feast.
Seeing this, Lin Yi didn’t say anything.
He had agreed to Director Wu’s suggestion, so he’d fully expected these preparations.
Lin Yi didn’t stand on ceremony, immediately telling everyone to sit down.
This past night, they had first destroyed three resource farms, then traveled for hours on the road.
Though no one complained, Lin Yi knew they were all hungry and exhausted.
Lin Yi could go without rest, but they couldn’t.
"Old Wei, once everyone has had their fill, let them rest."
"Make sure they get some proper sleep."
As he finished speaking, Wei Shang nodded. "Understood!"
Once they were all seated, everyone began to dig in heartily.
Wu Guo picked up a bottle of wine and said with a smile, "Lord General, this bottle of Hundred Monarch Immortal is a specialty of our Qishan City. You can’t get it anywhere else. Please, try it and see how you like it!"
Just as Wu Guo was about to pour a drink for Lin Yi,
Lin Yi quickly stopped him.
"I don’t drink while on duty."
"Director Wu, why don’t you have someone bring me the files you’ve collected on the Blood Handprint?"
"I’ll read while I eat and formulate a plan."
"Huh?"
Wu Guo was dumbfounded.
He truly hadn’t expected Lin Yi to be such a workaholic.
He wouldn’t even let mealtime go to waste.
’Read while eating while analyzing? And formulate a plan on top of that?’
Although Wu Guo was very unaccustomed to this way of working,
under the intimidating presence of the Lord General, he naturally didn’t dare say much and quickly sent someone to his office to get the files.
Before long, the files were delivered to Lin Yi’s hands.
He flipped through them, noting several marked Blood Handprint strongholds.
After looking them over, Lin Yi asked, "Who compiled this report?"
"Lord General, I did!"
Han Yang, who was sitting nearby, quickly answered.
Lin Yi nodded. "Qishan City has no resource farms or breeding grounds?"
There was no record of any resource farms or breeding grounds in the report.
Han Yang quickly explained, "We did. We used to have two resource farms, but no breeding grounds."
"But we’ve already taken them down!"
"Just last month, we took down both of those resource farms."
"The people from the Blood Handprint are too mysterious."
"After the resource farms were gone, they began to retaliate."
"They attacked innocent civilians and later had the audacity to attack the public security bureau!"
"We also managed to uncover the locations of the strongholds mentioned in the report."
"We were originally planning to take down those strongholds recently."
"But then the Lord General arrived, so the plan was put on hold."
After Han Yang finished speaking,
Lin Yi gave him a surprised look.
It had been over two months since he returned to the Old District.
Lin Yi had led the Right Guard through several cities.
They had destroyed numerous resource farms and killed countless members of the Blood Handprint.
But this was the first time he had seen a city like Qishan take the initiative to strike against the Blood Handprint and their resource farms.
The truth was, all the public security bureaus in the Old District were the same.
No different from Xinghai City, they were all completely inactive.
They all had a defeatist attitude, content to just coast and get by one day at a time.
They would never bring danger upon themselves.
Qishan City’s attitude, in contrast, was a pleasant surprise to Lin Yi.
He nodded and looked over the report again carefully.
He chuckled and said, "Don’t put the plan on hold. Relaunch it."
"Let’s execute it tonight. No sense in delaying and letting things get complicated."
Hearing this, Han Yang’s expression changed, and a smile appeared on his face.
He quickly nodded and said, "Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, Director Wu, who was sitting to the side, saw his expression fall.
Lin Yi had barely spoken a few words to him, the director, the entire time.
Instead, he had spoken more with Han Yang.
Wu Guo’s face darkened, and his dissatisfaction with Han Yang grew.
It was just that he couldn’t act on it in front of Lin Yi.
However, Wei Nan, Wei Shang, and Feng Lei, who were sitting nearby, saw all of this unfold clearly.
They smiled faintly but said nothing.
They simply lowered their heads and continued to devour the food on the table like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill,
Lin Yi had everyone return to the dorms Wu Guo had arranged for them to rest.
Lin Yi, meanwhile, studied the plan to eradicate the Blood Handprint that night.
But just then,
there was a knock at the door.
Lin Yi glanced up and said, "Come in!"
The door opened, and Wei Nan quietly entered the room.
The moment Lin Yi saw him, he couldn’t help but smile and say, "Instead of getting some sleep, you come skulking over here. What for?"
Hearing this, Wei Nan smiled and sat on the sofa.
"Can’t sleep. Something’s weighing on my mind."
"Oh? Something on your mind? Tell me about it."