"You still know you’re a human?" Wang Lan sneered. "Yet as a human, you willingly betray our kind to beco a lapdog for the Demon Clan?"
"My grandfather, my parents, my whole clan were killed by humans. It was the Demon Clan that saved and raised . How could I not betray humanity? Humanity shattered my family, left us dead, and sared us with the stigma of a heretical sect. What right do you have to accuse of betrayal?
"You cannot empathize with my experience, so what right do you have to speak to of the greater good of our race?"
Wang Lan silently watched Zhang Xiannca, his eyes flickering. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "What about afterwards? What did they want the Demon God’s Blood for?"
"Obviously to resurrect the Demon God. The Demon Clan is hierarchical. Lower-tier demons cannot withstand the blood of higher-tier demons, let alone the blood of a Demon God. Even the most noble of the Demon Clan cannot bear it. One must reach an extrely high physical condition to endure it, and the Star Origin Flow is the cultivation technique that allows one to train their body to the extre. Star Origin Flow is the only technique in the world that can cultivate the body to the realm of celestial spirits.
"The Demon Clan promised that, once I have completed my revenge and have no more ties, I will enter the blood pool and take on the power of the Demon God’s Blood. Initially, after you went to the Han Family, that was supposed to be my last act of vengeance. But I never expected you to co back so soon. My plan for revenge failed before completion."
"I’m curious, how could the Demon Clan let you be so willful? And agree to let you take on the power of the Demon God’s Blood only after your revenge is complete?"
"Taking on the Demon God’s Blood requires active acceptance. If there’s resistance in the heart, it is impossible to complete the legacy of the Demon God’s power. I have no more attachnts, nothing else worth holding onto except for revenge."
"What happened with Wen Xianghua’s death?"
"Of course, it was also a setup by the Paradise Bird. I infused Star Origin Flow into that young man’s body, and the Demon Clan used Wen Xianghua’s desperate need for the Star Power source to design this perfect killing sche. But now, it seems they couldn’t hide anything from you?"
"I knew that Wen Xianghua’s death was orchestrated by the Paradise Bird, but I want to know why the Paradise Bird would plan to kill Wen Xianghua?"
"That, I do not know. Other than cultivating Star Origin Flow, I don’t concern myself with other matters, and they never let inquire."
"Do you know that Wen Xianghua is a descendant of Zhang Lingxian?"
"What?" Zhang Xiannca’s eyes widened in disbelief. "The Zhang Family still has living descendants?"
"You really didn’t know?"
"Heh... hahaha... it’s laughable, truly ironic... that Wen Xianghua is actually a descendant of the Zhang Family. A descendant of the Zhang Family sches so desperately for sothing that originally belonged to the Zhangs?
"To be plotted against and killed for sothing that should have been his all along... it’s truly... truly astonishing."
"Aren’t you the sa?"
"We are rely the tomb keepers for Zhang Lingxian. Although we share the Zhang surna, we do not possess the Zhang Family bloodline. The Zhang Family disappeared from history a thousand years ago. For a thousand years, we have protected the Kirin Jade Plaque that only those with the Zhang Family bloodline can open. We thought that the Zhang lineage had been completely severed and that Zhang Lingxian’s legacy would never be passed on."
"What would you have done if you knew Wen Xianghua was from the Zhang Family?" asked Wang Lan curiously.
"Of course, I would have handed over what we have guarded for two thousand years. Our clan has grown weary of this two-thousand-year destiny."
"For the past twenty years, the Kirin Jade Plaque has been safeguarded by the four major families. But it would have been easy for to retrieve the plaque. If I had known that a descendant of the Zhang Family was alive, I wouldn’t have handed over the three plaques to the Paradise Bird."
"All three plaques have been passed to the Paradise Bird now?"
"Yes, they wanted them, so I gave them. In any case, without the Zhang Family bloodline, no one can open the plaque."
"Where is the base of the Paradise Bird?" Wang Lan asked finally.
"At Cloud Top Mountain. But from the mont you defeated , they should have already evacuated. Now, there’s nothing left to be found."
Wang Lan erged from the Divine Might Space and imdiately led the Tianjian Bureau brothers to Cloud Top Mountain. They indeed found remnants of a Demon Clan base at Cloud Top Mountain, but as expected, it was deserted, with nothing left behind.
Anything that could be taken had been carried away, and what couldn’t be taken was already destroyed. But judging from the size of this base, the number of Paradise Bird spies was not small.
"Who would have thought that Huzhou Province was hiding such a large Demon Clan spy organization. Chief Liu, you really need to reflect on this," Wang Lan said in a suppressed voice.
"Yes, yes! It’s my fault for not doing my job well!" Liu Yuxin was sweating profusely, constantly dabbing at it with a handkerchief.
The nationwide Tianjian Bureau operation against Demon Clan spies continued for a full three years. In those three years, the Tianjian Bureaus of each province had all achieved remarkable results. This was especially true for the Jiang Province Tianjian Bureau, which had almost completely uprooted the Demon Clan spy network.
The number of Demon Clan spies uncovered in Huzhou was among the fewest in the provinces. It used to be claid that there were fewer spies in Huzhou, explaining the situation away. But now, was it really a matter of fewer spies? The spies had already infiltrated the Tianjian Bureau.
"How’s the investigation into those four spies coming along?" Wang Lan asked Liu Yuxin.
"Still investigating. According to their records, changes in them started two years ago. Before that, the four had no significant interactions. But from two years ago, they began frequently teaming up and eventually ford an independent action squad. They must have been consud by the Demon Clan around that ti."
"Pull up their activity records for these two years. I want to review them again."
Back at the Tianjian Bureau, the files on the four spies had been sent to headquarters and landed on Wang Lan’s desk. The national uproar caused by this overturned case lasted only a day. Then, as if nothing had happened, the fervor subsided, and no one paid attention anymore.
Wang Lan flipped page by page through the action reports of the four spies over the past two years. The records showed nothing unusual; they had all executed their tasks with the strict discipline of Tianjian Bureau operatives, such as closing Different Dinsional Spaces, cracking down on Star Martial Warrior criminals, stopping the smuggling of Star Martial Warriors, and shutting down illegal criminal conduits. In fact, aside from failing to discover any Demon Clan spies, their work was outstanding, even better than other Tianjian Bureau operatives.
But suddenly, Wang Lan paused in his reading. Before him was a mission report—the one Zhang Xiannca had spoken of, detailing the discovery of a sealed blood pool in a Different Dinsional Space.
Two years ago, a Different Dinsional Space suddenly opened, its red poisonous fog spreading rapidly. Yet, this poison was not any known type of Star Martial Toxin, not even identifiable by the Star Martial Toxin analyzer.
Anyone who inhaled this toxin would beco crazed and violent, although Star Martial Warriors could resist it for longer. To protect the civilians from the fog, the Tianjian Bureau imdiately assembled a Death Squad of fifty people who forced their way into the Different Dinsional Space.
It was assud that the entire team would perish within that space, but surprisingly, twenty people managed to evacuate successfully. Without Exotic Beasts present, their mission to close the Different Dinsional Space beca much easier.
Among these twenty people were the four Demon Clan spies. At that ti, they had not yet co into close contact with each other. It was only after that mission that the close interactions between the four began.
"Give the list of those who ca back from that mission successfully. And check if there have been any close interactions between the nas on the list in the last two years."
"Yes!"
An hour later, the list of the twenty brothers who survived two years ago was compiled. Upon grouping and pairing, it was discovered that these twenty individuals had ford pairs, whether as couples, best friends, or brothers.
Everyone had ford a circle. One person in that circle suddenly entered Wang Lan’s field of vision: Li Minyu, the head of the Intelligence Departnt at Huzhou Tianjian Bureau headquarters.
The leader of that mission was Li Minyu, who had once been known as the daredevil, always taking the lead during missions. He had charged into the dangerous Different Dinsional Space with a resolve to die but had unexpectedly returned successfully.
Since then, Li Minyu rarely led charges into battle. It was as if the Li Minyu who faced death unflinchingly had forever stayed in that blood-red Different Dinsional Space.
In fact, that Li Minyu had indeed stayed in that Different Dinsional Space.
Wang Lan gently tapped the list, his eyes sparkling with insight. After a long while, he suddenly looked up. "I understand now."
"What have you figured out now?" Jiang Xinyu glanced over and asked, looking at the list in Wang Lan’s hands.
"I understand why they had to kill Wen Xianghua." Wang Lan pointed at Li Minyu’s na with emphasis. "To make way for this person."
"He’s a Demon Clan spy?"
"Not just him. All twenty brothers who ca back two years ago are Demon Clan spies. That Death Squad from back then was truly a death squad; no one ca back alive. They all sacrificed themselves."
Wang Lan stood up. "Arrest everyone on the list. As for Li Minyu, I will arrest him personally."
Today was Li Minyu’s day off, so he hadn’t gone to work at the Tianjian Bureau. Wang Lan personally went to Li Minyu’s residence and knocked on the door. Soon, footsteps were heard from inside.
Li Minyu peeked through the peephole and hurriedly opened the door.
"General Wang, what brings you here?" Li Minyu said, his expression one of flattered surprise.
"There are so questions I need to ask you, and since you are off today, I ca personally."
"Oh, you shouldn’t have! You could have just called to the office," Li Minyu said, untying the apron he was wearing.
"Cooking?"
"Yes, I usually don’t have much to do when I’m resting at ho, so I often read or have so tea, then cook sothing nice for myself as a treat."
"Does Director Li live alone? Haven’t thought about finding soone else all these years?"
"Sigh..." Li Minyu sighed deeply, his face showing a complicated expression.
Li Minyu had lost his wife in his early years. She was also a Tianjian Bureau operative and had died on duty. Perhaps out of guilt for his wife’s death, Li Minyu had led every mission since then with reckless abandon, always placing himself in the most dangerous positions.
"I’ve gotten used to living alone..."
"Director Li is a hero," Wang Lan said, walking to a wedding photo hanging in the living room and bowing deeply. "Everyone who has worked under Director Li says it’s reassuring because he always takes on the dangers himself. Honorable and admirable, even in death on the battlefield."
This made Li Minyu’s expression complicated; he was unsure what Wang Lan’s words ant. Was it a curse or praise?
"A valiant martyr should not be desecrated, not even by enemies. Wouldn’t you agree?"
"General Wang, I’m not sure what you an..."
"How did the Death Squad from two years ago die?"
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