Black Armored Army Dark Division

Black Armored Army Dark Division

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

Zhou Shan sat cross-legged in his room, cultivating. Through the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent, an endless stream of pure vital energy from the depths of the void poured into his body, transforming into surging Internal Force.

As long as he circulated the Golden Bell Shield Cultivation Technique, he could fuse this Internal Force and increase the power of the Golden Bell Shield.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted from within Zhou Shan's body as another aperture was forced open by Internal Force. The power of his Golden Bell Shield had reached one hundred and seventy-two years.

After being washed daily by such vast Internal Force, his body had improved by several tenths compared to a month ago.

At that moment, Zhou Shan's ears twitched. He slowly opened his eyes and said, "Who's outside?"

Creak!

The door opened, and a man in his forties stood outside.

This man was not handsome; he could even be called utterly ordinary. His face had no distinguishing features, and most people would not remember him deeply. If thrown into a crowd, he could easily conceal himself.

"Who are you?" Zhou Shan asked.

"Commandant Zhou, I need your cooperation."

As he spoke, the plain-looking man took out a token.

"You're... from the Dark Division!"

The moment Zhou Shan saw the token, he knew the other party's identity.

When he had come to Luyang County, Commander Wu had told him that people would be secretly investigating the remnants of the Vajra Sect.

Those conducting the covert investigation were the Black Armored Army's Dark Division. They were mainly responsible for gathering intelligence, tracking enemies, and similar tasks. Everyone in the Dark Division was a disciple of the Guiyuan Sect's Dark Hall; they never recruited from outside.

"What do you need me to do?" Zhou Shan asked directly.

"According to our investigation, Xu Hongtao, Luyang County's richest merchant, should have ties to the remnants of the Vajra Sect," the plain-looking man said. "However, Xu Hongtao has another identity. His wife comes from the Shangguan Family. Without evidence, we cannot act directly, lest we provoke the Shangguan Family's displeasure. That is why we need your cooperation."

"How should I cooperate?" Zhou Shan asked.

"This is the information our Dark Division has compiled while investigating the Xu Family. Once you finish reading it, you'll know what to do."

As he spoke, the plain-looking man took a file from his robes and handed it to Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan accepted the file and immediately began reading it.

Xu Hongtao, Luyang County's richest merchant, had risen to prominence thirty years ago. His wife came from the Shangguan Family.

The Shangguan Family was one of Yun Province's five great families.

In these chaotic times, Yun Province's five great families had formed an alliance known as the Five Surnames Alliance. Yun Province Prefecture City was under the control of the five great families, and their businesses spread throughout all of Yun Province.

Although the Five Surnames Alliance only occupied Yun Province Prefecture City and did not claim any particular commandery as its territory, it could still influence many forces in the various commanderies of Yun Province.

Within Yun Province, the Five Surnames Alliance was roughly on equal footing with the Guiyuan Sect. Below them came the Blood Fiend Sect, Heavenly Sword Manor, and Five Poisons Sect. No wonder the Black Armored Army's Dark Division did not dare move directly against Xu Hongtao without conclusive evidence.

Although the Guiyuan Sect had also allied with Heavenly Sword Manor, it also had enemies in the Blood Fiend Sect and Five Poisons Sect. The Five Surnames Alliance could not be offended lightly. Xu Hongtao could only be taken down once there was evidence.

With evidence, even the Shangguan Family would have nothing to say.

After all, the Five Surnames Alliance was not ruled by the Shangguan Family alone. Some within the alliance were close to the Guiyuan Sect.

Zhou Shan continued reading.

Xu Hongtao had two sons.

His eldest son, Xu Haoran, had displayed remarkable martial arts talent from childhood. His mother had then sent him to the Shangguan Family to cultivate martial arts. He only returned once a year. Now just twenty years old, he was already an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist.

His younger son, Xu Haoyu, was far inferior to Xu Haoran.

Moreover, because the eldest son Xu Haoran was away from home year-round, both Xu Hongtao and his wife doted excessively on their younger son.

His father was Luyang County's richest merchant, and he had the Shangguan Family as a towering tree to lean against. Together with his parents' indulgence, this made the Xu Family's second son exceptionally arrogant and tyrannical, a veritable local despot of Luyang County.

Many families held deep grievances against Xu Haoyu, but they only dared to rage in silence.

After the Black Armored Army took over Luyang County City, he remained as arrogant as ever. More than twenty lives had been lost at Xu Haoyu's hands. Some had been bitten to death by hunting dogs with Demonic Beast bloodlines that he trained.

He had also ridden recklessly through the streets, killing two people and injuring more than ten.

Besides ordinary people, some small families had likewise suffered Xu Haoyu's persecution. For example, the young lady of the Lin Family in the eastern city was beautiful as a flower. Xu Haoyu took a fancy to her and wanted to take her as a concubine.

The Lin Family's young lady was already betrothed and naturally refused. Xu Haoyu then sent people to abduct her outright and forcibly violate her for three days and nights.

The young master of the family betrothed to the Lin Family's young lady wanted to seek justice from the Black Armored Army. The next day, his entire family was exterminated.

The Xu Family sent ten thousand taels of silver to Commandant Liu Jierong's residence, and the matter was left unsettled.

The Xu Family's younger son committed his acts without the slightest attempt at concealment. Every evil deed was known to all, laid out plainly before everyone's eyes. There was no need for any investigation at all. His lawlessness had reached the absolute extreme.

It was as though Luyang County City belonged to his family.

No matter what Xu Haoyu did, the Xu Family could settle it with silver.

"To deal with the Xu Family, we must start with the Xu Family's younger son," Zhou Shan said after reading all the information.

"Correct. The crimes Xu Haoyu has committed are enough to have him die a hundred times over," said the plain-looking man from the Dark Division. "Arrest Xu Haoyu and behead him before the public. The Xu Family cannot possibly watch their son die without doing anything. But the Shangguan Family is too far away to call for help. By the time the Xu Family sends word to Yun Province Prefecture City, where the Shangguan Family is located, and the Shangguan Family's experts arrive, it will take at least six or seven days.

"So, if Xu Hongtian wants to save his younger son Xu Haoyu, he can only contact the Vajra Sect's remnants and ask them to act. Otherwise, he can only watch helplessly as Xu Haoyu is executed.

"This move is called luring the snake from its hole."

"Fine!" Zhou Shan nodded in agreement.

In any case, it was fine as long as no investigation led back to him.

"However, if we want to lure the snake from its hole, we cannot arrest Xu Haoyu alone," Zhou Shan said gravely. "Otherwise, it would not be luring the snake from its hole, but beating the grass and startling the snake."

"Then what do you have in mind?" the plain-looking man asked.

"Let's simply launch a special operation to sweep away organized crime and evil, lasting around one month," Zhou Shan said with righteous conviction. "Within Luyang County City, anyone who has violated the law will be arrested, regardless of their background or status. And all those old unsolved cases that have piled up over the years will be dug up and investigated again, bringing the murderers to justice.

"Sweep away crime and evil, cleanse the environment, promote stability, and safeguard peace."

"Luyang County is your jurisdiction. Your word is final," the plain-looking man said. He felt Zhou Shan's proposal made sense and did not object.

For Zhou Shan, this would also give him a month's buffer.

By then, his cultivation would more or less reach the peak of the Aperture-Opening Realm.