Altar

When the stronghold's gates opened and Li Fei killed the seasoned believer leading the charge, the dozen or so remaining Tranquil God Sect believers lost all will to fight and turned to flee.

Lu Sheng first glanced at Lu Changwu. Only after confirming that he was uninjured did he hurry toward Li Fei.

He looked at the corpse of the seasoned believer beneath Li Fei's feet, then at the corpses of the other two burly men, and sighed. "Li Lei has a fine son."

"Uncle Lu, you flatter me."

Li Fei spoke.

"Hahahaha, Uncle Lu will personally put in a request for merit on your behalf when we get back!"

Lu Sheng gave Li Fei's shoulder a hearty slap.

Li Fei smiled. Only then did he have time to check the Myriad Blood Bead inside his body:

Level: Level 5 17% Blood Soul: 24 beads +48%

He had activated Blood Rage just now, consuming two Blood Souls. The rest had come from the damage his enemies had inflicted on him.

"Those two Talisman Papers should have damaged me too. It looks like the Myriad Blood Bead can also resist damage on the spiritual level!"

This was Li Fei's first time facing enemies who used techniques. Hao Yi had told him that techniques below the Possession Stage worked on the spiritual level. Those two seasoned believers certainly were not Grand Mages at the Possession Stage, so the damage they had dealt also counted as spiritual damage.

And now Li Fei was certain that the Myriad Blood Bead could likewise share the burden of spiritual damage for him.

"Martial artists already counter techniques, and with the Myriad Blood Bead on top of that, perhaps I can become a mage slayer in the future?"

Li Fei could not help imagining it.

With the merit of being First to Ascend, along with killing two seasoned believers, he was certain to receive a Rank A+ evaluation for this operation. So in the battles to come, he no longer needed to fight as valiantly as before.

Thus, Li Fei followed behind Lu Sheng and the others, loafing around with a perfectly clear conscience.

Once the stronghold's gates opened, the battles that followed held no suspense. The Overseeing Bureau Inspectors and the Military Academy students were all as fierce as wolves and tigers, sweeping through the Tranquil God Sect believers inside the stronghold with the force of dry weeds before a raging wind.

Wang Ping and the other Registered Martial Masters never made a move.

They had come this time to prevent any accidents and were prepared to deal with any experts the Tranquil God Sect might have. They had no interest in taking action against these ordinary believers before them.

Besides, even if they never lifted a finger from beginning to end, they would not lose a single bit of the merit that was due to them.

That was the advantage of being a leader.

After more than half an hour, the entire stronghold had been cleared, and more than twenty Tranquil God Sect believers had been captured alive.

Wang Ping came before the altar at the very center and examined it carefully for a while. Clear delight appeared on his face.

He turned and asked Lu Sheng, "Did you capture their sect master or any other important figures?"

Lu Sheng had just finished hearing his subordinate's report. "We killed four of their seasoned believers and captured two alive."

"Bring those two here. I'll question them."

Wang Ping gave the order.

Before long, two seasoned believers dressed in dark-gray robes were brought over, bound hand and foot.

"Who is your sect master?"

Wang Ping asked.

Both seasoned believers glared at Wang Ping with hatred. One of them snarled at him, "You sinners will all die! The sect master will avenge us!"

"Oh?"

Wang Ping looked at him. "So your sect master fled in advance?"

He turned and pointed at the altar beside him. "Building this altar must have consumed a great deal of precious materials. Your sect master may have spent decades of savings on it. Even if he escaped, it will be difficult for there to be much of a Tranquil God Sect left in the future."

"Lord Wang, really?"

Lu Sheng hurriedly asked from the side.

He was somewhat disappointed that the Tranquil God Sect's sect master had escaped, since that greatly reduced the merit from this operation. But after hearing Wang Ping, it seemed there was still a turning point.

Wang Ping said with a smile, "This altar contains many precious materials. The Tranquil God Sect's vital technique inheritance, Implant inheritance, and other matters should all require this altar. Now that the altar is gone, the Tranquil God Sect will no longer be able to stir up trouble. Later, we can also have people from the Bureau of Impartial Justice reclaim the materials here. That will certainly count as a great merit."

His mood was excellent, and the smile on his face grew broader.

The Bureau of Impartial Justice was the most mysterious of the local Six Bureaus. It was responsible only for matters related to techniques and maintained close ties with the Military Affairs Department.

The Twelve Universities of the Great Blue Dynasty had the Conflict Mitigation Department, which specialized in training martial artists. They likewise had the Zheng Fa Department, which specialized in training practitioners of techniques. After graduating, these practitioners basically entered the local Bureaus of Impartial Justice directly.

After hearing what Wang Ping said, a smile appeared on Lu Sheng's face as well.

If things went this way, his promotion to Deputy Overseeing Bureau Chief should be moved up too.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

The two captured seasoned believers suddenly burst into manic laughter.

Lu Sheng frowned at them and ordered his men to gag them.

He could not be bothered to ask why they were laughing. In any case, these heretics were all a bunch of people with broken minds.

"Prepare to withdraw."

Lu Sheng gave the order.

Li Fei suddenly felt the Steel Armor Implant inside his body grow restless again, and the alarm bells in his heart began to blare!

His muscles tensed in an instant, and his right hand seized the hilt of his blade.

The next second, the altar surrounded by everyone lit up.

Wang Ping was the first to sense that something was wrong. He immediately turned toward the altar. When he saw the light flare, his pupils contracted, and he struck out with his palm without hesitation.

A mass of crimson steam gushed from his palm, transforming into a Crimson Snake more than three meters long that lunged toward the altar with bared fangs.

But he was still a step too slow. A violet-black ring of light centered on the altar spread outward, sweeping over everyone in the stronghold in an instant!

Li Fei's mind sank, and he felt the faintest trace of drowsiness.

He looked at the Myriad Blood Bead inside his body:

Level: Level 5 59% Blood Soul: 21 beads +16%

His energy had suddenly increased by more than 40%, while his Blood Souls had decreased by more than three beads!

"Did I just fall victim to some kind of technique?"

Li Fei wondered inwardly.

Then he saw the people around him collapse one after another. The senior instructors struggled stubbornly for a while even after falling, but in the end they could not overcome the overwhelming drowsiness and sank into deep sleep.

Li Fei thought for a moment, then fell down with them.

In the end, the only people still standing inside the stronghold were Wang Ping and three other Registered Martial Masters from the Cessation of Hostilities Bureau.

When the Crimson Snake Wang Ping had sent out touched the altar, a vast amount of yellow smoke immediately billowed from it, accompanied by a piercing sound, as if something were wailing.

Crack! A brittle sound rang out, followed by a chain of continuous noises. The stones piled together to form the altar split apart one after another, and finally the entire altar collapsed completely.

Wang Ping had destroyed the altar with a single move, yet his expression was extremely grim.

It was not he who had destroyed the altar. The mastermind had destroyed it of his own accord. Otherwise, it could never have unleashed such a powerful technique just now—one capable of affecting even a formal martial artist at the Body Breaking Stage!

"Captain Wang, look."

A Registered Martial Master beside him suddenly pointed upward.

Wang Ping raised his head and looked. Outside the stronghold, the hillside above was already packed with people.

One of them wore a violet robe and stood in the middle, surrounded by the others like stars surrounding the moon.

The other party looked down at everyone inside the stronghold from high above, like a cat watching mice.