All Parties Set in Motion

Although only half the night had passed, the intelligence report meticulously detailed the battle.

General Xu was most concerned with three points.

"From beginning to end, this gunslinger killed every single Fierce Tiger Gang member with one shot, including their leader, Yang Long?"

Throughout the entire ordeal, this gunslinger had no companions? Fought alone!

"Lastly, Yang Long seemed to have a mysterious expert accompanying him who fought this swordsman? But the outcome is unknown." General Xu was extremely shocked, then quickly calmed down to analyze.

Without a doubt, this mysterious swordsman possessed immense strength, very likely a First-class Expert.

If he were a Second-class Expert, he would be at the very top of that tier.

At the very least, General Xu wasn't confident he could kill Yang Long in one move.

"Even 'Meng Qiang' beside Jiang Dongque or 'Guan Zishan' from Dongye County couldn't possibly be this strong," General Xu's apprehension grew.

The Hengyun Sect governed nearly a hundred prefectures.

Every Prefect had two Second-class Experts and over a dozen Third-class Experts for personal protection.

Meng Qiang was the personal guard of Jiang Dongque, the Prefect of Li City Prefecture, and was considered an extremely strong Second-class Expert.

Guan Zishan was the ancestor of the 'Guan Clan,' the most prominent family in Li City. At his peak, he was a First-class Expert, known as Li City's 'Number One Expert.' However, at eighty years old, his physical condition had steadily declined. Currently, his physical prowess was only at the peak of Second-class, but his strength was still not to be underestimated.

In terms of individual strength, this mysterious swordsman was capable of sweeping through Li City!

Who could it be?

"Although there are a few First-class Experts in Nanmeng Prefecture, only a handful are skilled with the spear. Could it be an outsider?" General Xu found the situation incredibly troublesome.

He was a top figure within Li City Prefecture.

But Nanmeng Prefecture was one of the three prefectures occupied by the Hengyun Sect, filled with numerous powerful individuals. He, as a mere General of a prefecture, didn't even rank.

"This expert, who single-handedly swept through the Fierce Tiger Gang, what was the reason?" General Xu felt an intense headache. "Was it aimed at me?"

The time was too short, the information too scarce, and half of the Fierce Tiger Gang's leaders were already dead.

He had no starting point for his analysis.

"No matter what, Yang Long is dead, and the Fierce Tiger Gang is in disarray. It will be even harder for me to control Li City," General Xu frowned.

The Fierce Tiger Gang was backed by him!

It was a vicious dog he had raised, specifically to bite down on any small or large force within Li City that disobeyed him.

"Old Xu," General Xu called out.

Clang~

The door opened, and Steward Xu, clad in purple robes, entered respectfully. "General, what is it?"

"Immediately report to Sect Headquarters and request an investigation into Jiangzhou Prefecture. Has there been any First-class Expert active in the Li City area recently?" General Xu said in a low voice.

"Yes." Steward Xu replied, cupped his hands respectfully, and retreated. The door closed again.

"Liu Ye," General Xu called out again.

"General." A burly man emerged from behind a screen, his temples bulging, exuding a terrifying aura.

"You and Zhu Hong, immediately lead two companies to the Nine Cloud Mountain area. You must bring back the remaining three leaders of the Fierce Tiger Gang to Li City. I need to question them," General Xu's voice was icy. "However, if there is any resistance, kill them without mercy!"

Once the Nanmeng Army mobilized, each soldier rode a tall horse and wore heavy armor.

Two companies, though seemingly small in number, could wreak havoc when gathered. Even a thousand-strong infantry force composed of Martial Masters would struggle to resist them, and tens of thousands of refugees would be directly scattered!

"Your subordinate understands," the burly man said solemnly.

Compared to the oppressive atmosphere in the General's Mansion, the Prefect's Mansion erupted in jubilation upon receiving the news.

"Congratulations, Prefect! Congratulations, Prefect!"

A close guard offered congratulations. "With the Fierce Tiger Gang scattered, Xu Shouyi has lost an arm. From now on, Li City will be under the Prefect's rule."

"Silence! This Li City belongs to our Hengyun Sect. I am merely governing it on its behalf," Prefect Jiang Dongque reprimanded, but anyone could hear the joy in his voice.

In the Prefect's Mansion, who didn't know about the feud between the Prefect and the General?

The two were like fire and water!

"The Fierce Tiger Gang has always been a major threat to the people of Li City. Now that they are finally eliminated, their remnants still pose a danger." Jiang Dongque said sternly. "Protecting the borders and ensuring the peace of the populace is the undeniable duty of the City Guard Army. All generals, heed my orders! Immediately dispatch the Left and Right Battalions to eradicate the remaining threats of the Fierce Tiger Gang. Ensure the capture of the remaining leaders alive."

The three thousand City Guard Army was divided into Left, Center, and Right Battalions, each comprising a thousand men.

"Yes."

"Yes!" A group of City Guard officers stood up, each looking excited.

To confront the fully-fledged Fierce Tiger Gang? The City Guard Army was reluctant. Even if they could win, the casualties would be heavy. Why bother?

But the Fierce Tiger Gang, with even its leader Yang Long dead? That was a live opportunity for merit!

A stream of City Guard officers filed out.

"Prefect, aren't we going to search for this mysterious swordsman?" a tall swordsman clad in red armor asked softly.

"Brother Meng, I've already reported this to the sect and will order notices to be posted everywhere, warning people to be wary of this mysterious spearman," Prefect Jiang said with a smile. "As for more details?"

"A First-class Expert, capable of leaping several dozen feet high. Mountain walls and tall fences are no obstacle."

"He can hold his breath and stay underwater for nearly half an hour, crossing great rivers as if they were streams."

"His stamina is incredible. He can traverse mountain forests and cliffs as if walking on flat ground, traveling a thousand miles in a single day," Prefect Jiang shook his head. "This mysterious expert has never appeared before. He shouldn't be a local expert from Li City. If he has no family or friends tying him down, and he's alone and determined to hide, we're powerless to capture or recruit him. We'll need the sect to dispatch experts."

Prefect Jiang saw things very clearly.

Regardless of who this mysterious expert was, his top priority was to seize the opportunity to strike at 'General Xu'.

"Mm," Meng Qiang nodded slightly.

He was merely reminding Jiang Dongque.

As a personal guard dispatched by the sect, he was only responsible for Jiang Dongque's safety and would not interfere with his actions.

...Just half a day later.

Inside a quiet room on the sixth floor of Stellar Tower in Li City.

"What did you say? This mysterious spearman might be a local expert from Li City?" the purple-robed middle-aged woman exclaimed in shock as she stood up.

"Yes!"

The black-robed middle-aged man said repeatedly, "After we received the news..."

"We immediately dispatched a team to Nine Cloud Mountain to investigate. Then, from the battle site within the Fierce Tiger Gang's main stronghold, we found a Flying Dagger forged by our Stellar Tower's blacksmith."

"Furthermore, according to the descriptions of the fleeing gang members, the spearman used the Flowing Light Silver Snow Spear that was sold just yesterday."

"Moreover,"

"Yesterday, the customer who bought the spear also purchased detailed intelligence about the Fierce Tiger Gang," the black-robed middle-aged man said. "It's rare for someone to buy such gang intelligence, so I remember it vividly."

The purple-robed woman nodded slightly.

"After our comprehensive analysis, there's a seventy percent chance that this customer purchased weapons from our Stellar Tower in batches through 'Bone Shifting,' then went directly to Nine Cloud Mountain and started the great battle at night," the black-robed middle-aged man said. "Such an expert, by all rights, should have their own suitable Divine Weapon. Why would they suddenly come to buy weapons?"

"There are only two possibilities. First, he didn't want to reveal his identity, so he used the purchased weapons as a cover. But why come to our Stellar Tower? That would also expose his whereabouts."

"Second, he didn't have a suitable weapon originally."

"After analysis, we concluded that there's a fifty percent chance this mysterious spearman lives in Li City and has never exposed his strength before," the black-robed middle-aged man said solemnly. "If our guess is true, he's likely no older than thirty and has been cultivating alone until now."

"Investigate!"

"Mobilize all our forces and investigate for me!" the purple-robed woman said sternly. "A First-class Expert under thirty? If it's true and he hasn't joined any sect, our Stellar Tower must do everything we can to recruit him."

"This would be a great achievement!"

...The annihilation of the Fierce Tiger Gang was over, but its repercussions were far from finished. Several forces within Li City were colliding in secret, frantically gathering information.

All factions wanted to uncover the truth of the matter and also find this mysterious spearman.

However.

Even if intelligence regarding 'Wu Qiming' was presented, it would be quickly discarded. No one paid attention.

No one could have imagined that the fourteen-year-old Wu Yuan was that terrifying spearman.

Wu Yuan was unaware of these disturbances, nor did he care.

In the Martial Arts Academy, within his private training room, the door was locked.

"What's the connection between this token and the Chu Jiang Empire?" Wu Yuan fiddled with the token in his hand while flipping through a pile of books before him.