Lin Yuan hovered in midair, above the corpse of the Phantom Cat Emperor, which was as huge as a hill.
Its hideous head had rolled off to one side. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, and not even a drop of blood had had time to spurt out.
"This is the power of the first stage of Shadow Kill—the Hidden Instant Arc Slash..."
Lin Yuan lowered his gaze to the War Blade, Shadow Devourer, in his hand. Its pitch-black blade bore not a drop of blood, as if what he had just severed had not been the beast emperor's iron-hard bones, but a piece of tofu.
He had not used Spiritual Force to crush it. He had simply tested the results of his recent training with a warrior's techniques.
He had concealed himself using the War Blade Shadow Devourer's built-in ability to distort light, then combined it with the secret art of Shadow Kill, which let him concentrate all his strength into a single point in an instant...
And struck a fatal blow in the Phantom Cat Emperor's greatest strength: speed!
"Not bad."
A satisfied smile touched Lin Yuan's lips. Then he murmured, "For an ordinary War God, the life of a high-level beast emperor might be an insurmountable obstacle,
and even a Councilor-level powerhouse would have to put in some effort. But as it happens... I am the most unusual of Earth's countless sparks of life."
He had the system, a Universe Level cultivation technique, and Spiritual Force that had long since reached the Planetary Level.
Killing a beast emperor was as easy as reaching into a bag to grab something.
After a moment of reflection, Lin Yuan flipped his wrist, and the Shadow Devourer War Blade turned into a streak of Flowing Light before sliding into its sheath.
He raised his left hand, tapped his Communication Watch, and connected to the West Sea Base City command channel.
"The beast emperor is dead."
His voice was calm, without the slightest trace of emotion, as if he had merely taken care of some trivial task.
Then he sent over the exact coordinates.
At that very moment, inside the highest strategic command room of West Sea Base City,
there was a deathly silence.
The enormous holographic screen showed satellite footage in real time: the black-haired young man stood proudly in midair, above the terrifying beast emperor, now decapitated.
Everyone stood frozen, eyes wide with shock, as if they had been put under a spell.
Ivanov, the person in charge of the Base City, had his mouth hanging open. The eyes that usually radiated authority now held nothing but deep shock and disbelief.
"Th-that's it? It's over?"
The high-level War God beside him, known as Frost Axe, was even more dumbfounded. He could only make a strangled "g-g" sound, unable to get out a single coherent sentence.
That was the Phantom Cat Emperor!
Just yesterday, it had toyed with a group of mice, effortlessly slaughtering an Elite Squad of three high-level War Gods.
It was so fast that even radar couldn't lock onto it, and its illusions were impossible to guard against.
But now...
In less than ten seconds!
No one had even seen how the Chinese young man had drawn his blade, yet the nightmare that had tormented all of Europe was now lying headless on the ground?
After a brief stunned pause—
Boom!
The entire command room erupted. Exclamations rang out from every corner.
"God! Is this the power of an Inspector? He's unbelievably strong!"
"I heard he's the Honorary Inspector personally appointed by the First Speaker, Hong. The file said he was only a War God! But... how could a War God do this?"
"That's incredible! He killed a beast emperor with one strike! I never even dared to dream of reaching that level!"
"Hurry! Save that video! This is what'll motivate me to get stronger!"
Fierce excitement burned in everyone's eyes. In a world where the strong ruled, absolute power was always the surest way to win people over.
Before long, a specialized logistics team arrived at the scene by fighter jet and began handling the Phantom Cat Emperor's priceless corpse.
By convention, all valuable materials obtained from hunting monsters would be converted into a huge sum of money and deposited into Lin Yuan's account.
Still, wanting to win over this terrifyingly powerful new Inspector, West Sea Base City would surely offer him more than the market price. They wouldn't dare pay a single cent less.
After the scene had been dealt with, Lin Yuan boarded a fighter jet back to West Sea Base City.
The moment he stepped out of the cabin, he found the entire landing pad packed with people.
Whether they were soldiers on guard duty or passing warriors, the moment they saw the black-haired young man, they stopped, straightened their backs, and paid him their highest respects.
The fervent admiration in their eyes was impossible to hide.
The crowd parted on its own, opening a path.
Ivanov hurried over with several senior officials. The big shot who usually threw his weight around in Europe now wore a humble smile, with a fine sheen of cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Inspector Lin! I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry!"
As soon as they drew near, Ivanov bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice full of apprehension. "I failed to recognize your true standing earlier and didn't treat you properly. I offended you. Please forgive me, Inspector!"
He was genuinely afraid.
Thinking back to how he had privately grumbled about Lin Yuan's youth and assumed that headquarters had sent some kid over to gain experience and die, he wanted to slap himself across the face.
How was Lin Yuan some kid gaining experience? He was a ferocious beast in human skin!
After a pause, Ivanov spoke again, his tone utterly sincere:
"Also, on behalf of the two hundred million survivors of West Sea Base City, I'd like to thank you for coming all this way to help us. If you hadn't stepped in, who knows how much more devastation that beast would have caused?"
Looking at the old man, whose attitude had changed completely, Lin Yuan remained calm.
He was neither angry at the man's earlier contempt nor carried away by his current flattery.
"There's no need to thank me."
Lin Yuan spoke calmly, his voice as placid as water. "Fighting monsters and protecting humanity is a shared conviction among warriors across the world. I accepted the mission, so this was simply my duty."
With that, he didn't linger. He walked straight through the crowd and boarded the black King-Level Intelligent Fighter.
"Take me home."
At his command, the intelligent system slowly closed the cabin door, shutting out the noisy crowd and Ivanov's words left unsaid.
Vroom—
Blue flames burst from the fighter's engines. It shot into the sky and vanished into the distance like a streak of light.
Seated comfortably in the cabin, Lin Yuan watched the clouds race past outside the window, his mind at ease.
The matter had been settled.
This battle had also given him a clear understanding of his current strength.
Strong—he was definitely strong.
Among War Gods, he had already reached the pinnacle. With his Spiritual Force and god-level cultivation technique, he could easily crush ordinary high-level beast emperors.
But he still wasn't strong enough.
Against true Councilor-level powerhouses, especially beings at the very top of the pyramid like Hong and Thunder God, he still fell far short.
"I have to fully master the first layer of the Nine Star Transformations as soon as possible and draw out even more of my potential!"
Lin Yuan clenched his fist, a flash of determination in his eyes.
"Then I'll start making arrangements step by step and take control of everything that happens in the story from here on! Mist Island... that's where I'll truly take off."
Time flew by.
A month passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Yuan's name had caused an uproar throughout the War God Palace, and countless people wondered just how powerful this Honorary Inspector really was.
The main city of Jiangnan Base City.
One morning, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spilled across the training room floor.
Lin Yuan had just finished a night of cultivation. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the Origin Energy in his body grow ever more concentrated. He was only one final barrier away from reaching the next threshold.
Just then—
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The Communication Watch on his wrist suddenly rang urgently.
Lin Yuan looked down, and his pupils contracted slightly.
The caller's note showed just one word: Hong!
The world's strongest warrior and founder of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall!
Lin Yuan took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.
Whoosh!
A light screen opened in midair, revealing a black-haired man in black training clothes with a stern face.
He stood perfectly still, yet the light around him seemed to be swallowed up, exuding an indescribable pressure.
"Chief." Lin Yuan greeted him. "What is it?"
Hong nodded slightly and got straight to the point without a word of preamble. His voice was cold and commanding:
"Lin Yuan, drop everything you're doing at once."
"An unusual energy fluctuation has appeared on the Australian Continent. A Spirit of Vegetation—or an even higher-level treasure—may have emerged. All the major forces are already on the move."
"I want you to head to Mist Island as quickly as possible!"
Before you continue