The atmosphere in the air had grown tense to the breaking point.
Fal was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.
Scorching flames swirled around her, vaporizing the surrounding mist with a sizzling hiss.
But her expression was uglier than the bottom of a pot.
She glared at the black-clad young man who had suddenly appeared and was now standing on empty air.
Just moments ago, the young man had casually torn apart her proudest Flame Slash with nothing more than an invisible force. The ease with which he had done it set alarm bells ringing in her mind.
"Who is this man?"
Fal was deeply unsettled.
As a Councilor Level powerhouse standing at humanity's peak, she knew almost every renowned expert in the world.
Yet this far-too-young face was nowhere to be found in the intelligence files she had spent decades compiling!
He had only deflected one casual strike of hers, but for some reason, the abyssal aura emanating from him made even her, a Beyond War God, feel pressured.
The sense of oppression was beyond compare!
To be fair, Fal could hardly be blamed for her ignorance.
Lin Yuan's battle in Europe, where he had slain the Phantom Cat Emperor, had already sent shock waves through the global War God Palace.
Under ordinary circumstances, Fal, a core member of the HR Alliance's senior leadership, would have received the information immediately and learned the basics about Lin Yuan.
But as luck would have it, she had spent the past month in seclusion at a ruin deep in the Australian Continent, trying to break through her bottleneck and shutting herself off from the world...
She had only received word from Mist Island just moments ago and rushed over.
So she knew nothing about the now-famous Inspector Lin.
"Hmph!"
Fal snorted, forcing down her unease. Her flaming eyes swept over him with condescending scrutiny as her icy voice rang through the air:
"Impressive trick, sir! But hiding your face isn't the mark of a true powerhouse. Who are you? State your name!"
Faced with a Councilor Level powerhouse's demand, Lin Yuan remained as calm as ever.
He clasped his hands behind his back. His black trench coat snapped in the strong wind as he regarded Fal and replied evenly:
"Lin Yuan. I suppose... you could call me Extreme Martial Arts Hall's sixth Inspector."
His voice was not loud, but everyone present heard him clearly.
"Sixth... Inspector?"
Fal froze, her brows knitting together as she searched her memory.
A moment later, she seemed to recall something. The wariness in her eyes faded, replaced by the scorn of someone who had just figured it out.
"Oh... now I remember."
Fal's lips curled mockingly. "So it's you. The lucky kid who was exceptionally promoted by the First Speaker two years ago and made an Honorary Inspector while still a War God?"
The incident had caused quite a stir at the time, with all sides speculating about who Lin Yuan really was.
But as time passed, Lin Yuan neither advanced to Councilor Level nor produced any impressive battle records. He even disappeared from view for a time, earning the mocking nickname "the slacker Inspector."
Eventually, he faded from the notice of the world's top powerhouses.
"So he's an overhyped genius coasting on past glory."
Having learned Lin Yuan's supposed "background," Fal finally relaxed, her expression darkening.
In her eyes, until a War God crossed that threshold, he was still just a War God!
Li Yao, the Vulture, and the others behind Fal had nearly gone weak at the knees when they heard the word "Inspector"...
Now that Councilor Fal was acting so dismissively, they regained their confidence and once more looked at Lin Yuan with hostility.
Meanwhile, on the ground.
Luo Feng stared wide-eyed at the figure in the air.
"Lin Yuan... an Inspector?"
Luo Feng was stunned.
Lin Yuan looked only two or three years older than him, yet he was already an Inspector?
"Never mind! If he's an Inspector from the Martial Arts Hall, he's one of us!"
Luo Feng let out a long breath, the tension finally leaving his body. He knew his life had been spared.
The scales had evened out.
No, wait. Judging by Lin Yuan's unruffled confidence, the scales... seemed to be tipping in his favor!
After a brief standoff, Fal was the first to break the silence.
Though she looked down on Lin Yuan's strength, he represented the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, so she still had to maintain a pretense of civility.
"Lin Yuan."
Fal pointed at Luo Feng below, her tone aggressive. "Your Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Luo Feng stole the Spirit of Vegetation discovered by my HR Alliance first,
"and injured several of our War Gods. You're clearly in the wrong! What, are you going to shield him?"
Lin Yuan laughed.
His smile was amused, and a little wild.
"In the right?"
Lin Yuan raised his chin slightly, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Councilor Fal, did training rot your brain? When have people ever cared about right and wrong in the Wilderness Zone—or on Earth?"
"Here, the one with the bigger fist, the one who's stronger, gets to speak! That's the only truth!"
His words ripped the veil from the world of the strong, brazen and unrestrained!
"You!"
Fal laughed in fury, the flames around her surging until they turned half the sky red.
"Good! Very good! So the stronger one gets to speak!"
Her voice grew colder, and she no longer bothered to hide her killing intent. "Then, Lin Yuan, are you determined to make an enemy of me?"
Fal advanced step by step. With each step, the air grew hotter.
"You haven't even awakened a special ability yet, have you?"
Special abilities were innate powers granted by the genetic leap when a martial artist advanced to Planetary Level. Her flames were one example; the Ice Emperor's frost and the ability to fly were others.
Lin Yuan's body gave off none of the elemental fluctuations associated with Planetary Level powerhouses.
Lin Yuan fell silent.
It was true that he had not awakened an elemental special ability.
His martial artist realm was indeed still stuck at the half-step Planetary Level. What he relied on was his terrifying Spiritual Force, which had already broken through to Planetary Level!
Seeing him fall silent, Fal assumed she had hit a nerve. Her smile widened.
"Those who know when to yield are wise."
Fal lifted her chin, looking utterly confident, and said magnanimously, "Since you're an Inspector, I won't make things difficult for you.
"Just step aside and let me take back the Willow Wood Heart. I'll give you one in return. For a War God like you, it'll be an excellent tonic. That's a fair offer."
In her eyes, she was offering Lin Yuan a way out—and granting him a great favor.
Lin Yuan still said nothing. He simply looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"You refuse to take the out!"
Fal had run out of patience.
"If you won't move, I'll take it myself!"
Boom!
Before the words had even left her mouth, Fal became a blazing shooting star and shot past Lin Yuan in midair at an incredible speed!
She had thought it through: Lin Yuan was a War God, so he couldn't possibly keep up with her. If she captured Luo Feng first and made it a done deal, what could Lin Yuan do about it?
"Die!"
Fal looked down at Luo Feng's horrified face, a cruel glint of satisfaction in her eyes.
But then.
Just as she came within ten meters of Luo Feng, her flaming sword poised to fall—
Whoom—!!!
An immense, suffocating force descended without warning!
It wasn't wind or fire, but pure Spiritual Force pressure!
The pressure was so overwhelming it felt as if a mountain had crashed down from above, freezing even the air itself.
"What?!"
The vicious grin on Fal's face froze.
She felt like a bird flying at full speed that had suddenly plunged into a pool of thick glue.
The flames raging around her were crushed by the Spiritual Force, like a chicken grabbed by the throat. With a sudden puff—
They went out!
Worse, her vaunted ability to fly failed as well. Like a kite with its strings cut, she was forced to drop awkwardly toward the ground.
Just as her feet were about to touch down, a black blur appeared in front of her landing spot, as if by magic.
It was Lin Yuan!
His expression was blank, his eyes cold as ice.
No flashy techniques. No needless words.
Riding the momentum of his charge, Lin Yuan snapped up his right leg. His knee came down like a sledgehammer, backed by the terrifying strength of the Nine Star Transformations, and slammed into her in a clean, decisive strike!
"No—"
Fal's pupils contracted. She tried to dodge, but the Spiritual Force binding her left her completely unable to move!
Thud!!!
A dull, teeth-grinding crack rang through the silent forest as bones snapped.
Fal was hit head-on as if by a speeding train and hurled away even faster than she had come!
Crash...
Her body smashed through more than a dozen towering trees before slamming into a rock face, sending dust billowing through the air.
Silence.
The silence of death.
Li Yao's mouth hung open, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
Luo Feng was so dumbfounded he completely forgot to breathe.
It had all happened in an instant!
A lofty Councilor Level powerhouse had been effortlessly subdued with a single move!
What a disgrace!
As the dust cleared, Lin Yuan slowly lowered his right leg and brushed at nonexistent dust on his trousers.
He didn't even glance at Fal, who lay far away, her life or death uncertain. He merely uttered, in a quiet but domineering voice:
"You refuse to take the out."
"You dare lay a hand on my man right in front of me? If I'd really let you take him, I'd have to consider resigning when I got back."
Before you continue