Dying Struggle

"Report to the Hall Master! The thirty-six bandit nests of various sizes in the eastern province have been completely eradicated; the banditry in the Salt City region has been entirely purged!"

Before the ornate, dragon-and-phoenix-carved gates of the Mo Clan, Yun Zimo, accompanied by a group of law enforcement disciples and members of the Mo Clan, grandly welcomed the triumphant Mo Cheng and his party.

Although Mo Cheng's face was etched with a fierce expression, he bowed humbly to deliver his report, and Yun Zimo, wearing a look of great delight, personally helped the kneeling Mo Cheng to his feet.

"You have worked hard, Deacon Mo. I have already notified the Mo Clan to prepare a victory banquet in advance, waiting only for your successful return. I have been looking forward to this, and finally, your report of victory has arrived."

Even though he felt some dissatisfaction with Yun Zimo's blatant display of authority within the Mo Clan, Mo Cheng dared not say anything; instead, he acted flattered and offered repeated thanks.

Three rounds of wine later, as the greatest contributor to this mission and egged on by Yun Zimo's intentional flattery, Mo Cheng felt lightheaded and couldn't help but drink a few extra cups.

"So what if you are the Punishment Hall Master? You are still being kept in the dark by me. Even within the Misty Cloud Sect, I, Mo Cheng..."

Thinking of certain taboo subjects, Mo Cheng drank boisterously with the others in his excitement, but when he inadvertently looked around, he suddenly realized that everyone present consisted solely of core Mo Clan members—the very group involved in the evolution experiments.

Realizing something was wrong, Mo Cheng hurriedly excused himself, claiming he couldn't hold his liquor, and intended to check on the secret chamber.

"Why must you be such a killjoy, Deacon Mo? You are the 'protagonist' today, yet you leave so early. Wouldn't that chill the Hall Master's heart?"

A law enforcement officer chuckled, but Mo Cheng felt that something was deeply amiss.

"Do not make things difficult for Deacon Mo," Yun Zimo said, finishing his last cup of tea. He rose to stand beside the main seat and surveyed the room. "I believe everyone has had their fill today."

Yun Zimo looked at Mo Cheng with a bright smile, raised his hand, and flicked his sleeve, instantly changing into his black-and-white Punishment Hall Master robes.

"Since the protagonist has taken the stage, why hasn't the play begun yet?"

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the entire Mo Clan was instantly shrouded in white mist. Even a Dou Ling expert as strong as Mo Cheng found it difficult to see what was happening before his eyes.

"Fire arrows!"

Even if Mo Cheng was slow, he understood by now that the Punishment Hall had come with ill intent! He roared immediately, and the crossbows from the various watchtowers of the Mo Clan fired instantly. Following several screams, Mo Clan disciples who had been hit by mistake collapsed in agony, their blood flowing to Mo Cheng's feet.

"Damn it!"

The cursed white mist blocked his vision, and Mo Cheng realized that these watchtowers had all been rendered blind. He had no choice but to stop ordering attacks, but he did not know that those firing the crossbows were no longer his own men.

"Yun Zimo! I have respected you as the Punishment Hall Master and have performed many services, but why are you attacking my Mo Clan? At the very least, the Mo Clan is an affiliated force of the Misty Cloud Sect, and I, Mo Cheng, am an outer sect deacon! Are you not afraid of chilling the hearts of other forces by acting so wantonly?!"

Mo Cheng roared into the vast white expanse, knowing that Yun Zimo could see and hear him!

"Five years ago, the Mo Clan slaughtered a household of thirty-eight over a land dispute."

"Four years ago, you killed members of the Jia Clan and used the name of the Misty Cloud Sect to forcibly suppress the matter."

"Four years ago..."

"..."

The voices continuously emanating from the white mist made Mo Cheng's expression increasingly hideous, until he finally let out a roar.

"Enough!"

"Abducting people with unique traits, harvesting their organs..."

A ghostly voice drifted from the white mist once more. Yun Zimo read these out personally, wanting to see what kind of performance this old man would put on next.

"So you weren't here to suppress bandits at all! You've had your eyes on my Mo Clan from the very beginning!"

Mo Cheng gritted his teeth, his face twisted in a snarl.

"I give the Misty Cloud Sect so many benefits every year, and in the end, heh..."

"Deacon Mo, what are you saying? We did indeed come to suppress bandits, but if we are talking about the biggest bandits in the eastern province, isn't that your Mo Clan?"

The law enforcement officer chuckled softly. At this point, there was no need to keep playing the victim.

"You people, you go too far!"

Mo Cheng let out a roar that sounded inhuman. Other Mo Clan members responded with similar bellows, but within moments, they transformed into bizarre, half-human, half-beast monstrosities. The Dou Qi within them surged violently, and their auras became abnormally savage—they no longer resembled humans, but rather some kind of magical beast!

"You refuse to live as proper humans and insist on becoming beasts?"

"Today, it is fated that your Mo Clan shall be exterminated!"

Yun Zimo shook his head, tilted his head, and whispered to the side.

"Everyone, you have all seen clearly what this Mo Clan is made of, haven't you?"

"Sigh, I truly did not expect this. Mo Cheng, you have openly violated imperial law and harmed the empire's talents. Based on our many years of friendship, I originally wanted to plead with the Hall Master on your behalf."

City Lord Mo's voice rang out. If the Mo Clan hadn't committed such grave crimes, he wouldn't have wanted to show his face, but things were different now.

"Indeed, you are truly a fool!"

"Sigh..."

Several more sighs echoed out. Hearing those familiar voices from within the white mist, the veins on Mo Cheng's forehead bulged. He could tolerate the people from the other three great clans, but these fellows who had eaten so many benefits from the Mo Clan on a daily basis were now kicking him while he was down!

"Die!"

With horns sprouting from his head and his hands tearing into claws, Mo Cheng stomped his feet. With a boom and shattered floor tiles, he lunged like a cannonball toward the source of the voices, only to tear apart a fellow Mo Clan member who had transformed into a half-beast.

"Yun Zimo! If you have the guts, come out and fight me fairly! Even if I die, I will not die in such a stifling manner!"

"Very well!"

To Mo Cheng's surprise, Yun Zimo, who had remained silent until now, actually responded. The next second, the white mist before him truly began to dissipate, but upon seeing the situation before him, his face turned deathly pale.

"Ugh, how hideous!"

Surrounding Yun Zimo were nothing but experts at the Dou Ling level, the very pillars of their respective clans and families in the region. Yet, seeing Mo Cheng in this half-human, half-ghost state, even these veterans of many battles couldn't help but retch.

"You... ah!"

Mo Cheng let out a furious roar as he looked at the Mo Clan disciples lying dead in heaps across the ground. These were the geniuses his Mo Clan had spent over a decade and countless resources to cultivate!

"Alright everyone, send him on his way!"

A Dou Ling-ranked enforcement officer called out, stepping forward with strange, agile footwork to close in on Mo Cheng. The others followed suit, and in an instant, the combined attacks of over a dozen Dou Ling experts rained down upon Mo Cheng.

"Roar!"

Cornered and beaten by so many Dou Ling, Mo Cheng let out a stifled, enraged howl. His form shifted once more, a bull-headed monster three or four zhang tall rising from the ground, swatting away a Dou Ling who had charged forward with a single swipe.

"Damn it! This old bastard is at the peak of the Dou Ling realm now!"

The green-robed Dou Ling couldn't help but curse. He glanced back at the composed Yun Zimo, gritted his teeth, and joined the others in the siege once more.

"Whether I can get into the good graces of the Misty Cloud Sect depends on this!"

"Roar! I hate this! My Mo Clan's decades of planning! Destroyed by your hand in a single day! Yun Zimo! Roar!"

Even with his strength forcibly elevated to the peak of the Dou Ling realm, Mo Cheng could not withstand the combined assault of over a dozen Dou Ling, nor the high-level Dou Grandmaster enforcement officers who would occasionally land a strike on him.

Finally, his eyes bloodshot, Mo Cheng exhausted everything within his body, condensing it into a single strike comparable to that of a Dou King.

"Earth-Shaking Mountain-Breaking Claw!"

Mo Cheng's left arm was severed at the root, the limb of a magical beast flying through the air with immense pressure as it slammed toward Yun Zimo.

"Hall Master, watch out! That is the left arm of a Tier 5 magical beast, the Blazing Mountain-Breaking Rhino!"

The green-robed Dou Ling gritted his teeth and lunged forward, hoping to intercept it, but the enforcement officers were faster. Whether wielding swords or blades, their attempts to hack it down failed to stop it in the slightest. Just as he prepared to take the blow with his own body, Yun Zimo brushed him aside with a gentle gust of palm wind.

"If I brought you here to handle business, would I let you go to your deaths?"

Yun Zimo chuckled softly, then his entire figure was swallowed by layers of rising smoke.

"BOOM!"

"SWISH!"

A sharp sword light cut through the billowing smoke, instantly slicing diagonally through Mo Cheng's body. With a loud crash, the building behind Mo Cheng exploded, shattering into a pile of rubble.

"Urgh, urgh, urgh..."

Mo Cheng could no longer utter a single word. His body split like a chopped log and collapsed to both sides, the mirror-smooth cuts only then beginning to spill blood across the ground.

"Ha... Hall Master?"

The crowd nearby swallowed hard, staring at the spot where the smoke had cleared. A fiery red arm lay limply on the ground, while not a speck of dust touched Yun Zimo's robes. His expression remained indifferent, as if he had merely performed a trivial task.

"You are quite capable. Are you the ancestor of the Ye Clan?"

Yun Zimo nodded toward the green-robed Dou Ling, his tone of slight praise making the man feel flattered.

"This Humble One is Ye Liang; I am unworthy of such praise from the Hall Master."

Yun Zimo gave a light hum, then left the cleanup of the corpses to them while he walked toward the Mo Clan's secret chamber.

"This, this, this..."

Bo Er, the Lord of Salt City, gazed at the Mo Clan's secret chamber, which resembled a purgatory. He knew his political career was finished, but he hurriedly filed a report, hoping for leniency from his superiors.

"A single Dou Ling clan is already such a malignant tumor, heh..."

Yun Zimo sighed inwardly. He knew there was no need to investigate further; digging any deeper might implicate certain people within the Imperial Capital or even on Misty Cloud Mountain.

I am truly not suited for the political life...

"Hall Master, Hall Master, please, have mercy, have..."

An old, startled cry came from afar, but the speaker choked mid-sentence, unable to say another word.

"Oh? Elder Ge Ye, what were you saying? Have mercy on what?"

Yun Zimo held an arm in his hand, tilting his head to look at the frozen, stunned Ge Ye who had come sprinting over. He asked with a faint smile.

Ge Ye stared at the rows of corpses on the ground, at Yun Zimo's nonchalant attitude toward the massacre behind him, and at the half-human, half-beast corpse of his own disciple, Mo Ling. He swallowed hard and gave a dry laugh.

"N-nothing, nothing at all. I was merely following the Sect Master's orders to come with Master Gu He to see if there was anything we could help with."

Only then did Yun Zimo notice the flying magical beast in the distance and Gu He walking toward them. His eyes narrowed slightly, his expression unreadable...

What exactly does Sister Yun mean by sending these two here?