"Who was responsible for patrolling this stretch?" Yuan Chou's gaze swept across the crowd.
A Cloud River Realm cultivator stepped out and cupped his fists. "Martial Uncle, I was."
"Be sure to patrol more thoroughly from now on. Nothing like this can happen again."
"Yes!" the cultivator answered, though he looked as if he wanted to say more.
Yuan Chou frowned. "Speak if you have something to say."
The cultivator said, "Martial Uncle, every time I patrol, I am exceptionally careful, especially in the water. I do not dare overlook anything. Just yesterday, I inspected this section of the river, and there was nothing unusual."
"No excuses." Yuan Chou rebuked him sternly. "Water monsters are often skilled in Concealment. It is only natural that you might have missed something. Since this monster appeared here and destroyed the embankment, the fault is yours. It cannot be that someone deliberately threw this monster here to harm the mortals under Clear Spring Sect's rule. If not for that Crimson Blood Sect disciple this time, Lou City fifty li away would surely have been lost. Tens of thousands of mortals would then have..."
As he spoke, Yuan Chou's expression suddenly shifted. He raised his eyes and glanced in the direction Lu Ye had left.
That Lu Ye was already at Tier Nine of the Cloud River Realm. The direction he had departed in... was the direction of Vast Sky City.
Had he accepted Vast Sky City's summons and been heading there to report?
As Yuan Chou knew, once a summons was issued, the time limit was never long. Missing the deadline was no laughing matter. The Province Guards of every province operated like the military; military orders stood as firm as mountains, and the law allowed no mercy. If Lu Ye failed to reach