Vast Blade Art at Mastery

Mei Ye took the tissue Captain Jiang handed him and expressionlessly wiped the grease stains from his body one by one.

The teammates around him lowered their heads and said nothing.

Yes, that unlucky Demon Suppression Bureau officer had been him.

After wiping the grime from his neck, he glanced at the men around him, quiet as ostriches, his gaze cold.

Hadn't they just been bragging about being crime's worst enemy?

That was it?

They didn't apologize or explain, and you weren't going to pursue it or ask questions?

Mei Ye was deeply disappointed. The Demon Suppression Bureau was nothing special after all.

A surge of anger rose in his heart, and he reached for his saber.

Smack!

A rough palm clamped around Mei Ye's wrist like an iron hoop.

"Little Mei."

Captain Jiang leaned over from beside him, gravity showing through his drunken face.

"This isn't your business."

He warned Mei Ye in a low voice, "You've only just entered the system. You don't understand the taboos of officialdom yet."

"I have to tell you that some people in North River cannot be offended. Those people just now are covered by the Official Protection Amulet!"

Captain Jiang suddenly exerted force. The power of his higher realm dragged Mei Ye's slender hand away from his saber and closer to the delicious spread of food.

He brought over a cup of yellow wine and solemnly held it before Mei Ye, speaking earnestly.

"Drink and eat properly. You'll have plenty of good days ahead, so don't go looking for trouble."

"Right, right, right! Don't ruin the mood!"

Seeing their captain speak, the surrounding teammates smiled and chimed in together.

It wasn't worth it. It really wasn't worth it.

So many tragedies happened every day in this kind of world.

Did they have to deal with every single one?

For just a few thousand a month?

Mei Ye looked at the finely carved wine cup, then swept his eyes over the teammates urging him to drink.

He lowered his head, his gaze stopping in midair.

[Vast Blade Art: Beginner]

"Captain..."

he said quietly.

"You're right..."

Captain Jiang smiled at that.

"Come, come, everyone eat!"

Seeing Mei Ye grow quiet, Captain Jiang set down his worries and called out loudly.

In officialdom, reading the wind and bowing one's head in compromise were common things.

That was the only way to go far.

He believed that a promising young man like Mei Ye would eventually learn this and understand his good intentions.

Whoosh—!

Captain Jiang was raising his cup to have a drink with Mei Ye when the rim had barely touched his lips. A blur flashed before his eyes, and the wind it stirred lifted the tablecloth.

In an instant, the young man before him had vanished.

Captain Jiang froze. When he and the others looked over, the saber beside the table was gone, and a tall, aloof figure was walking away.

"Little Mei...!"

Captain Jiang's face changed drastically. He stood up, no longer caring about his drink.

But Mei Ye kept walking forward. With a wave of his hand, the doors flew open. The night wind swept the chill of the street inside, sending the hem of his uniform fluttering. He looked as carefree as a wandering swordsman.

"I don't want to concern myself with other people's lives."

Mei Ye's voice drifted from ahead, calm as an ancient well.

"But... they ruined my appetite."

[Vast Blade Art: Mastery!]

"Little lady, don't worry. Our young master will spare your life."

Cheng Guang's black sedan was parked by the roadside, its doors wide open and its interior pitch-black. Several men hauled a woman to the car, about to stuff her inside.

The surrounding pedestrians saw the scene and fled as though avoiding disaster. No one dared spare it another glance, afraid of getting dragged into it.

Deng Bai coldly ordered everyone into the car. He took out his phone, about to report to his young master, but just as his fingertip touched the screen, a chill suddenly crept up the back of his neck.

A cold sensation struck his nose, his hairs stood on end, and he instinctively leaped backward.

In an instant,

several flashes of silver light streaked past. Before the lackeys could even see who had attacked them, they clutched their stomachs and collapsed in a heap!

The woman who had been captured was also seized by a tremendous force and staggered backward behind a tall, straight figure.

The man had green hair and wore a Demon Suppression Bureau uniform. A long saber rested in his hand as he looked indifferently at Deng Bai and the others, as though they were talking corpses.

"Who are you?"

Deng Bai swept his eyes over his fallen lackeys, fury rising within him.

The woman behind Mei Ye also looked at him in surprise and curiosity. When she saw his trainee Demon Suppression Bureau uniform, a strange mix of gratitude and emotion appeared on her face.

"I was eating here today..."

Mei Ye stared at Deng Bai.

"It should have been a pretty happy day, but you ruined it."

"So what?" Deng Bai glanced at Mei Ye's filthy green uniform, puzzled. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who I work for?"

"You can get lost now. I'm handling this."

Standing before the woman, Mei Ye issued his ultimatum.

It was as though he were warning Deng Bai.

"What?" Deng Bai's face turned livid. After all these years in North River, someone actually dared speak to him like that.

Didn't he know Iron-Blood Hand Deng Bai?

"Kid, I'll give you one last chance. Tell me, who the hell are you!"

Deng Bai still held himself back at the last moment. This brat was so arrogant that there had to be something strange about him.

Perhaps he was some big shot's pawn.

Mei Ye did not answer Deng Bai. He merely gripped his saber.

The Demon Suppression Bureau's saber was quite good. It cut people of the same realm very smoothly.

"Excellent. I'll send you straight to hell!"

Deng Bai was completely enraged. His face flushed red as he shouted. Qi exploded around his body, blowing the buttons off his shirt and exposing bulging muscles. His Qi spread outward, and a terrifying aura swept through the space.

"Secretary Deng! Show mercy!"

Captain Jiang rushed out of the restaurant, shouting anxiously.

"Too late! If you dare provoke the Qilin Dragon Group, even ten heads won't be enough!"

Deng Bai saw Captain Jiang, but his Qi continued to erupt, his eyes glaring wide as bronze bells.

He had to kill this brat and let all of North River see that anyone who went against the Qilin Dragon Group would meet no good end!

Deng Bai charged forward, tearing through the air and appearing before Mei Ye in the blink of an eye. His arm suddenly turned white, gleaming like steel under moonlight.

He grinned viciously, as though he could already see Mei Ye's skull being split apart.

Back then, it was this very technique that had caught the Qilin Dragon Group chairman's eye, allowing him to eliminate countless opponents for the chairman.

As the Qilin Dragon Group expanded, his fearsome reputation had spread throughout Jiangbei City. Everyone knew his name!

Though he had fallen behind the times, he was still the terror of North River—

Iron-Blood Hand! Deng Bai!

Facing Deng Bai's raised white hand, Mei Ye did not even blink.

Though Deng Bai's momentum was overwhelming and his pressure immense, Mei Ye was completely confident, as if his opponent were nothing but a paper tiger.

He fiercely slapped the scabbard. The long saber shot free with a swish, propelled by the strike to the end of the sheath. Its cold gleam instantly eclipsed the streetlights, draining the world of color.

The woman behind him opened her mouth and ran, trying to scream.

But before her first syllable emerged, the blade's cry arrived first.

Clang—!

The blade let out a clear dragonlike ring as dazzling saber light slashed forward.

Mei Ye drew first, cutting his saber across Deng Bai's shoulder.

Deng Bai's pupils contracted. His body instinctively recoiled, but the blade still sliced through his clothes.

Squelch!

He pulled back his white iron hand, which dangled limply at his side. Blood sprayed from his shoulder, twisting his features in agony and opening his mouth wide enough to fit an apple.

"Vast Blade Art at Mastery!"

Captain Jiang, sharp-eyed as ever, pointed at Mei Ye with a trembling hand.

Hadn't that brat only learned it today?

He could actually use it on the very same day!

Had he been putting on an act for me?

Deng Bai staggered backward again and again, his heels grinding two black streaks into the concrete. His pupils shook violently.

But seeing him in such a pathetic state, Mei Ye pressed forward and kicked him squarely in the chest with a muffled thud.

Deng Bai flew backward like a ball and crashed into a wall, sending flakes of plaster raining down.

He groaned and rolled to the ground, vomiting blood. His mind spun so wildly that he could not tell which way was up.

But the danger had not passed. His hairs stood on end, and he sprang to his feet, wildly raising his iron hand to block.

Clang—

The ring of metal collided with the gasps of the surrounding crowd.

Mei Ye slashed repeatedly, his saber shadows weaving into a silver net. Every strike targeted a vital point, so fast that his movements could not be seen.

Deng Bai barely managed to defend himself. His white hand met the long saber head-on, while several wounds appeared across his body.

Splat!

A huge gash opened across Deng Bai's abdomen, blood instantly soaking through his clothes. Clutching his stomach, he doubled over like a shrimp, sucking in breaths through the pain.

Mei Ye followed with another kick, striking his side. Deng Bai flew sideways, blood spraying from his mouth like the tail of a carp.

"Secretary Deng!"

Captain Jiang clutched his head and shouted.

Things had changed too quickly. The person he was worried about had become someone else.

Deng Bai rolled across the ground, his breath weak and his bones shattered. When he saw the anxious Captain Jiang, a glimmer suddenly returned to his eyes, as if he had found a lifeline.

"Captain Jiang! We've eaten together before, remember?"

Spitting blood and slurring his words, Deng Bai begged Captain Jiang for help.

Captain Jiang snapped out of his shock and hurriedly nodded.

"Little Mei, show mercy!"

But the moment Captain Jiang finished speaking, Mei Ye had already arrived at Deng Bai's side.

"Those who attack Demon Suppression Bureau officers may be met with legitimate self-defense by Demon Suppression Bureau officers!"

Mei Ye raised his hand and brought down the saber. The blade flashed so quickly that only an afterimage remained as it swept across Deng Bai's neck.

Squelch!

Deng Bai's expression froze, the light fading from his eyes as a line of blood appeared on his neck.

His head fell off with ease and rolled across the ground.

[Eliminated an early Qi Gathering Realm martial artist. Merit Points +2100!]

After seeing that he had taken down someone who had attacked him without cause, Mei Ye nodded in satisfaction.

He returned the saber to its sheath with a crisp click. His expression remained calm, not even a frown on his face, as though he had merely killed a rat.

But everyone around him had already been frightened stiff.

For a moment, the scene fell silent.

"All right, Captain Jiang. Let's get back to eating."

After a long while, Mei Ye spoke calmly to Captain Jiang.

Captain Jiang looked at Mei Ye's relaxed face, then at the corpse in two pieces on the ground, and finally came to his senses.

"Still eating? Eat my ass!"

Captain Jiang stomped hard, his face flushed red with anxiety.

"You little bastard!"

"This is outrageous!"

Wei Wushuang slammed his palm onto the table. The teacup rattled and jumped, tea spilling across the tabletop. Captain Jiang trembled in fright, but Mei Ye beside him remained expressionless.

Wei Wushuang rose to his feet, glaring furiously at Mei Ye and pointing at him as he shouted.

"Do you know who he was before you killed him?"

"I didn't."

Mei Ye faced Wei Wushuang calmly, his eyes without the slightest ripple.

"You didn't?" Wei Wushuang laughed in anger. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll tell you, so you can die knowing. That man was Deng Bai, a dog of the Qilin Dragon Group."

"You know even a dog is protected by its owner, don't you? What's more, you killed one of their dogs!"

Qilin Dragon Group was a star enterprise in North River, contributing the vast majority of its tax revenue.

They had connections in both the underworld and the official world, and were deeply entangled with the local authorities.

"So it was them."

Mei Ye said, though no one knew what he was thinking.

"Lawless!"

Wei Wushuang grew even angrier when he saw Mei Ye's indifferent expression.

He had originally thought the brat was merely arrogant because of his talent. He had never expected him to be so contemptuous of the law!

"You think you're such hot shit, huh?" Wei Wushuang paced as he spoke. "Even the dogs I've seen are a hell of a lot better than you."

"As an official, you need to go with the flow." Wei Wushuang stared straight at Mei Ye. "You may be a genius now, but that may not be true in the future. Qilin Dragon Group could kill you with ridiculous ease."

At that moment, Wei Wushuang began to regret bringing Mei Ye over.

But considering Mei Ye's youth and exceptional talent, Wei Wushuang decided to give him one more chance.

"Now go get some thorny branches and head to the chairman of Qilin Dragon Group's house to apologize with thorns on your back."

Silence. Only silence answered Wei Wushuang.

Mei Ye looked at Wei Wushuang expressionlessly without saying a word, but his meaning could not have been clearer.

He wasn't going.

"Young people shouldn't be so hotheaded!"

Wei Wushuang roared, his face red as he slammed his fist onto the desk. Captain Jiang was so frightened that he barely dared breathe, cold sweat streaming down his back.

"Fuck your mother..."

Feeling that his authority had been challenged, Wei Wushuang angrily pulled off his hundred-thousand-yuan belt.

Beep, beep—

The red direct line on the desk rang urgently, its piercing tone interrupting Wei Wushuang's movement.

Mei Ye and Captain Jiang were both startled, turning to look at the special phone on the desk.

Wei Wushuang's expression changed. It seemed something important had come up. He shot Mei Ye a vicious glare, quickly fastened his belt again, and grabbed the receiver.

"This is Wei Wushuang."

Wei Wushuang straightened his back, but within mere seconds, his calm, stern expression turned to disbelief and shock.

Wei Wushuang's hands trembled, and the knuckles gripping the receiver turned faintly white.

"...Understood, Mayor. I'll take people over to provide support immediately."

After quickly hanging up, Wei Wushuang no longer showed any of his earlier anger. All that remained was the grim solemnity of an approaching storm.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. After a long while, he looked at the two people in the room.

Under the commander's stern gaze, Captain Jiang instinctively stood at attention and puffed out his chest.

"Right now, immediately assemble everyone."

Wei Wushuang looked at the two of them and spoke in a grave tone.

"We're going to Big Stone County to assist with flood control."

"Big Stone County has flooded, and the levee has burst."

"A rat infestation is spreading. We're going there to eliminate the rats."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the office instantly grew heavy.