One Sword, Instant Kill—And You Think You're the Strongest Sequence, Part 20

Su Xing watched the academy master's departing figure and understood in his heart that although the master claimed he had come down to practice swordsmanship, he had clearly noticed some problems in Su Xing's training and come to guide him.

So Su Xing silently watched the academy master disappear before tightening his grip on his sword and once again drilling the "Thrust" technique over and over.

In the blink of an eye, dusk arrived.

Su Xing set down his heavy sword and leaned against the sword rack. His arms were weak and numb, yet the corners of his mouth could not help but curl into a smile.

Every time he thrust, a notification popped up before his eyes: [Class Skill: Thrust EXP +1]. The feeling was simply incredible. Even though he was drenched in sweat, he did not feel tired at all.

Su Xing glanced at the dusk on the horizon. Just as he was about to return to his room for something to eat, he suddenly heard the sound of two people walking inside. Their footsteps went patter, patter, and soon they appeared before him.

When Su Yu and Shen Ruyun saw Su Xing, they greeted him.

"Hey, bro. Good afternoon."

"Hello, Brother Su."

Hearing their voices, Su Xing turned to look at them and said with a smile, "It's almost dark. Are you heading out now?"

Su Yu wore a dark gray tracksuit top and denim shorts. Without even blinking, he blurted out a lie. "Yeah... Classmate Shen's having her period and wants to buy something at the supermarket. I'm just going with her since it's on the way. It isn't safe for a girl to go alone."

"Mm..."

A faint blush spread across Shen Ruyun's clean, delicate face. At Su Yu's words, her entire body suddenly stiffened. She looked at the ice cream in her hand and took another lick before slowly nodding.

Su Xing merely glanced at them, then took a towel from the sword rack and casually wiped away the beads of sweat hanging from his body. "Then hurry back after you're done shopping. It'll be dark soon."

"Got it, bro!"

[Cang City's Southern District Sees Another Murder!]

[One victim. Their limbs were broken by brute force, and they died tragically in their home. There was a large hole in the corpse's back, and all internal organs were missing. The suspect's whereabouts are currently unknown. Citizens are advised not to go out at night and to protect their personal safety.]

Not long after the two left, a message suddenly popped up on Su Xing's phone. He picked it up and glanced at it. Once he confirmed it was not related to the factory incident but an entirely new murder case, he put his phone back into his pocket.

The Spirit Cult has made a move again?

Su Yu and Shen Ruyun probably went out because of this too.

In Cang City's Southern District, the building housing the special organization was the tallest and largest structure in the entire district. From far away, one could see the towering building shaped like a sharp blade.

That alone was enough to show

just how much expectation the authorities had placed on this newly established department.

Although this building was enormous,

security at the entrance was extremely strict.

Other than members of the organization, no one could enter.

Even people from other government departments, merely because they belonged to different systems, could not enter the building. So despite its size, there were not many people inside.

In a glass conference room at the very end of the second floor, Su Yu, Shen Ruyun, Wang Yu, Liu Ming, and several Sequence users working in Cang City's Southern District were seated. There were around fifteen people in total.

They were either important figures in the organization, highly renowned geniuses, or people sent by headquarters. In any case, every one of them was extremely important.

At that moment, Liu Ming sat at the head of the table, his hands clasped beneath his head and his brows tightly furrowed as though he were pondering something.

Over the past few days, their special department had done everything it could to crack down on the Spirit Cult. But the Spirit Cult was like a bunch of rats. When they moved out, the cult fled. When they withdrew, the cult followed. This style of fighting had left the entire special department exhausted.

What Liu Ming feared least was the Spirit Cult openly stepping forward to fight them.

What he feared was the Spirit Cult playing this game of retreating when the enemy advanced. It put the special department in an extremely passive position. They could only guard the city day and night, doing their best to reduce civilian casualties, yet deaths and injuries had still occurred.

Every time he saw news reports of ordinary residents having their organs hollowed out, he felt as though he had swallowed a lump of brown feces—disgusting and unbearable—because it meant he had failed in his duties.

Seeing Liu Ming's expression, the others did not know what to say.

Because they had no effective solution to offer.

After a long while, Liu Ming slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He rubbed his temples with both hands, rousing his exhausted nerves a little before speaking in an unhurried tone. "Has there been any progress on the mysterious expert?"

Their special department had already tracked down the factory and learned that the mysterious expert had made another move, killing a great many Spirit Cult members. However, since most of the dead were cult members, the news had not reported it.

This made Liu Ming want to recruit the mysterious expert.

After all, his actions had made it clear that he stood against the Spirit Cult.

The enemy of one's enemy was a friend. Liu Ming understood that simple principle well enough. Besides... the mysterious expert's strength had far exceeded his expectations.

Liu Ming had already learned from Shen Ruyun that the mysterious expert was most likely a martial artist.

A martial artist capable of killing a second-tier Sequence user would already rank among the stronger members of their group of more than a dozen people, purely in terms of strength. Not to mention his status as a martial artist.

If this information were sent back to Cang City headquarters, they would certainly do everything they could to recruit the mysterious powerhouse.

"Progress... there hasn't been much."

"We investigated every sword academy, martial arts school, and all kinds of dojos in this area that had any connection to martial arts, but we found nothing related to the mysterious expert."

"If we really had to name someone, only this person has the possibility of becoming a martial artist. But whether he is that mysterious expert, I can't say for sure."

Wang Yu read through the report he had compiled. Only after reaching the last sentence did he walk over to Liu Ming and hand him the report.

This sword academy...

When Liu Ming saw the name of the academy and the portrait of the old man above it, he froze for a moment. He then looked at Su Yu, turned back to Wang Yu, and asked, "Are you sure it's him?"

[Cang City Southern Sword Academy]

[Academy Master: Li Xianyi]

[Instructors Under Him: Su Xing, Song Xiufeng, Pang Yuanji...]

[Personal Honors: Two-time National Kendo Athlete Tournament Champion, four-time National Swordsman Tournament Champion, World Kendo Tournament Champion...]

Liu Ming looked over the information Wang Yu had gathered and pondered it for a while.

Kendo was a relatively niche competitive sport in Xia Nation, so he truly had not known that Li Xianyi had been so formidable in his younger years. There was a long list of championships after championships. He could be considered one of the best in the field.

If someone like him had encountered the resurgence of spiritual energy and eventually become a martial artist, it would not be strange at all.

But Liu Ming felt he could not make such a judgment so easily. After remaining silent for a moment, he said to Wang Yu, "Investigate more thoroughly."

"Yes."

Wang Yu took back the report, tucked it beneath his arm, and replied.

Seeing Wang Yu agree, Liu Ming thought for a moment before speaking to Su Yu again. "Xiao Yu, keep an eye on this old athlete in your daily life. See if there's anything unusual about him."

After saying that,

he hurriedly added another reminder. "This investigation is meant to find the mysterious expert and cooperate with him, so be polite. Don't make him think we're hostile."

To be honest,

Liu Ming had worked in this line of business for years.

He knew that some old men, or people who liked to keep a low profile, would rather die than let others learn their true identities.

If the mysterious expert had not been so valuable, he would not have wanted his people investigating him.

Because this kind of investigation... could easily make others feel offended. One careless mistake could sour the relationship between both sides, so Liu Ming had no choice but to reiterate the main purpose of this investigation.

Everyone indicated that they understood.

Then Liu Ming waved his hand and dismissed them. Before long, the conference room was quiet again. Only Liu Ming remained seated, staring blankly at the bright moon outside as he continued thinking about everything that had happened recently.

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon of the next day.

The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Scorching sunlight shone upon the ground, while occasional patches of dusky yellow light filtered into the sword academy, making Su Xing, who was teaching an online class, feel slightly itchy.

He scratched himself, then smiled and said, "Class is over, everyone."

"Goodbye, Coach Su!"

As the farewells fell, the student avatars in the online classroom rapidly disappeared. Soon, only Su Xing and one girl remained.

This girl looked somewhat like Liu Shiyu, though she was slightly taller, around one meter sixty-something. In Su Xing's memory, the two had a good relationship. When he had asked where Liu Shiyu was during the previous class, she had been the first to answer him.

Her name was Lu Anning. Apparently, she was a kendo athlete at her school, which was why she had signed up for kendo classes for extra training. She was also one of the more diligent students in class.