Mystic Art Control: Zhou Xian Forces the Issue!

"But..." Su Chen soon began muttering to himself again. "Even hunting down three more second-rank professionals won't be easy."

Killing Qi Chuan had looked routine, but in truth, he had only succeeded with the help of the Inspection Department.

Moreover, second-rank professionals were already the backbone of Southwind City. Someone like Hu Xiang—if he died, even the department head would investigate, unless he had problems like Qi Chuan.

[After completing the advancement, you may continue hunting]

The panel answered his doubts, and only then did Su Chen relax.

"The power of the Weird God... If I want to obtain that kind of power, I'll have to deal with them again in the future." Thinking of this, Su Chen could not help but feel uneasy.

For now, it was the only thing capable of actively triggering a class change.

It would be a lie to say he did not covet it, but it was also highly dangerous and difficult to explain to others.

"I'll take it one step at a time." Su Chen temporarily put it out of his mind.

"Training makes me happy..."

He downed a bottle each of Blackflame Potion and Revitalizing Potion, paired them with a Glazed Blood Potion, and entered the gravity chamber.

"Training makes me happy..."

[Dual Focus] activated. He assumed a stance, and pain began stabbing through every part of his body.

He could see the progress of his various training methods and classes rising on the panel. That immediate feedback was also a psychological advantage.

Class development was no laughing matter. The hardship and pain involved constantly wore away at one's willpower.

Killing Qi Chuan and discovering the weird artifact had seemed to cause quite a stir.

Yet over the following period, no one came looking for him.

For a full seven or eight days, Su Chen shut himself in his room. Apart from sleeping, he worked on developing his class progress, draining potion after potion until every last one was gone.

"Mm..." Su Chen's eyelids twitched. His head turned cold, and his mental power churned endlessly.

[Mystic Artificer development reached 50%, awakened ability—Mystic Art Enhancement: Other class abilities may be applied to controlled mystic arts]

"Mystic Art Enhancement?" Su Chen withdrew his stance, breathing heavily as he read the panel's description.

His heart stirred. A cyan iron cable appeared in his hand, and he followed his instincts.

Gradually, wisps of cyan airflow gathered around the iron cable and attached themselves to it.

"So it really works..." Su Chen's eyes filled with surprise as he applied the power of [Wind Erosion] to it.

When he tried swinging it, its speed increased by more than a notch, and its destructive power rose considerably as well.

"Tsk, my two classes are starting to complement each other."

After playing around for a while, Su Chen was in a good mood. It was not just the Mystic Artificer class—his other improvements were also quite significant.

[Sky-Rending Warrior: 76%]

[Body-Strengthening Training Method—Proficient: 40%]

[Hellflame Meditation Method—Proficient: 60%]

The training method and meditation method were already within reach of the master level. Their rapid advancement was entirely thanks to the [Glazed Blood Potion].

"No wonder even Ying Feng coveted this stuff."

Su Chen licked his lips. Unfortunately, not only was he out of Glazed Blood Potion now, all his other potions were gone as well.

Without potion support, his efficiency immediately slowed. He decided to have a chat with his esteemed teacher.

The moment he stepped out of his room, Su Chen sensed that something was off. He ran into quite a few mid- and high-ranking officials, all hurrying about with grave expressions.

"Brother Sun?"

From a distance, Su Chen called out to the unmistakable Fatty Sun.

"Little brother?" Fatty Sun, whose face had been gloomy, immediately broke into a brilliant smile and hurried over. "You finally decided to come out. I've never seen such a resilient young man. The younger generation truly deserves respect."

Ignoring his flattery, Su Chen quietly asked, "What's going on? Did something happen?"

"You really don't know?"

Fatty Sun quietly pulled Su Chen into a corner and lowered his voice. "These past few days, the Inspector General has practically gone mad. He's turned the Inspection Department, Patrol Department, Exploration Department, and Internal Affairs Hall upside down looking for Weird God cultists."

"People outside are already complaining bitterly."

Su Chen's brow twitched. "Teacher's being that intense?"

Could it be because of that weird artifact from last time?

After Old Yuan discovered it was an empty shell, he had kept shouting that Southwind City was doomed. Once he returned, he launched this massive investigation.

"Isn't that the truth?" Fatty Sun sighed. "The City Lord isn't here, Minister Feng isn't here, and Minister Jiang hasn't said a word. Inspector General Yuan is practically the biggest authority around."

Jiang Rong was keeping silent? Su Chen's eyes flickered as he asked, "About Qi Chuan..."

"Shh..." Fatty Sun hurriedly grabbed him. "No one knows."

Su Chen understood. It seemed that no one outside knew about the weird artifact.

Fatty Sun changed the subject. "The others aren't pushovers either. It hasn't even been ten days, and Zhou Xian has already joined forces with several deputy ministers to make trouble."

"Did they find any Weird God cultists?" Su Chen asked.

"They found a few." There was no joy on Fatty Sun's face. "But they were all small fry. Even normally, they catch a few every year, and some of them had already been under internal surveillance."

Su Chen understood. Old Yuan had made such a huge fuss but failed to achieve the results he should have. Naturally, the others would not let it go.

On the top floor of the Inspection Department, Yuan Chenyang stared coldly at the people before him.

Zhou Xian's face was flushed red as he repeatedly roared, "What exactly are you trying to do?!"

"The whole city is in chaos! Everyone is terrified!"

"Better that everyone be terrified than that everyone be buried with it!" Yuan Chenyang said in a deep voice.

"Stop spouting that bullshit! Southwind City isn't yours to bear on your shoulders alone!" Zhou Xian shot back without the slightest fear. "When will this investigation end? If you can't give us an explanation today, then arrest us too!"

"That way, the people below won't think we're all cowards who are afraid of you!"

The deputy ministers and senior officials from the other departments stood behind Zhou Xian, their expressions equally displeased.

"You want an explanation?" Yuan Chenyang abruptly rose to his feet. His icy aura forced everyone back a step. "I'll give you one!"

"Come with me!"

He strode out directly. The others exchanged glances, while Zhou Xian snorted and followed close behind.

The group made their way to the deep-level morgue of the Inspection Department, where eerie white mist hung in the air.

Bang!

Yuan Chenyang pulled out a corpse drawer. Zhou Xian frowned slightly, and only after a long while did he hesitantly say, "This is... Qi Chuan?"

He was really dead!

Zhou Xian was far less calm inside than he appeared. Qi Chuan had been missing for days, and he had long suspected as much.

"What's the point of showing us a dead man?" Zhou Xian asked unhappily.

Yuan Chenyang stared straight at him. Only after a long silence did he say, "He isn't important. What matters is that he was carrying a weird artifact that is now empty."

"What?!" Someone behind Zhou Xian was shocked. "An empty weird artifact?"

Zhou Xian's face paled in horror. His reaction seemed right, yet also somehow wrong.

How could it be... empty!?

"Can we take a look?"

At once, the confidence of the deputy ministers was far weaker than when they had arrived.

Yuan Chenyang shoved the corpse drawer back in, then led everyone back to his office. He casually took a metal box from a drawer and tossed it out.

Thud!

The object hit the floor, but no one dared pick it up. Their faces twitched.

This was a weird artifact, and he had just kept it in a drawer?

"I told you, it's an empty shell." Yuan Chenyang sounded unconcerned.

Zhou Xian was the first to pick it up. He examined it carefully, wearing a puzzled expression, but inwardly, he grew increasingly alarmed.

What was going on? It really was empty?

The priest had said the holy artifact had vanished. So the power inside it was gone—but where had it gone?

What exactly had Qi Chuan done?!

"This was found on Qi Chuan. Where did the power stored within it go?" Yuan Chenyang swept his gaze over the crowd, his tone forceful. "Perhaps Black Tuo will sacrifice all of Southwind City in the next moment!"

"And yet you people are still here demanding answers from me!?"

The crowd fell silent. After Yuan Chenyang had led them around by the nose, combined with the existence of the weird artifact, they had completely lost the aggressive momentum they had arrived with.

But someone quickly reacted. "But you've been investigating for so long and still haven't found any trace. If there truly were major movements underway, they couldn't possibly be so hidden."

"Perhaps this thing was empty from the start."

"Or perhaps..." Zhou Xian suddenly spoke up. "The thief is crying thief."

Yuan Chenyang narrowed his eyes and said flatly, "Think whatever you want. This is my evidence. Bring out your evidence, and I'm willing to submit to arrest."

"Don't think Southwind City has always been your domain." Zhou Xian gave him a deep look, set down the weird artifact, and turned to leave.

The deputy ministers exchanged glances, then left awkwardly as well.

After leaving the Inspection Department, Zhou Xian did not even greet anyone before getting into a car and departing. At last, his cheeks began trembling uncontrollably.

"Su Chen..." He practically squeezed the name out of his throat. He had received word when Qi Chuan was captured, but at first, he had only thought it was Su Chen taking revenge after making a comeback.

But he had never expected things to reach this point for no apparent reason. The weird artifact that had been hidden for so long had been exposed, and it had even become an empty shell.

"What... happened?!"

Yuan Chenyang rubbed his brow. In truth, he was equally confused. "What exactly is going on? There are no signs of any major operation anywhere in Southwind City."

"They must have used the power within the weird artifact to do something."

A head cautiously poked out from the stairwell. It was Su Chen.

He had not wanted to show himself in front of Zhou Xian, so he only came up after the man had left.