Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate

Even Tian Yuan had heard nothing about the operation the night before.

At present, the Sunflame Sect's local establishment held supreme power in Thousand Chimes Commandery City.

The so-called Four Great Families were, in fact, all subordinate to the Sunflame Sect's local establishment.

The previous night's operation had clearly been carefully planned by the Sunflame Sect, bypassing the forces of the Four Great Families.

It had carried out the purge directly using personnel from the Evil Surveillance Palace, the Demon Extermination Palace, and the Guard Hall.

Although some of those personnel belonged to the great families, the operation had come so suddenly that they had struggled to send word back in time.

Fortunately, thanks to the young man's earlier warning, Tian Yuan had disguised himself and slipped over as soon as he noticed activity in the Inner City.

He had watched with his own eyes as Ke Yuanyi, master of the Evil Surveillance Palace, stabbed the young man to death with a single thrust.

Before dying, the young man had said nothing.

Witnessing this, Tian Yuan had finally felt the weight lift from his heart.

Yet he could not understand the young man's behavior.

"That fellow said he'd soon return to life."

"I'll see whether the Great Void Snake Mother's power really is that miraculous."

Now, Tian Yuan's mind was full of the things the young man had said.

Could it really have been not martyrdom, but death followed by rebirth?

Before the Heavenly Calamity, Tian Yuan would never have believed such nonsense.

But now that even heaven could die, bringing a dead person back to life might not be impossible.

Feeling that his thoughts had become too tangled, Tian Yuan shook his head, picked up the long-cold cup of tea on the stone table, and drained it.

Under the Sunflame Sect's ruthless purge and suppression, order remained intact even as blood flowed through Thousand Chimes Commandery City.

Still, many people were curious about what exactly had happened that night.

Who were the people they had purged?

Yet the Inner City had still issued no statement, giving rise to all sorts of speculation.

In the blink of an eye, another five or six days passed.

Lu Mian rose early and left his lodgings as usual.

He went to the Guard Hall's Dining Hall three times every day.

Although he was no longer particularly short of money, he still saved where he could and spent where he needed to.

There was no reason to waste money when he could eat for free.

"I heard the Evil Surveillance Palace in the Inner City posted a notice explaining what happened a few nights ago."

"Really?"

"Where did they post it? How come I haven't seen it?"

"At the intersection up ahead."

"Then I'll go take a look."

"Me too!"

All at once, the people on the street ran toward the intersection.

They actually issued a notice.

I thought they'd just let the whole thing blow over.

Lu Mian was somewhat surprised.

He did not follow the crowd to join the commotion.

With so many people, squeezing his way in would probably take some effort.

Besides, there was no way the Guard Hall would be without such an important notice.

Just as Lu Mian had expected, when he entered the Guard Hall, he saw several notices posted at the training ground, with quite a few people gathered around them.

Lu Mian went to the least crowded spot and took a close look.

"Recently, the Evil Surveillance Palace discovered a mysterious organization calling itself the Void Cult operating within Thousand Chimes City."

"The cult's followers excel at manipulating hearts and spreading deceptive falsehoods. They have secretly recruited and infiltrated many people within the commandery city, seeking to incite unrest."

"Five days ago, all followers of the Void Cult were put to death."

"Anyone who discovers further followers of the Void Cult may report them to the Guard Hall."

The notice was brief and revealed little.

But at least it let the people of Thousand Chimes Commandery City understand what had happened that night.

"So they were wiping out an evil cult."

"This Void Cult is terrifying. It recruited so many people without anyone noticing."

"If the Evil Surveillance Palace hadn't caught on, it would've been difficult to deal with once the Void Cult infiltrated further and gained more followers."

"I heard it was already showing signs of that. During this purge, people were rooted out of the Guard Hall, the Artisans' Hall, and the Administrative Hall."

"Good thing the Evil Surveillance Palace reacted quickly and cut the problem off at the root!"

Everyone in the Guard Hall was discussing the matter.

Lu Mian said nothing. He simply finished reading in silence, then turned and left.

After all, he had already known everything in the notice, so none of it was new to him.

Over the past few days, the food in the Dining Hall had been noticeably better than usual.

Lu Mian guessed it was a reward following the bloody purge. He had benefited a little from it as well.

Ten beef buns, ten pork pancakes, and seven or eight eggs.

After collecting all his food, Lu Mian went to a corner and began taking hearty bites.

Just then, someone came over and sat beside him.

"Miss Sun..."

"It's been a while."

Seeing who it was, Lu Mian smiled.

At present, he was practically invisible in the Guard Hall.

Apart from Shen Ruiwen, Sun Feifei seemed to be the only person who knew him.

"Brother Lu."

"You seem even more muscular than before."

Sun Feifei had just come over for breakfast. Spotting Lu Mian, she had decided to say hello, only to notice that his build had changed considerably.

"Really...? Maybe it's because the food here has been so good lately."

Lu Mian offered a casual excuse.

He knew the change in his build was probably due to Iron Shirt.

Once he advanced his mastery of Iron Shirt further, it would purge his impurities like iron being forged, and his build would return to its original shape.

Sun Feifei smiled and dropped the subject, instead talking with Lu Mian about the events of a few nights before.

Through Sun Feifei's account, Lu Mian finally gained a clear understanding of the entire bloody purge.

"From what we've seen, the Refugee District and the Shed Quarantine Zone had the most Void Cult followers."

"So many heads rolled that night."

Even now, recalling it left Sun Feifei shaken.

"Both places are incredibly oppressive. Everyone there is suffering and numb."

"It's easy for them to believe the Void Cult's teachings."

Lu Mian shook his head slightly.

"I heard some families in the Inner City... were implicated too."

"But that's just a rumor."

Sun Feifei added that last remark.

"The Inner City... is too far removed from us."

Lu Mian smiled.

Of Thousand Chimes Commandery City's four districts, the Inner City was now the only one he had never visited.

"Yes... we might never set foot inside in our entire lives."

Sun Feifei spoke with heartfelt agreement.

For people like them, who came from the Refugee District, the only way into the Inner City was to reach the first realm: Qi Accumulation Realm and enter the Demon Extermination Palace.

That single hurdle barred countless people.

The path of cultivation was not so easy to embark upon.

Otherwise, Han Can would not have resorted to such a dangerous method, only to lose his own life in the process.

Entering a cultivation realm was like a carp leaping the Dragon Gate.

Below the cultivation realms, one was merely unranked!

Lu Mian swallowed another beef bun. "As long as we're alive, there's hope."

Sun Feifei shook her head and said with a hint of envy, "I don't have your talent."

She paused, then changed the subject again. "Right... I have another piece of news."

"Apparently, there's a major Elimination Mission in a few days."

Lu Mian asked in surprise, "Another one?"

"This isn't another purge of Void Cult followers."

"We're heading out of the city this time."

Sun Feifei explained.

Major Elimination Missions like this took place every so often.

This one had simply happened to coincide with the bloody purge of the Void Cult's followers.