No matter how the Alliance contingent pursued their investigation, they were always half a step behind the bandits.
It wasn't as though they hadn't tried setting up defenses in advance.
They contacted the Sacred Lands that hadn't been shaken down yet and stationed themselves outside their gates.
But the bandits seemed to know beforehand. They skirted the places where defenses had been set up and struck elsewhere, raking in a fortune.
They realized one thing: "These bandits know our movements!"
Several Sacred Lords gathered and immediately began discussing the matter.
In the end, they reached a conclusion-someone in their contingent was tipping off the bandits, rendering more than a month's work utterly pointless.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to the Ten Thousand Sects Alliance.
They had all suffered devastating losses, so naturally, none of them would tip off the enemy. The problem had to lie with these fellows who followed on their heels every day, kissing their asses.
Ling Tianchen was calculating how much of a reward he could collect once they found the culprits when several Sacred Lords suddenly tied him up.
"Ling Tianchen, are you the one tipping them off?"
"What do you mean, tipping them off?" Ling Tianchen looked utterly bewildered.
"You're still playing dumb, you bastard? Every time we're about to set off, you take out a Message Transmission Talisman and yap away!"
Recalling his suspicious behavior, the Sacred Lords pinned him to the ground without another word and gave him a thorough beating.
"You've misunderstood!" Ling Tianchen desperately explained. "I was just checking in on a woman I'm courting!"
"Check in on my ass!" The Sacred Lords wouldn't listen.
Fists, boot soles, and spiritual power all rained down on him. Before long, Ling Tianchen had been beaten so badly that even his own mother wouldn't