Aberration

Four people sat in the large conference hall of the Base City Lord's Manor: Public Security Bureau Director Qian Ming, City Lord Luo Heng, Deputy City Lord Tian Fei, and military commander Zhao He. The four of them were the four giants of the Base City.

They were also the four great Golden Core Realm experts within the Base City.

Qian Ming said calmly, "The matter has been investigated. Members of the Blood Clan infiltrated our city and set a trap. Their target was Zhao Meixian, the Zhao Family's direct descendant. Luo Xiangkong, captain of the Eleventh Great Squad, colluded with the Blood Clan. Tian Fei, I recall Luo Xiangkong was one of your people! Furthermore, we found letters in his home. Those letters show that you instructed him to do this!"

Tian Fei shouted angrily, "Qian Ming, you're slandering me!! I never instructed Luo Xiangkong to collude with the Blood Clan! This is a frame-up!! You had someone frame me!!"

Qian Ming said coldly, "Tian Fei, the people conducting the search included not only mine, but yours as well! Shall I have them come testify?"

Deputy City Lord Tian Fei also oversaw public security, which was why he had been able to place quite a few of his own people within Qian Ming's Public Security Bureau.

Tian Fei's face darkened. "I did not collude with the Blood Clan! This is a frame-up!"

Qian Ming chuckled. "But all the evidence points to you! Tian Fei, according to the rules, you should be relieved of your post and placed under investigation."

Luo Heng said, "Relieving him of his post is going too far! Old Tian, just take a few days off for now! I'll send people from the Internal Affairs Department to investigate alongside the Public Security Bureau. We will definitely clear your name."

Only then did Tian Fei shoot Qian Ming a cold glare. With an unwilling look on his face, he said, "I understand!"

This matter involved a direct descendant of the Zhao Family and the Evil Gods. Even though Tian Fei was a Golden Core Realm expert, he still had to accept the investigation.

Luo Heng said, "While Old Tian is resting these next few days, I will handle his duties for the time being!"

The four talked for a while longer before the meeting finally ended.

"Boss, how did it go?"

As soon as he left the conference hall, Qian Ming's deputy, Liu Feifan, came up to him and asked curiously.

Qian Ming chuckled. "Tian Fei has been temporarily suspended!"

Liu Feifan asked curiously, "Was he really the culprit?"

Qian Ming said calmly, "I know Tian Fei. It most likely wasn't him! He's meticulous by nature. If it had been him, he would never have left behind so many flaws! There is an eighty to ninety percent chance that someone framed him!"

Qian Ming and Tian Fei had always been at odds, their conflict stemming from a struggle for power. Qian Ming regarded the Public Security Bureau as his own territory, while Tian Fei, who oversaw public security, also interfered with Qian Ming's sphere of influence. The two had been openly and secretly fighting for a long time.

Now that he had been given an opportunity, even though Qian Ming guessed Tian Fei was not the mastermind, he did not mind kicking him while he was down.

Liu Feifan asked, "What should we do next?"

Qian Ming said, "Send those squad captains who were close to Luo Xiangkong to the archives to serve as deputy directors!"

Liu Feifan chuckled. "There are already five deputy directors in the archives!"

Qian Ming said indifferently, "Then add a few more!"

Inside the Martial Arts Practice Field of a luxurious villa.

Tian Fei moved like an azure dragon, his punches broad and forceful amid waves of dragon roars. Although he had been temporarily suspended, that little frame-up was merely a minor inconvenience to him. It was utterly incapable of shaking his foundation.

"Old Tian, your Azure Dragon Fist is truly growing stronger and stronger!"

A voice of praise sounded from the side. Luo Heng walked into the Martial Arts Practice Field, lightly clapping his hands with a smile on his face.

"Old Luo, why are you here? Has the case made progress?"

The fist shadows that filled the air like dragon roars vanished. Tian Fei appeared before Luo Heng in a flash and laughed heartily.

"There has indeed been progress!! Look!"

Luo Heng directly took out a document and flicked it with his finger. The document flew steadily toward Tian Fei.

Tian Fei caught the document and focused his eyes on it. Countless blood-red characters suddenly emerged from the page. The instant they appeared, they rapidly burrowed from the document into his body.

"Blood Clan Holy Page!! Luo Heng, you're a Blood Clan lackey!!"

Tian Fei's expression changed drastically. A terrifying aura erupted from him as true energy boiled within his body, and the phantom of an azure dragon vaguely appeared behind him.

In almost an instant, Luo Heng took a step forward and unleashed the Heaven-Rank Martial Skill, Five Spirits Meridian Severing Finger. His hands shot toward Tian Fei like lightning.

Tian Fei had originally been far weaker than Luo Heng. Now, with the Blood Clan script from the Blood Clan Holy Page eroding him, his reaction was slowed by an instant, and the Five Spirits Meridian Severing Finger struck the vital acupoints of his body.

Streams of terrifying true energy erupted in an instant, severing the flow of Tian Fei's blood and true energy. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Luo Heng's shadow wriggled. A Golden Core Realm Ferocious Beastman with a wolf's head, human body, black fur covering its entire body, and strange shadow markings all over it darted out. It slammed a claw into Tian Fei's chest, tore out his heart, and swallowed it whole.

A trace of despair flashed through Tian Fei's eyes. He lost all breath and became a corpse.

Luo Heng said, "Cut off his head!"

"He surely never imagined that you, the City Lord of Beihe Base City, would collude with us Ferocious Beastmen!"

Mockery flashed through the wolf-headed Ferocious Beastman's eyes. With a beckoning gesture, a shadow swept up a battle saber from the Martial Arts Practice Field and dropped it into his hand. He then swung it down and severed Tian Fei's head.

Luo Heng sneered, "Don't your Ferocious Beastmen also have countless internal conflicts? If you Ferocious Beastmen could truly unite, how could we have advanced so quickly?"

A fierce glint flashed through the eyes of the Shadow Wolf Clan expert before he said icily, "Next, should we make a move against Qian Ming?"

Luo Heng shook his head slightly. "No. Qian Ming is much more cautious than Tian Fei. He mainly cultivates the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art, but with his strength, he has definitely cultivated other top-tier martial arts as well. He receives a massive amount of resources every year, yet he is extremely frugal and pours all of those resources into martial cultivation. If Luo Xiangkong had not been exposed, I would not have acted before learning his full background! Our next target is Zhao He. I have a good relationship with him, so there is a better chance of catching him off guard!"

The greatest chance of success came when acquaintances betrayed acquaintances. That was why Luo Heng had always spared no effort in befriending the other Golden Core Realm experts. As the City Lord, he held most of a city's power and possessed numerous resources. Since he deliberately lowered himself to make friends, the other Golden Core Realm experts were naturally willing to befriend him as well.

An hour later, in another manor, a terrifying explosion rang out. Zhao He's headless corpse flew out from within the manor and crashed onto the ground.

Luo Heng said calmly, "We can begin! Our movements have been too conspicuous. Qian Ming is highly capable! We must act before he begins to suspect me!"

Ying Kuang, the Golden Core Realm expert of the Shadow Wolf Clan, nodded slightly. "Understood!!"

Public Security Bureau Headquarters.

"A battle fluctuation at the Golden Core Realm level came from Zhao He's place, but it ended very quickly. Zhao He is very strong and carries a powerful Evil God Forbidden Object. If the battle ended so quickly, there is an eighty to ninety percent chance that he was ambushed!!"

Qian Ming strode to the mecha warehouse within Public Security Bureau Headquarters and opened its doors. Inside stood a fifteen-meter-tall mecha with a dragon's head and humanoid body, an entirely azure frame, and a pair of mechanical wings on its back.

This fifteen-meter-tall mecha was the Human Alliance's standard Combat Mecha, the Azure Dragon Type 5 Battle Armor. Once an expert like Qian Ming wore the Azure Dragon Type 5 Battle Armor, his combat power could increase by more than double.