Lu Yun raised his right hand, and a swirling mix of Cyan and Yellow Divine Intent True Qi erupted over his fist.
As he threw a punch with the Second Level of his Ten Thousand Valleys Struggle Fist, the pitch-black night was instantly illuminated by the two-colored cyan and yellow light!
A cyan and yellow fist projection, as large as a decorative hill, shot toward the ghostly soul in midair!
The black, spectral tentacles around the ghostly soul began to surge wildly, swarming the fist projection in an attempt to block its destructive power.
But the moment they touched the cyan and yellow fist projection, the spectral tentacles couldn’t even last a second.
The cyan and yellow fist projection then slammed directly into the ghostly soul, its momentum unchecked.
"AHHH!!!" The ghostly soul let out a bloodcurdling shriek as the black energy around it was rapidly corroded by the Cyan and Yellow Divine Intent True Qi.
Thick white smoke began to billow from the ghostly soul’s body. It tried to resist, but it was completely useless.
At the same time, the black-robed old man on the altar shuddered violently.
His mind was connected to the ghostly soul, so when it suffered a heavy blow, a vision appeared in his mind.
A towering, endless mountain peak pressed down from the heavens above.
The mountain blotted out the sky, the stars, and all light as it came crashing down on him.
Before this mountain, the black-robed old man’s consciousness was as insignificant as an ant. Just before it was ground to dust, another power erupted from within him—the very Resentful Ghosts that had just defeated the Outer Celestial Demon!
Countless hideous, ghostly faces surged from the depths of the black-robed old man’s consciousness.
Brimming with centuries of accumulated hatred, they charged madly at the falling mountain.
With a tremendous BOOM, an explosion rocked the depths of the black-robed old man’s consciousness.
The mountain began to fracture. Cracks spread across its surface, from the base to the middle, and from the middle to the summit.
Countless shards of rock rained down, smashing the ghostly faces to pieces.
Yet, more and more ghostly faces surged forward, one after another, to assail the crumbling mountain.
Seeing this, the black-robed old man’s consciousness felt a surge of joy.
’A mere Grandmaster of Divine Intent? How could he possibly compare to the Resentful Ghosts passed down by my Ghost-Catching Sect for centuries?’
’Three hundred years of hate, three hundred years of resentment, three hundred years of indignation! You’re just a Grandmaster of Divine Intent; how long have you even lived? Even if your Martial Arts prowess is godlike, how strong can your will possibly be?’
A smug smile had just touched his lips when, a second later, it froze.
From within the fracturing mountain, rays of incomparably brilliant, dazzling jade-green light shone through the cracks.
The black-robed old man’s eyes widened as he watched the light grow brighter and more resplendent.
Then he saw a jade-green Buddha, so colossal it seemed to connect heaven and earth. It sat cross-legged in the void, one hand raised in a gesture of fearlessness, the other held open in a gesture of charity.
Have you ever seen a palm strike descend from the heavens?
Then, the jade-green Buddha raised a palm so immense it blotted out the sky, a size beyond all description.
The lines on its palm were clearly visible, each one like a mountain range or a great river, brimming with infinite power.
This ineffable palm slapped down toward the hideous, ghostly faces.
In an instant, the endless tide of ghostly faces was annihilated by that single palm strike.
In the real world, the black-robed old man’s mouth flew open, and he coughed up a spray of blood with a sickening SPUTTER.
The ghostly soul in midair could no longer hold on. The black energy around it was utterly consumed by the cyan and yellow light. From its feet to its head, it dissolved bit by bit into white smoke that faded into the air.
"No... you!"
The black-robed old man stared wide-eyed in that direction, the light already fading from his gaze.
In truth, the black-robed old man had died the instant the Buddha’s palm struck. He was standing on his last breath alone.
Now that his breath had left him, he fell backward, stiff as a board.
Lu Yun retracted his fist and looked at the fallen old man, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
’This Warlock actually managed to break through less than a tenth of my Ten Thousand Valleys Struggle Fist’s Martial Dao Will. His own will was quite impressive.’
Since breaking through to the Second Level of the Ten Thousand Valleys Struggle Fist, Lu Yun could manifest a hundred mountain peaks in an instant when unleashing his full power.
In other words, he could summon ninety-nine more of those boundless mountain peaks.
After a moment, Lu Yun shook his head and strode toward the altar.
Lu Yun reached out and picked up the piece of Immortal Flesh, which was about the size of half a meditation cushion. He then took out a silk cloth from his coat and carefully wrapped it up.
Next, he took out a thin cord, wound it around the cloth bundle several times, and finally tied it firmly to the head of his cane.
With that done, Lu Yun turned to face the dozen or so disciples of the Ghost-Catching Sect, who were paralyzed with fear on the ground.
The disciples knelt there, trembling, their faces ashen and their lips pale.
They never imagined that the Ghost-Catching Sect, one of the renowned sects of the Zulong Dynasty, would be shut down the very moment it re-emerged into the world.
These disciples of the Ghost-Catching Sect knelt there, their minds a complete blank.
’Does this mean I’m unemployed? Where am I supposed to go to work tomorrow?!’
’After all, our master had said the Ghost-Catching Sect was re-emerging to reclaim its glory. Back in the Zulong Dynasty, they were so prestigious that countless officials and nobles had begged for their services.’
’Now that the world was in chaos, it was supposed to be the perfect time for us, the successors of the Ghost-Catching Sect, to make our mark.’
They had believed him. Just as they were brimming with ambition and ready to achieve great things, they ran into this bringer of calamity in a black tunic suit.
’Master is dead, the sect is gone... How could I have been so blind to join this sect in the first place?’
As for their predicament, Lu Yun didn’t mind being "helpful." He would just send them to see their recently deceased Sect Leader.
He raised his left hand, and wisps of swirling Cyan and Yellow Divine Intent True Qi coiled around it.
With a gentle push of his palm, the Divine Intent True Qi swept across the faces of the dozen or so sect members. Their eyes rolled back in their heads, and they all collapsed to the ground.
Forty-four people had gone missing in the city—no sign of them, alive or dead.
As the Military Governor of Yun Port City, he wouldn’t let these culprits go.
They would appear in the city market tomorrow. No trial. Immediate execution by firing squad.
「In the bustling district of East City」
It was early morning. The sky had just begun to lighten, and the streets were still mostly empty.
The shops along the street were all closed. Only a few early-rising vendors carrying shoulder poles hurried by, along with a handful of street sweepers cleaning the pavement.
As the sound of urgent footsteps echoed from all directions, windows began to open one by one, with sleepy-eyed residents poking their heads out.
Over a hundred guards in black-and-white uniforms stood in neat formation in the middle of the street.
Among the leaders, besides the familiar face of Shadakang, there was a new addition.
Yan Lintong stood at the forefront, dressed in a brand-new Commander-in-Chief’s uniform, a new-model handgun from the Daxia New Country holstered at his waist.
He held his chin high, clasping his hands behind his back with an air of triumph.
Yan Lintong never would have dreamed that he would one day become the Commander-in-Chief of Yun Port City’s guard. It was nothing short of a meteoric rise.
The position of Commander-in-Chief was critically important, responsible for the public security of all of Yun Port City.
After Lu Yun dismissed the previous, useless Commander-in-Chief, he had hesitated for a moment before finally choosing Yan Lintong, his Registered Disciple.
When Yan Lintong received the appointment, he was completely stunned. He had stood in his courtyard for several hours, just staring at the official document.
After accepting this incredible surprise, Yan Lintong secretly swore to himself that he would do an excellent job and prove to his master that he had not chosen the wrong person.
’From now on, Yun Port City will be completely transformed. The old guard—corrupt, lazy, and only concerned with wining and dining—will be purged.’
’All those parasites who only know how to line their pockets and do nothing else can get lost.’
Yan Lintong would make the guard of Yun Port City into true protectors of the common people.
Of course, such a massive undertaking would require a great deal of manpower. This was only the first step.
In the future, once Lu Yun recruited enough personnel, they could help Yan Lintong completely root out all the leeches.
Kneeling before Yan Lintong were more than a dozen men with cloth sacks over their heads. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and they remained motionless with their heads bowed.
The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger, packed in so tightly it was impossible to move. People in the back climbed onto walls, and some even stood on rooftops to get a better view.
People put their heads together, whispering amongst themselves.
"What’s going on?"
"I heard they caught the murderers!"
"How many people did they kill?"
"Forty-four, I hear!"
A collective gasp went through the crowd.
A wave of sharp intakes of breath passed through the onlookers. A full forty-four living people.
When the time was right, Yan Lintong walked to the center of the street.
He glanced at the kneeling prisoners, then at the massive crowd, and began to declare in a loud voice.
"Lord Lu has come, and with him, peace for Yun Port City! Lord Lu has come, and with him, justice for Yun Port City!"
"A great wind is rising, and the clouds are scattering! Murderers who treat human life as worthless must always be brought to justice! It cannot be otherwise! Just think about it, one day you’re enjoying hot pot and singing songs, and suddenly..."
After extolling his master’s glorious achievements for a full half hour, a satisfied Yan Lintong raised his hand, then brought it down sharply.
"Fire!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
A volley of gunfire, as dense as falling rain, rang out. The dozen or so prisoners in sacks collapsed to the ground.
Everyone stared at Yan Lintong with reverence. In this dog-eat-dog world, someone had finally stood up for them.

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