The statue depicted Lu Yun just as he had appeared in the major news story that had once rocked the Daxia New Country—the moment he accepted a toast from Great Commander Yuan Datong.
In an alley off a bustling street in the southern part of the city, several men in white lotus-adorned robes stood in the shadows. They stared at the statue in the middle of the street and muttered a single word: "Heretic!"
The white lotus robes were jarringly conspicuous in the sunlight, with an embroidered lotus pattern that extended from the collar all the way down to the hem.
These were members of the Lifeless Lotus Sect, who had been drawn here from Nanling Province. When it came to the most notorious evil cult in all of the Daxia New Country, none could hold a candle to them.
The Lifeless Lotus Sect had emerged in an extremely early era, its origins dating back thousands of years.
They preached about the Lifeless Mother, the "Vacuum Homeland," an ideal kingdom, and the equality of all people.
It was a claim so laughable it was a wonder they weren’t laughed to death for making it. The Lifeless Lotus Sect itself had positions like Incense Masters and Hall Masters, so where was the equality in that?
And yet, people believed. They had believed for thousands of years, passing the faith down from one generation to the next, making it impossible to completely eradicate.
Sometimes they hid deep in the mountains and ancient forests; other times, in impoverished, remote villages. In short, they lurked wherever the Government couldn’t reach, waiting for the right moment to emerge and wreak havoc.
The leader of the group retracted his gaze and said coldly, "Let’s go. The people here have been bewitched by that great devil, Lu Yun. Elder Fakong recently received the Holy Flesh bestowed by the Sect Leader."
"The Elder’s Lifeless Lotus Seal has grown much more powerful, enough to control the Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant. There’s no time to lose. Tonight, we attack the Lu Family’s den of devils!"
The men behind him had vacant eyes and numb expressions. They stood there not like living people, but like puppets on strings. In unison, they replied, "We obey the divine decree!"
This was what made the Lifeless Lotus Sect so difficult to deal with. Unlike the lunatics from the Yellow Heaven Corps, at least those guys knew to fear death.
But these fanatics hardly seemed human anymore, their minds consumed with a single thought: destroy everything.
They didn’t fear death, pain, or being beaten, cursed, or even killed.
If you fell into their hands, they wouldn’t grant you a quick death. They would torture you, bit by bit, until you knelt and begged to join their sect.
If you still refused, they would make your life a living hell. Were it not for their fear of tipping their hand, they would have already moved against the innocent people of Yun Port City who refused to join the Lifeless Lotus Sect.
In their minds, joining the Holy Sect was a mercy bestowed by the Lifeless Mother. To refuse was to court death.
’Refusing to join the sect means making an enemy of the Lifeless Mother, an enemy of the Vacuum Homeland, and an enemy of all believers under heaven. If you don’t deserve to die, who does?’
However, just as they turned to head back to their base, they found their way blocked. A few burly men and one adorably cute girl stood at the other end of the alley, staring at them with hostile eyes.
The leader was a broad-shouldered, barrel-chested man in a gray-blue uniform, standing there with his arms crossed.
The men behind him were all built like bears, completely blocking the alley’s exit.
A girl with a ponytail stood at the front. She wore the same gray-blue patrol uniform and a pair of small leather boots. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, with a fair complexion and a sweet, delicate appearance, like a schoolgirl fresh out of the classroom.
"Big bro, it’s these brainless idiots again. Just seeing them pisses me off."
As she spoke, the girl drew the gun from her hip. It was the newest pistol issued by Yun Port City’s Shen Zhou Chen Guang Heavy Industry arsenal, and it was a full size larger than a standard handgun.
It was standard issue for the Yun Port City Patrol, powerful enough to threaten even a Grandmaster of Huajin, an expert capable of sensing danger before it struck.
Upon seeing the gun in the girl’s hand, the Lifeless Lotus Sect members reacted as if facing a formidable foe, their expressions changing drastically.
They didn’t fear blades or swords, nor any other cold weapon. But a gun was different. That thing didn’t play fair.
The leader of the cultists demanded, "Who are you people? What do you want?"
Another White Lotus Cultist beside him snarled through gritted teeth, his pale face contorted with hatred. "These heretical foreign devil weapons again—you all deserve to die!"
Unlike in ages past, in this era, what the Lifeless Lotus Sect feared most were the guns and cannons of the foreign devils.
Those things didn’t mess around. A single cannon blast would blow you to smithereens, regardless of whether you were a Lotus Shadow Divine Attendant or possessed the Lifeless Lotus Seal.
Back when the foreigners invaded, their entire sect was nearly annihilated by firearms. The invaders attacked from the sea with their ironclad ships and powerful cannons. Shells rained down upon their mountain stronghold, blasting their centuries-old foundation into rubble.
Many Elders and Incense Masters died. Of the cultists who survived, many never recovered from the blow.
The burly man in the lead was, of course, the same leader who had abandoned the Yellow Heaven Corps to join Yun Port City. He had dealt with these White Lotus Cultists back in Nanling Province.
After the past few days, no one cherished this city more than he did. It was Yun Port City that had shown him what it truly meant to be alive.
He would kill anyone who tried to destroy this place, even if it cost him his own life. And that included the members of the Lifeless Lotus Sect standing before him now.
He had been watching them around the clock, without sleep, ever since these Lifeless Lotus Sect members first set foot in the city.
The Yellow Heaven Corps and the Lifeless Lotus Sect were old acquaintances in Nanling Province. One sect shouted, "The Blue Sky is dead, the Yellow Sky shall rise!" The other chanted, "Lifeless Mother, Vacuum Homeland!" Each was crazier and more fanatical than the last.
He’d spent so many years in the Yellow Heaven Corps that he could guess what these Lifeless Lotus Sect members were up to with his eyes closed.
The large man stepped in front of the girl, a wide grin spreading across his face to reveal a mouth full of white teeth. "Enough talk! Brothers, beat the hell out of ’em!"
The words had barely left his mouth when his brothers swarmed forward.
They moved like a pack of wolf cubs that hadn’t eaten in three days, having been holding back all their energy just for this command.
The man was at late-stage Anjin. While not top-tier in Yun Port City, he was more than enough to handle a few small-time thugs.
His brothers were all at the Peak of Mingjin and practiced the Yellow Heaven Corps’ ancestral Yellow Heaven Primordial Qi Technique, a type of Horizontal Cultivation Technique. Their skin was tough, their flesh was thick, and their fists were as hard as iron hammers.
Beating up a few White Lotus Cultists who were only at late-stage Mingjin was child’s play for them.
The girl was about to charge in with them when a large hand grabbed her by the collar.
"You stay put. Just keep your gun ready. This isn’t a game. What if one of these scumbags has a hidden weapon?"
With that, he charged forward to join in the brutal, one-sided beatdown.
The alley instantly filled with bloodcurdling screams and howls.
"AARGH! My leg!" "You heretics! Elder Fakong will not spare you!" "AHHHH!!!"
When the screams finally faded, the large man stopped and looked down at the cultists on the ground—bruised, battered, and with broken bones. He then spat fiercely on the ground.
"You damn bastards. If I didn’t have a use for you, you’d already be dead."
"You couldn’t just stay put in Nanling Province, you had to come all the way to Yun Port City to cause trouble. And if you’re going to come, why be so damn sneaky about it? It was obvious you were up to no good from the start."
He clapped the dust from his hands and turned. "Haul them all back and report to General Manager Yan. I knew they were trouble the second I laid eyes on them. They’re definitely brewing up some evil scheme."
"Yes, boss!"
Grinning, a few of his brothers hauled the men up and dragged them out of the alley like dead dogs.
The White Lotus Cultists’ heads hung low, their feet scraping along the ground, as they mumbled something incomprehensible.
The girl followed behind, holstering her pistol. She muttered under her breath, "Let me get a few hits in next time... I wanted to land a couple of kicks, too. Just looking at those guys pisses me off. Making me watch without letting me fight... my hands are getting itchy."
The large man ignored her and said gravely, "Stop messing around. An Elder came with this group. We need to notify General Manager Yan immediately and find that old bastard."
An Elder of the Lifeless Lotus Sect is a Grandmaster of Huajin, and they also know all sorts of insidious Techniques. Each one is more vile and sinister than the last.

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