C7

Shi Lang pulled out his handbag, retrieved a stack of documents, and laid them on the table.

Just then, from a booth nearby, a middle-aged man rose to his feet and approached the woman in the black dress, wearing a grin.

"Hey, gorgeous, what do you see in this black gorilla? I'm far more tender and caring... How about we get acquainted?"

"Get lost!"

Shi Lang's face turned an ashen hue as he lashed out in anger.

"I don't know you. Leave now, or face the consequences!"

Disguising himself as a woman was merely a tactic to evade certain prying eyes and keep a low profile; it certainly didn't mean Shi Lang was interested in men.

Xu Renli's brow creased slightly. He detected an odd presence about the middle-aged man, something that seemed out of place with the environment.

Suddenly, chaos erupted!

With a thunderous shout, the middle-aged man's Qi and blood surged, and his iron fist swung through the air, its brutal force smashing into the table in an instant.

He was a Martial Master!

Crack!

The table shattered, and the documents were ripped to shreds by the force of the punch.

It happened in the blink of an eye!

"Damn it!"

Xu Renli's expression darkened. He hadn't anticipated that a Martial Master would burst forth in this lovers' café and obliterate the documents without a second thought.

He had been complacent.

The investigative documents were incredibly detailed. The information Yang Jin had shared over the phone was just a fraction; there were other leads that Xu Renli needed to follow up on.

But now, the documents were destroyed!

The intruder had come prepared!

This disruptor was no ordinary Martial Cultivator; he likely had a hidden agenda.

A streak of blood-red light flashed, piercing the middle-aged man's right wrist. He howled in pain and, without a moment's delay, beat a hasty retreat out of the café.

"Stay here. I'll go after him!"

With a swift motion, Shi Lang ripped away the obstructive black skirt hem, revealing a pair of hairy legs. His step was light as if treading on clouds, and he covered twenty meters in an instant. Amidst a chorus of screams, he caught up with the middle-aged man in no time.

His right hand, strong and forceful like a tiger's claw, clamped down on the man's left shoulder, fingers digging into flesh.

Shi Lang barked out a command.

"Speak up! What's your name? Why are you destroying my property?"

The middle-aged man, with Shi Lang on his back, shivered uncontrollably, a look of terror in his eyes as he murmured to himself.

"Why... Why this..."

Suddenly, he whipped around!

His face twisted into a malevolent sneer, his eyes deep and swirling like vortexes, seemingly filled with a bizarre power. An eerie smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Because every human Martial Cultivator must die, hehe..."

Shi Lang's expression glazed over, his consciousness drifting away, his face slackening. Unwittingly, he loosened his grip and stretched out his neck, exposing his vulnerable spot.

Shi Lang was a Middle Level Martial Master, focused on refining his flesh and blood.

The throat, being a critical area, was particularly difficult to fortify, and thus remained untempered and fragile in his case.

A mere C-grade alloy weapon could easily slit Shi Lang's throat!

"An Evil Demon? You're an Evil Demon! No, with a body, you're an Evil Demon, without one, an Evil Spirit... You're an Evil Spirit that has taken over the body of one of my human brethren, and you dare to show yourself to me?"

Xu Renli was taken aback, but only momentarily.

He quickly regained his composure, a curious, faint smile creeping onto his lips.

Dealing with an Evil Spirit should be simple.

Xu Renli had previously encountered an Evil Demon of Martial Ancestor level, whose eerie soul power nearly succeeded in bewitching him.

Frequent encounters with Evil Demons and Evil Spirits, along with numerous brushes with soul secret arts, had honed his own spiritual techniques—it was hardly surprising.

"Big guy, what's all the fuss about? Soon, I'll be sending you off. It's always nice to have company on the journey to the netherworld!"

The middle-aged man sneered menacingly, drawing a gleaming C-grade alloy dagger. He edged closer to Shi Lang's throat, poised to slice it open.

A gruesome spectacle of bloodshed was imminent.

The thought of tasting a human Martial Master's blood was tantalizing—oh, how sweet and delectable it must be!

Suddenly, a voice drifted over.

"Do you recognize Xielin?"

"What? The Martial Ancestor, Lord Xielin?"

The middle-aged man paused, instinctively looking up at Xu Renli. The menacing look on his face vanished, replaced by a profound confusion.

Clang.

A Grade C alloy dagger clattered to the ground.

The sharp sound snapped Shi Lang out of his daze. Initially bewildered, within seconds, a deep wariness spread across his face as he scanned his surroundings.

"What just happened? Did I fall asleep? Deputy Xu, you... This, is he under the influence of an Evil Spirit?"

Shi Lang's mind was teeming with questions, yet it wasn't the time for answers.

Because Xu Renli's eyes emitted a bizarre red beam that locked with the middle-aged man's gaze, prompting a back-and-forth interrogation.

"What is your name?"

"Xia Yunyi, no, I am Xie Yi."

"When did you arrive in the human world?"

"Eight months ago, Xia Yunyi was conscripted to the frontlines. During a patrol, he rested in a valley, and that's when I took control of his mind..."

"Why did you destroy the documents?"

"Because..."

Xu Renli eagerly posed the crucial question.

The documents might hold the key to uncovering the shadowy figure pulling strings in Faywyvern City, making them vitally important.

With an Evil Spirit emerging specifically to obliterate the documents, preventing him from accessing them, could it mean...?

Was there a sinister plot to infiltrate Faywyvern's Acropolis City by an Evil Demon?

The thought was terrifying!

Thud.

In that moment, Xia Yunyi's body jolted, his head lolled to the side, and he collapsed, the eerie presence around him fading away like a receding tide.

"Where's the evil spirit?"

Shi Lang looked on, baffled. He examined Xia Yunyi, only to find him in a deep, unshakable slumber.

"Dead."

"Why did it obey you just now?"

"Just a minor technique involving mental power."

Xu Renli's expression darkened. Deep within the evil spirit's soul, there likely lay a secret spell, perhaps meant to prevent any secrets from being divulged.

Shi Lang rubbed his neck, feeling an eerie coolness. That was a close call; he nearly had his throat cut!

"Deputy Xu, how could I have just..."

"You fell victim to an evil spirit's soul secret technique, losing control over your body temporarily."

It all made sense now!

Shi Lang was flushed with embarrassment. He had assumed Deputy Xu's skills had diminished, so he boldly took it upon himself to pursue the enemy, only to end up in peril himself. It was Deputy Xu who had come to his rescue.

Experience does count for something!

Deputy Xu, now in retirement, was rumored to have once escaped an ambush by three High-Level Martial Ancestors.

It appeared that even a diminished force could outmatch the uninitiated; Deputy Xu still had considerable prowess.

"Shi Lang, is there a backup of the information?"

"No, Boss Yang Jin had our top specialists covertly investigate for almost a year to barely uncover some leads. To prevent any leaks, he made sure there was only one copy..."

"We've got a real problem on our hands now."