At the sa ti, he took out his phone and dialed the number Xiaoyan had sent him.
...
「Shengjing. The Federation Building.」
Li Yutong looked over so recent reports, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He spoke, a headache creeping into his voice.
"The Taishan Forbidden Area, Ao Tao's disappearance, Sakata Shindo's fall, the reincarnations of the Ancient Sons, and all these younger mbers of the Demon Race in the city..."
Beside him, an old man with a thick beard and an exceptionally stern face spoke in a steady voice.
"We can ignore the Taishan matter for now. Those Dead Immortals don't seem to be leaving the Taishan area, and Ao Tao has probably gone into seclusion sowhere... All I want to know is, what are we going to do about the Demon Race?"
As he spoke, he slamd his hand on the table in a fit of temper, showing no regard for Li Yutong's position. He glared and said,
"Are we just going to let those little Demon Children run rampant in Shengjing? And are we really going to let the Demon Race through the pass? Li Yutong, oh, Li Yutong, what in the world are you thinking? If you don't want to be Grand Speaker, this Old Master will do it!"
Li Yutong gave a bitter laugh and waved his hand.
"That's enough. If I gave you my position, do you think your temperant is suited for handling political affairs? This business with the Demon Race isn't what I want either, but the tide of events is pushing us this way..."
"What tide?" the bearded old man snapped.
"This Old Master has been killing Demon Children at the Great Wall for two thousand years! I've personally watched countless brothers shed their blood there, and now you people in the rear are telling we're not fighting anymore? That we're having peace talks and letting the Demon Children through the pass?"
Li Yutong fell silent for a mont before speaking softly.
"The Life Tower and the Earth Palace are both pushing us toward peace talks. While the Death Tower and the Upper Palace haven't stated their positions, sotis, not stating a position is a position in itself..."
He paused, rubbing his temples again, and added wearily, "Besides, there are the six Super Conglorates... oh, five now. Of the five Super Conglorates, the Giant Bear Group is neutral and Longque Technology is opposed. But besides them, Aotao, Tian Shen, and Ancient Gene all support the peace talks. What am I supposed to do?"
"Damn it all!" the formidable old man cursed. "I don't give a damn either way! As long as I'm alive, I won't let those Demon Children in! As for those little Demon Children in the city, this Old Master will go slaughter them right now..."
"Don't!" Li Yutong raised a hand to stop him, warning,
"If you really do that, you'll completely offend the Life Tower and the Earth Palace. When that happens, I won't be able to protect you! If an old codger like you dies, the Great Wall... will be left unguarded!"
The hot-tempered old man's expression froze, and his movents stiffened.
After a long while, he let out a sigh. His entire body seed to slump, and an aged look appeared on his face.
"Forget it. Just forget it..."
Li Yutong felt a pang of sorrow. Just as he was about to say sothing more, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it and answered.
"This is Li Yutong."
A calm and steady voice ca from the other end of the line.
"Speaker Li? This is Lu Xuan."
Li Yutong's expression changed slightly. The hot-tempered old man also fell silent, listening intently.
"Ah, it's Lu Zi. I didn't expect to receive a call from you. This Mr. Li has heard your na thunder in my ears and has long wanted to pay a visit..."
On the other end of the line, Lu Xuan's expression remained unchanged. He calmly accepted Li Yutong's form of address and said flatly,
"Speaker Li, I wish to take up a position in the Federation. Is that possible?"
"It is! What position does Lu Zi desire?"
"To inspect all officials, to interrogate the conglorates, to command reward and punishnt, to judge guilt and pass sentence, to wield judicial authority."
Li Yutong's face fell. The hot-tempered old man, who was listening quietly, narrowed his eyes.
After a long silence, Li Yutong took a deep breath and said in a grave voice,
"You can have it. But with such great authority, this Mr. Li has a request of my own!"
"Speaker Li, please speak freely."
"Why don't we discuss this in person?"
"That is also acceptable," Lu Xuan said evenly from the other end. "But before that, I must ask you for soone, Speaker Li."
"Who?"
"Du Hongfu."
...
"You sent Uncle Fu to Langya Province. For what purpose?"
In an exceedingly luxurious courtyard, a middle-aged man toyed with a string of Buddhist Beads, his eyelids lowered as he asked the question lightly.
The young man flinched and answered honestly.
"It was on a whim. I suddenly rembered an old grudge in Langya Province that hadn't been settled, so I sent Uncle Fu to take care of it... Don't worry, he's just a Grandmaster with no background. He won't cause any trouble."
"Mm."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly.
"That's good. Be more careful with your actions recently. Sakata Shindo died suddenly, and Ao Tao has been missing for half a month. The undercurrents are turbulent right now, and a major change might be coming. You should keep a lower profile when you're out."
"Ao Tao..." The young man's pupils constricted. "You an the chairman of Aotao Organism?"
The middle-aged man fiddled with his Buddhist Beads, his expression growing solemn. "That's right," he said.
"This is still a secret, and we don't know where he went for now, but Aotao Organism is already showing so minor instability... But let's not talk about that. It has nothing to do with us."
After a mont's thought, he added,
"And rember, don't provoke those prodigies from the Demon Race in the city... Oh, and this person. morize his face. If you run into him, take a detour."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man opened a photo on his phone and pushed it forward.
The young man quickly took it and studied it carefully. "Dad, who is this boy?" he asked curiously.
"His na is Lu Xuan." The middle-aged man's expression grew even more solemn. "You don't need to know anything else. Just rember, if you see him, walk the other way... Even if you offend a prodigy from the Demon Race, you must not offend this one. Understand?"
"Of course, I understand." The young man nodded quickly, staring intently at the photo as if trying to burn the face into his mory.
The middle-aged man seed to rember sothing and added casually,
"By the way, this Lu Xuan is currently active in Langya City. Your grudge isn't in Langya City, is it?"
"No, it's not! Definitely not!"
"Good. Don't go to Langya City anyti soon... There's also East Sea City, which is his hotown. But that's a small city, so it shouldn't have anything to do with you."
The young man's expression suddenly froze.
The middle-aged man, still toying with his Buddhist Beads, noticed the change in his expression and frowned.
"What is it? Did you do sothing? Sothing related to East Sea City?"
The young man gave a dry laugh.
"Uncle Fu... I think he went to East Sea City... But it can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
The middle-aged man's expression changed.
"Didn't I just say, East Sea is a small city! In a small city, relationships are tangled and complex. Anyone could have a connection to this Lu Xuan... Get Uncle Fu back here imdiately!"
As he spoke, a sense of unease crept into his heart, and he sat up straight.
"You little brat... No, this won't do. Send the file on the person you have a grudge against. I'll have soone look into it!"
The young man nodded quickly, his own heart tightening involuntarily. Just as he was about to say sothing, suddenly—
"Grand... Grand Speaker??"
The middle-aged man jumped in fright as he saw Li Yutong suddenly appear in the courtyard. The void then trembled, and another man, the old man with the thick beard, erged.
"Elder Li!" Du Hongfu staggered again.
The hot-tempered old man glanced at him but didn't speak. Li Yutong, however, kept his eyes downcast.
"Councillor Du, would you care to accompany on a trip to Langya?"
Du Hongfu's mind went blank. He stumbled back several steps and asked hoarsely,
"If I may be so bold, Grand Speaker... may I ask... may I ask the purpose of this trip?"
Li Yutong said flatly,
"Mr. Lu Xuan wishes to see you."
Du Hongfu felt his scalp explode as he collapsed to the ground.
The young man's face turned deathly pale. He trembled, an incredulous thought flashing through his mind. 'It can't be... It can't really be such a coincidence, can it??'
'And who on earth is that Lu Xuan... for the Grand Speaker to co in person?'
In a daze, he heard the Federation's Grand Speaker speak again, his voice chilling.
"As it happens, I was going to pay a visit to Mr. Lu myself. I might as well escort you there personally."
Ignorance is bliss, but the more one knows, the more one understands, the more one fears.
In just half a year, Lu Xuan had slain a prodigy of the Demon Race, killed an unknown number of Earth Immortals and Celestial Humans from Sakata Heavy Industries, executed a walker of the Life Tower, and even commanded a Dragon Corpse to capture and kill a Grand Grade...
He was an out-and-out killing machine, an absolute bringer of calamity!
Du Hongfu opened his mouth, his eyes rolled back, and his mind collapsed. The Earth Immortal Tribulation seized the opportunity to invade, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
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