Chapter 674: Ring of Order
"Without a search warrant, you have no right to enter any building on this station, let alone search any rooms," Li Jingsong continued. "If you dare force your way in, that constitutes trespassing on a vital Federation military site. I have the right to take all necessary measures to stop you."
As he spoke, a powerful aura of coercion emanated from him. It was the oppressive might of a Level 49 Quasi-Master; an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to stand steady in the face of such pressure. Yet Xu Wuyi stood there motionless, as if that coercion didn’t exist at all.
He looked at Li Jingsong and said, "Director Li, I don’t plan on searching."
Li Jingsong froze for a moment. "Then how do you plan to find him?"
Xu Wuyi didn’t answer. He simply turned around, walked out of the small building, and stepped into the open clearing outside. Li Jingsong followed him out. Standing at the door, he watched the masked man, having no idea what he was going to do. The warriors on the Training Ground also noticed the commotion. One after another, they stopped their exercises and looked over.
Standing in the clearing, Xu Wuyi raised his head and looked up. The weather was beautiful today, with bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. He took a deep breath and then slowly walked upward into the sky. He didn’t use any Body Technique or rely on any external force. He merely walked straight up, climbing higher and higher until he hovered dozens of meters above the station.
Li Jingsong’s expression changed completely. Looking up at the figure hovering in midair, an ominous premonition surged in his heart. He wondered, "What is this person trying to do?"
Then, he felt it. An unimaginably massive Power of Heart Image emanated from the hovering figure, spreading out in all directions. That power wasn’t an attack, nor was it a form of oppression. It was something more mysterious, more fundamental.
Li Jingsong had lived for over forty years. He had seen many types of Heart Images and many kinds of power, but he had never seen anything like this. As that power spread, he suddenly had a strange sensation, as if the entire world had become crystal clear. Blurred Rules became sharp, things in Chaos fell into Order, and hidden secrets were left with nowhere to hide.
It was as if a pair of invisible eyes were overlooking everything, scrutinizing everything, and judging everything. Li Jingsong’s pupils shrank drastically. "This is..." he realized.
Hovering in midair, Xu Wuyi’s mind stirred slightly. Blue Flame surged from his body, coalescing around him to form a massive halo. A full hundred meters in diameter, it hovered above his head, rotating slowly. The halo was a very pale blue, so pale it was almost transparent, yet that hue gave off an indescribable feeling. Calm, rationality, Order, Rules. It was the Ring of Order.
Looking down at the station below, Xu Wuyi’s mind stirred again. The blue halo vibrated slightly before showering down countless tiny rays of light. The rays were faint, so faint they were almost invisible, but each one landed precisely on a person.
The warriors on the Training Ground were stunned. They found that a beam of light had appeared out of thin air right above their heads. The beam was very thin—only the width of a finger—and glowed a pale white. It rose from their crowns, extending straight up for dozens of meters. At the very top of each beam floated a tiny point of light, within which some text could faintly be seen. The warriors looked up at the pillars of light above their heads and exchanged bewildered glances, having no idea what was happening.
Li Jingsong also saw the pillar of light above his own head. His pillar was much thicker than those of the warriors, and its color wasn’t white, but rather a faint gold. Within the point of light at the top of the pillar, he could clearly read a line of text: *Li Jingsong, Director of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, Level 49 Quasi-Master, Heart Image: Iron Wall.*
His expression turned extremely ugly. He wondered, "Just what kind of ability is this? Why is my personal information being exposed so nakedly?"
Suspended in midair, Xu Wuyi’s gaze swept over the station below. He saw the white pillars of light above the warriors, the golden pillar above Li Jingsong, and another faintly discernible golden pillar inside the small building—that must be Zhou Tieshan. But they were not the ones he was looking for. He continued his scan, his gaze gliding over buildings, rows of barracks, the Training Ground, the shooting range, the warehouses...
Then, he saw it. In an independent courtyard deep within the station, there was a golden pillar of light. It was slightly thicker than Li Jingsong’s, and its color was richer. Inside the point of light at its peak, a line of text was written: *Li Mingyuan, Vice Director of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, Level 49 Quasi-Master, Heart Image: Undercurrent.*
Xu Wuyi looked at that pillar of light, his face devoid of expression. "Found him," he thought. Retrieving his gaze, he slowly descended to the ground.
𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
Li Jingsong stood there, his face livid and his hands clenched tightly into fists. He stared at Xu Wuyi with eyes full of anger, shock, and a trace of poorly concealed fear. Having been a Director for so many years, he had seen countless experts, but he had never encountered anyone like this. He wondered, "Just what kind of Heart Image is this? What kind of ability is this? How can he peer into everything so unscrupulously?"
Xu Wuyi walked up to him, his voice calm. "Director Li, you said Li Mingyuan wasn’t at the station. But my ability tells me that he is right there in that courtyard deep inside."
Li Jingsong opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Xu Wuyi looked at him and continued, "I know you want to protect him, and I know you are in a difficult position. But Director Li, harboring a criminal is also a crime."
Li Jingsong fell silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and looking up at Xu Wuyi. His gaze changed. The polite smile from earlier was gone, replaced by absolute resolve. "Captain Meng, you cannot take him away today."
"Why?" Xu Wuyi asked.
"Because this is the station of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group," Li Jingsong replied. "Because Mingyuan is the Vice Director of our Battle Group, because he has dedicated twenty years to this group, and because... he is one of our own."
He paused, and his aura began to climb. That coercion of a Level 49 Quasi-Master became even more intense than before. "I don’t care about your background, and I don’t care what abilities you have. If you want to take him away today, you’ll have to get past me first."
Xu Wuyi stared at him, remaining silent for a few seconds. Then, he nodded. "Fine."
The moment that single word left his lips, Li Jingsong moved. He didn’t hold back; his very first strike was at full strength. His Heart Image was the Iron Wall, renowned for its defense, but its offensive power was by no means weak. He threw a punch, and the wind from the strike underwent a Transformation into a solid beam of golden light, smashing straight toward Xu Wuyi’s chest. This punch was powerful enough to shatter a small mountain.