National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

These celebrities shone like brilliant stars in the firmament of the entertainment industry,

bringing an endless stream of immense wealth to their families, raking in profits hand over fist.

"That’s not right, is it? Weren’t you the ones who wanted to call this meeting?"

Gao Liceng wasn’t about to indulge or yield in the slightest to this group of bigwigs, who were seen as high and mighty by the outside world.

In her black-and-white world,

people were divided into only two types:

the righteous and the wicked.

Even if it was a person of venerable status, if they did something that violated morality, conscience, and the law,

Gao Liceng would unhesitatingly find a way to bring them to justice.

In her view, only the dead

could never lie; they were the most honest of beings.

Only then could the world’s evil truly be brought to an end.

Gao Liceng’s blunt and merciless words

instantly threw Li Run—a man who had always been smooth, diplomatic, and unwilling to offend anyone, content to just make money—into an extremely awkward situation.

The broad smile on his face seemed to freeze,

stuck at the corners of his mouth, his eyes betraying a hint of bewilderment and embarrassment.

He could only force a dry laugh or two, trying to ease the sudden tension, but he didn’t know where to begin.

"And who the hell do you think you are?

We’re discussing important matters here. When did it become your place, you little brat, to interrupt?

I never thought Mr. Chu had such peculiar tastes,

bringing a high school girl to a meeting.

Is he afraid people won’t find out about his dirty little secrets?"

A mocking smile touched the corners of Murong Xiang’s lips,

a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. He seized this rare opportunity

to immediately launch a sharp and caustic verbal attack.

His voice echoed in the meeting room, filled with condescending arrogance and disdain.

In his eyes, Gao Liceng was nothing but an insignificant ant

who dared to act so presumptuously before powerful figures like them. She simply didn’t know her place.

Hearing this, Gao Liceng’s anger flared, and her face flushed crimson.

From the moment she stepped into this meeting room, she had taken an extreme dislike to this Murong Xiang fellow.

Just looking at his domineering attitude made a nameless fire rise in her heart.

To her, the so-called four great families were a load of bullshit,

just a group of people throwing their weight around because of their power and influence.

If Chu He hadn’t been right there and hadn’t spoken yet, she would have been unable to contain her impulse

to lash out and teach this guy a harsh lesson—or even take his life—just to vent her hatred.

Just as Gao Liceng was about to retort, she heard Chu He let out a soft sigh.

The sigh seemed to hold endless vicissitudes and profound meaning,

sounding exceptionally clear in the silent meeting room.

After sighing, Chu He calmly continued, "You people...

You have been sitting in your high positions for far, far too long.

You’ve grown used to enjoying the adoring gazes of the common people.

You’ve grown used to them speaking cautiously in your presence.

Even when they are wronged or taken advantage of,

they only dare to bow and scrape before you, not voicing the slightest complaint.

However, you have long since forgotten—

or perhaps, you are simply unwilling to face the fact that the world has already undergone earth-shattering changes.

Your so-called power and status are nothing more than tools to keep the common people in check,

and that includes the laws you yourselves created.

Before the Evil Spirits invaded this world, every Empire had numerous departments.

From the daily necessities of the common people’s lives,

to upholding the dignity of the Empire’s laws and ensuring its safety,

different departments each performed their duties, carrying out their work in an orderly fashion.

But after the Evil Spirit invasion, the entire world order was thrown into chaos.

The original system collapsed like a great building, crumbling to pieces.

And the Defense Team rose up from this chaos, becoming the representative of a new power."

Chu He’s voice was steady and powerful,

each word striking the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer.

As Murong Xiang listened to Chu He’s slow speech,

a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up inside him. He keenly sensed that something was wrong.

His brow furrowed slightly.

A flash of panic crossed his eyes as he wondered inwardly: ’What is this Chu He really up to?

Is he going to use this opportunity to make a move against our four great families?’

At this thought,

cold sweat began to bead on his palms, and a sense of foreboding enveloped his heart like a shadow.

"Since you have no reverence for this new power,

then today, I’ll let you see it for yourselves.

I imagine your daily lives are spent surrounded by layers of security,

pampered and privileged.

You have never personally witnessed the brutal sight of true Evil Spirits and Martial Artists fighting to the death on the battlefield, slaughtering each other in a shower of blood.

At most, you’ve only seen sanitized, unrealistic combat footage on a screen,

unaware of the true cruelty and gore."

After saying this, Chu He gave Gao Liceng a subtle look.

Gao Liceng understood instantly. She struck as fast as a bolt of lightning,

her arm a blur as it traced an afterimage through the air.

She gently touched Murong Xiang’s forehead.

Before Murong Xiang or anyone from the other three great families could react,

a yellow Talisman Paper appeared as silently as a ghost on Murong Xiang’s forehead.

Looking at this yellow Talisman Paper,

there was nothing particularly eye-catching about it, aside from the bizarre way it had appeared.

It had a coarse texture, like a discarded piece of junk that had been carelessly tossed in a corner.