The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

"His spirit is completely annihilated?"

In the principal’s office.

Tang Baichuan’s expression darkened.

Before him stood a member of the Xingwu Guard.

He nodded quickly. "Principal Tang, I just came from the School Medical Bureau. Dr. Luo confirmed it. The cafeteria’s Master Liang suffered a heart spirit attack. His spirit is now completely annihilated!"

"It seems someone really has infiltrated Xingwu University!"

"Investigate this Master Liang’s background!"

"Huh? Principal Tang, investigate... Master Liang’s background?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Tang Baichuan glanced at him.

The Xingwu Guard shook his head hastily. "No, sir. I’ll get right on it!"

He hurried out of the office.

The moment the door closed, Tang Baichuan’s expression grew even more grave.

After a long moment, he murmured to himself, ’It seems the Martial Arts Alliance has already started to move?’

...

"Elder He, that Master Liang today—he wanted to trap Lin Yi in his heart spirit."

"Luckily, Lin Yi’s Heart Spirit Domain is stronger, and he counter-killed Master Liang!"

After returning to his dorm.

Wei Shang couldn’t wait to call Old He.

He recounted everything that had just happened in the cafeteria.

After a long pause, Old He’s voice came through the phone.

"I know. For the next few days, you are not to leave Lin Yi’s side. We absolutely cannot let what happened today happen again. Lin Yi has the Star River Domain. Ordinary heart spirit attacks won’t cause him too much harm."

"However, we still can’t be careless. From today’s events, we now know the Martial Arts Alliance’s methods."

"They want to trap Lin Yi’s spirit..."

Wei Shang nodded. "It certainly looks that way now. Elder He, the Martial Arts Alliance is stepping all over us. If we remain silent, won’t they think we’re scared?"

"Scared? Heh, stay out of this matter."

"Just protect Lin Yi. You don’t need to worry about anything else."

"Alright, I understand!"

Wei Shang nodded and hung up.

However... the Martial Arts Alliance’s move had thoroughly enraged the upper echelons of the Town Martial Department.

That very evening, Old He gathered several high-ranking members for a meeting that lasted two hours.

The night the meeting ended, a counterattack against the Martial Arts Alliance began.

...

The night had deepened.

The streets of the various cities in the New District were still bustling with activity.

The roads were packed with an endless stream of traffic.

The sound of blaring horns pierced the night.

Brilliant, dazzling lights made the urban areas incredibly lively.

Young men and women streamed in and out of various entertainment venues.

Even an inconspicuous little restaurant was filled with people drinking.

The entire New District presented a scene of peace and excitement.

It was a stark contrast to the Old District.

It was as if they were two completely different worlds.

「Kuishan City.」

A few young men and women staggered out of a hotel.

They reeked of alcohol.

Clearly drunk, they leaned on each other for support as they tried to get into a car.

But, just then.

Two people appeared before them.

"Who... who is it?"

One of the young men looked up, his eyes bleary with drunkenness.

Before him stood two middle-aged men.

Their faces were blank, betraying no emotion.

One of them spoke in a cold tone, "Are you Huang Yang?"

"Yeah, I... I’m Huang Yang. Wh-what about it?" the young man named Huang Yang replied, nodding with his usual arrogance.

He had drunk so much that his words were slurred.

The next moment, the two men in front of him presented their credentials.

The two words "Town Martial" were clearly written on them.

"Town Martial Department, enforcing the law! Seize Huang Yang!"

As soon as the words were spoken, six or seven people emerged from the surroundings.

They were all wearing the uniforms of the Town Martial Department and made a beeline for Huang Yang.

At that moment, Huang Yang sobered up considerably.

The instant he saw the credentials and heard the words "Town Martial Department"...

...he knew what fate awaited him.

Without waiting for the Town Martial Department officers to approach, he shoved the girl beside him away.

He turned to flee.

"Target is attempting to escape. Kill him!"

Upon receiving the order, the Town Martial Department officers charged straight at Huang Yang.

A series of blood-curdling screams echoed from outside the hotel.

Everyone watched, wide-eyed, as Huang Yang was killed on the spot.

Right up to the moment his life faded away.

The two leading Town Martial Department officers walked over and inspected Huang Yang’s body.

After confirming his death.

They left the scene in full view of the public.

No one dared to stop them, for they were the Town Martial Department.

...

A similar scene was playing out in other cities throughout the New District.

"Town Martial Department, enforcing the law! Kill!"

In an instant, the city district was thrown into chaos.

Many people were scared into scattering and fleeing.

Only after a scion of a prominent family was cut down on the spot did they gradually calm down.

When someone recognized the person who was killed.

Their expression changed drastically as they said, "Isn’t... isn’t he from the Zhang Family?"

"Zhang Tianwai? He was executed?"

"Serves him right! That bastard used his family’s influence to cause trouble everywhere. They should’ve dealt with him ages ago!"

"This Zhang Tianwai had a long list of crimes. The Town Martial Department has finally intervened!"

"The Zhang Family won’t dare to even fart now, right? Who among them would dare to cause trouble for the Town Martial Department?"

"Let’s go, let’s go! Don’t linger here. Aren’t you afraid of getting caught up in this...?"

The onlookers who recognized the deceased all let out a long sigh of relief.

And from the sounds of their discussion, this person named Zhang Tianwai was no saint.

His death at the hands of the Town Martial Department was, surprisingly, a cause for public celebration.

Not a single person cried injustice for him...

However, such incidents continued to occur.

Overnight, the scions of more than a dozen minor prominent families were all killed.

Some died in the beds of certain hotels.

Some died in their own homes.

But most died out on the streets or in entertainment venues.

The direct intervention of the Town Martial Department once again earned them considerable prestige.

Those law-breaking, hedonistic scions of prominent families all received their just deserts.

「The Yao Family Estate, Langping City.」

Inside a courtyard-style residence.

The lights were blazing, illuminating the entire courtyard as if it were day.

In the main hall, Yao Tong sat in the seat of honor.

On his left and right sat two rows of people.

One row consisted of Yao Family members, the other of patriarchs from prominent families who had rushed here overnight.

Each of them wore a grave expression, filled with terror and unease.

Naturally, they were all aware of what had happened tonight.

Before the Town Martial Department could come knocking, they had preemptively brought their sons and grandsons.

They had traveled great distances to Langping City, seeking Yao Tong’s protection.

Any discerning person could see that the Town Martial Department’s operation this time was aimed directly at the Yao Family.

All the prominent families that had attached themselves to the Yao Family were being rooted out one by one.

Moreover, the Town Martial Department was not killing indiscriminately. All those killed were law-breaking hedonists who had violated the law.

It was just that they hadn’t been dealt with in a timely manner before.

But today, the time for reckoning had come.

Normally, relying on the Yao Family’s protection, the patriarchs of these minor prominent families had never taken it seriously.

But today, they were all terrified.

Yao Tong’s cold gaze swept over them.

"You’ve come to me... are you asking me to bend the law for personal gain, to shelter your sons? Your grandsons?"

After a long moment, Yao Tong spoke coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the patriarchs all nodded, then shook their heads.

They no longer knew how to answer.

Seeing this, Yao Tong continued, "Then what is your meaning? Visiting me late at night, coming to my Yao Family estate just to sit here with me?"

"No, no, Elder Yao, we didn’t mean to intrude. We’ve truly been driven to a dead end!"

"Those people from the Town Martial Department are acting like madmen."

"They’re hunting down our families’ children everywhere!"

"The children of more than a dozen families have already been killed. We’re afraid... afraid the Town Martial Department will come for us next, so..."

"Hah! After all that, you still want my protection?"

"How many times have I told you before? Don’t rely on the Yao Family’s name to run amok outside!"

"The Martial Arts Alliance cannot command the Town Martial Department. The Department is in charge of public order in the cities of the New District. You just wouldn’t listen."

"Now that they’ve come knocking, you finally know fear?"

For a moment, all the patriarchs lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

Seeing their silence, a man in his thirties sitting opposite them laughed.

"Grandfather, it’s just the Town Martial Department. There’s no need to be afraid of them, is there?"

"If a Martial God were still in charge, then fearing them would make sense. But the last Martial God left centuries ago. Now, the Town Martial Department is just filled with a bunch of old relics!"

"Why should our Yao Family be afraid of them? Besides, Grandfather, you have the entire Martial Arts Alliance behind you!"

"Aren’t all those people in the Martial Arts Alliance on your side? If it comes to it, we should just rip off the facade and go head-to-head with the Town Martial Department!"

As he said this, Elder Yao shot the speaker a sharp look.

"Go head-to-head? What do you have to go head-to-head with the Town Martial Department? They hold the power of life and death! Do you have any idea what kind of status those ’old relics’ you speak of hold in the New District?"

"What level have their cultivation realms reached? Do you think you can just go head-to-head with them whenever you please?"

After Elder Yao’s furious rebuke.

The young man didn’t dare to speak again.

After a long pause, Elder Yao glanced at the gathered patriarchs.

"You should all go back. The Yao Family cannot protect you, nor can we fight against the Town Martial Department!"

"I’ll give you a piece of advice. If you don’t want your families to be implicated..."

"...hand over whoever committed the crimes. Try to get the Town Martial Department to show leniency!"

"Don’t wait for them to come to your door acting all self-righteous. If you do that, who’s going to die if not you?"

After Elder Yao finished speaking.

The faces of all the patriarchs darkened.

A hint of anger appeared in their eyes.

But in front of Elder Yao and the rest of the Yao Family, they didn’t dare say anything.

They could only feign obedience, nodding before they departed.

After they had all left, Elder Yao glanced at his own family members.

"All of you, dismiss. Go back to sleep!"

With that, before they could leave, Elder Yao stood up and headed toward the back courtyard.

But the moment he left.

Not a single member of the Yao Family moved.

"Has Grandfather gone senile? Are we just going to let this go?"

"Shut up! How can you say something like that?"

"Ever since Dad came back from the Martial Arts Alliance, he’s seemed a bit strange. His personality is completely different!"

"This time, the families who follow our Yao Family have been struck by the Town Martial Department. If we can’t stabilize them, I’m afraid they’ll abandon us after this is over!"

"Grandfather has gotten muddled, but we can’t afford to be. He might not be willing to handle it, but we have to!"

"Right, that’s what I think too. We can’t just play dumb..."

The descendants of the Yao Family all remained seated and began to plot among themselves.

Meanwhile, Elder Yao walked from the front courtyard all the way to the back.

As soon as he entered his room, he snatched up the phone and made a call.

After a long pause, the call connected.

His voice was low as he said, "You guessed right. We’ve been set up. The Town Martial Department has made its move."