Min Ning looked at the twenty-one corpses on the ground, chilled to the bone.
The man was drenched head to toe in blood. No matter how hard the torrential rain poured, it couldn't wash it clean.
He carried a blade and slowly walked forward.
Min Ning's five fingers trembled, stricken with terror.
It seemed that at any moment, another slash might come, adding yet another corpse to the ground.
[Resentment Yin-Yang Technique: beginner stage, 216 types of True Qi. Three-tenths can be absorbed, equivalent to seventy-two years of True Qi. Min Ning's negative emotions grant an additional three years of True Qi.]
Chen Yi stopped, gently laid Yin Tingxue down, and said in a flat tone:
"Take her back to my home."
Min Ning, dazed, instinctively stretched out his hand, took hold of Yin Tingxue, and hoisted her onto his back.
Chen Yi coldly stared at him and left a chilling remark:
"If I don't see her at my house, you know the consequences..."
Min Ning instantly felt a chilling surge of fear run through him.
After a long pause, he could only nod.
Chen Yi wiped the blood from his blade and turned, walking away.
......…
Eastern Factory headquarters.
The ground was littered with numerous corpses, blood nearly covering the entire practice field.
At the center of the slaughter, Xue Youge faced off against a Demon Sect elder.
The elder possessed exceptional martial arts, evading one of Xue Youge's strikes and stepping swiftly forward. His palms struck Xue Youge's chest, suddenly exerting force, activating the Star Absorption Technique. True Qi surged turbulently.
The Eastern Factory Chief Supervisor retreated two steps, the soft silk armor beneath his python robe shattering from within. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. Even with the Copper Bone Skill, the elder's attack employed cunning precision.
Xue Youge continued to retreat, aiming to create distance sufficient to wield his long blade, but the Demon Sect's chief enforcer pressed him relentlessly.
One advanced, one retreated—a deadly dance that led the two into the main hall of the Eastern Factory government office.
Apart from the pair, the hall was empty.
Finally, Xue Youge was forced back against the wall, unable to retreat further. The chief enforcer stepped sharply forward, pressing one palm against Xue Youge's chest, the other upon his hand as if sealing his doom.
Just as the chief enforcer exerted force, Xue Youge planted his left foot against the wall, shouting fiercely as he leveraged the rebound, driving his blade forward in a desperate, life-for-life maneuver.
The chief enforcer flinched instinctively, retreating a step. Xue Youge seized the moment to break free and force the elder back.
Xue Youge prepared to wield his long blade once more. Realizing the danger, the elder cycled his True Qi throughout his body, returned with renewed ferocity, and struck out with a palm that surged like a dragon.
Mid-swing, the long blade collided directly with the palm, lodging itself within the flesh and bone.
With a bellow, the chief enforcer launched another palm strike—both palms unleashed in a reckless exchange of lives.
The fierce palm wind created flashes of lighting-like momentum. In the blink of an eye, Xue Youge realized full retreat was impossible. If he failed to seize the opportunity, death was certain. Clenching his teeth, he raised his arm to block. Bones shattered inch by inch, rendering his limb useless. True Qi erupted from his body as the blade rang violently within the fractured bone.
The elder's pupils contracted sharply as the blade severed his arm, slicing through bone and flesh, embedding itself into his chest. Blood sprayed from his lips as his strength ebbed.
Xue Youge gasped heavily, the excruciating pain from his crippled arm forcing him to hiss between clenched teeth. Staring at the fallen Demon Sect elder, he wore a cold smile.
With his remaining functional arm, he raised his blade, preparing to slash at the elder's throat.
The chief enforcer, filled with despair, suddenly noticed a flicker in the shadowed beams of the hall.
His eyes widened in shock, then with unexpected delight.
Xue Youge hesitated, confusion flashing across his face.
Then, a sharp, searing pain pierced through his back.
Caught completely off guard, Xue Youge spat blood as a blade drove through his back and emerged from his chest.
A young man stepped from the shadows. Moments ago, he had concealed himself within the hall; now, he pressed one hand against Xue Youge while the other hand rested on the fallen elder.
"The World of Ignorance… will rise again," the elder murmured softly.
True Qi surged out of his body.
The elder's True Qi, combined with Chen Yi's own, a total of nearly two hundred years' worth, flowed into the shell of Xue Youge.
Xue Youge's eyes widened in horror as his meridians ruptured, disbelief etched into his pale face, staring at Chen Yi.
That look of terror seemed to ask: Why?
They were both Lady Lin's people…
This man had recently submitted to the Eastern Factory...
As if reading Xue Youge's thoughts, the figure slowly pulled the blade free.
He smirked slightly, tapping the blade's flat edge against Xue Youge's face.
"Chief Supervisor thought killing me would be effortless. On that point, you're better. Killing you? Takes a little work."
The Eastern Factory Chief Supervisor Xue Youge turned ghastly pale, dying in agony and terror.
Chen Yi sheathed his blade and glanced at the blood-soaked hall. As the Demon Sect infiltrators struck, several servants and maids from the Eastern Factory had been slain.
Casually, he located a corpse roughly matching Yin Tingxue's build and dressed it in the garb of Demon Sect members.
This was the "Demon Sect Saintess."
Outside, the sound of hoofbeats rumbled.
It was the West Factory arriving to provide aid.
Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Yi harnessed his True Qi and roared toward the fighting crowd in the practice field:
"Chief Supervisor Xue killed the Demon Sect elder, sacrificing himself heroically in the process!"
"What righteousness!"
"Eastern Factory brothers, avenge him!"
Hundreds of blade slashes filled the air.
In the Eastern Factory practice field, the cries of the Chief Supervisor's righteousness resonated through the chaos.
.........…
West Factory Chief Supervisor Wu Qingsheng, his expression cold and unyielding, strode into the Eastern Factory main hall.
The arrival of the West Factory decisively tipped the scales; the Demon Sect members fell in droves or fled in panic.
The Ming'an Divine Sect's years of groundwork in the Capital City crumbled in a single battle.
But the Eastern Factory did not escape unscathed.
After a cursory count, Eastern Factory Deputy Chief Supervisor Song Tong estimated that nearly a third of their workforce had been lost.
Especially in an alley—twenty-one men slain by Demon Sect elites.
Wu Qingsheng surveyed the hall and said in a heavy voice:
"Where is Chen Yi?"
The Eastern Factory agents parted to create a path. Chen Yi knelt in the center of the hall, head hung low, his posture filled with grief for the fallen Chief Supervisor.
Seeing this, some of Wu Qingsheng's initial commanding demeanor eased slightly.
"Subordinate is here."
The calm voice carried a hint of mourning.
Chen Yi slowly rose to his feet.
The Eastern Factory agents, detecting the sorrow in his tone, glanced at the Chief Supervisor's corpse on the ground and felt their hearts grow heavy.
Wu Qingsheng opened his mouth as if to speak but, sensing the somber mood, ultimately chose restraint.
Chen Yi took a deep breath and lamented:
"Chief Supervisor Xue was unspeakably righteous.
I served alongside him under the court. I, spineless and fearful of death; he, willing to sacrifice for the greater cause."
As these words fell, the weight of grief in the air thickened.
Several Eastern Factory leaders choked back their emotions, unable to bring themselves to speak.
Wu Qingsheng stood silent at the side. After lingering hesitation, he finally asked:
"Chen Yi, what happened here...
Why were you the first from the West Factory to arrive?"
When the West Factory received news of the Eastern Factory's turmoil, they initially believed the situation manageable and delayed intervention. Only when it became clear the battle had turned dire did Wu Qingsheng himself lead reinforcements.
The slow response was not without intent—Wu Qingsheng harbored motives of weakening the Eastern Factory, watching the tiger fight from the mountain. However, he had never expected Xue Youge to perish.
Xue Youge was a fifth-grade master, a rarity even within the Capital City.
By the time the West Factory mobilized, no trace of Chen Yi could be found. Wu Qingsheng had heard only from a trusted deputy that Chen Yi had departed early to aid the Eastern Factory.
Now, seeing Chen Yi within the Eastern Factory hall, Wu Qingsheng couldn't help but feel suspicion. After all, hadn't Chen Yi recently represented Xue Youge to exert pressure on him?
Chen Yi inhaled deeply, turned his head, and shot Wu Qingsheng a sharp glance. Coldly he remarked:
"Does Chief Supervisor Wu suspect I orchestrated this from within?"
Such charged words prompted Wu Qingsheng to instinctively deny:
"Those words... are reckless."
Chen Yi smirked coldly and retorted:
"Chief Supervisor Wu, I am but a feeble martial artist, far inferior to Chief Supervisor Xue.
You may not know, but not long ago, Deputy Head Li gifted me the Copper Bone Skill to signify the brotherly bond between the Eastern and West Factories. This matter—Deputy Head Li can testify."
Wu Qingsheng turned his gaze toward Deputy Head Li.
The latter nodded and responded:
"The matter is true."
Ignoring Wu Qingsheng, Chen Yi walked directly toward Deputy Head Li.
"This manual was authored by Chief Supervisor Xue himself. Thus, I owe him half my instruction as a mentor.
Man who taught me such a technique—how could I betray? Furthermore, Chief Supervisor Xue and I hail from the same root!"
His tone crescendoed, brimming with accusations.
Several Eastern Factory agents glanced at Chen Yi with sympathetic gazes before turning to Wu Qingsheng.
Wu Qingsheng mulled over Chen Yi's reasoning. From every angle, it seemed Chen Yi had no cause to plot against the Eastern Factory.
"Chen Yi, it appears I was mistaken."
Wu Qingsheng raised his fists slightly, offering an apologetic gesture.
Chen Yi did not press further but mimicked the salute. With a voice wrought with grief, he declared:
"I only lament my own incompetence, unable to save Chief Supervisor Xue."
"Chief Supervisor Xue sacrificed himself nobly for the Eastern Factory. Such righteousness deserves to be fully reported."
"Additionally, Eastern Factory brothers fought to the death with unwavering courage akin to Chief Supervisor Xue. I hope Chief Supervisor Wu will acknowledge their merit."
These words rallied every Eastern Factory man to Chen Yi's side.
The collective gaze of the Eastern Factory agents fixed upon Wu Qingsheng imploringly, the intensity causing Wu Qingsheng's scalp to prickle.
In the end, he conceded:
"I will accurately report all matters without holding back."