With his powerful spatial abilities, Di Tian carried out assassinations with the greatest ease. In less than half an hour, he had killed all four councilors in Star Luo City.
After finishing the kills, he opened a spatial passage and appeared above White City. Having already scouted the location beforehand, he quickly found his target.
When he struck, he did not directly use soul power, but instead employed ordinary weapons to deliver fatal blows.
With quasi-god–level power augmenting him, even the simplest weapons were enough to take the lives of Title Douluo–level soul masters.
Time passed bit by bit. On the surface, the night seemed calm, but in reality it was filled with bloodshed.
Yun Ze returned to the Dragon-Phoenix Hall and, as usual, entered a state of cultivation. Having just killed over twenty people did not affect his state of mind in the slightest.
He was not in his own room, but in the tenth-floor studio. Gu Yuena was researching soul tools in the soul tool area.
"Young Master, Miss, the three councilors have all been eliminated. No accidents occurred," Lin San came over to report.
"Understood. Go rest," Gu Yuena said cheerfully.
Yun Ze continued cultivating, without opening his eyes.
Nearly an hour later, Di Tian also returned to the Dragon-Phoenix Hall to report:
"Young Master, Miss, the fifteen targets have all been eliminated. No accidents occurred."
The next to return was Lin Yi.
"Young Master, Miss, the twelve councilors have all been eliminated. Everything went smoothly, no accidents."
Yao Ling came back around five in the morning. He had also dealt with the seven councilors he was responsible for, again without incident.
"Go back and get some sleep," Yun Ze said as he ended his cultivation, speaking to Gu Yuena, who smiled when she heard the news.
"Alright," Gu Yuena replied happily. She went downstairs together with Yun Ze, and they each returned to their rooms to rest.
After daybreak, at nine in the morning, a piece of news spread:
"Federation Councilor Yuan Qicai was murdered in his home."
Not long after, another piece of news followed:
"Federation Councilor Xia Guochao was murdered in his home."
Soon after that, tragic news also came from the Federation Bank:
"Eighteen managers, four administrators, and one vice president of the Federation Bank have been murdered."
The news detonated across the entire Federation's StarNet. In less than half an hour, it had attracted attention from the whole Federation.
In Bright Capital, the Federation Police Department mobilized eighty percent of its forces, dividing them into four groups. The largest group rushed to the Federation Bank employees' building.
Not only Bright Capital—Tian Dou City, Star Luo City, White City, and twelve other cities also reported bad news.
One councilor after another was found dead in their homes, plunging the entire Federation into a massive upheaval.
At the Federation Council building in the center of Bright Capital, the Federation Speaker smashed a cup to the ground in rage, his body trembling with fury.
"How many did you just say?" the Speaker asked, suspecting that he had misheard, his face turning pale.
The person reporting was also a high-ranking Federation official, yet he stammered,
"Th-thirty-seven."
"After rapid investigations across major cities, we found that thirty-seven councilors have gone missing."
"Subsequently, personnel were dispatched to verify at their homes, and it was discovered that all thirty-seven had died in their residences."
The Federation Speaker's body went limp, and he collapsed into his chair, momentarily dazed.
"Speaker, what should we do now?" the man hesitated before asking.
"What else can we do? Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Find every single perpetrator—don't let a single one escape!" the Speaker nearly roared.
"This matter must be thoroughly investigated. I want to see which damned bastard is so bold!"
"Daring to assassinate Federation councilors—and thirty-seven of them at that. Are they truly lawless?"
It was unclear whether he was speaking to the man or muttering to himself. The shock of this incident was simply too great, causing him to lose his composure.
That afternoon, the total number of victims was counted and reported on StarNet.
Television stations across the entire Federation broadcast the news, including footage from the scenes—it was truly horrifying.
Some scenes were especially bloody, such as bodies being decapitated, which frightened many children into tears.
Even some psychologically fragile adults turned pale upon seeing the footage.
"This is Federation Television. According to information from relevant agencies, thirty-seven Federation councilors have now been confirmed murdered."
"Among them is one core Federation councilor, who served as director of the Federation Medical Bureau during his lifetime."
"Besides Federation councilors, twenty-three senior officials of the Federation Bank have also been murdered, all found dead in their residences."
"This is the largest and most heinous assassination incident since the Federation was founded. The Federation government has now established a special investigation team to examine each crime scene…"
Before long, the Federation Speaker organized a press conference, broadcast live to the entire Federation.
He led a moment of silence for the fallen councilors, offered sincere condolences to their families, and then began issuing harsh statements.
At Sun Moon Royal Academy, Xu Lin watched the news with his heart pounding, his face full of disbelief.
"Madmen… they're a bunch of madmen," Xu Lin muttered to himself. He had never imagined they would be so ruthless—directly killing thirty-seven Federation councilors.
Since the Federation was established, there had never been so many councilors dying unnatural deaths.
Even one or two deaths would have been enough to draw the Federation's highest attention.
Now that so many had died, it was like punching a hole straight through the Federation's sky—absolutely terrifying.
He did not even dare mention the Dragon-Phoenix Hall, afraid that saying the wrong thing might lead to catastrophic consequences.
Assassinating thirty-seven Federation councilors—once such a charge was confirmed, the Dragon-Phoenix Hall would become a public enemy of the entire Federation.
At that point, no one could protect them, no one would dare protect them, and no one would even dare have the slightest association with them.
"This wasn't done by the Dragon-Phoenix Hall. This has nothing to do with them at all," Xu Lin kept telling himself internally.
He was an old fox by now. Although his heart was in turmoil, he did not lose his composure, doing his best to calm his emotions.
At the Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters, Qiangu Dongfeng confirmed the news and asked,
"These thirty-seven councilors… they really were all connected to Shrek Academy?"
"Yes. Our people confirmed it repeatedly. All thirty-seven were connected to Shrek Academy," Qiangu Zhangting replied.
Qiangu Dongfeng froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Heaven truly helps me!"
"Thirty-seven councilors—this directly removes over sixty percent of the councilors connected to Shrek."
"With this, Shrek Academy's influence among the Federation councilors will drop sharply. Let's see how arrogant they can be in the future—haha!"
Qiangu Zhangting laughed along as well. This was an enormous boon for the Spirit Transmission Tower.
As long as they seized this opportunity, they could fully occupy some of the vacant councilor seats left by Shrek Academy.
The enemy's strength weakened while their own increased—what could be better than that?
"Still, Grandpa, who do you think actually did this? The courage required is simply enormous," Qiangu Zhangting said in shock.
(End of Chapter)