Chapter Seventy-Seven: News of Wang Hui

After they had left, a demonic dragon appeared out of thin air, accompanied by a martial artist who was barely clinging to life. Feng Tianlin carried this martial artist, whose mind had nearly been shattered by his soul interrogation, and asked calmly, “Are you certain there is a great formation ahead?”

The martial artist was stubbornly tight-lipped, so Feng Tianlin escalated the soul interrogation to level five in order to extract something useful.

“Y-yes... yes, there is. This formation is truly wondrous. You can’t see inside from the outside, and its defenses are extremely strong.”

Feng Tianlin nodded, then casually tossed the martial artist aside, killing him instantly with the fall. Someone so unyielding was unlikely to generate much fear, and since martial artists refined their bodies rather than their souls, even the ghouls had no interest in him.

Bo Langen came to a slow stop at the edge of the formation, and Feng Tianlin leapt down, reaching out to touch the barrier.

Sure enough, there was an invisible layer here—something akin to his own spatial exclusion zone, though somewhat inferior.

Before Feng Tianlin, such things were mere trifles. With a bit of preparation, he brought his companions and simply used spatial teleportation to enter.

Once inside, Feng Tianlin was immediately taken aback.

“Did someone just have a vacation here? And what’s with that corpse?”

Inside the formation, there were still remnants of the tables and chairs Fan Tianxing had brought earlier. Not far away, a corpse lay on the ground, and something had been written in blood before it.

“Monstrosity unleashed, calamity upon the nation, I must embrace it with my life. Yet now, finding myself in this desperate plight, I choose to end it here.”

Below this was a line, scrawled in smaller writing.

“That bastard Fan Tianxing, the director, ran away! He deserted at the critical moment! Shameless!” An arrow was drawn at the far right of this message. “He fled in that direction.” The arrow pointed straight toward Spirit City.

Seeing these words, Feng Tianlin’s temper flared. “Damn it, the big fish got away!”

There was no helping it. For now, he could only return to the city, rally the army, and prepare to attack Spirit City.

Meanwhile, Fan Tianxing was driving the two vehicles at their maximum speed, speaking anxiously into a satellite phone with an absurdly long antenna as he drove.

“It’s over! Everything’s over! The owner of the monstrous domain is in Well City! Our forces have been utterly wiped out!”

Ren Zhonghao, sitting beside him, held the phone, his face sprayed with spittle.

Fan Tianxing continued, “Evacuate the city’s residents immediately! I’m afraid this monstrous being will attack Spirit City!”

On the other end of the call was the lord of Spirit City. Though a city master, he dared not show the slightest disrespect, nodding hurriedly and agreeing to Fan Tianxing’s request.

When the call ended, Fan Tianxing let out a long sigh. “Now I’ve really messed things up. If I’d known, I’d have brought those old fellows along.”

Just then, the phone rang again.

Ren Zhonghao hardly dared to breathe. He looked at Fan Tianxing for permission, and upon receiving it, connected the call.

“Fan Tianxing! Because you forcibly transferred large numbers of high-level fighters, Firecloud City has fallen to the Evil King and the Venomous Queen!”

Hearing this, Fan Tianxing felt a chill in his heart. This was serious trouble now. Still, he merely replied indifferently, “Understood.” Then he turned to Ren Zhonghao. “Throw the phone away.” He also pulled his own smartphone from his pocket and tossed it out.

Ren Zhonghao didn’t dare object and promptly threw the phone out the window, where it shattered on the ground.

“Why? Why is it that ever since I arrived in Spirit City, nothing matches the prophecies anymore? Why!” he shouted, pounding the steering wheel in frustration.

Ren Zhonghao trembled in fear, not daring to make a sound.

After some time, they finally arrived at the gates of Spirit City. The area was packed with soldiers—some helping civilians evacuate, others standing guard.

Fan Tianxing got out and strode straight to a soldier, producing his credentials. “I am Fan Tianxing, Director of the Spirit City Bureau of Monstrous Creature Investigation. I need to see your highest-ranking commander.”

As a young director, Fan Tianxing was fairly well-known in Spirit City, so the soldier immediately reported up the chain of command.

Soon, a slightly corpulent middle-aged man in military uniform approached. He was the commander of the garrison in Well City.

“Order your soldiers to retreat at once!” Fan Tianxing addressed the commander directly.

The commander retorted, “Our orders are only to evacuate civilians. No order has been given for the garrison to withdraw.”

This amused Fan Tianxing. With a sneer, he replied, “Civilians? Do you think you’re any different from ordinary people in the face of those monstrous beings? Withdraw immediately!”

“We don’t know what these monstrous creatures are, but we know the garrison’s duty is to defend this city!” The commander stood his ground, showing no intention of backing down.

Fan Tianxing gritted his teeth. What he couldn’t tolerate most was someone defying him. “A soldier’s duty is to obey orders! I’m ordering you to retreat, now!”

“You’re not my superior. I have no obligation to follow your orders.”

Hearing this, Fan Tianxing instinctively reached for his phone to contact a higher-ranking officer—only to remember he had just thrown all his phones away.

There was nothing he could do. He pointed at the commander. “If you insist on seeking death, that’s beyond my help. At least you’ll buy some time for those who want to survive.”

With that, he got back into the car, taking Ren Zhonghao with him, and drove off into the distance.

Watching Fan Tianxing leave, the commander scoffed and turned to his soldiers. “We may have to face monstrous beings that fear neither bullets nor fire. Are you afraid?”

All the soldiers raised their arms and shouted, “If the city stands, we stand!”

Seeing his men’s spirit, the commander nodded approvingly. “With so many of us marching together, even the King of Hell will have to step aside!” Laughter broke out among them.

Meanwhile, in Well City, Feng Tianlin was inspecting a nearly completed statue and nodding in satisfaction.

“I didn’t expect such efficiency.”

The statue was the idea of the Demonic Human Puppet. Previously, a human had proposed erecting a statue to honor him, but now that Feng Tianlin himself had arrived, it was fitting to build one for the true master of Well City.

The statue depicted a giant doll. A third of it was finished; the feet were complete, the facial features were taking shape, and overall, it already exuded a faintly terrifying aura.

Feng Tianlin nodded in appreciation once more, then asked casually, “How many of those humans can generate fear?”

“Only a few of the Daoist priests,” replied the Demonic Human Puppet.

“Only a few Daoists...” Feng Tianlin was a bit disappointed, though it was understandable. The martial artists and spirit tamers were all officially trained—likely desensitized to fear.

Daoists, however, belonged to the Dao Alliance, whose training was less rigorous.

Suddenly inspired, Feng Tianlin declared, “Take me to see those Daoists.”

The Demonic Human Puppet led him to an abandoned prison, now a factory for harvesting the delicious terror of certain humans.

He approached the Daoist from the Kaiyuan realm who had once leaked information to him. “Old man, how are you feeling?”

The Daoist, all four limbs gone, lay trembling on the ground, his eyes twitching incessantly—a clear sign of a shattered mind.

Feng Tianlin sighed. “Ah... humanity.” Then he looked at him and asked, “Do you know Wang Hui?”

Indeed, he was seeking news of Wang Hui, his human protégé, for whom he still felt a certain concern.

“Wang Hui...” The Daoist repeated the name, then his eyes widened. “You mean that young man with the innate Daoist constitution?”