Infinite Fighting

Suhai has always been a source of star crystals controlled by the imperial court.

The government prohibits private mining and sales.

However, it is not completely prohibited.

It's not easy to investigate if someone does it privately and quietly.

However, if it involves large-scale occupation, mining, smuggling, and sales, it would shake the very foundation of the nation's destiny.

According to the investigation, high-quality star crystals have always been available for sale on the market.

Its origin is very likely the Xuan Gu Sect near Su Hai.

The Extermination Bureau is currently investigating this case.

To investigate this matter, six out of a total of nine officers were mobilized, demonstrating a level of importance placed on it far greater than that placed on Shadow Fiend.

Fang Lingwei's master, Jiang Feiang, is investigating this matter.

Fang Lingwei wasn't idle either; she also had a mission in the city: to investigate the Xuan Gu Sect's warehouse where they stored star crystals.

This task cannot involve high-ranking officers, because the government is also very complex, and there are definitely insiders involved.

Fang Lingwei was also in charge of investigating the Shadow Demon case and was conducting the investigation.

Moreover, she is a local, which gives her a natural advantage.

After nearly a month of investigation, Fang Lingwei had a very clear understanding of their route.

The star crystals of the Xuan Gu Sect were not disguised to enter the city, but were directly mixed in with the government's grain ships and docked before being transported into the city.

There's no reason why the officials in charge of grain shouldn't be unaware of these matters.

This means that there are quite a few people involved in this matter.

The area near the granary in the north of the city is heavily guarded.

Fang Lingwei watched helplessly as truckloads of star crystals were delivered into the facility, only to be taken away by members of the Xuan Gu Sect.

She followed along and soon found the underground warehouse where the Xuan Gu Sect stored these star crystals.

After noting down her location, Fang Lingwei planned to leave.

However, she was eventually discovered.

How could a place like this not have experts?

"Come and go as you please? It's not that easy!"

A steel whip swept out, heading straight for Fang Lingwei.

This whip is like a swimming dragon, striking the air with a loud crack. Once it hits, it will surely tear the skin, break the tendons and shatter the bones.

"Crackling! Crackling!"

The ground burst open, and the fine floorboards shattered.

Fang Lingwei narrowly dodged the attack, and her first action was to release a signal flare.

He took out the "Black Fiend Flame" made by the Extermination Bureau from his waist, activated it towards the sky, and a flame shot into the sky, suddenly exploding and transforming into the shape of the Black Fiend Divine Beast.

However, the person on the other side showed no intention of stopping them.

"Guess when the Extermination Division will arrive, and how many will come? And even if they do, will they be able to handle this matter?" Sun Qing asked Fang Lingwei with great interest.

"Are there people of yours in the Extermination Bureau?" Fang Lingwei asked, trying to get information out of him.

“Not to mention the Extermination Bureau, the National Guard, the Divine Mechanism Hall, and the major families in the court, which one hasn’t taken benefits from us? The Xuan Gu Sect only has less than 10% of these star crystals!” Sun Qing said.

That's why they can do business so openly in Kyoto.

It's not for any other reason than that everyone from the organizers to the referees is one of their people.

Fang Lingwei had witnessed many dark aspects of the Extermination Division, but hearing about this matter still seemed somewhat unbelievable to her.

This is the foundation of the Tianyin Kingdom; nearly half of its tax revenue comes from star crystals.

Has it really been eroded to this extent?
“Even so, if the Divine Emperor decides to investigate, you will all be implicated and everyone will have to submit to the law,” Fang Lingwei said.

"Little girl, you're too naive. If the God Emperor could still intervene, we wouldn't be able to act so recklessly," Sun Qing chuckled, then added, "Forget it, there's no use talking to you about this. Remember to be smarter in your next life and understand what you can and cannot touch!"

"Crack~!"

The steel whip lashed out, and the air exploded once more.

"Bang! Clang!"

Fang Lingwei's Demon-Slaying Blade collided with it, instantly creating a nick.

The difference between the two is obvious: one is a master of destiny stars, while the other is only at the seventh level of star attraction.

The whip, seemingly alive, lashed out the Demon-Slaying Blade, then continued forward like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, aiming straight for Fang Lingwei's throat.

Fang Lingwei retreated several steps, grabbing the steel whip with her left hand.

"Puff puff puff~!"

The steel whip rubbed against her palm, tearing her flesh and making it a bloody mess, without stopping her in the slightest.

The gap is too big, too big.

The gap in understanding between people of different levels is not something that can be easily bridged.

Even just guiding a star to the realm of destiny stars is the same.

Just as the steel whip was about to pierce Fang Lingwei's throat like a spear, a shadow suddenly appeared and kicked the steel whip.

"Bang~!"

A loud bang rang out, and the steel whip was forced to be swept away to the side.

Zhang Ji's figure solidified from its ethereal state, standing in front of Fang Lingwei, and said, "Step back a bit."

Fang Lingwei was surprised, not expecting that her colleague hadn't arrived yet, but Zhang Ji had come first.

"Shadow Fiend?" Sun Qing's expression was not good, and he immediately said, "Die!"

The reason her expression was unpleasant was quite simple.

The Shadow God Sect and the Xuan Gu Sect were originally one family, but they have now separated.

Both sects originated from the same source, but the Shadow God Sect had more backbone than the Profound Gu Sect, and in terms of using Gu, the Shadow God Sect even had a slight edge over the Profound Gu Sect. This naturally created a degree of mutual animosity between the two sects.

"Crack~!"

The steel whip lashed out, striking towards Zhang Ji.

Without saying a word, Zhang Ji reached out and grabbed the steel whip.

"Don't"

Fang Lingwei spoke up to stop her. She had handled the object herself and knew it was a patterned artifact. Trying to grab it with bare hands would definitely result in injury.

However, it was too late to offer the warning.

Zhang Ji's hand directly grasped the steel whip in his palm.

Zhang Ji's muscles bulged, his body suddenly growing larger, transforming him into a monstrous muscle man. His feet stomped on the ground, cracking it. His body was enveloped in dark star power, and he gripped the steel whip tightly in his right palm. No matter how hard Sun Qing tried, he couldn't pull it out.

The steel whip was covered with fine, sharp blades, but it couldn't harm Zhang Ji in the slightest.

The body is protected by the power of the Star Force, and the skin and flesh have also undergone a transformation. While it is not completely impervious to blades and bullets, ordinary sharp weapons cannot penetrate its defenses.

"Give it to me, come here!!"

Zhang Ji shouted and used his right arm to pull Sun Qing close.

Before Sun Qing could release the steel whip, Zhang Ji pulled him towards him.

While in mid-air, Sun Qing adjusted her position and kicked at Zhang Ji, but Zhang Ji responded with an even faster and more powerful punch.

"Bang! Crack!"

Sun Qing's foot bones shattered instantly, and his shin bones also burst open. The flesh was pierced by the bursting bones, and blood gushed out in all directions.

Zhang Ji pressed his advantage relentlessly. Before Sun Qing could even land, Zhang Ji instantly became semi-transparent, accelerating to full speed as he charged towards Sun Qing in mid-air. He then immediately dispelled the semi-transparent state and unleashed another punch.

"Boom! Boom!"

Sun Qing was shot out like a cannonball, crashing into a distant wall, his chest cavity caved in deeply.

But she wasn't dead yet; she had her last breath.

Zhang deliberately held back; otherwise, that blow could have ripped her heart out.

A dark shadow, like that of a wild boar, emerged from beneath Zhang Ji's feet and bit into the shadow beneath Sun Qing, swallowing her shadow whole.

Then the Shadow Pig Star returned to Zhang Ji's side and disappeared.

Zhang Ji stepped forward and began to search the corpse. He found money, weapons, soft armor, and a strange wooden box. He could hear some rustling sounds of insects crawling inside. He didn't know what they were, but he still put them all away.

Zhang Ji stood up and turned around, looking at Fang Lingwei.

She simply bandaged the wound on her left palm and was looking herself over.

"There's no other way. Loose cultivators are poor, so we have to make use of all the resources we have," Zhang Ji said, shrugging.

“No, that’s not it. You’ve progressed a little too fast,” Fang Lingwei said.

The two were evenly matched in their first encounter. The second time, Zhang Ji defeated her. The third time, Zhang Ji was injured but escaped from Zhu Ze's clutches. This was the fourth time, when a master of the Life Star Realm was killed by Zhang Ji with two punches.

Fang Lingwei had never heard of such an outrageous story before.

The fact that the Divine Emperor could complete the process of drawing stars into his body and cultivating his destiny star in just one year is considered legendary.

How long has it been since Zhang Ji...

"That's normal. If everyone's using cheats and it's still slow, then what's the point of me using them?" Zhang Ji said.

"Huh? Cheating?"

Fang Lingwei didn't understand.

Just as Fang Lingwei was about to ask further, Zhang Ji's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he said, "Many people have arrived. They should be from the Extermination Division. Are you staying here or leaving?"

Fang Lingwei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's go together."

Normally, she would stay here waiting for her colleagues.

But now that she knows the smuggling case involves many complexities, she no longer intends to expose herself to the public.

Zhang Ji reached out and grabbed Fang Lingwei's wrist, activating his ethereal transformation to envelop her in Shadow Boar Star Power, and the two quickly departed into the distance.

When Zhang Ji grabbed Fang Lingwei's wrist, her expression was slightly unnatural, but she still managed to control the distracting thoughts in her mind.

Soon, Zhang Ji led Fang Lingwei back to the restaurant.

In her boudoir, Zhang Ji poured himself some tea and sat down at the small table to drink it.

Fang Lingwei was tending to bandage her wound.

"How did you end up facing such a master? If I had arrived any later, I might have only been able to avenge you," Zhang Ji said.

“It’s not easy to eradicate evil, so it’s normal for people to die,” Fang Lingwei said without looking up.

Her mother died at the hands of an evil Star Warrior, and it was because of that opportunity that she joined the Extermination Division to eliminate evil.

“It’s like you’re saying a life isn’t worth much,” Zhang Ji said.

Fang Lingwei was silent for a moment, then said, "You practice by eating people's shadows, do you really care about their lives?"

“That’s different. I only kill bad people, just like you do when you eliminate evil,” Zhang Ji said.

Fang Lingwei couldn't tell whether Zhang Ji's words were true or false, but Zhang Ji's actions certainly didn't seem like he was lying. After all, if he really committed crimes recklessly, with his strength, the number of people who died in the city because of the devoured shadows would probably be more than ten times higher.

After treating her wounds, she said to Zhang Ji, "Although I am very grateful for your timely rescue, I still hope you can turn yourself in. I can recommend you so you can atone for your crimes. With your talent and ability, your future achievements will not be lower than mine."

"We'll see," Zhang Ji said.

Taking the official route isn't out of the question, but Zhang Ji doesn't want to go in at this stage.

The main problem is that the weight is not heavy enough.

Joining the government now won't get you much attention. Even if they don't treat you like a dog, you'll only get to do odd jobs, dangerous work, or charge into battle.

For Zhang Ji to join, he would need to possess the strength to come and go freely, so that the government couldn't do anything to him and would directly recruit him with a high-ranking position.

Both involve joining, but the treatment is completely different. (End of Chapter)