I became a god through frontier slaughter, and I crushed the academy's prodigies!

After the three left the hall, Lu Changming answered Li Ren's call.

Lu Changming asked.

"Where is Shen Tian heading?"

Li Ren reported the facts truthfully.

"After Shen Qinwei's three spaceships entered the sky, they did not fly towards the landing pad."

"Their current course is the Heavenly Crafts Bureau."

Lu Changming put his watch back into his sleeve, turned around, and spoke in his usual calm tone.

"Let's go take a look."

There is no further explanation.

The three exchanged a glance and walked towards the door.

Three heavy transport ships of the Purple Spirit Clan slowly landed on the open ground in front of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

Boom—

The airflow whipped up gravel from the ground, sending several patrol officers on duty back several steps.

Three figures stood side by side on the edge of the tarmac, and no one spoke.

Lu Changming, Yan Jinghan, and Gu He watched as the cabin door slowly opened.

Shen Tian stepped off the spaceship, followed by Zhou Xuan.

Shen Tian still carried the aura of the battlefield.

Zhou Xuan followed behind, looking much worse—his hair was disheveled, his face was pale, but his eyes were still bright.

After the two of them got off, three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to look at them.

Shen Tian glanced at the spaceships lined up along the edge of the open space, then looked at Lu Changming.

"I am flattered that the Lord of the Manor came to pick me up in person."

Lu Changming glanced at him, his lips twitching slightly, but he didn't respond.

Yan Jinghan wasn't so easy to talk to.

"Three spaceships carrying 12,000 people, and you're dealing with them with only 3,000 elite soldiers?"

Shen Tian nodded.

"almost."

Guhe glanced in the direction of the spaceship but didn't say anything.

Zhou Xuan stood next to Shen Tian, ​​trying his best to minimize his presence.

Three seconds of silence.

Lu Changming spoke first.

"Has Lin Hai's matter been resolved completely?"

"Clean".

"The head has been taken back and is hanging under the TV tower."

Yan Jinghan's brow twitched slightly, but he didn't speak.

Gu He slowly said, "This matter is not simple."

"Lin Hai is not just a weapons manufacturer."

He looked at Shen Tian, ​​his tone lowering slightly.

"The person behind him is probably not simple."

Gu He was reminding Shen Tian not to be careless and to make adequate preparations.

Shen Tian glanced at him.

"I know who's behind him."

"That's why I came here."

Zhou Xuan stood to the side, his expression somewhat subtle.

"Lin Hai's real purpose for this trip was not to establish a stronghold in the occupied area."

"He's paving the way for someone else."

The three of them stared at the crystal at the same time.

"To pave the way?" Yan Jinghan's voice lowered.

"Someone wants to use the Purple Spirit Clan to take a portion of the Heavenly Fortune Prefecture's territory in exchange for political leverage in Dragon Capital."

Shen Tian paused.

"Xu Daozhen was the one who connected Lin Hai with the project."

The name Xu Daozhen, spoken by Shen Tian, ​​struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Lu Changming, Yan Jinghan, and Gu He all widened their eyes in unison, and their breathing became heavy.

Because this name carries immense weight in the Dragon Kingdom.

Even Lu Changming, who held the highest position among them, was just a nobody in front of him.

"Are you sure it's Xu Daozhen?"

Yan Jinghan still couldn't believe that the enemy they were facing was Xu Daozhen, so he checked again.

"Xu Daozhen".

Shen Tian finished speaking in a calm tone, without any hint of joking.

Yan Jinghan finally accepted this fact.

The three of them accepted this fact together.

Although they didn't know what methods Shen Tian used to find out this information.

But since it came from Shen Tian's mouth, it's probably true!

"It's not some powerful family from the pro-peace faction in Longjing, it's Xu..."

"Tianzhu Bureau, Tianzhu"

Shen Tian finished saying the last few words for him.

Guhe closed his eyes.

Lu Changming remained silent.

He stood still, his expression calm, but Zhou Xuan was closest to him and could see that the manor lord's right thumb was tightly clenched in his fist.

Even Lu Changming had to do his best to control his emotions at this moment.

"Tianzhu Bureau, Tianzhu"

Lu Changming finally spoke, his tone flat and even.

"He personally got involved."

Shen Tian nodded.

"Lin Hai was contacted by him, which is why he appeared in Tianyun Prefecture."

"As for whether he himself knows that Lin Hai is already dead—"

Shen Tian paused for a moment.

"Judging by the time, they probably don't know yet."

Yan Jinghan suddenly turned around, his back to everyone, and braced himself against the wall with one hand.

That wall was built by the Heavenly Crafts Bureau using basalt and was two meters thick.

The moment his hand touched it, a fine crack appeared in the wall.

Gu He looked at Lu Changming.

"Lord of the Manor."

His voice sounded much older.

"We have ways to deal with the gentry who stir up trouble in the region."

He looked up.

"But Xu Daozhen is different."

Lu Changming didn't reply, he just stared at the crystal.

"The Tian Shu Bureau controls the combat power files of all high-level martial artists in the Dragon Kingdom, the intelligence flow of all garrison cities, and all military deployments."

Furukawa said every word.

"If he wanted to take action against Tianyun Prefecture, he wouldn't need to send 10,000 Purple Spirit Clan members."

Zhou Xuan stood in the corner, his mood becoming heavy along with that of the important figures.

Yan Jinghan slowly turned around and withdrew his hand from the wall.

He looked at Shen Tian with a complicated expression.

Do you know what this means?

Shen Tian was aware of the seriousness of the matter, but he was much calmer than the others.

"It means I moved his pawn on Tianyun Prefecture's territory."

"He'll react sooner or later."

"So you came."

Lu Changming spoke slowly.

Shen Tian raised his eyes.

"That's why I came."

"I'm not here to report."

He paused, his gaze towards Lu Changming calm and direct.

"I'm here to confirm something."

"Lord of the Manor,"

"What I'm about to do will be even bigger than what I did tonight."

The night wind blew in from the open tarmac, stirring up the fine dust on the ground.

"I need to know where the bottom line of Tianyun Prefecture lies."

Lu Changming stared at him for a long time.

It took so long that both Gu He and Yan Jinghan turned their gazes towards them.

Then Lu Changming spoke.

There are only four characters.

"No bottom line."

When Lu Changming uttered those four words, his tone was flat.

But Zhou Xuan heard something different.

He heard an old fox who had ruled the Heavenly Fortune Palace for decades put all his chips on the table at this moment.

There are no bottom lines.

It means—

I won't stop you, Shen Tian, ​​from killing whoever you want.

Whoever you, Shen Tian, ​​want to fight, I'll cover for you.

Even if the person standing opposite is Tianzhu from the Tian Shu Bureau.

Even if the person standing opposite is one of the top few people in the power pyramid of the Dragon Kingdom.

Shen Tian stood still.

He did not answer immediately.

The night wind, carrying the heat waves from the Heavenly Craftsman's furnace, blew over and ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead.

He lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he raised his head, his eyes clear.

Lu Changming was momentarily dazed, only then realizing that Shen Tian was just a seventeen-year-old boy.

"Lord of the Manor."

Shen Tian spoke.

"Many people helped me along the way from Jiangcheng to Tianyunfu."

"Guard Qin, Senior Chi Xiao, Inspector Zhou, Brother Lei Wanshan, Guard Zhang."

"But the three of you are different."

He glanced at Gu He, then at Yan Jinghan.

Finally, his gaze fell on Lu Changming.

"There isn't much of a relationship between you and me."

"Even before the performance review meeting, you didn't know who I was."

"But you're willing to place a bet."

"Bet on a seventeen-year-old boy."

"I'm betting that I can withstand the pressure from a ninth-tier expert."

"Bet on me and I will not allow Tianyun Mansion to be doomed forever."

Shen Tian's voice was very calm.

But everyone present could hear the heavy weight beneath that calm.

"This trust—"

Shen Tian paused.

"I've got it."

Lu Changming's expression didn't change much.

But his right hand loosened.

The fist that had been clenched for so long finally relaxed.

Gu He straightened his hunched back slightly, and a hint of emotion flashed in his cloudy old eyes.

Yan Jinghan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You little brat—"

Yan Jinghan snorted.

"Don't make it sound like your last words."

Shen Tian smiled.

"It wasn't my last words."

"It's a guarantee."

His gaze swept over the three of them.

"As long as I stand here, no alien race will step into Tianyun Prefecture's territory."

"Whether it's the Purple Spirit Clan or something else."

"One comes, one I kill."

"Give me ten thousand!"

Shen Tian lowered his voice.

"Then kill ten thousand."

The moment those words were spoken, the intense heat emanating from the Tiangongsi furnace seemed to cool down a bit.

It's not because the temperature changed.

It was something emanating from the boy that made everyone present tense up at the same time.

That was murderous intent.

Gu He gave Shen Tian a deep look.

He spent his entire life as a weapons foundry.

He had seen countless martial artists boast about their achievements in front of him.

But he had never seen anything like this in the eyes of a seventeen-year-old boy.

It's not ambition.

It wasn't an impulse.

It's a kind of unwavering determination, as if one has already staked their life on it.

Yan Jinghan straightened up from leaning against the wall.

"I, Yan Jinghan, have taught students my whole life. My biggest regret is watching them go to the battlefield one by one, and then one by one they never come back."

"You said you could keep the casualty rate to a minimum."

I believe you.

Yan Jinghan's voice deepened.

"I've never even seen such a skill before."

"so--"

He reached out and patted Shen Tian heavily on the shoulder.

The power of a seventh-level grandmaster was unrestrained.

But Shen Tian didn't move.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Yan Jinghan's eyes.

"Teach my students well."

"Don't let them die in vain."

Shen Tian looked into Yan Jinghan's eyes and nodded.

"Not a single one."

Lu Changming stood at the back, and only now did he slowly walk forward.

He simply stood in front of Shen Tian, ​​looking the boy in the eye.

"You're welcome."

Lu Changming said.

"We are not giving you charity."

"It's not gambling."

His tone was calm and composed.

"The three of us are standing here saying these things to you not because you're worth investing in."

"It's because we're just like you."

Lu Changming turned around and looked at the dark night sky outside the Tiangong Division.

Beneath that sky lies the vast territory of Tianyun Prefecture.

It is a city coveted by countless strange beasts and races.

It is the millions of people who are still alive.

"Some people think that making peace with other races is a pragmatic move."

"Some people think that it's smart to give up a few pieces of land in exchange for a few years of peace."

Lu Changming's voice was very soft, but every word was like a hammer striking an anvil.

I don't think so.

Jinghan doesn't think so.

"Even Master Furukawa doesn't think so."

He turned back and looked at Shen Tian.

"We are not peacemakers."

"Never."

"We are just—"

Lu Changming paused.

"Waiting for a knife."

"A knife that is sharp enough."

His gaze fell on the dark purple battle blade behind Shen Tian.

"Now the knife is here."

The furnaces of the Heavenly Crafts Bureau are still roaring.

Crimson flames billowed from the chimneys, turning the night sky a dark red.

Shen Tian stood in the middle of the three.

He suddenly felt that the weight on his shoulders had increased.

"Wait a minute, I have something to say."

The speaker was Gu He.