A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Deputy Director Liu listened quietly, his face expressionless.

He only nodded slowly after Ji Zuodao finished speaking.

"The assessment is very accurate and hits the nail on the head."

He turned around, his back to the steel forest.

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Ji Zuodao and several nearby, stern-faced key members of Bureau 749:

"Let me put it this way, Xiao Ji, and all of you, listen carefully."

"The current Dengxian Sect is no longer the peasant uprising army in history that used to deceive the common people by shouting 'Maitreya's descent' and 'Vacuum Homeland'."

"They are a bunch of complete lunatics, terrorists, social cancers, and historical troublemakers!"

Deputy Director Liu's voice gradually rose:

"Their core doctrines have long been distorted. They preach things like... 'In the Dharma-ending Age, spiritual energy will wither, and only by sacrificing all living beings to reopen heaven and earth can we usher in the Era of True Immortals and the sublimation of all things!'"

"That's utter nonsense!"

He spat, his eyes sharp as knives:

"In layman's terms—this world is doomed. To survive, to become an immortal, you must kill! The more the better! Use the blood and souls of countless people to pave a so-called 'path to immortality' for them!"

"They have an extremely strict system of 'merits' within their organization. Bewitching believers, committing tragedies, kidnapping people with spiritual potential for evil sacrifices or 'transformation'... the greater the sins committed, the more people killed, the higher one's status within the cult, and the stronger the 'gifts' received!"

He whirled around, pointing once more at the silent steel legion behind him, his voice resolute and unwavering:

"Look! Open your eyes wide and look!"

"Historically, every time the Ascension Sect has resurfaced, it has been accompanied by thousands of miles of white bones, rivers of blood, and barren land! Countless families have been torn apart, and civilized order has regressed!"

"Our country has finally enjoyed these few decades of peace, and the people have just been able to catch their breath and live a more peaceful life."

"How could we possibly allow these rotting corpses crawling out of the gutters of history, these madmen whose minds are filled with murderous cultivation, to come out and wreak havoc on the world again?! To come out and stir up trouble again?!"

"To the Ascension Sect, to these scum who try to stain their robes with the blood of billions of lives—"

Deputy Director Liu's gaze slowly swept over Ji Zuodao, over each investigator, and finally met the cold gaze of the observation post soldier on the tank turret in the distance.

"A nation's attitude has always been singular, and will only ever be singular—"

"Shoot them if they show themselves."

"If it gets too big, pinch it off."

"If it dares to extend its claws, chop off its claws! If it dares to show its teeth, knock out its entire mouth of teeth!"

"If there's one, wipe them out. If there's a whole nest, destroy the whole nest. If there's a lineage, eradicate the entire lineage!"

"Never tolerate them! Never compromise! Never give them even the slightest chance to breathe, grow stronger, or harm the world!"

"This! Is 'Plan Three'!"

"This is what the state has given to these remnants of history, these scum of humanity—"

"The final answer!"

A cold wind howled past, carrying with it the resounding words of Deputy Director Liu, echoing across this steel fortress.

Ji Zuodao stood on the tank, facing the biting night wind, looking at the silent torrent of steel before him, and listening to the resolute verdict in his ears.

He suddenly felt that the black tendons in his body, which had been slightly agitated with excitement, had become inexplicably quiet and obedient.

Deputy Director Liu turned his head and looked at Ji Zuodao again.

"Since that person founded the country, the Ascension Sect has never shown its face on the surface."

"Xiao Ji, you might think that making such a big fuss over a 'White Aunt' whose authenticity is unknown is making a mountain out of a molehill, or using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"But no."

"The purpose of this operation was never just to capture a remnant of the Ascension Sect."

"It's a deterrent."

"It's a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

"It's about letting those bedbugs, rats, and historical dregs hiding in ditches and graves, gnawing on rotten flesh and daydreaming..."

"Watch closely, and with their pathetic, shameful brains, remember this well, and etch it into their rotting souls—"

"Dare to show your face?"

"Dare to reach out?"

"Dare to touch this peaceful life that our ancestors built inch by inch with their lives, their blood, and the bones of a generation..."

Deputy Director Liu's face showed no ferocity, only calmness.

But it is precisely this calmness that gives these words a chillingly resolute quality.

"This is what happens."

"Today we can mobilize an entire battalion for a 'white aunt.' Tomorrow, we can pull out an entire division for a 'black uncle.'"

"If they have the guts, they should hide it well. Hide it completely, hide it in their coffins, hide it until their souls are scattered, and never let the hell out of my sight."

Ji Zuodao remained silent for a long time.

In those eyes, which always held a hint of mockery, cunning, or greed, something extremely hard and pure had now settled.

"Uncle Liu."

"My three masters fought from north to south back then. The number of people who fell around them could be piled up into a mountain, and the blood they shed could dye half a river red."

"What are those three evil cultivators, whom everyone condemns, after?"

"Just for the sake of those four words—"

"Tai, Ping, Ri, Zi."

"This life was earned with their lives and washed away with their blood."

Ji Zuodao's lips slowly curved into a smile.

That wasn't the usual shyness or wicked smile, but an almost ferocious arc.

"Now, I'm living this life. I've eaten hot pot, drunk cola, got my government job, and am even being offered monster meat."

"I think it's fine."

"so--"

"Who wants to stick their claws in and mess things up..."

"It doesn't matter if you're a member of the Ascension Sect or the Buddhism Sect, whether you're an immortal who has become a spirit or a Buddha who has turned into a demon."

"There's one, so let's count that."

"I use their heads as chamber pots, dismantle their bones to forge my sword, and extract their souls to light my lamps."

"These peaceful days are now mine to protect."

"Whoever moves, dies."

As soon as he finished speaking, only the howling wind filled the open field, and the deep rumble of tank engines in the distance sounded like the snoring of a sleeping beast.

The smile on Deputy Director Liu's face had long since vanished.

He stared intently at Ji Zuodao, at this nineteen-year-old boy with wicked methods.

Looking into his eyes, one could see the undisguised, almost obsessive ruthlessness and calm.

That's not the youthful impulsiveness.

It was a declaration, and even more so, a vow.

"good!!"

Deputy Director Liu suddenly roared, his voice like thunder, echoing in front of the steel fortress!

He stepped forward, and this time, his large, fan-like hands, which had once shattered bricks and blasted away demons, did not strike down heavily. Instead, he gripped Ji Zuodao's shoulders tightly and forcefully.

The force was so great that Ji Zuodao felt a slight numbness in his shoulder bone.

But what was transmitted was not pain, but a heavy, scorching, burning sense of recognition that seemed capable of melting steel.

"Good lad! Good ambition! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Deputy Director Liu's eyes were piercing, and his voice, though slightly hoarse with excitement, carried a resolute and unwavering strength:

"With your words, I'm glad I wore this official hat! The sky over Jinghai won't fall down!"

"This peaceful life was built on the foundation laid by your predecessors, the blood and flesh of countless martyrs. Now, it's our turn, their successors, to carry the torch!"

"You live the life your master earned, I'll live the life of the people of Jinghai!"

"We younger generation, shoulder to shoulder! Hahahaha!"

Deputy Director Liu burst into laughter, his hearty laughter dispelling the somber atmosphere of the night.

He took one last look at the silent torrent of steel before him, then at the shy-smiling boy beside him, whose eyes held a ferocious glint.

The huge weight that had been pressing on my heart because of the "Ascension to Immortality Sect" suddenly felt much lighter.

There is such a knife, and such a will.

Why worry about the evil spirits not being quelled, or the demons not being eliminated?

In these peaceful times, if someone risks their life to earn them, then someone else must risk their life to protect them.

Now, all those guarding the area are present.

……

"Uncle Liu."

"What are you doing?"

"Did we just make the atmosphere a little too intense?"

"Damn it, the atmosphere I just built up... don't let me down!"

"hey-hey."

"You brat."