The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

Blood dripped from the long knife, and a foul stench wafted from the old alley.

Chen Jue pointed the tip of his knife at the burly martial artist. The black-clad security guards, whose Achilles tendons had been severed, were filled with terror in their eyes.

"Great hero, we were wrong! Spare us! Spare us!"

The burly warrior was the strongest, so naturally he was more seriously injured than the other security guards.

Chen Jue severed the tendons in his hands and feet. Under the pressure of Chen Jue's long sword, he could only retreat by using the strength of his thighs and buttocks until his back pressed against the brick wall behind him.

"I'll spare your life, but I'll ask you a few questions. Just answer honestly." Chen Juexing's eyes were dark as he stared down at the burly martial artist in front of him.

"Great hero, please ask. I will answer to the best of my knowledge..." The burly martial artist wanted to kneel down to express his gratitude, but his limbs were pinned down, and he could only move slightly, so he couldn't do such a flattering gesture for the time being.

"very good."

Chen Jue turned to the henchmen lying on the ground in the alley and said, "You all listen carefully. If your boss is intentionally concealing or misleading people, you can report him."

"As long as you are right... he dies, you live."

"Understand?"

Chen Jue's words caused the burly martial artist behind him to turn deathly pale instantly.

The henchmen whose Achilles tendons had been severed looked eager, their eyes filled with not only fear of Chen Jue but also a yearning for life.

A slight smile played on Chen Jue's lips as he asked his first question.

"How do you determine whether the goods being sold by the sellers come from the inner city's powerful and influential?"

Upon hearing this, the burly warrior explained in detail: "All noble families that have entered the ranks have had their lineage and status specially verified by the Great Ming Dynasty. These noble families will design their family crests based on this, and have their family craftsmen either engrave them or emboss them on the inside of the objects. Some families also have special hidden patterns on their mansions to distinguish between the legitimate and illegitimate children..."

"These things serve no purpose other than displaying one's noble status... Ordinary items are not worth the effort and time involved, so they are unnecessary."

"In addition, some jewelry, if produced by the government or exclusively by powerful families, will have exclusive branding, sealing wax, embossing..."

What Chen Jue heard was what he learned.

Just as I was about to ask my second question, one of the henchmen lying prone on the ground suddenly raised his hand to report to their leader: "Great hero! He's playing you! He's playing you!"

Chen Jue was taken aback, turned to look at the person who had reached out to report him, and a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

This man was none other than "Skinny Monkey," who had given the burly martial artist advice to sever his tendons.

Upon hearing this, the burly martial artist's expression changed drastically, his eyes widening in anger as he glared at the skinny monkey, his once most trusted underling.

"What the hell are you talking about?! I'm telling the truth! What good will it do you to implicate me?!"

That skinny monkey had a pointed mouth and cheeks, and was shrewd in mind.

He knew perfectly well that if any of his group were to die, he, the one who had been clamoring for the "boss" to stop talking and get straight to the point, would definitely be the first to die.

Therefore, he must "make amends" and regain the "impression points" he lost.

"Brother Zhu, it's not that we're disloyal, it's just that the hero said that as long as we point out the mistakes you deliberately made, we can live..."

"Every man for himself! Forgive me, Boss Zhu!"

As the skinny monkey spoke, he kept glancing at Chen Jue. Seeing that the other man didn't show any negative expressions like disgust or mockery, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and said:

"Great hero! The reason we've surrounded you is because among the things you're selling at a bargain price is something called 'Red Repentance Money'."

"That kind of coin is the most fashionable thing among the gentlemen of the inner city these days, and it's said to originate from the Church of the Fire..."

"For every human life sacrificed to the Church of the Fire of the Chamber, one can obtain one 'Crimson Repentance Coin'. And each 'Crimson Repentance Coin' can be exchanged for 100 strands of stellar power, similar to true qi, from the God of the Fire of the Chamber through the 'Fire of the Chamber's Visualization Method'..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue's expression shifted, and then he swung his knife backhand, plunging it into the burly martial artist's shoulder.

"My second question is, is the person in charge of your community from the local health station or a gang? How powerful is the leader?"

Amidst the burly warrior's screams of agony, Chen Jue pulled out the long sword that had pierced the man's shoulder socket, his eyes cold and menacing, carrying a hidden warning.

"It's a gang!"

Having learned from the skinny monkey's example, the burly martial artist dared not hide anything any longer and spilled the beans: "Sun Kai, the head of the Honglin Garrison, is a coward who's all bark and no bite... a good man who has been suppressed by our Honglin Gang leader Zhou Xing for years. Now, most of the black and gray industries in the Honglin district are in our Honglin Gang's hands..."

"Our Honglin Gang leader, Zhou Xing, is a martial artist at the peak of the ninth level of True Qi. He is only one step away from 'cultivating spiritual energy in the five internal organs.' You may know him, sir."

Chen remained silent in the face of the burly martial artist's attempts to get close to him, his gaze sweeping over the group of henchmen on the ground.

These people seemed to be racking their brains, but no matter what they did, they couldn't find any hidden meanings or loopholes in the burly martial artist's words.

"So, one last question: Does the Fire Church have any activities in the Red Forest District, or do you know anything about it?"

Chen Jue's question suddenly became broader. If the burly martial artist didn't want to be betrayed by his underlings, he had to reveal everything he knew about the Shi Huo Sect.

The burly warrior's face turned deathly pale. He stammered for a long time before dejectedly lowering his head and resignedly beginning to recount everything he knew.

The southern outer city was the main area where the Fire Cult was rampant.

Therefore, those eccentric believers not only operate in the Honglin neighborhood, but also spread across more than 30 neighborhoods in the southern part of the city, with a total of more than 100,000 followers.

Moreover, the number of believers is growing explosively, by thousands every day.

With such a large following, evil sacrifices were performed in dark corners every day, and a large amount of red money was offered as sacrifices. The vast majority of this money flowed to the powerful and wealthy in the inner city, while only a small portion was hoarded and ended up in the black market.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue finally understood.

It turned out that the root of his problem in being surrounded was not that he was selling valuables to the powerful and wealthy, but that he was being mistaken for a smuggler selling red money for the Shihuo sect.

The idea of ​​"sharing wealth together" was to get him to reveal the location of the sacrificial offerings so that they could also profit from it.

After all, for gang members, it would be far too easy for them to obtain human lives for sacrifice.

"Since you're so eager to do business with the Fire Sect, why don't you have your leader take the lead in making contact?"

After asking the last question, Chen Jue raised another one.

But the henchmen present remained silent, none daring to question his reneging on his promise.

"A senior member of the gang mentioned this matter, but it was sternly rejected by Gang Leader Zhou, who also ordered that gang members be forbidden from having any dealings with the Shi Huo Cult. Anyone who disobeyed would be whipped forty times and expelled from the Honglin Gang..."

"He's quite knowledgeable..."

Chen Jue slashed the burly martial artist's neck with his sword, then turned to finish off the maggots crawling all over the old alley.

However, just as he killed two people, a burly figure, as imposing as a mountain, descended from a rooftop and arrived less than a hundred paces away from him.

"Brother, you've already asked what you wanted to know, and you've even severed the Achilles tendons of these offenders. As the saying goes, one should be forgiving when possible..."

"Why not let them go?"

The speaker had an honest and upright face, exuding righteousness. He carried a pair of double maces on his back, his vital energy was as strong as a furnace, and his body was as heavy as a mountain.

Chen Jue narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the inspector's uniform and the fifth-rank official badge on the other person's chest.

Snapped!

Chen Jue leaped to his feet, took a single step, and charged forward with his sword.

It wasn't to kill anyone, but rather to test the mettle of this colleague at the fifth level of True Qi.

brush!

The burly inspector leaned forward, drew a heavy mace from his back, and swung it at Chen Jue, who was rushing towards him.

when!

An unprecedentedly powerful force surged back from the hilt of the sword, causing Chen Jue to be thrown backward, his hands going numb. He almost lost his grip on the sword and was sent flying.

Holy crap?! Is this guy cheating?! That's incredible strength!!!

Chen Jue was shocked. He had thought that with his blood and qi value, he was already a little tyrant in the early to mid-stage of the True Qi Realm.

I never expected there to be someone better; I've actually run into a tough opponent today.

"Brother, you truly possess excellent martial arts skills. Why not give me face and let these people go?"

After his attack, Meng Liang re-inserted the Thirty-Six Section Heavenly Gang Mace back into his back.

"Since Inspector Meng has said so, how can we, as people of the martial world, not give you face?"

Just as a group of maggots were wriggling around on the ground, thinking they were clinging to life, Chen Jue changed the subject and said, "However, this person is rather wicked. I must take his life, otherwise, if evil is not eradicated and he harms others in the future, it will be my fault."

The skinny monkey, barely alive after the ordeal, was terrified when Chen Jue pointed at him. He kowtowed and begged for mercy, saying, "Hero! Hero! You promised we'd live if we reported you! You can't go back on your word!"

Seeing that Chen Jue remained unmoved, the skinny monkey looked pleadingly at Meng Liang, who had a righteous and reliable appearance.

For a long time, Meng Liang remained silent before finally saying, "Good."

"He's quite a remarkable person..."

The glint of the blade silenced the clamor of pleas for mercy. Chen Jue wiped the blood from his wound, sheathed his sword, and disappeared into the alleyway in a few leaps.