Chapter 208

199. Chapter 199: Operation Begins

At that moment, inside a building at the rendezvous point, Yang Yi Long stood in darkness, his right arm glowing with an uncanny radiance that coalesced into an invisible sword, its edge razor-sharp, capable of severing anything effortlessly.

Before him, a corpse lay severed into two pieces, motionless on the ground.

Before the mission had even begun, Yang Yi Long had already acted—he killed one corpse to test whether his method was effective.

The good news was that the corpse, split in two, had not only its body severed but also the possessing spirit within destroyed, filling Yang Yi Long with confidence—he believed he could secure a spot in the Investigation Bureau and avoid competing with Li Shaoqing.

"I just saw Lin Yue. She and Li Yi have no intention of withdrawing from this mission."

Suddenly.

A figure leapt into the building; in the darkness, a pair of green vertical pupils appeared, followed by Qin Qing's voice.

"Expected. That Li Yi has trained somewhere unknown—he carries an aura of invincibility, never retreating even against overwhelming foes. He dared fight me back in the Ruined District, let alone here. If that's the case, I'll have to find an opportunity, evade surveillance, and eliminate him instantly before things grow more complicated."

Yang Yi Long's gaze returned from the corpse on the ground and fixed on Qin Qing: "When the time comes, you only need to hold off Lin Yue. After this is over, I'll leave Tianchang City and focus entirely on the cross-boundary matter. If all goes well, we should be able to evacuate this world safely before the next Heaven's Collapse."

"I hope everything goes smoothly," Qin Qing said.

"It will. Let's go see what's out there," Yang Yi Long said.

Meanwhile.

Li Yi and the others had also prepared themselves, waiting only for the signal to begin. Of course, other cultivators were eager too—they aimed to prove themselves in this mission, hoping to claim one of the Odd Artifact Cultivation Rooms, and perhaps, if lucky, become cross-boundary travelers.

The Investigation Bureau's rewards were too high; many were willing to risk this journey.

"Li Yi, Yang Yi Long's here—over there," Lin Yue pointed to a nearby abandoned building.

Li Yi glanced over and indeed saw the familiar figure. "Yuan Mingjin, can your sniper rifle hit this guy's groin and blow his balls off?"

"Don't joke. I can't hit a target that small," Yuan Mingjin said.

"Then forget it," Li Yi shook his head, slightly disappointed.

Lin Yue said, "Li Yi, stop fooling around. I just checked Yang Yi Long's team—they're insane. Five people, all Spirit Perception experts. Only Vice Chairman Li Shaoqing of the Cultivator Association could field such a team. He's dead set on securing a Golden Academy slot."

At that moment, she felt a headache coming on—she'd underestimated Yang Yi Long's strength.

"What's to fear? If we kill Yang Yi Long, the rest don't matter. If we can't kill him, more or fewer experts won't change a thing," Li Yi said calmly, smiling.

"You've got a great attitude."

Lin Yue rolled her eyes. "That's five Spirit Perception cultivators. Together, no one in Tianchang City can stand against them. We're nothing compared to them. But luckily, we're with the Investigation Bureau—Yang Yi Long won't likely drag others into this. The only one we need to watch is Qin Qing."

Li Yi immediately said, "Enough, Lin Jie. Don't inflate their strength or diminish ours. They're strong, but we're not weak. Focus on the mission first—we'll deal with the rest later."

He still had confidence.

Because his body's blood qi had now filled three acupoints—if they attacked, he could force a breakthrough and become a Qi-Channeling Martial Artist on the spot.

But Lin Yue didn't know his hidden cards, so she remained uneasy.

"Li Yi, time's up. The mission's starting," Zheng Gong suddenly spoke.

Then.

A piercing alarm blared above the rendezvous point.

It was the signal to begin.

As soon as it sounded, cultivation teams moved instantly, charging along pre-planned routes into the Old District, vanishing in moments.

"Go! Move fast—maybe we can still compete for a cross-boundary slot."

"Charge in! There are plenty of corpses in the Old District—stay alert."

"Watch your surroundings, use your spiritual sense—don't let spirits possess you."

Voices echoed around, but soon the teams vanished, leaving only the thunderous clashes of battle from nearby buildings—some squads had already encountered corpses and were forced into immediate combat.

From their words, it was clear many teams had prepared thoroughly—they weren't blindly rushing in.

"Let's move. Advance slowly, don't rush. Clear buildings one by one. This mission won't end quickly—I estimate at least a full night, maybe a full day." Li Yi spoke gravely, then brandished his phantom Hanging Man Spear and charged ahead.

Lin Yue said nothing, walking shoulder to shoulder with Li Yi. As planned, they led the way; Zheng Gong and Yuan Mingjin, gripping their sniper rifles, followed behind, while Fang Hang and Cheng Sifang guarded the flanks.

Quickly.

They entered a building in the Old District.

At that moment, Lin Yue's spiritual sense detected danger inside.

"Third floor. That direction," she whispered, pointing.

Bang!

Next instant, Yuan Mingjin fired. The bullet pierced the wall, shattered concrete, and ignited a flash in the dark interior—immediately striking a hidden corpse, blasting its body into fragments, releasing a thick stench of decay.

The spirit possessing it instantly lunged toward Yuan Mingjin.

Li Yi swung his Hanging Man Spear—just one strike—and the spirit shattered, vanishing completely.

"Just an ordinary corpse. Not a threat." He glanced around. "Keep advancing."

But few corpses hid in the outer buildings; soon, the entire structure was cleared. They pressed deeper into the Old District, and as they did, corpse numbers increased—but fortunately, they weren't the only team active.

Pressure was distributed, and the mission's difficulty plummeted.

The principle of strength in numbers was evident now.

And this was precisely what the Investigation Bureau wanted.

A single team could easily be overwhelmed by a horde of corpses—but that wouldn't happen now.

As the number of slain corpses grew, Li Yi's team gained confidence. The dual sniper fire, combined with Spirit Perception guidance and Li Yi's ability to effortlessly destroy spirits, made their advance exceptionally efficient.

Though steady, their pace remained swift.

As building after building was cleared, everything progressed favorably—it seemed they might complete the mission before dawn.

"Watch out."

As they stepped out of a building, a ghostly figure flashed toward them—unnaturally fast.

A Spirit Perception-level dried corpse?

Lin Yue moved just as swiftly, reacting instantly—her fist shot forward, cracking with force, slamming into the attacker and forcing it back.

Bang!

Next instant, Zheng Gong and Yuan Mingjin fired together.

The dried corpse sensed danger and dodged one bullet, but its shoulder took a hit—its withered arm exploded, throwing its body off balance and sending it stumbling to the ground.

In that instant, Li Yi surged forward with his Hanging Man Spear—before the corpse could rise, the spear pierced its skull with precision and speed.

Aah!

A shrill, unnatural scream echoed.

The spirit trapped inside suffered a mortal blow, struggling to escape its ruined body—but once pierced by the Hanging Man Spear, it could not flee. Finally, it dissolved, carrying its intense hatred into nothingness.

"Good. Excellent coordination," Lin Yue smiled.

"I missed," Zheng Gong said regretfully.

Yuan Mingjin said, "Hitting a Spirit Perception-level dried corpse requires prediction. It's too fast—without anticipation, you can't land a shot. But you timed it right: you fired the moment Lin Yue pushed it back. That's correct—its body was most unstable then, giving you the highest chance to hit. Don't rush, Zheng Gong. Take your time."

"Understood," Zheng Gong nodded, quickly regaining composure.

"From here on, don't slack off. Spirit Perception-level dried corpses have appeared—further ahead, there'll be more," Li Yi said gravely.

His Hanging Man Spear was a bane to spirit entities—otherwise, killing a Spirit Perception-level dried corpse wouldn't have been so easy.

While the group exchanged brief words, distant screams echoed through the Old District—clearly not ghostly cries, but human ones.

"Someone's been killed," everyone's expressions shifted, turning toward the sound.

Some team had been unlucky—encountered a powerful corpse and met their end.

"Now's not the time to care about others. Keep moving."

Li Yi paid it no further mind and pressed forward. All teams were rivals now—some likely hoped others would fail.