Chapter 80

81. Chapter 81: Close Call (Ally Bonus: S-Rank Single Appears)

“This guy fell for the trap.”

Facing the onslaught of a Spirit Perception realm expert, Li Yi showed no fear; he retreated swiftly, closing the distance to the white jade skull mural behind him.

If I can use the power of this odd artifact to kill the leader, the others’ danger should be lifted.

That was Li Yi’s thought.

“Where do you think you can run?”

Wei Bin roared, refusing to let this rat who dared defy him escape unscathed.

“Incredible speed.”

Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly—he hadn’t even reached him yet, but already felt a gale of force rushing toward his face.

Though their builds were nearly identical, Wei Bin radiated the aura of an extraordinary being, capable of unleashing unimaginable power. If they clashed head-on, Li Yi—even with his fist art—would be killed in a single strike, with zero chance of overcoming the level gap.

This was a pure disparity in physical foundation, not something technique alone could bridge.

“But no matter how strong he is, he’ll still fall into this bone illusion.” Li Yi’s spirit surged, yet he remained certain Wei Bin would step into the trap.

Yet just as he thought this—

A brilliant energy erupted from Wei Bin’s body, like a burst of qi, propelling him forward with explosive acceleration. His speed was unimaginable—he vanished from sight, then reappeared instantly right before Li Yi’s face.

“Huh?”

Li Yi’s pupils shrank sharply, startled by this sudden anomaly.

“Damn.”

He reacted instantly, trying to defend—but too late. A lethal killing intent had already locked onto him.

No escape possible.

At this moment, Li Yi had underestimated a Spirit Perception expert. Even if Wei Bin entered the building and was pulled into the bone mural’s illusion, he could still kill Li Yi before that happened.

“Die!”

Wei Bin roared, slamming his palm straight at Li Yi’s forehead. The force was immense—his hand swept through the air with a deafening whistle, as if tearing the very atmosphere apart.

Yet at this critical instant, a rough, massive hand appeared behind Li Yi, gripping his shoulder and yanking him backward.

Simultaneously, a figure flashed forward, raising a hand to meet the attack.

BOOM!

Two terrifying forces collided, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The ground trembled, then a ripple spread—followed by a gale of wind, dust swirling violently, blinding everyone.

“I’m not dead yet. You dare lay hands on one of my Bureau agents? Wei Bin, you’re too eager.”

A calm voice rang out. Zhang Lei, who had been trapped in the bone illusion, now stood before Li Yi, having just forced back Wei Bin’s lethal strike.

Wei Bin, caught off guard, flew backward uncontrollably, smashing through glass before plummeting from the ninth floor.

“Zhang Lei?”

He was stunned and furious, but not panicked—he adjusted his posture mid-air, then unleashed a surge of energy that twisted his fall, landing safely on the ground.

“Damn it. Intelligence was wrong. This guy’s still alive—and completely unharmed.”

Wei Bin gritted his teeth, burning with rage.

The other wanderers instantly paled.

They could bully newcomers like Li Yi, Fan Feng, and Zheng Gong—but facing Zhang Lei, their team leader, they all feared him and dared not act boldly.

At this moment—

Inside the building—

After repelling Wei Bin, Zhang Lei turned immediately and asked: “Li Yi, you alright?”

“Fine. No injuries. Too bad—I missed the chance to kill him.” Li Yi’s gaze was cold, still thinking of how to blow Wei Bin’s head open.

“Hah! You deliberately provoked Wei Bin to lure him into the building, hoping to use the bone mural’s illusion to kill him? Clever idea—with a chance of success. But you underestimated him. He’s mastered the Guiding Art, unlocking his body’s latent potential. His power exceeds ordinary Spirit Perception cultivators. Your estimate was off.”

Zhang Lei laughed heartily, looking at Li Yi with clear admiration.

Though just moments ago it was perilous, this cultivator—only recently awakened as a Spirit Medium—dared plot to kill a Spirit Perception expert. That courage and audacity were truly remarkable.

My decision to recruit him into the Bureau was absolutely right.

Given time, Li Yi will become one of the Bureau’s fiercest warriors.

“I misjudged. Lucky you showed up in time—if you hadn’t, I’d be dead.” Li Yi now felt a chill of fear.

He still lacked experience. He’d never witnessed the true power of a Spirit Perception expert—so his calculations failed.

“You’ve done more than enough. You broke the illusion, rescued everyone trapped here, bought us precious time, and held off Wei Bin and his wanderers. That gang has been roaming between danger zones and ruined cities, doing anything they please—causing the Bureau endless trouble.”

Zhang Lei’s gaze darkened.

Mentioning Wei Bin’s gang soured his mood.

But circumstances forced him to delay—no good opportunity to eliminate them had arisen.

Still, he understood: Wei Bin’s gang survives not just because of strength, but because Tianchang City needs such cultivators who operate in the gray zones. Even without Wei Bin, others would rise.

“Enough. Not the time for this now. After I handle what’s before us, we’ll discuss the bone mural. Li Yi, come with me—we’ll face them.”

Zhang Lei moved immediately.

“Alright.”

Li Yi nodded. With Zhang Lei leading, he felt calmer, shouldering his sniper rifle and following close behind.

Along the way—

Lost Bureau agents and external combat personnel gathered around them.

Zhang Zhixiong, the external combatant Priest Pete, Liu Yue, Wang Jian, and Chen Hao—all who had been trapped in the illusion with Li Yi—were unharmed. They’d accidentally avoided a crisis triggered by the odd artifact.

Still, the Bureau had suffered casualties in this operation.

When Zhang Lei stepped out of the building, over ten personnel stood beside him. Though fewer in number than Wei Bin’s group, the core strength of this mission was intact—no longer inferior.

The tactic of overwhelming force would no longer work.

“This is troublesome.”

Knife, who had been preparing to kill the sniper Fan Feng, immediately retreated upon seeing the shift in the situation.

He dared not act—he feared provoking Zhang Lei.

The other wanderers, facing their team leader Zhang Lei, now all harbored thoughts of retreat, unwilling to confront the Bureau head-on.

“Wei Bin, come here. You love fighting, don’t you? Fine—I’ll be your opponent. Let’s see how far your Guiding Art has come. Can you kill me?”

Zhang Lei, with only the few people from your Investigation Bureau, I doubt you can hold onto this odd artifact. Just now, I’ve already informed the Cultivator Association—Li Shaoqing will find this place very interesting. He has everything, but he lacks an odd artifact; once he hears this news, don’t you think he’ll move?

“Zhang Lei, with just these few men of yours, I doubt you can hold onto this odd artifact. I’ve already informed the Cultivator Association. I’m sure Li Shaoqing will find this place fascinating—he has everything, but lacks an odd artifact. Once he hears this news, do you think he’ll hold back?”

Wei Bin sneered—he dared not fight Zhang Lei.

Not because he lacked confidence to battle him, but because someone in Zhang Lei’s group posed a grave threat to him.

Tianchang City’s top sniper—the Daoist who claimed his marksmanship was a Dao, his bullet trajectory a path: Priest Pete.

Priest Pete, though clad in Daoist robes, had a fiery temper. He carried a heavy sniper rifle on his back, his pale blue eyes sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto Wei Bin.

Li Yi’s eyelid twitched—he stared at Priest Pete in surprise.

This foreign Daoist spoke no foreign tongue, only fluent Chinese. And as a cultivator, he was a deadly sniper. Had he simply been naive? Or had the world changed this drastically?

Zhang Lei’s eyes flickered. He neither rejected nor endorsed Priest Pete’s suggestion.

Today was indeed a good chance to strike.

But eliminating this gang would cost more Bureau agents—something he did not wish to see.

“Better a short pain than a long one. Pay a price today, wipe them out, and spare the Bureau future trouble.” Zhang Lei pondered briefly, then his resolve hardened.