Chapter 359

"You say that again—what happened to our Tianyu Daochang people?"

Near the portal, Juejing stared fixedly at the psychic before him, his voice nearly hoarse as he asked.

The surrounding psychics remained utterly silent, not daring to make a single sound.

The psychic before Juejing was on the verge of tears, but under the pressure of Juejing's aura, he could only reply again:

"He… they're probably all dead…"

Boom!

Before he finished speaking, Juejing struck him with a palm blow, sending him flying dozens of meters away.

Only when he crashed into the wall did his momentum stop, and he fell lifelessly to the ground.

"The Great Xia SS-class, Xu Jingming! Excellent!

Not only did you slip past my very eyes, but you've killed all our people!"

Juejing was already furious beyond measure.

Sakuragi Rin was a once-in-decades S-class psychic awakened in Sakura Nation, the very hope of Sakura Nation's rise!

Everyone else could die—but she absolutely could not!

Amid his rage, Juejing also fretted over how to explain this to the Grand Director.

He had originally planned this operation to kill Xu Jingming.

But instead of killing Xu Jingming, he'd lost Sakuragi Rin and over a hundred core members of Tianyu Daochang.

"Lost the chicken and the rice" didn't even begin to describe this disaster—it was as if the entire rice bin had vanished!

Yet just then, someone suddenly cried out in delight: "Director! The Holy Maiden has returned!"

Juejing spun around instantly—and there, indeed, Sakuragi Rin emerged from the portal with eight psychics.

Sakuragi Rin, at the front, was weak in aura but showed no signs of life-threatening injury.

The remaining eight were in even better condition.

"Holy Maiden, you're unharmed? Wonderful!" Juejing's face lit up with relief.

The numerous Tianyu Daochang members nearby also exhaled in relief.

Sakuragi Rin!

Their Tianyu Daochang's exalted, prideful Holy Maiden could not possibly be harmed!

"Xu Jingming killed Mark and the others—I barely survived by using my final trump card.

But I was critically wounded, near death; only after regaining a little strength did I realize nearly all our people were dead."

Sakuragi Rin spoke the excuse she had prepared, standing tall and slender:

"As Holy Maiden, I failed to protect my comrades' safety. The blame for this mission lies entirely with me. Please, Director, punish me."

"Such character—no wonder she's the Holy Maiden."

"Indeed, a noble Holy Maiden—though the fault isn't hers, she still takes responsibility."

Sakuragi Rin was drenched in blood, her condition dire, yet the first thing she did upon emerging was to accept blame.

This act won her the favor of most Tianyu Daochang psychics present.

Juejing, of course, knew the fault wasn't hers—he waved his hand:

"This time, the Great Xia people were too cunning—it's not your fault…"

Before he finished, a psychic hurried over anxiously and whispered:

"Director Juejing, it's bad—the Great Xia's Ninth-Rank Martial Saint, Blood Sword, destroyed our Asakawa Branch.

According to reports from the city, a one-kilometer radius around Tianyu Daochang has become a lifeless zone—no survivors."

"The Great Xia's Ninth-Rank Martial Saint dared attack us?"

Juejing's face darkened. "What's the reason? Are they declaring war?!"

"It seems… it's because we targeted their SS-class Xu Jingming, so they retaliated."

The man glanced at Juejing's expression and reported cautiously.

"Targeted their SS-class? Damn it!"

Juejing laughed bitterly with rage. "They killed nearly a hundred of our members, and we haven't even sought revenge—

Now they come to us demanding justice?! Absurd!

Great Xia is truly tyrannical!

I'll report this to the Grand Director—Blood Sword must answer for this!"

"Oh? You want me to answer for it? Then I'd like to see how you make me do so!"

Suddenly, a low, bloodthirsty voice echoed—and a crimson figure appeared in the distant sky.

In the blink of an eye, he flew to the group's front.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from him left every psychic present breathless.

"Blood Sword?! You're still here?!" Juejing's face turned pale.

"The most important target hasn't been killed—how could I leave?"

Blood Sword's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Juejing, you dared to target my Great Xia's prodigy.

Your intentions are unforgivable—so, die!"

Whoosh!!

Blood Sword vanished from his spot in an instant.

"No!"

Juejing immediately activated his enhancement-type psychic ability, turning himself into a blur as he fled.

Yet even so, a streak of crimson light flashed—and his head was cleanly severed from his body.

Spurt!

Blood gushed from his neck like a fountain.

Even his severed head, now on the ground, remained conscious—and shouted:

"I won't accept this! I won't accept it!! The Grand Director will avenge me!"

A severed head speaking—this exceeded ordinary human comprehension.

But for a powerful Eighth-Rank Grand Master of the enhancement type, it was perfectly normal.

In fact, if his head were reattached, he could still survive.

"Unwilling? From the moment you decided to target Xu Jingming, your fate was sealed."

Thud—

Blood Sword stomped down, crushing Juejing's head like a rotten insect.

Thus, the man who had ruled Tianyu Daochang as its de facto director, died utterly.

The surrounding psychics stood frozen in shock.

Who could have imagined that merely targeting Xu Jingming—without even harming him—

had cost them an entire branch and an Eighth-Rank Grand Master?

"This is Great Xia—this is how seriously they take Xu Jingming!

I knew dealing with Xu Jingming wouldn't be as simple as they claimed!"

Sakuragi Rin trembled inwardly, her own legs shaking under the crushing pressure.

Xu Jingming was unharmed—and yet they had suffered such retaliation.

If Xu Jingming had truly died at their hands, she dared not imagine the consequences.

"Blood Sword! You've gone too far!"

As the crowd reeled, three more figures flew in from the horizon.

Two were white men with blonde hair and blue eyes; the one in the center bore a Sakura Nation face.

"Grand Director!"

Sakuragi Rin's eyes flashed with boundless hatred, but she bowed her head instantly, afraid of revealing anything unusual.

"Too far? I think it's you who've gone too far!"

Blood Sword sneered. "This is merely a warning. If you dare target Xu Jingming again,

the cost won't be just one branch and one Eighth-Rank Grand Master."

Without another word, he ignored the Grand Director's liver-colored face and turned to the two white men:

"Also, this warning applies not just to them—but to you American pigs as well.

Don't let us catch you harboring any intent against Xu Jingming!"

Whoosh—

With that, Blood Sword shot straight into the sky.

Not a single one of the three Ninth-Rank Martial Saints present dared to stop him.

Blood Sword was a Ninth-Rank Mid-level Martial Saint; they were only Ninth-Rank Lower-level. If they fought, they might not win.

"Great Xia's Martial Saints, one day you'll pay! Let's go!"

Now that they'd suffered such a blow, the Grand Director had no choice but to retreat.

After cursing, he began cleaning up the mess.

The only thing that brought him comfort was that Sakuragi Rin was unharmed.

"Holy Maiden, our Asakawa Branch has suffered heavy losses—we urgently need reconstruction.

We must rebuild the branch facility and recruit new personnel."

For now, you'll stay here and see to this part of the work.

The chief supervisor mused.

At this moment, Sakura Rin had already calmed all her emotions, her delicate face wearing an expression of utmost seriousness:

"Understood. I will do my utmost to complete the reconstruction."

I'll start with Asakawa City to fulfill the Master's orders...

PS: Three updates done. Thank you, dear readers, for your gifts—thank you so much~~