Chapter 793

Following Su Qingli's instructions, Xu Jingming opened the Swordbearer Forum webpage and completed identity verification and account registration.

"Account registration successful. Please confirm your nickname."

A virtual pop-up appeared before him.

Xu Jingming frowned—he hated this nickname selection step, as he almost always failed to think of a good one.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly remembered something, a faint smile curling his lips as he typed "Blood Kill."

"Blood Kill? That's the name of the Red High Priest that Ling Shuang killed?"

Su Qingli's call had not ended; she was startled to see this.

"Correct. Using this alias for missions against the Mandate Cult is perfect." Xu Jingming grinned.

Blood Kill, Eighth-Rank Middle Grand Master of the Mandate Cult!

Their first meeting in the Thunder Secret Realm had left an indelible impression on him.

His overwhelming blood aura could instantly kill third- and fourth-rank adepts who came too close!

Before Blood Kill, even he—with his SS-rank ability—was like an ant, forced to rely on Ling Shuang to save him.

But now, an Eighth-Rank Middle Grand Master like Blood Kill could be crushed effortlessly by him.

"Alright, I've added you as a friend. Accept it."

Su Qingli nodded, and Xu Jingming saw her friend request.

Her nickname was also two characters: "Qingli."

No surprise—Professor Su took her forum name straight from her own.

"I've forwarded the task to you. Take a quick look—if it's fine, just accept it."

Shortly after adding friends, Su Qingli said softly.

The Swordbearer Forum was open to all Eighth-Rank Grand Masters.

Investigations targeting a specific Eighth-Rank Grand Master could never be made public.

They were circulated only among trusted strongholds, or else the target would be alerted.

This task couldn't be posted on the forum—it could only be privately forwarded.

"Alright."

Xu Jingming skimmed the task details; they matched what Su Qingli had described.

But when he read the final lines, he frowned: "This task requires cooperation with Metropolis Security Bureau?"

"This task originated with the Security Bureau, but they're swamped lately and can't spare an Eighth-Rank warrior.

Tonight's Mandate Cult gathering is an unexpected event—if we miss catching Lu Wenliang now, the next chance won't come easily.

That's why they've released the task to us."

Su Qingli explained, then added curiously: "You dislike the Security Bureau because of Leng Chang's case?"

"Professor Su, you even know about that?"

When Leng Chang was rescued from the Security Bureau by the Mandate Cult, Xu Jingming's high school class monitor, Lin Qingyuan, nearly died.

That incident left the Security Bureau with an unreliable reputation in his mind.

What surprised him more was that Professor Su seemed to know every detail.

"Of course."

Su Qingli smiled smugly, her red lips curving slightly:

"During the National University Exchange Competition, I compiled your entire file to get you to join my Thunder Martial Hall."

She paused, then added: "Don't worry this time—the Security Bureau is only there to assist.

You hold full autonomy over the mission, and the requirement is clear: confirm Lu Wenliang's identity, then kill him.

There's no chance he'll be captured like Leng Chang and then rescued."

"Good."

Xu Jingming nodded and clicked to accept the task.

The task was rated S+ on the Swordbearer Forum.

The reward was substantial: ten billion Daya currency.

Ten billion Daya currency was a fortune for most adepts!

Even ordinary Eighth-Rank Grand Masters needed half a year to a full year to earn it.

But for Xu Jingming now, it meant little.

He took this task primarily for Ability Points.

After all, this was a Mandate Cult gathering—even if Lu Wenliang didn't show up,

he could still kill Divine Blood Envoys.

After ending Su Qingli's call, Xu Jingming browsed the forum posts.

"Wanted: One unit of Eighth-Rank Black Lord Tyrant blood. Price negotiable."

"Wildlands of Dayangzhou: Eighth-Rank Grand Master squad seeking a support-type adept. Contact if interested."

"Black Dragon Legion: Recruiting Commander of First Legion. Rank must be at least Eighth-Rank Middle."

"......"

Like any ordinary forum, it was filled with countless posts, constantly increasing.

Topics ranged from buying monster corpses to major job postings.

Some discussed real-time news, like a new Eighth-Rank beast emerging in a Daya wildland requiring immediate elimination.

There were also official announcements posted by the Daya government.

These posts were inaccessible to ordinary adepts.

This was an internal information channel for Daya's Eighth-Rank Grand Masters.

"Looks like after hunting Eighth-Rank beasts, I won't need to sell their materials to the Martial Hall or other factions anymore.

Just post them here—someone will definitely pay a high price."

Xu Jingming smiled.

The Thunder Martial Hall paid decent prices for high-rank beast materials.

But earnings here would be even higher.

After all, these materials might be exactly what some Eighth-Rank Grand Masters needed.

As for pricing, he didn't need to worry—he could leave it to Eva...

Qingjing, upscale villa district.

On the rooftop balcony of a villa, a man sat cross-legged, eyes half-closed.

He wasn't particularly muscular, but his physique was perfectly proportioned.

His face was cold, radiating a chilling, deadly aura.

He was Blood Sword, Ninth-Rank Middle Divine Saint of Daya.

Possessor of the S-rank Enhanced Divine Beast ability: "Netherblood Panther!"

His strength ranked among the upper tier of Daya's Ninth-Rank Councilors.

"Dingdong~~~"

A chime sounded; a cyan holographic orb appeared beside him, announcing:

"Administrator, Xu Jingming has successfully registered on the Swordbearer Forum under the alias 'Blood Kill.'"

Although Blood Sword was an administrator of the Swordbearer Forum, he didn't need to review every post or registration.

AI handled routine tasks—only certain individuals required direct notification upon entry.

The current top prodigy of Blue Star, Xu Jingming with his SS-rank ability, was one such person.

"Oh? Xu Jingming registered? What's his first task?"

Blood Sword opened his eyes, pupils deep as a bottomless pool.

"Confirm Lu Wenliang's Mandate Cult identity and eliminate him," the orb replied.

"That task?"

Blood Sword frowned.

He had learned of this task only hours ago.

It was extremely dangerous—if Lu Wenliang weren't a Mandate Cult Red High Priest, it might be manageable.

But if he was, and caught in the act, a battle would likely erupt!

Remember,

Lu Wenliang was already an Eighth-Rank Middle Grand Master; after activating his Divine Blood Technique, his power would surge further, approaching Eighth-Rank Upper Grand Master level!

And when Lu Wenliang struck, he'd unleash lethal, no-holds-barred attacks—extremely high risk.

Thus, though the task had been posted for hours, no one had accepted it.

Xu Jingming had previously slain only Eighth-Rank Lower Mandate Cult Grand Masters.

Facing Lu Wenliang head-on? A guaranteed disaster.

"Did Xu Jingming accept this task himself?" Blood Sword asked, frowning.

"No. It was transferred by his teacher, Su Qingli," the orb replied.

"Su Qingli transferred it?" Blood Sword's frown eased.

Su Qingli was Xu Jingming's teacher—she knew his strength better than anyone.

If she dared assign this task to him, he had no reason to worry.

Otherwise, he would have contacted him immediately to ask.

After all, Xu Jingming cannot afford to fail.

Of course, this wasn't because they thought Xu Jingming could defeat Lu Wenliang.

It was because Su Qingli had his back—this matter wouldn't go awry.

"Has Xu Jingming's strength improved this fast? How could Su Qingli let him face Lu Wenliang to hone himself?"

"Forget it. Once tonight's mission ends, the results should be clear."

He shook his head, and the Blood Sword didn't dwell on it.

In his view, this mission was merely a trial for Xu Jingming.

In the end, Ling Shuang or Su Qingli would likely step in themselves.

After all, less than a month had passed since Xu Jingming killed the Eighth-Rank Lower of the Fate Cult.

Even if Xu Jingming was a prodigy, his strength couldn't have risen this fast.

On the other side, Xu Jingming, having accepted the mission, soon received a call from the Metropolis Public Security Bureau.

For tonight's operation, the bureau would assign a Seventh-Rank Peak mentalist to assist.

The bureau's psychics were exceptionally skilled in interrogation and perception.

This Seventh-Rank Peak master was the latter, tasked with real-time monitoring of the Fate Cult's gathering.

Meanwhile, the Metropolis Public Security Bureau also suggested whether additional Seventh-Rank Masters should be deployed.

Generally, a local public security bureau was lucky to have even one Seventh-Rank Master.

But this was Metropolis—the Public Security Bureau had been established over two hundred years ago, during the early days of Yuan Energy's resurgence, with deep roots.

Even now, its top combat strength still included two Eighth-Rank Grand Masters and six Seventh-Rank Masters.

Although the two Eighth-Rank Grand Masters were occupied elsewhere, Seventh-Rank Masters could still be dispatched.

In response to the bureau's inquiry, Xu Jingming naturally declined.

Before Lu Wenliang, a Seventh-Rank Middle, even more Seventh-Rank Masters would be useless—and might even hinder the operation.

"Understood. Director Yang Yao will arrive at your residence precisely at 6 p. ."

A clear, melodious voice came from the other end of the line.

The "Yang Yao" she mentioned was the Seventh-Rank Peak mentalist.

"Good."

Xu Jingming nodded and hung up the phone.

"Come to think of it, Catherine wanted to see Metropolis—why not bring her along tonight?"

Xu Jingming thought silently.

The Fate Cult had intricate ties to the United States.

If they could capture Lu Wenliang, perhaps they'd find useful information in his space ring.

If Catherine truly learned of the United States' corruption, what would her reaction be?

Xu Jingming actually looked forward to it...

Perhaps to avoid disturbing Xu Jingming,

Catherine didn't return to the villa until 9 a. .

When she learned that Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu's psychic abilities had both evolved into S+ rank, her delicate face inevitably showed shock.

She knew elemental essences could cause psychic evolution to S rank—but never imagined they could evolve into the far rarer S+ rank!

"If no SS-rank psychic emerges, your two girlfriends are undoubtedly the top prodigies!"

A faint trace of astonishment lingered on Catherine's fair face.

Although Yuan Energy's resurgence had peaked in recent years, the number of those awakening rare psychic abilities had surged dramatically.

Yet S+ rank psychics remained as rare as ever!

She had previously cared little for elemental essences, but now she felt a pang of envy.

If she could obtain an elemental essence, the United States could gain several more prodigies...

Catherine had helped repair the Light Elemental Essence.

Thus, Xu Jingming kept his promise and took her around Metropolis.

He also brought along Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu.

Most of his time was spent hunting beasts in the Wild Zone—this was, in a way, accompanying them on a shopping spree.

But one man with three women was far too unusual, and their looks and aura far surpassed ordinary people.

In sparsely populated areas, it was fine—but once they entered the city, they inevitably became objects of public gawking and filming.

Eventually, Xu Jingming had to get everyone a pair of large sunglasses to ease the attention.

Catherine had come to Great Xia with a savior's mindset.

But the more places she saw, the more confused she became.

Why did Great Xia feel so different—indeed, completely opposite—to what she had been told?

Xu Jingming didn't bother explaining; too many words would make Catherine doubt him. Let her experience it herself.

When the time neared 6 p. ., Xu Jingming prepared to return to the villa with the others, waiting for the Public Security Bureau's team.

On the way, Catherine finally couldn't hold back, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion:

"Are all of Great Xia's cities like Metropolis?"

"Economic development and urban scale may differ, but law enforcement methods and contraband control are identical," Xu Jingming replied.

"That's impossible!"

Catherine instinctively objected, "Do you even ban Lokal pills?"

Lokal pills: a Grade-One pill.

They induce hallucinations and cause minimal bodily harm.

Despite their addictive nature, they remained wildly popular across the United States.

Many ordinary citizens even took them regularly.

"You can't do it doesn't mean we can't," Xu Jingming said calmly.

In overall strength and number of experts, Great Xia and the United States were roughly equal.

But in terms of state control, Great Xia utterly crushed the United States.

Catherine's pupils shrank at his words, falling into silence.

Before coming to Great Xia, she had suspected there might be some discrepancy between Great Xia and what she'd been told.

But now, after firsthand exposure, she realized it wasn't just a slight discrepancy—it was two entirely opposite extremes!

After all, Lokal pills weren't just popular in the United States—they were also used across nearby the EU and Heizhou.

Yet she had found not a single trace of them in Metropolis.

Nor did she see any signs of Great Xia's citizens living in misery.

As an SS-rank psychic, Catherine was exceptionally intelligent.

At this moment, she realized her country's propaganda about Great Xia was flawed.

But before she could further ponder why her country would do this, Xu Jingming's voice broke in:

"I'm about to carry out a mission—to eliminate the Fate Cult. Do you want to come along?"