Chapter 17: Why Are You So Strong?

Meng Hao looked like a refined young gentleman, his face full of joy and looking quite pleased with himself, as if he had encountered some good fortune.

But upon seeing Li Heng, his expression involuntarily darkened; yet, after a moment's thought, he felt he had already won and there was no need to care so much about a loser.

Immediately, he returned to a calm state, truly a master of changing faces.

He waved his feather fan and walked to Li Heng's side, speaking indifferently, "I heard you advanced to the Nurturing Essence Realm recently? Not bad, congratulations, keep working hard in the future."

"Perhaps one day you can become a pillar of our Demon Suppression Division."

Li Heng raised an eyebrow, shaking his head inwardly.

In the past, whenever this Meng Hao saw him, he would wear a deadpan face, incomparably gloomy, wishing he could kill him; yet now, he had become arrogant and was acting condescendingly?

"It seems you have also encountered some good fortune during this time; I offer my congratulations as well."

Li Heng also spoke with a smile.

Meng Hao snorted coldly in his heart, feeling utter disdain.

I am the adopted son of the Division Chief, a future Innate Level Great Grandmaster; what right does a mud-legged nobody like you, who popped out of nowhere, have to congratulate me?

Of course, he had to admit it.

He had indeed been jealous of the attitude Meng Lingyun showed toward this Li Heng in the past; why was it that he could only call him Division Chief, while this Li Heng could call him 'the old man'?

This form of address reflected a deeper relationship, which truly made him very anxious and posed a threat to his status.

This Li Heng was indeed a bit more handsome than him, and he was well aware of Meng Lingyun's aesthetic standards.

If he were to lose the once-certain position of successor and fail to obtain Meng Lingyun's inheritance just because of his looks, he would be so angry he'd vomit blood.

But fortunately, Meng Lingyun had already made his choice, choosing him to be the successor and inheriting that cultivation technique! So, he was the ultimate winner.

Meng Hao knew that, having cultivated that technique, he was no longer in the same world as this mud-legged nobody; one was high in the heavens, the other as lowly as dust.

Since that was the case.

He would not bother too much with this mud-legged nobody.

When he eventually succeeded to the position of Division Chief of the Bei'an City Demon Suppression Division, perhaps this mud-legged nobody could still be a useful tool for him, serving him faithfully until death.

Meng Hao felt smug; a mud-legged nobody is just a mud-legged nobody.

Therefore, Meng Hao did not answer, simply nodding and walking away gracefully. They were not people of the same world, so there was no need for interaction; doing so would only lower his own stature.

Seeing Meng Hao not answer, Li Heng shrugged, not caring at all. However, he could still guess a little bit.

It was likely that this matter still had something to do with the old man.

He had previously noticed that Meng Lingyun was subtly observing him, seemingly grading him, occasionally showing expressions of approval or disappointment.

It seemed this observation should have ended by now.

Meng Lingyun must have chosen his own candidate.

Li Heng put this matter to the back of his mind and walked straight into the room. It didn't matter who Meng Lingyun chose, and he wasn't interested in the opportunity behind this matter either.

The Visualization Divine Ability was already the greatest opportunity.

Besides, even if he did care, what could he do? Looking at Meng Hao's reaction, this matter was already over.

Could he act like a clown, shouting and making a scene? Are you kidding? He couldn't do such a thing.

Furthermore, his relationship with Meng Lingyun hadn't reached that level. After all, they were merely life-saving benefactors to each other, and secondly, friends who could talk well.

It fell into the category of a friendship across generations.

"You brat, I didn't expect you to actually make it back."

Meng Lingyun sat at his desk, laughing heartily as he saw Li Heng enter, feeling a sense of relief.

"Do you have so little confidence in me? By the way, this is some freshly bought folded-pancake fire-roast; eat it while it's hot."

Li Heng rolled his eyes and tossed the packaged folded-pancake fire-roast onto the desk.

"It's not that I lack confidence, but that I held no hope at all. That Weird that could destroy the Giant Wave Gang overnight is at least at the True Qi Realm."

Meng Lingyun's expression turned grave as he said in a deep voice.

Li Heng shrugged, noncommittal; he didn't want to waste time on such meaningless arguments.

"By the way, the people of the Giant Wave Gang disappeared without a trace overnight; were any of the gang's various items damaged?" he asked casually.

Meng Lingyun frowned.

"Why, you brat still want to investigate this case? Don't go looking for death; such matters can only be handled by me personally."

"Rest assured, searching for a hiding Weird is very troublesome, and I don't want to waste my time," Li Heng said indifferently.

"You're right, this Weird is indeed hiding. I suspect it used a Ghost Domain to directly abduct those people from the Giant Wave Gang; the other items weren't even touched."

"It seems this was definitely not a sudden attack."

Meng Lingyun continued to frown as he spoke.

"It's just that I find it strange; what right does a mere lower-class Giant Wave Gang have to be worth silencing by a Weird?"

"Or could it be that they found out something?"

Li Heng thought for a moment.

"I heard at the Giant Wave Gang that the Gang Leader Cao Hu was going to mobilize the gang to search for news of the Weird, to find the murderer who harmed his younger brother. Perhaps he really did find some information?"

Searching for news of a Weird? Meng Lingyun frowned. Things that living people should stay away from, and he actually dared to look for them? Wasn't this just asking for death?

At this moment, Li Heng remained silent, letting Meng Lingyun think quietly. At the same time, he thought of the Vast Earth Map hanging in the Giant Wave Gang, which contained a certain artistic conception.

Originally, he had been thinking about what excuse to use to get this map. But now it seemed unnecessary; in any case, there was no one left at the Giant Wave Gang.

He made up his mind to go to the Giant Wave Gang later to take a look. He hoped that after the County Government bloodsuckers sealed the scene, they hadn't taken away all the valuable things.

Otherwise, he might have to make a trip to the County Government.

Meng Lingyun finished thinking, still unable to find an answer. Or rather, although he had some vague guesses, due to a lack of evidence, most were just deductions, and he couldn't speak them out loud.

"Forget it, there's no need to dwell on it too much for now."

"By the way, you returned after completing your mission this time, right? Did you find the Weird that killed Cao Hong?"

Li Heng nodded.

"I not only found him, but I also slaughtered him. By the way, I also slaughtered this Weird mastermind. Although I am not sure if that mastermind behind the scenes was a clone."

He recounted his experience at Zui Xiang Lou.

Of course, he also concealed a portion, such as the Divine Power Crystal, and also the Sun True Fire.

He could vaguely sense that the matter of the Divine Power Crystal was of great importance. Before he had investigated it clearly, it was better not to easily inform others. After all, this thing was also useful to him.

As for the Sun True Fire? That could be revealed even less.

After all, for a mere Nurturing Essence Realm cultivator to possess the Sun True Fire was truly a fantasy.

If others didn't believe it, that would be fine, but if they did, it would very likely invite a fatal disaster; it was still necessary to be more cautious.

After listening to Li Heng's experience.

Meng Lingyun's expression was already strange to the extreme.

He looked Li Heng up and down, yet he could never see anything special. Finally, he could not help but speak.

"Isn't a kid like you only just at the Nurturing Essence Realm?"

"How are you so strong!?"