Chapter 286: Shocks Across the Land

When a person dies, the light goes out, and their name is naturally removed from the list.

"Chen Mu is dead?!"

"That first-place winner of the Dragon-Tiger Storm Gathering in Wudicheng, the Bing-class Inspector of the Martial Guard Bureau, the prodigy ranked thirtieth on the Potential Dragon List… has perished?"

"Is this news confirmed? How could this happen!"

"…"

For a time, murmurs spread everywhere—shock, sorrow, disbelief permeating every corner.

Within the Jin Yang Prefecture Realm, in a secluded villa.

Di Chunlei, Shi Yilan, and Zhang Shaochong were the first to receive the news.

Shi Yilan stared at the message, her slender body trembling violently; the teacup in her hand clattered to the ground and shattered.

Her beautiful eyes instantly turned red, tears falling like snapped beads; she clapped her hand over her lips, stifling sobs that left her gasping for breath.

Di Chunlei's eyes burned crimson; he slammed a fist onto the stone table beside him, and the hard stone table cracked apart instantly!

He let out a low roar like a wounded beast, "Impossible! How could Brother Chen…?"

"Those scum, Liu Xianbo and Liu Xiankang!"

"And that old dog of the Heavenly Palace Realm! If I don't avenge this, I, Di Chunlei, swear I will never again call myself a man!"

Zhang Shaochong's eyes were also red, his face filled with grief, rage, and emotion; he slammed his palm hard onto Di Chunlei's shoulder.

"Brother Di, I'm with you! Unless we kill these bastards, how can we comfort Brother Chen's spirit in the afterlife!"

…

Inside a hidden mechanical workshop.

The Liu brothers, Liu Xianbo and Liu Xiankang, also received the news.

They were briefly startled, exchanging a glance.

Liu Xianbo sneered, "Dead? Hmph. It's a bit surprising he lasted this long before the news came, but facing Elder Gao's pursuit, if he'd survived, that'd be the real anomaly."

Liu Xiankang feigned a sigh, "What a pity—a Potential Dragon prodigy, gone like this. But who asked him to be ungrateful, to defy us?"

His tone was false, like a crocodile shedding tears.

…

Bai Yun City, Hua Mansion.

Su Donglai held a copied excerpt of the latest Potential Dragon List, his fingers trembling, face pale as paper, muttering incessantly.

"Impossible… This can't be true! How could Brother Chen…?"

Hua Baobao stood beside him, gently tugging his arm, soothing softly, "Donglai, don't be like this…"

Su Donglai seemed not to hear; he suddenly looked up, eyes bloodshot, voice hoarse, "Baobao, you don't understand! Brother Chen's strength, his methods… he could never perish so easily! This news must be wrong!"

Hua Shanhe stood nearby, watching his future son-in-law lose composure; he sighed faintly, his tone carrying both regret and the cruel truth of reality.

"Donglai, accept the truth. The fall of a genius, though heartbreaking, is nothing new on the path of martial cultivation."

"A genius who fails to grow… is no longer a genius."

…

Southeast Dao, Headquarters of the Martial Guard Bureau.

In the solemn hall, Deputy Commander Zhao Wencen sat with a face like ice, his knuckles whitening from clenched fists.

Chief of the Sun Division, Yi Zheng, stood below, brows furrowed, his face equally shadowed.

"Is the news confirmed?"

Zhao Wencen's voice was low, tinged with barely perceptible hoarseness.

Yi Zheng took a deep breath and replied solemnly, "My lord, multiple sources confirm: the Potential Dragon List has been updated—Chen Mu has been removed. According to our intelligence, his last known appearance was in the Baihe Prefecture region, where he was pursued by Gao Xingde, the former elder who defected from the Crimson Sky Sect!"

"Although another mysterious Heavenly Palace Realm expert later appeared and clashed with Gao Xingde, Chen Mu vanished entirely after that—neither alive nor dead, no trace found."

He paused, then added, "In the residual shockwaves of a Heavenly Palace Realm battle, the body being obliterated… is normal."

"Normal?"

Zhao Wencen slammed his fist onto the nearby black-iron wood desk; the solid desk instantly cracked across its surface. He rose abruptly, eyes blazing with cold light.

"My Martial Guard Bureau's youngest Inspector, a prodigy ranked among the top of the Potential Dragon List, was murdered—and you tell me it's normal?!"

Zhao Wencen's chest heaved, fury surging, "This is spitting on the face of the Martial Guard Bureau! It's a provocation against the imperial court's dignity! Chen Mu may be young, but he is ours! If we don't avenge him, what face will the Martial Guard Bureau have left? Issue my order!"

Zhao Wencen's voice was icy, carrying absolute, unshakable resolve.

"Deploy every resource—find Gao Xingde! Alive, bring him to me; dead, bring his corpse! No man of the Martial Guard Bureau dies in vain!"

"Yes!" Yi Zheng bowed sharply and turned to leave immediately.

He knew this Deputy Commander was truly enraged.

Even Yi Zheng himself was seething with rage.

Over the past year, Chen Mu had become the de facto representative of the Martial Guard Bureau's younger generation.

Now he's been killed—murdered by a Heavenly Palace Realm expert bullying a junior—should the Martial Guard Bureau not retaliate, the entire world would laugh at us!

…

Jiangnan Dao, Zhenzhou Martial Guard Bureau.

Zhao Fuzhou sat alone behind his desk, gripping a newly delivered secret report, his knuckles white from pressure.

He had held this posture for a full half-incense-stick's time.

Yu Shoujiang slipped in silently, seeing his superior's state, sighed inwardly, and whispered, "My lord…"

Zhao Fuzhou seemed to snap out of a daze, slowly lifting his head, eyes vacant, voice dry.

"Is the news confirmed?"

"Confirmed," Yu Shoujiang nodded heavily. "Chen... he truly perished at the hands of the Heavenly Palace Realm expert, Gao Xingde."

"Heavenly Palace realm… Gao Xingde…" Zhao Fuzhou murmured the two terms again, a hint of bitterness and helplessness on his face.

Facing a Heavenly Palace realm, let alone Chen Mu, even he could only flee.

He waved his hand weakly, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Understood. You may leave for now."

"…"

Yu Shoujiang opened his mouth as if to speak, but finally merely bowed with a fist, silently exiting the hall.

Standing outside the hall, he looked up at the gloomy sky and let out a long, weary sigh.

…

Wudicheng.

Inside the towering hall, several high-ranking members of Wudicheng gathered, the atmosphere heavy and somber.

The External Affairs Director, Zhao Guangji, set down the intelligence in his hand and sighed heavily, his face filled with regret.

"What a pity… If Chen Mu had accepted our offer to join Wudicheng back then, he might not have met this fate."

A stern-faced elder beside him snorted coldly, "What's the point of saying this now? A genius? The world has no shortage of geniuses! But if they don't grow strong and die along the way, they're not true prodigies!"

This remark immediately stirred the displeasure of a burly, straightforward elder nearby, who furrowed his thick brows and retorted.

"What kind of talk is that? Chen Mu was being hunted by a Heavenly Palace realm!"

"With a full realm gap between them, could you or I have escaped if we'd been his age back then?"

"We'd have died even faster!"