Chapter 166: Outsiders, Imperial Guard

March 3rd, 45th year of Hongguang.

Since past 9:00 PM last night, all city gates of Datong Prefecture have been under martial law. No one is permitted to enter or leave. The City Guard has been deployed to the walls, and the entire city is on high alert, ensuring no one has the chance to slip out.

The last time Datong Prefecture was under such a total lockdown was eighteen years ago, when the Western Allied Forces attacked.

This sudden turn of events has left many people bewildered.

Yet, this was merely the beginning.

Nearly all of the more than one thousand inspectors from the General Inspectorate were mobilized to search the entire city!

The General Stop-Goe Academy deployed hundreds of martial artists, including Martial Masters and Registered Martial Masters.

The General Supervision Academy and the General Justice Academy were also mobilized.

With such a display of force, even the most sluggish individuals realized—something major had happened!

Past 5:00 AM, the crime scene in the Jinsha District.

The villa, now reduced to ruins, was the focus of many people—the true heavyweights of Datong Prefecture:

A Helmsman from the General Stop-Goe Academy, the Chief Inspector of the General Inspectorate, a Deputy Chief Supervisor from the General Supervision Academy, and Jiang Jin, the Deputy Dean of the General Justice Academy who had previously escorted Li Fei back to the academy.

These individuals were all observing an old man performing a ritual.

The old man wore white robes and possessed a celestial, crane-like appearance. He held a Bagua compass with a needle on it, performing the ritual before the corpse of Zhang Zongyang.

This old man was from the General Justice Academy, named Qi Yiming, a Great Mage of the Possession Realm, most skilled in investigation and tracking.

The Bagua compass in his hand was a magic treasure he had refined himself.

Under normal circumstances, Great Mages of the Possession Realm choose to refine magic treasures for offense or defense; only those with a surplus of resources would consider refining other types.

Because Qi Yiming was by nature averse to conflict, the first magic treasure he refined was a Luo Tian Compass used for tracking.

This, conversely, made him a "rare commodity," occasionally borrowed by the government of the provincial capital or even other provinces to assist in solving cases.

When Zhang Zongyang was murdered, Qi Yiming was handling matters in the provincial capital and had traveled back by car overnight.

After much busyness, Qi Yiming finished the ritual.

"How is it?"

Jiang Jin stepped forward and asked in a deep voice.

Qi Yiming shook his head with a grave expression: "It is too late. The other party also has someone versed in arts; they cut off the traces long ago. Had you brought me here to perform the ritual within an hour of the incident, I might have been able to track a few traces with the Luo Tian Compass, but now..."

Regarding this result, the dignitaries present were not actually surprised.

The party dared to be so insane as to assassinate a sitting official, a Level 13 official, and a Helmsman of the General Stop-Goe Academy at that; they could not possibly be stupid or incompetent, and they would certainly have accounted for Qi Yiming beforehand.

"Old Qi, is there not even a single clue?"

A middle-aged man with narrow eyes, holding a long sword, asked.

His name was Fu Lang, also a Helmsman of the General Stop-Goe Academy. He had the best relationship with Zhang Zongyang, so upon learning of the murder, he had immediately applied to rush over.

"There is one clue. Through the Luo Tian Compass, I sensed that the aura left by the murderer was mixed with something very primitive and ferocious, unlike that of a human; it somewhat resembles an exotic beast."

Qi Yiming said.

"An exotic beast? Was it Yu Longqing who did this?"

Fu Lang thought of the "Beast King" capable of driving exotic beasts.

But he quickly dismissed this thought, because if Yu Longqing had truly driven an exotic beast to kill, the traces left at the scene would absolutely not look like this. An exotic beast is much harder to hide than a person.

The higher the rank of an exotic beast, the larger its size. An exotic beast capable of killing a Dao Foundation powerhouse would be at least the size of a house; how could that be done without leaving a trace?

Only the legendary exotic beasts of the Upper Three Grades could possibly be small in size.

But Yu Longqing could absolutely not obtain an exotic beast of that level.

Thus, Fu Lang quickly ruled out the "Beast King" as a suspect.

"An aura resembling an exotic beast does not mean it is truly an exotic beast. There is another type of person in this world who shares these characteristics."

The Deputy Chief Supervisor of the General Supervision Academy suddenly said in a gloomy voice.

Everyone present was startled upon hearing this, and then they understood:

"You mean, the ones who did this are the Outsiders from the West?"

The reason the countries to the west are called the Western Nations is because a vast ocean separates them from the Great Lan Dynasty.

The Great Lan Dynasty had always considered itself the Celestial Empire, the center of the world, only to later discover that there was another land across the ocean, where hundreds of millions of people lived and many countries existed.

Upon discovering the Western Nations, the historians of the Great Lan Dynasty began calling the land they inhabited "Central Continent" and the land where the Western Nations were located "Western Continent."

Many exotic beasts grow on "Central Continent," which is why the people here were able to slowly develop martial arts and arts.

But on "Western Continent," there are no exotic beasts, only Outsiders.

So-called Outsiders are people whose bloodlines differ from ordinary people. For unknown reasons, their bloodlines are mixed with a portion of exotic beast blood, so once their bloodline power awakens, they too can possess a portion of extraordinary abilities.

Because of this, on "Western Continent," the noble classes of various countries are all families possessing Outsider bloodlines. They consider themselves "Chosen People," born to stand on high and enslave mortals.

When the Western Allied Forces invaded the Great Lan Dynasty, there were a large number of Outsiders among them. They did not just rely on powerful gunpowder weapons to fight the Great Lan Dynasty; they also had extraordinary powers as assistance.

The strength of an Outsider depends entirely on the power of their bloodline. Although they can learn various techniques, the bloodline directly limits the maximum upper limit of a person's strength, unlike martial artists who possess infinite possibilities.

If it were over a decade ago, an Outsider capable of killing a Dao Foundation powerhouse would necessarily have had immensely powerful bloodline strength. In the Western Continent, they would either be royalty of various countries or the highest-level nobles.

However, in recent years, not only has the Great Lan Dynasty been "learning the techniques of the barbarians to control the barbarians," but the various Western nations have also been learning and researching the martial arts and arts of Central Continent. Some Outsiders even have unique advantages in practicing martial arts.

Therefore, today, an Outsider capable of killing a Dao Foundation powerhouse does not necessarily have a very strong bloodline; it is very likely that they themselves are also of the Dao Foundation Realm.

"So, is it possible that this matter was done by spies from the Meijia Nation?"

Fu Lang said.

"That is the most likely possibility."

The Deputy Chief Supervisor of the General Supervision Academy nodded.

Under normal circumstances, if it were just internal strife, who the hell would be insane enough to dare kill a fourth-rank sitting official?

Even killing a third-rank imperial official would be a major event sufficient to shock the prefecture!

Such an insane act, without bottom lines or concerns, is indeed very likely the work of Meijia Nation spies.

Only these people have the guts and the motive.

"My lord, the people from the Zhang family are asking when they can collect the corpse of Helmsman Zhang?"

A Registered Martial Master from the Stop-Goe Academy walked over and said to Fu Lang.

The head of the Zhang family had been dead for over ten hours, but until now, the people of the Zhang family had not even been able to see Zhang Zongyang's corpse.

This matter is indeed somewhat ironic, but this is reality.

Although the Zhang family is one of the three great families of Datong Prefecture, they have been failing to produce successors in recent years. No talent could be found in the family, leaving only Zhang Zongyang to hold the line.

Now that Zhang Zongyang is dead, the entire Zhang family is leaderless, and there is no one left who can reach the pinnacle of power in Datong Prefecture, leading to this awkward scene:

The head of the Zhang family's corpse is laid out here, but there is not a single Zhang family member around.

"Gentlemen, since we have a direction for now, let us investigate first. As for Zongyang's corpse..."

Fu Lang pointed at the corpse on the ground, wanting to let the Zhang family people come to collect it; he did not want his friend's corpse to be left here for too long.

"Helmsman Fu."

Du Changhe, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

He is the head of the Du family, one of the three great families, and also the Chief Inspector of the Datong Prefecture General Inspectorate:

"The death of Helmsman Zhang is of great importance. Perhaps other clues remain on his corpse. Before the murderer is found, I am afraid it is not appropriate to let the Zhang family collect it."

Fu Lang fell silent.

The other party's words were indeed official and reasonable; he could not refute them.

"Then let the General Stop-Goe Academy collect the corpse first."

Fu Lang said.

"The General Inspectorate has several skilled forensic doctors; I will send them to the General Stop-Goe Academy in a while."

Du Changhe said calmly.

The term "forensic doctor" was influenced by Western culture; previously, they were called coroners. Du Changhe's meaning was to have someone dissect Zhang Zongyang's corpse.

Fu Lang turned his head, looking at the other party with a sharp gaze.

Du Changhe met Fu Lang's gaze without showing weakness: "I only wish to solve the case as soon as possible. This matter will certainly shock those above. If it drags on without a result, I am afraid none of the gentlemen present will have an easy time."

Zhang Zongyang died, and the General Stop-Goe Academy will be the first to be punished by those above; the General Inspectorate cannot escape responsibility either, as it is responsible for public security within the city.

And if this matter is related to Meijia Nation spies, the General Supervision Academy and the General Justice Academy, which are currently working together to capture spies, will also be unable to escape involvement.

So Du Changhe's words were indeed correct.

"In that case, my General Supervision Academy will also send some manpower to help, and together we will send Helmsman Zhang's corpse back to the General Stop-Goe Academy."

The Deputy Chief Supervisor of the General Supervision Academy said.

His words clearly indicated that he did not trust the Inspectorate and the Stop-Goe Academy, and wanted to send people to monitor the entire "autopsy" process; however, the General Supervision Academy indeed had this authority.

"Then I will trouble Old Qi to work hard once more and go together."

Jiang Jin was the last to express his stance, having Qi Yiming participate in the "autopsy."

"Very well, we shall follow the wishes of the gentlemen."

Fu Lang laughed out of extreme anger, took one last look at his friend's corpse on the ground, and flicked his sleeves as he left.

Soon, Zhang Zongyang's corpse was carried away by people from the General Stop-Goe Academy, and subsequently, all parties sent people to follow them to the General Stop-Goe Academy, preparing to participate in the upcoming "autopsy."

Throughout the entire process, the Zhang family people could only watch from the periphery, unable to get close, nor could they stop it.

Du Changhe took one last look at those people from the Zhang family and shook his head.

As the head of one of the three great families, he is still alive, while Zhang Zongyang is already dead.

Therefore, the Zhang family is also highly likely finished.

In the future, there will no longer be three great families in Datong Prefecture.

Around 6:00 AM on March 3rd, Zhang Zongyang's corpse was sent back to the General Stop-Goe Academy, and the "autopsy" began.

At the same time, the preliminary suspicions regarding this case and the clues Qi Yiming had found were submitted to the desk of Governor Bian Jingru, the Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture.

After receiving the news last night, his expression had been very ugly. Now, after reading the preliminary results, he slapped the table heavily and said sternly:

"Haven't the General Supervision Academy and the General Justice Academy been capturing spies all this time? What results have they captured?"

The Secretary-General on the side hurriedly bowed and said:

"My lord, those captured so far have all been interrogated once, and none have provided very useful clues."

"What about that traitorous special lecturer from Wu Da?"

Governor Bian Jingru asked.

"Not much useful information was asked from his mouth either, and those who had close dealings with him are all middle and high-level personnel at Wu Da; the General Supervision Academy is not finding it easy to investigate."

"Wu Da..."

Governor Bian Jingru fell silent for a moment.

Even though he is a noble Garrison Commander, it is very difficult for him to be tough in front of Wu Da.

So no matter how angry he was, he was not insane enough to order a direct investigation of Wu Da.

"Besides Wu Da, are there any other suspects?"

Governor Bian Jingru asked.

The Secretary-General said cautiously: "There is also the Tiefeng Sect."

"Tiefeng Sect."

Governor Bian Jingru's gaze turned cold, "Pass on my order: have the City Guard leave the city immediately and surround Tiefeng Mountain for me!"

"My lord?"

The Secretary-General looked at Governor Bian Jingru with some surprise.

"Deploy the Imperial Guard."

Governor Bian Jingru added another point.

"Yes!"

Now the Secretary-General understood the other party's determination and immediately went to execute the order.

At 7:00 AM, the City Guard of Datong Prefecture left the city.

The City Guard of the prefecture is commanded by two Regional Military Commissioners; a Regional Military Commissioner is a Level 10 martial officer, one rank higher than a Garrison Commander, and each can command one thousand troops.

The troops under the two Regional Military Commissioners of Datong Prefecture total nearly three thousand, and among them are one thousand iron cavalry!

The iron cavalry of the Great Lan Dynasty is famous throughout the world; it is a type of cavalry between light and heavy cavalry, and both men and horses are armored.

Because there are martial artists, Martial Masters, and Force-Refining Martial Masters among the iron cavalry, if one thousand iron cavalry charge on a plain, even a Dao Foundation powerhouse would find it difficult to block their edge!

Now, over one thousand people have set out from the prefecture toward Tiefeng Mountain, half mounted and half on foot.

The two hundred cavalry riding at the very front have armor that is clearly different from the cavalry behind them, looking thicker and heavier.

Besides that, they are not riding ordinary warhorses, but exotic beast Qingyan Horses!

Most of these Qingyan Horses are First Grade, a few are Second Grade, and there are even a few that are Third Grade.

Back then, not even five Qingyan Horses could be found in the City Guard camp of Xingcheng, yet here there are two hundred!

These two hundred cavalry are not the City Guard; they are the Imperial Guard.

The so-called Imperial Guard is the most elite force of the Great Lan Dynasty, an army composed entirely of martial artists, and the weakest among them are martial artists of the Body-Breaking Realm!

Besides that, the equipment they use is Sha Qi weapons, which are things that the local Justice Academies have been working hard to refine.

With Sha Qi weapons, one can form a military formation and erupt with military Sha Qi, which is a type of large-scale destructive art that can be used on the battlefield!

Military formations and military Sha Qi are the most powerful "weapons" of the Great Lan Dynasty; they are the foundation of its confidence in sweeping across all directions and being hailed as the number one empire of the current age!

Now, the Imperial Guard composed of two hundred cavalry is the first to charge toward the Tiefeng Sect.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 167 =====