Hearing Ian Song accuse him of being heartless and ungrateful, Victor Tang did not argue. A look of guilt flashed across his face: he knew he was in the wrong. Ian had saved his life, yet he tried to capture him—if that wasn’t ingratitude and heartlessness, what was?
"Go. From now on, if we meet again, you and I are enemies!" Ian Song waved his hand in disgust, as if shooing away a fly.
"Brother Lu, whether you believe it or not, I never meant to hurt you. Farewell!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Victor Tang drifted out of the villa and vanished into the night.
A faint lingering fragrance remained in the air. For some reason, Landon Lu felt a sense of loss and emptiness rise in his heart.
"How ridiculous. I’m actually feeling this way over a man...!"
Shaking his head, Landon Lu felt a bit creeped out.
Tonight, the sky was filled with stars—a perfect opportunity to cultivate the Myriad-Star Divine Art.
He stepped out into the courtyard and sat down. The Myriad-Star Divine Art began to circulate within him, drawing the starlight from above and channeling it into his body, absorbing it one by one.
The whole night passed in cultivation. All the stellar energy he absorbed fused into his Body of Ten Thousand Stars, but it barely made a difference—after all, that physique required an immense amount of energy to advance.
At his current cultivation speed, Ian Song estimated that it would take thirty to fifty years to reach the second layer of the Body of Ten Thousand Stars. Luckily, he had the Divine Temple as a cheat device—but adjusting the Temple’s time flow also consumed energy.
The higher the time ratio, the more energy it consumed.
For example, a tenfold time acceleration required one high-grade spirit crystal per day.
Twentyfold acceleration needed one supreme-grade spirit crystal.
Before leaving the cultivation world, Ian Song had stored millions of supreme-grade spirit crystals inside the Divine Temple—more than enough to squander during cultivation.
Sure enough, just as Landon arrived at the Special Police base, a city government order came down: he was to hand over the rebel to the Thunder Regiment.
Landon Lu, of course, had no objection.
At ten o’clock in the morning, the Thunder Regiment’s Ninth Squad arrived at the Mesa City Special Police Base, led by Leo Li and Sean Feng.
As the saying goes, enemies meet and tempers flare. The moment Leo Li saw Landon Lu, he didn’t bother hiding his hostility.
"Does your face still hurt, Director Li?" Landon Lu asked cheerfully, meeting his hateful glare with a grin.
That remark stung Leo Li deeply and enraged him. He growled through gritted teeth, "Ian Song, you’d better hope you never fall into my hands, or I’ll make you wish you were dead!"
"You’re bound to be disappointed, because that day will never come!" Ian Song retorted, curling his lip.
"Minister Lu, where’s our man?" Sean Feng suddenly interrupted.
"Gordon Gao, bring him up!"
Since both Leo Li and Sean Feng disliked Ian Song, the moment Shawn Shi was in their hands, they couldn’t wait to leave the Mesa City Special Police Base.
But they’d barely left the Mesa City Special Police Base when they were ambushed.
With a wave of Leo Li’s hand, two Thunder Regiment members stepped forward to seize Shawn Shi.
Since both Leo Li and Sean Feng disliked Landon Lu, the moment Shawn Shi was in their hands, they couldn’t wait to leave the Mesa City Special Police Base.
But they’d barely left the Mesa City Special Police Base when they were ambushed.
Three people lay in wait: two men and a woman. The men were Old Gan and Victor Tang; the woman was a masked figure dressed in black.
All three were War King-level experts, but the masked woman’s swordsmanship was truly extraordinary—one slash from her sword split an armored hover-car clean in half.
Leo Li and Sean Feng did everything they could to resist, but in the end, the three attackers managed to rescue Shawn Shi.
Several Special Police flying cars arrived. Ian Song stepped out, looked at the battered Leo Li and Sean Feng, and couldn’t help but laugh: “Director Li, Deputy Director Feng, what happened here? Did the prisoner get snatched?”
Seeing Ian Song gloating, Leo Li and Sean Feng’s faces grew even uglier.
Ian Song kept fanning the flames: “Hey, the prisoner was perfectly safe at our Mesa City Special Police Base, but as soon as you took him, he got snatched. Isn’t that something?”
......
Inside a small cabin in the forest, more than fifty li from Mesa City.
Old Gan was tending to Shawn Shi’s gunshot wounds.
Victor Tang and the masked woman stood side by side.
“Junior Martial Sister, let it go. The outsiders are far too strong—you can’t possibly succeed. Come back to the sect with me. Master misses you dearly!” the masked woman said to Victor Tang.
If Ian Song were here, he’d be utterly shocked—wasn’t Victor Tang supposed to be a man? Why was the masked woman calling him ‘Junior Martial Sister’?
“Senior Sister, you don’t need to persuade me anymore. Even though I know I can’t possibly succeed, I still have to keep going—because I am the Sixth Princess of the Qi Prince’s Residence!”
Victor Tang’s voice changed, becoming clear and melodious, as gentle as a songbird’s first call—yet it carried a trace of helplessness and sorrow.
The masked woman sighed softly. “I knew you’d say that. But helping you this time was already a huge risk. If the outsiders notice, our sect could be in big trouble, so I can’t help you again in the future.”
“It’s all right, Senior Sister. I understand.”
“I’m glad you do. If you ever get tired, just come back to the sect—Master and all of us are waiting for you.”
“Senior Sister...!” Victor Tang’s voice choked with emotion.
“Junior Martial Sister, take care of yourself. I’ll be going now!” As soon as she finished speaking, the masked woman vanished like a wisp of smoke.
Victor Tang stared silently for a long time in the direction the masked woman had disappeared.
After a while, Old Gan stepped out of the cabin.
“Is Shawn Shi’s injury all taken care of?” Victor Tang asked.
“Yes, Sixth Young Master. Everything’s been treated,” Old Gan nodded.
“I’ll go in and check on him.”
Victor Tang walked into the cabin. Shawn Shi, lying on the wooden bed, tried to get up, but Victor Tang stopped him with a gesture. “Just lie down, Shawn Shi.”
“Thank you, Sixth Young Master!” Shawn Shi said gratefully. Suddenly, his expression changed, filled with hatred. “Sixth Young Master, did you catch that traitor Darren Fu?”
Victor Tang shook her head. “He’s still hiding deep, but sooner or later he’ll show himself. When he does, we’ll settle the score!”
Victor Tang’s eyes flashed with killing intent. She had trusted Darren Fu so much, never imagining he would betray them, leading to the capture of almost all their resistance members. Now, only the three of them were left in Mesa City.
Shawn Shi spat angrily, “I always knew that bastard Darren Fu was trouble. And that Mesa City Special Police Minister Ian Song—one day I’ll take him out too!”
Hearing Shawn Shi talk about killing Ian Song, Victor Tang fell silent. After a long pause, she finally said, “Shawn Shi, that Ian Song is hiding his strength—he’s a War King-level expert. You’d better not go looking for trouble with him!”
Shawn Shi was stunned, then suddenly understood. “No wonder I got hurt by him. So that guy’s actually a War King-level master!”