"Still..." A moment later, Su Chen couldn't help but murmur. "Hunting three more 2nd-tier professionals won't be easy."
Killing Qi Chuan had looked effortless, but it had actually relied entirely on the Supervision Department's resources.
Moreover, 2nd-tier professionals were the backbone of Nanfeng City. Someone like Hu Xiang — if he died, department heads would start asking questions. Unless the target was compromised like Qi Chuan.
[Hunting may continue after class induction is complete.]
The panel addressed his concern. Su Chen relaxed.
"Evil God Power... To get more of this stuff, I'd need to deal with them again." The thought gave him pause.
It was currently the only thing that could actively trigger class mutations.
Denying that he coveted it would be a lie, but the dangers were real — and explaining it to anyone would be even harder.
"One step at a time." Su Chen shelved the thought.
"Training brings me joy..."
He downed one Black Flame Potion and one Rejuvenation Potion each, chased with Glazed Blood, and stepped into the gravity room.
"Training brings me joy..."
Multi-Tasking activated. He assumed his stance, and stinging pain radiated through every part of his body.
The panel showed real-time progress in his training methods and class development — that instant feedback was a powerful psychological advantage.
Class development was no laughing matter. The grinding and the agony chipped away at willpower every second of every day.
Killing Qi Chuan, discovering the Evil God Artifact — it had felt like a major upheaval.
But in the days that followed, no one came for him.
For seven or eight straight days, Su Chen locked himself in his room. Sleep, train, sleep, train. Potions were consumed one after another until every last vial was empty.
"Mmm..." Su Chen's eyelids fluttered. A cool sensation swept through his skull, and his mental energy surged violently.
[Mystic Artificer developed to 50%. Awakened ability — Mystic Artifact Enhancement: Other class abilities may be applied to controlled Mystic Artifacts.]
"Mystic Artifact Enhancement?" Su Chen eased out of his stance, breathing heavily, and read the panel description.
A thought stirred. The Azure Iron Cable materialized in his hand, and he followed the instinct.
Gradually, wisps of cyan wind gathered along the cable, clinging to its surface.
"So it really works..." Su Chen's eyes widened. He'd infused the cable with Wind Erosion.
He gave it an experimental lash. The speed had increased dramatically, and so had the lethality.
"Two classes starting to complement each other." He clicked his tongue approvingly.
After playing around for a bit, Su Chen's mood was buoyant. And it wasn't just the Mystic Artificer — every metric had jumped significantly.
[Void-Rending Warrior: 76%]
[Body Sharpening Forging Method — Proficiency: 40%]
[Hellfire Meditation Method — Proficiency: 60%]
Both the forging method and the meditation method were closing in on Master level, and the speed of improvement was entirely thanks to the Glazed Blood Potion.
"Worthy of something even Yingfeng covets."
Su Chen licked his lips. Unfortunately, the Glazed Blood was gone — along with everything else.
Without potion support, his efficiency would plummet. Time to have a chat with his esteemed teacher.
The moment he stepped into the corridor, Su Chen sensed something off. Mid and senior-level staff hurried past with grim expressions.
"Brother Sun?"
He spotted Old Sun's unmistakable silhouette in the distance.
"Brother?" The fat man's dark expression melted into a beaming smile as he hustled over. "Finally decided to come out! I've never seen a young man with this kind of grit. The youth these days are something else."
Ignoring the flattery, Su Chen pulled him aside. "What's going on? What happened?"
"You really don't know?"
Old Sun dragged Su Chen into a corner and whispered, "These past few days, the Inspector has been on an absolute tear. He's ripped through the Supervision Department, the City Patrol, the Exploration Department, and Internal Affairs — turned them all inside out looking for Evil God cultists."
"The whole city's up in arms."
Su Chen's eyebrow jumped. "Teacher went that hard?"
Was it because of the Evil God Artifact from last time?
Old Yuan had discovered it was an empty shell and kept ranting about Nanfeng City being doomed. He must have launched the purge the moment he got back.
"Tell me about it." Old Sun sighed deeply. "The City Lord is away. Minister Feng is away. Chief Jiang isn't saying a word. Inspector Yuan is practically the highest authority left."
'Jiang Rong is silent?' Su Chen's eyes flickered. "And the Qi Chuan situation..."
"Shh—" Old Sun grabbed his arm. "Nobody knows."
Su Chen understood. The Evil God Artifact affair hadn't leaked outside.
Old Sun circled back to the point. "The others aren't pushovers either. In less than ten days, Zhou Xian has rallied several deputy ministers and they've already come storming over."
"Did they find any cultists?" Su Chen asked.
"A handful." Old Sun's face showed no joy. "But they're all bottom-rung nobodies. Even in a normal year, you'd catch a few of those. Some had been flagged internally for ages."
Su Chen got the picture. Old Yuan had made massive moves with underwhelming results. The other factions wouldn't let that slide.
............
Top floor of the Supervision Department. Yuan Chenyang's cold gaze swept across the assembled group.
Zhou Xian's face was flushed with rage. "What exactly are you trying to do!?"
"The city is in chaos! Everyone's living in fear!"
"Better everyone lives in fear than everyone dies together!" Yuan Chenyang's voice was steel.
"Spare us the platitudes! Nanfeng City doesn't rest on your shoulders alone!" Zhou Xian shot back without a shred of hesitation. "When does this investigation end? Give us a straight answer today, or you might as well throw us in a cell too!"
"At least then our subordinates won't think we're cowards who are afraid of you!"
Behind Zhou Xian stood deputy ministers and senior officials from multiple departments, their expressions equally hostile.
"You want an explanation?" Yuan Chenyang rose sharply. A wave of domineering pressure forced everyone back a step. "I'll give you one!"
"Follow me!"
He strode out. The group exchanged glances. Zhou Xian scoffed and followed.
They were led deep into the Supervision Department's morgue, where cold white fog hung in the air.
Clang!
Yuan Chenyang hauled out a body. Zhou Xian frowned, and only after a long moment did recognition dawn. "This is... Qi Chuan?"
'He's actually dead!'
Zhou Xian's composure was a mask. Qi Chuan had been off the radar for days — he'd already suspected as much.
"What's the point of showing us a corpse?" Zhou Xian's tone was sharp.
Yuan Chenyang's eyes bored into him, holding the stare for an uncomfortably long time before he spoke. "He's not important. What's important is that he had an empty Evil God Artifact on him."
"What!?" Someone behind Zhou Xian exclaimed. "An empty Evil God Artifact?"
Zhou Xian's face drained of color. His reaction looked right — and also perhaps wrong.
'How could it be... empty!?'
"Can we see it?" one of the deputy ministers asked.
Their bravado was noticeably diminished from when they'd marched in.
Yuan Chenyang slid the body back, led them to his office, and casually tossed a metal box out of his desk drawer.
Thud!
It hit the floor. Nobody dared catch it. Several faces twitched.
This was an Evil God Artifact — and he just kept it in a drawer?
"I told you, it's an empty shell." Yuan Chenyang said dismissively.
Zhou Xian was the first to pick it up. He studied it with a look of apparent confusion, while inwardly, his alarm was escalating.
'What happened? It really is empty?'
'The Priest said the Sacred Artifact had vanished. So the power inside was drained — but where did it go?'
'What did Qi Chuan do!?'
"This was found on Qi Chuan's person. Where did the power stored inside it go?" Yuan Chenyang scanned the room, his tone pressing. "Perhaps Black Buddha is about to sacrifice the entire city of Nanfeng at any moment!"
"And yet here you are, demanding answers from me!?"
The group fell silent, cowed. Being paraded to the morgue, confronted with the Evil God Artifact — it had thoroughly deflated their earlier fury.
But someone recovered quickly. "You've been investigating for days and haven't found any trace. If there really were a major operation, it couldn't possibly be this well-hidden."
"Perhaps the artifact was empty to begin with."
"Or perhaps—" Zhou Xian suddenly interjected, "someone is crying 'stop thief' to cover their own tracks."
Yuan Chenyang's eyes narrowed to slits. His tone was ice. "Think whatever you like. This is my evidence. Bring yours, and I'll surrender willingly."
"Don't think Nanfeng City will always be your playground." Zhou Xian gave him one long, measured look, set the artifact down, and walked out without another word.
The deputy ministers glanced at each other awkwardly before filing out as well.
Once clear of the Supervision Department, Zhou Xian didn't bother with pleasantries. He climbed straight into his vehicle and left. Only then did his jaw finally begin to tremble uncontrollably.
"Su Chen..." The name seethed from between clenched teeth, almost ground out of his throat. When Qi Chuan was first arrested, he'd received word — but initially, he'd dismissed it as the upstart taking petty revenge.
He'd never imagined it would spiral to this point. The long-hidden Evil God Artifact had been dragged into the light — and somehow emptied.
"What... happened!?"
............
Yuan Chenyang rubbed his brow, genuinely baffled. "What is going on? There isn't a single trace of any large-scale operation in the entire city."
"They must have used the power stored in the artifact for something."
From the stairwell, a head poked around the corner — Su Chen.
He'd chosen not to loiter where Zhou Xian could see him. Only after the man had left did he creep upstairs.