Chapter 115: The Hall of Heavenly Martial Arts

The blue flames erupting from the tail of the Blackscale Chariot flickered and died, leaving the vehicle hovering silently in the air. Under the gaze of everyone present, three young people emerged. The woman at the end appeared remarkably youthful.

Almost everyone in Yang City held their breath, desperate to see who had stepped out of the Blackscale Chariot—the City Lord included.

The City Lord of Yang City was a graduate of the Tianmu Academy. In his time, he had been a prominent figure. While not exceptionally brilliant, he had been like a sun in the eyes of his peers—dazzling and magnificent. Yet, even so, he had never heard the name "Tianwu Hall" during his four years at the academy. It was only after a dozen years of wandering and earning several great merits that King Tianmu appointed him as the overall director of the Yang City region. Only then did he gain access to the core of human civilization.

It was at that moment he learned that beyond the four great academies, there existed an unknown organization on Earth. They were equipped with humanity's most advanced weaponry, handpicked from the entire human population, possessed the highest level of talent, and commanded the greatest share of resources. Often, they displayed unimaginable strength at a very young age. Of course, they were not pampered vases; while receiving the best resources, they were also tasked with the most dangerous missions.

The City Lord stood waiting as the three descended the virtual spiral staircase. The leader was the oldest, appearing to be in his late twenties. He was likely the team leader. His appearance was unremarkable; words like dashing or heroic could not be applied to him. However, the black mechanical arm on his right side was particularly striking. The City Lord could not discern whether it was forged from rare metals or the bones of a mutated beast, but to be favored by someone from Tianwu Hall, it was undoubtedly a treasure.

Following him was a slender man with fair skin and fine, loose hair. He possessed a delicate, feminine grace, though he was a man. Despite this, the women of Yang City below stared at him in a daze.

The final woman, however, was a feast for the eyes of the men below. The sound of swallowing saliva was audible, drawing contemptuous glares from the local women. The girl on the virtual staircase wore a long purple gown, with a beige sash gently cinching her slender, willow-like waist. A cascade of raven-black hair fell straight past her ears to her waist. Her exquisite features—phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, and cherry lips—gave her an ethereal air, cooling the sweltering summer heat for those watching below.

"Classical, ethereal, and slightly aloof. Perhaps only Tianwu Hall could foster such an extraordinary woman," the City Lord thought to himself.

"Heh, every time Junior Sister Xiao appears, it causes a stir. Truly the most beautiful woman in our Outer Hall," the delicate-looking man in the middle said with a slight smile.

Neither the man with the mechanical arm nor the woman behind him responded. The delicate man seemed to have anticipated this; he gave a sheepish smile and resumed his stern expression as they continued down. This awkwardness only served to stir the hearts of the girls in Yang City once more.

"City Lord of Yang City, Li Yao?" The leader stopped before the City Lord and asked.

The City Lord lowered his head slightly in a gesture of welcome, responding with neither servility nor arrogance.

"Indeed. I am Li Yao, the sixteenth City Lord of Yang City. On behalf of all the people of Yang City, I welcome the three of you." Although the leader’s tone was accusatory, Li Yao was a man who had seen great storms and was not easily intimidated.

"Do you know what crime you have committed?" The man with the mechanical arm followed up immediately with a second question. The temperature of the entire city seemed to drop a few degrees, and the sun in the sky appeared to dim.

*Growth-level.* The pressure on Li Yao increased instantly. He mobilized the elemental power within his body and managed to reply, "I do. Negligence in governance led to the deaths of over three hundred guards at the Purple Sable District outpost. I, Li Yao, am here to request permission to seek justice for those three hundred wronged souls."

"Seek justice? Heh, do you know what you let into human territory?" The delicate man sneered, mocking Li Yao’s overestimation of his own abilities. He added, "For a mistake like this, killing you ten times would not be enough."

"Enough, Huang Di," the man with the mechanical arm said sharply.

"Hmph." The man called Huang Di let out a cold snort and stepped back behind his leader.

"I...?" The City Lord tried to speak, but the immense pressure emanating from the man with the mechanical arm rendered him speechless.

"We have come today specifically to inform you: as of today, the former City Lord of Yang City is demoted to a member of the garrison. Prepare for the arrival of the new City Lord in three days."

Without giving Li Yao a chance to explain, the man with the mechanical arm turned and headed back to the Blackscale Chariot. Li Yao was left standing alone, dazed and unable to believe he had been reduced to a common soldier.

The chariot did not linger. After the three boarded, a thick blast of blue flame erupted, and the craft streaked across the sky in a blue arc, heading toward the Purple Sable District outpost.

"Senior Brother, why didn't you let me speak? Over three hundred lives—you can't just let that go," Huang Di said. He had seen too many die, yet the more he saw, the more precious he felt life to be.

"Have you forgotten the purpose of our appearance in Yang City? Does a mere dismissal of a city lord require the intervention of Tianwu Hall?"

Although the man’s arm was made of steel, his heart still beat with red blood. In this Dark Era, with the human population drastically reduced, every life was precious, let alone three hundred. Hearing this, Huang Di sat down, dejected. He understood his senior was right, but he still felt troubled by the loss of so many lives.

"Junior Sister Xiao, how is it?" The man with the mechanical arm turned to the woman in the other seat.

"Senior Brother, I detected no signs of elemental pollution within the City Lord. He may have been a victim of this incident as well," the woman in the purple dress said calmly. It was clear that to them, removing the City Lord was a trivial matter. Her ethereal voice calmed the frustration in Huang Di’s heart.

"Hmm." The man with the mechanical arm sat down. He had already probed the City Lord; if he had been corrupted, he would already be dead, not demoted to a soldier.

But a new problem arose: who had let it in? Who was the mastermind? The incident seemed to be spreading—from entry-level to civilians, and now it had even alarmed Tianwu Hall. Would it eventually require the King to settle it? Was this a conspiracy aimed at the King? The man with the mechanical arm shuddered, not daring to think or speak further. With no clues, it was all mere speculation.

Outside, the blue flames continued to jet from the chariot as it approached the Purple Sable District outpost.

"Ling'er, Xiaoseng, can your smart chips still determine direction?" Not long after escaping the outpost, Ye Bai and his companions realized their navigation systems were being interfered with.

They had clearly been walking away from the outpost for nearly ten minutes. At their entry-level speed, they should have been approaching Yang City, yet the outpost remained behind them. Clearly, Yao Ling and Cao Xiaoseng had noticed the anomaly. Cao Xiaoseng looked at the sun, unsure how many times he had tried to verify their position, but it was always wrong.

"No. I don't know when, but the smart chip seems to have been jammed. I can't even summon Xiao Mu anymore." Yao Ling raised her arm, but the tattoo on her wrist only flickered before returning to normal.

"What is that?" Cao Xiaoseng, still observing the sun, suddenly saw a black object flying out of it. It was fast, but because it was against the sun, he had to squint to see it clearly.

"Is that a car?"

Cao Xiaoseng’s voice drew Ye Bai and Yao Ling’s attention. Faintly, Yao Ling could make out the shape of the shadow.

Ye Bai looked at the flying car and asked, "Are there cars that can fly in the outside world?"

"It seems not," Yao Ling said, uncertain. In her memory, such a thing did not exist.

Inside the Blackscale Chariot, the woman in the purple dress looked at the data scanned from outside.

"What? Are there still people alive in the Purple Sable District outpost?" Three red dots representing human lives flickered on the screen. She tapped the screen rapidly, and the image shifted to reveal two men and a woman.

"How is this possible?" The woman in purple was shocked to see one of the men. *Ye Bai? How is it possible? Shouldn't he be at the Purple Star Academy?*

Recalling their time together in the Ghost Wood Mountains, her cold heart melted slightly, and a rare smile graced her lips.

"Yo, let me see, Junior Sister Xiao, who are you looking at? The eternal ice lotus has bloomed today," Huang Di teased, seeing the smile. The data from the chariot was public. He opened his own screen and continued, "The girl is quite pretty, but a bit worse than our junior sister. One of the guys looks like a blockhead, and the other looks worse than Senior Brother."

Huang Di wanted to continue, but the man with the mechanical arm spoke up: "Enough. We’ve reached the mission site. Put away your childish attitude."