Chapter 365: Chapter 190: Celestial and Earthly Imperfections
In Linji City’s Four Outer City Districts, the Four Great Clans of the Inner City each had their own spheres of influence, controlling both the Government Office and the Jianghu Gangs to some extent.
Overall, the Jiang Family’s influence was stronger in Beicheng District.
In the west city district, the clans’ power was more or less balanced.
The situation in the South City District was previously similar to the west, with the Shen Family and the Wang Family being slightly stronger.
But after Shen Qingshuang was promoted to Chief of the South City Guard, the Zhou Family—an Outer City clan under the Wang Family’s command—was annihilated, and the Shen Family’s power subtly gained the upper hand.
As for Dongcheng District, it had always been under the Wang Family’s sole dominance.
At the government level, the position of City Guard Chief for Dongcheng District had been held by Wang Family members for decades.
After Wang Xiongying left the post, his uncle, Wang Xiaoyong, took over the position of Chief.
In terms of Jianghu influence, Dongcheng District was different from the other outer districts; the Blood Saber Gang, fostered by the Wang Family, was the sole power.
The Wang Family held a firm grip on both the underworld and the authorities, making them the true rulers of Dongcheng District.
When trouble befell the Blood Saber Gang, Wang Xiaoyong, the City Guard Chief of Dongcheng District, received the news immediately.
Normally, the City Guard Department wouldn’t intervene in the fights and killings between Jianghu Gangs in the Outer City Districts, as long as civilians weren’t affected.
They would only show up afterward to handle the aftermath.
The Dongcheng District City Guard Headquarters was no different. After all, the Blood Saber Gang dominated Dongcheng District, so even if there were fights, it was always the Blood Saber Gang wiping out other gangs.
The City Guard Department had even less reason to get involved.
But this time, with the Blood Saber Gang in trouble, Wang Xiaoyong not only had to intervene, but he also took it very seriously.
He urgently led his men to the scene, cordoned off the entire Blood Saber Gang headquarters and the surrounding blocks to search for clues about the assailant, and simultaneously sent someone to report back to his family.
When Wang Tingxuan, the Patriarch of the Wang Family, learned that the entire leadership of the Blood Saber Gang had been slaughtered, he was furious.
He even wanted to go to the Blood Saber Gang’s headquarters in Dongcheng District himself to hunt down the killer.
However, the actions of Jianghu Gangs often stirred up public resentment. The Four Great Clans of the Inner City, conscious of their reputations, always controlled these gangs covertly.
If Wang Tingxuan, as the Wang Family Patriarch, personally visited the Blood Saber Gang’s headquarters and word got out, all the evil deeds committed by the gang would likely be blamed on the Wang Family.
In the end, Wang Tingxuan dispatched Wang Xiongying and Wang Xiongjie to lead a team to Dongcheng District.
Wang Xiongying was the successor Wang Tingxuan was grooming. Now a Golden Pattern Purple-clothed Guard of the Demon Suppression Department, he was naturally permitted to investigate the case.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiongjie had found it difficult to get promoted as the Shen Family’s power solidified within the South City District City Guard Headquarters.
He had transferred to the Dongcheng District City Guard Headquarters and was now a Branch Chief Constable, wearing a blue, cloud-patterned uniform.
After inspecting the crime scene, they were all deeply shocked. Knowing the case was too difficult to handle, they reported it up to Linji City’s City Guard Headquarters.
Of course, their first move was to contact Vice Director Chai Rong, who had a closer relationship with the Wang Family.
「Dongcheng District. Blood Saber Gang headquarters.」
In the assembly hall, Wang Xiongying, Wang Xiaoyong, Wang Xiongjie, and the others accompanied the City Guard Department’s Vice Director, Chai Rong, as he surveyed the crime scene.
Qiu Tianhong, the Gang Leader of the Blood Saber Gang; Qi Wei, the Vice Gang Leader; the seven Incense Masters known as the Seven Blades of East City; and thirty-six other leaders of various ranks had all been beheaded.
All of their severed heads had eyes wide open, frozen in expressions of utter terror.
It was as if, even at the moment of death, they couldn’t believe they had been so suddenly cut down.
The entire assembly hall was spattered with blood. The overwhelming stench of gore, mixed with the pungent smell of wine and meat, was nauseating.
Chai Rong was a man in his forties, with a lean build and a stern, unsmiling demeanor. He was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm.
Although he had not comprehended a Realm, the Iron Blood Saber Stance he cultivated was so powerful and domineering that he rarely met his match among other Perfect Martial Artists of the Bone Forging Realm.
In his younger years, Chai Rong had also been part of a Jianghu gang and was accustomed to scenes of brawling and slaughter.
However, the gruesome scene in the Blood Saber Gang’s assembly hall still unsettled him. He even felt a faint sense of danger.
After surveying the crime scene, Chai Rong’s expression turned grave, and he said solemnly:
"The blade work was fast and fierce, with no wasted motion. Every strike took a head. The killer is truly ruthless and decisive!"
"Qiu Tianhong, the Gang Leader of the Blood Saber Gang, was a Great Success Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm. With Qi Wei and the others, even an ordinary Perfect Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm would have struggled to gain an advantage against them."
"Yet now, all of them have been killed without a single sign of resistance."
"The killer is clearly a martial arts expert who has comprehended a Realm!"
Wang Xiongying and Wang Xiaoyong also looked grave, clearly agreeing with Chai Rong’s assessment.
It was precisely because the perpetrator’s martial arts power was so overwhelming, and because they had left no clues, that they had chosen to preserve the crime scene for Chai Rong to inspect personally.
Afterward, they would report it further up the chain, using the power of Linji City’s City Guard Headquarters to track down the killer’s identity.
Chai Rong added, "For a martial arts expert of this caliber to personally act against a Jianghu gang, using such ruthless methods to kill so many people... his aim doesn’t seem to be mere murder, but to make a statement. This slaughter doesn’t resemble a common Jianghu feud. It’s more like a public execution carried out with lightning-fast brutality..."
As he said this, Chai Rong’s eyelid suddenly twitched. He turned to glance at Wang Xiongying and the others and asked, "What exactly did the Blood Saber Gang do to incur such wrath?
Enough to make an expert who has comprehended a Realm resort to such violence?"
Wang Xiongying and the others all felt a sense of dread in their hearts.
An expert who has comprehended a Realm could easily annihilate a major gang like the Blood Saber Gang. Naturally, they could also easily slay a Perfect Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm.
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