Void Cultivation

Chapter 367: Chapter 366- Provocation

Several more days passed in much the same manner as before, with challenge after challenge being issued by the disciples who had arrived as part of the Sect Alliance.

At first, fewer and fewer disciples of Sky Mist City were willing to accept those challenges. The reason was simple. The consequences of defeat were far too severe.

Even if they managed to survive, they would undoubtedly be left gravely injured and lingering on the brink of death. In such a weakened state, their enemies could easily seize the opportunity to eliminate them. Within Sky Mist City, grudges and rivalries were commonplace. A moment of weakness was often all it took for someone to lose their life.

As a result, no matter how much the foreign cultivators mocked, provoked, or humiliated them, the disciples of Sky Mist City remained silent. They neither fought back nor accepted their challenges.

To them, survival was worth far more than their pride.

Fortunately, once the disciples refused to fight, the foreign cultivators had no authority to force them into battle. Although Sky Mist City had allowed the Sect Alliance considerable freedom during their stay, there was still a limit to how far they could go. They could provoke others all they wished, but openly attacking those who declined a challenge was forbidden.

Thus, despite their arrogance, there was little they could do.

...

On this particular day, a lone cultivator descended from one of the seventeen enormous magic vessels hovering above Sky Mist City.

Unlike the others, his expression was strangely blank. His eyes wandered aimlessly as though he had forgotten why he was here in the first place. Yet beneath that vacant appearance lurked a dangerous glint.

As he walked through the bustling streets, he stopped before an imposing building.

"The Detective Agency Department of Sky Mist City..." he muttered to himself, his voice filled with confusion.

"They’re also called the Hidden Blade... the city’s secret force that deals with matters in the shadows..."

He scratched his head before his eyes suddenly lit up.

"If that’s true..." he murmured with growing excitement, "...then this place must be filled with powerful people willing to accept my challenge."

Without another thought, he staggered toward the entrance.

However, upon arriving, he discovered that the massive wooden doors were tightly shut.

The young cultivator stared at them thoughtfully.

"Will I get into trouble if I smash their door down?"

He pondered for a brief moment before suddenly clapping his hands together.

"Oh!"

"The department that handles cases like property damage is the Detective Agency Department itself!"

"If I destroy their door, they’ll definitely have to come out!"

His face broke into an excited grin.

"What a brilliant idea!"

Without another word, he charged forward.

BOOM!

The sturdy wooden doors exploded into countless splinters as he crashed straight through them, sending fragments flying throughout the entrance hall.

Silence immediately descended upon the building.

Dozens of pairs of eyes slowly turned toward the uninvited guest.

Every detective present wore a stern expression. Some were seated behind desks while others stood with documents in hand, yet all of them had stopped what they were doing.

A heavy, baleful aura gradually filled the room.

The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.

Yet instead of feeling intimidated, the intruder’s body trembled with excitement.

His lips slowly curled upward into an almost deranged smile.

"I knew it..." he muttered.

"I was right."

"There are strong people here."

His breathing gradually became heavier as his pupils trembled with excitement.

"I can almost feel it..."

He threw his head back and burst into loud, crazed laughter that echoed throughout the entire department.

"Hahahaha!"

The detectives merely stared at him in silence.

After laughing for a long while, the man finally composed himself and bowed with exaggerated politeness.

"I am Juan Ren, a disciple of the Hollow Lantern Sect."

"I have come to challenge every one of you..."

He paused, the smile on his face widening into something disturbingly sinister.

"...to a friendly spar."

The smile he wore bore an uncanny resemblance to Violet’s.

However, the madness hidden within his eyes was fundamentally different.

Violet’s insanity stemmed from insatiable greed and obsession.

Juan Ren’s, on the other hand...

...was born from an endless thirst for bloodshed and battle.

Juan Ren swept his gaze across everyone in the Detective Agency Department, a mad glint dancing within his eyes.

He had expected confusion.

Shock.

Perhaps even outrage.

After all, he had just barged into their headquarters, destroyed their front entrance, and openly challenged every single member present.

Yet the reaction before him was completely different from what he had imagined.

Every detective merely looked at him with blank, unreadable expressions.

Not a trace of surprise could be seen on their faces.

The atmosphere remained as cold and oppressive as ever.

Although the members of the Detective Agency Department were known for being taciturn and baleful individuals, they were by no means ignorant of the events unfolding throughout Sky Mist City.

News of the Sect Alliance had already spread across the entire city.

Likewise, everyone knew that the cultivators arriving aboard the seventeen magic vessels were monsters among their respective generations.

They were Heaven’s Chosen.

Each one had been personally selected by their sects to represent them in the alliance. Regardless of the cultivation realm they displayed, no one believed that reflected the limit of their true combat strength.

The title of Heaven’s Chosen was not something one obtained through luck.

It was earned through overwhelming talent.

Even among cultivators of the same cultivation level, they stood at the very peak.

Although the Detective Agency Department was considered one of Sky Mist City’s stronger divisions and routinely dealt with dangerous criminals, rogue cultivators, assassinations, and murder investigations, everyone present understood their own limits.

Against ordinary enemies, they possessed absolute confidence.

Against one of these Heaven’s Chosen...

That confidence simply did not exist.

Furthermore, only a few days ago, the captain had gathered everyone together and warned them of this exact possibility.

A challenger from the Sect Alliance might one day brazenly appear before the department.

If that happened...

No one was to accept the challenge.

No matter the provocation.

No matter the humiliation.

No matter the circumstances.

The Detective Agency was a department filled with rough and ruthless individuals. Most of them spent their days hunting murderers and suppressing dangerous criminals. Their methods were often crude, and many possessed violent tempers.

Yet despite all of that, they maintained absolute trust in their captain’s judgment.

His orders were never questioned.

Thus, when Juan Ren unexpectedly issued his challenge...

Not a single detective stepped forward.

Instead, several lowered their heads and calmly returned to sorting through documents, while others resumed discussing ongoing cases as though the intruder simply didn’t exist.

The oppressive silence was far more unsettling than any insult.

"...Eh?"

Juan Ren blinked several times.

"This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting."

His voice was unusually soft as he watched everyone continue with their work without sparing him another glance.

For a brief moment, genuine confusion appeared on his face.

Then...

Instead of becoming angry, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

"Heh..."

His smile gradually widened.

Running a hand through his messy hair, he chuckled to himself.

"I guess this Detective Agency Department really is something after all."

Most people would have reacted with anger after having their headquarters destroyed.

Others would have accepted his challenge simply to preserve their dignity.

Yet these people had chosen neither.

They had simply ignored him.

To Juan Ren, that required an entirely different kind of resolve.

With a faint laugh, he turned around and walked toward the shattered entrance.

His staggering footsteps echoed through the silent hall until he disappeared outside.

As soon as he stepped beyond the building, all traces of excitement vanished from his face.

The madness receded.

His expression once again became blank and absent-minded, as though the bloodthirsty lunatic from moments ago had never existed.

Swaying from side to side, he gradually disappeared into the crowded streets of Sky Mist City, leaving behind nothing but a ruined doorway and a group of detectives who never once acknowledged his existence.