681: Chapter 681: Being Kicked Out

The Nine Dragons Association dared to recruit without regard to rank because they knew these Cultivators would quickly rise to the top and were worth cultivating.

Therefore, even though the Nine Dragons Association controlled a closed base, they still gathered a considerable number of high-level Cultivators.

Furthermore, since they were a tight-knit alliance, other forces did not dare to cause them trouble.

In contrast, Gu Qingyi's life was not easy.

Her biggest mistake was not promoting the immortal water to all closed bases.

This severely undermined her authority within the sect and even led to her isolation.

The only thing in her favor was her control over the Huatong Chamber of Commerce, making her the nominal President of the Chamber of Commerce.

In the current situation, this title's influence outweighed its practical significance.

People did not obey her orders, but they also did not openly challenge her.

Besides the Nine Dragons Association, another major force was the Hongmeng Academy, officially established by the Council.

This was recognized as the strongest, most credible, and most professional force within China.

It could be called the Holy Land of Cultivators.

The Hongmeng Academy's significant influence was mainly due to several reasons:

1. It was officially run by the government, backed by the Council, making it the most legitimate.

2. Many veteran Cultivators joined.

These veteran Cultivators were generally not high-ranked, mostly at the 5th to 7th Order level.

It was difficult for them to survive in the current world, so they had to seek protection.

However, this did not prevent them from becoming teachers and professors at the Academy.

The various cultivation techniques and secret manuals they passed down were all-encompassing and diverse.

Collecting these cultivation techniques and secret manuals made them the most valuable asset in the Academy.

The opposition between the Hongmeng Academy and the Nine Dragons Association became an important weight in balancing China's scales.

On the same day Oriental Chen One gave the order to advance to the moon, a strange thing happened in China.

The Hongmeng Academy was challenged.

A Masked Man wearing a coarse linen cloak and a Bronze Sword mask arrived at the Hongmeng Academy's headquarters: the Kyoto Habitat Underground Base.

In a non-combat area, he consecutively injured six 9th Order late-stage Cultivators.

One must know that this was already the ceiling for Cultivators, only limited by unfamiliarity with cultivation techniques, thus not unleashing sufficient combat power.

And this mysterious Masked Man, being able to injure six people consecutively at the 8th Order Great Perfection stage, also demonstrated his strength.

"Who are you? Do you know the consequences of causing trouble at the Hongmeng Academy?" A Security Team member from the Academy quickly arrived.

"Call Jiang Ziya out!" the Masked Man said.

"Who?" The Security Guard frowned.

"Whoosh~" The Masked Man did not repeat himself and directly attacked.

His movements were extremely swift, almost reaching the Security Guard in the blink of an eye.

The tip of the Bronze Sword directly thrust towards the Security Guard's face.

"Bang~"

The Security Guard was startled and quickly used the warning stick in his hand to deflect the sword's edge.

The two collided, emitting a harsh metallic clang.

"What an overbearing person!" the Security Guard sighed inwardly.

Attacking without a word and immediately using a killing move—such a person could only be described as barbaric.

The Masked Man's first strike failed, but he did not give up, sweeping his hand back and directly slashing at the Security Guard's abdomen.

The warning stick was just ordinary steel, likely unable to directly block the sharp sword edge.

So the Security Guard pushed off with his feet and retreated backward.

The Masked Man still did not give up and immediately pursued him.

"Whoosh~"

"Bang~"

Just then, something suddenly flew over at high speed, directly rushing towards the Masked Man.

He had no choice but to stop his pursuit and dodge backward.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the base of a mecha spaceship.

It seemed this Security Guard's identity was not simple.

Currently, only those under Oriental Chen were equipped with mecha spaceships.

This indicated that this Security Guard might have come from the Batuo City Underground Base's Special Operations Team.

Both the mecha and its base had unmanned modes and could operate independently.

Now that the base had arrived, the mecha was surely on its way.

"Whoosh~"

Indeed, a three-meter-tall "steel warrior" attacked the Masked Man from behind, delivering a punch.

"Bang~"

The Masked Man had not yet stabilized himself from the base's attack and had no time to dodge, getting hit in the back by a punch.

The mecha's metal fist had great power, sending him flying with one punch.

"Bang~"

After flying to the wall, the Masked Man powerfully struck the wall with his left palm, finally neutralizing all momentum.

He used the force to flip over and steady himself.

"You are still so cunning!" the Masked Man said.

"Who exactly are you?" the Security Guard asked.

"Zhang Jue!" the Masked Man said.

"Zhang Jue? Never heard of him. You injured six Hongmeng Academy students for no reason; you must compensate them!" The Security Guard shook his head and said.

"Call Jiang Ziya out, then we can discuss it further," Zhang Jue said.