221: Chapter 221 You Want to Steal the Credit?

Here.

Silence had returned to Qingfeng Ravine.

The flock of crows dispersed.

The lingering traces of lightning left by Commander Su Qin had dissipated, and the surface of the pool calmed once more. The moonlight shattered into silvery-white specks of light, swaying gently in the night.

Wu Li crouched by the pool, his claw tips brushing the water's surface. He watched the ripples slowly fade for a while before retracting his claws, standing up, and walking toward the cave behind the waterfall.

Back inside the cave, he sat down on the flat stone. He did not rush to regulate his breath but instead reviewed the night's engagement from beginning to end.

Commander Su Qin's strength was definitely not weak.

But being able to win like this was also thanks to his own Divine Ability.

His cultivation was indeed still at the Middle Stage of the Third Rank; Wu Li was clear on this point. The density of the Demon Power in his demon core was still lacking, and the speed at which Demon Power circulated through his Meridians was far from reaching the Late Stage of the Third Rank.

However, with the pre-judgment of his Blood Pupil, the devouring of the Colorless Profound Light, and the explosive power of the sacred flame pearl, these three combined techniques allowed him to suppress a Late Stage Third Rank Yuexuan Guard commander tonight, forcing him to use his essential blood to activate his spiritual sword just to break through the Colorless Profound Light.

Up to this point, Wu Li still hadn't used the Blood Fiend Primal Wheel or the crimson light of his three-transformation Blood Pupil.

If he had detonated the Blood Fiend Primal Wheel back then and blanketed the area with baleful aura, Commander Su Qin's speed and the explosive power of his lightning would have been suppressed; the battle might have ended even sooner.

With his full firepower unleashed, the vast majority of Third Rank Peak cultivators would not be his match.

Thinking of this, Wu Li twitched his fingers, feeling the flow speed of the Demon Power in his Meridians.

"Not bad..."

"And, I still have room for improvement."

Wu Li's current cultivation was just a step away from the Late Stage of the Third Rank; with a slight Opportunity, he could achieve a Breakthrough.

Thinking of this, Wu Li sat cross-legged and continued to circulate the Pagoda Sutra to Cultivate...

Three days later... Commander Su Qin came again.

He had changed into a new blue-grey robe. The black token at his waist was still there, and the wound on his shoulder no longer showed any traces. His gait was steady, though his pace was slightly slower than last time.

He was followed by another person, half a head shorter than Commander Su Qin, wearing a dark red robe. There was no token at his waist; instead, he wore a string of thumb-sized bone beads, each polished smooth and round, as if they had been gripped repeatedly for a long time.

The man looked young, though his exact age was hard to tell. His eyebrows were faint, his eyes narrow and long, and the corners of his eyes slightly upturned. A habitual smirk hung at the corners of his mouth, as if he were naturally looking down on everything.

He walked half a step behind Commander Su Qin, neither falling too far behind nor walking side-by-side. His gaze swept over the pool, waterfall, and gravel clearing of Qingfeng Ravine, finally landing on the dark purple figure at the cave entrance.

Wu Li did not go out to greet them. He crouched on the stone by the cave entrance, his blood-red pupils sweeping over the newcomers before shifting away, as if he were merely glancing at the direction from which the wind was blowing.

Commander Su Qin stopped by the pool and turned his head to look at the man behind him: "This is the one I was talking about."

The man did not reply immediately. His gaze lingered on Wu Li for a moment before he flicked the string of bone beads at his waist: "He doesn't look as freakish as you claimed."

Commander Su Qin did not turn back, his voice neither high nor low: "If you think he is easy to deal with, try it yourself."

The smirk at the corners of the man's mouth did not change, but his fingers paused on the bone beads.

"I have to personally look into the matter of the teleportation array. It's not that I don't trust you; it's the rules from above."

Commander Su Qin did not respond to this but tilted his chin toward Wu Li. "Tell him yourself."

The man stood by the pool, his narrow gaze lingering on Wu Li for a while, as if re-evaluating the weight of an object.

His gaze paused when it touched Wu Li's Blood Pupil, like a needle piercing through a thin membrane; it stopped for a moment before being pulled back. He flicked the bone beads again, and the smirk at the corners of his mouth faded slightly.

Commander Su Qin then spoke, his voice steady. "This is the Deputy Commander of the Yuexuan Guard, Deputy Commander Lin He. He is responsible for managing the warehouse resources, and he needs to verify the teleportation array in person."

Deputy Commander Lin He did not speak or nod; he simply stood beside Commander Su Qin, his gaze fixed on Wu Li.

"Where are the items?"

Wu Li asked directly.

Commander Su Qin looked at Deputy Commander Lin He.

Seeing this, Deputy Commander Lin He waved his right hand, and a Storage Ring appeared in his hand. "Everything is here."

"But the problem now is, how do I confirm that what you said is true? What if you just made up a place and we can't find it?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Li's blood-red pupils narrowed slightly, and a less-than-friendly smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I've already said I only know the general direction. If you can't find it, what the hell does that have to do with me!"

Deputy Commander Lin He stood by the pool, the smirk on his face unchanged. He slowly flicked the bone beads in a circle, his voice neither high nor low. "Of course it has to do with you. After all, you cunning Yao Race are really hard to trust..."

Wu Li spread his claws, tips pointing upward, as if weighing the heft of something. His blood-red pupils looked at him calmly. "So, there's nothing to talk about then?"

Deputy Commander Lin He's fingers stopped on the bone beads. The smirk at the corners of his mouth finally changed, like a crack forming in a block of ice. His voice carried a faint, cold sneer: "No, no, no. There is still something to talk about."

"I can peel open your brain and see for myself."

Commander Su Qin's expression changed instantly.

He turned his head sharply toward Deputy Commander Lin He, his voice kept very low, but the urgency could no longer be hidden: "Are you crazy? This isn't what we discussed yesterday."

Deputy Commander Lin He did not look at him, his gaze still fixed on Wu Li. His tone was as if he were explaining a trivial matter to someone unimportant: "What discussion? Commander Su Qin, you are a dignified Yuexuan Guard. Negotiating with the Yao Race—you really can come up with such ideas."

The moment his words fell, six beams of spiritual light appeared simultaneously from the darkness of the valley behind him, fast and uniform, like six candles being lit at the same time.

Six figures darted out from the night, landing several yards behind Deputy Commander Lin He and fanning out. They were all dressed in uniform black tactical gear, with short blades hanging at their waists. Their auras were thick and solid, without a single trace of unnecessary fluctuation.

Six people, six Golden Core cultivators.

Their positioning sealed off the retreat routes on both sides of the pool and above the waterfall, like six nails driven into the ground simultaneously, each guarding a path, without overlapping.

Commander Su Qin turned back abruptly, his gaze sweeping over the six figures, his pupils constricting.

He recognized these people; they were the Xuan Kun Guards of the Yuexuan Guard. They were not on the regular deployment list; only those at the rank of Deputy Commander or above could mobilize them.

He turned back, looking at Deputy Commander Lin He's back, his voice much deeper than before: "Whose official authorization did you use to mobilize the Xuan Kun Guards?"

Deputy Commander Lin He did not turn back, spinning the string of bone beads: "Naturally, I used the authorization I applied for from the superiors."

Commander Su Qin narrowed his eyes, a flash of annoyance in them. "Are you trying to steal the credit?!"

When the Yuexuan Guard acted, any matter involving merit had to be reported to the superiors for authorization, and rewards would be distributed afterward based on the report.