190: An empty room and an uninvited guest

Penglai Pavilion, Heaven Character No. 3 Room.

The sea breeze rustled the sheer curtains.

"Drip."

The electronic lock chirped softly, and the green light came on.

Su Wanqing held an insulated lunch box in one hand and a tablet computer tucked under the other arm.

The screen displayed the enormous sum that had just been credited.

"Although that guy is greedy, if this money were truly withheld from him, he'd probably flip over the entire Penglai Island."

Su Wanqing pushed the door open.

She had already prepared her speech.

First, she would use this money to appease the miser's mood, and then slap the documents regarding the "Seed Candidates" onto his face to give him a sense of urgency.

However.

The room was empty.

On the three-meter-wide bed, the sheets were pulled into a mess, as if the room had been robbed.

Only a note was pressed beneath the pillow.

Su Wanqing quickly walked over and picked up the note.

There were only two vigorously scrawled characters on it, shockingly ugly:

[Strolling]

Su Wanqing's fingers tightened around the note.

Strolling?

Where would he stroll in the middle of the night?

She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the ocean.

This was a cliff.

There was no other way down except flying.

"Lin Yuan..."

Su Wanqing crumpled the note into a ball and viciously threw it into the trash can.

"You better actually be out strolling."

If she found out this guy had run off to some dangerous place to court death again, she would absolutely freeze all the money that had just been credited.

Just then.

Boom—!!!

A loud noise came from the direction of the Training Ground on the east side of Penglai Island.

Even the floor beneath her feet trembled.

This was followed by an alarm.

It wasn't the Level One Alarm for enemy invasion, but the Yellow Alarm signifying internal conflict.

Su Wanqing's expression hardened.

That direction was the station of the Sword Immortal Squad.

Could Lin Yuan have gotten into a fight with someone there?

That certainly fit the troublemaker's style.

Su Wanqing tossed the lunch box onto the table and rushed out of the room.

Ice spread beneath her feet, forming a slide.

She shot out like an arrow, heading straight for the Training Ground... Training Ground.

The ground, paved with special alloy, was now covered in cracks.

Dozens of agents responsible for the perimeter defense lay on the ground, groaning continuously.

In the center of the field,

the members of the Sword Immortal Squad were also extremely disheveled.

Honglian was kneeling on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and her combat uniform ripped in several large holes.

Qingluan's sniper rifle barrel had been twisted into a pretzel and lay discarded nearby.

Even Zhao Ya.

This B-rank Expert was now barely supporting herself with her hands resting on her sword.

The skin between her thumb and forefinger had split open, and blood dripped from the sword hilt onto the ground.

Standing opposite them

was a young man.

He looked to be just over twenty, wearing a black combat uniform embroidered with a mountain Peak logo on his chest.

Kunlun.

His hands were in his pockets, and his hairstyle wasn't even messed up.

"This is one of Penglai's Ace Teams?"

The young man lifted his foot and gently stepped on an alloy plate.

Crack.

The alloy plate turned to dust.

"Too weak."

He shook his head, his tone filled with disappointment.

"I thought I might encounter a decent opponent, but this doesn't even count as a warm-up."

"You..."

Honglian, who had a fiery temper, struggled to stand up upon hearing this.

"Don't move!"

Zhao Ya sharply warned, staring at the young man opposite.

"Your Excellency is from the Kunlun Branch Bureau?"

She suppressed her surging Qi and blood.

"This is Penglai, not a place for your Kunlun people to run wild."

"Even if you are a 'Seed,' you cannot attack friendly forces without cause!"

"Attack?"

The young man laughed.

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the air.

Buzz!

A terrifying Gravity Field descended.

Honglian, who had just tried to stand, dropped back to her knees with a thud.

"I call this sparring,"

the young man said casually.

"Since it's sparring, injuries are natural."

"If your skill is lacking, you should just stay put."

He glanced around, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces, finally resting on Zhao Ya.

"My name is Wei Qing."

"Remember this name."

"Because for the next month, I will be the only rule on this Penglai Island."

Wei Qing.

Hearing this name, Zhao Ya's heart sank.

The number one person among the younger generation of the Kunlun Branch Bureau.

Code name "Mountain Ghost."

His Awakening was the extremely rare [Gravity Manipulation] ability.

It was said that he had already reached the B-rank Peak half a year ago.

He was one of the most promising Seed Candidates to win the "pandora" plan this time.

"What do you want?"

Zhao Ya gritted her teeth, struggling against the Gravity Suppression.

Wei Qing ignored her.

He seemed to have lost interest in these defeated opponents.

"I heard that the 'God of Thunder' from Jiangcheng came to your Penglai?"

He dug his ear.

"What was his name... Lin Yuan?"

"Tell him to get out here."

Zhao Ya was stunned for a moment.

"Looking for Lin Yuan?"

Then, she remembered something, and her expression became strange.

"Are you here because of the Qin Family Fortress incident?"

A while ago, Lin Yuan caused a huge commotion at the Qin Family and, while he was at it, crippled the leader of the Kunlun Branch Bureau team who had gone there to "reap the benefits."

She had seen the report in Lin Yuan's file notes.

That unlucky captain seemed to be named... Wei Zheng?

"It seems you know."

Wei Qing took a step forward.

With his movement, the Gravity Field became even heavier, making it hard to breathe.

"Wei Zheng is my older brother."

His voice was cold.

"He was only representing the Kunlun Branch Bureau to perform official duties, yet that brat publicly humiliated him, broke all the bones in his body, and stepped on him in the dirt like a dead dog."

"Now he's still lying in the Intensive Care Unit, half his cultivation wasted."

Killing intent surged in Wei Qing's eyes.

"He hit a member of my Wei Family and trampled the prestige of the Kunlun Branch Bureau."

"I need to properly settle this score with him."

So, the brother was beaten, and the younger brother came.

Zhao Ya smiled bitterly internally.

Lin Yuan's trouble-making ability truly was world-class.

He even managed to provoke a Seed Candidate from the Kunlun Branch Bureau.

"He is not here."

Zhao Ya took a breath and told the truth.

"Hiding?"

Wei Qing sneered, the contempt in his eyes undisguised.

"It seems the so-called 'God of Thunder' is just a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong."

"Since he's not here..."

He turned around and looked at the fallen members of the Sword Immortal Squad.

"Then you can suffer in his stead."

He raised his right hand.

Palm facing down, he slammed it down fiercely.

Boom!

Gravity Doubling!

Honglian let out a scream, her entire body pressed flat against the ground, her internal organs shifting.

The other team members bled from their noses and mouths, their bones creaking.

"Stop!"

A figure descended from the sky.

Countless ice spikes shot towards Wei Qing like a rainstorm.

Su Wanqing had arrived.

She held nothing back, striking with full force immediately.

"A mere C-rank dares to attack me?"

Wei Qing didn't turn around, simply waving his left hand backward.

"Repel."

A Repulsive Force erupted.

The ice spikes shattered completely three meters away from him.

Su Wanqing felt a massive force strike her chest.

She was sent flying backward, barely landing after tumbling twice in the air.

She clutched her chest, her face pale.

So strong.

"Are you from the Su Family?"

Wei Qing turned around and looked at Su Wanqing.

"The Su Family's Ice Phoenix, quite a resounding reputation."

"Too bad you haven't fully matured yet."

He shook his head, adopting the posture of a Senior guiding a Junior.

"If that old monster from your family had come, I might have been wary."

"As for you..."

Wei Qing reached out and clenched his hand in the air.

"Kneel."

Buzz!

The Gravity Field focused solely on Su Wanqing.

Su Wanqing's legs buckled.

It felt like thousands of pounds were pressing down on her shoulders.

The floor cracked beneath her feet.

But she did not kneel.

She bit down hard, mobilizing her entire Ice Ability, forming ice pillars around her body to support herself.

"Do the Kunlun people only resort to such despicable tactics?"

Su Wanqing squeezed the words through her teeth.

"If you have the guts, wait until Lin Yuan returns."

"What kind of skill is taking advantage of someone's absence?"

"A provocation?"

Wei Qing smiled.

He withdrew his hand disdainfully.

The immense gravity instantly vanished.

Su Wanqing swayed, nearly falling over.

"I don't need to take advantage of anyone's absence."

"Tell Lin Yuan."

"I'll wait for him."

Having said that,

he turned and left.

After taking just two steps, he stopped again.

Without turning back, he simply waved his hand at the crowd.

"Oh, right."

"When he comes, he'd better perform kowtows with every step."

"Otherwise, however many bones my brother had broken, I will dismantle that many of his bones."

"If he's short even one, I'll use you all to make up the difference."

Wei Qing's figure disappeared at the end of the Training Ground.

Only wreckage and people filled with humiliation remained.

"Bastard!"

Honglian slammed her fist onto the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

"These Kunlun bastards are going too far!"

Zhao Ya sheathed her sword and walked over to help Honglian up.

Her expression was grim.

Not just because they lost,

but because of the power Wei Qing displayed.

That casual ease suggested that what they just witnessed wasn't even his full strength.

"Is this what a 'Seed' is like..."

Zhao Ya muttered to herself.

She had originally thought Lin Yuan was already a monster among the younger generation.

Unexpectedly, there was always someone better.

"If he really runs into Lin Yuan..."

Zhao Ya looked at Su Wanqing, her eyes full of worry.

"Can Lin Yuan win?"

Su Wanqing wiped away the blood.

She looked in the direction Wei Qing had left, then looked at the distant ocean.

"He can win."

"As long as he comes back."

She remembered the figure who manually created a nuclear bomb amidst a thunderstorm.

She remembered the man who valued money above all else, yet never failed when it mattered.

"That guy..."

"Never takes a loss."

Su Wanqing turned around and began directing the treatment of the injured.

"Release the news."

"Say that Lin Yuan is in Secluded Cultivation."

"Also..."

She paused, a cold light flashing in her eyes.

"Save the Surveillance Footage here."

"When that miser returns, this will be the best 'catalyst'."

Su Wanqing sneered.

"Wei Qing, was it?"

"I hope your bones are harder than that Three-headed Serpent."