They all knew that the next time the crone showed up, taking her out would no longer be so easy. In truth, unless a massive military force was mobilized, there was no way the military could win against a cultivator of Airborne Realm powers.
Everyone would most probably end up killed.
Only a sizeable military force would deploy heavy weapons like rocket-propelled grenades and missile launchers, as conventional small arms would not be able to do anything against someone at the Airborne Realm.
Even if heavy weapons were deployed, there were still little conventional fighting forces could do, so long as said Airborne Realm fighter was willing to evade attacks. By then, the only way for such a force to take such beings out would be to deploy the likes of nuclear weapons—weapons that could do massive damage to a huge area in an instant.
There was no other way to hurt an Airborne Realm being who was all ready to evade attacks otherwise.
The best way to take out an Airborne Realm being was simply to employ another Airborne Realm being to do the job. No other way would work better.
That news of that battle spread among the cultivators like wildfire. Everyone came to know that other than Lu Xuan, there was yet another Airborne Realm being who had appeared before everyone.
The identity of that crone quickly came to light as well.
She had something to do with that Luo Clan that Lu Xuan had snuffed out all those years ago.
Luo Ying, the only survivor of the now-dead clan, employed one such top-notch fighter from that other heavenly place just to exact her revenge.
Many came to be able to vaguely see that there seemed to be another otherworldly force getting involved; it was a monstrous force that revealed a small fraction of itself.
They were a sect or clan isolated from the world.
That crone was just a fighter that Luo Ying managed to employ from one such isolated sect or clan, yet the powers the crone displayed frightened many nonetheless.
Lu Xuan heard about the matter when he returned to the Heavenly Palace base.
Duan Shan, who had recovered from most of his injuries, told Lu Xuan everything about the matter.
“So, it’s Luo Ying, then,” Lu Xuan narrowed his gaze and said.
“Indeed. I saw it very well with my own eyes. It was most probably that Luo Ying both Military Governor Zhang and Military Governor Yang talked about before,” Duan Shan replied.
“Both of them were right. That woman was indeed a bringer of disaster.”
Lu Xuan waved dismissively and added, “No matter. It’ll be difficult for me to find her if she’s unwilling to show herself. But if she does show up yet again, it would definitely be her last time.”
He gave it some thought. While he deemed Luo Ying to be beneath his notice before, she nonetheless kept looking for trouble with him. She had indeed caused him a lot of trouble, yet nothing amounted to more than a minor nuisance.
However, if she were to show up yet again, he saw it fit not to let her escape again.
Things would be easy if she were to just show up. People left tracks wherever they went, after all.
Lu Xuan had Duan Shan look into other matters with the base while deploying all the other fighters from the base to search for the whereabouts of the crone and Luo Ying.
However, someone else showed up at his door before long.
That man was none other than the Dragon, who was chief of the Special Task Force.
The Dragon looked glum and serious when he showed up.
“Chief Dragon!” Lu Xuan asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure of having a boss like yourself coming to see me personally?”
The Dragon was slightly relieved to see Lu Xuan around and remarked, “It’s good to see you home, Mr. Lu!”
“Is something troubling you, Chief Dragon?” Lu Xuan asked.
“Well, actually, it’s that crone that you got on the bad side of,” Chief Dragon added.
Lu Xuan shot the Dragon a glance and said, “I’d take care of the crone, but that doesn’t quite explain why you would need to come here personally.”
“The Inner Palace is furious with what just happened, and they would like you to see her dealt with as soon as possible,” the Dragon explained.
Lu Xuan felt rather puzzled, wondering what the crone had to do with the Inner Palace. Even if the crone was bold enough to come for him personally, the Inner Palace should not have been so alarmed.
The Dragon then elaborated further, “After she failed to get what she was after at the Heavenly Palace, she invaded the prison built to lock up cultivators and took a bunch of the prisoners with her.”
Lu Xuan was rendered speechless by what the crone just pulled.
What? Does she really think that a modern-day government is like those authorities back in feudal times? he wondered.
That those cultivators didn’t run because someone was watching them?
The true reason why those cultivators were willing to stay back in that jail was that the central government is just that intimidating, alright.
What that crone did at the moment had broken not only the balance but also challenged the central government.
“Those in charge in the Taichu Group all went to the capital city, intending to explain why the crone did what she did, but I don’t think any of that will do any good. The Taichu Group was established by the Taichu Path. Those people are but lackeys of the Taichu Path. There is just no way they can put a leash on the crone,” the Dragon shook his head and continued.
The Dragon knew a lot there was to know about the inner workings of the Taichu Group, which included what was truly happening within their inner circle. While it was not like he knew everything, he knew enough to tell a lot.
That was precisely why he knew that those in charge of the Taichu Group would not be able to keep the crone in check.
What the crone pulled was so tremendously frightening that everyone in modern society thought her to be insane. However, the crone hailed from several hundred years ago. None of those haughty, aloof cultivators back in that era would have thought much about the government authorities.
“I don’t care about her reasons. She did what she did, and that is all that matters. She definitely cannot be forgiven!” the Dragon shouted.
“No need to say much. Her days are numbered anyway.”
Lu Xuan saw the surveillance footage recorded by the Heavenly Palace base, and he was naturally able to recognize that crone.
He fought that crone back in his past life before, and he did so more than once.
He knew that crone all too well. She was a granny who served by the side of Yan Han, one of his archenemies back in his past life.
He deemed that her powers should have been far above that of the Airborne Realm, but he quickly speculated that she got rid of part of her powers when she appeared on the planet.
But still, he deemed that her powers should be far above that of common Airborne Realm beings nonetheless.
He speculated that her powers would not pale in comparison to that master he encountered back in Longhu Mountain.
Lu Xuan had his people sent word out right away that he would be at the Heavenly Palace holding the fort personally, waiting just for the crone to show up so that he could settle things between them once and for all.
That act sent the world into a huge commotion right away.
To everyone’s knowledge, there were currently only two Airborne Realm beings throughout the entire world, and those two were about to fight in earnest. One could imagine just how much of a commotion such news would cause.
Fighters of various forces flocked to the base at a frightening speed.
Zhang Fashan, back in Longhu Mountain, heard of that news before. He sighed before taking Zhang Ao with him to the Heavenly Palace.
Back in Maoshan Mountains, the sectmaster of the Maoshan Sect, who was spared by the government after making a deal with the authorities, rushed to the Heavenly Palace as well.
High-ranking monks dressed in simple clothing in the Shaolin Temple packed up and headed to the capital city at the same time.
Jingyunzi, the sectmaster of the WuTang Clan back in WuTang Mountain, heard of the news.
“I shall send my people to back Mr. Lu up.”
Everyone in the clan remembered very well that it was Lu Xuan who saved their clan over a year ago, and it was a favor that they had to see returned.
Those from the WuTang Clan arrived outside of the Heavenly Palace base just half a day later.
…
Representatives from one renowned cultivation force after another arrived at the base.
