Yun Sheng was very impressed at the same time, as even a branch chief of the Special Task Force like him, had to deal with things carefully. He was unable to afford to act as he fancied like Lu Xuan.
He recognized that the world was indeed one where might made right.
Yang Chengsi’s frightening level of cultivation and the potential menace he would have brought about as the head of the Coalition of the Woods meant that even the provincial boss of the Special Task Force had to be wary of him.
However, none of that mattered to Lu Xuan. He slapped the man like he would an ant.
A boss of the coalition was nothing but a joke before someone truly powerful.
Yun Sheng was unable to help but recall the big boss of the headquarters. That single man who had been able to overwhelm all of his enemies served as a stabilizer of sorts, keeping all who would have caused a great commotion throughout the nation.
The man was the very reason the Special Task Force became what it was at this moment—a status forged through many brutal battles.
Yun Sheng knew all too well about the futility of reasoning with cultivators. Only fists harder than theirs would have made those people listen.
He was feeling rather thankful for Lu Xuan deep down. Although it seemed that he was not giving the organizer any face at all, Yun Sheng nonetheless knew that Lu Xuan had been sparing the gangster boss due to him being around.
Yang Chengsi would have probably been snuffed out on the spot otherwise.
From what he was able to recall, Lu Xuan had already crippled a Martial Arts Legend and then killed two more people of the same level.
Yang Chengsi’s combat prowess and status, which the man had taken so much pride in, were utterly meaningless before Lu Xuan.
The likes of Master Ying and Yin Tianming had been above Yang Chengsi in terms of social station, yet Lu Xuan killed them all the same, just because he wanted to.
If Yang Chengsi were to keep throwing his weight about and wanting to retaliate, he would be digging his own grave.
None of that mattered to Yun Sheng, at the moment. He enlisted Yang Chengsi only because he found the gangster boss being of use at the moment. He would have liked it a lot better if Yang Chengsi looked for trouble with Lu Xuan in the future, as Lu Xuan would have had ample reason to get rid of the gangster.
A figure akin to an emperor of the underworld was like a Sword of Damocles to Yun Sheng. While Yang Chengsi behaved himself well enough for the moment, Yun Sheng still never trusted underworld members like him.
The nation was still able to keep the peace for the time being, but once those cultivators had gotten a lot stronger in the future and no longer feared even heavy firepower, no one would be able to predict what those people would have done.
It was entirely possible for them to reign supreme over a territory and do as they wished within their turf.
As such, the country would have been safer with every potential threat like that removed.
The pupils of Monk Buyi, the head of the Dharma Hall standing at the side, contracted somewhat when he saw how easily Lu Xuan had sent Yang Chengsi flying back twice in a row. The monk was a Martial Arts Legend himself, and while he was certain that his combat prowess was above Yang Chengsi, he still would not have been able to throw Yang Chengsi around like a piece of garbage.
“The depths of the man’s prowess is truly immeasurable.” The mind of Monk Buyi seemed to have been thrown into a hurricane at the moment, yet he maintained a composed facade.
Every single big shot present was able to confirm that from that moment on, yet another big shot came to the scene in the province. Said big shot was bigger than all the big shots in the place combined.
A thought had even popped up in their minds for a brief moment.
A thought that Lu Xuan was the number one in all of Southern Min.
Lu Xuan would not have been far off, even if he was not actually number one.
That was because none of them were actually clear about just how strong Lu Xuan actually was. As such, that thought lasted for little more than a split second, and none of them dared to verify such ideas.
“Everyone!” Yun Sheng stepped out and said, “All participants of this operation are now present. Since this is an operation, there will naturally be leaders. I recommend that Mr. Lu be the one in charge of the operation. Any opinions?”
The crowd became dead silent at that very moment. Some might have objected to the idea before the slaps happened, but none dared to do so after all of that happened.
All of them were clearly aware just how the other Martial Arts Legend present—Monk Buyi—said nothing to object to the idea.
It was needless to say with Yang Chengsi’s case. The man had only been taught a lesson mere moments ago, and he would not have dared to fight for such a position at the moment.
He was so thoroughly frightened that he did not dare to show any signs of resentment, for fear that it would have roused Lu Xuan enough to kill him on the spot.
He even sensed that Lu Xuan’s aura was more terrifying than anyone that he had ever met thus far in his life. The way Lu Xuan slapped him around made it clear that Lu Xuan saw him as little more than an ant.
Lu Xuan felt more terrifying than ferocious criminals who killed dozens of people before because it was still people that such criminals killed, and they would have at least felt something about the deed.
However, one felt nothing, not even the slightest hint of emotion, about stomping an ant dead.
It was the feeling that he had been reduced to being like an ant, that he dared not speak up against Lu Xuan anymore.
He wanted nothing more than to just stay alive in that very instant.
“If there are no objections, then I shall be the one in charge of this operation,” Lu Xuan scanned the crowd and said.
He was no stranger to such operations at all, as he had experienced too many of them back in his past life. As such, he would not have felt the slightest hint of panic or anxiousness about it.
“Chief Yun, contact the headquarters and plot the route of possible escape based on the current location of the seal,” Lu Xuan said.
“Understood.” Yun Sheng nodded.
Lu Xuan then added, “Let me have a look at the course they have taken so far.”
The crowd saw how quickly Lu Xuan settled into his position and quelled any other thoughts they had, getting ready for their upcoming tasks. All of them looked sharp again because they knew the ones they were not dealing with ordinary folks.
Foreign elites who dared to cause such a ruckus in the country would have been anything but ordinary after all.
That was why the Special Task Force gathered all those people around as there would probably be a very brutal, terrifying bloodbath waiting for all of them.
Lu Xuan took a look at the escape routes that those people had taken so far, which Yun Sheng had just sent him.
He came to a conclusion almost immediately. He said, “They were running in circles. It seemed that they were waiting for someone.”
What Lu Xuan said reminded Yun Sheng of something right away. Things would have taken a turn for the worse if that was truly the case.
He knew that there were Martial Arts Legends in the midst of those robbers. Conventional logic said that they would have long reached the beach if they traveled at normal speeds. However, all of them had yet to even be in the province yet, a testament saying that they were indeed running in circles.
They would have known that the authorities had placed a lockdown throughout the country. The longer they took with their escape, the greater the force the country would have been able to mobilize against them, yet they chose to run around in circles nonetheless.
There was only one possibility as to why that happened—they had someone to pick them up.
“Indeed. It’s impossible for them not to have someone picking them up. We’ve been careless.”
Yun Sheng realized the plan at that moment. If the Falling Star in Mount Tai Incident had happened too abruptly, then the act of foreign spies lurking in the country choosing to go all out and steal the Heirloom Seal of the Realm would have been some spontaneous operation.
With so much time passed from the moment the incident broke out, the forces behind those people would have definitely known about it, and it was impossible for them not to send anyone to pick up the robbers.
As such, there was only one reason why those people kept running in circles—they were waiting for rescue.
“I’ll contact the headquarters right away and ask for reinforcements. It will be too late otherwise,” Yun Sheng said immediately.
“You think they would have made it in time? Judging from the route they have taken, we will be clashing head-on with them in 30 minutes at most.” Lu Xuan added with a low voice, “But relax, I’m here. What’s the worst that could happen, eh?”
