A few minutes later, Su Wu strolled leisurely down the deserted streets.
He wasn't aimlessly wandering; his destination was clear: District D, the residence of the Deputy Commander of City Defense.
Since his opponent sought to sever his son's path, Su Wu would personally reconnect it. To him now, the once-untouchable elites of Azurewave City were nothing more than ants with louder voices.
Even a deputy commander is at best a newly ascended Master, his qi and blood still impure. Before a Grandmaster, what difference is there between him and someone in the Flesh Refinement Realm?
Su Wu's heart remained as calm as still water. He wasn't bloodthirsty; two decades of hardship had tempered his impulsiveness, leaving behind only profound restraint. If his opponent showed sense, he had no desire to unleash carnage in this base city.
However, as he stepped onto a bustling commercial street at the edge of District D, several auras behind him caught his attention.
"Captain, there's something off about Su Wu."
In the shadows, several men and women clad in specialized combat suits were exchanging rapid communications through their earpieces.
"According to the data, Su Wu was once a Master-level cultivator. Twenty years ago, an alien powerhouse shattered his dantian with a single palm strike, completely destroying his meridians. Such injuries are beyond even Earth's most advanced healing elixirs. He should only possess the residual physical strength of the Flesh Refinement Realm."
The cold-faced youth, addressed as "Captain," narrowed his pupils to pinpricks, his gaze fixed intently on Su Wu's retreating figure.
"Yet there's an indescribable aura about him. When I probed with my peak Innate Realm cultivation, it felt like peering into an abyss. Should we withdraw or engage?"
"Command has issued a kill order. Liang Jianmin reported him for colluding with the Star Demon Sect, and last night's beast infiltration is directly linked to him. If we let him escape, we'll face severe consequences. Continue tracking him and find an isolated location."
Su Wu strolled along, seemingly unconcerned, even pausing to glance at the holographic screens displaying the Martial Exam GG results.
To him, their clumsy attempts at tailing him were as childish as a game of hide-and-seek. He deliberately slowed his pace, leading his "tails" through the bustling neon-lit streets until they arrived at an abandoned heavy machinery factory.
The site was littered with collapsed cranes and rusted steel beams, the wind whistling through the decaying structures with mournful sighs.
Su Wu stopped, slowly turning around, the setting sun casting his shadow long across the ground.
"Following me for three blocks? Aren't you tired? Come out and soak up some sunlight."
As his words faded, five figures—three men and two women—emerged from the surrounding shadows, forming a pentagonal formation that sealed off all escape routes.
The cold-faced youth at the head, Han Feng, held a dark alloy blade that pulsed with an eerie blue light. His gaze locked onto Su Wu, his eyes filled with suspicion. "Su Wu, the legendary Master of twenty years ago, reduced to this? I'm curious—if your dantian is crippled, how did you repel Liang Qi at the City Defense Bureau earlier? Unless you've resorted to the life-sacrificing techniques of the Star Demon Sect, I can't imagine any other explanation."
Su Wu chuckled softly, a tolerant smile reserved for ignorant juniors. "The Star Demon Sect? That circus act of selling one's soul for power isn't even worth my attention. But you lot... believing everything Liang Jianmin says? Are your brains just there to add to your height?"
"Arrogant!"
One of the girls, the team's scout, her willow-leaf eyebrows arching sharply, let out a sharp cry. Her figure flashed like a bolt of azure lightning as she lunged forward, twin daggers as thin as cicada wings slicing through the air with a piercing whistle, aimed directly at Su Wu's eyes and throat.
This strike was the full-force assault of an Innate Realm expert.
Su Wu stood motionless, not even raising a hand. Only when the dagger tips were less than an inch from his face did he shift his body backward with uncanny grace.
In that instant, to the girl's senses, Su Wu seemed to transform into a weightless afterimage. No matter how fiercely her blade energy surged, it couldn't touch him even for a moment.
"Taking lives without evidence... Your methods are as rotten as ever."
Su Wu sighed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Attack together! Take him down!"
Han Feng recognized the technique immediately: an extremely profound movement art.
With a low shout, he drew his long saber, unleashing a blade of true qi several meters long that slashed down through the air. Simultaneously, the other team members launched their attacks: some threw punches like cannon blasts, while others fired poisoned darts coated with paralyzing toxins. This combined assault from five Innate Realm experts would have troubled even a Master.
Yet Su Wu moved through the dense barrage as if strolling through a courtyard. Whenever an attack threatened to strike, he would either subtly shift his body or flick a finger, effortlessly redirecting the mountain-like force aside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The team members' attacks collided with each other, smashing into abandoned machinery and erupting in showers of sparks.
Throughout the entire exchange, Su Wu kept one hand casually in his pocket, his expression so calm it sent chills down their spines.
"Stop!"
Han Feng abruptly sheathed his saber, his forehead drenched in sweat as he halted the others. His chest heaved violently, and the suspicion in his eyes had been replaced by stark terror.
He finally understood.
Su Wu hadn't used any dark magic at all; it was simply a dimensional strike born from his martial arts mastery. If he truly were a disciple of the Star Demon Sect, he could have snapped their necks in an instant with the speed he had just demonstrated.
"Your Excellency... what realm have you reached?" Han Feng's voice trembled.
Su Wu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze sweeping past the young men to settle on the District D residence in the distance. His voice carried a distant, ethereal quality as he spoke:
"My realm is irrelevant. What matters is that evidence can't be fabricated with mere words. Liang Jianmin wants to make me a scapegoat, and you're willing to be his blades? Or has your master grown so arrogant that they believe they can casually eliminate anyone in the base city?"
These words struck Han Feng and his men like thunder, drenching their backs in cold sweat.
Su Wu turned, leaving them with an enigmatic silhouette.
"Don't follow me. Go back and tell your master that when I have time, I will pay them a visit."
With that, Su Wu's figure flickered slightly and vanished into the labyrinthine shadows of the factory.
The patrol team members exchanged bewildered glances.