I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

If he succeeds, he won't have to worry about not having enough money for martial arts training for quite some time, and he'll also gain over five thousand units of divinity...

"I hope the councilors are busy," Xue Jing thought to himself.

This commission from the Qingcheng government is a hot potato. Investigating thirty ruling councilors is an operation that offends the entire Qingcheng at once... If it were two days ago, he wouldn't have been willing to do it.

But now...

Xue Jing opened the panel and took a look.

【Shadowflame Lv7】【Hiddenness Lv4】.

These two skills are what give him confidence in his investigation.

His ability to conceal himself allowed him to remain undetected even by his master, Li Qi, for a short time. Furthermore, Shadow Flame combined the abilities of 'Shadow Vanishing' (disappearing on the spot at any time), 'Shadow Leap' (leaving the scene at any time), and even the ability to completely disguise himself with Shadow Flame Armor.

With four layers of protection, he had absolutely no need to worry about the possibility of his identity being discovered. If it wasn't discovered, then it hadn't happened!

I have never sneaked into the homes of any of you esteemed members of parliament. Please don't make baseless accusations.

After closing the panel, Xue Jing discreetly passed by several elementary school students who had just finished school in the dark alley, and with a mischievous grin, he secretly reached out and touched the shiny bald head of one of the children.

The bald boy looked around but couldn't find anyone. He mistakenly thought it was one of his classmates who had done it, but when he asked, no one admitted to it. So he started a trial on the spot, listing everyone's motives and suspicions, determined to find the person who attacked him.

Seeing this, Xue Jing chuckled a few times.

Contrary to what Pei Xiaoen secretly thought, he was actually a person with a fairly high moral standard, but his moral bottom line was also very low. Simply put, his moral bottom line was quite flexible and changeable.

When it comes to matters of great interest, he can do things that harm others for his own benefit without hesitation; to hesitate for even a second would be a disrespect to his own bottom line.

But he is also willing to do good deeds within his ability... Of course, if it is beyond his ability, or if it requires him to harm himself for others, then that is another matter.

In fact, even without any reward, if he were simply informed that the councilors' homes might harbor a crisis that could endanger the entire city of Qingcheng, he would most likely still do it.

Because he is indeed capable of doing it now, it is not difficult for him.

However, he was equally ruthless in taking the reward he was entitled to.

If the Qingcheng government dared to give him a check that could be written casually, he would dare to write dozens of zeros on it on the spot.

Lost in thought, Xue Jing soon returned home.

Over the next few days, Xue Jing received information about the ruling councilors from Pei Xiaoen.

It included details such as where they lived, their daily activities, routes, personal habits, general security at home, and a map of the house's interior layout. It even highlighted a few suspicious areas, making it quite detailed.

After spending an hour memorizing the entire thick stack of documents, Xue Jing burned them.

He didn't start working immediately, but instead spent several days grinding away at [Hidden].

In just a few days, he successfully leveled up Hidden from Lv4 to Lv7 (32/4500).

During this period, the people of Canglong Dojo suffered a bit... They were frightened every day by the elusive Xue Jing, especially the key person they were focusing on, Xue Jing's little apprentice Zong Shichan.

From the time she became a disciple until now, even Xue Jing's Spartan-style teaching methods at the beginning had not frightened the little girl. However, in the past few days, for the first time, she had the idea of ​​not wanting to go to the Hidden Dragon Dojo to see her master. She was really afraid of being tormented.

After reaching Lv7, Xue Jing tested it out. He spent an afternoon in Li Qi's meditation room and was not noticed at all, so he felt that he was as stable as could be.

So he decided to start tonight.

……

The night is deep and quiet, and the moon hangs high in the sky.

Beicheng District, Mufeng Subdistrict.

This is a well-known "prestigious" area in Qingcheng, where many high-ranking officials reside, and even several members of the ruling council live here, making it a heavily guarded area.

Especially at night, around 1 a.m., there are many security guards patrolling the streets. Their gait and posture look extremely professional, their eyes are highly vigilant, and their waists are bulging, suggesting they are carrying firearms. It is clear that they are not the kind of security guards who sit at the door to make up the numbers, but true elites.

Even this group of elites failed to notice that a silent, dark figure was crouching on a long telephone pole in the street.

The figure was dressed in a full suit of magnificent, jet-black armor, with only a pair of indifferent, silver-white eyes visible. Sharp black bone spurs grew on its limbs and back, and its entire body was adorned with clusters of black flames.

Urban legend—The Dark Dragon Knight has arrived.

Gazing at a large villa not far away, Xue Jing recalled the residents' information in his mind.

Sung Shih-chu, a member of the ruling coalition, belongs to a relatively radical faction among the ruling coalition members and has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the mild-mannered style of Chief Councilor Chi Liang-yun on many occasions.

Xue Jing closed his eyes slightly, circulated his mental energy, and began to visualize the situation inside the villa in his mind.

Xue Jing could calculate and visualize the location of all living people and their actions, as long as they made the slightest sound, even just a breath, based on the data he obtained.

Soon after, Xue Jing opened his eyes, flicked his finger and sent a black flame flying silently over the high wall into the villa's courtyard.

The next moment, Xue Jing disappeared into the black flames around him.

The black flames that landed in the courtyard rippled, and a dark figure stepped out from them, treading on the lawn.

As soon as he appeared, Xue Jing immediately submerged himself underground, disappearing into the shadows of the house, and began to move towards the interior.

Along the way, he saw several security guards patrolling the area, and even some well-hidden infrared alarms, just like the secret locations in spy movies.

However, no matter how careful the security measures are, they are basically useless in the face of Xue Jing's [Concealment] + [Shadow Leap] + [Shadow Jump].

If you can get through, use Shadow Swim to get through; if you can't, flick a black flame and you'll jump across.

Under his Lv7 level of concealment, Xue Jing instinctively knew exactly where the cameras were and what angles they were pointing. He remained undetected throughout, like a ghost that didn't exist.

As he gained a deeper understanding of the villa, the details of the house he visualized became clearer and clearer, and his investigation speed increased. He moved around the villa and soon had inspected all the rooms.

Then, using the details of the house that he had completely visualized, he easily found a hidden basement entrance in an inconspicuous corner, opened it, and slipped inside.

However, apart from some gold bars, cash, and confidential files, there was nothing unusual in the basement.

Hmm, I also found a small notebook with many names written on it, mostly women, like Lili, Juanjuan, Wenwen, and so on. Each name had an address written after it, more than twenty in total. I have no idea what it was for...

Xue Jing put everything back in its original place. Because he was wearing armor, he wasn't worried about leaving fingerprints. Then, he instantly disappeared into the black flames beside him.

On a telephone pole outside the villa, a black flame flickered, and Xue Jing stepped out from it.

Without pausing, he immediately disappeared and headed towards the next councilor's house.

……

(I was feeling a bit better today and wanted to write more to make up for the missed update, but I caught a cold and had a really heavy head, so I struggled for a bit but still couldn't do it.)

(But I tried my best, and the future looks promising!)

Chapter 200: Four-Dimensional Senses, the Trajectory of Time, Reencounter with ISE, A Nighttime Battle Begins! (4K)

Throughout the night, Xue Jing searched the homes of all seven councilors in the entire Mufeng Street.

But there was no gain... Well, not exactly. I did learn some secrets that ordinary people wouldn't know. After all, it's the residence of a member of the ruling party, so there must be something there.

However, none of them were related to what he was investigating.

Just as dawn was breaking, Xue Jing ended the investigation and returned home.

With the cover of night, he was virtually invincible thanks to Shadowflame's several concealment abilities, but during the day, these abilities, which made him appear completely black, were far too conspicuous.

Xue Jing took a nap at home for a few hours. After waking up, he went to the Hidden Dragon Dojo to practice martial arts, teach his little apprentice, and gain skill experience. When night fell, he once again transformed into the Black Dragon Knight.

Three days passed just like that.

During this period, Xue Jing investigated the homes of a total of 26 councilors, but still could not find any clues related to the Heavenly Nest Mother.

"Did I not investigate thoroughly enough? Or is Pei Xiaoen's deduction wrong, and the Heavenly Constellation Mother has nothing to do with the councilors..."

Xue Jing, clad in jet-black Shadow Flame Armor, crouched on a telephone pole, his eyes deep in thought.

"Or is it just that I'm really unlucky, and I have to investigate until the very last one before I find anything, with a one in thirty chance..."

"No way, when I threw the Five Emperors Coins before, didn't I throw the 'Star Trek' hexagram, which meant I was going to have great luck?"

"Damn it, feudal superstition."

Xue Jing recalled the information on the remaining four councilors.

Chu Minyi, Xi Sihan, Zuo Qingxia, and Chi Liangyun.

He investigated them one by one according to their level of suspicion, from highest to lowest, and the remaining four were the least likely.

Chu Minyi was Pei Xiaoen's boss, the one who entrusted him with the task.

Of the remaining seats, Chi Liangyun is the first member of parliament, while Xi Sihan and Zuo Qingxia are the second members.

These three are the three most closely connected to Qingcheng's interests, so it's almost impossible for them to do such a thing.

"In any case, let's finish what we started and investigate everything first."

Xue Jing's figure flashed, disappearing from the spot like a ghost.

He first visited the homes of two deputy councilors, Sisley Han and Zuo Qingxia, but as he expected, he found nothing, only a few pieces of dirt that were useless to him.

He then traveled across most of the city to Chu Minyi's home—although this was the person who had entrusted him with the investigation, it could not be ruled out that the other party wanted to use a deceptive trick involving reverse thinking.

Of course, the final result proved that Xue Jing was overthinking things; Chu Minyi was perfectly fine, and nothing could be found in his house.

"The only one left is Chief Councilor Chi Liangyun..."

Xue Jing frowned slightly.

This is the least likely person to have any connection with the Heavenly Constellation Mother. An old councilor who is about to retire with a successful career, he only wants a peaceful and smooth transition at the end of his life. There is no reason for him to do such a thing.

"Could it be that this billion in cash and ten divine relics are going to disappear?"

Xue Jing touched his chin.

In any case, we've already found the last one, so we definitely have to go in and take a look.

Looking at the ordinary house in front of him, which was not exactly a villa but had an unremarkable appearance, Xue Jing flashed into the shadows and stepped inside.

Unlike most councilors who live in the North District, Chief Councilor Ji Liangyun lives in the West District, which is known as the "poor West District." His house doesn't look very nice; it's just like an ordinary family's home.

Even the security personnel and facilities were quite inadequate. In the scene of the whole house that Xue Jing imagined in his mind, there were only two symbolic guards standing at the gate, and there was no security equipment such as infrared sensors, and there was not even a single surveillance camera.

However, Xue Jing did not let his guard down. Instead, he became even more cautious, maintaining a state of 'shadowing' and 'aura concealment' throughout, carefully moving around the entire house.

Xue Jing didn't believe that a chief legislator would really not have made any arrangements for his own security.

After carefully examining several rooms on the first and second floors, Xue Jing climbed up to the third floor of the house in the shadows.

He sensed something was wrong as soon as he arrived.