Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

The atmosphere in the northern neighboring state branch did not remain silent for long.

Duan Yanqing and Ye Erniang personally went to a corner of the underground palace and built cenotaphs for Yue Laosan and Yun Zhonghe respectively.

"Third brother, fourth brother, it seems you two are not destined for such a blessing."

"By the way, on the anniversaries of your deaths from now on, my second brother and I will come to burn paper money for you."

Finally, several grandmasters came to pay their respects.

In the central area of ​​the underground palace, Murong Chong addressed the crowd, saying, "This failure was essentially due to our underworld's carelessness."

"Our past successes in completing tasks have fostered an arrogant and complacent attitude in us."

"Therefore, starting today, the North Branch will suspend taking orders and fully investigate this matter."

"A blood debt must be repaid in blood!"

"Yes!" Everyone stood up and accepted the order!

Only one day later, the news that the underworld had stopped accepting orders spread throughout the entire Xialin County.

At first, people were puzzled as to why a powerful assassin organization would voluntarily stop accepting orders.

However, not long after, news began to circulate in the martial arts world.

The underworld failed two missions on the same day, losing two important members.

"Have you heard? Those who died were two assassins at the Yin General level!" Wang Laosan said cautiously to his friend beside him, a knife slung at his waist.

Upon hearing this, the man looked puzzled and asked, "Third Brother, what is the Yin General level?"

Wang Laosan was instantly shocked. Had this country bumpkin gone mad from practicing cultivation?

"Don't you know the organizational structure of the underworld?"

"I don't know." The man honestly shook his head.

"Ugh... Don't ever say you're hanging out with me, Wang Laosan, when you go out in the future. It'll be embarrassing!"

"The lowest-ranking assassins in the underworld are called 'Fierce Ghosts,' above them are 'Yin Generals,' and above that are 'Yin Marshals.' I've even heard there are assassins with the title of 'King Yama'!"

"Anyway, until now, I haven't heard of anyone becoming a general in the underworld."

In short, the myth of the underworld has been shattered this time!

There were quite a few cultivators like Wang Laosan who discussed the underworld, after all, it was because two Yin general assassins had been lost in one fell swoop.

That very afternoon, a bombshell piece of news broke.

The Underworld has been set up this time. Someone deliberately placed an order to lure the Underworld assassins, capture them, and find out the Underworld's headquarters.

The spread of this news also significantly weakened the oppressive aura that the underworld had previously accumulated.

Think about it, in the past few months, not a single business that the underworld accepted was a failure.

This has made many forces feel extremely uneasy.

When you're in the game, you're bound to offend someone someday.

The 100% success rate of assassinations in the underworld is indeed a guillotine hanging over the heads of all living beings.

Now that a force dares to target the Underworld, it seems that other major powers in the neighboring northern states have finally decided to intervene themselves.

While outsiders were laughing at them, the people of the underworld didn't care at all about what others thought.

In the underground palace of the underworld, at the entrance of the letter transmission channel connecting to the world above, a small piece of information was delivered.

After Duan Yanqing opened and read the document, he reported to the others, "We were a step too late!"

"The other party has been silenced!"

After saying that, he handed the intelligence in his hand to the others.

"This was expected. After all, the other party was so well prepared that they wouldn't leave any evidence."

"It all depends on the other side."

The underworld immediately located the person who placed the order and hurriedly sent people to arrest them.

However, the person who placed the order is already dead.

...

Xia Zhaoyan knew something about the problems that the neighboring prefecture was facing at this time.

However, he doesn't have the energy to send people to assist them in their investigation right now, since the underworld is primarily focused on intelligence and assassins.

Besides, Xia Zhaoyan is in trouble now too...

In the main hall of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau, Xia Zhaoyan sat at the head of the table, frowning in thought, while Mu Wenhan sat beside him.

"Lord Mu, how many people died this time?"

"Your Highness, fifty guards have died!" Mu Wenhan said with a hint of anger on his face.

"Your Highness, there is definitely something fishy about this. On the way back, all fifty guards were killed."

"The wound was fatal from a single blow, and it wasn't inflicted by someone!"

Recalling the intelligence sent by the Heavenly Punishment Division today, Xia Zhaoyan secretly reflected on himself, wondering if he had become a bit arrogant lately.

They've all forgotten that this world isn't just about martial artists and cultivators; it also contains all sorts of strange and bizarre beings.

Legend has it that these strange phenomena are actually evil thoughts born from the will of Heaven.

In each cycle of reincarnation, the Heavenly Dao reaps huge profits from all living beings, inevitably absorbing their negative emotions as well.

To maintain its purity, Heaven transforms these negative emotions into special life forms that then wreak havoc on all living beings across the continent.

"Why would these strange creatures attack our Heavenly Punishment Division? Aren't they afraid of a massive crackdown by the imperial court?!"

There are many kinds of strange things. Some are intelligent and have their own thoughts, while others are simply devoid of intelligence and only know how to kill and destroy.

"Your Highness, I suspect that the deaths of those guards were deliberately orchestrated by someone controlling a supernatural entity." Although Mu Wenhan spoke of suspicion, his expression was one of absolute certainty.

Xia Zhaoyan wasn't surprised at all that someone was controlling the supernatural entity.

Ultimately, the overall strength of the Weird is indeed inferior to that of the human and demon races.

Moreover, the bizarre has another advantage: it is a powerful cultivation resource.

The more powerful and bizarre the phenomenon, the better it is for cultivators.

As a result, most factions secretly harbor all sorts of strange entities.

The only way for the bizarre to become stronger is to kill living beings and absorb their souls.

"So, it seems someone deliberately killed him to cover it up?"

Xia Zhaoyan stood up and looked at the sky outside. The Heavenly Punishment Division, which he now controlled, had not yet truly risen to power, but it had already begun to be targeted in various ways.

The incident stemmed from the Heavenly Punishment Division's investigation of a case in a local area, which involved several officials.

As a result, the people sent out died on their way back.

The fifty guards were all veterans of the Heavenly Punishment Division.

In truth, they are the foundation of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau, having worked tirelessly to support the former bureau.

With that in mind, he picked up the documents on the table and began to read them.

"Then let's summon those suspects first!"

Although Mu Wenhan wished he could kill those monsters with his own hands, he still retained his rationality.

"Your Highness, those officials all have powerful forces in the imperial court behind them."

"Should we hold off for now, just in case..."

His main concern was offending the forces behind those people, since the Heavenly Punishment Division was already disliked.

"What, are you afraid of offending someone?"

"Don't worry, fifty guards died this time. No one dares to pressure me on this matter!"

"They're probably not the direct perpetrators, but I'd like to stir things up and alert them!"

The killer was well hidden; there were no extra traces at the scene.

Let's see how they react. These officials were destined to be taken down anyway.

Even better! Take this opportunity to solidify their guilt!