I will be stronger after the remake

She tried to bypass the Golden Tower, but the Golden Tower could not only change its size at will, but also change its position as if it were teleporting, firmly blocking her way. No matter how she attacked, it remained completely unmoved.

Wen Xia gritted her teeth and said, "It's Luna, the fourth-tier psionicist from the European Union. Her spirit is Selene, the moon goddess from Greek mythology."

As for the one who resisted the opponent, it was naturally Gai Shiying, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

Immediately afterwards, the sky suddenly brightened in another direction, and a seven-tiered mountain of light rose on the horizon. On the mountain of light, there were many figures, all of whom were singing devoutly and praising the Lord's name.

Suddenly, a magnificent beam of light shot out from the top of Guangming Mountain, heading straight for Leifeng Pagoda.

Everyone hurriedly activated the Four Symbols Formation to prepare for the impact, but a golden Dharma image a hundred feet tall intercepted the pillar of light halfway and used its body as a shield to push it back.

This time, Wen Xia did not reveal the attacker's identity because there are several fourth-level psionicists who can summon Bright Mountain.

As for the identity of the interceptor, there is no need to elaborate. The summoned Dharma form is exactly the same as Ling Chong's, which is obviously the light of the Sumeru Arhat.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the battle of the fourth-level psionicists, Yuan Ji quietly approached Tang Ping and asked in a low voice, "Is the person in the tower Gu Linglong? Is she advancing to the fifth level?"

Tang Ping said, "Gu Linglong is indeed advancing to the fifth level, but the person in the tower is not her. If I'm not mistaken, we are just a decoy to attract attention."

Chapter 145 I'm Not a Gentleman Either

Even though Wen Xia's reasons were reasonable and the Four Symbols Formation she set up looked quite professional, Tang Ping still felt it was too hasty to entrust such an important matter as protecting fourth-level psychic energy users from advancing to fifth level to a local psychic energy management bureau.

Although the world is a huge makeshift operation, and even matters of state can be settled with a few emojis in a chat group, Gu Linglong cannot afford to be indifferent to matters concerning her own life and safety, even if others do not.

Despite being a Vermilion Bird, the choice of Leifeng Pagoda as the promotion location seems completely unrelated. It would be more reasonable to choose Yellow Crane Tower, since Yellow Crane is, after all, a bird.

In Tang Ping's view, the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum site is the most suitable place for Gu Linglong to be promoted.

But if Leifeng Pagoda is just a target used to attract the enemy's attention, then it makes perfect sense.

Ninety-nine percent of Chinese people know the stories and legends about Leifeng Pagoda. Foreigners, unless they specialize in this area, would not know about it. The Leifeng Pagoda in the Illusionary Realm has an outstanding appearance and good feng shui, and is a treasure land where spiritual energy gathers. It is enough to fool laymen.

The attack by two fourth-level psionicists startled everyone guarding the Four Symbols Formation, who immediately raised their vigilance to the highest level, as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, after ten minutes, neither the moon goddess Selene nor the unknown powerhouse summoned by the Sevenfold Bright Mountain could get close to Leifeng Pagoda despite their best efforts. Even the aftershocks of their attacks were blocked and could not reach the Four Symbols Formation.

In battles between fourth-order psychics, unless there is a counter-relationship between them, it is difficult to quickly determine the winner. Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and the Moon Goddess are obviously completely unrelated. You, the Western Christianity, claim to enlighten the world with light, while my Buddhist Arhats also shine with Buddha's light. Neither can do anything to the other.

Seeing this, everyone felt a little more at ease. Apart from the one who was advancing, there were still two fourth-level psionicists in their country. They could even withstand twice the enemy's strength. Anyone who still didn't understand that someone was advancing at this point would be a real fool.

If Tang Ping hadn't believed this place was just a decoy, he would probably have admired that "spur-of-the-moment" was indeed a good strategy. While his side was hasty and didn't have time to set up an impregnable defensive fortress, the enemy also arrived in a hurry and couldn't organize enough manpower.

Only two people came, not because they were unwilling to see a true big shot emerge from the Chinese psychic community, but because only the two of them possessed the ability to quickly teleport.

It must be said that even a decoy needs to be realistic and believable enough to lure the enemy into a trap.

In an instant, Leifeng Pagoda burst forth with dazzling light, illuminating the night in a flash. A powerful shockwave swept wildly in all directions, filling the sky and earth with flying sand and stones. Thick trees were uprooted and flew wildly in the air.

The tower shook violently, the runes on its body flickered erratically, and it creaked under the strain, as if it were about to collapse at any moment. A raging flame rose up and transformed into the shape of a Vermilion Bird in mid-air, emanating a terrifying spiritual pressure that continued to rise.

Anyone who saw this scene would have the same thought: Gu Linglong is about to be promoted!

Even Tang Ping couldn't help but have doubts. Could it be that she had made a misjudgment based on her own assumptions? Or was this a scheme within a scheme, seemingly a decoy but actually the real deal? But what about Wen Xia's lie? Was she also part of the plan, and had been given false information?

"Ah You!"

A sudden scream rang out as Fu Zhengyi launched a sudden attack, his hand transforming into a dragon claw that pierced Wen Xia's back, severely injuring him and sending him flying.

At the same time, without warning, a person sprang out from the shadows beneath Tang Ping's feet, wielding a sharp blade, and stabbed at his abdomen with lightning speed. The entire process was silent and did not emit any spiritual energy fluctuations.

However, while Tang Ping was whispering with Yuan Ji, she had already borrowed his power through the "fox borrowing tiger's strength" technique, including her extraordinary martial arts intuition. She had a premonition of danger beneath her feet, so she leaped up in time and used the Water Spirit Orb to create a giant hammer that slammed down.

The shadow assassin was struck by the giant hammer and instantly smashed into pieces. The fragments fell to the ground and merged with Tang Ping's shadow, disappearing from sight.

While the others were at a loss, Fu Zhengyi loudly accused, "Tang Ping is a cult member! I've been secretly investigating him. The reason he was able to repeatedly expose the cult's sinister activities, and even use his self-inflicted suffering to gain fame, the country's trust, and then rapidly rise through the ranks using the cult's resources, is something I couldn't understand before. I wondered what he was so painstakingly planning. Now I understand. His real purpose is to prevent the emergence of a fifth-level psychic in our country!"

Ma Yiming naturally didn't believe it and decisively stood up for his brother: "You're talking nonsense! My brother has a clean record. You were the one who attacked first. Besides, Director Wen is a leader sent from above. Is she also a cult member?"

Fu Zhengyi said righteously, "She is not a member of a cult, but she is a spy bribed by foreigners. Her interests align with Tang Ping's, and they are working together to commit treason. Isn't it suspicious that she is involved in this scheme?"

Having been reminded by Tang Ping, Yuan Ji, who had long harbored suspicions about Fu Zhengyi, immediately said, "There are more than just us. Do you think everyone is blind? Didn't you see the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and the Sumeru Arhat? If Tang Ping and Wen Xia were truly plotting together, why are these two still stationed here?"

Fu Zhengyi scoffed, as if the other party had said something ridiculous: "Naturally, it's because a plan that's too dubious can't possibly get approval from above. So the two of them used a feigned retreat to advance, devising a plan that seems reasonable but actually has serious flaws. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and the Sumeru Arhat are currently tied up by foreign experts, which is the perfect opportunity for them to make their move."

The members of the Armed Forces Section were momentarily confused. It was indeed suspicious that Fu Zhengyi had launched the sneak attack first, but what he said also seemed to make sense.

Tang Ping exposed the cult's plot against him twice in a row, and his promotion speed was unbelievably fast. Upon closer examination, there are indeed many suspicious points that cannot be reasonably explained.

Most importantly, Fu Zhengyi had established credibility as the long-term leader of the Armed Forces Section, and even if what he said was somewhat far-fetched, his subordinates still subconsciously wanted to believe him.

As if sensing his subordinates' wavering, Fu Zhengyi said understandingly, "If everyone is having trouble making a decision right away, that's alright. Just focus on protecting the tower and don't help either side."

Upon hearing this, the members of the armed forces department instinctively felt it was feasible. Since they couldn't distinguish who was right and who was wrong, they would not help anyone and would just do their jobs well, thus avoiding any responsibility.

Since the captain spoke such fair words, does it mean that he is selfless?

Snap! Snap! Snap…

While clapping, Tang Ping praised, "Beautiful, truly beautiful! This is the true meaning of 'advance by retreating.' On the surface, remaining neutral seems the safest approach, but if we assess the strength of both sides, my side only has one third-stage cultivator and two second-stage cultivators, while your side has two third-stage cultivators. If we were to actually fight, regardless of who wins or loses, you could simply take the opportunity to attack Leifeng Pagoda and forcibly interrupt Zhuque's advancement."

Even without using the Three-Eyed Radiance for identification, he knew that the shadow assassin who had ambushed him was a third-level psionicist. This was because transforming one's body into a shadow, like transforming into an elemental form, both belonged to entering the realm of the inhuman, at least at the third level.

Fu Zhengyi angrily retorted, "Don't even think about using your spiritual power to charm others! I'm just one person, where would I get two third-stage cultivators? If we really compare, it's actually disadvantageous for me if we don't help each other!"

Tang Ping was taken aback. He observed the expressions of the others and found that they all had expressions of agreement and were casting wary glances at him. He immediately realized that the shadow assassin's movements were too fast, and since there was no sound or aura, even he had to rely on his intuition to react in advance, let alone the others.

To outsiders, Tang Ping may have appeared to have jumped up and attacked the ground for no apparent reason, or perhaps he did it on purpose to frame Fu Zhengyi for having accomplices.

"Impressive! I can't help but applaud again. It's amazing that you can come up with such a brilliant tactic in the heat of battle," Tang Ping praised, then changed the subject, "But since it was a last-minute idea, its flaws are quite obvious. I just need to tell everyone that the best solution is for no one to make a move, and to wait for Zhuque to complete his advancement. Whoever makes the first move is a foreign spy, a traitor, and a lackey!"

Fu Zhengyi frowned, about to retort, when he heard the other side interrupt him, saying, "But there's no need to go through all that trouble. No matter how brilliant your quick thinking is, it can't compare to my foresight. The game here was set up six months ago, while you've only just made your move. Unless you can come up with a rule that you must put the captured pieces back into the box, how are you going to win!"

After saying that, Tang Ping snapped his fingers.

The expressions of the armed officers instantly changed, and they glared angrily at Fu Zhengyi as if he were their mortal enemy.

"Fu Zhengyi, you have indeed betrayed the organization and sold out the country!"

"Captain, I trusted you so much, how could you do such a thing!"

"Traitors and lackeys deserve to be killed by everyone!"

While hurling insults, the five of them simultaneously unleashed their psychic powers and magic, launching a coordinated attack on Fu Zhengyi.

Fu Zhengyi hurriedly entered a state of spiritual resonance, and dense dragon scales grew on his body to enhance his defensive capabilities. He struggled to defend against his subordinates' attacks, exclaiming in shock and anger, "You actually used mental manipulation on them!"

I've never done that before!

"What, you hypocrite who thinks my methods aren't honorable enough?" Tang Ping sneered. "I know you villains always hope that the good guys are a bunch of moral gentlemen who will obediently give up resistance when threatened with hostages. Wake up, times have changed. Don't make me laugh at your naivety."

The seriously injured Wen Xia used healing magic to stabilize her injuries in time, but looking at the turbulent situation in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a little lost. Fu Zhengyi's sneak attack on her was obviously not a good person, but Tang Ping's secret mental manipulation of his colleagues didn't seem to be a gentleman either. Which side should she help?

When subordinates are being mentally manipulated, even the most eloquent words become meaningless.

Fu Zhengyi, no longer holding back, completely tore off the mask. First, he activated the spiritual energy "Might of the Heavenly Dragon" to intimidate his two demon-attribute subordinates. At the same time, he activated the spiritual energy "Mirror Hanging High" and swept his gaze across the remaining two, putting them under moral scrutiny. Then, he instructed his shadow companions to eliminate Yuan Ji and Ma Yiming before decisively rushing towards Tang Ping.

Even though they are both at the third level, the fox spirit's third-level spirit level is clearly not the type that is good at fighting. He is confident that he can severely injure his opponent within five moves!

Fu Zhengyi activated his true dragon bloodline, controlling water, fire, wind, and thunder. As soon as he made his move, an overwhelming pressure spread out, as if the surrounding air was being squeezed by an invisible giant hand, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

Tang Ping had already borrowed power from Yuan Ji, and in terms of physical attributes alone, she was no less than him. However, the "Phantom Fox" was ultimately a demon and was restrained by the "Might of the Heavenly Dragon," so she could not exert her normal strength and could only avoid the enemy's strength and attack their weaknesses.

The illusion was cast at will, leaving an afterimage in place. While dodging the opponent's attack, it circled behind and manipulated the water spirit orb to transform into a spear, thrusting it towards the back of the heart.

clang!

The water gun couldn't even penetrate the defense!

Tang Ping felt the force returning to her and realized that, apart from the opponent's scales being hard enough, the water gun itself seemed to be resisting and unwilling to hurt Fu Zhengyi.

Recalling the other party's psionic assessment, he immediately realized that this was the effect of "True Dragon Bloodline" controlling water, fire, wind, and thunder. Perhaps its influence on a single element is not as great as that of the corresponding elemental form, but it is more than enough to bully an amateur like him.

Fu Zhengyi had anticipated this, and with a backhand strike, a lightning dragon formed from lightning soared out.

Despite her intuition's warning, Tang Ping was still too late to dodge. She could only manipulate the Water Spirit Orb to cover her entire body with a water film, barely reducing the power of the Thunder Dragon.

In an instant, a thunderous roar exploded, and a powerful energy shockwave, like a raging tsunami, spread wildly outwards from the point of impact. Tang Ping was sent flying in a flash of lightning, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

Fu Zhengyi caught up even faster, and plunged a claw into Tang Ping's chest!

However, it was still an illusion, and Tang Ping's figure shattered.

"As expected, I'm no match for you in a head-on fight. Sorry, I'll have to find someone else for me."

Tang Ping, rubbing his arm which was tingling with numbness, fled to avoid further battle.

"You can escape, but can you escape from this tower?"

Fu Zhengyi did not give chase. Instead, he raised his hand, gathered lightning, and unleashed another lightning dragon that struck Leifeng Pagoda.

Suddenly, a tiger's roar rang out from the ground, and a huge wind tiger leaped out from the side, intercepting the thunder dragon. The two sides collided fiercely, and lightning flashed, illuminating the entire night sky as if it were daytime.

The powerful shockwave sheared off three inches of the surrounding ground, but did not affect Leifeng Pagoda.

Fu Zhengyi stared in astonishment at Yuan Ji, who had materialized from the air currents, and exclaimed, "You actually advanced to the third rank! That's impossible! For a nobody like Tiger Vanguard, the second rank should be the limit. How could you possibly advance to the third rank?"

There are many things you don't know!

Yuan Ji exchanged a cold glance, his killing intent palpable: "Senior brother, I know you've always been ambitious, but I never imagined you would betray the country for your ambition. I wonder what Master would think if he knew you'd done such a thing."

Chapter 146 Justice

Beneath Leifeng Pagoda, wind and thunder surge.

Facing Yuan Ji, who had already advanced to the third level, Fu Zhengyi dared not be as casual as he had been with Tang Ping. He took out his special weapon, the "Gilded Dragon Spear," and their first encounter was a fierce battle.

"Fu Zhengyi, you really are the kind of person who shouts about what you lack most. With what you've done, what right do you have to call yourself righteous!"

The Azure Dragon Halberd and the Gilded Dragon Spear rubbed together, creating twelve streaks of fierce wind and thunder. Yuan Ji's pupils split vertically into tiger eyes, and with a tremor of his tiger body, countless wind blades roared out.

Fu Zhengyi manipulated the surrounding water flow to form a shield, resisting the impact of the wind blades. Then, pointing a finger, a huge thunder dragon poked its head out from the clouds and swooped down towards Yuan Ji with bared fangs and claws.

Yuan Ji had anticipated this, so he swung the Azure Dragon Halberd upwards, using it as a lightning rod to attract the lightning dragon's attack. He then transformed into an elemental form to avoid the aftershocks of the electric current. After the lightning strike ended, he manipulated the airflow to pull the Azure Dragon Halberd back into his palm.

Fu Zhengyi awakens the bloodline of the true dragon and tries to manipulate the airflow to seize the Azure Dragon Halberd, only to discover that he is no match for the affinity of the wind element, and the air no longer obeys his commands.

After testing the waters, Yuan Ji realized that he had not been completely immune to the suppression of "Heavenly Dragon's Might" and was still affected, but not significantly. He could still exert about 85% of his strength, enough for a battle.

Fu Zhengyi also understood this point. After thinking it over, he did not rush into battle, but said, "What I did may not be considered righteous, but I have a clear conscience."

Yuan Ji had long honed his sarcastic skills in his daily interactions with Director Hu. Without a second thought, he said, "You betrayed the country but claim to have a clear conscience. It seems you are a born traitor and lackey. Isn't it a pity that you were born a few decades too late and didn't get to meet your own Japanese lord?"

Fu Zhengyi's face darkened. Although the other party hadn't given him a good look when he was in the Armed Forces Section, he wasn't this venomous. Is the feng shui of the Public Security Section so conducive to nurturing people?

"My unique spiritual personality is Bi'an, known for its righteousness. If I were truly a traitor seeking personal gain, I would have suffered the backlash of this spiritual personality long ago."

"You've been at the third level for five or six years, and you even had the fortuitous encounter with the Emperor's Dew, yet you still haven't reached the fourth level. Isn't that because you've done too many unjust things and ruined your cultivation?"

"If advancing to the fourth level were so easy, the world would be full of fourth-level psionicists by now."

"True strength never complains about circumstances. If my boyfriend had this much time, he would have advanced to the fourth level long ago. You are a useless and incompetent person, yet you still make excuses to deceive yourself. It's ridiculous!"

Fu Zhengyi choked upon hearing this, realizing that Tang Ping's inexplicable speed of promotion was truly hard to say.

After a moment's thought, he said, "I don't want to argue with you, nor do I want to fight with you. I genuinely want to communicate with you, and I hope you won't bring any emotions into it."

Yuan Ji said, "You want to communicate? Fine, show some sincerity and tell me which side you're truly loyal to?"

Fu Zhengyi shook his head and said, "This isn't a feudal society. There's no such thing as loyalty here. The country pays me a salary and gives me power, so I eliminate evil and protect the region. You keep accusing me of being a traitor and a lackey, but my contributions to the country are far greater than yours, who did nothing in the public security department."

"Isn't your accumulation of merits all for climbing to a higher position so that you can sell out more benefits in the future? Just like what you did today, if you were to obstruct the promotion ceremony, the damage to the national interest would far outweigh the merits you have accumulated in the past!"

"Believe it or not, I have to tell you that I did not join other organizations for personal gain."

Yuan Ji sneered, "What do you mean by 'believe it or not'? You still haven't told me which organization you've joined. You have no sincerity whatsoever, yet you expect others to believe you. Do you think you're Yuri?"

"Spiritualism Progress Research Association".

Fu Zhengyi's answer surprised Yuan Ji. She really didn't expect him to say it. Her first thought was that it was a lie, but combined with the information she knew, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was the truth.

"I see. No wonder you knew in time that we wanted to talk to Han Lin. When Tang Ping was attacked by the Guiling Cult at the TV station, she encountered two monsters who entered the mortal world by possessing human bodies. These two monsters were provided by the Spiritual Progress Research Association. Some scholars have proposed a hypothesis that the essence of monsters is actually information flow. If they can enter the mortal world, electronic information is completely defenseless against them. It seems that you used the power of monsters to eavesdrop on our phone calls."

"indeed so."

Fu Zhengyi readily admitted it, as if he genuinely wanted to show his sincerity.

Although Yuan Ji wasn't particularly good at deduction, the important clues were now laid out before her, and having been a top student in junior high school, she immediately clarified the truth behind Han Lin's suicide.

"For some reason, you don't want us to get the truth from Han Lin. The best outcome would be if we didn't even realize it and Han Lin was executed through legal procedures, so there would be no suspicious traces on the surface. That's why you didn't kill him to silence him beforehand, because that would be like reminding us that Han Lin still has secrets."

"The next best outcome is if we discover that Han Lin has a secret, we must silence him immediately. And you, who are closest to us, are the best person to carry it out. No traces of mind control were detected on Han Lin's body because he was awakened by your psychic energy to feel guilty and voluntarily committed suicide."

"I can roughly guess that your alibi was obtained by using this accomplice who can enter the shadows. His shadow form is a permanent type of psionic energy that can be used in the real world, and he can make Han Lin fall for it without being detected by the monitoring system."