On the other side, Wang Jie had charged toward Lu Luo like a fierce bull. Yuan Mian was behind Lu Luo; he couldn't retreat. However, continuing to keep Yuan Mian here was indeed dangerous, so he could only grab the woman, thin as kindling, and carefully toss her onto the nearby sofa. Wang Jie's forehead had collided with Lu Luo's fist! The Sixth Tier Qi He and strength mixed, clashing with Lu Luo's Fourth Gear in an evenly matched contest! Yet Wang Jie's berserk state made him even more irritable after discovering his attack was ineffective. He swung a punch at Lu Luo without any technique, his gigantic fist like a hammer, which Lu Luo blocked with one hand. Deliberate Bombardment Fist instantly left its mark on Wang Jie's abdomen! Wang Jie spat out a mouthful of blood into his mouthguard, but his figure was surprisingly unmovable. It was clear how outrageous his stability and defensive ability were! With a Constitution of 250, it can already produce this effect! Looks like I have to take it head-on! As soon as Lu Luo finished speaking, Wang Jie's cannon fist had already blasted onto his waist. Lu Luo was sent flying like a cannonball. But shortly after he flew out, several strands of steel wire from his fingertips caught his figure. These steel wires, all wrapped in steam Qi He, were extremely tough. Even the force of a Sixth Tier expert couldn't snap them. Lu Luo, gripping the steel wire, flipped back and casually spat out a mouthful of blood. This scene shocked the Hunters guarding the area. How could Lu Luo's seemingly fragile body take a punch from Wang Jie and still stand up as if nothing had happened? How could that be? Only Yang Liya's gaze was slightly condensed. In her view, Wang Jie's unstructured attack should have been something Lu Luo could dodge. But why didn't he dodge? Wang Jie's strength was indeed very great, but Lu Luo had taken it on purpose. Opportunities to engage in combat with Sixth Tier Transcendents were not plentiful, and Lu Luo treasured such opportunities. He needed to confirm his defensive capabilities through actual combat to see what level they were at. If he encountered experts in the future, he would need real experience to know which attacks could be taken head-on and which needed to be dodged. "Alright! Let's start over!" Lu Luo shook his fingers and suddenly accelerated. Wang Jie's fist swept past his nose, and the conical Qi He followed with his palm, imprinting on Wang Jie's back. However, it didn't end there. Every attack from Wang Jie was almost perfectly dodged by Lu Luo, controlling the miss distance to within one centimeter. Lu Luo's mini steam impacts kept hitting Wang Jie. And yet Wang Jie never managed to touch Lu Luo even once! This was the authentic Overfrequency Mode! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! This battle continued for a full two minutes, and Wang Jie didn't know how many times he had been hit by Lu Luo's palms. By now, his mouthguard was filled with blood, even occasionally choking him. But Wang Jie's brain didn't seem to be functioning well. Despite freeing his hands, he didn't even think to tear off his mouthguard, which was rather foolish. Such a fight gradually became boring for Lu Luo. He flashed a step away from Wang Jie! Lu Luo snapped his fingers. The instant the snap sounded, countless bloody holes exploded on Wang Jie's body, all from the steam Qi He left by Lu Luo's previous palm strikes. This move, called Qi Outburst! It was a technique Lu Luo had mimicked based on Poison Outburst, mainly used to strike at enemies with extremely high defense. However, it seemed its power was somewhat lacking at the moment, falling far short of Poison Outburst. Wang Jie's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and seizing this opportunity, Lu Luo landed a palm strike on Wang Jie's chest. A flash of Netherflame disappeared as wisps of nether essence were drawn out from Wang Jie's body. Although Lu Luo's Netherflame was scarce, it was still a Nether Source Seed. The quantity might be small, but its tier was still sufficiently high. After extracting the nether essence, Lu Luo sent Wang Jie's massive body flying with a palm strike, crashing heavily to the ground. What surprised Lu Luo was that Wang Jie, despite having suffered such serious injuries, woke up as if nothing had happened! He clutched his head and slowly got to his feet. Wang Jie ripped off the muzzle from his mouth and glared at everyone with a fierce expression. "Damn, I got beaten so badly. Who did this?" Wang Jie didn't have the best temper, but his strength was so formidable that no one among the Hunters dared to contradict him. When he asked this, nearly all of the Hunters turned their gazes toward Lu Luo. Following their gazes, Wang Jie also looked towards Lu Luo at the far end. "Him? This kid? Are you joking with me?" Wang Jie wasn't as uncouth as he appeared. The instant he spoke, his muscles tensed, primed for action. His body erupted with power! His enormous fist collided with Lu Luo's, and that's when Lu Luo realized that Wang Jie's fist had flashed with a metallic color. It had the look of brass. This time, the strength of Wang Jie's punch was several times greater than before. Lu Luo's Fourth Gear Deliberate Bombardment Fist couldn't withstand it, and he was sent flying backward. The steam Qi He from his legs erupted to dampen the impact. After rolling a few times, Lu Luo stabilized himself horizontally against the wall. Wang Jie stayed where he was, shaking off his fingers. "You indeed have some skills to be able to block my punch." Wang Jie planted his feet firmly, and even his bald head flashed a metallic color. Lu Luo's expression turned serious as he drew his Fenrir Type VI. To draw his sword was to get serious! The Jet Belt, combined with the impact of Qi He, brought Lu Luo's speed to its peak as he struck at Wang Jie with his sword. Wang Jie also charged headfirst, aiming a headbutt directly at Lu Luo. Just as the two were about to clash, Yang Liya's figure instantly appeared. With both of her slender arms, she grabbed the two men, rotated a few times to dissipate their forces, and then flung them apart again. When Lu Luo and Wang Jie stood back up, their expressions gradually became peculiar. Yang Liya had apparently chosen to intervene! Can't handle it, huh? Luckily, that woman helped you. Lu Luo nodded. Under normal circumstances, his current self, even if very strong, couldn't possibly be a match for a Sixth Tier top-notch Hunter. Wang Jie's strength was incredibly formidable, with powerful Qi He and a potent physical Constitution. And that metallic luster on his bald head and fists! Those allowed Lu Luo to truly feel the power of a Sixth Tier top-notch expert. He was truly worthy of being a monster that could contend with Seventh Tier Exotic Species. Such an opponent was definitely not someone he could contend against. "What's with that metallic color on his limbs?" There's a high probability he has cultivated certain parts of his body into weapon paths through some method. Lu Luo was surprised. His own body cultivated into weapon paths? That sounds a bit preposterous! However, since the other party was the captain of Team One, it was normal for him to know some Secret Techniques. Just like Ludie's Dust Devil, everyone uses Qi Path Qi He, but the power of Dust Devil far exceeds that of ordinary Qi Path. "Stop it, such fighting is utterly meaningless." Yang Liya spoke up. At this point, Lu Luo certainly couldn't offer his head to be beaten again. He gladly took the opportunity to back off, putting his weapon away. But Wang Jie was not so easily appeased. "Little Ya, what do you mean by this? I got a beatdown, and this is how you treat me?" Wang Jie called her quite affectionately, and although there was some dissatisfaction in his tone, he indeed didn't continue to make a move. "Wang Jie, it was Lu Luo who saved you. You should thank him instead of fighting with him here." "This kid saved me? Are you kidding me?" Wang Jie looked disbelieving, but this time, Yang Liya spoke with a very affirmative tone. "Do you still remember what happened before?" "Previous events? I…" Wang Jie looked confused. He remembered resting at the base when he returned, and then, in his sleep, it seemed like something had crept into his bedroom. He found the intruder and threw a punch, but the other party caught it with ease. Then, the person pressed a finger to his forehead, and he passed out, all groggy. This incident was quite embarrassing for him. As a prominent Sixth Tier master, he was effortlessly rendered unconscious. If others found out, where would he put his face? This matter absolutely cannot be spoken of. "Uh, I really don't remember what happened before." Yang Liya saw Wang Jie's hesitation and knew he might have concealed some things, but none of that mattered now. "Wang Jie, you confessed to something earlier." "You killed Li Kaizhe." "Li Kaizhe? Which Li Kaizhe?" "Other than the chief, who else is called Li Kaizhe?" "How could that be? I didn't!" Wang Jie was now starting to panic, looking around. Noticing the odd expressions on the Hunters around him, his heart grew even more uncertain. "Although I really don't like that old man, I truly didn't think about killing him. "You said it before, it's not yet the time to act, so it's even less likely that I would do it. "Now that Li Kaizhe is dead, have people from the Inner Ring come to investigate? If this isn't handled well, I'm afraid a fight might break out!" As Wang Jie said this, the expressions of those around him grew stranger, but Yang Liya opened her mouth to speak. "You were being controlled earlier, and you brazenly admitted that you were the murderer. "When others tried to apprehend you, you even injured several of our comrades. "But fortunately, people from the Inner Ring came and cleared you of suspicion. It was that girl named Yuan Mian." Wang Jie looked at Yuan Mian whom Yang Liya indicated, and he felt somewhat relieved. "I've been cleared of suspicion? What about the other members of the Inner Ring investigation team? Surely it wasn't just this girl who came alone, right?" After Wang Jie spoke, he looked at the shocked expression of Yuan Mian and the blood and traces of battle on the ground. A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart. "You didn't start a fight with the Inner Ring people, did you?" "We did fight, but I've killed them all," Yang Liya said calmly. "Uh! Aren't we going to start a war with the Inner Ring then?" Yang Liya did not answer Wang Jie's question, but she pointed at Lu Luo. "Lu Luo, have them watch Yuan Mian, and you come with me for a moment." Although they had always been setting traps for each other before, now that the people from the Inner Ring were all dead, Lu Luo didn't have a reason to continue refusing. Moreover, he really wanted to have a proper talk with Yang Liya. The two arrived at Yang Liya's private office one after the other. Yang Liya brewed herself a cup of tea, then looked at Lu Luo. "What would you like to drink? Tea, coffee, or water?" "Coffee, please. The last time Ludie asked to meet, he had coffee. I kind of miss it." Hearing Lu Luo mention Ludie, Yang Liya's expression became somewhat gloomy. "Am I really not well-suited to be a leader?" To be honest, indeed not. "Yes, you're not really suited." The certainty in Lu Luo's tone left Yang Liya feeling somewhat helpless. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵 "Why are you so sure I'm not suited to be the leader of the Fourth Ring? My strength shouldn't be considered weak, right?" Lu Luo shook his head. "You lack the kind of courage to lead people towards the future. "You're too much of a stickler for rules, but most of these rules actually originate from the Inner Ring. "I'm not saying that all rules are bad, but many were established for the sole purpose of governing and exploiting. "And change—change requires breaking the old rules." What Lu Luo said were just some very basic ideas about change, yet even such simple concepts aren't recorded in any books within the Wasteland Alliance. Lu Luo knew that this was because the Inner Ring had specifically dealt with such books, so these ideas were novel to the natives of the Alliance. "Change requires breaking the old rules!" Yang Liya repeated thoughtfully, then turned to ask Lu Luo, "So, Lu Luo, how much do you really know about Lu Xiaotian?" "Lu Xiaotian and I are good friends who tell each other everything. I know a lot more about her than you can imagine." Yang Liya nodded and then asked with curiosity, "What exactly is Lu Xiaotian's identity?" "Captain Yang, haven't I said this before? Actually, you already have the answer in your heart." Yang Liya nodded again. She was aware of the identities of Ludie and Qiu Guling, and she also had her suspicions about the identity of the Nightmare Demon. What she didn't understand was what exactly happened in that final battle above the Red Pillars? Why did Ludie have to die? Couldn't he just not die? "Did Ludie really have to die?" Yang Liya still couldn't quite accept it. But by then, Lu Luo had already come to terms with it. Ludie was his friend, mentor, and the guide who led him into this world. But his death was a fulfilling one. "Once I also held the same doubts as you, but later, I came to understand. "Ludie had his own ideals, and to achieve them, he had to die." "Can you tell me about the causes and consequences of this incident? I have some guesses, but there are details that are still unclear to me." "Just like I said, the instigator of this incident is Ludie's daughter, Lu Xiaotian. "She must have learned steam Qi He from you. "Then, as a complete human cultivator, she defeated Li Kaizhe head-on! "Without a doubt, in terms of talent, Lu Xiaotian is a genius among geniuses, an absolute prodigy! "No one can deny this." When Yang Liya heard the words "human cultivator" from Lu Luo, her feelings grew even more complicated. "And then what happened?" "Lu Xiaotian's original plan was to use Wang Jie, the captain of Team One, to force you into breaking with the Inner Ring. "However, during this period, an unexpected development occurred." "You're talking about Yuan Mian." "Right. If not for Yuan Mian, the blame would definitely have fallen on Wang Jie, since he confessed. "Lu Xiaotian's original plan was that the Fourth Ring wouldn't abandon Wang Jie. Consequently, your faction would have been forced to break with the Inner Ring. "The dispute between the Inner Ring and the Fourth Ring would have unfolded. "But coincidentally, someone from the Inner Ring wanted to deal with me and sent Yuan Mian. "Yuan Mian disrupted Lu Xiaotian's plans, pointing the blame at me. "And that led to me assisting with this investigation." After hearing Lu Luo's explanation, Yang Liya finally managed to piece together the causes and consequences of the incident. "So you mean, regardless of your involvement in this matter, the schism between the Inner Ring and the Fourth Ring was inevitable?" "Exactly. The schism between the Inner Ring and the Fourth Ring was bound to happen. "It is the will of Lu Xiaotian, as well as the last wish of Ludie. "He wanted to create a new Fourth Ring. He aspired for the people of the Fourth Ring to live a truly human life. "So, there must be change." As Yang Liya's gaze shifted uncertainly, a little girl's voice came from the shadows. "Well said, Lu Luo. I always said you were capable enough to sort out this matter. "That saves me the trouble of having to deal with it personally!"