The man holding the spear said: "Didn't you protect yourself with your Qi Mechanism?" The scholar shook his head with a bitter smile, saying: "The residual temperature inside is not simple. If I acted recklessly, it might go against me and become violent. In that case, the already scarce clues would turn completely into ashes." The man with the spear was slightly stunned upon hearing this and said: "With such a temperature, can any clues be left behind?" The scholar put down his right hand, which had been wiping sweat, gesturing as he walked down and said: "A masterful martial artist is extremely precise in the control of their power, never using an ounce more Inner Strength than necessary. His purpose was only to burn this mountain stronghold and the corpses inside, not to turn the mountaintop into glass." "Therefore, there are still remnants of the weapons, the bones of External Cultivation martial artists, these things no less than Qingyan..." The man with the spear interrupted him, saying: "So what did you discover?" The scholar rubbed his nose, his expression slightly solemn, and said: "All the weapons are still intact, just melted into a mass. Judging from the distribution of these weapon remnants, it's apparent that no one escaped from the vast Great Wilderness Stronghold." "Apart from two people, all the martial artists were killed with a single cut." The short spear martial artist nodded, not caring much, confident that he could achieve such a feat himself, the only trouble being the slightly inferior Fortress Leader and the bandits fleeing in panic after their morale collapsed. At this moment, he suddenly remembered something, his expression slightly tensed, and said: "Wait, you just said he went straight in after killing people at the mountainside?" The scholar sighed with a bitter smile, pointing upwards, saying: "If my speculation is correct, he didn't even bother to disguise himself, walking straight through the main entrance... alone against many, it's too audacious." The man's expression changed. The scholar continued: "Moreover, it seems he returned from the prison to the mountain before ascending again." "This time, he went all the way to the top. Judging from the skeletal remains left by the surrounding people, he walked very steadily, and slowly." "But anyone in his way died." "No matter how many people, or what rank of martial artist, all fell with a single strike." "A step, a kill, straightforward and upright..." The most update n0vels are published on novel⦿fire.net The man with the spear was somewhat bewildered for a moment. Even just from his companion's simple description, a strong sense of oppression could be felt, as if a person was just walking forward, expression cold, and no matter whether it was ten or a hundred people in the way, all were beheaded, all heads claimed. The scholar patted him on the shoulder, pointing down, saying: "I was just a bit puzzled as to why there are knife marks here, and the dust is less; thinking now, after killing, he probably sat here, just watching the flames consume the mountain." His voice paused, seeming to envision the violent flames shooting up, the heavy blade inverted in the ground, a person casually sitting here, expression apathetic, or perhaps drinking wine. He paused his breath slightly, shaking his head, saying: "Let's go, don't daze, there are still things to be done." The scholar pointed to the road ahead, saying: "In the cage, there are only the corpses of two bandit leaders, not even a bit of bone ash of the others, connecting it with his prior actions, he should have saved someone, so if we find those people, we can know...." His voice paused again, unable to avoid thinking of the shadowy figure watching the flames burn the mountain, saying: "We can know who exactly did such a thing." The man with the spear nodded and turned back to look at the stronghold. Went straight through the main entrance? He then shook his head, employing Qinggong, and ran along the road. As expected, he quickly encountered people who clearly showed signs of having been tortured, and the scholar, using silver as a reward, inquired but got no answers until he had to reveal his Ministry of Punishment identity to learn of that person's appearance. Dressed entirely in black. A cloak with a trembling Kui pattern. A墨刀 (Mo Blade), devoid of any glimmer. The scholar furrowed his brows, pondering these fragmented bits of information, then matched them with the clues he had gathered, feeling as if something in his mind was about to break out, and massaged his temples. Still couldn't figure it out. Until he and his companion were resting at a teahouse by the roadside, his mind kept swirling around what kind of person could these fragmented things piece together into, the owner served hot tea, and he used his pinky to dip in the tea to write down the current clues on the table, adding his deductions afterward. Incredibly high martial prowess. Fighting style tyrannical and fierce. Lone traveler, indifferent to others. He suddenly thought of the scene he imagined earlier today, the lone warrior walking and killing upright, quietly sitting before the blaze, the indifferent swordsman... With flames so intense, what was he meant to do? Would he warm wine with them? He couldn't help but scoff at the absurdity of such a thought yet felt that the picture of a master dressed in black, cloak with a Kui pattern, Mo Blade, sitting after the killings, warming wine amidst the burning mountain, carried a significant impact and oppression. He looked at his companion across the table, whose eyes were unfocused, clearly lost in thought. For a secret agent of the Ministry of Punishment, such an emotion was unnecessary, a flaw, yet he fully understood his friend's sentiment. They had seen greater masters than today's incidents.