Chapter 318: Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace

Luo Feng did not conceal anything and transmitted a message: “One of my observation secret techniques has recently made a breakthrough. It can observe a cultivator’s soul and determine whether the cultivator’s soul is under control.”

“You can tell with a single glance?” Hall Master Yuan Xiang was both shocked and delighted.

Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms infiltrating a city was a problem faced by all Thirty-Five Cities of the Jiugang Holy Realm. The vast majority of cities could not detect them. They could only rely on tiny clues and infer celestial secrets to confirm their existence.

“When cultivators are outside and not concealed by formations, I can see through more than ninety percent of them with a single glance. But if there are powerful secret techniques concealing them, or powerful secret treasures hiding them, then I need to conduct a careful one-on-one inspection at close range.”

“If cultivators hide inside their cave dwellings and the cave dwelling formations conceal them, then I cannot see clearly,” Luo Feng replied.

His Simulated Eye of Life and Death was, after all, only an imitation secret technique. Its observational ability still had many limitations.

“That is already extremely impressive.”

Hall Master Yuan Xiang was overjoyed. “Even in the Dark Holy Realm, only a very small number of powerhouses can determine at a glance whether someone’s soul is being controlled. Even at my peak, I did not possess such an observation method.”

“In the entire Jiugang Holy Realm, perhaps only one or two individuals possess methods comparable to yours,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said happily. “With you stationed here, Rainlan City will be far more secure in the future.”

With such a powerhouse guarding a city, the difficulty for Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms to carry out assassination attacks would rise dramatically. Once they infiltrated the city, they would need to launch their attacks quickly. If they remained hidden for too long, they would easily be discovered.

“Luo Feng, I hope you can help thoroughly inspect the entire city,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said. “Start with those walking outside. Afterwards, I will issue an announcement to the whole city and close the cave dwelling formations in batches. You can then inspect each one batch by batch.”

The cave dwellings were rented, so Rainlan City naturally had control over their formations.

Of course, if cultivators had personally set up their own formations, Rainlan City could not revoke them, and the cultivators would need to close them themselves.

The cave dwellings across the entire city would be shut down batch by batch in a unified manner. With such a citywide order, no one within the city would dare oppose it.

“I can confirm that there are definitely quite a number of Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms lurking in the city, but we can only discover a very small number of traces,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said worriedly. “If we conduct a complete screening, the city will be much safer.”

“It would lack legitimacy,” Luo Feng transmitted. “If I am to be responsible for screening the entire city, I need the position of ‘Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace of Rainlan City’.”

“Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace?” Hall Master Yuan Xiang hesitated.

The Sky Patrol Palace was the military camp where all patrol teams and guard forces of the city were stationed.

The Sky Patrol Palace had one Chief Commander and two Deputy Commanders.

The sole Chief Commander was currently the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft. For instance, the tens of thousands of cultivators who had been captured this time needed to be screened one by one to confirm they had not been possessed, and it was the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft personally conducting the inspection.

The Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft possessed extremely powerful mental methods. In close one-on-one situations, he could identify every possessed individual.

“The Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace mainly screens for infiltrating Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms,” Luo Feng transmitted. “Since you want me to handle this matter, and since I may need to continue doing such work in the future, I should naturally have the corresponding position.”

Hall Master Yuan Xiang understood.

Inviting Luo Feng to inspect the entire city was clearly not a one-time matter.

Rather, it would need to be carried out periodically.

“Alright!” Hall Master Yuan Xiang transmitted. “The position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace will be given to you! You can now go to the Sky Patrol Palace and carry out the handover with the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft.”

Luo Feng nodded slightly.

Whenever an infiltrating Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform was discovered, the associated cultivators would be arrested for screening—sometimes thousands, sometimes tens of thousands! Batch after batch were arrested and brought in. Although most of them eventually left safely, by the time they came out, all their treasures had been squeezed dry.

Such batch-by-batch exploitation was even more ruthless than the theft and raiding conducted by the Three Major Raiding Factions.

“Hall Master Wei Yang’s actions are not worthy of managing Rainlan City.”

At present, Luo Feng had no advantage in strength. Both sides were at the same level. But once his Path of Life and Death advanced another level, his strength would completely surpass everyone in the city. At that time, doing certain things would become much easier.

Whoosh—

Luo Feng turned and flew toward the Sky Patrol Palace located in the core region of Rainlan City.

Hall Master Yuan Xiang sat inside his cave dwelling, his aura somewhat weak.

“Wei Yang, Gai Tao.” Hall Master Yuan Xiang directly contacted the two companions.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two illusory figures appeared beside him. They were the projections of Hall Master Wei Yang and Hall Master Gai Tao.

“Brother Yuan Xiang.” Hall Master Wei Yang smiled politely. At his peak, Hall Master Yuan Xiang had mastered two Half-Primordial Paths! Even in the Dark Holy Realm, he possessed considerable influence. Many of his friends were beings of the same level, and the extent of his network was unimaginable.

As long as Hall Master Yuan Xiang did not die, Hall Master Wei Yang would still have to give him face.

“Brother Yuan Xiang, why did you suddenly summon the two of us?” Hall Master Gai Tao asked.

“I have decided to hand the position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace to Luo Feng,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said.

“Oh?” Hall Master Gai Tao smiled slightly. “I have heard that a powerful figure named Luo Feng has recently risen in Rainlan City.”

“No.”

Hall Master Wei Yang immediately objected. “The Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace is extremely important. It concerns the safety of the entire city. Furthermore, it must screen cultivators to determine whether they have been possessed. Confirming this is extremely difficult! Ten Thousand Shadows has always done this job quite well.”

“But Luo Feng can do it better,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said. “Today he captured fifteen incarnations of the Bewitching Heart Worm because he possesses a secret technique that allows him to determine whether a cultivator has been possessed with just a distant glance.”

“How is that possible?”

Both Hall Master Wei Yang and Hall Master Gai Tao were surprised.

Such a powerful observation secret technique?

“If he truly has such a technique, wouldn’t it take him less than a day to examine the entire city?” Hall Master Wei Yang frowned. “Why let him become Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace?”

Hall Master Yuan Xiang smiled. “But he said that if he is to put in the effort to do the work, he has only one request—the position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace.”

“That is too greedy!” Hall Master Wei Yang said angrily.

Rainlan City frequently discovered infiltrators. Each round of screening generated terrifying cumulative income. Although the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft was responsible for the process, the largest portion of the income ultimately went to Hall Master Wei Yang.

Once this position was taken by Luo Feng, Hall Master Wei Yang would lose a continuous stream of income.

“He claims he excels at observation—does that mean he truly does?” Hall Master Wei Yang retorted. “Merely discovering fifteen incarnations of the Bewitching Heart Worm might have been due to some special circumstances.”

“Everything must prioritize the safety of Rainlan City,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said. “If his screening ability is stronger, let him take the position first. If he turns out to be all talk, we can remove him from the commander position later.”

“I have no objections,” Hall Master Gai Tao said.

“Then it is settled,” Hall Master Yuan Xiang said.

Hall Master Wei Yang felt extremely stifled upon hearing this.

Although Hall Master Yuan Xiang usually did not compete for power or profit, once he truly decided something, Wei Yang could not stop him.

After all, Hall Master Yuan Xiang was the City Founder and held the highest authority. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

……

Hall Master Wei Yang sat in his quiet chamber with an ugly expression.

He had long expected Luo Feng might pose some threat. He had even imagined that someday there might be a fourth hall master—Hall Master Luo Feng.

But the threat had come far too quickly.

“He has only been in Rainlan City for such a short time, and he is already seizing the position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace?” Hall Master Wei Yang was extremely displeased.

Most elders merely held the title of elder, responsible for their own defensive systems and receiving a fixed share of income.

The Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace, however, was a position with enormous benefits. Previously, Hall Master Yuan Xiang had not contested it and had left it to the faction of Hall Master Wei Yang.

“Ten Thousand Shadows!” Hall Master Wei Yang transmitted directly.

“Hall Master.” The projection of a middle-aged man appeared beside him.

“Your position as Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace has been taken,” Hall Master Wei Yang said.

“What?” The Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft was stunned. The income from this position was extremely high. Anyone captured and brought into the Sky Patrol Palace would not leave alive unless they had been squeezed completely dry.

“It was decided by Hall Master Yuan Xiang. I could not stop it,” Hall Master Wei Yang shook his head.

“Who is the new commander?” the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft asked.

“That Luo Feng,” Hall Master Wei Yang said.

“Him?” The Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft frowned. “Earlier he suppressed the Insect Nest faction. It was already clear that Luo Feng was not someone content with mediocrity. I didn’t expect that his first move would be to take my position as Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace. Hall Master, are we just going to let him take it?”

“I cannot persuade Hall Master Yuan Xiang,” Hall Master Wei Yang said. “Help me invite Luo Feng. Invite him to my cave dwelling. I will meet him personally. If he voluntarily gives up the commander position, Hall Master Yuan Xiang will have nothing to say.”

“Understood,” the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft nodded.

Neither Hall Master Wei Yang nor the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft was willing to give up such a continuous and enormous source of income.

……

Core region of Rainlan City — Sky Patrol Palace.

This was the military camp for numerous patrol teams and guards, and also the place where prisoners were detained.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

One patrol team after another escorted large numbers of cultivators toward the Sky Patrol Palace. These were cultivators suspected of having contact with infiltrators.

The cultivators were all helpless. They had no way to resist and could only blame their own bad luck.

“Once we enter the Sky Patrol Palace, we’ll probably be squeezed dry,” the cultivators said bitterly as they were escorted inside and imprisoned separately.

Whoosh!

At this moment, Luo Feng also flew to the front of the Sky Patrol Palace.

“Brother Luo Feng.” A middle-aged man approached with a group of subordinates. The man was the most commonly seen appearance of the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft.

“Ten Thousand Shadows.” Luo Feng looked at him.

In Luo Feng’s heart, he despised the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft. Such individuals were scum among cultivators. With Luo Feng’s temperament, they should all be killed.

“I have already received orders to carry out the transfer of duties with Brother Luo Feng,” the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft said with a smile, noticing Luo Feng’s unfriendly attitude but not caring. “The position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace carries great responsibility. Brother Luo Feng will need to put in considerable effort.”

“I understand,” Luo Feng replied.

“There is also another important matter,” the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft said with a smile. “Hall Master Wei Yang specifically asked me to invite Brother Luo Feng to his cave dwelling for a meeting. Shall we go now?”

“Hall Master Wei Yang is inviting me?” Luo Feng thought.

The position of Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace was probably a very important piece of “meat” for Hall Master Wei Yang’s faction. His attempt to seize it likely made Wei Yang unwilling.

In their eyes it was a piece of meat. But Luo Feng had no intention of squeezing the tens of thousands of cultivators.

“I have just taken office today and have many affairs to handle. There are still tens of thousands of cultivators waiting to be screened,” Luo Feng said. “Once I finish my duties, I will naturally visit Hall Master Wei Yang.”

“Luo Feng.”

The figure of the Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft flickered and blocked Luo Feng’s path.

“You intend to make Hall Master Wei Yang wait for you?”

“Don’t block my way!”

Luo Feng’s gaze turned cold.

“This is the Sky Patrol Palace. Are you going to fight me here—the Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace?”

The surrounding patrol teams were somewhat stunned, but no matter what happened, they would certainly stand on the side of the new commander.

“Good. Very good.” The Master of the Ten Thousand Shadows Loft smiled faintly. “Everything you said will be conveyed to Hall Master Wei Yang.”

His figure turned illusory and disappeared.

Luo Feng sneered slightly and flew toward the main gate of the Sky Patrol Palace.

The guards at the main gate had long been waiting. When Luo Feng approached, they all respectfully bowed.

“Commander!”