Chapter 271: The Fox Woman A-Li

She had been born into the Ye family. However, her mother was merely the daughter of a small merchant, so she had been forced to marry into the Ye family. She wasn’t a wife and was merely a concubine without a proper title. In fact, she was treated worse than a concubine. She was nothing more than a tool to serve and satisfy the men.

Since she was born a girl, her own father almost threw her into a manure pit to drown. It was her mother who had jumped into the pit to save her. Until Ye Liuying was six years old, her life in the Ye family was a living nightmare.

It was only when she secretly listened to the teachers outside the family school and began teaching herself martial arts that she finally showed extraordinary talent in martial arts and earned the right to study. She cherished the opportunity to cultivate and train because becoming stronger was her only way out. She trained hard to nurture her energy, break through barriers, unlock her meridians, and expand her pathways.

By the time she was eighteen, she was the youngest ever to reach the peak of the Meridian Expanding Realm in Liuhe Base City’s history. It was only then that the Ye family’s patriarch began to value her greatly. She was sent to a prestigious university to further her studies. However, when she returned home during her first winter break, she was greeted by a horrifying scene. Her mother was being humiliated by Ye Liushuang, the son of that man, along with other members of the family.

In the bitter cold of winter, her elderly mother, starving to the bone, had been beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, and was being forced to eat excrement. In that moment, she erupted. Her killing intent soared to the heavens. If it hadn’t been for the family’s guards desperately trying to stop her, and the elders arriving just in time, Ye Liushuang would have died that day.

She drew her sword and severed the hand of the man who didn’t even deserve to be called her father. Then, she took her mother and left the Ye family. After that incident, Ye Liuying’s cultivation surged, and she broke through to the Five Spirits Realm in one leap. She remained the youngest person in Liuhe Base City’s history to reach the Five Spirits Realm.

She didn’t return to school. Instead, she chose to join the city's military garrison. She hunted star beasts as she honed her martial skills. Later, her frail and sickly mother passed away peacefully from old age. Ye Liuying publicly declared that from then on, she had no further ties with the Ye family. She became an outlier in the military camp as she spent her days killing or cultivating.

Her title as the Goddess spread far and wide, striking fear in all directions. Yet, her life grew increasingly monotonous. There was only one person she could truly call a friend or family member. Now, the Ye family was no more. Ye Liuying stood before the ruins and ashes of the ancestral estate, her calm and indifferent gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar scene.

There wasn’t the slightest thought of revenge in her heart. The reason she had come here was perhaps only to say a final goodbye. After all, this was where her mother had once lived.

The fire had completely burned away the past and cleansed this place of sin. It had also incinerated the nightmare-like memories.

Ye Liuying took a deep breath as the powerful starforce qi within her body surged within her. The bottleneck in her cultivation realm, which had troubled her for so long, suddenly collapsed like a cracked dam. Her realm pressure surged higher and higher until a pillar starforce qi shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption in the night.

In that moment, countless martial experts across the city felt an indescribable sense of dread.

Someone had broken through a realm!

Who, in this time of chaos in Liuhe Base City, managed to achieve such a breakthrough in their cultivation?

Could it be the mysterious Ghost Slayer Zhong Kui?!

***

At the same time, three hundred miles southeast of the base city. Kuramaki Kazuki stood atop the head of a massive power mech in the wilderness, gazing into the distance toward Liuhe Base City.

In the darkness of the night, the mountains stood tall and majestic and the earth seemed vast and boundless.

What a beautiful and vibrant land this is. The weaklings of Great Xia do not deserve to possess such a vast territory. The Ye family—what a bunch of fools. Despite the Empire’s support, they were wiped out in such a short time.

“Ghost Slayer Zhong Kui? Heh, is this Great Xia's official response?” A cold smile appeared on Kuramaki Kazuki’s face. “Sending elite assassins to eliminate the Ye family... what a petty and underhanded tactic.”

A platoon of power armor units stood concealed behind the towering, twenty-meter-tall power mech. This was the power armor platoon of the Jiepeng Empire, consisting of one power mech and five combat squads. Each squad was composed of five power armor units, and as such a full platoon contained twenty power armor units in total. All of them were elite warriors of the Jiepeng Empire.

Every power armor squad worked in perfect coordination. They had a minimum combat capability equal to the Five Spirits Realm and were capable of slaughtering a Five Spirits Realm expert. However, this power armor platoon was surrounded by an endless tide of star beasts.

One of the star beasts, its body glowing with a deep blue energy, was called the Mother of Fissures. Although it was only a grade four star beast and looked like a chubby ball with no combat ability, it possessed a unique ability: concealment.

It could create false spatial fissures, shielding the area from all forms of surveillance and detection. With the help of the Mother of Fissures, the Jiepeng Empire’s combat platoon remained completely undetectable within Great Xia’s borders.

“If the foolish Ye family can’t be relied on, then we’ll have to take Liuhe Base City in the way of Jiepeng warriors,” Kuramaki Kazuki’s face hardened with resolve.

At that moment, he suddenly felt the overwhelming surge of energy from a breakthrough happening within Liuhe Base City. The expression of the old warrior from Jiepeng shifted slightly.

“Breaking through the Fifth Spirit and condensing the Golden Body!” He exclaimed as he abruptly straightened, his face filled with shock. “Who is it?”

If a Golden Body Realm expert emerged in Liuhe Base City, it would pose a significant threat to Jiepeng Empire's upcoming plans. In the distance, a soft, eerie fox call echoed through the air. A tall, graceful figure with terrifyingly flawless skin emerged from the waves of star beasts. The half-naked fox woman floated effortlessly above the ground, slowly making her way forward.

“Miss A-Li,” Kuramaki Kazuki greeted her solemnly.

The fox woman’s face was breathtakingly beautiful. It was like she had been crafted by the hands of a divine creator. Her figure was equally perfect, with long, shapely legs, a slender, snow-white waist, and full, firm breasts. She wore nothing, yet her modesty was preserved by her soft, snow-white fox tails, enhancing her extraordinary beauty and allure.

“Mr. Kuramaki, our progress is slow, and our leader is very displeased.” Her voice carried a seductive tone that could soften one’s very bones. “We lost the Bull Demon, but we haven't obtained what we wanted. You Jiepeng people need to provide a reasonable explanation.”

Kuramaki Kazuki immediately bowed in apology. “I’m sorry, Miss A-Li. This time, our plan was indeed lacking, and an unexpected turn of events occurred. However, please trust in the sincerity of the Jiepeng Empire. As compensation, we are willing to offer one hundred more vials of bloodline serum and the manufacturing technology for power weapons.”

A-Li giggled, a sound both charming and dangerous. “Such compensation, Mr. Kuramaki, surely comes with more demands, doesn’t it?”

She licked her plump, rosy lips, her smile filled with seductive charm.

Kuramaki Kazuki, ever polite, replied, “Yes. We hope that Miss A-Li will personally infiltrate Liuhe Base City to investigate the true identity of both Ghost Slayer Zhong Kui and the person who just broke through. If possible, we’d also like you to kill Li Xiaofei.”

“And why do you think I can kill someone like Li Xiaofei, a young Five Spirits Realm expert?”

“In this world, as long as they are men, no one can resist your methods, Miss A-Li.”

She giggled again. “Two hundred vials of bloodline serum.”

“Deal.”

***

The next morning, snow mixed with rain, and the temperature was twelve degrees below zero. Breath turned to mist in the cold air.

Amid the sound of mourning music, the memorial service for the fallen officer, Su Yuke, was underway at the Police Department in Congtai District. Aside from her colleagues from the Police Department, some citizens who had been helped by the young officer braved the freezing weather to come and pay their respects.

Su Yuke’s family wept uncontrollably in the mourning hall, fainting several times from grief. City leader Tan Zhenwei, along with officials from various government agencies, arrived to pay their respects in front of her portrait. The atmosphere was solemn and tragic.

Suddenly, the screeching sound of brakes rang out as an armored vehicle from the Star Council appeared outside the hall. Zhen Jiahui, leading a group of fully armed soldiers, entered the mourning hall, bringing a biting cold wind.

“Who here is Su Yuke’s family? Come with us,” barked Zhen Jiahui as his gaze swept across the room.