Chapter 135: Junior Brother and Senior Sister

Mu Wanxuan had dragged along Mou Yue and Bulldozer, who were originally supposed to head straight for Mount Sanqing, to pick up Wang Sheng. Perhaps she knew that Wang Sheng would be feeling troubled over the attack on the Wudang Mountains and Zhou Yinglong's severe injuries.

Having not seen each other for over two years, Wang Sheng had thought there would be a slight sense of unfamiliarity between him and his senior sister. However, the moment he met her clear eyes, his heart instantly calmed down and brightened.

All distractions melted away into the pile of snacks.

"Senior Sister, did you prepare all of these to hand out as prizes to the winners?"

Mu Wanxuan snorted lightly, then smiled gleefully.

She casually grabbed a bag of potato chips and tore it open. With a light flick of her fingers, the chips floated around her. When she opened her small mouth, the chips flew in.

It turned out that in the past year or so, his senior sister had been diligently cultivating and had steadily broken through to the Illusory Core Realm just so she could control potato chips, jelly, and ice cream with her aura, freeing her hands to play on her phone while eating?

Wang Sheng sorted the snacks one by one, stacking them neatly behind the car seat to make it easier for Mu Wanxuan to reach them.

Then, as if offering a treasure, he pulled open his Daoist robe and training attire, revealing his still well-toned chest. After practicing swordplay for years, he had built up some decent muscle with good definition.

Mu Wanxuan blinked and leaned in to look closely.

Wang Sheng raised his left hand, formed a sword finger, and lightly flicked it. A faint ripple spread across his left chest, and the tip of a sword emerged from his skin, even wiggling playfully.

If the formation spirit saw what he was doing, he would probably leap out of the mountains and chase Wang Sheng for seven days and nights.

At first, Mu Wanxuan grew quite nervous, grabbing Wang Sheng's arm to check if a sword had pierced through his chest. Soon, though, she quickly realized that he was okay. She curiously examined it from left to right.

Wang Sheng had held back for so long without showing off his sword-imbued body during their video calls just to perform this "living sword trick" for her now. As streams of multicolored light flowed like water from his chest, slowly converging into a flying sword that radiated cold light, even Bulldozer, who was behind the wheel, could not help but keep glancing back with wide eyes.

Mu Wanxuan's jaw dropped slightly, her bright eyes gleaming as she gently poked the blade of the flying sword, feeling its sharpness.

"How is it?" Wang Sheng smiled proudly.

Mu Wanxuan pouted slightly and then stuck out her tongue at him. She fiddled with her phone for a moment and held it up in front of him.

Make one for me, too!

Wang Sheng felt torn. Leaving aside the fact that he had promised not to pass on the Sword-Controlling Art to anyone who wasn't part of the Shu Sword Sect, this immortal-grade flying sword had been nurtured for over a year and could not be easily given away.

Mu Wanxuan, being more considerate than she had been two years ago, quickly covered her phone screen when she noticed Wang Sheng's awkwardness. She blinked at him and gently pinched his cheek—her way of telling him that she was just joking and that he should not take it to heart.

Still, Wang Sheng made a mental note of her request. Although he could not teach her the Sword-Controlling Art, gathering materials to forge a sword core for her to play with would not be too difficult.

Among the gifts given by the Shu Mountains were many precious materials for forging flying swords. Wang Sheng had simply not touched them after obtaining the immortal-grade flying sword.

"After the Immortal Dao Conference, I'll head back to Wudang and work on it," Wang Sheng softly said. "A senior predecessor gave me this flying sword. I still can't forge a sword of this grade."

"

Mm!

" Mu Wanxuan smiled brightly, her little hand continuing to poke at the immortal-grade flying sword. Having one to play with was already good enough.

Wang Sheng turned to Mou Yue. "How is the Special Investigation Unit planning to handle the matter at the Wudang Mountains?"

"Same with the previous five stolen texts. However, since this case involves injured and killed cultivators, and the Wudang Mountains suffered much heavier losses, the investigation will be thorough. Everything must be based on evidence, though; we can't just immediately conclude that it was the work of the Yin-Yang Cult. That could lead to other corrupt cultivators slipping away."

After a sigh, she continued, "Corrupt cultivators have been growing in numbers over the past two years. We've been capturing as many as we can, but there's no end to them."

"That's actually inevitable. Cultivating through the internet is no longer a secret. Originally, many people had criminal intentions but lacked the courage. Internet cultivation just happens to trigger this part of them," Bulldozer commented. "Our definition of corrupt cultivators is fairly broad. Actually, for some minor cases involving low-level cultivators, letting the local police handle them would be fine."

Mou Yue rolled her eyes. "Go tell the captain that. Talking to me about it is useless."

Bulldozer chuckled awkwardly and focused on driving.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Wang Sheng looked at the urban scenery flashing past the window. Maybe because he had been in seclusion for so long, he felt a bit out of place in the mundane world.

In the first decade after the resurgence of primal qi, every year brought new changes. The cultivators' strength kept increasing, and the unstable factors within society also continued to rise day by day.

Cultivators who endangered the lives and interests of others to satisfy their personal desires would be labeled as corrupt cultivators. The Hua Republic's official crackdown on corrupt cultivators had never shown the slightest mercy.

"Daoist Master Wang, you do not need to worry too much about Daoist Master Zhou's injuries," said Mou Yue. "We have already consulted and sought the help of experts from the Medicine God Valley on behalf of the Wudang Mountains. Daoist Master Zhou will recover within two months at most."

"Okay," Wang Sheng responded. "While I'm down here, I would like to help more with dealing with the Yin-Yang Cult."

Mou Yue nodded and lowered her head to jot down a few notes in her notebook.

"

Mm...

" Mu Wanxuan, who was sitting beside him, lightly tugged on her junior brother. Wang Sheng turned his head and saw her shaking her phone gently. On the screen was a game of Chinese chess that had not yet begun.

Wang Sheng smiled and nodded, then started battling his senior sister over the phone.

After more than two years apart, it seemed that Mu Wanxuan's chess skills really had not improved much.

While Wang Sheng was pondering whether to capture his senior sister's rook or set a trap to take out both her knights, Mou Yue turned her head and winked at Mu Wanxuan. Mu Wanxuan pursed her lips helplessly.

Finally, after three rounds of chess, Wang Sheng casually asked, "Senior Sister, when did you buy a new phone?"

“Tadaa!”

Mu Wanxuan had been waiting for this moment. She placed one hand on Wang Sheng's shoulder, took a box out from her Crane-Spirit Treasure Pouch, and handed it to Wang Sheng.

It was a brand new smartphone, the same model as hers. On the front of the packaging were four characters in elegant calligraphy:

Happy Exit from Seclusion!

Wang Sheng sighed in relief. He had thought that his senior sister was about to demand something else. Now, he could not stop smiling as he carefully put the box away and began fiddling with his new phone.

Mu Wanxuan's first smartphone had been bought with the money that Wang Sheng earned by following Daoist masters from the Wudang Mountains on ritual performances.

Now, with his senior sister earning her own salary in the Special Investigation Unit, her needs for a better phone had risen. When she changed hers, she bought one for Wang Sheng as well.

There was no need for her to worry about Qing Yanzi and Chi Wen's devices. That was Chi Ling's job.

"Thank you so much!" Wang Sheng shouted in a northern accent.

Mu Wanxuan immediately covered her mouth and burst out laughing. The two played around in the backseat.

Still, even though he was very happy to be with his senior sister, Wang Sheng had not forgotten the important matters. While his senior sister was helping him transfer the files from his old phone, Wang Sheng discussed the Investigation Unit's upcoming "crocodile fishing" plan with Mou Yue.

The foundation of the plan was based on the assumption that the Yin-Yang Cult would be interested in the "ancient tablet."

Before the tournament preliminaries, there would be extensive publicity about the celestial tablets. They would have a helicopter openly transport a stone tablet into the rear of Mount Sanqing's main venue and assign people to guard it tightly.

The celestial tablet used was, of course, fake. However, as long as the Special Investigation Unit said it was real, it would naturally be treated as such.

Once the stone tablet was in place, they would announce that the top eight competitors of the Immortal Dao Conference would be granted the qualification to comprehend the tablet.

Based on the Special Investigation Unit's understanding of the Yin-Yang Cult, they were certain that the cult would make several preparations. At the very least, they would try to have someone infiltrate the competition and use any means necessary to secure a spot in the top eight. At the same time, they would prepare in the shadows to forcibly seize the tablet if their candidate failed.

When fishing for crocodiles, the bait had to be heavy, and the fishing line strong.

Throughout the tournament, the Special Investigation Unit would have to constantly engage in a battle of wits with the Yin-Yang Cult. They had to ensure that the enemy's planted candidate would not make it into the top eight while also forcing the cult to take action instead of retreating into hiding again.

"Our captain is personally handling the operation against the Yin-Yang Cult," Mou Yue said. "Our main task is to ensure the success of the Grand Tournament of the Immortal Dao."

Wang Sheng crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He still wanted to fight the corrupt cultivators head-on and vent the anger that had built up in his heart.

The Special Investigation Unit, which was more reliable now than two years ago, would handle the brainwork. If a large number of experts from the Yin-Yang Cult appeared, then Qing Yanzi and the Special Warfare Unit would take action. There would be no need for him to step in.

Wang Sheng could not help but ask, "Then, in this plan to deal with the Yin-Yang Cult, what can I do?"

Mou Yue chuckled lightly. In a serious tone, she replied, "At the critical moment, blow the black whistle[1]. You are the captain of the Referee Committee for the tournament. When you discover the candidates arranged by the Yin-Yang Cult, you must make sure to eliminate them. Do not let them reach the top eight, or the rest of our plan cannot proceed."

Bulldozer muttered, "Blow the black whistle openly? Wouldn’t that be unsportsmanlike?"

"What sportsmanship is there to honor with corrupt cultivators?" Mou Yue rolled her eyes. "Do you know how many resources and how much manpower it will cost to lure the Yin-Yang Cult out? How much risk we have to bear? Daoist Master Wang, you carry a great responsibility!"

Wang Sheng could only press his hand against his forehead.

Blow the black whistle...

It was quite a technical task. If done improperly, he could ruin his reputation and, in serious cases, have the entire cultivation world condemn him.

1. "Black whistle" is slang for being a corrupted or biased referee who intentionally makes unfair calls. ☜