This Earth Is A Bit Fearsome

A glint could be seen in Ming Yueyao’s eyes. She, too, was shocked. If it had not been for the assault by the Song Clan, she would have had no idea that Lu Xuan had a National Guardian level subordinate serving him.

 It seemed that National Guardian level cultivators were no longer the top-of-the-line fighters, but nonetheless, she and the abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple had been the only two National Guardians found throughout the entirety of Min Province before the incident.

 While the number of National Guardians was not as low as that of Deities at present, they were still considered a pinnacle fighting force at the provincial level.

 Such beings would even be considered national level fighters in some small countries overseas.

 Despite not being the most powerful force around, National Guardians were still, without doubt, the best to be found on a regional level. Those cultivators were easily capable of making a name for themselves, and it would be easy for them to sit alongside presidents of some smaller countries out there. If they were to join the Special Task Force, their capabilities could have made them Chiefs at provincial levels.

 Yet one such person was actually willing to serve as Lu Xuan’s subordinate and watch over his home for him.

 She was utterly astonished by the abilities that Lu Xuan displayed. To begin with, there was no way she would be willing to watch over a place as a security guard. That was something she saw as belittling to someone of her caliber.

 All of that piqued her interest in Lu Xuan even more. He was definitely more than just a common man. Although he had been born in an ordinary family, it was entirely possible that he’d acquired some type of ancient legacy from somewhere.

 Only those possessing such legacies could have enabled their descendants to have guards and subordinates of such levels serving them, after all.

 It was apparent to Ming Yueyao that Zhang Hongyang had become Lu Xuan’s bodyguard.

 He was tasked with providing protection during Lu Xuan’s downtime.

 She was unable to imagine any other possibilities that could explain what she had come to know about Lu Xuan.

 Lu Xuan nodded and did not say anything more. In her eyes, a National Guardian bodyguard was probably hardly worth mentioning to the likes of Lu Xuan.

 “Mr. Lu, our big boss has mobilized our men to interrogate the Song Clan. They will need to pay a hefty price if they are unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for what they have done,” Ming Yueyao elaborated.

 The last few hours had been sufficient time to allow the Special Task Force to gather ample intelligence regarding what had happened at Mount Qingyun, and they were furious when they learned what had happened up there.

 The battle between Lu Xuan and Song Lingfeng was considered an internal affair among the cultivators, so the Special Task Force would not have interfered without good reason.

 However, the inclusion of modified helicopters armed with weapons like rocket launchers far exceeded the Special Task Force’s limit of tolerance.

 Battles between cultivators were usually events with limited influence and effect. If it were common for them to make use of heavy weapons in fights like the ones used today, the country at large would have been thrown into a chaotic state in no time.

 That was something that the Special Task Force found utterly intolerable.

 Furthermore, the Song Clan had actually sent someone to assault someone under the protection of the Special Task Force elites, so what they’d done only infuriated the Special Task Force even more. If anyone could simply assault someone under the Special Task Force’s protection and get away with it, the load on the agency’s shoulders would only grow heavier in the future.

 They all knew all too well that while one was easily able to pick thievery as a career, there was no way one could constantly stay on guard against thieves for prolonged periods.

 Lu Xuan took one look at Ming Yueyao and knew what the Special Task Force intended to do—they were out to assert their rules and make an example out of anyone who broke them. However, that was far less than the result deemed acceptable by Lu Xuan.

 “There’s no need for that. I’ll settle the score on my own,” Lu Xuan answered plainly. “I don’t care about whatever they want to do to me personally, but attacking my family, well… I will make sure they regret what they did.”

 Ming Yueyao took a cautious look at Lu Xuan and felt her breath quicken slightly. She understood what was going on in his head at the moment—he was going to assert his dominance, and he was apparently unsatisfied with how the Special Task Force was planning to take care of things.

 “Mr. Lu, the big boss would like to see you,” Ming Yueyao said, looking at Lu Xuan.

 The big boss had been keeping an eye on Lu Xuan already, and at the moment, it had become clear that Lu Xuan was someone who was the big boss’s equal in terms of power.

 It became especially clear after she’d read the report she had received not long ago. The way Lu Xuan shot the modified helicopters down piqued the interests of many of the Special Task Force’s scientists.

 Preliminary assessments suggested that the gun which Lu Xuan carried was nothing special; the rounds fired were what was truly remarkable. There was no way conventional rounds could shoot down such armed helicopters like that, after all.

 Those rounds might very possibly have been modified, and not through scientific means: they were probably modified using cultivation.

 That was the direction the Special Task Force’s research was taking at the moment, and what Lu Xuan had pulled had no doubt given them a whole new direction to explore.

 If they could obtain the methods with which Lu Xuan had modified his ammunition, there was no doubt that the Special Task Force would end up adding yet another trump card to their arsenal.

 Such a trump card would allow any conventional sharpshooter in the Special Task Force to take on the likes of Martial Arts Legends and even to pose a serious threat to cultivators at the National Guardian level.

 The status of the Special Task Force would be greatly improved by that.

 “Why would he want to see me out of the blue like this? He’s out to get my runic ammunition, isn’t he?” Lu Xuan said with a faint grin.

 He knew something like that would happen sooner or later from the very moment he’d pulled out the gun, and he was long since ready for it.

 “That is probably one of the reasons. But then again, you are a consultant of the Special Task Force, so it only makes sense that the big boss wants to see you.”

 Ming Yueyao smiled, well aware that Lu Xuan could see right through her.

 However, she chose to acknowledge his speculations instead of evading them.

 Lu Xuan then replied, “I have no time to see him now. But I’d be willing to consider giving you guys the information on how to make runic ammunition.”

 Ming Yueyao was elated to hear that. She answered right away, “Mr. Lu, if you’re willing to hand over the method of crafting of the runic ammunition, we’d be happy to fulfill any requirement you might put forth.”

 “What I require from you all is simple. I know that you acquired several huge bronze pillars a while ago. Four pillars with the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise carved onto them, am I correct? I want those four pillars and 1000 pieces of spirit stone.” Lu Xuan listed his requirements slowly.

 “How did you find out about the bronze pillars?” Ming Yueyao’s eyes were wide. The existence of those pillars was classified information, accessible to only a select few within the Special Task Force. The Special Task Force had happened upon them in some ruins in their early days, but they had never been able to figure out what use the pillars served or how to use them.

 They had basically been sealed within the Special Task Force’s vaults since they were found. Few knew about the pillars to begin with; even a higher-up in the agency like herself had only come to know that such items were locked in the vaults by chance.

 The very fact of Lu Xuan demanding the pillars meant that it was entirely possible that he knew the secrets of those four pillars. That made her twitch a bit, but she came to her senses soon enough. Lu Xuan was the one that held the key to the pillars’ secrets. No one would be able to make him divulge said secrets if he didn’t want to do so.

 Then again, given how the pillars were simply sitting around and collecting dust in their vaults, she believed that the big boss would not refuse such a request.