I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 561: The Appearance of the White Lotus Sect
"The Scarlet Lotus Assassin also only knows the Master of the White Lotus Sect is in White Pagoda City. Searching for a needle in a haystack is obviously not feasible, so we might just have to lure the snake out of its hole," Yu Ruoyun said ominously, playing with the hair near her ear. "We should create a case to attract the Master of the White Lotus Sect to act, and immediately gather all information on the Scarlet Lotus Assassin, especially their detailed methods used in the crimes."
Since the battle with the evil spirit, everything in Cloud Sea had seemed to calm down. There were no incidents of Star Martial Warriors disappearing, nor any other disturbances. However, just ten days later, another major case occurred that not only alarmed the Tianjian Bureau but left the citizens of Cloud Sea dumbstruck.
"It was five o’clock in the afternoon, Capital time. A post office in White Pagoda City, Cloud Sea Province, had just finished tallying deposits for transport to the Cloud Sea headquarters. Suddenly, a mysterious individual dressed in red appeared and robbed the armored vehicle.
At present, the police and the Tianjian Bureau are fully pursuing the fugitive. We hope that the general public will be cautious when going out, try not to go out at night if possible, and if there is any clue about the suspect, please call the task force hotline..."
The efficient program host on the TV was quickly rattling off the news report. The father and daughter who were eating suddenly stopped their movements in unison.
The red figure in the video was surrounded by red steam that seemed to concentrate like blood Qi. Their fleeting and incisively unmatched sword skill, along with the characteristic traces left at the scene, all made the expressions of the father and daughter a bit peculiar.
"Dad..."
"Eat your food!" the middle-aged man said in a deep voice, burying his head in his meal, although his thoughts had already drifted off. This was just the beginning!
The figure in red struck again. If the first robbery of the cash transport vehicle was perhaps for money, then the second day’s actions were purely for destruction. After breaking into a supermarket, they set fire to it?
Moreover, this supermarket wasn’t well-known. Most citizens weren’t even aware of it. Even local residents couldn’t remember if such a supermarket existed nearby. In the following days, this continuously offending red figure became the topic of conversation among the citizens.
White Pagoda City Third Middle School was a three-star middle school, an ordinary institution located in a county-level city within White Pagoda City.
"Mr. Zhang, I heard you live near White Electricity Town?" A middle-aged female teacher approached Mr. Zhang’s desk and asked softly. This woman wasn’t extremely beautiful, but she was decently attractive, scoring around seventy to eighty points. She exuded a mature aura, her body gracefully curved. A red dress perfectly outlined her proud figure.
The female teacher had been divorced for five years. It was obvious to anyone who wasn’t blind that she was interested in Mr. Zhang. But over the years, Mr. Zhang had been as unresponsive as wood, completely ignoring her subtle hints.
"Hmm," Mr. Zhang responded softly, his pen swiftly grading the students’ homework.
"Yesterday, that Scarlet Lotus Assassin committed another crime, right in White Electricity Town. Do you know anything about it?"
"Not very clear. I just heard police sirens in the middle of the night. You better not worry about that Scarlet Lotus Assassin. Stay at home after work; don’t go out. This Scarlet Lotus Assassin... might be a madman."
"Staying at home is even more frightening; I’m alone at my place..." the female teacher hinted with effort.
"But you live in a residential area, with neighbors all around. If anything happens, just shout, and someone will come to help. It’s best not to go out these days unless necessary; it’s not safe."
"Mr. Zhang, the principal said that next semester, I will be teaming up with you for classes."
"Oh, that’s fine!" Throughout the conversation, Mr. Zhang was unromantic, keeping his head down and grading homework. The female teacher turned with some disappointment and walked away in her high heels.
Behind Mr. Zhang, a male teacher with a receding hairline finally raised his head and let out a long sigh at her retreating figure. "Zhang, what are you really thinking?"
"Thinking about what?" Mr. Zhang looked up, puzzled.
"The whole school basically knows Mr. Liu likes you. Don’t tell me you don’t know! What are you thinking? Your wife has been gone for more than ten years. Isn’t it lonely raising your daughter by yourself? I think Mr. Liu is decent. She knows how to take care of people. And since her divorce five years ago, she hasn’t been involved with anyone. She’s a respectable woman."
"Don’t talk nonsense," Mr. Zhang said in a low voice, stopping his pen and looking up.
"I think you’re playing dumb. Do you need her to come and confess directly before you stop pretending? If you’re worried about your daughter’s opinion, Mr. Liu is her homeroom teacher, and they get along well."
"It’s not...not for that reason. I can’t hurt her," Mr. Zhang said with a bitter smile, lowering his head to continue grading papers.
"Mao Mao!" A studious-looking girl stopped writing and looked up at her deskmate.
"Huh?"
"About that Scarlet Lotus Assassin lately... isn’t your dad the police chief? Are there no leads?"
"I have no idea. My dad hasn’t been home for four days. I heard the Tianjian Bureau is taking the lead in the arrest. I don’t know what the Scarlet Lotus Assassin’s background is; even the Tianjian Bureau can’t handle him," the girl named Mao Mao said, looking quite put out.
"Tong Tong, just stay at home after you get back and don’t go out. This Scarlet Lotus Assassin is a maniac, completely unpredictable. If this keeps up, the school might have to close."
"Really?" Behind them, a boy who had been eavesdropping perked up, his eyes shining. School might close? Scarlet Lotus Assassin, you’re a good person!
Zhang Xiaotong turned her head and gave a disdainful glance to the two boys.
As dusk approached, a blaze shot up into the sky. The screeching sound of police sirens tore through the heavens.
"Second team, pay attention, flank from the southeast!"
"Third team, pay attention, flank from the northeast! This time we must catch that bastard!"
"Understood!"
Within the blazing flames, a slender figure slowly walked out, back to the fire. Hearing the police sirens, the red-clothed figure paused slightly, then dashed into the sky, landing atop a streetlamp. Then, with agile leaps, they vanished from view at the end of the line of sight.
"Scarlet Lotus Assassin, you are surrounded. Please surrender peacefully," an agent from the Tianjian Bureau said. They were by the man-made lake in the park, five special agents encircling the figure in red. Star Power surged around each agent, their bodies on full alert as they stared down the red-clothed person.
Suddenly, the red-clothed figure moved, emitting a blazing wave of red energy and swiftly charging toward one of the agents. With one punch, a Tianjian Bureau expert was sent flying.
"Attack!"
Moving like fleeting shadows under the moon, in mere seconds, all five Tianjian Bureau experts were downed by the red-clothed figure. The red-clothed person slowly walked ashore and turned to look at the five unconscious agents behind them, a cold smile curling at the corner of their mouth.
The figure rose and fell, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared into the dense forest.
The red-clothed person ventured further off the beaten path, soon arriving at a seldom-frequented location. The lights of the distant city and the dense forest they were in seemed like different worlds.
The red-clothed figure suddenly came to a halt. "Come out."
The voice was hoarse yet magnetic, giving no indication of gender. A rustling in the underbrush followed, and a girl dressed in a school uniform slowly emerged from the bushes.
"Little sister, why are you following me? Don’t you know that being with me could get you killed?"
BOOM—
Suddenly, a dazzling white light shone from the girl’s forehead. Within the white light, the mark of a blooming white lotus appeared on her brow. Star Power solidified around her, similar to when Wang Lan activated his Phoenix Form or Yu Ruoyun her Dragon Emperor Form.
The solidified Star Power instantly gathered into a lotus platform with sixteen petals unfolding, each one a sharp Sword Qi.
In a flash, the Sword Qi from the lotus platform shot out, instantly reaching the red-clothed person. The red-clothed figure retaliated with a Star Martial Skill, but the power of the lotus platform was unexpectedly immense.
Each strand of Sword Qi was equivalent to a full-force strike from a Star Martial Warrior at the Star Sea Stage, every attack pushing the red-clothed figure back.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM— The surrounding trees exploded into fragments, creating a thick fog of debris. The red-clothed person had barely withstood this barrage when suddenly a figure broke through the darkness and rushed forth.
Surrounded by a white glow, the girl seemed to transform into an ethereal sprite dancing in the night. Her speed was beyond what the red-clothed person had anticipated.
However, as strong as the girl was, the red-clothed figure was stronger. No matter how she attacked, her blows were effortlessly deflected. As the fight progressed, the red-clothed figure gradually grasped the girl’s combat rhythm. In the instant the girl threw a punch, the figure snatched her pale wrist.
"How old are you?" a gentle female voice asked, causing the girl’s eyes to widen in shock.
Yu Ruoyun slowly removed her hood, revealing the exquisitely beautiful face beneath. Looking at Yu Ruoyun, the girl’s face turned white before swiftly shifting to a ghastly pallor.
Breaking free from Yu Ruoyun’s grasp, the girl instantly flickered, about to flee. But after barely taking a step, she had to stop.
A man and a woman appeared to her left and right, and behind her was the woman whose strength far surpassed her own. The girl realized that escape was impossible.
"Don’t be afraid. We are from the Tianjian Bureau."
"So the Scarlet Lotus Assassin has been a ruse these past few days? Your objective was to lure me into a trap?" the girl asked with sorrow and anger.
"Can you tell me now how old you are?" Yu Ruoyun asked again. She was more interested in the girl’s age than confirming if she was the Master of the White Lotus Sect.
Looking merely sixteen or seventeen, yet at the Galaxy Stage Star Martial level and possessing the formidable combat power of a late-stage Star Sea Stage expert—is she even human?
"Seventeen!" the girl hesitated for a moment but finally answered.
"A seventeen-year-old at mid-Galaxy Stage with late Star Sea Stage combat power... Jade Country has produced a peerless genius far surpassing our own, and the state is oblivious? Something is terribly wrong here!" Wang Lan was also startled. Such a Demon was entirely unknown to him.
"It’s not their fault. My... my information isn’t in the Star Martial Warrior database," the girl said, knowing escape was futile. Since they were from the Tianjian Bureau, she stopped resisting. The Tianjian Bureau had found her; it would only be a matter of time before they found her father as well.
"My data only shows an ordinary person without any Star Martial talent."
"How did you manage that? The country does not allow any Star Martial Warrior to go unnoticed."
"I possess a Cultivation Technique that can conceal Star Energy Fluctuations. Detection by equipment alone would show me as just an ordinary person. Officers, after going to so much trouble, what do you want with me?"
"Are you the Sect Master of the White Lotus Sect?"
"Not yet."
WHOOSH—
While they spoke, around a dozen more Tianjian Bureau special agents gathered around them. Seeing this deployment, the girl’s expression changed slightly. With such treatment, I might as well be a heinous criminal, Zhang Xiaotong thought.
