Dazzling flames erupted from all over the Jingmao Warehouse. With no timely warning, the fire was already unstoppable by the time it was discovered. The intense blaze completely engulfed every corner of the warehouse, staining the dark night sky a pale red.

Soon, the city guard arrived, cordoned off the scene, and organized a firefighting effort.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xuanqi stood in the shadows, quietly watching the Jingmao Warehouse burn fiercely as he listened to the surrounding shouts and firefighting efforts.

Unfortunately, the inferno was already too intense to be extinguished. The firefighters could only clear a firebreak around the Jingmao Warehouse to keep the savage flames from spreading, waiting for the fire to burn itself out.

The fire raged for the better part of the night, and Zhao Xuanqi watched from the darkness for just as long. Only when the flames began to subside, revealing the charred devastation within the Jingmao Warehouse, did he turn and leave with Shanghai Mountain and the others.

「Meanwhile.」

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Director Pete was fast asleep when he was jolted awake by the urgent knocking of a subordinate at his door.

"You’d better have a good explanation for this!!"

With his hair in disarray, Director Pete, who had been abruptly woken from a deep sleep, roared at his subordinate like an enraged lion.

"Director, the Jingmao Warehouse is on fire..."

the subordinate said in a low voice.

"The Jingmao Warehouse is on fire? What the hell is Yan Pingchuan doing? He can’t even manage a single warehouse? Tell him to come see me tomorrow."

Director Pete rubbed the bridge of his nose and said with annoyance, ’Was it really necessary to bother me with such a trivial matter?’

"Yan Pingchuan... is likely already dead."

The subordinate hesitated for a moment before replying to Director Pete.

"What?"

Hearing this, the last vestiges of sleep vanished from Director Pete’s mind. He was wide awake now, realizing something was terribly wrong.

"What exactly happened?"

he asked his subordinate, his voice grave.

The subordinate then reported all the information he had received, holding nothing back.

After hearing the full report, a muscle in Director Pete’s face began to twitch.

’The Jingmao Warehouse burned down, an uncontrollable inferno. Everyone stationed there—including Yan Pingchuan, three Cross-Training masters, and a host of other experts—was unreachable. Were they all presumed to have perished in the sea of flames?!!’

Director Pete shot to his feet.

’Absurd! This is simply absurd!’

’If it were just a simple fire, how could not a single person have escaped? How could even Cross-Training masters be trapped and killed inside?’

’Someone must have killed everyone in the warehouse first and then set the fire!’

’The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall!’

’Only the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall had the motive and the means to do this.’

"Do everything you can to put out that fire! No matter what, I want to see bodies! Record everything at the scene!!"

Director Pete said through gritted teeth.

’He had spent a great deal of effort propping up factions like the Jingmao Trading Company. He couldn’t just swallow such a massive, inexplicable loss. If he had evidence, he could apply pressure through official channels. He might even be able to turn this disadvantage into an opportunity!’

"It’s too late, Director Pete. The fire was discovered too late and it’s too large; there’s no way to get in. The Celestial Sea Prefecture authorities have already organized people to clear a firebreak. All we can do is wait for the fire to die down on its own."

the subordinate said helplessly.

Instantly, Director Pete’s breathing grew heavy. He couldn’t fathom who in all of Celestial Sea Prefecture could have killed Yan Pingchuan—a man of his skills—inside the Jingmao Warehouse, and wiped out the entire garrison besides.

"Use every connection we have. I want to know who from the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall did this!"

...

...

「The next day.」 News of the fire at the Jingmao Warehouse spread like wildfire throughout Celestial Sea Prefecture.

The headquarters of the Jingmao Trading Company had burned down.

The president of the Jingmao Trading Company, three Cross-Training masters, and a host of other experts had all perished in the inferno. There were no survivors.

Nearly everything inside the company grounds was reduced to ash, making it nearly impossible to determine what had happened before the fire.

The news sent a shockwave through the public.

For some time now, the Jingmao Trading Company had been in ascendance in the Upper River District, aggressively expanding its territory. But now, even its headquarters had been destroyed, and its president couldn’t escape.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was far too suspicious. What kind of fire could trap and kill even masters at the Cross-Training level, leaving them no chance to escape?

There was only one possibility: all the experts stationed at the Jingmao Warehouse were already dead before the fire even started!

Murder to silence them, followed by a fire to destroy the evidence!

Such ruthless methods sent a chill down everyone’s spine and made their skin crawl. People could only speculate who was behind it.

"It must have been the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall. I knew it! With their power, there was no way they’d let the Jingmao Trading Company just shit all over them. I just didn’t expect that when they finally made a move, it would be this vicious!"

"I heard that Yan Pingchuan, the president of the Jingmao Chamber of Commerce, was an expert secretly cultivated by the Jili Empire. His strength was on par with a master of a Martial Arts Hall’s True Inheritance, and he could hold his own in a direct confrontation with Liu Changfeng of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall. Who in Celestial Sea Prefecture has the ability to do something like this at the Jingmao Chamber of Commerce headquarters, surrounded by so many experts, without a sound? Remember, not a single person was left alive at the entire Jingmao Warehouse! How much power would that take? Could it be that Weng Xiaolin himself acted?"

"How old is Weng Xiaolin now? His Qi and Blood are in decline; it’s debatable if he’s even stronger than Liu Changfeng anymore. It’s more likely Liu Changfeng acted personally. Could it be he had another breakthrough? We should probably work on our relationship with the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall."

"Just watch. There’s no way this is over. Let’s see what happens next."

"..."

Everyone was discussing the same shocking question: who was responsible for the Jingmao Warehouse incident?

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a trading company under the Jili Empire issued a statement, publishing a public condemnation in the newspapers. They accused the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall of disregarding the law, committing murder and robbery, and carrying out arson, which resulted in the destruction of a shipment of their valuable goods at the Jingmao Warehouse.

Following that, the major trading companies of the Jili Empire all began to denounce the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall. Finally, even Director Pete of the Jili Empire publicly demanded that the Celestial Sea Prefecture government hold the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall accountable and that they hand over the culprits behind the Jingmao Warehouse tragedy—the Wind Shadow Hall Master and his subordinates.

Of course, the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall refused to admit anything. Because of the fire, there were no survivors, and the Jili Empire could not produce any conclusive evidence pointing to the martial hall.

The two sides began a power struggle, each leveraging their official resources. The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall utilized the connections of Weng Xiaolin himself, the Luo Family, and Senior Brother Zhang Hongyun. On the other hand, the government officials didn’t want to see the Jili Empire go too far, and with no critical evidence, they decided to turn a blind eye.

As for the price paid during this struggle, Zhao Xuanqi wasn’t particularly concerned.

The power struggle ended in a stalemate, but a key name began to circulate throughout Celestial Sea Prefecture.

The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall’s Wind Shadow Hall!

Although there was no conclusive evidence, everyone knew that the likely perpetrator of the Jingmao Warehouse massacre was the Wind Shadow Hall!