Sage of Humanity

Outside Haotian City, the spirit ark soared through the sky.

The spirit ark was piloted by Xiao Xinghe, while Lu Ye sat cross-legged at the bow, with six tracking discs lined up in front of him, each shrouded with blood Qi, and each needle pointing in a different direction.

Lin Yinxiu watched in astonishment beside him: "Captain, where did you get so many tracking discs?"

In the previous two missions, Lu Ye completed them using tracking discs, which Lin Yinxiu had already found quite incredible, as these items are extremely rare. Using tracking discs to assist in missions seemed somewhat wasteful.

This time, it was even more excessive, as he used six tracking discs all at once.

The reserve of the various sects of the two major factions in Bingzhou combined probably doesn't have this many.

"I picked them up!" Lu Ye replied casually.

Items from the Hall of Battle Merits cannot disclose their origin and are only for personal use, a rule told to him by the gold and silver flood dragons the first time he entered.

Lin Yinxiu then asked innocently: "Where did you pick them up?" She displayed a hopeful expression as if she also wanted to find some.

Lu Ye really didn't want to bother with her; purchasing these six tracking discs from the Hall of Battle Merits cost him a large amount of battle merit, leaving him with just over twenty thousand.

Fortunately, he had just advanced to True Lake Level 5, and didn't need to use spirit fortune sticks for cultivation in the short term, reducing his urgent need for battle merits.

He closely monitored the changes of the needles on the six tracking discs before him.

Four hours later, under Lu Ye's direction, the spirit ark swept towards a certain direction.

Tracking discs trace people, and the squad of three took action to capture their targets, much more efficiently than before.

The only issue was these individuals were scattered across Bingzhou, taking some time to search for them.

Even so, within a mere ten days, five out of the six targets had already been captured, leaving only the last one named Zhou Wang.

The five people were now on the spirit ark; Lu Ye didn't treat them too harshly and even had no intention of binding them.

It could be said the five were completely free, except they couldn't leave the spirit ark.

Their cultivation levels were not very high, and they were sensible enough to stay docile since being captured, probably accepting their fate.

They knew that having committed wrongdoings, they would inevitably be targeted by the Law Enforcement Hall. They might evade for a while but not forever. Their offenses weren't too severe; once captured, they would be taken to the penal court, suffer for a while, and then be dispatched to the fiercely contested mountain pass to make amends. As long as luck wasn't particularly bad, their lives wouldn't be endangered.

But if they recklessly resist after being captured, their punishment would be more severe, intensifying their consequences.

Having captured five out of six targets, there was just one left to finish the task smoothly.

Lu Ye's willingness to use the tracking discs to complete tasks perceived as trivial by other Law Enforcement Hall squads wasn't for idle boasting.

Because only in this way could the squad have opportunities to take on other missions and earn more battle merits.

Currently, the squad only had three members, with each mission earning more than fifty thousand battle merits, which Xiao Xinghe and Lin Yinxiu equally shared, making their income quite substantial.

But eventually, the squad would reach six members, and even if he continued to take none, dividing the earnings among five wouldn't result in much for each.

Only by taking on tasks with richer rewards could the squad members grow more quickly.

The needles on the tracking discs were slightly shaking, indicating they were very close to their target.

Lu Ye took out the ten-part map to inspect it and found that the map marked a large city ahead called Dingtian City.

He couldn't help but frown; he vaguely remembered seeing this city name somewhere.

After a brief recollection, he recalled where he had heard of this city.

It was recorded in the jade slip of the Hunting Pavilion's tasks.

According to the jade slip, Zhou Wang belonged to the Zhou family of Dingtian City, a family with some reputation throughout Bingzhou.

Because it was a well-established 3rd grade cultivation family.

The two major factions of the Nine Provinces had countless forces, but those who reached the upper three grades were mostly sects. While there were many cultivation families, their grades were relatively low because family-style cultivation methods have many unavoidable drawbacks, notably the inability to assure the quality of subsequent talents, making long-term inheritance difficult.

A sect, on the other hand, can open its mountain gates widely, accepting talented individuals so that each generation has brilliant disciples, making inheritance easier than that of cultivation families.

The Zhou family reaching the upper three grades implied they were quite well-established, at least having a Divine Sea Realm cultivator overseeing them. However, how many Divine Sea Realm cultivators there were, or what level they were, Lu Ye couldn't say, as these details weren't recorded in the task jade slip.

Compared to the previous five task targets, Zhou Wang's offenses were not light; three years ago, he recklessly fought, impacting some commoners and causing dozens of deaths and injuries.

Such a heinous act, according to guard discipline, warranted execution!

Cultivators must not let their conflicts involve commoners; this isn't just guard discipline in Bingzhou but also those of the other Eight Great Provincial States. Whether it's Haotian Alliance or Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, they must strictly abide by this rule. Violators generally face severe punishment.

Lu Ye carefully recalled the task jade slip's details about Zhou Wang, confirming a piece of recorded information.

The target was last seen a year ago, right in Dingtian City; since then, the task details hadn't been updated.

This task had been in the Hunting Pavilion for such a long time and forcibly assigned to other Law Enforcement Hall squads, yet if Zhou Wang was in Dingtian City now, why hadn't those squads completed the task?

The previous task targets were hiding in desolate mountains and forests; without a clear direction, searching was indeed troublesome, and finding them depended heavily on luck. Zhou Wang's situation was different.

Lu Ye faintly realized this task might not be easy...

There was some invisible resistance lying ahead.

The spirit ark did not hurry to track the trail and stopped thirty miles away from Dingtian City.

Lu Ye stood at the bow of the ship, picked up the guard token from his waist, and infused it with spirit force, waiting quietly.

One incense stick's time later, a figure riding a Flying Spirit Artifact flew in from the direction of Dingtian City. Seeing the spirit ark from afar, he flew straight over and stopped ten feet away from Lu Ye, bowing and clasping his fists, "Greetings, sir."

The newcomer wore a mask, obscuring his face, but his cultivation was at the Cloud River Level 8. From his build, he was a man.

This was the Nightingale of this place.

"May I ask what business brings you here, sir?" Nightingale inquired, "Is there any place that requires my service?"

Lu Ye looked at him indifferently, "Capture Zhou Wang!"

Nightingale understood, "Please instruct me, sir."

Lu Ye did not rush to give orders but instead asked, "Was the Hunting Pavilion's latest updates a year ago reported by you?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen any traces of Zhou Wang in the past year?"

"To answer you, sir, I have not seen him. Zhou Wang knows he's committed a crime, so he likely fled far away."

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, "Do you know where he fled?"

"I do not, sir. If he is determined to hide, he won't be found by anyone."

"What about the Zhou family?"

"There has been no anomaly with the Zhou family."

Lu Ye nodded slightly, feeling there was no need to continue questioning. He then said, "Lin Yinxiu."

"Present," Lin Yinxiu stepped forward and replied firmly.

"Keep a close watch on them. Anyone showing any unusual behavior will be killed without mercy!" Lu Ye instructed, his gaze fixed on Nightingale, "Including him!"

"Yes!" Lin Yinxiu accepted the order.

Nightingale was utterly shocked, "Sir?"

"Third Senior Brother, come with me." Lu Ye ignored Nightingale and, after speaking to Xiao Xinghe, flew straight towards Dingtian City.

Xiao Xinghe said nothing, tightly following.

After the two left, Lin Yinxiu turned to Nightingale, saying with a disappointed look, "After this matter, go to Haotian City to plead guilty. You won't lose your life, but some punishment is inevitable."

Though she was naive and sometimes a bit silly, she was not foolish.

Although Lu Ye said nothing, she still vaguely sensed something.

Especially after following Lu Ye in recent times to catch people, always succeeding, she admired Lu Ye greatly. Since Lu Ye headed straight to Dingtian City, it showed he was sure Zhou Wang was in Dingtian City.

Yet Nightingale hadn't seen Zhou Wang for the past year, which clearly wasn't normal.

Her statement made Nightingale sweat profusely, his body almost stumbling.

Dingtian City was a large city, being the foothold of an upper 3rd grade family. Naturally, it was by no means small. Numerous mortals lived there, not only within the city but also in a thousand-mile radius around it, a territory controlled by the Zhou family.

Even though there were many mortals in the city, there were also many cultivators flying back and forth.

These cultivators were not all from the Zhou family. While the Zhou family dominated here, many low-grade cultivation families depended on them for survival.

Moreover, various families recruited some cultivators.

These recruited cultivators mostly came from independent cultivators or those whose sect or family had been destroyed, seeking cultivation resources alongside the Zhou family.

Dingtian City did not have a protective array, so Lu Ye and Xiao Xinghe easily entered the city.

The needle of the tracking disc in their hands swayed more intensely, confirming that Zhou Wang was somewhere in the city.

"Little Junior Brother," Xiao Xinghe suddenly called softly.

Lu Ye also put away the tracking disc simultaneously and looked ahead.

A goat-bearded elder was smilingly approaching them from the front, the spirit force surging from him revealing a powerful True Lake Level 8 cultivation.

The goat-bearded elder was clearly coming for them, blocking their path directly, and slightly bowing, "The two Daoists look unfamiliar, and seem not to be from Dingtian City. How should I address you?"

"Who are you?" Lu Ye's eyelids lowered slightly.

If he previously just suspected the Nightingale here, he now could be certain.

The Nightingale here had been bought by the Zhou family.

Otherwise, how could their whereabouts have been exposed? It must have been Nightingale who alerted the Zhou family as soon as he sensed their arrival.

This man before them must certainly be from the Zhou family.