Volume One: First Signs of Brilliance Chapter Thirty-Four: Lan Yiyi

Watching the man's body slowly collapse to the ground, Wang Jue finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Phew, finally dealt with it.” All his strength had gone into that blow—otherwise, with his terrifying power, he should have sent the man flying rather than leaving him sprawled here.

“Could he be dead?” Wang Jue’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of the unmoving figure. Had he accidentally killed someone?

The stinging scent of blood made him gag; squatting down, he vomited until there was almost nothing left but bile.

“Zhou Wei, are you alright?” On the other side, the leader of the two was still reeling from seeing his underling defeated so quickly. Even the pursuer who had been chasing them hesitated for a moment, clearly surprised.

But her experience quickly prevailed. She regained composure, a trace of amusement in her voice. “Hah... the hunter becomes the hunted.”

With a mocking laugh, she intensified her assault. The two were never her match to begin with, and now with only one left, the outcome was inevitable. Perhaps realizing resistance was futile, the leader soon fell as well. Yet she spared him, leaving him barely breathing—a living witness, if nothing else.

After throwing up, Wang Jue watched the woman crush her opponent with overwhelming force. His heart tightened. The situation felt bizarre.

He wanted to leave, but simply turning away didn’t feel safe. Who knew what kind of people he’d just encountered—he might unwittingly lead trouble home. Wang Jue was less worried for his own safety than about bringing danger to his family.

Three people had arrived here suddenly, and in less than a minute, only one remained standing. The darkness made it hard to see, and Wang Jue hesitated, crouching on the spot, unsure whether to leave.

By now, the woman had dragged the other “man” over and stopped before him.

“Why are you here?” Her voice was naturally cold, unsettling. Up close, Wang Jue recognized her face immediately.

He knew this woman! Wasn’t she the icy beauty who had caught a thief on the bus earlier?

He hadn’t expected to meet her again, let alone under such circumstances.

“I came to pick my sister up from school,” Wang Jue hesitated, seeing she wasn’t attacking, and decided to answer truthfully.

He wasn’t lying. Though this route was a long detour, he had to pick up his sister, so it was the only way.

“Pick up your sister? Who chooses to go to school at this hour?” The cold beauty voiced her skepticism, then walked over to the vicious-looking man. Glancing at Wang Jue in his school uniform, she crouched to check the man’s condition. “A middle schooler? Hard to believe. You’re young, but ruthless.”

“He’s not dead, is he?” Wang Jue asked awkwardly, a little nervous after her comment.

He hadn’t really understood what happened—his body had just reacted instinctively, hard to control his strength. In truth, he wasn’t even sure if that punch counted as his attack; it had been pure reflex, as natural as breathing.

“So in your mind, ‘serious’ means dead?” She didn’t even look up as she retorted.

“That’s not what I meant,” Wang Jue protested helplessly.

He’d never said that, but now he really was panicking. Before, he’d feared being beaten to death; now he worried he might have killed someone. If he got arrested for this, even if only for a few years, he’d consider himself wretchedly unlucky.

“He’s not dead. Still breathing, but likely crippled.” Seeing Wang Jue’s genuine panic and his obvious youth, the cold beauty didn’t press further. “Name? Age? Identity? Home address?”

“Wait a minute, shouldn’t you introduce yourself before grilling others?” Wang Jue was a little frustrated. “Honestly, I still don’t know what’s really going on. I was attacked out of nowhere, so I’m just as confused as you.”

Were people always this overbearing nowadays?

He wanted to ignore her, but she seemed like someone from the Safe Zone’s security team—he didn’t dare act rashly. If he’d recovered his strength, he would’ve run already, rather than sitting here. He remembered her violent streak from the bus incident, and now wasn’t even sure she was from the security team—just had a feeling.

“Hunting Squad. Lan Yiyi.” She was unbothered by being called “big sis,” and after a brief pause, replied.

“Hunting Squad?” Wang Jue was surprised. He had heard of the famed Guard Squad.

There were three official organizations in the Safe Zone: the Patrol Squad, the Guard Squad, and the most mysterious—the Hunting Squad.

Usually, the Patrol Squad dealt with local problems or disputes. The Guard Squad protected the Safe Zone from martial artists causing trouble. The Hunting Squad specialized in hunting star beasts and rogue martial artists.

To Wang Jue, the Hunting Squad was almost legendary—yet here they were.

“Captain Lan! Captain Lan!” Just as Wang Jue was debating what to say, several voices called from a distance.

“Over here,” Lan Yiyi replied.

Then, with a swoosh, several figures appeared beside Wang Jue. He glanced around and realized these newcomers were at least as strong as the two lying on the ground—maybe even on par with Lan Yiyi herself.

“Impressive as always, Captain Lan. Settled everything before we even arrived,” one of the Hunting Squad members flattered her, looking at the two on the ground.

“Captain, who’s this?” another asked, noticing the young boy standing nearby.

“He got caught up in this—seems to be a local. Take him back for questioning,” Lan Yiyi replied, studying Wang Jue’s face for a moment. She felt she’d seen him before, but couldn’t recall where. Rather than waste brainpower, she turned to a teammate. “Xiao Lin, how’s it going on your end?”

“All done. Everyone’s been apprehended,” replied the young man called Xiao Lin.

Satisfied, Lan Yiyi ended the discussion. It was clear the Hunting Squad took their duties seriously.

Soon, the Patrol Squad’s vehicles arrived. The officers, though from different departments, obviously belonged to the same side.

Seeing so many people, Wang Jue realized this was now beyond anything he could handle alone.

In such circumstances, it was best to simply cooperate.

The Patrol Squad quickly loaded the two barely conscious men onto a vehicle and invited Wang Jue into another.

About half an hour later, Wang Jue was surprised to find himself back at the Patrol Squad station—he’d only just left that afternoon. Barely a few hours had passed.

In the end, Wang Jue wasn’t treated as a suspect—perhaps because of his school uniform, or because he’d visited earlier. A Hunting Squad member stayed to keep watch over him, letting him wait in an office. The others clearly went off to interrogate suspects or gather information.

...

Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, Lan Yiyi watched her colleague question the freshly captured martial artist. She turned to the intelligence officer reporting beside her. “Well? Did you get the file?”

“Yes, we did. Wang Jue, from an ordinary family. His parents run a noodle shop, business is decent, but they’ve had some trouble lately. He has a younger sister in kindergarten. He himself is a third-year student at Peace Middle School No. 10.”

“A couple of days ago, the school tested him. Martial cultivation: Body Tempering, third tier. Today, he collected a sixty-thousand subsidy from the school.”

“Body Tempering, third tier?” Lan Yiyi showed no reaction to the rest of the information, eyes on the suspect, but at the mention of his level, she couldn't help but question, “Are you sure? A third tier Body Tempering martial artist crippled an eighth tier with a single punch?”

“I’ve double-checked. The records confirm third tier. But it’s possible he broke through in the last couple days, or has been hiding his true strength,” the intelligence officer replied calmly, having anticipated her doubts. To be honest, he’d wondered himself—since when were third tier martial artists this terrifying?

“Breakthrough? Concealed?” Lan Yiyi’s brows arched. “If it’s a recent breakthrough, that’s one thing. But if he’s been hiding it, that’s a problem. Either this kid is overly cautious, or he’s got some unspeakable secret.”

Lan Yiyi wasn’t one to pry into others’ secrets, but now she was curious. At the very least, she needed to figure out his true situation.

There are many kinds of secrets—some are private, some are conspiracies. She needed to know what kind of person he was.

“Exactly. The intel team feels the same. Should we go confirm it?” the officer asked.

“No need. I’ll handle it myself.” Lan Yiyi had no intention of delegating this.

Judging by the current situation, it was clear Wang Jue had simply been caught up in the incident—he had no real connection. But the discrepancy in his records had caught her attention, and she was genuinely curious about who he really was.

A third tier Body Tempering martial artist, able to cripple an eighth tier with a single punch at his age—he was beyond a prodigy.

If Wang Jue was truly just a student, regardless of whether his talent was average, he was still worth cultivating.

“Take care of things here—wrap up the case quickly. Find what they were hiding as soon as possible. I’ll go check on him.” Lan Yiyi had no intention of wasting more time here. Most suspects had already confessed, and she had no further interest in watching.

Neither these people nor this mission were as important as recruiting a true talent for the Hunting Squad.