Mutated Tao

The Deputy Chief waved his hand, and the people standing in a row behind him stepped forward, distributing a few pieces of paper to everyone.

Li Huowang skimmed through the pieces of paper and saw that it contained quite a few addresses.

“We suspect that the Sitting Oblivion Dao members are living at those addresses. I want you to bring them here, dead or alive. Verify their identity and you will receive fifty lifespan pills for each ordinary member, and you will be promoted by half a rank, too.

“Any of the three Officials or Four Joys are worth three hundred lifespan pills, and you will be promoted by three ranks! Those with the most kills will be rewarded personally by the Chief, and they'll receive three sexagenary-cycle pure lifespan pills[1]!”

The grand hall was instantly abuzz with discussions. It couldn't be helped. After all, the Surveillance Bureau had never offered such generous rewards before.

Three sexagenary cycles meant one hundred and eighty years! Who wouldn't want to live for an extra one hundred and eighty years? Moreover, the lifespan pills of the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau wouldn't transform them into Human Xiaos!

There were some who had been planning on hiding their strength, but they threw all caution to the wind upon hearing of the rewards. In fact, they could barely wait to start hunting down the Sitting Oblivion Dao members.

“Go, I wish you all swift success and promotion! Remember, the Sitting Oblivion Dao is evil, and they deserve to be eradicated. Your efforts in rounding up the Sitting Oblivion Dao is a heroic act for the sake of the people and the world! We'd rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one of them escape!”

Boom!

A thunderous boom echoed as the four city gates of Shangjing were slammed shut. The war drums were sounded, and soldiers clad in heavy armor ascended the city walls.

They stood ramrod straight atop the city walls, giving off a murderous aura.

Shangjing's walls were already formidable, but they became even more formidable and terrifying as the soldiers in heavy armor towered over everyone inside the city, preventing them from leaving Shangjing.

The giant crossbows and weapons atop the city walls turned slowly and faced the city rather than outside.

Snow fell incessantly from the heavens, blanketing the capital in a thin layer of snow.

A group of black dots that resembled ants spread gradually from the Surveillance Bureau. Li Huowang was one of those black dots, and he was frowning while riding his horse. He constantly swung the reins, guiding the horse to move toward the eastern part of the city. Five members of the Surveillance Bureau were behind him, and they were pieces of paper containing the same information as Li Huowang's papers.

A cacophony of shrill screams and cries echoed from the nearby houses. Li Huowang turned and saw a wooden door covered in talismans getting kicked open from the outside.

Soon, a frail-looking woman with a baby in her arms stumbled outside the house. A whistling noise pierced Li Huowang's ears, and he watched as a saber flew out of the house, rushing toward the woman.

Just then, the baby in the woman’s arms smirked. A grotesque cracking noise echoed as the baby's bones contracted, and he slipped out of his swaddle. Then, he lifted his tiny feet and kicked his own mother toward the oncoming saber while somersaulting away from the woman's arms.

The saber pierced the woman's heart, and her warm blood melted the white snow, revealing the dark tiles underneath.

Moments later, a woman with two scars on her face rushed out of the house and pulled out the saber forcefully from the woman's chest. Then, she chased after the fleeing baby while shouting, “Damn it, Sitting Oblivion Dao! Face me if you have the guts!”

No one paid any attention to the woman's corpse on the snowy ground except for Li Huowang. Many people are going to die tonight.

Li Huowang's cheeks swelled as he gnashed his teeth. Bloody scenes unfolded throughout Shangjing Li as the Surveillance Bureau and the Sitting Oblivion Dao went all out, fighting each other with their lives on the line.

Shangjing soon became chaotic. There were people fighting one-on-one, and there were also those fighting the Sitting Oblivion Dao with the other members of the Surveillance Bureau.

The entire capital seemed to be on fire and was boiling from the inside out.

Li Huowang quietly observed the changes, and he unknowingly found himself at his destination. Wasting no time, Li Huowang jumped down his horse and crashed against the paper window of the house.

Li Huowang looked around and saw a family of three huddled together in fear. He raised his purple-tassel sword, but he couldn't bring himself to strike them down.

Swoosh!

A cold light shot into the house through the broken window.

Clang!

Sparks flew as Li Huowang smacked the object away with his sword.

“This is mine! Get the hell out of here!” Li Huowang shouted with bloodshot eyes. Then, he turned around and looked at the wife of the family. He put away his sword and took out a dagger from his bag of torture tools.

“Don’t worry; I'm not going to kill you. However, I need to see what's beneath your face to make sure that you're not a Sitting Oblivion Dao member. I'm going to heal you afterward, so don't worry."

A heart-wrenching scream echoed. Afterward, Li Huowang put down a piece of silver on the table and stepped out of the house. There was both good news and bad news—the good news was that the woman wasn't a Sitting Oblivion Dao member, while the bad news was that the woman wasn't a Sitting Oblivion Dao member!

Wooden planks creaked as Li Huowang somersaulted onto a snow-covered roof. He soon found himself at the highest point of the roof, and he looked around, sweeping his gaze across the chaotic Shangjing.

If hell had eighteen levels, then the current Shangjing would be at the bottom of it. The members of the Surveillance Bureau and the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao darting across the rooftops spared not even a glance at the commoners.

Why would they spare a glance to mere commoners when the latter were uninvolved in the fight? The commoners' actions wouldn't matter at this point, as whatever they would do or not do were predetermined.

Perhaps they were obstructing the way of both the Surveillance Bureau and Sitting Oblivion Dao members, but many civilians were losing their lives at the moment.

Li Huowang was supposed to look for the Strayed One Bei Feng, but his mind was abuzz from the heart-wrenching screams and scenes all over him, and he couldn't quite silence his mind.

Boom!

A towering building abruptly erupted into flames. It resembled a massive torch and had replaced the missing moon in the sky, illuminating everything around it.

“What is human life to you?! What exactly is human life to you?! Though civilians, they're all living humans!” Li Huowang roared while pointing at the capital. He thought he had become quite ruthless and indifferent to life, but he still couldn't quite turn a blind eye to the massacre before him.

Li Huowang cursed for quite a while before going silent. A deep sense of powerlessness overwhelmed his heart. He couldn’t even control himself, so how could he dare to even attempt to control the actions of others?

“Sob…!” A sobbing noise echoed next to Li Huowang. He turned around and saw that the voice had come from Jin Shanzhao, who was missing half of his body. He was pointing with an indignant look at the massacre, and bloody tears were streaming down his face. His mouth fluttered open as well, saying indecipherable words.

Another sobbing noise rang out just then. Li Huowang turned and saw the monk crying with his hands clasped together while chanting "Amitabha."

“Hey! What are you doing, Boss Hong Zhong?! Time is of the essence! Forget about the rest; let’s go find Boss Bei Feng!” Hong Zhong said.

Li Huowang cast a cold gaze upon Hong Zhong before casting his gaze on the headless Peng Longteng. Peng Longteng stood quietly like a statue while facing the city walls in the distance.

Li Huowang clenched his fists and punched himself twice to calm his tumultuous heart.

Swoosh!

Just then, three figures rushed toward Li Huowang. They were two women and a man, and their attire indicated that each of them was from different walks of life. Seven people were chasing after them, and their eyes gleamed upon seeing Li Huowang.

“Boss Hong Zhong, so you were here?! Hurry up and leave! We’ll cover you from behind!”

The three Sitting Oblivion Dao members came to a screeching halt. Then, they turned around to glare at the oncoming Surveillance Bureau members with resolute expressions.

1. a period of sixty years ☜

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